It had been five years since Ezekiel had been reborn into this new world, as a black-haired boy with blue eyes, and given the same name as in his previous world.

Born to a couple in their late twenties, Evelyn Luminance, a woman with a petite and lithe stature with black hair and eyes, and Warren Luminance, a man with a broad and tall stature with blonde hair and golden eyes; Ezekiel found himself as the center of attention as the new parents he was born the child of doted on his every need.

His new household was a small one as well. Found within the city of Harkem’s middle district, Ezekiel’s home was of modest size, with two bedrooms, one for his parents, and a nursery for him, as well as a kitchen, living room, and bathroom. It was seated atop the shop where his mother worked, sewing and making dresses of various styles for various people.

Within the home, there was only Ezekiel, Warren, Evelyn, and their two pets; a black cat called Reya, and a white cat called Theo. They were usually the ones to watch over Ezekiel when his parents had to step out; his father having a job as part of the city guard, a captain, specifically, meant that he wasn’t home all the time to watch over Ezekiel when his mother had to tend to the shop.

Speaking of her shop, this was the only place where Ezekiel could interact with people who weren’t his parents. The shop had a total of three employees, as well as his mother who owned it. Two were women close to his mother’s age, Martha, and Hellen, and the third was a younger girl in her teens, Suzy, who worked the front desk and took orders and the like as the three women worked in the back.

The first couple of years were fairly hazy for him, as a newborn infant’s cognitive abilities weren’t the best for retaining the full memories of a nineteen-year-old in the middle of his university years. However, thanks to whatever magic was used to bring him to this world, he did not lose any significant portions of his past life’s memories.

This meant that his life was both very easy, and very difficult, as he was able to learn both the language and the customs of his new world quite fast, but it also meant that he was constantly treated like a child. The less said about his first few years before he learned to fully control his body the better.

Yet, Ezekiel’s success regarding learning the language and culture was not the most interesting thing that had happened to him over the past few years. That was reserved for the first time he started walking, when he fell and scraped himself on the edge of a table.

Crying out in shock, and unable to hold back his tears due to the intense sensation afflicting his fragile new body, his parents rushed forwards as fast as they could, and used magic to heal him.

Now, due to the circumstances of his reincarnation, Ezekiel had already expected that magic was real, and that he’d be running into it sooner or later. The fact that a godlike entity had brought him here to have him help it made this obvious.

But to actually see his father holding his hands over the scrape on his arm and create a glowing white light that seeped into his injury and cause it to recover almost instantly was still a shock.

This also explained why his parents were so comfortable with leaving him alone with the family pets. Reya and Theo weren’t pets at all, but were actually his parents bonded Spirits, whom they shared magic and experiences with. This meant that Reya and Theo would be able to alert Ezekiel’s parents instantly if something happened.

From that moment on, Ezekiel began pestering his parents about what that magic was, how they did it, and if he could use magic too. He even started sneaking down to his mother’s shop to watch her work and got to see her using hands made out of shadows grab her different objects of various sorts to help her with whatever clothing she was working on.

The other women in the shop would also do different things like using gusts of wind to air out the building or cut the fabric to size. Statues that moved and took on different poses were also used, and the girl at the front would often play with her drink, making little shapes for him whenever he was caught watching.

In fact, as he grew older, and observed more of the world outside his home from the windows of his home, he could see quite a few people manipulating the elements, and using magic all around the city. Of course, even though it seemed like it wasn’t a big deal, the topic of magic was something that his parents didn’t want to discuss at the time.

Whenever he broached the topic, the only replies he would get were empty words like, “We’ll tell you when you’re older,” or, “That’s not something you need to worry about right now.” Any time he asked about magic, his parents would simply turn him away, and a worried look would come across their faces, like he had said something strange or had done something worrying.

Apparently, it was illegal to teach magic unless a person was officially licensed as part of one of the guilds or had permission from the Church which would only be granted after a person had passed a certain series of tests. Something that neither of his parents had done.

Eventually, Ezekiel overheard his parents talking about how strange it was that he was so smart and skilled for his age. He wasn’t even two when he started asking about magic, so this wasn’t too unexpected. So, he decided to drop the topic for now, since he didn’t think it would be a good thing to draw too much attention to himself after having only just entered this world for a few years.

Instead, he decided that he would wait a little bit longer, until he could read this new world’s language fluently before he would simply get the answers for himself.

Of course, finding opportunities to learn the language were few and far between, so Ezekiel decided to learn at a faster pace by following along with his parents' lesson plan. Thus, with his plans on hold, Ezekiel was forced to learn more about his new world in the simplest way possible: asking questions.

“Father, why are my eyes a different color than yours and mother’s?” He asked when he was learning new words.

“Mother, can Reya and Theo talk? If so, why can’t I hear them?” He asked when he saw his parents tell their Spirits something but heard no reply in return.

“Mother, what’s that building?” Ezekiel would ask as he pointed at a large cathedral-like building in the distance.

“Father, what’s this word and what does it mean?” He would ask whenever he found a word that he didn’t understand as he tried reading through the few books that his family had.

“Mother, who are these people?” He asked while pointing at a medium sized portrait in their living room.

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“Father, what’s an emperor?” He asked, hoping to get a better understanding of the world and its workings.

Luckily, his parents were more than happy to answer his question, so long as they weren’t about magic, in a manner that was simple and easy to understand.

“Your mother and I both had blue eyes as well, but they changed later on.” Warren told him.

“Yes, Reya and Theo can talk, but until you get older you won’t be able to hear them. You’ll need to undergo your awakening for that to happen.” Evelyn told him after he asked about her and her husband’s Spirits.

“That building is the Church of Ten Ancients. People go there to pray for thanks and guidance from the Ancients who made the world.” His mother told him, as she explained what the world’s religion was. “It was the Ancients who saved humanity during the First War, and it was the Ancients who sealed away the Broods that sought to destroy us.”

“This word is cataclysm, it means a great disaster, or accident, occurred and a lot of bad things happened.” His father told him as he tucked Ezekiel into bed after reading to him. “The First War was a cataclysm, and so were every other war after it. The ascendance of the Brood Lords was also a cataclysm.”

“Those people are you grandparents and your aunts and uncles: my parents and my brother and sister. I haven’t seen or spoken to them in a long time.” Evelyn told him with a sad look on her face. Seeing that look on his mother’s face, Ezekiel decided not to ask any more questions, as he recognized it as the look of someone who had lost something.

“Well, Ezekiel, an emperor is the person who rules the empire. An empire is a large area where people live. For instance, we live in the Great Willowbrush Empire. Our emperor is Theron Willowbrush; a great mage and an Exalted Hunter.” Warren said with great enthusiasm as he spoke of their ruler. “We are lucky to be members of the Willowbrush Empire. The freedom that its citizens are granted are much higher than the other empires, especially regarding people’s faith in the Ancients.”

Questions like these were what kept Ezekiel from going insane as the years slowly passed by. It got easier over time, however, when he finally learned how to read. But things were about to change, and Ezekiel wasn’t sure if it was for the better. After all, he was now old enough to be sent to school.

The very idea of being surrounded by countless children under the age of ten did not bring joy to Ezekiel’s heart. Something that he brought up to his parents when they first brought it up.

“I don’t want to go to school. I can learn plenty of things here at home.” Ezekiel shouted in an, admittedly, childish manner more suitable to the five-year-old body he currently inhabited than the twenty something year old mind that he had.

His parents, both dressed in fine clothing, a shiny dress that was not suitable for ballrooms or special events, but was still far more formal than normal, presented his mother in a much more elegant manner than her usual business dress, while his father was clothed in a very fancy-dress uniform that denoted his place in the city watch.

Ezekiel himself was dressed in a formal shirt and pants combo that made him look like, in his opinion, a stuck-up noble brat that was far to self-entitled.

“Now, now, Ezekiel, stop arguing. All children go to school when they reach a certain age. You’re five years old now, so you need to go learn at the church with the other children.” Evelyn told him as he continued to complain.

Although she was annoyed that Ezekiel was against going to school, she was also slightly happy. Her child was actually acting like a child. Such instances were rare, as Ezekiel was often quiet, and didn’t interact much outside of asking questions, rather than trying to play games with his parents.

“Indeed. It is a tradition for all families to send their children to the Church to begin their education, beyond that of the lessons taught by their parents. We’ve taught you how to read and write, and even some of the more general things about the world, but the church is the best place to learn more.” Warren told him as he dragged Ezekiel outside with his wife.

Reya and Theo had perched themselves on their respective mage’s shoulders. Theo draping himself over Warrens neck like a king lazing about on his throne, and Reya staying attentive, watching over everything for signs of trouble like the loyal sentry she was.

Bending down to pick up Ezekiel, he whispered in his son’s ear. “Besides, you’ll get to learn more about magic if you go to learn at the Church.”

Hearing his father’s words about magic, and how the Church would teach him more, Ezekiel began to grow excited.

“Really,” he exclaimed, “I’ll get to learn about magic? I’m old enough to try and learn magic!”

“Hahaha, that’s right,” Warren told him, dousing most of his excitement in the process, “but you’ll after you go through your awakening ceremony today, you’ll awaken yourself to the presence of mana. The magical particles that allow the use of magic. Without which, you’ll never be able to train as a mage.”

“Is training as a mage difficult?” Ezekiel asked as he and his parents walked down the street. Looking around, Ezekiel noticed that there weren’t many more people outside than what he usually saw from inside his house, but they were going further than he had gone before, so most of what he saw was new and interesting.

“Yes, it is. It’s also very dangerous. Which is why only sanctioned mages, and those who have taken specific tests to prove that they can help their students if things go wrong, can awaken and teach others about magic. That’s why we didn’t tell you much whenever you asked us questions.” Evelyn explained calmly as she fussed with Ezekiel’s hair, trying to tuck away a few loose strands as they walked down the street. “That, and we knew from your sneaking about, that if we told you anything about magic you would certainly try to train on your own, before you’ve even been awakened.”

Ezekiel could only blush at being called out by his mother. He wanted to deny it, but the look in his mother’s eyes told him that nothing he said would convince her otherwise, and he knew that anything other than an agreement with her would be a lie. He just couldn’t help it. Magic didn’t exist on his old world, and there was no way he’d be able to help whatever god had brought him here if he couldn’t even use magic. The way he saw it, the sooner he learned magic, the sooner he could help the Void.

What was even worse was that he already had an idea of what kind of magic he had but wasn’t able to do anything about it without awakening his magic first. It was obvious to him that he would be a void mage, as the Ancient that had brought him here was the Ancient of the Void. Regardless, Ezekiel had no choice but to remain patient. At least for the time being.

“But now that I’m going to be learning about magic, does that mean I’ll get to see more of it? You both use it for your work, but I don’t see you use it much otherwise.” Ezekiel asked, hoping that his parents would start using more magic around them.

His parents chuckled at his interest in their magic, having gotten used to his obsession with the various abilities they used. In reality, his parents actually used magic much more that most families, as their jobs required them to use their magic to work properly.

“Perhaps. But for right now, it’s not our magic you should be concerned with.” Warren said as they rounded another corner. They hadn’t been walking too long, but the streets were beginning to get crowded as they got closer to one of the city’s main roads.

“Look, you can see the Church properly from here.” Warren said as he turned his son’s attention to the large cathedral like building that stood at the center of the city. “There it is, the Harkem Grand Cathedral, primary place of worship for the Church of Ten. It acts as both the primary place of prayer in the city, as well as being connected to the government building where Duke Harper resides.”

“Duke Harper?” Ezekiel asked while his father put him down to walk the rest of the way.

“Heh-heh, you’ve asked so many questions, but not about our own Duke. Looks like there’s still a lot for you to learn, son.” Warren said, laughing at his son’s curious expression. “Now you see why you need to go to school. You can’t just focus on Magic and nothing else.”

Ezekiel just looked at the ground. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to learn, he just didn’t want to be around a bunch of snot nosed brats for the foreseeable future. Besides, he did to ask questions about other things than magic. He just didn’t bother trying to read about them. That’s all.

“Honey, stop teasing him. We’re almost there, and I don’t want to start another argument.” Evelyn said as she wrapped her arm around Warren’s.

“Alright, alright. Come on son. Let’s get going, shall we?” Warren grabbed Ezekiel’s hand before pulling him forwards. Ezekiel made no efforts to fight it, as he knew that this was his first step to obtaining magic for himself.