First Things First.

As the first lights of dawn began to leak through the gaps in the ceiling, I awoke. My body ached in response to my actions as it craved more rest. The consequences of consuming mana beyond the limits of my young body had taken a great toll on me. So much so that I ended up falling asleep as soon as it was over. I wiped some of the drool off my face with my hands and pulled myself up.

Shakily, I stood up on my feet. It was still a strange sensation, being in my younger body. Normally the change should not have been too apparent since my current appearance was around 15 years of age and had already gone through the changes brought by growth. However, since at this time I had yet to train body and was still living in a shed in the middle of the slums, my physical constitution was currently less than satisfactory. So, despite, my mind being of 22 years age and my body being that of 15, my current physical appearance resembled more of that of a 12-year-old due to inadequate nutrition and improper care.

I slowly gathered my thoughts and wobbled towards the door. Well, something that worked like a door at least. In reality it was a mere wooden plank that I had fashioned into a makeshift blockade that closed of the entrance. As I pushed the plank to the side, I took a step outside, taking in the sight around me. Heaps of trash were strewn about, littering a path that had been worn down by flow of time and the after effects of many battles that it could no longer properly constitute as a street. A great number of shacks hastily built from broken pieces of brick and musty pieces of wood, occupied the area. The stench that exuded from every orifice of the area could be proven fatal to those not accustomed to it. Those unable to contribute to society could only reside here and suffer under these inhumane conditions.

The air stung my throat as I inhaled deeply. In order to prevent the ruin that was to befall this world, I couldn’t let time proceed the same as before. I turned and gazed into the shed one last time. This was likely the last time I will come back here.

I shook my head. I’d already abandoned this place once before so why do I feel somewhat sentimental, I pondered.

I took one last glance behind me before I set off. I couldn’t afford to hesitate if I wished to change what has been written. For a moment, Raymond’s name came to mind and I couldn’t help but wonder what was his first reaction when he first came to this world. It was hard to really imagine him having emotions as his face always remained stoic and his judgement was always callous but fair.

Well, I’m sure even he would have been shocked by this, I mused. All of a sudden, a loud shriek snapped me out of my thoughts. My eyes immediately traced the source of the scream. In a tight alley space, two large figures seemed to be restraining the figure of a woman, who could only have been barely of age, and dragging her away. My brows contorted as a grim expression formed on my face and I clenched my fists. I glared at the men in disgust, as they tore away at her clothing and held her down.

I could only shake my head and continue ahead. As nauseating as it was, such occurrences weren’t as uncommon as one would prefer. After all, those who were forced to live here were rejected from this world. Here, no one was compelled to follow the rules of civilization as there would be nobody to punish them for their actions. There was once a famous saying “Never put one’s humanity to test”. Humans can be capable of great atrocities when their actions no longer held any consequences.

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I walked on ahead, keeping to myself and slipping through the crowd of people that seemed to be walking around in a futile effort to find rations. Though, the government doesn’t truly care about the people here, they still provide rations to help us. Of course, neither the quantity or quality of the food was satisfactory either

“Oii, You fucking cripple, you pushed me in to the mud!” a sudden threat was raised at the front of the crowd drawing everyone’s attention. Two figures were seen, one of which was exuding clear malice towards the one wearing the blindfold.

The disabled could only nod his head silently and hold his hands together in a plea for mercy. Gazing at the blind and mute man, all I could show was my sympathy towards his plight. I could only discreetly squeeze through the crowd towards my destination.

There were a quite a few disabled people in the ghettos of the city. In fact, there was a myth that was quite popular amongst the public as to why there were many people who were blind. It was said that long ago, existed a being who used his eyes and mana to commit many evil deeds and cause calamity and destruction. The five gods who witnessed his sins, punished him to an eternal damnation and cursed all his descendants to be born without eyes and their vocal chords, preventing them from seeing or speaking. The five churches further solidified this myth in their propagandist sermons.

However, in truth the reality was much crueler as to the true reason behind why there existed such people, the revelation of this truth would cause great chaos and lead to much more bloodshed and destruction.

On the surface it may seem as though this world was run by the government and military, however the truth was far more complex than that, while the military did hold significant power, even they could not fully control the families of high ancestry. Ancestries are the connection one has to the progenitors who were the first beings to have been born with the abilities derived from their pupils and were worshipped and celebrated like hero’s for saving humanity against the evolution of mana beasts. And so those who were descendant from them were likely to be born with extremely powerful abilities. As a result, they held a sizable amount of power in the government. And not to mention the influences of the Churches Of The Five Gods cannot be underestimated as well. Of course, not all of the progenitors were powerful and so the difference between Those with high ancestries and low ancestries came to be. It was still possible for a person to be born with abilities even without having ancestries or even close family members who had abilities. I am one such example after all. My mother was born with no abilities and was forced to come here. My father too did not have any abilities from what I’ve heard.

I hid my expression behind my unruly silver hair that covered most of my profile, attempting to calm my emotions as memories of the past began to resurface.

“Tsk”, I could only click my tongue silently as I remembered the horrific sight that I had been unfortunate to witness. I became lost in a whirlpool of thoughts and memories about the future as I trudged ahead, carefully avoiding anyone who seemed problematic and squeezed through gaps in large crowds of people and jumped through uneven terrain.

After about an hour or so, I’d finally reached my destination. I stood in front of a large metallic gate that seemed to loom over me due to my somewhat short stature. Behind it stood a small structure, that seemed like it could only support 2-3 levels, with glass fragments sprinkled around it due to the shattering of its windows to be replaced by wooded boards that nailed it shut and prevented anyone from coming in… Or possibly even coming out.

I took a deep breath, collecting myself as I threw my contemplative thoughts to the back of my mind in order to ready myself for the trial ahead. This would be my first step towards changing the future that has passed. Despite knowing the gravity of my actions and the effects a failure on my part would cause, I didn’t feel nervous at all.

A small smile began tugging at my lips. My hands began trembling out of anticipation.

It seemed that rather than anxiety for what I must do, I felt excitement towards what I can accomplish. But I shouldn’t be hasty, I must be calm and meticulous with the actions I take. I would do things one step at a time so;

First things First.