His fingers trembled when he felt several pairs of eyes boring holes into the back of his head. Gyan gulped as beads of sweat gathered on his forehead. The only reason why he came to his school so early, despite the hate he had for it, was because he wanted to avoid them.

He had succeeded at avoiding them since the week started, but every day for the thief and one day for the owner — they had caught on.

Why does it have to be on my birthday?

He slammed his locker shut, feigning anger. The video he watched on 'Gi-Tube' said bullies only bullied others because they're insecure about themselves, and once you stood up to them, your freedom would be released into your hands. "Can we not do this today?" He asked, slowly turning to the three musketeers, with eyes full of disdain.

The three musketeers consisted of Zarlya, Tjnid, and Chaos, the best mages at their school, Ethepia High. Although it wasn't official, the three were undoubtedly among the top ten teenage mages in all the country.

They were straight-A students as well, and the teachers adored them, which was why they got away with all of their misdeeds. Their parents were also among the most powerful mages, and held high positions in the country, making even the principal of the school cower at their feet.

It wasn't surprising since the principal was human. Because of the law, the first mage had set, humans were always given special treatment and took the head position in almost everything, but it was pointless. In a world where sixty percent of the population were mages, with the rest being humans or half-breeds, such a law was useless.

Although humans were made head of things, they became the lackeys of mages. It was unfortunate, but that was how it was and would continue to be. Whoever tried to stop it would most likely upset the balance and cause something horrible.

The three troublemakers ran the school and despite all the things they could do with their time, they decided to use it to bully him, a human, and sully their names. It baffled him.

Zarlya burst into laughter. Her soft, and fruity voice reminded him of the reason he liked her. That was before he discovered how terrible a person she was. "Look who's acting all tough," She wiped the tears in her eyes, before locking arms with Tjnid, her boyfriend, and giving him a condescending look. "Who do you think you're talking to?"

Gyan felt fear grip his heart and sweat began trickling down his face. He glanced at Tjnid and Chaos who were sharing a look he couldn't decipher. They were distracted.

Pushing past them, he hurried down the hallway, walking fast enough to create distance between them, and slow enough to make them believe they didn't make him want to pee his pants.

"Come on, Gyan. Do you think we didn't notice you were avoiding us?" Gyan hesitated in his steps but continued. They had used that trick too many times. "We just want to wish you a happy birthday."

Yeah, right. And gift me what? Swollen eyes, and internal bruises as a birthday gift.

He turned a corner and came face to face with Tjnid, who had a pissed look on his face. Gyan wanted the ground to open up and swallow him at that moment. He kept forgetting he was human, and they were mages. Running was pointless, especially when he was Tjnid, who had teleportation powers.

Tjnid placed his hands on Gyan's shoulder, and no matter how much Gyan tried to break out of his tight grip, it was pointless. "We want to celebrate your birthday with you," He said, before grabbing his hand and dragging him along with him. Gyan was glad no one was around to see him being dragged around like a rag doll.

Tjnid kicked open the door to his classroom and flung him to the ground. "Can we skip today's beating?" Gyan pleaded as he stood up, rubbing his bruised arm. He caught a bright light from his side-eye and turned to see Chaos and Zarlya sitting at a table with a lit birthday cake in front of them.

They had on ridiculous birthday hats, and if he wasn't about to be beaten up, he would have burst into laughter. "The hat looks good on you," Gyan commented, giving them a thumbs up and biting down on his lips to stop himself from laughing.

"You're about to be beaten and you still have the nerve to be sarcastic," Zarlya scoffed. "The nerve of this imbecile!" She yelled, tearing the hat from her head before stomping on it repeatedly.

Yup! She needs to take anger management classes.

Gyan winced, feeling a sudden headache coming up. "Hey! I only complimented you," His voice quivered. He got on his knees and bowed his head to Zarlya, "Please, I'm sorry."

She stared at him for a while, "Apology not accepted." She said, slowly clenching her fists.

Gyan let out an agonizing scream as he fell to the ground and curled up in a ball, holding his head in his hand as he rolled from side to side. Zarlya was burning his mind. It wasn't engulfed in fire, since that would kill him, but she had set her internal hand on fire and was using it to compress his mind.

He felt like he was on fire and at the same time, felt he was between two walls closing in. It was why she was feared so much. "I'm sorry," He cried out, with tears rolling down his eyes. He had only heard of it before but had never experienced it.

"That's enough Zarlya," Chaos said, but she didn't listen. She clenched her fists even harder, staring at the screaming Gyan with pure, glaring hatred. Chaos felt chills run down his spine at the hatred she was emanating.

"Hey," Tjnid stepped in when he saw she wasn't going to back down. He couldn't blame her when he knew all that she had gone through, but he couldn't let her go overboard either. He held her face in his hands and stared into her eyes lovingly, "It's fine, okay?"

Her eyes softened and she hurriedly unclenched her fists, like she hadn't been aware of what she had done. She glanced at Gyan who was drenched in his sweat and was breathing heavily on the floor. She placed her hand against her lips to stifle a scream when she saw blood rushing down his head. "He…" She trembled, pointing at Gyan who had stopped moving.

"He's not dead… just damaged," Chaos assured her, before glancing at Tjnid who was glaring at him.

"I told you not to let her come along," He spat in anger.

Chaos raised his hands in surrender. "We both know she would have come anyway, or worse still, attacked him elsewhere and perhaps, killed him."

Tjnid glanced at Gyan and then, Chaos, "Take care of the mess," He carried Zarlya, who was still trembling and sobbing in his arms and made his way out of the classroom.

Chaos picked up the cake. "I really wanted to throw this in his face," He sighed dejectedly, before dumping it in the trash can and squatting before Gyan. "I didn't even get to have any fun."

He sighed and placed his hand over his head.

*

"Dude!" Gyan yelled as his best friend pressed her hand to his bandaged head, making it hurt even worse than it already did.

She quickly withdrew her hands from his head. "Oops!" She stared at his bandaged head for a while, a look of pity in her eyes. "On the bright side, you don't have a black eye or bruises on your body today. You look really handsome," She gave him a thumbs up.

He shot her a death glare as he took a bite of his burger, furiously chewing it. "Very funny, Jane."

"What exactly did she do?" Jane questioned, settling down properly on the bleachers.

He thought for a while before answering, "It's that mind stuff she did when the school was attacked by that crazy human," he said, through a mouthful of burger, making her scrunch her face in disgust. "All I know is—"

"Stop talking when you have food in your mouth. It's a bad habit," She scolded him.

He rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry, mum."

"And why do you say 'human' like you aren't one of us?" She raised a brow as she picked up a French fry.

"Because I'm not," he said through gritted teeth, holding his burger so tight that the meat and veggies slid out and fell to his plate.

A frown settled on her face, "Why exactly do you want to be a mage when you've seen and experienced, first-hand, how horrible they truly are?" She asked, her tone filled with hurt, "Is being a human really that bad?"

He turned to her, realizing he had acted insensitively… again. "I'm sorry," He sighed, "But I can't be human, okay? I'm not human, and I sure as hell won't accept an identity that isn't mine. I'm a mage."

Jane picked up a French fry and broke it in two. She did the same for a couple more French fries, while Gyan just watched with a worried look on his face, feeling pity for the fries.

"You're mad at me. Why take it out on food? That's just evil," He finally said.

She turned to him with a look that shut him up. "You're right," She flicked his bandaged head and earned a glare from him.

"Why are you treating me this way, on my birthday!?" He questioned, lowering his voice when he saw they were attracting unwanted stares.

"You might be eighteen, but you still have the mind of a child. You need to burst this delusional bubble you're stuck in and face reality."

If there was one thing Gyan loved about his best friend, it was how honest she was. She never sugar-coated anything, and told you exactly how she felt, and he really liked that about her, except when it came to the topic of his race. She was hellbent on him being a human, but he knew he wasn't.

"How many times do you want me to tell you that—"

Jane rolled her eyes. She had expected he would bring it up. "You're special? That you can feel there's a hidden power inside you and once it blossoms, you'll be the greatest mage ever, just like your parents?" His face fell at the mention of his parents and he looked away.

She realized what she had said. "I didn't mean to bring up your parents, but really Gyan, you need to stop deceiving yourself."

Gyan's late parents were the best mages in the world, with his mother being the best, and his father following as the second best. Both had immense powers and none could rival them.

There had been huge expectations when Gyan's mother was pregnant with him, and everyone was ready to receive their child who'd carry on their legacy, and lead both humans and mages to a better future. Before Gyan was born, his father died in a battle, and his mother fell seriously ill and died as soon as she delivered him.

As if that weren't enough, Gyan didn't have an energy core, the one thing a mage needed to practice magic. He was birthed by a prodigy but turned out normal and because of that was hated by many. Jane didn't understand why. It wasn't his fault that he was human.

Jane glanced at him as he angrily munched on his burger. She wasn't certain if he wanted to become a mage because he truly desired it, or because that was the expectation everyone had held for him.

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He was so certain that he was carrying some hidden power but all the tests they had taken had proved otherwise, and yet he refused to accept the truth.

"Gyan," She took a deep breath, "You'll only get yourself hurt if you keep holding on to these… delusions."

"Stop calling them delusions," he said through gritted teeth, before scoffing. "Why won't you believe me? You're supposed to be my best friend."

"Which is why I'm telling you the truth you've chosen to deny," she said calmly.

He opened his mouth to talk but kept quiet, and they both ate in silence. "I'll be a mage, just as great as my parents were. I'll show those bullies and everyone who looked down on me that I'm something. I can be something."

She sighed and shook her head. It was pointless. He just wouldn't listen to her. She had nothing against mages, but she hated the ones at her school. They were the devil in human form and took advantage of the fact that they had powers to get what they want. Not to mention, they even treated their own people like garbage.

She recalled when she had seen Gyan in the morning. She had arrived at school and went to see Gyan in his class only to see a crowd of mages gathered around Gyan. None of them tried to help him. No! She could understand they wouldn't since the three musketeers had instructed all mages to never let out a helping hand to him, but she couldn't believe they hadn't even tried to call a teacher.

If they had called a human teacher, they would have been safe since humans and mages barely interacted at the school, so the instance of the teacher snitching on them would be non-existent. She had been so pissed and wanted to rip them into shreds for being so inhumane, but there was nothing she could do.

If she had tried anything, she'd have turned out worse than Gyan did. It was truly frustrating. "Hey!" He turned to her with an annoyed look, "I'm sorry, okay?"

He squinted his eyes at her, "The top of your ears are red. You're lying."

She shrugged. "So, what if I am? I still apologized, didn't I?"

He nodded, a smile on his face. He couldn't stay mad at her for too long. "Bro!" His other best friend, Andre, yelled and slapped the back of his head, making him yell in pain.

"You saw a freaking bandage around my head and you still hit me!" He said, but Andre just shrugged and sat to his left on the bleacher. "What in the world is your problem, dude?"

Andre stared at his half-eaten messy burger with delight. "That, right there-" He pointed at the burger, "-is my problem."

Before Gyan could warn him against stealing his food like he always did, he picked up the burger and stuffed everything in his mouth. "This… is… so… amazing," Andre said, holding onto the table as he chewed the burger with difficulty.

"Whatever am I going to do with you both?" She asked them. Andre shrugged, while Gyan stared at him with a murderous look.

"Stop staring at me like that, will ya'? You weren't going to eat that," he said, before looking around and lowering his voice. "Have you guys heard?"

Gyan and Jane shared a confused but curious glance, before turning to him. “Heard what?" They chorused.

Andre looked left and right again. "Zarlya is the daughter of the head mage, and not one of the political mages," he answered in a low voice.

The political mages, like the name implied, were mages who were involved in politics and were the second most important mages in the country. Although they were the second most important, they were nowhere close to the head mage, Bahbik. He was the one who had taken the position of number one after Gyan’s mother passed away and had grown even more powerful than her.

Gyan's eyes widened in shock. No wonder no one went against them. The three troublemakers really were powerful.

Does that mean Zarlya knows? Could that be why she hates me so much?

The head mage was the one taking care of him, although he wasn't sure why that was. He assumed it was because he had been friends with his mother… at least, to some extent.

Everyone had abandoned him when he was born, and he didn't even know any of his extended family members.

His face paled as he recalled the days when he was still a four-year-old child. He'd sleep on the street and eat leftovers from trash cans. He couldn't recall how he had survived till that time, but he knew no one wanted him, except the head mage.

He said he had been searching for him and had given him a place to call home. He had also placed him on a scholarship to the best schools, and that was the only reason why he hadn't quit school and opened a roadside food stall, although he was sure no one would want to patronize.

He clenched his fists. Everyone hated him and saw him as a disgrace to his parents and all the mages. Only the headmaster had lent him a helping hand. He was also the one who told him he was special and had something no one had.

He was going to prove to everyone who turned a blind eye to him when he needed help the most, the bullies who made his life a living hell, and live up to the expectations of the only one who believed in him and cared for him.

He was going to become a mage.

"Earth to Gyan!" Jane snapped her fingers in front of Gyan's face and he snapped out of his trance.

"Huh?" he asked stupidly.

"Were you spacing out again?" Andre asked.

"No, I wasn't. I was studying the air," He rolled his eyes.

"That's so lame," Andre gave him a thumbs down.

Gyan rolled his eyes. "Where did you hear the rumor about Zarlya's relationship with the head mage?"

Andre chuckled and ran his hands through his hair, trying to act cool. "A magician never reveals his secret."

"That doesn't even make any sense," Jane stated with a snort.

Andre shrugged and changed the subject. "How's your head doing, Bro?" He asked as he opened his backpack and brought out some papers.

"What's that?" Jane asked when she saw the saddened look on Andre's face.

Andre pushed the paper to Gyan, and Jane immediately leaned over to read the content. "The principal gave it to me to give to you, since he didn't want any… problems," Andre said as Gyan read through the paper.

Jane shook her head distastefully as she leaned away from him. "I know what I want to say, but I won't say it."

"Don't even bother. I'm pretty sure you're going to make me feel even worse," Gyan folded the paper and tucked it in his bag. His grades were dropping and the principal had issued him a letter of warning so he could buckle up. "Today's supposed to be my freaking birthday!" He groaned and gently held his head in his hands.

He had nearly lost his life, had his dreams talked down by his best friend, gotten hit in the head by his other best friend and had received a letter of warning from the principal. He had been looking forward to his eighteenth birthday, since it was supposed to be special.

All the books he had read usually had the hero develop their powers at the age of eighteen. If they already had powers before then, they gained even more powers at that age. There was seemingly something unique about that age, save the fact that it was the crossroad to adulthood.

He was certain he would gain powers when he turned eighteen. He was certain things would change at that age but instead of that happening,  it seemed he had gained the power of bad luck.

Another thing, his friends hadn't even wished him a Happy Birthday.

Gyan raised his head to see his friends standing in front of him. They had their hands hidden behind their back and a mischievous grin played on both their faces.. "I'm not in the mood for any games," He said in a dry tone.

"What about cake?" Jane asked, before retrieving a cake from behind her.

"Happy birthday!" She and Andre yelled, while Gyan just stared at them in shock.

"Did you think we had forgotten?" Jane clicked her tongue in disappointment.

Andre sighed dejectedly. "Are we really such terrible friends?" He brought out a handkerchief and dramatically blew his nose, making Jane step away from him, keeping the cake out of his snort range.

The shocked expression on Gyan's face slowly changed to that of gratitude. "Really, you guys are-" He stared at the sky, blinking back the tears that were threatening to fall. He couldn't let their affection get to him. If he cried, he wouldn't hear the end of it.

"You're such a cry baby." Andre and Jane laughed as Andre recorded Gyan's struggle to hold his tears in.

"I hate you two," he said, the tears flowing freely down his face.

"The feeling is mutual," Andre said, before blowing him a kiss.

"Don't ever do that again," Gyan told him.

"Enough, you two," Jane placed the cake on the bleacher before retrieving a knife from her bag. She stared at the cake hungrily, "Time to eat."

"Hey! You didn't sing me the birthday song!"

Jane groaned and stabbed the cake at the center. "Fine."

Andre clicked the record button. "Happy birthday…"

*

"You had better read," Jane scolded Gyan as they made their way out of school.

Gyan nodded tiredly. "I'll do that once this heals," He pointed to his head.

Jane stabbed him in the chest. "I could make you feel much worse without magic powers if you're kicked out of this school," She threatened.

He faked a shudder. "I'm so scared," He chuckled, before throwing his right arm around her neck and his left arm around the neck of Andre, who was scrolling through his phone. Gyan couldn't understand how he was always on his phone and still came out with amazing grades.

"You guys are the best," He said, hugging them to his side. "I couldn't have asked for better friends, and I promise I won't ditch you when I become a mage."

Jane rolled her eyes. It was better if she kept mute.

"Yeah, yeah. We know we're amazing," Andre boasted with a huge smile. "You don't need to tell us."

"Do you have to be so cocky?" Gyan asked, pressing their heads closer to him.

"Eww! Do you wash your armpits?" Jane questioned, pulling out of his embrace, and Andre followed suit.

He chuckled nervously, "That's not funny. You're joking, right?"

She didn't say anything and continued walking. He looked around to make sure no one was watching and sniffed his armpit.

"Caught in the act!"

Gyan looked up to see Andre taking a video of him and Jane was next to him, laughing at his horrified face.

"Hey! That's not funny," Gyan snapped as he tried to snatch the phone from Andre, but he was already racing to the school gate.

"Happy birthday," Jane chuckled, before taking off after Andre.

He clicked his tongue in annoyance. "They really are the worst," He sighed, a smile on his face as he made his way out of the school.

Gyan saw his three tormentors walking in his direction from his peripheral and continued walking. He already had a battered brain and could really die if they beat him up again. He quickened his steps and was about to reach the gate when he felt a hand on his shoulder. His head fell. His day had started off badly, but the second half of it was going fine. Why wouldn't they just let him be?

Perhaps this is for the best. Some heroes only get their powers at the point of death.

He turned to see Chaos and realized how stupid his thought had been. If they wanted to kill him, they wouldn't be like the idiotic villains who didn't land the finishing blow because they assumed the hero was dead, they'd deliver extra blows to make sure he was dead, and possibly cremate him so he couldn't resurrect. That was how thorough they were.

"I can't do this," Zarlya said and began turning away, but Tjnid held her back and gave her a look that Gyan couldn't understand. She probably understood it because she sighed and began making her way towards him.

She stopped in front of him and Chaos stepped backwards, "How's your head?" She asked. He wasn't sure if she was trying to be caring because the bitterness in her tone said otherwise.

It was better when he knew what to expect from them, but the sudden change in tactic wasn't something he was prepared for. He glanced at the gate and then at Zarlya who was glaring at him and made a dash for the gate.

"What in the –!" Gyan cursed, falling to his bum as a dark shadow suddenly fell upon the school. The gate that had been directly in front of him was no longer there. He looked around to see students running around and even teachers that hadn't left were running out of the school, their confused expression turning to a horrified one. Everyone was panicking and he wasn't an exception.

The dark energy the field was emanating was like nothing he had seen or felt before. Could it be the work of his three tormentors? Gyan let out a frustrated groan and stood up, dusting his backside before marching over to them.

"What exactly do you want!" He yelled. "It's not like I crossed you before so why pick on me? You're even going to the extent of using a forcefield."

Chaos stared at him like he was crazy and scoffed. "This is not the time to teach you manners," He walked towards Tjnid who was making his way towards the forcefield.

Zarlya walked towards them, stopping when she got to Gyan's side. "We've never dragged anyone into our business with you. Why would we start now and pull a stunt of such a large scale? And besides, dark energy? Seriously," She stared at him from his head to his toes. "I don't know why he gave such an idiot a scholarship." She walked away.

She knows. Is that why she hates me?

He hit his head for being stupid and instantly regretted it. She was right. He was a total idiot for considering it could be their handiwork. Dark magic was a forbidden art and those who were caught practicing it would have their powers stripped away and if they somehow managed to survive it, they'd be exiled.

Gyan didn't have time to waste. The forcefield was releasing dark energy and although he was certain he was a mage, he would suffer terribly if he took in too much of it. Only mages could handle something like that. He made his way towards where the students and teachers had gathered around the three troublemakers. The once chaotic school had become calm and peaceful due to the presence of the three, he couldn't help but be envious and moved closer to where they were.

"I believe I've seen something like this in an history book," Tjnid said, peering closely at the forcefield. His face suddenly paled and he fell to his bum before moving away from the forcefield. Everyone was starting to panic.

Zarlya knelt by his side. "What is it?" She asked, worry etched on her face.

"People," he said and inhaled deeply before standing up. He exhaled. "Sorry about that, I was just startled."

"What did you see?" Chaos asked as he stared at the dark energy.

"People. There are people inside that thing," His voice quivered and he swallowed. "It's the Dea'ku field. A forcefield created by one who practices both black magic and blood magic."

"No way," Zarlya began shaking, but Tjnid held her still to prevent others from panicking. He was well aware of the faith they placed in them, and even if they couldn't break it, they'd have to pretend all was well and hope the authorized mages reached them on time.

"Hiyaa!"

Tjnid turned his head in the direction of the noise and his face fell when he saw Gyan throwing a punch at the forcefield. He really was courting death.

Gyan's hands went through the forcefield, and a smile settled on his face. If the three bullies weren't going to do anything to save them, he would do it himself. His hand was halfway through the forcefield when it hardened. It was like jelly before but suddenly, it felt like stone. Gyan tried to pull his hand out but it didn't budge.

"Don't move, you'll only make things worse," Tjnid said as a ball of multicolored flame formed on his fingertips.

"So you can finish me off and blame it on the forcefield? I'll pass," Gyan scoffed, struggling to pull even harder. He froze when he felt something pierce his arm, and then another. He tried pulling his hand out but it only seemed to make the pain worse. "What is in this forcefield!" He yelled, falling to his knees as he felt his life energy being sucked out of him.

"I told you to stay put," Tjnid frowned. He was about to dispel the dark energy consuming him with his ball of flames when the field released Gyan's hand and began flickering.

"Everyone, step back!" Tjnid yelled, dragging an unconscious Gyan with him. A loud explosion resounded through the air as the force field blew up.

"What just happened?" Zarlya coughed, struggling to stand on her feet. The explosion had hit her hard but the worst part of it all was that her friends, enemy, and half of the mages were gone.

"Tjani!"