“Hi, I am the one known as the traveler, though I’ve mostly been called Rav or Vel. You can call me whatever you want. I travel through different worlds. It’s rather surprising how many worlds that people just don’t know about.” The traveler laughed.

It all began when Vel, at the time called Nora, was 12 years old. She originally hailed from a world of magic where everyone’s specialty magic would reveal itself at the age of twelve. Relatives typically culled people without magic in order to prevent shame. It is done as either a public or private execution; it depends on the family. Due to this twisted practice the population’s magical capabilities have excelled.

Nora’s family is very well-known for their heretical history of the very powerful “space manipulation” magic. Nora was the oldest of her siblings, so she had the important duty of leading her family after her parents stepped down. The night before her twelfth birthday, her younger brother, at the age of 9 years old, manifested spatial manipulation magic. A record-breaking age for unique magic to manifest in the entire history of the world. Here, everyone, including the leaders of this society, rose to power because of their magical power. It was a magic-based meritocracy. Every one of them had their magic manifest at 12 years old. The most powerful of them, the king, had his power manifest 1 hour before his 12th birthday. Her brother was destined to be a very powerful person in history. Provided he lives up to his potential and trains hard.

The parents homeschool their children if they were from a prominent family till their unique magic manifests. This makes it easier for failures to disappear, as if they never existed in the first place. On Nora’s twelfth birthday, she attempted to open a tear in space to lead to her room. She had studied her entire life for this. However, it didn’t work after many attempts. She wasn’t immediately tossed out because she had shown promise in her studies, so maybe she was just nervous from all the pressure. They sent her to her room to sleep on it, and they would conduct another test later in the day, around noon.

Nora went to sleep stressed that night. She forcefully made herself fall asleep, as she could sense someone monitoring her. Which she believed to likely be the one who would kill her should she not perform tomorrow. Waking up the next morning after silently eating, she headed into the family library to figure out if she was somehow doing something, anything, wrong. From old journals of relatives to an aptly named spatial magic for dummies. Trying everything she can, as her very life, depends on whether she could use spatial magic.

“I can feel my magical energy, but I can’t do the spatial magic, which means it doesn’t matter if I can feel it or not. No, no, no, what do I do? If I can’t tear a hole in space? They’ll dispose of me.” She panicked. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. The clock in the library repeated as she struggled, trying to figure out why she wasn’t able to. Her breathing had become unstable and her heart raced as she sat at the desk.

I need a breather. She thinks as she heads out of the library and into the garden and quickly climbs a tree to relax. As she sat on the tree she heard her mother praising her brother on his magical abilities. Nora looked over to the sky and realized the sun was setting. “There was so much I wanted to do in this life.” She muttered as tears fell down her cheeks. After returning inside, her family began eating dinner and no words could accurately describe the tension in the room.

“So, have you figured out how to open a hole in space yet?” Her mother inquired. “Your younger brother already has it almost mastered.” Her mother muttered. “Or do you simply not have the capability?” Her mother sweetly said.

“Sorry, no I have not, but I feel that I do have some magic,” she replied.

“Well, having magic, but not being able to use spatial magic, isn’t fitting for the eldest of this great family.” Her mother coldly stated. Her words pierced right through Nora. Nora stayed silent because she had nothing she could use to counter that. She had an understanding of how society worked, thanks to her numerous lessons.

Mother is right, not being able to use the family’s magic as the eldest of one of the most important families would stain the family legacy. If people become aware of my existence. I’ve had a suspicion that despite being the eldest, I don’t think I’m the first-born child. No one has ever referred to me as such, and there are children’s toys that seem far older than me but not old enough to belong to one of my parents. Plus, there are several rooms they keep us from entering, so I know they are hiding something, at the very least. One day while walking around the halls, my father entered one of the restricted rooms and I heard what he stepped on sounded like a baby toy. Then he said something along the lines of how he forgot to get rid of it and didn’t destroy every trace of something. By the time he opened the door, I had already left wondering what was in that room. My fears of them doing something to the children. The ones who were not worthy of upholding the family’s name. I practically confirmed it because I felt like someone was watching me from somewhere the previous night.

After they finished eating, Nora’s younger brother was playing around with his portals by making his toy fall through loops of portals till their parents stopped him so he could watch Nora. Nora took deep, heavy breaths.

Her mother cheerfully said, “You can do it. It’s okay if you are a late bloomer.” However, her eyes told a different story. They were cold and vigilant and ready to abandon Nora if she wasn’t truly special. Then she looked at her son and became all cheerful. Nora pictured opening a portal to the other side of the dining room. After straining her mind, it finally opened and her mother’s cold eyes became replaced with relief. Then she opened her eyes and if looks could kill, her parent’s eyes would have killed her twice over.

“Try again, sweetie. This time, be serious.” Her mother said flatly. Her cheery facade had vanished.

Alright, let’s try this again. Nora closed her eyes and visualized a portal to her bedroom. A couple of moments of silence and nothing, pass and nothing happens.

“Enough! You tried your best, but in the end, you are a failure like those before you. Your brother, on the other hand, is truly a prodigy. Go to your room!” yelled the mother, revealing her true thoughts.

I have to escape. It’s no longer safe here. She begins walking away, and as soon as Vel is out of sight of her younger brother. A knife flies toward her, but she dodges out of the way. Even though she may not have been a magic prodigy like her brother. She was gifted with great instincts and physical attributes. “So it was you that had been watching me.” My father’s right-hand man butler, huh. It was exactly who I expected to have been observing me. On the outside, he appears to be a normal old butler with short gray hair and a tailor-made suit. However, they trained him to have many skills so that he could be useful to the family. It was another one of this family’s secrets.

“Sorry, young one, but failures must be cast aside. So come quietly. That knife was your only warning.” The old butler spoke in a polite tone.

“You helped raise me so you should know despite not being a magic prodigy, I am gifted in a different regard.” “Which is why you gave me the option to come quietly, because you knew I would cause a fuss if I resisted. However, unfortunately for you, I don’t plan on dying just yet,” Nora retorted as she ran down the hall. The hall was adorned with family portraits and expensive pieces of furniture.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Young lady, please don’t make this any harder than it needs to be.” He threw some more knives, but these change direction, which she predicts by grabbing a metal tray and blocking them.

“I already know that trick.” Nora smugly smiled. She was aware of a trick to know which knives would change direction.

“If you already know, then why don’t you come and try to defeat me?” The old butler said, attempting to goad her into direct combat.

“Unfortunately for me, despite being physically gifted. I am smart enough to know that I don’t stand a chance against you in close-ranged combat. From this distance, at least you are limited only to long-range attacks.” Nora replied, and continued to run down the halls searching for an escape.

“Tsk, you always were a clever one. Which is why it’s so unfortunate you couldn’t manifest the family’s specialty magic.” The butler sighed.

“Alright, here I go.” She leapt out of the window and onto a balcony. Luckily, I kept my outside shoes on so I could move relatively freely. She thought as she leaped around, avoiding a barrage of knives from her butler. She makes it down the hill and into the forest. Normally, entering the forest is great because of the coverage it provides. However, since it is my butler who is trained in guerilla warfare, it’s still terrible for me. But being out in the open is even worse, as it provides no cover, so I don’t have a choice. She complained as she continued running through the forest.

Where can I even go, though? My family owns a ton of land, and I’ve never been to the outside world? The knives have stopped; this can’t be good. She thinks as a knife appears in front of her from a portal and she dodges it, but it grazes her right leg.

“Come on, this is unfair. You two together can manifest portals and launch knives from them.” She complained as she attempted to avoid the knives. A lot of portals appeared, and a lot of knives followed. She attempts to dodge them all, but a lot of them pierce her chest. She vomits blood. “So, this is the family magic, huh.” “I wish I had been chosen.” She cursed her inability to use the family magic. “I wonder whose portals these are? Is it my mother or father or hell maybe my brother?” “I can’t believe whoever you are, that you would be so ready to kill your own family.” She yelled. “Fuck! I don’t want to die! I didn’t study magic and train my body, only to be tossed away like garbage. I have magical energy, but not the family magic. Why are the gods so cruel? I was set up to do so much, only to have it all snatched away because I was born into such a twisted family. Or maybe this is how all families are. Not that I would know, though.” She forced a laugh. “If that’s the case, then this is one screwed up world. Whoever wrote my fate to have everything, yet have it all taken away along with the humiliation of my younger brother being a prodigy on my special day.” She complained while trying to dodge the knives despite her injuries. “FUCK YOU! BECAUSE I WILL LIVE!” she roared. Portals with knives coming out of them surrounded her. “I need an out. Anywhere is good. I don’t care. I want to live!” she panics as a strange portal opens up; unlike anything she has ever seen. She dives in and it closes and her adrenaline subsides and she falls to her knees, crying, as the pain from all the knives begins to set in.

“Sorry sir, I have lost track of the child.” The butler apologizes.

“What do you mean, you lost them? Your tracking magic should be able to find them, even if they are only a corpse.” Her father yells as he slams his fist on a table.

“Let me show you, sir.” He manifests a map and puts a piece of Nora’s hair on it.

“Sir, as you know, it usually would manifest a dot that would give the approximate location where the target is, but it isn’t showing up at all.” The butler explains, the map showing nothing despite the hair being absorbed.

“Did they leave this world somehow? There is no precedence for this. The existence of other dimensions is still only a theory.” The father wonders aloud. “We knew they had magic, but because it did not align with what we knew. It was something even greater than anything we have ever had in this family. We never let them experiment, only trying to get them to create a portal in this world, which might not be possible if they can only make portals that cross dimensions.” The father scratched his head. “Do you think they will return?” He asked his butler.

“Sir, it is unlikely they will return as they received heavy wounds from our combination attack. Even if they somehow survive, likely, they wouldn’t feel welcomed here. If they could return in the first place.”

“Hmm-errm… HA!” Nora woke up suddenly. “That’s right. I went through a portal and somehow ended up here. Well, not here, specifically. Where is here anyway? And my wounds are all patched up. It seems like I’m in some sort of cottage.” Nora had a lot of questions.

I’m on a bed. The interior of this room doesn’t seem very modern. She couldn’t move, so she just looked around the room from the bed. There is a grandfather clock and a rug. It’s a very homey room. It doesn’t have the suffocating air of expectation that my home had. “Is this what freedom is?” Nora wondered. After a while, a woman enters the room, wearing a purple-themed witch attire with long purple hair. She was very beautiful and youthful in appearance.

“I am Suzieen, the great witch of the world of Valentis. What business does a human child have with me?” The witch spoke with volume.

“…” Nora stared blankly at Suzieen, then went back down into the bed.

“Come on, really? No reaction. I was hoping to get something. Even a disapproving look would have been fine.” The witch sighed. Her grand entrance had been completely shut down with no effort. “Ahem, so anyway I am Suzieen, the great witch of Valentis. At least that’s what all the people in this world call me. Though you didn’t react to my name, I would assume that you would at least have heard of me from stories if you are from this world. Usually to scare children into behaving. Anyway, what’s your name, child?”

“So the name of this world is Valentis, huh? My parents told me to never give my name to strangers, so call me Traveler,” Nora said.

“Traveler, huh? That’s too stuffy for someone as cute as you. I’ll call you Vel. It’s a cute name for someone as adorable as you.” “Well, nice to meet you Vel. Say, where did you come from, given how you didn’t know my name nor the name Valentis?”

“I’m from the world called Magiem. At least that’s what it was called in the books used to read,” Vel replied.

“Magiem! Do you mean the world of magic, the mage’s paradise? That Magiem?” She interrupted, starry-eyed.

“Uh yeah, I guess. However, I don’t know too much about the world other than books because I was from a prominent family that uses spatial magic. However, I was unable to use it, so I was deemed a failure.” “Although I got here through a portal which I assumed I made, which means I do have spatial magic, just not the traditional form. Since I can’t make portals through space unless the destination is in another dimension. Which I didn’t know till I escaped here. While escaping my home, which I had never left, I was attacked by our butler and later combined with one of my relative’s portals, which is why I had so many knives in me.”

Sniff. Sniff. “Oh, you poor child, do you need a drink? Oh wait, you can’t drink yet. I’ll just drink for you.” Suzieen cried, and she pulled a bottle of alcohol from out of nowhere and took a swig of it.

“I mean, I’m safe now. I think so. It should be fine. Why are you crying so much?” Suzieen’s actions shocked Vel.

“You are what? 13?” Suzieen asked, tears still running down her face. She continued to drink from her bottle every few seconds.

“12,” Vel replied.

“Even worse! You have been living in a strict household with so many expectations and when you couldn’t meet them, they decided to just kill you and deem you as a failure. Only a day after your birthday, too. Parents should not be so quick to give up their children. I don’t care about what society says. You don’t need to stay acting tough; you are free from all those dreaded expectations here.” She finished her bottle of alcohol and it disappeared. “It is okay to cry. Come here,” she whispered, as she offered a hug. Which Vel accepts. Her emotions overload and she can’t help but cry after receiving Suzieen’s warm embrace.