The school ground stood desolate, the silence broken only by the muffled sounds of a one-sided struggle. Six boys stood in a tight circle, looming over a single figure collapsed on the dirt.
The boy on the ground was Rudra Dev. His clothes were torn, and his skin was a map of rising bruises. Despite the severity of the beating, Rudra remained eerily silent, refusing to give his attackers the satisfaction of a cry for help.
One of the six sneered down at him. "You don't know your place, Rudra. You can't even wield mana." He turned to the others with a cruel grin. "Beat him again."
As the six boys started to surrounded him, Rudra lay on the dirt, his mind drifting to the harsh reality of their world. This was a world defined by mana, a power almost everyone could wield. Yet, he was among the rare few who could not.
In their orphanage, there were nineteen other children just like him labeled as the "abandoned of the world" simply because they lacked the ability to channel mana.
As he lamented his powerless condition, a sharp command cut through his thoughts: "STOP!"
Rudra looked up through swollen eyes. Despite his bruised face, he recognized the figure approaching. It was Aarav, one of his few true friends. Rudra felt a surge of relief; Aarav was a Level 8 Fighter, a genius who took his training with a deadly seriousness. To the six boys standing over him, Aarav was a force they simply couldn't match.
The command cut through the air. The six boys froze instantly. Turning toward the source of the voice, they saw Aarav approaching. As a Level 8 Fighter, Aarav possessed a reputation that preceded him; seeing the fury in his eyes, the group didn't wait for a confrontation. They scattered and ran before he could reach them.
Aarav's first instinct was to give chase, but one look at Rudra's battered state stopped him in his tracks. He knelt, carefully hoisted his friend onto his back, and began a desperate sprint toward the nearby Ashfall Hospital.
At Ashfall Hospital
Aarav burst through the doors and immediately sought out a familiar face: Aunty Naina. A long-time nurse at the hospital, Naina had raised both boys since they were infants abandoned at the orphanage. She was one of the few people in the world who truly cared for them.
"How did he get this injured?" Naina gasped, her eyes taking in Rudra's limp form.
Before Aarav could offer an explanation, she cut him off. "Take him to the nearest room. Now. I will bandage him , you wait outside."
As the door closed, Aarav slumped against the hallway wall. He was drowning in frustration. He had trained relentlessly to become powerful, yet he felt like a failure. When his best friend needed him most, he hadn't been there to prevent the pain.
As Aunty Naina stepped out of the room, Aarav immediately stood up. "How is Rudra's condition?"
Naina wiped her hands on her apron and gave a small, reassuring nod. "He is stable now. Given his unique constitution, he will be fully healed no later than tomorrow."
Aarav let out a long sigh of relief, the tension finally leaving his shoulders. Seeing guilt etched into Aarav's face, she spoke softly. "Aarav, the world doesn't revolve around you. You cannot be everywhere at all times. Do not lament the past; instead, be prepared. Train so that this never happens again." After few moments Naina's expression turned serious. "Aarav, how did this happen? He shouldn't have been injured this severely."
"I don't know exactly why they targeted him," Aarav replied, his voice tight. "I was in the training yard until it started getting late. When I went back to the room and realized he wasn't there, I asked Dhruv. He told me he saw Rudra head toward the school grounds. I followed that direction and found him surrounded. Six of them were beating him. I shouted and ran toward them, but they fled before I could reach them. His condition looked so grim I didn't wait, I just put him on my back and ran straight here."
Naina looked down, her voice a soft murmur. "I see."
Seeing her distant expression and recalling her claim that Rudra would be healed by the next day, Aarav pressed further. "Aunty Naina, do you know why Rudra is so weak despite healing so fast? With injuries like those, even I would need a week to recover, yet he'll be fine tomorrow. I also heard that you started working here only a few months after Rudra was brought to the orphanage... do you know something about where he came from?"
Faced with Aarav's barrage of questions, Naina gestured for him to follow her. She walked in silence until they reached her private cabin. Once inside, she motioned for him to take a seat.
"Aarav," she began, her voice low and grave. "It is true that I began working at this hospital only a few months after Rudra was brought to the orphanage. Because of that, I have no knowledge of where he came from or the identity of his parents."
She paused, looking toward the door to ensure they were alone. "As for his blood... I do not know why it possesses that golden tint, nor do I understand the source of his rapid healing. My greatest fear is that if someone outside these walls learns of his blood's properties, Rudra will be in grave danger. He could be subjected to horrific treatment, perhaps even used as an experimental subject by high-level healers or those seeking to exploit his power."
As she spoke with Aarav, Naina's mind drifted back to a hidden memory from years ago. She remembered the night her master had given birth. She hadn't been aware of what was happening inside the room at the time, but when she finally stepped inside, the scene was a chaotic mess.
The room was in ruins, and in the corner, a baby lay wailing at the top of his lungs. Without wasting a moment, she had rushed to the infant, cradled him in her arms, and carried him out to a waiting nurse.
Once the child was safe, she had hurried back into the room to search for any clue regarding her master's whereabouts. She found no trace of the parents, but amidst the wreckage, she discovered three items left behind: a necklace, a ring, and a wallet. Tucked inside the wallet was a small, folded letter.
The moment she finished reading those final words, the letter had spontaneously burst into flames, leaving nothing but ash and the heavy weight of her master's husband final request:
"Ruby, while reading this letter we may not be there with you. I will keep this short. I want you to protect my child from the shadows and just ensure he does not die. Let him understand the reality of the world through his own eyes, which will help him create his own judgment on what is right and wrong. I have no more to say. I hope this letter reaches you. Thank you for your hard work. I am counting on you."
Ruby that was her true name, the name of a disciple who felt she had failed to save them, now was simply Aunty Naina, a hospital nurse.
Seeing her lost in thought, Aarav called out to her. "Aunty Naina?"
"Yes! Where was I?" Naina asked "You were talking about people who may exploit Rudra's blood or something?" Aarav replied.
"Yes, because of this," Naina continued, her voice barely a whisper, "I have never told anyone about his unique power. I haven't even officially reported the treatments I perform on him. My priority has always been to safeguard him from the cruelties of this world. I only want him to receive a proper education and to grow up in safety, without the weight of these secrets hanging over him."
At the room where Rudra was kept
At the exact same time, inside the dark, empty hospital room, something started to change.
The black pendant resting against Rudra's chest began to glow. A soft, brilliant golden light spilled from the etched markings, spreading over his battered body. It felt warm, moving in rhythm like a second heartbeat. The medical machines beside the bed flickered and sparked.
Rudra lay still, his body connected to various machines monitoring his heartbeat, temperature, and blood flow. But while the machines hummed in the physical world, his mind was elsewhere.
A constant voice echoed in the void, repeating the same words over and over: "Rudra, wake up. Rudra, wake up."
As he drifted toward consciousness, he didn't open his eyes to a hospital ceiling. Instead, he found himself standing within a vast, internal world. The space around him was dominated by deep darkness, yet it was shot through with shimmering golden strands and flickering traces of orange. When he looked down at his own hands, he saw golden threads, like glowing veins, pulsing beneath his skin.
"Am I dead?" he wondered silently.
The last thing he remembered was the agonizing weight of the blows from those six boys. "I don't want to remember that... but if I'm gone, my biggest regret is that I won't see Aunty Naina, Aarav, or my friends again." He looked at the golden light in his palms. "If I truly am dead, I hope that in my next life, I'm born with a body that can actually channel mana."
Suddenly, the voice called out again, clearer than before: "Rudra, come here."
Compelled by the sound, as ignoring it felt impossible, as though the voice belonged to something that had always existed within him Rudra began to walk through the darkness, following the pull of the voice. As he reached the source, the shadows peeled away to reveal a breathtaking sight: a massive, nebula-like structure glowing with a brilliant, deep blue light.
As Rudra approached the structure, the voice boomed once more, resonating from the very air around him: "Welcome, Rudra."
Rudra spun around, but the shimmering blue gas was the only thing in sight. Puzzled, he took a few more tentative steps toward the center of the structure.
"Welcome, Rudra," the voice repeated, closer this time.
Rudra yelped, jumping two feet into the air. He landed in a defensive crouch and began spinning in circles, eyes wide with panic. "Where am I? Who's talking? Am I hallucinating because I'm dead? Is this some kind of afterlife scam? Am I being punked by a deity?"
"Shut up," the voice commanded.
Rudra didn't shut up. Instead, he started sprinting in a frantic circle, trying to outrun the source of the sound. "Oh no, it told me to shut up! It's an angry spirit! Stay back! I'm too young to be haunted!"
"Stay still! You are not dead!" the voice roared, sounding increasingly annoyed.
Rudra skidded to a halt, his heels kicking up imaginary dust in the nebula. "Wait... I'm not dead? Does that mean I'm a spirit? Am I a ghost now? Am I going to be stuck haunting the school bathrooms? I haven't even committed any crimes! I've been a good person! I don't want to be a poltergeist!"
The voice let out a long, weary sigh that seemed to vibrate through the entire blue nebula.
"I said SHUT UP and listen to me first!"
"You are exactly where you have always been," the voice intoned solemnly.
Rudra scrambled to his feet, let out a dramatic, heavy sigh, and crossed his arms. He put on his most serious "detective" face. "Listen, I've figured it out. I know exactly what you're up to and I understand everything."
"Oh?" the voice whispered, sounding almost hopeful. "You do?"
"Yes," Rudra declared, pointing an accusatory finger at the empty blue mist. "You're trying to scam me. I've never been here in my life, I've never seen a blue space-cloud before, and I certainly didn't have a roommate in my head when I was alive. Nice try, Mr. Ghost, but I'm not buying whatever afterlife insurance you're selling!"
There was a long, painful silence. Then, the nebula seemed to pulse a frustrated shade of red.
"You absolute dimwit—YOU ARE NOT DEAD!" the voice roared, its patience finally snapping. "You are in your own conscious mind. That means you are currently inside yourself!"
Putting aside the topic Rudra lowered his gaze and looked at his hands. There were no wounds. No bruises. No blood. The injuries that had once covered his body were gone, erased as if they had never existed.
Rudra blinked, looking down at his feet. "Inside myself? Well... it's a lot roomier than I expected. Does this mean I don't have to pay rent?"
Slowly, golden lines began to appear beneath his skin, spreading across his arms like glowing veins. They moved fluidly, pulsating with life, as though they were not foreign but a natural part of him. There was no pain and only a strange, unfamiliar sensation, as if something long broken inside him had finally been repaired. Everything within him was finally falling into its proper place.
"Seeing this light... it looks like mana," Rudra said quietly, his eyes fixed on the shimmering gold. Then, a familiar shadow of doubt crossed his face. "But... I don't have mana. That's what everyone says. I'm just an 'abandoned' kid, right?"
The darkness around him trembled faintly, reacting to his words.