…Power is something that this world has, and all over the world people possess it.

  Well… some people have it and some don’t...

  It also depends on what type of power they obtain during birth or what they’re trained in.

  Those who are trained or are born might have an innate talent or some destiny that makes them special.

  I guess I am not special enough to survive this moment nor talented enough to dodge this ill-fated event.

  Everything is so dark, is this what it looks like after dying? I know this might feel a little grim but being alive a few seconds ago does take a toll. All I see is nothing beyond anything, not even a surface, and just floating around while black wisps flow all over the place.

  Maybe it is fate that brought me here, as I am just a normal person in a mundane world of fantastical feats. I don’t know why I was pointed into a situation of great stress and absolute danger.

  At one point on this terrible day, I actually hoped that this might have been a wake-up call for me to try something different, to be different. Maybe I could become stronger and heroic enough to be confident of who I am in this world. I wanted to have a life in one of those anime or comics of heroes having great journeys from gaining new friends and fighting strong opponents.

  But now, I don’t believe that anymore… can’t think anymore.

  I want to get rid of such thoughts and stop trying to expect delusions.

  I closed my eyes and began the eternal sleep I was destined to do.

  Wake up.

  I guess even my own thoughts cannot be controlled, such as anything that I do.

  Please Wake up!

  This gut feeling of mine will not stop.

  Please listen.

  I’m just going to ignore this…

  You are not thinking or feeling anything.

  “What do you mean?”

  Truly that is what I am questioning.

  Actually, who am I questioning?

  I am actually trying to tell you something.

  “Wait, there is actually someone here right now?!!”

  My eyes are wide open trying to look in every direction, but nobody is there.

  “What the hell is going on?”

  Just listen, Alder.

  Wisps of light, but in little proportions began to encircle me. It feels warm…

  I am sorry that you are put in such a position. And I feel guilty for giving such a terrible fate to you…

  “You did this to me, why?” I questioned the void space.

  But you are the only vessel that can endure such great trepidation. No one else can have the life you had as they will become lost, shattered, hopeless…

  “I don’t understand, what does that even mean? Answer me! Why are you messing with my life?!” I shouted at the voice but nothing came, as though there was nothing to change. “Why did you choose me?”

  Again, there was silence. No matter if I were to continue to ask, to pry on but it seems nothing would give me what I wanted.

  I lived a normal life, albeit, a life that I didn't have to deal with any troubles of the world and so blinded by what I thought or what I perceived were considered difficult. At that point, it may just be mundane. Compared to this, I couldn’t handle a single thread of sensibility. I lay around the void, waiting to respond.

  …You may feel alone or overburdened by things that are beyond your understanding, but you have to keep going. You may feel as though you’re powerless, but you will become stronger, more than what you are facing. But that is up to you Alder…

  I still don’t understand what that means. Why are you even telling me this?

  Even though this light is so bright, I feel tired… my eyes feel drowsy…

  “What if I fail the second time? What am I supposed to do with this ‘burden’ that you forced me into… How do you know that I-”

  You don’t…

  two arms wrapped behind me…

  Just don’t give up.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  <><><>

  I grabbed the hand that was still stabbing my body!

  “Hmm! What the hell? My arm!” The surprised white-noise Glitched-fiend struggles to pull it away from me. “How are you-”

  The Mana tablet is crushed by the utter strength I feel as it transforms into the emerald spear while it glows brightly. My instincts tell me to thrust with much power, and once I let it guide me to such an act, it blew the Glitched-fiend away as their hands unlatched Seraphina and myself.

  Seraphina still unconscious, I grab her and put her aside, from whatever happens from this time forward.

  I could still feel the pain of getting stabbed and bleeding. I need to fight back…

  “What was that?” The Glitched-fiend gets back up after getting shoved aggressively.

  I can’t give in the pain and absolutely cannot die a second time.

  I feel this sense of cool air, no, more like wet air. This is a familiar feeling as I feel calm, but more determined to not back down This aura of mist touches every part of my body and it is a soothing feeling, like I am cleansed from within. I don’t sense the pain that was before and now my back doesn’t have that burning sensation of getting pierced by multiple knives.

  This healing process undergoes a clarity that it instantaneously surge into my mind.

  “.”

  A similar ability that Veronica Halle created, but this version I made is a lot less area of effect and more individual casting. The water drops are a bit more condensed and a little heavier.

  “No, this ain’t like , it's a little more like rain. Maybe more like, a .”

  Wait a minute…

  Now that I think about it, I just cast a water affinity spell which I shouldn't even be capable of doing.

  Yet, it feels really natural for me to do it. It’s as though I can do more.

  This power is immense, but…

  “So it seems you have another affinity, big deal. Although…”

  The Glitched-fiend stared at me with a confused look while I stared at it with full intent on ending this problem.

  “Your eyes… They’re glowing, yellow?”

  I don’t care if my eyes are glowing yellow, you’re going down!

  “What are- GAAH!”

  A gale of speed surges through me as I thrust forward without thought of what happens next, the demon gasps at my surprise.

  With I easily punctured the Glitched-fiend right into submission and slid on top of it, like surfing in low waves.

  The cemented ground was rough as I can tell by how bumpy it was while surfing the Glitched-fiend. I see that friction is doing all of the work as the glitchy skin is scraped on the floor leaving a trail of some static noise substance.

  Screaming in pain as usual the Glitched-fiend replies with a mere teleportation from the floor and right behind me. It tries to chop me with that glitchy arm blade, but with this super-charge I am feeling right now I just kept using to dodge and dash behind it instead.

  “You won’t get the best of me, demon!” I replied with a huge slash and combining the current of dashing makes the cut even more sharp the back of this demon leaves scar. “How about another!”

  One-handed and filled with power, I thrust not once, not twice, but more than I can count!

  Every hit propels continuously and each time I pull back for another thrust, the air around the spear increases and expedites the process.

  This is not enough, I know this will not kill it. I need more…

  “I call this, !”

  One after another it gets even sharper to a point where the holes are becoming even bigger as the Glitched-fiends tries to regenerate its skin.

  I need more power!

  “Why you little-” the Glitched-fiend emits away from me, but that lets me add another opportunity of attacking even further.

  I with a rush of charging back and forth. Each time I dash, the faster it gets, the more I keep moving and striking.

  The Glitched-fiend had no chance of taking a breather until at some point the body that it took pride of is now weared and teared. But it’s hard to tell with the body being all glitchy and static.

  Like a wild animal in a rageful manner, I keep charging at it in straight lines, as much as I can perceptually handle the utter force each time I .

  “I can’t stop… I have to keep this up! …Hrrk! No!”

  But as I did one last charge, my head suddenly had intense pain in a short span.

  Is this the limit?

  Is what I questioned, but know that there is no time to even think while gazing back at the Glitched-fiend.

  The Glitched-fiend now looks at me with what appears to be red eyes. Furiously red, like engulfing the world of flames.

  “You… You really are a pest aren’t you… I wasted enough time and energy just to squash you! YOU HEAR ME, I’LL DESTROY YOU!”

  In quite a distance like before it readies an orb of fire by the palm of its hand.

  “I had enough of this charade! I’m going to blast not only you and that girl, but that pathetic den called an academy, all of these people on the continent!”

  Clutching the orb of fire as it violently pulses, the demon jumps as high as it gets and is about to shoot. Casting a Mana Adept power.

  “Take this, !”

  “You gotta be kidding me!”

  A large laser-like fire goes directly towards me. My mind felt blank in that short moment as I pondered if I could even do something about it.

  Of all of the bullshit I had to go through, of all the hits I had to take from both physically and verbally.

  I don’t want to die.

  And I most definitely want to just give up without even trying!

  I don’t care what it takes, I am not going to die like this! “NO WAY IN HELL I’M LETTING YOU DICTATE MY EXISTENCE!”

  This surge of rage gives me a shock of every intensity it has ever given me. This electricity tells me to attack it head on. The spear that was once green, full of relenting winds glows in a different form, a different kind of corporeal shade.

  It appears all golden and all bright. So bright that it gave off an intense streak of electric force. It defines a sense of power that it wants to move, especially in times of great strife.

  I could tell it wanted me to head forth with absolute force and so I did it what it wanted. And I just came up with a fine name thanks to the one that was going to kill me.

  And you know what… I might as well compete it.

  !

  A spear of lightning clashes against the powerful blast of as it easily goes through it and destroys the remains of such flames. I can see it beautifully soar right through at the Glitched-fiend as it was shocked by the intense power it releases.

  “You have got to be kidding me!!!” It screams as the thunderbolt impales right through where the heart would be and with so much charge the spear keeps delivering the being explodes once again.

  The pieces of the strange glitch-like substance rains all over the alleyway, hopefully dead. I don’t know if that even does a thing.

  As much as I want to think the massive headache comes back with great vengeance.

  “Urrrgh, NOT NOW! I… need to… Seraphina…”

  Right now, all I can think of is how Seraphina is doing and wanting to leave with her before anything else happens.

  But this headache keeps hurting and slowly I feel exhausted.

  “N-No… I can keep going…”

  I want to keep moving.

  I want to try my hardest.

  I want to not give up right now!

  But my body is becoming numb to a point where I could barely feel my legs.

  I… I think I’m on my knees… Are those pieces pulsating? No? They’re not moving, wait, but they are moving… They’re getting back together. I can't see very well… I got… to stop it…

  I feel… tired… and… can’t move…

  …

  …

  …

  …

  …

  …

  …

  Is that a person? What are…. They… Holding something… Pointing at it… No… What are… They… Doing…