Chapter 1: Rebirth

I never had a good life, I never had friends, money, or a family, I had nothing. What I had were dreams…a future! 

So why? Why? Why does it end like this? In a bus filled with strangers. I don't deserve this. I was supposed to change the world.

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I thought I died, but here I am floating through this... space tunnel? I spun to face what appears to be the end of the tunnel; it's a bright white glow that feels somewhat…intimidating. I know, I know, "Don't go towards the light", but what other choice do I have? Devoid of anything but myself and the light. So I'll continue my glide towards the end. I hovered towards the gleaming gateway-which felt like hours-making no progress. It's like the gate is moving further away. I feel hopeless, I should give up, there's no point in continuing, I'd only be wasting my time-assuming I still have time-I should try to figure out what this place is. I looked around hoping the vacant tunnel had somehow changed from what I saw before, to my surprise the void had morphed into a brightly lit room. In the center of the room stood a faceless child, I moved forward cautiously as the blank head followed me. Although the child had no eyes, I felt like she was examining me. Despite her intimidating silence I moved carefully as I studied the room. The area was small, and it felt kind of empty...despite the room being filled with beautiful milky white furniture. The walls were smooth, no pattern, just colorless, and the child was a gray dull light, following my every move. 

She stood, "Zander oakridge" her voice boomed in my head, "Calm yourself, I feel your heart racing"

"What happened to me?" I took an uneasy step back "Is this the afterlife?"

"I know you want answers, but I cannot provide that yet, you are the hero chosen to defeat many evils."

"Hero? Why would I be chos—"

"That isn't of your concern, now wake up to your new family"

The room was suddenly pitch black, then bright again as shapes started to form, I started to regain my vision.There was a loud ringing, and muffled conversations. As the voices slowly became clear, I peered around the room-it was big and bright, and filled with doctors? They all had relieved smiles on their faces as if they had just seen a miracle. The voices got louder once again, but I understood them despite it being a different language. I didn't notice at first but there was a lady holding me, she had long azure blue hair, with eyes to match, her skin was pale, almost completely white… New family I thought, realizing that this was my new mother, I had read theories about reincarnation, but I never would have thought it would actually happen. I still have a future, a second chance.

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It's been eight years since I arrived in this world, and during that time, I've gained a wealth of knowledge from my personal tutor. She educates me on various aspects of this world, including magic, dragons, and even the existence of malevolent elves. Math is also part of my studies, although it's less significance. According to my tutor, mana flows through this world, and many living creatures possess an innate ability to manipulate this mana through a natural connection. Elves, dwarfs, and other mythical beings are born with this connection, whereas humans lack it. To access magic, humans must manipulate mana from other existing sources, such as mana beasts or mana insects. For instance, to cast a healing spell, a human can use the blood of these mana creatures. However, humans have managed to compensate for their disadvantage by developing impressive weapons and technology, although not as advanced as those in my previous world. They have discovered how to infuse magic into their weapons, emulating the fighting style of the elves.

In this world, I am the second prince of the Kingdom of Artemis, the elven kingdom. My family has held the throne for generations, and our castle is a grand structure. I often spend my time exploring its vast halls. On one occasion, as I strolled through the castle, I heard a familiar voice echoing behind me.

"Asher! Wait up, I need your help," a short girl with long, curly white hair and smooth dark skin called out as she ran down the corridor.

"Nanala, I didn't see you in class today," I replied, stopping to face her expecting her response to be the same as usual.

"You're good at math righ—" 

 "I'm not doing your homework". I cut her off, "Nana, you're smart, you can finish it on your own"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I'm going to", she said with an idiotic grin. "Oh yeah, your father said he wanted to speak with you in the training room," she said as she skipped her way through the castle halls.

After the encounter with the child I continued to explore the castle and came across a big white fountain that shot water a hundred feet into the air. The fountain was polished so cleanly I could see my reflection in it, I never noticed but I looked a bit more… feminine than most of my classmates. My messy blue hair grew a few inches past my chin, and my nose twinkled red, it was cold in the roofless heart of the castle.

I should go back before I get lost. I followed my steps back to the training area, where some of the guards and my brother would train. 

I saw my father, he seemed upset—and I can probably guess why—he walked over, each step felt slower and slower as if he was moving in slow motion. My father, Akira, stood tall before he bent down and picked me up like I weighed nothing. "You haven't been practicing mana manipulation with your mother" Akira's menacing green eyes shot at me with disappointment. "I may be half elf but I can't use magic like the other elves, it's just a waste of time." It's pointless, the other elves in my school had already developed magical abilities and I have nothing. "You're just a late bloomer, you'll get there soon, but right now you need to practice with your mother. It's really important to her." My father may look like a tough guy but he has a soft spot for his family, even if he's bad at expressing that. Akira sat me down, I walked to my parents room, preparing to ask my mother, Ava, for "advice" for something I know I'll never be able to do. When I entered the room my mother had been staring out the stained window flipping a small wonderfully patterned butterfly knife. She turned, her eyes looking as if she'd been betrayed, I never realized how important this training was to her.