'Takamori… Where are you?' A woman sitting in front of a house cried. 'My sons are gone… Haruto Takamori… have I not been a good mother? Why did you have to leave me?' She sobbed uncontrollably.
"Mother?" Haruto muttered, slowly approaching her. "Mother, I'm here!" he tried to shout, but something stopped him.
It felt as if someone had covered his mouth from behind. Haruto couldn't see who it was. Not only his mouth—his entire body froze after taking a few steps. Helpless, Haruto watched his mother suffer, tears streaming down his face.
"Mother… Mother…" he tried to scream as loud as he could. Then—
"You can't go back." A deep, terrifying voice echoed. It didn't come from one direction, but from everywhere, filling the entire space.
Haruto tried to look around, but he couldn't move an inch. His gaze returned to his mother. "What…?!"
A black figure stood behind her. "Forget about your mother. There's no point remembering her now. Obey me, and I'll make you the strongest person in this world," the figure said. Its voice was calm, yet enough to send chills down Haruto's spine. "You knew well—you wanted to become strong, just like your brother who died years ago."
It raised its right hand, holding a katana. It didn't look human at all. A single horn, like that of an oni, protruded from its head.
"No… please…" Haruto wanted to beg, but no words came out. He struggled desperately to move as tears poured from his eyes.
Just as the figure was about to slice his mother—
"Mother…!" Haruto screamed, jolting upright from his bed.
His eyes were filled with tears. His heart pounded as if it might burst at any moment. He gasped for air, breathing heavily again and again.
"Haruto, are you okay?" A girl sitting beside his bed held his left hand gently. "Were you having a bad dream?" she asked, her voice filled with concern.
Haruto looked at her. She had silver, wolf-cut hair and diamond-like blue eyes that gazed into his. It was Elina.
"The inn owner started shouting for help, so I came to check on you. I was shocked to see you collapse," she said softly, her expression turning serious. "She told me your hands caught fire, but water couldn't put it out."
Elina let go of his hand and looked at it.
"I figured it was your power, especially when she said you collapsed right after the flames disappeared."
Haruto slowly calmed down, taking a deep breath. As Elina explained how she ended up there, he wiped away his tears.
"I saw my mother…" Haruto said quietly, his voice barely audible.
"She was crying… sitting in front of our house."
Tears began to fall again.
"I tried… to talk to her, but…" His voice cracked. "I was standing far away, and I—I couldn't move… or call out to her."
He sniffed, his body trembling as he broke down.
"Then… a black figure appeared behind her, holding a katana. It was about to… kill her…"
Haruto covered his eyes with his forearm, trying to hide his tears.
Elina sat still, feeling his pain. It must hurt… leaving someone you love behind in another world, she thought.
Slowly, she stood up and left the room—not because she didn't know what to say, but because she knew it was better to leave him alone.
Silence filled the room, as if no one had ever been there.
Haruto recalled what Elina had said earlier. "I figured it was your power…"
"My power?" he muttered, his expression unchanged. But how is that possible? I'm just a normal human… He had always believed power and magic only existed in fiction.
He raised both hands and stared at them. "I wonder how powers even work…" he whispered. Even with doubt in his heart, curiosity began to take over.
Then, the words of the black figure echoed again:
"You can't go back."
"Forget about your mother…"
"Obey me…"
Each word pierced his heart like a blade. Haruto clenched his fists. Rage slowly burned within him.
"I don't know who—or what—you are…" he muttered. "But I will never obey you. Especially if you hurt my mother." His voice was sharp, filled with anger.
"You wanted to become strong like your brother…"
"…How did that thing know about my brother?"
Before he could think further—
Creeeeaaak…
The door slowly opened. Elina returned, holding a cup of tea. "Looks like you're doing better now," she said with a gentle smile.
"Yeah… and thank you for helping me," Haruto replied.
"I barely did anything," Elina said, sitting beside his bed.
"Heh, is that so?" Haruto chuckled softly. "Anyway, how did I end up back here?"
"The inn owner helped me carry you," she replied with a slightly annoyed expression. "And you're heavy, you know! I was lucky she was stronger than me."
"Oh, I didn't expect that," Haruto said jokingly. "I thought she was just a normal person."
"Hey!" Elina puffed her cheeks slightly, placing her hands on her waist. "The pleasure is mine!"
Silence settled between them once again.
After a moment, Haruto spoke. "So… about what you said earlier. Do I really have power?"
Elina looked at him seriously. "Yes. You do." She paused before continuing. "Do you know why you lost consciousness?"
Haruto thought for a moment. "When the fire on my hands disappeared… I just collapsed. I don't really know why."
"That's because you ran out of mana," Elina explained. "Think of it like a pool. As long as there's mana in it, you can use magic. But when it runs out… you lose consciousness or can't move at all."
"I see…" Haruto nodded.
"But there's a difference between you and us."
"How so?" he asked.
Elina closed her eyes briefly. "People from this world can increase their mana pool by training their magic." Then she looked at him. "But outlanders are different."
"Different… how?"
"Your mana pool grows through physical training—through fighting."
"I get it now," Haruto said, clapping his hands once.
"And based on what the inn owner said, your mana ran out in about thirty seconds… which means your mana pool is very small," she added, her tone slightly concerned.
Haruto looked down at his hands."I see…"
So I need to train harder… but I don't even know how to control this power.
"And how do you know all this?" he asked.
"Remember the outlander I told you about? The one who saved my friend?"
"Yeah."
"I ran into him this morning. He explained everything." She smiled slightly.
"I think he can teach you more. You should meet him when you're ready."
Haruto clenched his fist lightly. That's right… I need to understand this power.
"Please… take me to him."
His eyes were filled with determination.