"Monster! Monster!"
"We don't want to play with a monster!"
"Go out of our village! Look at his eyes, they're blood red! The monster is going to eat us, run!"
The taunts of the village children echoed violently in Tycen's mind as sharp rocks flew through the air, pelting his small frame. One stone sliced cleanly across his forehead. He stumbled, tears welling in his eyes as a steady stream of crimson blood began to trail down his face, matting his unruly red hair.
Before he could sob out loud, a harsh grip clamped down on his shoulder. His mother stood over him, her face twisted in pure fury.
"Tycen!"
"Mom... it hurts," Tycen cried, looking up at her and gesturing blindly to the blood on his forehead.
"I told you not to go outside! You just won't listen to me!" Instead of comforting him, his mother began striking his arms, dragging him aggressively across the dirt back toward their house. She threw him into the pitch-black wood storage shed, slamming the heavy wooden door shut.
"Why did I even give birth to this monster? So unlucky," her muffled voice spat from the other side as the iron lock clicked into place. "I should have killed you the day your father abandoned us."
Tycen was left alone in the dark, shivering on the cold floor without food, water, or a single shred of light. Three agonizing days passed before the door finally swung open again.
"Go clean the house and cook," his mother ordered coldly, not even looking at his bruised face. "My friends and I are drinking here later."
"Yes, Mother," Tycen whispered. He immediately set to work, cleaning the floors, preparing the food, and hurriedly eating the scraps left behind after she stepped out.
But as the sun dipped below the horizon, his mother returned—and she wasn't alone. Walking in behind her were five imposing men dressed entirely in black.
"Here," his mother said, pointing a finger at Tycen. "You can take him. Just don't forget to transfer the payment, understood?"
Tycen's heart dropped. "Mom? What is this?"
"I've had enough of you," she said, her voice devoid of any warmth. "I can't live with a monster under my roof anymore."
Driven by sheer, terrified protective instinct, Tycen's hands erupted into volatile, wild flames. "No! Don't come near me! Go away!"
The men didn't hesitate. They lunged forward, brutally beating the boy until his flames sputtered out and he lay broken on the floorboards, unable to stand. His mother walked over, crouching down to yank his chin up violently.
"That's why I told you that you should have died when your father left us," she whispered maliciously into his face. "It's all your fault. You can't blame me for this."
A wave of absolute, blinding rage crashed through Tycen's chest. His mana cracked wide open. A guttural scream tore from his throat, and a massive wall of fire exploded outward, instantly consuming the room. The men in black screamed, attempting to suppress Tycen's magic, but the inferno was entirely out of control. No one could touch him. Through the roaring flames, Tycen let out a loud, agonized cry—and right before his vision went black, he saw his mother and the five men completely engulfed by the fire.
When he finally woke up, he wasn't in the ashes of his home. He was shackled to the wall of a subterranean dungeon inside the Governor's palace. For years, he was repeatedly beaten, his powerful mana continuously siphoned away to fuel the Governor's private weapons.
Day after day, the Governor drilled the same words into his head: "You are a monster. You burned down your mother, and you burned down your entire village." Tycen never truly believed her. He knew he had killed his mother in that burst of rage, but he had passed out while the fire was contained to their house. He couldn't have burned the whole village. Yet, when he finally found a chance to break his chains, rescue a handful of captive mana-sensitive children, and escape into the slums, he went back to check on his old home. The village was completely gone. A desolate ghost town.
"I didn't kill them... I didn't..." Tycen's weak, trembling voice dragged Shawn back to the present.
"I know," Shawn said firmly, stepping between Tycen and the corrupt official. He dropped into a low stance, his eyes locking onto their enemy. "I believe in you."
The Governor chuckled, cracking her leather whip against the stone floor. "You think a little BND Academy brat like you can bring me down?"
Shawn struck first, launching a barrage of jagged stone spikes from the floor. The Governor countered instantly, her hands erupting into a violent, sickening shade of violet flame. She lashed out, her fire shaping into a burning whip that sliced through Shawn's stone defenses with terrifying ease.
As an Earth Mage, Shawn was forced into the defensive, constantly raising stone shields to absorb the searing heat of her violet fire. But as the clash dragged on, Shawn noticed something bizarre. Every time he managed to land a heavy blow against the Governor's defenses, the heavy iron chains binding Tycen would suddenly flash with dark light. Tycen would let out a choked scream, his remaining life force visibly draining into the shackles to instantly replenish the Governor's energy.
The woman wasn't getting tired at all, while Shawn's breathing was becoming ragged.
I have to cut those chains first, Shawn realized, his mind racing. If I don't, Tycen won't survive this fight.
"Don't... mind me..." Tycen coughed, a thick line of blood spilling from his split lip.
"Damn it," Shawn muttered, his boots skidding across the floor as he blocked another fiery strike. Tycen was getting paler by the second, and the Governor was smiling, openly mocking them. "Hang in there, Tycen! I'm going all out—I'm getting you out of here right now!"
Gripping the edges of his torn BND uniform jacket, Shawn ripped the shirt off, exposing the earth deity mark on his skin. He took a deep, grounding breath, drawing mana directly from the bedrock beneath the palace.
Visibly, Shawn's muscles began to expand, his arms bulging as his skin took on a dense, rock-solid, soil-like texture. His entire upper body hardened into an impenetrable earthen armor.
With a roar, Shawn went on the offensive. The fight shifted instantly. The Governor lashed her violet whip repeatedly across his chest, but the flames merely sparked off his hardened skin. With his raw, enhanced physical strength, Shawn shattered her fiery barriers, exchanging heavy, crushing blows that forced the Governor entirely into a defensive retreat.
"This ends now!" Shawn slammed his palms flat against the concrete floor. Massive, thick tree roots erupted violently from the foundation, wrapping tightly around the Governor's ankles and wrists, pinning her securely in place. Before she could burn through the wood, Shawn lunged forward, delivering a final, devastating, earth-shattering blow straight to her jaw.
The Governor flew backward, crashing hard against the far wall before slumping down, completely knocked out.
Shawn's earthen armor cracked and dissolved, his knees buckling from exhaustion. Before he could hit the floor, a strong pair of arms caught him from behind.
"Ro..." Shawn breathed, looking up at Rohan. "Where did you go? Help Tycen first."
Rohan bypassed the unconscious Governor, rushing straight to the suspended chains. With a single, elegant wave of his hand, a blade of pure, blinding white light sliced through the enchanted iron. Tycen collapsed forward, and Rohan caught him gently, checking his pulse. "Tycen will be fine. Don't worry, Shawn."
Rohan looked back at the entrance of the bunker. "I found the secret vault containing the evidence of her illegal trafficking and mana-siphoning operations. I've already contacted the Academy. The President's personal enforcers are on their way to arrest her."
"What about... the kids?" Tycen rasped, his eyes fluttering open as he tried to push himself up from the floor.
Shawn immediately leaned over, gently pushing Tycen back down. "Don't worry, they're safe. The Academy task force already located the holding cells and let them all out."
Hearing those words, Tycen finally let out a long, shuddering breath of relief, his tense shoulders relaxing.
"Ah, you did so well, Tycen," Shawn said emotionally, suddenly leaning down and pulling Tycen's bruised head tightly against his chest in a protective hug.
"Ouch! Get off me!" Tycen grumbled, his face turning red as he weakly tried to push Shawn away. "Stop acting like we're close!"
Three days later, the chaos had finally settled. After cooperating with the Academy enforcers and ensuring the Governor was locked away in a high-security mana-dampening facility, Shawn and Rohan stood outside a private room in the Academy's specialized hospital. The attending physician—a trusted, covert mage—had just finished clearing Tycen for discharge.
Shawn and Rohan quietly slipped back inside the hospital room.
"Ro, how are we supposed to tell him this?" Shawn whispered loudly to Rohan, glancing nervously at the bed.
"I can hear you, you know," Tycen muttered, sitting up with his arms crossed, his bandages neatly wrapped around his chest and arms.
Shawn rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Right. Well... since the Academy officially processed the raid, all the children with mana that you were protecting have been automatically enrolled at BND Academy."
"What?!" Tycen snapped, his eyes flaring as he immediately tried to fling the covers off and jump out of bed. "What the hell are you government people trying to pull now?!"
"Wait, wait! Tycen, calm down, let us explain!" Shawn panicked, holding his hands up.
Rohan stepped forward, his calm, steady presence instantly commanding the room. "They will be safe there, Tycen. They will have a roof over their heads, proper medical care, and they will never have to go hungry or hide in the shadows again. That's why you need to come with us, too. If you don't trust the government, then come inside the gates and watch over them yourself."
Tycen froze, his anger melting away into a conflicted silence. He looked down at the linoleum floor, his fingers gripping the bedsheets. "I... I can't just go. What about the other children in the slums? The ones without mana who trusted me? I can't abandon them."
"You won't be abandoning them," Shawn interrupted softly, stepping closer to the bed. "The Academy assigns elite missions to mages like us, and they come with incredibly high payouts. We can use our resources to fully support the slums from the inside."
Tycen blinked, caught off guard. "Missions?"
"Yes. You'll find out all about it soon," Shawn smiled warmly, reaching out to gently grasp Tycen's bandaged hands. "You can help them better this way, Tycen. And you can train with us to fully control your fire, so you never have to fear hurting anyone ever again. That is the only way you can truly protect the people you care about. So... come home with us."
Tycen stared at their joined hands, then looked up at Shawn and Rohan. For the first time in his life, looking at the two of them, a profound, undeniable sense of safety and deep comfort washed over his chest.
"You have us now," Shawn added softly, his eyes shining with an ancient, familiar affection. "You don't have to carry the weight of the world by yourself anymore... little brother."
Tycen swallowed hard, his throat tight. He looked away, hiding the sudden warmth in his eyes, and gave a small, quiet nod. "Okay."
Later that afternoon, Shawn and Rohan finally brought Tycen through the grand gates of the secluded estate and into the courtyard of the ancient mansion.
But the very moment Tycen's boots crossed the threshold into the main foyer, a violent jolt shot through his chest.
The deity mark on his shoulder flared with a blinding, white-hot glow beneath his shirt. A sudden, massive rush of blurry, fragmented memories crashed into his mind like a tidal wave—visions of ancient stone tombs, pouring rain, clashing swords, and a desperate, burning vow. The sheer, agonizing pressure of the memory rush forced a sharp scream from his throat, and his knees buckled, sending him crashing to the floor.
"Tycen!" Shawn cried out. But as he lunged forward to catch him, Shawn's own earth mark flared in tandem. Shawn groaned, stumbling to his knees right beside Tycen, gripping his head as the same resonant echo vibrated through his soul.
It took several minutes of heavy, ragged breathing for the headache to finally recede. Shawn slowly opened his eyes, helping Tycen steady himself on the polished floor.
"Did you... did you just have a sudden rush of memories too?" Shawn panted, looking at him intently.
Tycen could only nod weakly, his face pale and covered in cold sweat.
Shawn let out a dramatic, breathless groan, turning his head to look up at the foyer. "See, Ro?! He experienced it too! Why are you the only one who didn't get a massive headache when we touched the mansion? That is so completely unfair!" Shawn complained, pouting playfully up at Rohan.
Rohan stood perfectly still in the center of the room, his golden eyes unreadable as he offered them a soft, somewhat forced chuckle. "Perhaps my mind is simply more resilient, Shawn."
"What the hell was that?" Tycen rasped, shaking his head to clear the remaining fog. "What did I just see?"
"We don't entirely know yet," Shawn admitted, his expression turning serious as he helped Tycen stand up. "All we know is that there are actually six of us. Six brothers bound by an ancient tie. We have to find the remaining three to figure out the truth of what happened to us."
"Six..." Tycen whispered, his eyes widening slightly as he recalled the blurry silhouettes from his sudden vision. "I... I saw six boys in my head, too. What the hell is really going on here?"
But Shawn and Rohan could only shake their heads in silence, looking out at the map resting on the broken table in the parlor, waiting for the next point of light to awaken.