Magnus
A year had passed since my birth.
I learned much about this family during that time. My mother, Clare, and my father, Derek, were young but already had three children. My siblings, Eric and Natalie, were seven-year-old twins, but their eyes carried a shadow no child should bear. Every time they looked at me, that shadow deepened.
When we first met, I braced myself for cruelty; memories of my past life caused me to tighten my fists. I swore I wouldn't let things be the same. But to my surprise, they were indifferent. They glanced into my room, then left, a flash of pain crossing their faces. Clare and Derek wore the same look when the twins turned away. Since then, the twins kept their distance, which suited me fine. I had enough to handle just getting used to Clare and Derek.
It was hard to shake the fear that clung to me like a parasite. I'd once been a king, feared by all, yet the word "parents" alone made my body freeze. Still, little by little, I grew more comfortable. Their touch was gentle, even when I resisted. Their eyes always seemed heavy with worry and something else—hope, maybe. Their constant attention, their anxious care, was foreign to me. And yet, it was comforting, especially when they showed me magic.
Derek wielded water magic, and Clare wielded earth. I hadn't seen what Eric or Natalie could do, but it was clear—magic here was various and powerful.
Sometimes, lying on my bedroom floor, I'd think about all the magic that might exist. Other times, I'd wonder about my reincarnation. In my old life, I'd scoffed at monks who spoke of such things—now I wished I'd listened, instead of sentencing them to death. Maybe this was karma. Or perhaps a second chance. Either way, I had to get strong. I didn't know if Clare and Derek's kindness would last, or if the twins' indifference would turn to something worse. That's why I needed to learn magic. To master this world, as I had in the last.
Luckily, I had a plan. On a recent trip, Derek had taken me to the twins' room. I barely listened to their conversation, my attention on a book lying on the floor. Back then, I couldn't reach it. But now, I'd mastered crawling.
Today was the day.
I crawled out of my room and paused at the top of the stairs. Downstairs, voices argued—Clare, Derek, the twins. Perfect. When they argued, the twins stayed away from their room, leaving the door open. Now was my chance.
I slipped inside. Two beds, two worlds: Natalie's side was chaos—red sheets, machine parts, and mountains of dirty clothes. Eric's was the opposite—navy sheets, everything neat and sanitized, his closet color-coded and spotless. How did they share a room?
Shaking my head, I crawled to the desk. My target was the shelf beneath it, crammed with books—mechanics, medicine, herbs… and then something strange: a book in Latin. In this world, everyone spoke only English. Why was this here?
I yanked it out. The title: "Before the Magic."
Yanking the book out, I read the title. 'Before the Magic'. I read through the pages. My eyes tracing every word, refusing to ignore any syllable. The book began by explaining a god-a, a primordial god named Chaos. Before there was anything, there was Chaos, the god of the abyss. Chaos created the planted, according to what isn't mentioned, and from there, Chaos continued to develop. The primordial god made the land, filled the rivers, and buried the land with sunlight. From there, Chaos left the planet alone, bored with it. It slumbered until it realized that Chaos was not alone. Although neglected, the planet was alive. It wasn't born from Chaos, nor did Chaos make it come alive; it simply emerged, surprising Chaos. Intrigued by such a thing, Chaos allowed it to speak.
'You who has emerged from nothing is now my planet. You who were nothing became something, why?'
'M'lord, your creation made my life so I will become and nurture it. Your planet yearns for love, so I will become it and love it.'
Chaos named the being Gaia, and the planet was named Gia. The primordial god even gave it its power of creation. Thus, Gaia became the first primordial, the mother of Gia. Chaos watched Gaia with interest as it created six beings to aid her in keeping the planet in check. Those six beings later came to be known as gods. The god of light, the god of battle, the god of the wild, the goddess of the sea, the goddess of love, and the goddess of the hearth. Together, they maintained the planet until the gods grew tired of being alone and ruled by their mother, Gaia. So they pleaded with Chaos to create beings they could rule over.
Chaos listened but did not grant the gods their wish; instead, Chaos gave the gods a portion of his power to create the beings they wanted. Together, the six gods use that power to create humans. With humans roaming the planet, the gods got precisely what they wanted: worshipers, subjects, and admirers. But they received something else as well…a lust for power. Having experienced the power of Chaos, the gods wanted more of it. The gods had their power given to them by Gaia, but it paled in comparison to the power of Chaos. The one that led this lust for power was the god of light. The goddess of the hearth was the only one who refused to seek out this power. The god of light brought its siblings together to decide how to steal some of this power. They couldn't take it from Chaos for it existed in nothing, in an abyss. So they thought of another being that wielded Chaos' power, Gaia. Together, the six gods led by the god of light devise a plan to kill their mother and steal her power.
Gaia was unaware of her children's plan due to her fondness for the humans her children had created. She observed them many times. She watched them smile and laugh, but she also watched as her children would bring them suffering. She was going to do something about it when one of the human followers of her youngest daughter, the goddess of the hearth, had prayed to Gaia, informing her of the goddess's disappearance. Distraught, Gaia looked for her, manifesting as a vessel to walk the planet.
Little did she know that it was all a plan to get her to show herself. When Gaia's vessel appeared, the gods took action. They attacked her. Gaia fought back despite not wishing to. Their battle continued for five years until, finally, a mistake was made. In a moment when Gaia had subdued four gods, all she had to do was strike down the god of light, and it would have been over. For Gaia knew that the god of light was responsible. However, when she looked at her first child, she hesitated, and that was all the god of light needed. With one last attack, the god of light killed the primordial Gaia. Before the god of light could absorb Gaia's power, the primordial used the last of her will to spite her children. She used the last of her will to create a new power for the humans. That power was mana. The same power that humans used to create magic.
I blinked after reading the last page. There was much to impact, so much so that my head feels ready to explode. I wanted to reread certain parts, but a voice from behind stopped me.
"Magnus."
I flinched. Slowly, I turned around, noticing Natalie standing in the doorway. I couldn't make out her face. Truthfully, I don't know how they would react to seeing me. Would it be the same indifference, or would they get angry? Either way, I didn't want to find out.
I crawled away into my room, having learned more than I had expected.