Certain Situations must happen so that true intentions can be shown.
...
The city swarmed like a hive built of glass and fire.
Billboards bled in colors too bright to be real, wires crossed the sky like nets of lightning, and the crowd pressed together as though the streets themselves had lungs.
Neon pulsed, horns blared, laughter spilled from doorways, and above it all, two figures drifted side by side.
From far away, they looked like any other pair,an older brother with his younger sibling trailing behind.
But up close, it was less a walk than a leash, one dragging, the other dragged.
The real Lynn Blake strolled with his hands tucked lazily behind his head, neck craned back like a boy on his first trip outside his village.
His eyes glittered at everything: the signs, the bridges, the glowing towers that hummed like crystal spires.
Beside him, a boy trudged with his hands shoved deep in his pockets, his smirk fixed as if he'd glued it on.
"Whoa!" Lynn shouted suddenly, pointing upward. His voice drew a few startled looks from strangers, but he didn't care.
Something metallic blurred across a raised rail bridge, streaking like a comet. His jaw dropped.
"Did you see that? It moved at the speed of light! Too fast for even my eyes!
What's the name of that creature?"
The boy didn't even flinch.
"That's a bullet train.
Not a creature. A thing. For travel."
Lynn blinked. "…You mean people ride that?"
"Yeah. Some use it to get home faster."
Lynn's shoulders sagged. "So not a beast. Not even a spirit construct. Just… furniture on wheels."
"Congratulations," the boy said dryly. "Your brain finally caught up."
Lynn ignored him, gaze shooting skyward again.
A silver body, wings flashing red and blue, crossed the heavens with a low hum. His mouth opened wide.
"Wait,don't tell me.
That's a bird with magic powers, right?"
The boy nearly tripped.
"A bird? .....Where.....oh. That."
He shielded his eyes, then scoffed. "That's an airplane. Another thing, not a beast. Carries people through the sky. Maybe to heaven if their luck's bad."
Lynn's jaw fell farther. "It carries people? In the air?"
"Yesss." The boy's patience was hanging by threads.
"Do you want to stand here all night pointing at things, or—"
Lynn grinned, puffing his chest.
"Heh. Not bad. This world's dull, but I'll give it credit,it cheats without magic."
The boy groaned."thanks for your approval,sir."
Lynn glanced sideways, smirk widening. "What's wrong, brat? Tired already? It was your idea to bring me here. Seems like your body's got half the energy of your tongue."
The boy shot him a flat glare. "If you already knew, why ask?"
"Because..." Lynn said cheerfully, "it's fun to see you stop smirking."
For once, the boy's smirk twitched.
His lips parted, no words coming out, and Lynn's grin stretched like he'd won a duel.
"Guess it's my fault for dragging you here," the boy muttered at last.
"You could just use your magic, right? Snap your fingers and fly around. Explore by yourself."
The words cut sharper than they looked. Lynn froze. His smile hung suspended, then lowered.
"…Maybe you're right," he said quietly.
He raised his hand. Fingers poised. Breath deep. The crowd flowed around him, oblivious.
SNAP.....?
SNAPPPP...SNAPPP....?
Nothing.
The city roared on. Lights flashed. Feet hurried. The world did not bow.
Lynn's hand lowered slowly. His grin slipped, leaving only his face.
The kid barked out laughter.
"Pfffft—ha! You actually tried it! Haaahaha! You got tricked that easy?"
Lynn looked away. "…Guess it doesn't work here."
The boy's laughter thinned, then died when he caught Lynn's eyes. For the first time, the man's grin looked brittle.
"Let's go, depression boy" the kid muttered, looking forward again. "Plenty left to see."
Lynn followed, his stride dimmed. His voice came low, almost to himself.
"Don't think I am bragging about it but back home, magic was everything. People would bleed for it.
Sell their souls for a scrap of it.
I was born with more than enough, and I never thought… I never thought I'd lose it. Without it, I feel like…"
He trailed off.
They passed glowing diners where couples laughed into their plates.
Men in suits rushed with glowing wires in their ears.
Joggers darted by with shining straps on their arms.
The city pulsed with life, more alive than any kingdom Lynn had ever seen, and yet the noise only thickened the silence between them.
The boy finally spoke, voice steady. "Son of fantasy, look around. This world runs without mana.
No spells, no runes, no circles with glowing letters.
People still live, still laugh, still starve, still fight.
Maybe better than your world ever did."
Lynn let out a weak laugh. "…Maybe."
They walked. For the first time, Lynn's swagger was gone.
Minutes passed in silence until the kid's voice cut through again. "So what if you did have it?"
Lynn turned his head. "…What?"
"If your magic worked here," the boy said, eyes still forward,
"what difference would it make?
You'd just snap your fingers to brag that you're special?"
Lynn flinched. His gaze fell.
"…Magic isn't just tricks. It's who I am. Without it, everything I've done, everything I've become.....it doesn't matter here."
The boy slowed. His smirk returned, thinner now.
"If that's all you are—just your magic,
then maybe you never knew yourself."
The words stuck like daggers.
For once, Lynn had no comeback.
His fists clenched. "You're saying I'm a fool?"
"I'm saying," the boy replied evenly, "you ended up here not because your mana vanished, but because of you."
Lynn's chest tightened. Pride screamed at him to lash out. His voice broke rough instead.
"If I had my magic, I'd tear this place apart. I'd walk free in an instant.
Maybe,that's what I'd do if have it now."
For the first time tonight, the kid stopped walking.
The crowd parted around them under the glow of streetlamps, but the air between the two of them tightened.
Slowly, the kid turned his head, his expression unreadable in the flicker of the lights.
Then he smirked, though his words carried none of the playfulness from before. His eyes were sharp, too sharp for his age.
"Why don't you try?"
Lynn froze.
"Then why don't you try it… you son of ....a.... Another world?"
Lynn's expression cracked,
"You were going to say "son of a bit*h right?"
The kid smriked,
"Yeah...glad you understood it"
The silence that followed was heavier than the neon-lit city itself.
Lynn's head snapped up, a spark of anger flashing in his eyes.
"Watch your tongue, brat.
You don't know me."
"I know enough." The kid's tone didn't waver.
"I know you cling to your mana like a shield, because without it, you're terrified of looking at what you've done. Terrified of realizing the mess wasn't the world's fault—it was yours."
Lynn stopped short, the words hitting his pride.
He wanted to laugh it off, mock the kid the way he always did,yet nothing came out. His voice cracked low instead.
The boy stepped closer.
"Go on. Blow this place apart.
Collapse it. Prove your words.
Or admit it—you're nothing but an empty shell."
The words rang in Lynn's skull like iron. His breath hitched.
"…I admit it.
I'm empty here. But if I weren't in this cursed situation, the story would be different. I'd make it different."
The boy's smirk twisted, something dangerous flickering in it now.
"Hear me clear, fuck your magic.
But fine. I'll raise the stakes."
His hands slid deeper into his pockets, his chin tilting as though the city bent with him.
"I'll give you full authority.
Every shred of your existence.
That includes your precious magic."
Lynn's heart lurched. "You… what—"
"No chains. Manifest your mana.
All of it. But no cheats. No miracles. Only what you already had."
The promise struck like a hammer. Lynn's pride surged. His lips parted, trembling with a laugh that wasn't steady.
"Then..…What of it…?"
The boy took two deliberate steps back. The crowd blurred, the ground between them stretching like a stage. His smirk grew wider, sharper.
"If you erase me," he said, voice calm, "you can take back your body.
All of it.
Everything that was once yours,becomes yours again."
Lynn's chest burned.
Temptation howled.
His eyes flared like a spark catching dry grass.
The kid leaned forward, voice dripping with venom and thrill.
"So what will it be? Hide behind excuses… or risk it all?"
The neon lights warped, the city bending as if listening.
The boy's smirk sharpened.
"If you think you can walk out of here over my presence—"
He leaned in, eyes glinting.
"TRY IT… SON."