All of existence was ruled by one king known as the First king and after he ruled for an unknown long time he decided to step down from his throne.But before he did he connected all the plains of existence at a single point known as Existence convergence or as they famously call it 'The King's Tower'.Who ever reaches the throne at the top of the tower becomes the king of all existence and so many beings across thousands of worlds flocked into the tower to claim the throne.
Among the worlds that entered the kings tower late is one of the lowest ranked when it comes to magical power and that is the human world.In their attempt to catch up to other worlds that entered the tower for thousands of years humans came together and built facilities to help train and assist new tower challengers.Amoung these facilities was a place for mining ores and forging weapons known as the Black Chimneys' where a young man named Tawanda worked as an assistant blacksmith.
Even though he had the physical and mental qualifications to climb the tower, his body could not gather, detect, produce or interact with mana in any kind of way, Tawanda was cursed.In a world where ones potential to use mana, mana related objects and understand it determined your value Tawanda was at the very bottom and was barely surviving through hard labour as a blacksmith assistant.
"For what reason do I exist", said Tawanda as he looked at the palm of his hands.Even though he was extremely tired he could not find sleep, he just lay down on his bed staring at the roof like a soulless doll.A loud siren rang for the workers to wake up and Tawanda like he had always down, got up, made his bed, grabbed a bar of soap from under the bed and a towel from the hanger then left his room.He joined the thousands of workers walking to the bathing hall.They all looked lifeless, as if they where zombies walking slowly towards their target.
The bathing hall had buckets pilled up for the workers to use, each worker would grab a bucket, go to any of the numerous taps on the walls, fill his bucker and find a big enough spot to bath.Tawanda filled his bucket with water, looked for a spot with little space which was all one could get and began bathing.The distance between the people bathing was so little that it would make anyone uncomfortable but years and years of bathing like this made the workers get used to it.Tawanda dried himself with his short towel put on his shorts and returned to his room.From the residential area to the forge the workers boarded rusty old trains.The trains only did one trip and so the workers would be heavily packed to the point that one could not move from his or her position until the train reached the destination.The forge was greatly vast and was headed by multiple skilled Blacksmiths.The thousands of workers arriving by train would grab a tools box each and go to their stations.Lifting shields,swords, spears to the cooler shoveling coal into the furnace blowing the fan, they did all kinds of hard work until it was tea break.A cup of sweetened water and as many pieces of dry corn flour bread anyone wanted with the rule that one must finish any amount he or she has taken.
After tea break they resumed work till lunch and ate the same food they ate on tea break with the addition of a bowel of as much beans as one could finish.Worked some more till the sun was about to set and ate the same food they hard for lunch.Tawanda wrapped three pieces of dry corn bread and hid it in his clothes.He safely passed through the gate, submitted his tools box and boarded one of the trains.
The workers were like soulless bodies, slowly walking to their residential rooms dragging their feet, it was indeed the sight of people who's spirits had been broken.Tawanda reached his room, removed his boots and left them outside then entered his room.
"I can't believe Im already 24", he said with a sad expression on his face and took a deep breath.He took a clean vest and spread it on the bed, took out the pieces of dry corn flour bread and and put pulled them on top of the vest.He pulled out a piece of metal he sharpened in the workshop without being seen and held it in his right hand.
" Happy birthday Tawanda, today is your special day", he said in a slow and calm manner and forced a smile on his face.With the sharpened piece of metal acting as a knife he began to cut the bread as one would a birthday cake.The cornflour bread was dry and hard, the metal piece acting as a knife not very sharp and so the bread could not be cut easily.As Tawanda put more force to cut it he became more and more frustrated and that frustration turned to anger. He jumped up from the bed holding the sharpened metal in his right hand and with all his might swung at the dry bread and as the sharpened metal reached the dry cornflour bread it sliced through it like a hot knife slicing butter or a samurai sword cutting through water.The knife sliced through the bread and continued to easily slice through the bed which was made of a metal base.Tawanda did not expect anything to happen and so lost his balance and fell down on top of the broken bed.Tawanda paused for some seconds without making a move with his eyes glued onto the sliced bed steel.
"What what what what what what just happen"
Tawanda said to himself with a seriously confused expression on his face then his eyes caught small faint dark grey bubbles and as he looked their way he noticed that they were bubbling out of the sharpened metal piece he was holding.The metal piece was clad in a dark grey tan colour as well the tips of his fingers.He looked closely at the phenomenon that was happening to him then dropped the sharpened metal.The dark grey colour disappear from the metal piece as soon as he dropped it but his finger tips remain the same.He closely examined his finger tips with great fascination but just after a few seconds of examining them the dark grey tan colour faded away.
"What's going on?"
Tawanda suddenly puller the bed back, dropped down, removed a wooden tile and took out a small box.I ln it where some items including a small picture and a blue rock.He took out the blue rock and held it tightly in his hand.
"Come on glow glow glow"
The rock was used to make magical light bulbs and so would glow upon getting in contact with anyone or anything that possessed mana and to Tawanda's disappointment the rock did not glow not even the slightest and so with frustration he threw it onto the ground.
" Even though I clearly know I can never use mana I had my hopes up"
Tawanda picked up the sharpened metal and looked at it careful and then at his right hand fingers.
"But if its not mana how then was I able to cut steel like it was nothing?, I should experiment and find out more"
He unhooked the metal bar where he hung his clothes and put it on the ground.He held the sharpened metal in his right hand and moved it slowly towards the metal bar but the sharpened metal did not cut the metal bar.He tried once more carefully and it did not work.
"Its not working, but why?, maybe I have to recreate the same situation as before so as to get the same results"
Tawanda closed his eyes and recalled what he was feeling just before he cut the bread and bed
"I was angry and seriously wanted to cut the bread and put a lot of force when swinging the sharpened metal"
Tawanda lifted up the sharpened metal and with great force swung at the metal rod on the ground and the sharpened metal just like before cut through the metal bar like a hot knife cutting butter.
"I did it!!!!!"
Tawanda repeated the same process over and over again and got the same results.
" Is it some sort of rare ability or unique ability that does not use mana", said Tawanda as he looked at his hands.He kept cutting the metal pieces until late into the night as he did not see the time move.
" Its already late, I should sleep"
He put the cut pieces of the metal bar under his bed and immediately went to sleep.Tawanda opened his eyes, he felt really refreshed and full of energy, a feeling he remembered from his childhood.He lay on the bed looking at the ceiling then stretched out his right hand as if to grab something and his eyes seemed like they were looking beyond the ceiling.
"I thought if I ever had the power I would want to reach the throne at the top of the tower and become king or become a hero, but now with everything that has happened, what the world became ever since the gate to the tower revealed itself to this world, the deaths, the experience, the greed the enslavement the death..."
"I gonna destroy it, I'M GOING TO DESTROY THE THRONE AT THE TOP OF THE TOWER"
He felt ecstasy as he said these words that came from the deepest parts of his heart, mind and soul.He began preparing for his journey, he stole small hammers when no one was looking, iron rods that where of no use and sharpened them on the grinder when no one was looking.He used old leather material that was thrown away to make a bag and belts.For supper he only ate boiled spinach leaves and stocked up dry cornflour bread.He used a small block of wood and carved two shabby looking water bottles.After a few days he was done with the preparations and so waited for the workers to sleep before secretly leaving.As the residential area became quiet Tawanda put on his blacksmith clothes, grabbed his satchel which had four iron rods sticking out at the top and wooden water bottles on the sides.He grabbed the door handle then looked back at his room one last time.
"Off I go"
He walked as quietly as he could until he was out of the residential area and enterer the mountainous area.
"Im not sure were the gate is but I know the railway from the Black chimney goes to the town that is near the gate, so all I have to do is follow the railway line.