I slowly opened my eyes.
And immediately, I froze.
Another figure stood before me. Not the old man. Not Yakashi.
I scrambled backward in panic. "Am I dead again?! I just got reborn! I'm only two years old how could this be? Is this your fault? And… why am I naked and fat again?!"
The figure's presence was calm, but powerful, like a mountain wrapped in mist. He stepped closer, his eyes gleaming with authority.
"I am Otamu," he said, voice like a flowing river, steady and serene. "The god of Swordsmanship. Calm yourself, boy. It was you who abused your body, channeling full power when you are only a toddler. You must control yourself. Never forget that. But do not neglect the path of the sword, as your father wishes."
I blinked. "Am I dead? And… what about when I turn six?"
Otamu sighed softly, almost kindly. "You are not dead. You simply fell asleep after using all your mana. Oops… looks like I have no time left. Come find me when you turn six, alright?"
"Not you too…" I muttered, my frustration mounting.
And just like that, he vanished.
---
I woke up drenched, shivering slightly from the water residue still clinging to my tiny body. My parents hovered above me.
"Hikaru! Are you okay? What happened?" my mother asked, panic flashing in her eyes.
I smiled faintly, holding the magic book tightly to my chest. They noticed.
"Did you read the book?" my father asked, suspicious.
I shook my head vigorously. I couldn't tell them I had read the Japanese spell they would know I didn't belong to this world. Luckily, they didn't ask further, just worried for me and carried me inside.
---
Far away, in the shadowed kingdom of Devilas…
Kikatsu, a general with unnerving instincts, sensed a powerful creator emerging. The feeling of danger made his blood run cold. Above the clouds, a faint light shone a magical presence unlike any he had felt before.
"The King… Azareth… may be reborn again," Kikatsu muttered. "This one is a threat. Find them and eliminate them immediately."
With a gesture, he summoned *Abrythm*, the Ice Queen her power capable of turning ice into blades sharp enough to pierce armor and shatter mountains.
"You will destroy the remaining water casters," Kikatsu commanded.
---
In Hikaru's town, far from Devilas but within reach of the magical energy…
King Haku sensed the incoming danger. Clouds twisted darkly overhead, unnatural and menacing. He summoned his knights and called for all guild masters and members to defend the kingdom at all costs.
The first strike came quickly. Abrythm summoned massive ice blades raining down on Lapryth, colliding with water, fire, and wind spells from the defending mages. Sparks shone like stars in the chaotic sky, elemental forces clashing violently.
From outside the town, Hikaru watched wide-eyed. He could see Abrythm approaching, and though he sensed danger, his tiny body was powerless. Yet… something stirred in him. A faint aura of energy, almost instinctual, called to the threat.
---
Back at home, panic erupted. My parents were terrified.
"Hikaru, stay behind me!" Yare shouted, summoning water streams from her palms.
Abrythm and her frost-forged allies crashed into the yard, ice whistling around them.
"You," Abrythm hissed, voice cold as glaciers. "Are you the one who cast that magical water blast into the sky?"
"Step back from my son!" Yare shouted. "He had nothing to do with this!"
"Then show me the water caster," Abrythm replied, icy wind howling.
Yare's eyes glowed as she summoned a mighty *water dragon* from the streams surrounding her. It roared, biting and slashing at Abrythm's ice weapons, swirling the battlefield with violent sprays and splashes. Fire and wind from nearby mages collided with the ice, creating clouds of steam, freezing blasts, and sparks flashing like lightning.
---
The battle raged with incredible intensity:
I watched from the side, powerless and soaked, my little heart pounding.
But even Yare's mighty water dragon could not withstand Abrythm. With a ferocious ice wind, Abrythm flung Yare across the yard, slamming her against the wall.
Mihatu rushed forward, sword in hand, swinging with every ounce of strength but even his strikes bounced harmlessly off Abrythm's icy defenses. She ignored him, focusing entirely on Yare, mistakenly assuming she was the caster of the water blast.
And in the middle of it all, I sat, tiny and powerless, clutching my magic book.
*This… is just the beginning,* I thought. *I have so much to learn…*