Echoes of Fire and Shadows

Chapter 4: Early in the Morning.

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Screams of terror resounded in my mind… The hot atmosphere around me was suffocating… My forehead was completely covered in sweat… The smell of burning flesh invaded my nostrils… 

I was in the middle of a highway… Everything around us was burning…

The frontal part of the car where I had just been leisurely traveling in was suddenly crushed by another vehicle… I was on the back of the car, so I was safe.

I could only look at the hand that was hanging from what was left of the passenger's seat. It was the hand of a woman… My biological mother.

"Oi! There's a kid in there! We need to get him out!" An unknown man shouted.

I could only look in stunned silence at the hand of my mother… Blood was streaming from what was left of her arm...

"Everyone, please go to safety! The professionals got this covered!" Another man shouted.

A group of men quickly approached the window of the car where I was in… They were all dressed like firemen.

"Mom… Dad…" I could still not believe what I had just witnessed.

My own voice sounded distorted and distant...

"The flames are spreading! Get him out now!" One of the men shouted his orders.

The rest of the men nodded.

"Mom… No…" I continued to look at the remains of my mother. 

I could feel how tears were already streaming down my cheeks, but I simply couldn't accept what had happened...

"Now!" The man from before shouted again.

The door on the right side of the car was pulled out completely. One of the men immediately grabbed me and dragged me out of the car.

I didn't resist… I was just hopelessly looking at what had remained of the car. Only the back of the car was intact… The rest was utterly destroyed.

"Mom… Dad… You have to help them…" I pointed to the car.

Yet, none of the men said anything back to me.

"Take him to an ambulance quickly. The rest of you, come with me. There's still people to save out there!" One of the men shouted with authority before running off somewhere. 

The rest of the men followed except for the one carrying me.

"We'll get you to safety, so hang in there!" The man tried to comfort me.

His words didn't matter to me… I was too busy looking at my parents' car which was about to be consumed by flames.

"No… Don't leave…" The car got further and further away, until I could no longer see it...

A sea of flames then devoured everything around me...

---

I opened my eyes only to see a slightly familiar ceiling. 

I immediately took a deep breath to calm myself…

"It's been a while since the last time I had this dream…" I whispered to myself while looking at the ceiling of my room.

I raised my upper body and looked at the window. It was still dark outside.

"Sigh…" I sighed heavily.

I usually cannot sleep after having that dream, so I was a little annoyed.

"..." I kept looking at the window after remembering my dream.

That dream was actually the memory of the death of my biological parents from Earth. That accident happened when I was 7 years old. At the same age I am currently in my new life.

The accident supposedly happened because a truck that was transporting inflammable materials crashed in the middle of the highway which caused the cargo to combust and explode. The forest near the highway caught fire almost immediately, starting the worst forest fire in the history of the country I lived in.

"I wonder if my parents were reincarnated just like me? Wherever they are, I hope they are happy and well..." I closed my eyes again to pray for them.

It has been thirteen years since their deaths…

I'm not really traumatized by the event, I went to a therapist for several years after the accident. Therapy helped me a lot, but it didn't help me get rid of the only remnant of the accident, this dream.

It just feels like a distant memory and that’s it. I don’t have breakdowns when I think about it nor do I start crying. I can talk about the details of the accident without a problem.

The only thing that still affects me to this day, is that dream… That memory...

I opened my eyes and got out of my bed after I finished praying.

"I guess I should look for something to do instead of fruitlessly trying to go back to sleep." I nodded to myself.

I should try not to make a lot of noise though. Especially considering that it is still nighttime.

I walked out of my room in complete silence. As one would normally expect, everything was dark and quiet.

Well, not everything. Just like when I woke up from my nap, the door to go outside was slightly opened. There was light outside. The light was illuminating everything through the small opening of the door.

Naturally, I decided to investigate the source of the light.

I walked towards the door and then opened it a little bit more and then got my head out to peek at whatever was producing the light.

The thing producing the light was a small portable lamp with a candle inside. The lamp was on top of a tree trunk.

The one using the lamp was Fred.

He was holding one of the swords that I saw when Fred brought me to his house.

"..." Fred was silently looking at the horizon. 

Fred started to quickly swing his sword over and over again.

The muscular giant looked as if he was doing just some light exercise. He was swinging the heavy-looking sword without any kind of struggle.

I could only look at Fred with awe.

After swinging his sword vertically for a while, he then changed the direction of his swings and started swinging it horizontally.

He swung his sword to the left and then back to the right in quick succession, countless times. He kept increasing the speed of his swings, but he wasn't sweating at all.

I was barely able to keep up with the speed of his sword.

It really seemed like it was only a light exercise for Fred...

I simply stood there looking at Fred with amazement... I was hypnotized by the movements of the sword...

He kept swinging the sword for a while…

"Phew… That was a nice warm-up." Fred spoke to himself.

He had left the sword leaning against the tree trunk where the lamp was resting on.

"Now then…" Fred suddenly turned around. “I don’t mind if you want to see me practicing. I could use someone to talk to while I train.” Fred was looking directly at me.

I’m not going to lie, I got a bit spooked because he turned around and spoke to me without a warning… I almost stumbled backward because of it...

“I guess I should have said good mornin’ first?” Fred scratched the back of his head

“Umm… Good morning…” I smiled bitterly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to spy on you… I couldn’t sleep, so...” I apologized to Fred.

“It’s fine, don’t worry. I get it.” Fred nodded to himself. 

He didn’t seem to mind that I was watching him train…

“So? Don’t you want to get a closer look? Most kids your age like this stuff.” Fred smiled confidently. He beckoned me to get closer.

Oh! Maybe I will be able to hold a real sword! Swords and magic… This world is definitely amazing!

After that incident with those goblins, I definitely need to learn how to protect myself.

No… If I'm hoping to even start looking for a way to release Melius, I need to become strong…

I didn’t waste any time and made my way towards Fred.

As soon as I got close to him, he started ruffling my hair.

“So? Why couldn’t you sleep?” Fred looked at me with curiosity.

“I had a bad dream and couldn’t go back to sleep, so I was looking for something to do to pass the time.” I shrugged.

“A nightmare huh…” He started ruffling my hair vigorously… “Everyone has a bad dream every once in a while… I understand why you couldn’t go back to sleep.” Fred suddenly looked at the sky as if he was reminiscing about something.

I couldn’t help but look at the sky as well…

(Ah…) I was completely amazed and also a bit perplexed.

The night sky was filled with thousands upon thousands of stars that were forming some unknown constellations. Two gigantic moons were covering a great area of the night sky. One of the moons was pale blue colored, while the other looked like an exact copy from the Earth’s Moon. The two moons were glimmering; bathing us with their dim light. 

“I get it all too well…” Fred suddenly muttered that to himself while looking at the moons.

“Fred, so why are you up so early in the morning?” I asked Fred.

He stopped looking at the beautiful night sky to look at me in order to answer my question.

“I usually get up a few hours before sunrise in order to train myself. It is my daily routine. A warrior should always be polishing their skills!” He raised the sword that he was holding with his right hand… “Training also helps me to relax, you know?” He scratched the back of his head in an awkward manner.

“I see…” I nodded in understanding.

Fred suddenly smiled at me.

“Kid, would you like to join me? Since you aren’t able to go back to sleep, why don’t you start the day with some exercise?” He said with excitement. “I’ve been needing a training partner for a while now... So what do you say, kid?” He smiled confidently.

Hmmm…

I couldn’t help it, but I ended up looking very intently at the sword that Fred was holding in his hand…

The nostalgic feeling I felt when I saw the same sword yesterday was back… I felt like I had used one before, but that would be impossible since I never actually touched a sword before...

“Kid?” Fred tilted his head with confusion.

“Fred… Ummm… Could I try to hold the sword first…?” I asked awkwardly.

“I have the feeling that this thing should be too big and heavy for a kid like you… Are you sure you want to try?” He seemed worried about my safety.

I just nodded in response. I needed to get to the bottom of this nostalgic feeling…

“Very well.” Fred reluctantly accepted. Fred then crouched and offered the sword for me to grab it.

I grasped the grip of the sword with both of my hands… I could already feel the weight of the sword which was almost as big as my body…

“I don’t think I can hold it by myself… It is heavier than I expected…” I smiled bitterly.

“Aye. Swords like this one must be heavy and durable. That is why this one is a good sword.” Fred explained. “Try to get familiar with it. Don’t worry about dropping it, I will hold it for you.” Fred looked at me with a serious expression.

“Thank you, Fred” I thanked him just as I started examining the sword.

The hilt, the pommel, the guard, the fuller, the point, the edge… For some reason, I instinctively knew the name of each part of the sword.

The nostalgic feeling became stronger and stronger just as I was examining the sword…

“Fred, could you teach me how to use a sword?” I asked Fred while my heart and mind were still being taken over by the strange sense of nostalgia.

“That’s a bit sudden… I mean, sure... But I need to ask you why you want to learn... I don't want Lilia to suddenly get mad at me because you might end up getting hurt...” Fred looked worried.

“I don’t know why, but I feel nostalgic just by examining the sword…” I tilted my head because of the confusing feeling.

“Oh… Is that so?” Fred asked with a serious expression. “Kid, wait here for a second...” Fred suddenly got up and ran towards the shed. Naturally, Fred took the sword with him.

I looked at the shed with confusion…

What was that about?

After a minute or two, Fred came out of the shed. He was now holding a pair of wooden short swords in his hands.

He walked towards me while still having a serious expression on his face.

“Here.” He handed me one of the short swords as soon as he got close to me.

I accepted the wooden sword, but as soon as I did, a strange sense of familiarity took over me.

"Kid, please try to hold the sword in a way that feels more natural to you." Fred seemed like he wanted to test me.

More natural to me huh…

I fell deep in thought for a moment…

My body moved on its own… My right hand was placed right above the pommel of the sword and my left hand was directly below the guard.

I pointed the sword at Fred and then took a stance.

Fred looked really surprised about it…

"This stance feels extremely familiar… I feel very comfortable like this. Am I doing it correctly?" I asked Fred.

To be fair, I was also very surprised about how comfortable this stance and holding a sword felt to me…

"Ah...Yeah! That is a good posture you have there, kid! Your feet are well-positioned and your arms are firmly holding the sword at a good angle." Fred spoke with an awkward tone… As if there was something bothering him about this.

"Is that so?" I asked as I looked at my wooden sword.

Was the former owner of this body already practicing swordsmanship? That would explain the sense of familiarity and nostalgia…

"Kid, now try to swing your sword as many times as you can." Fred looked at me with interest.

I nodded.

I took a deep breath as I raised the wooden sword over my head and then quickly swung it down as fast as I could.

"Hmm…" Fred kept looking at me with a serious expression.

I swung my sword again and again… With each swing, I was feeling more and more comfortable with the sword.

For a moment, I even thought that I was born for the sake of holding a sword…

I didn't stop swinging the wooden short sword… Even when I started to sweat or when my arms were feeling numb, I continued to swing the sword.

It was such an unusual feeling...

"Kid, you can take a break now." Fred looked a bit concerned.

"Phew…" I stopped practicing my swings and took a deep breath.

(Man, that felt great!) I was extremely happy thanks to this exercise.

"Fred, I can still go on!" I said with excitement.

I was full of energy and in a very good mood!

Swinging that sword really did wonders for me! I can't help but wonder why though…

I guess it is not that important right now.

"Is that so…?" Fred looked a bit dumbfounded. "Well, if you're feeling that energetic, then how about we do the full training course? Are you up to the challenge, kiddo?" Fred still seemed to be a bit concerned.

"Let's do it!" I smiled confidently.

"Okay then… We will begin our training running around the field for an hour or so, then we will move on and we'll do some push-ups, then some sit-ups, after that then you will swing your sword again for a few minutes and finally, we will end our training routine doing a mock battle. What do you say, kid? Do you still want to train with me?" Fred spoke with a very serious tone. 

He was trying to tell me that his training was going to be difficult…

I didn't really feel discouraged. In fact, it was the opposite. I was feeling extremely motivated.

"I can handle it! Don't worry about me!" I smiled at Fred.

Fred looked a bit taken aback… He then smiled bitterly and scratched the back of his head, before nodding.

"Let's begin then, kid." Fred turned around and prepared himself to run.

"Yeah!" I said with increasing excitement.

"And… Go!" Fred shouted as he started running.

I immediately ran as fast as I could to catch up with Fred. I was prepared to give my all in this training. 

I was really determined to complete this training session. 

I will give my all!

---

-----Lilia's POV-----

"Yaaaawn…" I yawned just as I got out of our bed.

I started stretching for a bit…

"So sleepy…" I muttered to myself.

I was not able to have a full night's sleep. My mind was very focused on the mysteries we currently have on our hands.

That mystery being Julius, of course.

"..." I rubbed my chin in silence as soon as I remembered what I had discovered yesterday when I was helping him take a bath.

It turns out that Julius is extremely compatible with all the [Six Primordial Elements] and other types of magic.

That is actually not that uncommon since I and my daughters are also compatible with all of the elements.

The problem actually is that his compatibility with each element is far too high for normal standards. Even me and the twins don’t have that kind of compatibility...

The compatibility of a person with any of the [Six Elements] is usually heavily determined by the personality of that person.

For example, people with high compatibility with the Fire Element tend to be wild, abrasive, and very energetic most of the time. The opposite happens with the Water Element, the people who have the most affinity with the element are usually far calmer and composed compared to those with affinity to the Fire Element.

People compatible with the Wind Element have a playful nature, those compatible with Earth Element are taciturn more often than not.

Those who use the Light Element are often considered people with a kind and gentle nature, while those who use Darkness are often secretive, less kind and some even say that they are cruel most of the time.

Now, I’m not saying that all of those who use the Light Element are saints or those that are compatible with the Dark Element are cruel people without a heart... Even some who are one with the Fire Element could be the most patient people in the world, while some others who are proficient with the Water Element could be quick to anger.

I’ve seen taciturn and cruel Wind Element users and bubbly and easygoing Earth Element magicians.

It is your Personality that determines your affinity, not your affinity with an Element that determines your Personality.

But that’s when the problem with Julius appears... 

Julius has the exact same high level of affinity with each of the [Six Elements]. Normally, that would be impossible, but Julius isn’t exactly normal to begin with, so…

Anyway, Liliana, Luna, and I, who are also compatible with the [Six Elements], still have a higher affinity with one element over the rest. For the record, Liliana and I are very compatible with the Wind Element while Luna has a higher affinity with the Light Element.

“Sigh… Just another mystery to add to the rapidly growing pile of mysteries that is Julius.” I muttered to myself while brushing my hair.

He’s a cute and a very polite kid, but there are way too many unsolvable mysteries about him that make me really worried...

The fact that he, a young kid, appeared in such a dangerous place like the [Great Forest of Falgren] and also that he knows nothing about where his parents are or why he was left in this place… It is just pitiful...

What if his parents are dead and we have to break the news to him? The mere thought of that honestly breaks my heart...

His Titles as both [Reincarnator] and [Transmigrator] also made it very difficult for me to sleep last night… 

What even is the meaning of him having the two titles!? 

Does it mean that he doesn’t have any parents or family to begin with!?

Ugh! This is giving me a headache already!

“Or worse… He might be like the [Heroes from Another World]...” I got shivers down my spine thanks to the mere thought of that happening.

I quickly shook my head to deny that possibility…

But even if I tried to deny it, it was a very real possibility… The problem about his high affinity with the [Six Elements] makes it possible for him to be similar to them...

[The Heroes from Another World]... As the name implies, it is a group of people summoned from other worlds to our own in order to “save” our world from danger.

These [Heroes] are out of the norm in almost every way possible. Their strength is simply overwhelming and their capacity to grow stronger is even more absurd than their strength... They also bring from their worlds unique and outrageous ideas that more often than not make our society fall into chaos.

A lot of people call them ‘saviors’ because of that overwhelming strength and some other people call them ‘monsters’ who should be controlled because of the previous reason...

But the truth about these [Heroes] is that they were simply kidnapped from their worlds only to be used as tools by the ones who summoned them…

There’s only a select group of people in the whole world who know how to summon [The Heroes of Another World]... The ruler of my home country, The Emperor Greyfus Daimer Marcel and his close family.

It is said that the Gods themselves granted them the right to summon more [Heroes] after the ancestor of the Emperor defeated the original [Demon King] more than two thousand years ago…

A right that, in my opinion, was nothing more than a mistake made by the Gods…

“Master… What would you do if you were in this situation like me? What should I do…?” I muttered and prayed to the memory of my teacher…

My mentor, Arentia Mardik, probably the most famous magician on the continent in the last century, was the one who revealed the truth about [The Heroes] to me…

She always told me that if I met someone from another world, I, as her student, had the duty to protect them from the grasps of the Royal Family…

I still remember the sad expression that she made every time she told me that… I never really understood why, but now… It is different… After meeting The Emperor after the death of my mentor and meeting Julius here, everything is clearer to me now...

I stopped getting ready for the day as the idea of The Emperor getting his hands on Julius crossed my mind…

“No… We cannot allow that…” I shook my head vigorously and looked at the mirror with indignation.

That man and his family will not have their way this time… I made up my mind about this.

Even though it is not confirmed that Julius is from another world, there’s enough evidence to support that theory… And knowing that man as well as my husband and I do, he will not stop until he gets what he wants...

“HAAA! TAKE THIS!” I heard a child scream as loud as his little lungs would allow them to.

At that moment, I looked at the window… I saw my husband who was having a mock battle with the small Julius… He was trying his best to endure the attacks of my husband.

“Get strong…” Those were the only words that I could mutter.

There was no doubt in my mind… The child needs to become stronger as soon as possible.

The Emperor would use all of his influence and power to get Julius if my speculations about his origin are true...

He must be strong enough to protect himself from that heartless man.

“Guuuah...!” Julius was sent flying after receiving a counterattack from my husband…

I heard a loud crash afterward… I knew that Julius was alright because I could still sense his mana.

“I’m really hoping he’s just similar to the [Heroes] and not the same as them…” I talked to myself with worry.

While I don’t know the specifics of the summoning ritual, I do know that only a maximum of three [Heroes] can be summoned at the same time if the right conditions are met. My teacher once told me that the conditions for that to happen are almost impossible to meet. The Royal Family would require an enormous amount of rare materials and mana to make it happen, so it simply isn't worthwhile for him to try. 

That explains why only one [Hero] is summoned every now and then instead of the maximum number of [Heroes]... The Royal Family and The Emperor lack the materials to summon too many of them at once.

My mentor also explained before she passed that if a [Hero] or a group of [Heroes] were about to be summoned, there were going to be signs that would be noticeable for everyone in the world to see…

That fact that we haven’t seen or heard of any noticeable signs of a [Hero Summoning] and the fact that The Emperor would never allow such a useful tool as a [Hero] to escape his grasps, actually confirms that Julius is not a [Hero].

That is very relieving for me, but we can’t actually be sure that he’s not one of the [Heroes]...

“Mom… Dad is being loud again…” Liliana came into the room. She had a very sleepy expression.

She was holding the hand of her little sister, who was barely keeping herself standing.

“Is that so? I didn’t realize.” I smiled at her.

"Make him shut up… I wanna sleep some more…" Liliana was a bit moody.

Luna nodded feebly in agreement with her older sister.

"Hmm… Getting some more sleep sounds good." I said with a teasing smile. "I guess I will go and tell the boys to keep the volume down~." I said as quickly finished getting ready for the day.

"We'll be going back to sleep…" My twin daughters turned around to leave. After a few steps, Liliana stopped after she realized what I had just said. "The boys?" She turned around and asked me.

"Yep! Your father must be pretty happy to finally have such an enthusiastic and hardworking training partner." I nodded to myself.

Liliana then fell deep in thought… Her sleepy expression was completely gone as she realized who was the training partner of her Father.

Luna was still about to fall into the grasps of the Realm of Dreams.

"Luna, let's go to the bathroom quickly!" Liliana now had a very serious expression on her face.

She started dragging her sister away from my room.

"Ehh!? Where am I!?" Luna shouted with confusion.

"No time for that!" Liliana didn't care about her confused sister and simply kept dragging her to the bathroom.

"Hehehe!" I started giggling as soon as my daughters left the room.

I don't really mind having him as a son-in-law since they like him so much. Fufufu~.

"I can still keep going!" I heard Julius shout very loudly.

I looked towards the window again to see him holding a sword and panting heavily.

Well, it looks like I might be worrying a lot when it is not necessary...

"Hopefully, that person will help us to find the truth about him." The image of our close friend crossed my mind.

For now, I will not mention any of my worries and just treat him like a normal kid. That's the best I can do for now.

"Time to make some breakfast!" I raised my fist into the air with excitement.

With renewed vigor, I left my room in order to prepare food for the very hungry pair of boys outside.

Ah… That person also said she was on her way, so maybe I should make some breakfast for her too since she likes to show up unexpectedly.

I left the room while humming the melody of my favorite song.

---

Chapter 4: Early in the Morning.

END