War lord Kaede

"You know this is all your fault, Kaede."

His voice was calm. Too calm.

In front of me—blood. My parents. Still, lifeless.

I stood there trembling. My knees were about to give out. But I just stared.

"No... that's not true." My voice was barely a whisper.

"Yes, it is. Because you were born this way."

The click of the syringe echoed in my head. Black. Unnatural. In his hand, it shimmered like something alive.

I wanted to scream. Run. Wake up. But I was seven. And too late.

Why me, I thought, why did this have to happen to me?

It all began on the day I was supposed to receive my powers…

"Kaede, Kaede, come on, honey, we're late."

"Is it really that late already?"

"Yes, Kaede, come on, Dad's already waiting in the car."

"I'm coming, just need to change quickly." Today's the day – today I'll finally find out what my powers are. I got changed excitedly and smiled.

"Ah, there you are at last. Come on, hurry up, we're running late. And put on a jacket, it's cold outside."

I grabbed it and threw it on quickly, still smiling.

"Mmm… it won't close."

"Here Kaede, take my umbrella," my mother said, smiling softly. Then she quickly helped me close the zipper and gave me a gentle push on the back.

"Come on, Kaede, let's go. Dad's already waiting in the car."

I nodded with a smile and cheerfully ran to the car. I opened the door and got in. The leather seat smelled brand new, the car was shining. I could feel the seat heating – a real blessing in this cold. I made myself comfortable and leaned my sleepy head against the window. Just ten more minutes of sleep…

"You're ten minutes late and the first thing you think about is sleeping, Kaede," my father said, disappointed, like I was driving him insane. "Other kids are excited in moments like this – and you want to sleep."

"Sorry, Dad. Next time I'll be on time," I said sadly and looked down at the floor.

"Come on, Kaede, don't look so down. I didn't mean it like that."

Click – the front right car door opened.

My mother looked at me. Then everything went silent.

"What's wrong, Kaede?"

"Nothing," I said in a tearful voice. My thoughts were torturing me. "The way I'm acting… I'll probably get really bad magical powers…" I sobbed and wiped a wet tear from my cheek.

"No, no, sweetheart, don't think that."

"What did you do this time?! Making our son cry on his special day – shame on you!" My mother was angry. Again. At my father.

"Hey sweetheart – after the magic test, we'll go get ice cream, okay?"

"Yay, ice cream! I love ice cream!" My smile returned, and all the bad thoughts disappeared. Then Dad started the engine.

Waiting room:

There were kids everywhere like me. They were smiling. One in a green jacket was playing something on his phone, and then there was that one girl sitting right next to me. She kept looking at her father, then at my parents, back and forth. I wondered what she was doing. Her pink hair was being blown around by the wind coming through the window, and she wore cheesy shoes from a girls' TV show.

Then our parents were sent into the meeting room.

"What's your name?" the girl said.

Who, me? "Uh… Kaede."

"Hi Kaede!"

"Hey, I have to tell you something. My dad doesn't like it when I talk to strangers – so please don't tell him," she whispered.

Then she bombarded me with questions – how old I was and so on.

We laughed.

"Hey, by the way, what's your name?"

She stayed quiet for a bit.

"Huh?" I was confused.

"What's your name?" I asked her again. Then she looked up and smiled.

"Uhm… you can call me Airi."

"Okay, Airi. I'm Kaede." I grinned and held up my hand for a high-five.

She looked at me, confused.

"Kaede… what are you doing?"

"It's a high-five. You don't know what that is?"

She stayed silent.

"It's something friends do – they slap their hands together and celebrate."

"Oh," she said with a smile and slapped my hand.

"Was that right?" She scratched her head.

"Yeah, just like that!" I giggled.

"Why are you laughing, Kaede?"

"I just think it's funny that you've never heard of a high-five before."

"Hey, Kaede…" she interrupted me. "What do you want to do with your powers?"

It didn't even take me a minute to answer. "I want to use my powers to help everyone and bring world peace. Everyone should grow up in peace."

Back then, that was easy to say.

"I see," she said and giggled. "You want to be a hero."

"Not want – I will be one. And then anyone in need can call for me. I'll be there."

"Even me?"

"Of course. We're friends, after all."

Airi smiled – like something was weighing on her, but I didn't notice it back then.

The other boy in the room gave me a weird look.

Before I could ask Airi anything else, the door opened and she had to go. I said goodbye, but she ignored me. Then she left with her father.

Back then, I was really blind… but what else? I was only seven.

Airi:

Airi looked out the window.

"How many times have I told you not to talk to strangers, Airi?! And then you talk to him – are you insane?!" a harsh voice rang out in the car. But Airi didn't listen.

Then she smiled. "See you soon… my hero."

Kaede at home:

"Mom, open the envelope already! Open it!" I rushed in.

"Alright, alright, calm down."

Dad was cooking at the moment.

Mom opened the envelope. She went completely silent. Then she dropped the envelope.

Well, I kinda knew already… I thought.

"Yes! Ahahaha, yes Kaede, I knew it! You're something special, my darling! I just knew it!" She hugged me tightly and kissed me on the cheek.

"Kaede, promise me one thing – never use your magic to hurt anyone out of selfishness."

I nodded, but I still didn't know what the envelope actually said.

Then my dad, who had just looked at it, started cheering too and lifted me into the air. "Kaede, we're so proud of you!" He spun me around like a sack of potatoes. Then, after they finally put me down, I got to look inside the envelope too. I was excited and peeked in. There were lots of numbers and data I didn't understand – but I think they were important.

Then – bottom left – it said in big letters:

Explosion Magic – A-Rank.

An A-Rank at the age of seven has great potential to become Double-S-Rank later.

I was so happy, jumping around – it was the best day of my life. I had never been that cheerful. At dinner, I kept whispering:

"I'll be a hero. A hero. Heroy-hero. Hero. Hero. Hero."

At eight I had to go to bed. Even though I didn't want to, Mom forced me.

"Kaede, you have to go to bed now. A new routine starts tomorrow."

"But I don't wanna sleep."

"But you have to, Kaede."

"Alright…"

It was already ten o'clock, and I still couldn't sleep. It was pitch dark. The cold crept through the window like an invisible hand pulling the blanket off my body.

I slowly got up. My bare feet touched the cold floor. It was quiet. Way too quiet. No wind, no creaking, just the ticking clock in the hallway. I crept to the door, opened it slowly. No light. No sound.

I went downstairs.

Man, I'm starving.

The steps creaked under my weight. I held my breath – I don't know why. Something felt off. But I was too young to understand what.

Downstairs, everything was dark. Only a pale light shone through the living room window. No TV, no flickering lamp, no scent of lavender like Mom usually sprayed at night. Just… emptiness.

I padded on. The kitchen was right next to the living room.

"Kaede? What are you doing here?" my mother asked suddenly – her voice… didn't sound normal.

I turned around, but saw no one. "I'm hungry and wanted to grab something… did you hear me?"

"Yes… I woke up… because of you."

Her voice sounded… strange. Faint. Like through a tunnel.

"But I'm really hungry…" I mumbled. My hand reached for the light switch.

Click.

The light came on.

And I heard my world shatter.

Silence.

No – shock.

My pupils shrank. My breath stopped. My body no longer obeyed. I stood there frozen while my heart pounded like it wanted to run without me.

In front of me – less than four meters away – lay my parents. Their bodies disfigured. Blood everywhere. The couch, the floor, the walls… it wasn't a living room anymore. It was a nightmare. Eyes open. Staring. Empty. I could… I could even see organs. Mom's hand was outstretched, as if she was still trying to protect me.

My knees gave in. I collapsed onto the floor.

"That's a shame… but oh well. You can't escape me anyway."

The voice came from right behind me.

Slowly I turned – or tried to. My body barely moved. He stood there. A man in brown pants, his hair half red, half blue – like the smile on his face: half bored, half annoyed.

In his left hand: a syringe. Black. Unnatural. It shimmered like it held something alive.

"I told you to go back upstairs, Kaede."

My stomach twisted. I wanted to scream – but no sound came out. I looked to the stairs. Run, said a voice in my head. Run now, or you'll die.

I ran.

"Kaede… there's no point. Don't make this hard for me."

I stormed into my room, slammed the door, pressed myself against it, shaking. My chest rose and fell rapidly. I collapsed. Tears flooded my face.

"Why..." I whispered. "Why me... why... Mom... Dad..."

The door opened.

He was back. How? I had… closed it…

"I told you. It's pointless."

He came closer. I crawled backwards, away from him, until I hit the wall. I screamed – threw toys at him. Everything. Nothing stopped him.

"Are you ready?" he asked. He bent down to me. His face so close. I closed my eyes.

"You know, Kaede, it's all your fault."

"No, it's not true."

"Yes, it is. Because you were born this way."

Then the sting. Left upper arm.

Pain.

Cold.

Then nothing. Silence. I cried as the sound of sirens drew closer.

The room was empty. The man was gone.

Why… why me… I want to die. My face was covered in tears, then I heard the police entering the house.

Ten years later:

The legendary magic academy of Velmaria. Glowing towers. Floating platforms. Shimmering barriers. A place for geniuses, nobles, and madmen.

I'm Kaede. And I'm only here because the academy offered me a free apartment.

Shadow magic. Explosion magic. S-rank. Untouched for ten years – well, mostly. And I intend to keep it that way.

I want peace. To stay invisible. Sleep, read, do nothing.

But the moment I enter the classroom, someone calls out: "I'm looking forward to working with you, Kaede!"

And suddenly I'm in the top group of the year.

How did that happen? I ask myself the same thing.

Either way, this school is full of extroverted weirdos.