Copyright ? 2025 Crimson Bean

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  First Edition: 03/2025

  Cover Art by Crimson Bean

  Written by Crimson Bean

  ---

  Chapter 3 - The Unbearable Power

  Ten years had passed since the night Soutaro was abandoned.

  The river had carried him away, but fate had placed him in the hands of a kind woman—a lone widow living on the outskirts of a quiet village.

  She named him Soutaro Arakami.

  At first, the villagers didn’t question where she found him.

  But soon, they began to notice things.

  Animals avoided him. Insects died if they got too close.

  The air around him would feel too heavy, like a storm on the verge of breaking.

  And sometimes—when his emotions spiked—objects moved on their own.

  Doors creaked open without wind. Stones trembled at his feet. The very atmosphere seemed to bend around him.

  They didn’t understand it.

  And what people don’t understand, they fear.

  At first, they whispered behind his back.

  Then, they stopped letting their children near him.

  And soon, they started calling him "the cursed child."

  Even though no one knew where he came from.

  Even though he had done nothing wrong.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  His mother—his only family—always defended him.

  "He’s just different, not dangerous."

  But even she couldn’t change their fear.

  Even she couldn’t protect him from what he truly was.

  Because at the age of five, his true nature awakened.

  And his own power nearly crushed him.

  The night it happened, the sky was clear.

  Soutaro was only five years old. But his mind—it was far beyond that. He understood things no child should. His body was still human and it was breaking.

  A sudden BOOM echoed inside the room. The floorboards cracked beneath him as an invisible force erupted from his body. The air around him became unbearably heavy, pressing down with an unnatural weight. The pressure crushed the walls, making them groan as if they would collapse at any moment.

  Then, his skin began to tear.

  The pressure from his own power—his telekinesis and aerokinesis—was too much. His fragile human body couldn’t contain it. His bones snapped and mended, his muscles tore apart and regenerated instantly, trapping him in an endless cycle of destruction and healing.

  Pain.

  Unbearable, inescapable pain.

  He clenched his teeth so hard that blood seeped from his gums. His nails dug into his arms, but even that sensation was swallowed by the overwhelming agony consuming him from within.

  His body refused to stay still—it floated slightly above the ground, his telekinetic aura distorting the air around him. Wind howled in the room despite the windows being shut, sending objects flying and shattering against the walls.

  And then, a whisper echoed in his mind.

  "You were never meant to be human."

  His eyes widened. He didn't know where the voice came from. It wasn't his own. It was… something else.

  His heart pounded violently against his ribs, his body continuing to break apart under his own power. He felt like he was drowning in a storm that he couldn't control.

  "Stop… please stop…"

  But there was no stopping.

  His body collapsed, his breathing shallow. Blood trickled from his nose, his eyes, his mouth.

  His powers were protecting him, but they were also killing him.

  A loud CRASH sounded as the door slammed open.

  The woman who had taken him in—his only family—rushed in, her eyes wide with terror.

  "Soutaro!" she screamed, running toward him.

  But the moment she got too close, the wind repelled her, sending her stumbling back. Her heart pounded as she saw the floating child—his body broken, his skin healing just to break again.

  His small hands gripped his chest, his tiny frame convulsing in pain.

  "Soutaro!" she tried again, stepping forward despite the suffocating pressure in the room.

  Then, suddenly—

  The pressure vanished.

  Soutaro collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.

  His small body twitched as his breathing remained shallow. The woman dropped to her knees, carefully pulling him into her arms.

  Tears streamed down her face as she cradled him.

  "What… what is happening to you, my child?"

  The wind outside howled as if answering her question.

  Just like that.

  Soutaro’s trembling stopped. His breath slowed.

  And for the first time in hours—his pain faded.

  He didn’t understand it then.

  But deep inside, his body knew.

  She was the only thing keeping him together.

  A Boy with No Place

  For the next ten years, he tried to live as normal a life as he could.

  But his uncontrollable powers are not normal. He was not normal.

  He learned to control his breathing. To suppress the invisible weight of his presence.

  But the villagers never forgot.

  They always kept their distance.

  Even though he never lashed out. Even though he never hurt anyone.

  They still whispered.

  Still watched him with unease.

  Still treated him like something that wasn’t human.

  The only one who never looked at him that way… was her.

  His mother.

  But over the years, he noticed something changing.

  Her body grew weaker. Her breathing grew slower.

  She tried to hide it. She always smiled, always acted like everything was fine.

  But Soutaro could feel it.

  Feel the exhaustion that clung to her.

  Feel the toll it was taking on her body.

  And deep inside, he knew—

  It was because of him.

  ---

  -The Resolve to Leave-

  Ten years later.

  That day he made a decision.

  "Mom… let me go."

  His mother paused, setting down the bowl of rice she was holding.

  She didn’t speak.

  "I want to learn how to control this. I want to protect you. Protect this villagey. I need to be strong."

  She sighed. "Soutaro, you don’t have to—"

  "I do." His voice was firm.

  He refused to let her keep suffering for him.

  "There’s a place." He exhaled sharply. "The old training academy—the Seishin Academy. They teach people like me. People who can… do things normal humans can’t."

  Her expression darkened slightly.

  "Who told you about that place?"

  "The merchants in the city. They say warriors are trained there. That people with strange powers… like me… learn how to control them." His voice softened. "If I can do that, I won’t be a danger to you anymore."

  She closed her eyes.

  For a long moment, she said nothing.

  Then—she smiled. A sad smile.

  "You’ve already made up your mind, haven’t you?"

  He nodded.

  A single tear rolled down her cheek.

  "Then I won’t stop you."

  And just like that—his path was set.

  ---