In the Windward estate, the cold night had settled in. Most people had long since retired to bed, and only the night birds stirred in the silence. I stood alone on the balcony, the moonlight brushing against my skin, and slowly raised my hands with open palms.
In all the magic movies i'd watched, this was how it worked, right? You stretch out your hand, and the magic just... flows out.
In the novel Petals of Fate, Azure was said to possess weak water magic, barely enough to be useful. He rarely used it. But now, standing in this world, I couldn't help but feel the flicker of old dreams I had as a child-the ones where I wished for superpowers, for magic, for something extraordinary.
I thought I'd grown out of that. Yet now? If I can actually use powers... maybe this reincarnation thing isn't as bad as I thought.
The world of Petals of Fate was set in a land built around six core elements: air, water, fire, earth, light and dark. Not everyone had magic, but anyone could train to use mana and aura. Magic items also helped those without talent to weild basic spells.
The nobility and royals held the strongest powers. the royal family, for example, was known for their fire magic. That's why the kingdom of Oriolis bore the phoenix as its symbol-only the true heir could weild the phoenix's fire.
Light and dark were the rarest elements. Though they could be replicated artificially by using magic stones or, in case of dark magic, sinister sacrifices; only a handful were born with them. In the story, only two characters possessed them naturally: the heroine with light, and the demon king with dark. That's what made the heroine the saintess and brought her to the capital.
Elemental magic itself had unique variations. The twin brother Glenn and Rowan, for instance-both had earth magic. But Glenn controlled veins of the earth, while Rowan manipulated stone and rock. Even their eye colours and aura types were affected by these differences.
Some rare individuals could weild more than one of the four natural elements. Those were the mages-scholars of magic who usually lived in tall towers and devoted their lives to magical research. They were few and revered.
So... that was this world's magic system. And now, I was a part of it.
"Why am I not able to use any powers?" I muttered.
I kept my hands stretched, staring at my palms. I started chanting.
"Water power! Water bubble! Water shot! Water blast!"
Nothing happened.
I frowned. "Isn't this how it works? Or do I need an incantation... or some dramatic pose?"
I sighed and shut my eyes, "I wish i could make at least a small bubble."
A soft drip echoed. I opened my eyes-and there, in front of me, a small puddle had formed on the balcony floor.
"Wait... did I just do that?"
My heart skipped. I looked at my hands again, this time focusing harder. I pictured a bubble-a perfect sphere of floating water. My palms tingled. When I opened my eyes, I gasped.
A shimmering water bubble hovered in front of my palm.
"I did it! I DID IT! I can use powers!"
Yes, I squealed. It sounded embarassingly girly-but I didn't care. I had magic!
Next, I tried a bigger bubble. I focused hard, picturing a large ball of water.
...But it was the same size as before.
"Huh? Why isn't it bigger?"
Then I tried imagining a jet of water shooting at the tree in front of the balcony.
A splash of water landed merely a few feet away.
Again, a little stream.
"Why won't this work!?" I groaned, dramatically facepalming.
"Ugh, what is this weak power!?"
Well, I had read that Azure's magic was weak... but I didn't know it was this pathetic.
"What's the point of a power that can't even scare abird?"
Leaning on the railing, I let out a sigh. "I want to play an instrument," I murmured. "I wish I had a flute..."
I closed my hands and imagined holding a flute. I didn't even mean to use magic-but suddenly, I felt it again. A tingling in my hands.
When I opened my eyes, water swirled into my palm, slowly forming a long, delicate shape.
Thin. Smooth. Hollow.
"...Wait. is this a flute?"