Aurora battlefront: Era of Salvation

I opened my eyes as someone typing on a keyboard echoed in the room. "Huh?" I rose and scanned my surroundings with care. "Am I in the nurse's office?" I glanced over the room and, sure enough, I was definitely in the nurse's office. Viewing the room more, a familiar face entered my vision. "Nurse Rena?" I caught her attention and said, "Oh, you're finally awake." The nurse, glancing at me from her laptop, my gaze fixed on her, searching for answers.

"What time is it?" I asked her when I felt a sudden throbbing pain in my head. "It's about a quarter to five." "It would be best if you rested first," she replied, her eyes examining mine with intensity. She stood up and walked towards me. "Why exactly? So I got knocked out, huh?" raising another question as the nurse sat in a chair by my bed.

"This might be overwhelming. Just take a look," she said, holding up a mirror to show me my face. "Huh?" A cold sweat prickled my palms. I felt icy fingers gripping my spine as I took in the surreal sight. "This can't be... It can't be real right..?" I looked with doubtful eyes as I looked at the mirror.

The right side of my face, particularly my right eye, appeared distinct. "Is that a clock in my eye?" The clock seemed to pulse in my eye. Its hands froze, yet remained alive, as if time mocked my confusion. I struggled to grasp the strange reality. Observing more, the hands of the clock weren't moving. "Wait... Then does that means...." I glanced at her, searching for confirmation.

"You're correct, you've manifested your grace," she said, studying my right eye. "Wait a second. Are you telling me that I miraculously manifested one!?" I questioned, my brow furrowing in disbelief. Seeking answers, "I can't believe it... Just how?" Thoughts ran through my mind as I turned to the nurse with a confused yet curious expression. "I don't get it... Did some God take pity on me?" Hundreds filled my mind as I glanced back at nurse Rena to continue.

She nodded and dove into an explanation. "I know this must be confusing for you, but you're a late bloomer," she expressed, leaning back in her chair. "Children usually develop a magic vessel at ages four or five. It absorbs magic particles, known as MP, which fuel our world's powers. They serve as the foundation of graces." I nodded, my brow furrowed as I took this in. It was something we learned in school. For a graceless person like me, the information was probably of no value. I didn't need it, but I paid attention to it anyway.

My gaze went back to Nurse Rena as she took a quick pause in her explanation to let me clear my thoughts. "You can continue now, Nurse Rena," I stated as she gave me a quick nod and started explaining again. "Sometimes, a kid's magic vessel is too low to store it. Or, the body absorbs too few MP to activate the grace." She finished her explanation and looked at me for questions.

"Is there something you want to ask, Rei?" she asked, ready to help with any problem. As her words settled in, a wave of realization started to flow over me. My mind flashed to a memory I had wanted to forget a long time ago

"Wait a second. A doctor told me my body had almost no MP when I was first diagnosed. So, how did I gain enough for my grace to manifest so unexpectedly?" I glanced at her to confirm. "Well, I thought so too. But I dug more and found something that might intrigue you," Nurse Rena replied. She showed me something on her table.

"This is typically the appearance of a magic vessel core." She showed me an image of a small, yellow, spherical orb. "Now this one is what yours looks like." She switched the image to a similar previous core. When I looked closer, my eyes widened in disbelief. "Is that a core inside another core?" I questioned, looking back at Nurse Rena to confirm. "It seems so. I've never seen this phenomenon before. So, I don't know the second core's purpose." She looked back at me, looking at my reaction.

I looked down at the sheets, my mind swirled with different emotions. "I can't believe it... all this time I had a grace of my very own." My heart raced as disbelief mixed with hope. A wave of wonder crashed over me, leaving me breathless. It was as if I had found a long-lost part of myself. I gripped the sheets with my hands as tears dripped down my cheeks.

Realizing the situation, she then spoke, "Well, I let you take in the news." She stood up and left the room, the sound of the door sliding shut behind her. Silence filled the space, leaving me alone with my thoughts. "All my life, people have told me that I am nothing special." My heart ached as memories flooded back of a past I didn't want to remember. I couldn't hold back the tears.

A flood of childhood memories overwhelmed me. In particular, the day they deemed me graceless, the time I hoped to be close. The day they declared me graceless. I closed my eyes as my mind drifted back to a simpler time.

***

In the kitchen, the sound and smell of food filled my nostrils. I tugged on my mom's apron and asked, "Mom, can I please watch TV?" I looked at her with pleading eyes. "Fine, I'll let you watch TV," she caressed my hair with affection; my laugh filled the room with warmth. "Yay! Thank you, Mom!" I shouted with joy as I rushed over to the living room.

I went over to the couch, grabbed the remote, and turned the TV on to watch the news. "Ladies and gentlemen! The generation of monsters finally debuted! They defeated a catastrophe-type monster!" the reporter announced. The scene switched to a cheering crowd.

I declared, my eyes sparkling with excitement, 'When I grow up, I want to be just like Dad and them! With a smile so bright it could light the world, I heard a giggle. Turning around, I saw Mom leaning on the kitchen doorframe, watching me with a smile on her face.

Her teasing voice rang out. "Addicted to the news, eh?" I sprang up, bubbling with excitement. "Just wait! When I'm older, I'll be up there too!" My eyes sparkled, fixed on that distant, glittering future.

"Alright now, little Esper, it's time for bed now," Mom stated, bending down and picking me up as she carried me to bed. "What? Nooo! I wanna watch more...." I objected, waving my tiny arms around. "If you want to be an Esper, Rei, you must sleep. You need to grow big and strong like them," she said. She placed me on my bed and sat next to me.

"Awww... But I wanna stay up more," I protested, using my cuteness to convince her. "That move won't work twice against me, dear. Tomorrow is the day you find out what your grace is," she countered, settling me on the bed. Before kissing me on my forehead. "Sweet dreams, dear," she turned off my lamp as my eyes closed.

[End of chapter]