Chapter 4:
Bad Fate (Part 1):
As soon as Ernloph awakened his mana heart, he was able to neutralize the poison from the Red-Spotted Spiders and Letshaka.
But his body still felt like it was on fire, and his joints hurt like he’d been stomped on by an elephant. His weak body couldn’t handle the power of the awakened mana heart.
He kept fainting, and when he opened his eyes briefly, the scenery changed quickly—rocky mountains, dark forests, and swamps passed by.
‘Someone’s carrying me… ah, that boy?’
He could feel the boy’s breathing and body heat through his skinny back. He had thought the boy was a cruel and heartless person, but now it didn’t seem that way.
Even when they were surrounded by monsters and almost eaten by Letshaka, the boy risked his life to protect his brother.
Watching him wander around, carrying his brother on his back, Ernloph felt this kid wasn’t as bad as he first thought.
After about a day, they arrived at a shabby village. Ernloph heard voices arguing, but he was too weak to open his eyes.
“Are your ears broken? Want me to poke a few more holes? Bring me the medicine!”
“You little beggar, trying to ruin my business? Get lost!”
A man threatened the boy, and the boy glared back with a scary look in his eyes. Ernloph could feel a deadly energy coming from the boy.
‘That man is going to die… not the boy.’
Even though the boy looked weak and young, he was an aura user. The man didn’t even realize the danger he was in.
“Don’t fight,” Ernloph said weakly.
He didn’t think the boy would listen, but surprisingly, the boy calmed down.
‘Did he really listen to me?’
Ernloph felt touched, like a wild beast was obeying only him.
“Can we find a place to rest?” he asked.
“Okay,” the boy answered, still angry but walking away.
But every place they went turned them away. People didn’t want a dying person in their inn, or a beggar at their restaurant. Even at the well, the villagers accused them of being suspicious.
Each time, the boy got angry and wanted to fight, but Ernloph stopped him, and he listened. Ernloph felt sad for him.
The boy finally laid Ernloph down at the bottom of a hill because he was too tired.
“Hey, Tiri. Don’t die. If you die without permission, I’ll kill you myself.”
Ernloph looked up at the boy with weak eyes. He was skinny and dirty, but looking closely, he had strong bones and a face like a sculpture.
“What’s your name?” Ernloph asked.
“What? Don’t you know my name?”
“No.”
The boy checked his forehead, thinking he had a fever.
Ernloph couldn’t bring himself to tell the boy the truth—that his brother’s body was now taken over by someone else. He decided to hide the truth until he could fix the problem.
“I know my name is Tiri. What’s your name?”
“Kazar. It’s Kazar!” the boy shouted angrily.
Ernloph was shocked. In his empire, the name Kazar belonged to a cruel, bloodthirsty king who even killed his own family.
‘Why that name, of all names?’
“Do you want to change your name?” he asked.
“What the hell?! No!”
The boy got even more upset when he realized Ernloph didn’t remember anything.
“You forgot everything? Even me?”
“Yes.”
“Our family? Our village?”
“No memory at all.”
“Of course not! We didn’t even have a real home. Dad was the son of a criminal, and Mom was a quarry slave.”
Ernloph was stunned to hear that he was in the body of a criminal’s grandchild. The boy said their grandfather had betrayed the country in a war, so the family was executed, and their father was spared only because he was a child.
Now, Ernloph felt even more worried.
‘Is this boy really that King Kazar from 1,600 years ago?’
He shook his head, laughing at the idea. That couldn’t be true… right?
But if he really had traveled 1,600 years into the past, then he had no body to return to, no family, no way back.
Still, that was too hard to believe. For now, he would just accept that he was stuck in someone else’s body.
“Hey, boy.”
The boy didn’t answer.
“Kazar.”
“What?”
“Do you know who the king of this country is?”
“Why should I care?”
“Do you know or not?”
“Who cares about that stuff?”
Ernloph realized the boy really didn’t know. Probably didn’t even know the name of their country. Looking at the rags the boy wore, he couldn’t even guess the time period.
He tugged the old cloth the boy was wearing. It ripped easily.
Then the boy’s stomach growled—loudly. Ernloph couldn’t help but laugh.
“We need to feed you first.”
“Should I catch something to eat?” Kazar offered.
“If you can hunt, why were you starving?”
Kazar hesitated, then looked away.
“Because I thought you might die if I left you alone.”
Ernloph was shocked. While he was unconscious, the boy had been keeping him alive by pushing aura into his body to keep his heart beating.
“I’m not going to die.”
“What?”
“I won’t die living like this in a weak body. Don’t worry.”
He swore to return to his real body, get back his life as a noble magician, and marry his fiancée. But until then, he would not live like a lowly slave.
“Now that I’ve awakened as a magician, our suffering is over. I’ll make life easier for us.”
That wasn’t just talk. Magicians were respected in many countries and could rise to great power.
“Losing my memory isn’t so bad,” Ernloph said.
But Kazar cut him off.
“I don’t have long to live anyway. If you get the chance to leave, just go. Remember when you always said we should escape? And when we got caught, you went to the dangerous area so I wouldn’t die. Honestly, I like you better now that you’ve lost your memory.”
Hearing this, Ernloph remembered how Kazar had saved him in the mine. That must have been the reason they were separated in the past.
“Listen, brother. I’m not going to let you die for me again. And I’m not going to die like this either. If I’m going to live, I’ll live big.”
He said it with such determination that Ernloph was touched.
“You’re a bold kid. How do you want to live?”
“I want to rise high—where I never have to bow to anyone.”
“You want to be king?”
“Something like that.”
Ernloph shook his head.
“Being king is a pain. You don’t need that to live well.”
“True.”
Kazar smirked, remembering his painful past.
“Anyway, I’m going to live a badass life. So just watch me.”
He grinned. His eyes sparkled like oil, and in them, Ernloph saw the faces of the enemies Kazar would one day take revenge on.
Despite his dirty clothes, skinny body, and miserable state, Kazar looked amazing.
‘If raised well, he could become a great hero.’
His name might be unlucky, but that could be changed.
Ernloph decided that until he got his real body back, he would treat Kazar like a real little brother—and raise him right.
