Shadows of a second life

The next day arrived bright and clear. Elias met Elyra at the same old oak tree bench as promised. She was already waiting, silver hair tied back neatly, a small basket of fresh berries in her lap.

“You came,” she said softly, a hint of relief in her calm voice.

“Of course,” Elias replied with a grin. “I said I would.”

They spent that first afternoon simply talking. Elias learned that Elyra lived with her elderly grandfather, a retired herbalist, and that the other children often teased her for her quiet nature and unusual hair color. In return, he told her lighthearted stories about his family — Elara’s energetic sword training mishaps, his father’s dramatic storytelling, and his mothers’ teamwork in “disciplining” Elaric.

By the third day, Elias offered to teach her magic.

“You don’t have to,” Elyra said shyly, twisting her fingers together. “I don’t want to be a burden.”

“You’re not,” Elias insisted. “Besides, it’s more fun practicing with someone else and you specifically asked me to teach you right?”

"So why the cold feet now ".

"Alright, I guess so she responded, but based on your response when I asked you it seemed like you didn't want to."

"Elias looked at her and said: come,let me teach you."

Their training sessions became a daily ritual. They met in a quiet clearing a short distance from the village, far enough that stray spells wouldn’t cause trouble. Elias started with the fundamentals — teaching her how to sense and gather mana properly, then moving into true beginner spells like stable fire orbs and pressurized water bullets.

Elyra was a fast learner. Her calm personality translated into excellent focus, and within two weeks she had mastered the basics solidly. By the end of the first month, she had reached intermediate level — something truly extraordinary for a normal child her age. Elias’s own progress had been an unusual outlier; most people took years to reach this stage.

During one session, Elyra raised her hand and unleashed a proper intermediate water cannon. The spell roared forward with significant force, slamming into a thick tree trunk with a thunderous crack. The tree splintered and toppled, leaving a wide scar of shattered wood and flying debris. She followed it up with a rapid series of hardened mana rock bullets that punched clean holes through several smaller trees in succession.

Elias watched with genuine awe. “That’s incredible. Intermediate at your age? You could probably take on a C-rank monster like a goblin pack if you had to. Most normal people take years to get this strong.”

Elyra blushed faintly, tucking a strand of silver hair behind her ear. “It’s because you’re a good teacher.”

Elias’s internal monologue: Good teacher? Nah, she’s just naturally talented. I’m basically winging half of this. If she keeps improving this fast she might actually overtake me one day. Wait — does that mean I’m a good teacher? Nice! Take that, past me who failed every group project.

As the weeks turned into months, their friendship deepened. They spent time together beyond training — wandering the village market, sharing snacks on the bench, or simply sitting in comfortable silence watching the clouds. Elyra’s calm personality balanced Elias’s occasional overthinking, and she gradually opened up more about feeling like an outsider.

One sunny afternoon, while they were resting after practice, Elyra shyly reached out and held his hand a little longer than necessary while supposedly “checking his mana flow.”

“You’re really warm today,” she murmured, cheeks pink.

Elias’s internal monologue: Warm? Maybe I have a fever from overusing mana yesterday. Or is this some kind of mana-sharing technique I don’t know about? Girls are weird sometimes. Probably just being friendly. Yeah, that makes sense, I mean I can never bang such a baddie with my average status."

Elyra grew more annoyed (and more determined) with each oblivious response.

Another day, during a picnic she prepared, she leaned closer than usual while offering him a handmade sandwich.

“I made this one extra for you,” she said softly. “Because you’re… special to me.”

Elias’s internal monologue: Extra? Did she add more meat? Nice! She’s such a good friend. Wait — why is her face so red? Is she allergic to something in the sandwich? Should I check? No, don’t ruin the moment, idiot. Just eat it and say thank you.

Elyra internally screamed but kept her calm exterior, grateful beyond words that she had met him. She had fallen for him — hard. Even if he was denser than a castle wall.

Their bond continued growing through seasons. Elias taught her more advanced techniques — better mana efficiency, remote casting basics, and refined control. Elyra, in turn, taught him about herbs and simple healing salves from her grandfather’s knowledge. They laughed together when spells went wrong (Elias once accidentally created an oversized water cannon that flooded half the clearing and soaked them both). They sat together during village festivals, sharing sweets and watching fireworks.

One quiet evening on their bench, Elyra rested her head lightly against his shoulder as the sun set.

“I’m really glad I met you, Elias,” she whispered.

Elias’s internal monologue: "She must be tired from training. Shoulder rests are comfortable, right? Totally normal friend behavior. Don’t overthink it. Just enjoy the sunset like a normal person,damn why is she doing this, I'm not cutout for all this, should I touch her hair ,no let's just leave it the way it is."

Elyra sighed internally but smiled anyway.

Elyra internal monologue

I will wait. He's worth it.

And so their days continued — filled with magic practice, quiet conversations, shared snacks, and the slow, beautiful growth of a friendship that was becoming something much deeper for one of them.

Elias, oblivious as ever, drowning in his past life relationship trauma he refused to accept her advances thinking what kind of girl could possibly like him for not being easy to manage. And so he simply felt happy to have a friend who made the world feel a little less heavy for him