Days turned into weeks, weeks into months… Months into… whatever.
Look, you're not an idiot. You get the point. Time passed.
Anyway—
Before I knew it, I was nearly four. Three years and six months old! A real milestone, huh? But honestly, age was just a number to me. What really mattered was proving to the world how amazing I was.
Take my walking skills, for example. My first steps were a wobbly, almost tragic performance, but they were celebrated like I had just invented movement itself. Cheers, claps, the whole works. And now? Crawling was a thing of the past. I could roam the house with the freedom I deserved.
Man, have I missed using my legs like this!
And speaking of independence—guess who was finally tackling the bathroom situation all by herself?
…Okay, maybe 40%.
Fine, 35%.
Look, let's not dwell on the occasional, uh… setbacks. Progress is progress!
But the real achievement? Dressing myself.
Shirts, skirts, bandanas—you name it, I could (eventually) put it on. Sure, Elza could do it faster, but speed isn't everything! I was getting better.
At this rate, give me another month, and I might even be able to tie my shoes without adult intervention.
Now that's real growth!
…Right?
Heh.
Just wait until they hear about my next big achievement!
After what felt like an eternity, I had finally mastered my tongue. My words flowed smoothly now—swift, light, and crisp like a freshly sharpened blade.
Naturally, I kept this milestone a top-secret from my parents. Had to make a dramatic reveal, after all.
So, one sunny Sunday, I marched right up to them on my own two feet, ready to make history.
And what did I find?
Bruno, hunched over his laptop, completely glued to the screen. Elza, her fingers a blur, scrolling at Mach speed through her phone.
Bruh.
Seriously, guys? Too much screen time! Priorities, please. You have something far more important to focus on.
Me.
So, naturally, I took matters into my own tiny hands.
I snapped Bruno's laptop shut—the audible clap making him jump. Then, with expert-level precision, I snatched Elza's phone mid-scroll.
You should've seen her face. Absolute shock.
And just like that, I had their full attention.
I cleared my throat delicately (with a very cute, fist-over-mouth "ahem"), then, with the utmost seriousness, I declared:
"Mother! Father! There is something I wish to say!"
The words tumbled out—clear, confident, refined. Sure, a few tricky sounds still gave me trouble, but their jaws hitting the floor was proof enough that I'd just broken reality as they knew it.
Oh, what a glorious feeling! My stomach practically tickled with triumph!
Bruno's eyes bulged like saucers, a choked laugh escaping his lips. Elza gasped, her hands flying to her mouth, tears welling in her eyes.
They looked at each other, then back at me, as if I had just revealed the secrets of the universe.
"Since when could you speak like this, Lily?!" Bruno asked, hastily pulling off his protective glasses and swapping them for his regular ones. His voice wavered with emotion.
"Yesterday, you barely managed twenty words a day! And now you're speaking in full, complex phrases?!"
I giggled—a high-pitched, musical sound that even surprised me. Then, grinning mischievously, I stuck my tongue out and declared:
"See? Big words for little me!"
Then, for the grand finale, I puffed out my chest with mock importance, raising my chin ever so slightly.
"That does not necessitate further explanation, dear Father!"
"There's something I wanted to check with you!" I announced, swinging my tiny arms from my seat. "Is it really true that there's no Flow in the atmosphere?"
Bruno, who had been rubbing his eyes from too much screen time, froze mid-motion.
"You… do know we have no relation to Flow, right?" His voice was cautious, as if afraid I was about to say something mind-breaking. He glanced at Elza, then back at me, his brows furrowing. "But I do remember Romeo mentioning that Flow doesn't exist in air or atmosphere… So, yeah. That's the general understanding."
He set his laptop aside, his face still caught between bafflement and curiosity. Then, with a small, affectionate smile, he opened his arms, inviting me in.
Naturally, I accepted.
Now, don't get me wrong, I love Elza tons! But there's just something about being scooped up by Bruno that hits differently. Maybe it's because he's, well, Bruno.
(…Or maybe because he's a whole different gender, but that's a mystery for another day.)
I nestled comfortably in his lap, his broad, steady hand stroking my hair. The warmth was soothing, like a weighted blanket of safety.
"That's strange," I mumbled, half-distracted by the delicious sable cookie Elza had left within my reach. "If there's no Flow in the air, then how come I can see it?"
Silence.
I mean, I definitely wasn't mistaken.
That misty, dense texture? I had already analyzed it when watching Romeo wield his Flow. It swirled around trees, clung faintly to rocks—it was everywhere.
And the kicker?
It wasn't just isolated to objects. It floated. All around me. A faint, grayish-white mist that drifted lazily through the air.
I finished the cookie with a satisfied hum, but my question lingered in the air, heavier than before.
No response.
I tilted my head back, my big, innocent eyes locking onto theirs.
Bruno and Elza, who had barely recovered from my earlier vocabulary flex, were now staring at me as if I had just revealed the secrets of the universe.
Their jaws? Dropped.
Their eyes? Wide.
Their synchronized, utterly stunned reaction?
"Excuse me?!"
Their voices blended in perfect harmony, equal parts shock and disbelief.
Huh. Was it really that surprising?
Well, I sort of understood why they were so shocked.
According to Romeo, awakening Flow wasn't just about gaining a cool power—it came with a package deal of weirdness.
First off, the pendant on my necklace was supposed to light up in a certain color once my Flow awakened. Apparently, that color meant… something important. But Romeo had been frustratingly vague about what that something was.
Which is why, some days ago, I decided to check for myself.
I took a peek at my pendant, and guess what? It had turned white.
Not just any white—the same dense, misty white I could see floating all around me.
At first, I wasn't sure what to make of it. But now?
Might as well drop the bombshell.
I lifted the pendant, grinning. "Look! It became white!"
...
No reaction.
Bruno squinted, eyes narrowing in confusion. "Lily," he said carefully, "I see the pendant, but it's still clear. Just like it's always been."
Huh?
I blinked. What?
Elza gave me a concerned look, echoing his arched brows, then shook her head.
What.
No way.
It's literally glowing white, right here in my hand!
Romeo said that anyone could see it if it changed color! Even non Flow weilders.
A knot of frustration twisted in my stomach. Were they messing with me?
"But it is white!" I insisted, my voice trembling slightly. "It's full of white light! You have to see it!"
Nothing.
They just kept staring at me like I was hallucinating.
I clenched my tiny fists, swallowing down the bizarre feeling that I had just lied—when I knew I hadn't.
I took a slow breath. Okay. Fine. Moving on.
The second thing about awakening Flow?
I had become hyperaware of it. Not just in myself, but in everything.
It was everywhere.
A strange, tingling sensation had settled under my skin, like the entire world had been whispering to me in a language I had only just begun to understand.
Flow hummed in the furniture, pulsed faintly in the food on my plate, and even danced erratically within the bodies of some people and animals.
It was like reality itself had gained an extra dimension—a hidden energy field only the chosen could perceive.
And finally, there was one last piece to the puzzle.
Romeo had told me that something unusual was supposed to happen.
Some physical manifestation of my awakening.
Maybe it would be a surge of Flow bursting out of me.
Maybe a foreign Flow integrating with my own.
Or, hell, maybe I'd even go through some bizarre physical transformation mirroring the Flow I absorbed.
But nothing like that happened.
Instead…
Something else did.
I had checked two out of three boxes on Romeo's "Signs of Flow Awakening" list.
But the one I did manage—seeing Flow in the atmosphere—was apparently enough to send my cool uncle into a panic.
And I do mean a full-blown, running-for-his-life panic.
The doorbell's frantic jingle shattered the calm afternoon like a bomb going off.
Romeo burst through the door.
No greetings. No dramatic uncle entrance. Just pure, undiluted urgency.
"There is no Flow in the air, atmosphere, gases, electricity—!"
His voice was sharp, clipped, like he was trying to convince himself more than anyone else.
His eyes—they wouldn't stop moving.
They darted all over my body, flickering with a rare kind of intensity.
And for once, it wasn't the entertained, doting Romeo I was used to.
This time, he wasn't smiling.
He was afraid.
A slow, chilling fear.
"Young Lady." His voice lowered, suddenly formal. "Describe exactly what you're seeing."
I hesitated, then nodded, licking my lips. "At first, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me!"
I took a breath. "It started subtly—a faint shimmer in the air, like heat waves rising from the pavement on a hot day.
I blinked, thinking it was just my imagination. But it was still there.
Not quite mist. Not quite fog. But something… luminescent. Alive. It danced everywhere, shifting, swirling."
A silence settled over the room.
Romeo… laughed.
A short, breathy, disbelieving sound.
"You couldn't describe how Flow looks any better…"
Then, to my shock, he dropped to his knees.
His intense gaze bore into mine, his eyes filled with something deeper than fear.
It was like he was searching for something—something hidden inside me.
Then, after a long, suffocating pause…
He simply shook his head.
Romeo's hand trembled as he reached for the pendant, his fingers grazing its surface like it might burn him.
Then, his jaw slackened.
His entire body stiffened, a shudder rolling through him as if the very air around us had shifted.
"I... I don't believe it." His voice cracked, barely above a whisper. "How can this be?"
My parents exchanged a worried glance.
Elza's lips pressed together, unease flickering in her eyes. Bruno, usually the calm one, leaned forward, his gaze darting between me and Romeo like he was trying to piece together a puzzle he didn't want to solve.
Romeo exhaled sharply, turning to them, his voice unsteady.
"The pendant should take on the color of the first Flow the Young Lady absorbs.
"But this—" His fingers clenched around the pendant, as if holding it tighter would change the impossible reality before him. "—this pendant isn't colored at all."
Silence.
Then, in a lower, almost reluctant murmur:
"It's full of Flow. An invisible Flow." His eyes met mine. "A Flow that only the truly gifted can see."
A weight settled over the room.
Elza's breath hitched. Bruno's knuckles turned white as he gripped the arms of his chair.
Romeo continued, his words slow, deliberate.
"That alone is incredible. But there's something else. Something… much more concerning."
A pause. A hesitation. Then—
"New awakeners are always the same. Their Flow starts as pure white… tinged with faint gray for the exceptionally gifted. It takes years of training—years of control, experience, and lots more—to unlock your Flow signature, to shape it into something unique to you.
But the Young Lady…"
His gaze flickered to me. "...her Flow signature is already here."
A deep, slow breath.
"And it's pitch-black.
Obsidian. Heavy. Overwhelming.
Suffocating."
No one moved.
No one spoke.
The room hung in a fragile silence, thick with tension. Three pairs of eyes bore into me, yet not a single word left their lips. They were still processing it—still trying to make sense of the impossible.
As for me?
My fingers instinctively reached for my necklace, brushing over the smooth surface of the pendant. That white mist inside... That was Flow of the air?
It clicked.
No wonder I reacted to it first. It made sense. The air was everywhere. It surrounded me, filled my lungs with every breath, wrapped around me like an invisible embrace. If Flow truly existed in the atmosphere—if it was the very thing I absorbed first—then of course it would manifest in my pendant.
But then…
Why was my own Flow black?
I swallowed. A signature. Romeo had called it my Flow signature. But that wasn't supposed to happen.
Awakeners didn't get their signature right away. It took training, experience—years of struggle. Yet here I was, barely three and a half, and I already had one?
No…
Wait a sec.
If I really thought about it—if I really put the pieces together—
Hadn't I already lived through hell?
Hadn't I already faced mysteries and hardships far beyond my years?
Not in this life.
But in the one before.
Yeah…
That was the only explanation that made sense. For now.
Romeo suddenly stood, his expression tense. His fingers twitched as he paced the room, brows furrowed deep in thought.
"The pendant… It's practically overflowing with Flow," he murmured, voice laced with uncertainty. "And yet… it's still colorless."
His words hung heavy in the air, but honestly? I wasn't about to let them huddle together and whisper secrets without me.
Yeah, nah.
I launched myself forward, wedging right between Elza and Romeo, staking my claim in the conversation. Nice try, guys.
Romeo barely noticed, too lost in his own mutterings. "It's bizarre… I can feel the Flow within the pendant—it's there, undeniably there—but I can't see its color." His hand absently brushed against his beard as his gaze flickered between Bruno and Elza.
"There's something I want the Young Lady to try… So, can we go to my place?" His tone turned firm, his usual casualness giving way to serious intent.
Elza's eyes narrowed immediately. "You're already throwing her into this Flow nonsense? We have enough on our plate as it is—"
"I want to go, Mother."
My own words cut through hers like a blade.
She blinked. "You… want to go?"
I nodded without hesitation. "I know I'm still young. Too young, even. But it's already set in stone, isn't it? Sooner or later, I'll have to walk this path."
I clenched my fists, standing my ground. Better sooner than later.
If something this powerful was inside me, I needed to understand it. Control it.
And if my past as Ash Wyvern was truly tied to my Flow signature… then wasn't this the very life I had lived before?
I met my parents' eyes. Waiting. Watching.
They exchanged glances, silent and uncertain.
But the answer was clear.
Bruno exhaled and gave his wife a slow nod. A decision was made.
Elza sighed, then ruffled my hair, a small, wry smile tugging at her lips.
"Well… it can't be helped, then."