I fell in love with you in my new life

POV - Luahn

The first time I walked through the doors of the Hypnos Warrior Training Academy, I was six years old.

I remember it clearly.

The sky was gray that day. The tall branches of the Hypnos Tree swayed above the city as if watching each child take that first step. As if deciding who would be worthy... and who would not.

The academy was made of old, solid stone. Moss grew on the edges of the walls, and red and silver flags hung from the roof of the entrance, waving solemnly. Each one bore the symbol of the wolf and the intertwined blade, the emblem of the city.

I didn't know it at the time, but I felt like those fabrics were judging me.

Next to me, dozens of children walked in line. Some were nervous, others anxious. They all talked to their parents or laughed among themselves.

I... walked alone.

"Luahn, remember what I told you," Mom said before leaving me.

She bent down to put my cape on more carefully.

"It doesn't matter what they say. It doesn't matter what they think. You're going to shine in your own way, okay?"

I nodded. I tried to smile. But my stomach was in knots.

She kissed my forehead and squeezed my hand. Then she left, looking back at me three times before disappearing into the crowd.

And I went in.

The Preparatory Academy wasn't just a place to train warriors.

It was a bastion of discipline, knowledge, and tradition. A kind of sacred filter that determined who was destined for great things... and who wasn't.

Students entered at age six and remained until age twelve. During those six years, we were thoroughly trained. In the mornings, we took lessons in ancient history, writing, reading, mathematics, and basic theory.

The instructors were tough, but they knew what they were doing.

"To read history is to read the enemy," said one named Mael, pointing to a map of ancient conflicts against demons.

"A warrior who does not think is just a clumsy blade," repeated Professor Inaé, who taught us mathematics with enviable patience.

But after lunch... physical training began.

And there... everything changed.

The first day of combat was chaos.

The ground was wet from recent rain, and the wooden swords weighed more than I imagined. We were paired by size, not skill. I was with a thin but agile boy.

I thought I could hold my own. I had trained with Emilia back then. I knew how to defend myself.

But at the first exchange of blows, I understood.

He had Yang energy. I didn't.

His movements were faster, his reflexes sharper as a member of the wolf clan. There was something in his body that responded naturally, instinctively. I saw it coming... but I couldn't match it.

He threw me to the ground with a seemingly simple twist of his wrist.

It didn't even hurt. What hurt... was the laughter.

"What's that?" whispered a nearby child.

"Why did they let someone like him in?"

"He has no fangs... no strength."

"He's the half-human son. The one without pure blood."

I didn't know who had said what. But the words fell on me like stones.

Emil showed up the next day.

Tall, with black hair tied back and a sharp face. He had the look of someone who knew the world was at his feet. He was the son of one of the three leading families of the Wolf Clan.

He didn't speak to me. He just looked at me. He smiled sideways.

And as he passed by me, he muttered,

"I hope you're not as pathetic as you look."

I didn't answer.

Because at that moment... I was.

Despite everything, I didn't give up trying.

I liked the sword. I felt that when I held it, something aligned inside me. That even if I didn't have that extra energy, I could use my body, my precision, my concentration.

And for a while... I clung to that.

The teachers began to notice. Some of them, at least.

"Luahn has good technique," one instructor commented after a class.

"He lasts longer than most," said another.

But no one said anything about Yang.

No one said anything about what he didn't have.

*

The hardest thing for me... was seeing Emilia from afar.

She was eight years old now. And even though we were in different grades, we sometimes ran into each other in the courtyard or at group practices. She was always surrounded: Liifa, Selena, and her other classmates... her circle was strong, cheerful.

Liifa was her best friend. They lived close by, trained together, laughed at things I didn't understand.

Sometimes they exchanged gestures just by looking at each other.

Emilia and I used to do that.

Now, she only looked at me when she thought I wasn't watching.

And I pretended I didn't care.

But I did care. A lot.

*

Once, during training, Emil knocked me down effortlessly.

I was tired. He was full of energy.

He hit me with the flat part of his sword, right in the stomach, and knocked the wind out of me.

"You're not even good enough to practice," he said quietly as he walked past me.

I saw Emilia at the back of the field. I had seen her.

And when our eyes met, she looked away.

She didn't look at me again for the rest of the day.

That night, I sat alone on the edge of my bed, my arms covered in bruises.

Mom came in with a steaming bowl of tea.

"Tough day?"

I nodded.

"Do you want to talk?"

I shook my head.

She stroked my hair silently.

And just before she left, she said to me:

"Those who weren't born to fit in... are the ones who were born to change something."

I didn't quite understand what she meant. But I kept those words in mind.

The next day, I trained harder.

I lost again.

I fell again.

But that night... I dreamed about her again.

The woman with wavy blonde hair.

Her blue eyes with twinkling lights.

Her soft smile.

Her outstretched hand.

And a single word from her appeared in my mind:

"Not yet."

*

POV - Emilia

I was eight years old when I began to understand that the world was not fair, much less kind to those who were different.

It wasn't that Luahn was quieter. Or that he isolated himself. It was that they avoided him. Even when he did nothing. 

Even when he trained harder than everyone else, when his fingers were covered in blisters from repeating sword positions, when he forced himself to stay on his feet even though his body couldn't take it anymore.

I watched him. Always from a distance.

With every blow he received, my chest tightened.

With every fall, I felt it too.

But I couldn't move.

Not out of cowardice.

But because I didn't know how to do it without breaking what we had already ceased to be.

Luahn was... different. And not just because he was mixed race.

It was as if something in him was incomplete.

He was incredible with the sword. Precise. Steady. Balanced.

Much more so than most of our classmates.

But... he had no Yang energy.

And in this city, that was the same as having nothing.

My days at the academy were different from his.

I had Liifa, my best friend. A girl with short hair and a sharp tongue, who told me things straight and was always willing to train with me even if we ended up covered in mud.

Selena was quieter, always watching from the shadows, but she knew how to listen.

And Remin... well, he and his friends tried to get close, but they never quite found their rhythm.

He said strange things to get attention, and although he was kind, he was just another sword companion.

"Is something wrong, Emilia?" he asked one day as we were returning from the practice field.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because you look a lot toward the east side... where the younger boys train."

I didn't answer him. I just looked down.

He understood that he shouldn't insist.

*

One day, I couldn't take it anymore.

After watching Luahn fall for the third time in a row to Emil, while the others laughed, I walked away from the group. I looked for Liifa, who was cleaning her sword near the well.

"Liifa..."

"What's wrong?"

"Do you think someone without Yang energy can ever fight at the same level as the others?"

She raised an eyebrow, surprised.

"Who are you talking about?"

"...No one. It's just a question."

"Does 'no one' happen to be Luahn?"

I didn't say anything.

She sighed and rested her sword on her shoulder.

"He's good with the sword. Very good, in fact. But it's not enough. Without energy... it's like having a bowl without water. It may be pretty, but it doesn't quench your thirst."

I wanted to argue with her. But she was right.

That didn't make it any less unfair.

That night I talked to Mom.

Not directly, but she could read me just by looking at me.

"Is someone bothering you?"

"...Yes."

"Is it someone close to you?"

"It was. It still is, I guess."

Mom came over and stroked my hair.

"When the people we love are lost in the shadows... it's not always enough to reach out."

"Then what do I do?"

"Light their way. Even if they can't see it yet."

The next day, I took advantage of a free moment to look for Instructor Mael, who supervised the younger students.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Emilia. You always have permission."

"Is it possible... for someone to awaken another type of energy? One different from Yang."

He frowned. He wasn't expecting that question.

"Are you talking about Yin energy?"

I nodded.

"In theory... only humans channel Yin. But in very rare cases... a long time ago, it was used as a last resort in war. Although it's not useful for direct physical combat like Yang."

"But can it protect? Help?"

"Yes. But it would be... unconventional. Very difficult. Why do you ask?"

"...No reason."

"Because of Luahn?"

My body tensed.

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone. Just... be careful. Whatever he awakens... it won't be easily accepted. Tradition is stronger than logic."

Since then, I started reading more.

Studying the old books in the library.

I looked for clues, records, legends. Anything that talked about unusual awakenings, about humans who weren't human, about children who didn't fit in but still became important.

I didn't find much. But I didn't stop trying.

Because even though I laughed with my friends... even though I trained hard... even though Dad avoided looking at me every time I made progress with my sword...

Luahn kept falling alone.

And me...

I couldn't stand still.