JOURNEY TO THE HEAVEN TO HELL

The Forgotten Past: The Prince's Destiny - Chapter 4

On the training ground, Luna and Ren stood ready.

Luna announced, "Watch closely, Ren. I'll demonstrate some magic for you now."

Luna closed her eyes, concentrating deeply on wind magic. Winds began to swirl around her, and she opened her eyes abruptly, unleashing an attack that shattered the target before them.

Ren watched, utterly bewildered.

"See, see?" Luna exclaimed, a proud grin on her face. "Wasn't that impressive magic? That's how you do wind magic!"

"Wait," Ren interjected, "when did you even cast the spell? I didn't see anything!"

"Oh, right! I completely forgot," Luna chuckled. "That's the nature of wind magic. When you cast a spell or unleash an attack, it's neither visible nor tangible. It goes straight to the target. You can't see the attack because it's made of air, but if you concentrate hard enough, you might perceive it."

"Hold on, I'll show you again."

Luna once more closed her eyes, focusing on wind magic. She gathered the air around her and launched another attack.

"Wait," Ren insisted, "but I still didn't see it! How did you even make that attack?"

"You still couldn't see it?" Luna paused. "Alright, let's try something different. You do exactly as I say, and then you'll be able to do it."

"Look, stretch your hands out like mine, close your eyes, and concentrate. Feel the wind flowing within you, around you, everywhere. Imagine you're as light as air, and you're gathering the wind within your hands."

"Okay," Ren agreed.

He mimicked her posture, closing his eyes and extending his hands, attempting to perform wind magic. But he failed. He tried repeatedly, but nothing happened. He practiced countless times, yet he couldn't conjure even a wisp of wind magic.

"What's wrong?" Luna asked, confused. "Why aren't you able to do magic?"

"I don't understand," Ren admitted, his brow furrowed. "Why can't I do this magic? I learned water and fire magic just by watching. Why not this one? Is it because I can't see it?"

"Hold on," Luna said, a sudden realization dawning on her. "Perhaps I understand. Do this: close your eyes and delve into your water magic. See what you find inside. Do you see a small pond? A tiny waterfall? A small river? Or is it an ocean? If you see an ocean, it means you possess immense power. A river means a little less."

"Similarly, concentrate on your fire magic and see what appears. Do you see a flickering flame? Or molten lava? Or a volcano? If you see a volcano, it means your fire magic is immense. If it's lava, it's still powerful. If it's just a flame, it means you have some."

"The same goes for wind magic. Look within yourself and see what appears. Is it just gentle breezes? Or a swirling gale? Or a massive tornado? If you see a mighty tornado, it means you possess a great deal of wind magic."

"For instance, I see a storm within my wind magic. That means I have a lot of wind magic."

"Okay," Ren replied. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his water magic. He saw an ocean, a vast, boundless ocean.

An ocean? he thought to himself. Do I truly possess such immense power?

Next, he concentrated deeply on his fire magic. Inside, he saw a volcano.

Wait, a volcano? he thought again. That means my fire magic is also incredibly strong!

Then, with great difficulty, he concentrated on his wind magic. What he saw was a blank field with only a gentle breeze sweeping across it. Wait, what is this? he thought. Just a breeze and an empty field? No storm, no gale, no tornado, nothing!

He opened his eyes.

"What happened? What did you see?" Luna asked.

"I saw an ocean and a volcano," Ren explained. "But for wind magic, it was just a blank ground with a gentle breeze. I don't understand what that means."

"I think," Luna mused, "you probably don't have wind magic, or at least, very little. You have a lot of fire and water magic, but the power of the wind element isn't strong within you, I believe."

"Do as I say, and you'll be able to cast a spell once. Concentrate on wind magic. Form a small ball of air in your hands and attack. You'll definitely be able to do it."

The main character followed her instructions. He concentrated on his hands and launched an attack. A spell materialized, but it was incredibly small, tiny.

He was happy, yet also disheartened, because even though he could cast a spell, it was so weak. Perhaps he truly lacked the power of wind magic.

"But Sister," Ren asked, "how do you know all this? Where did you get so much knowledge?"

"Because I also have teachers," Luna replied. "They taught me everything. I learned it all from them."

"Alright then," Ren said, and ran off.

"Wait!" Luna called out, "What about my condition? The one we agreed upon?"

But the main character was already gone.

The scene shifted.

Ren sat in his room, concentrating on wind magic, trying to make it stronger. He put in immense effort, practicing tirelessly, but he couldn't make it any more potent. He could only cast very small spells. He read books, applied his knowledge, tried everything, but it was no use. He could only manage a tiny spell.

Much time passed with these attempts, and he grew tired. He thought to himself:

If I truly don't have wind magic, how will I learn ice magic? I need it so badly. Wait, but why do I need strong wind magic? I can cast a little, right? I don't need a lot for ice magic. To make ice magic, I need water, which I have in abundance. I can use that power. And as for wind magic, I just need to lower the temperature, right? Even if it's a little, I should be able to lower the temperature.

He continued to practice for a very long time. Finally, he succeeded in casting ice magic, but only in a very small amount.

He was overjoyed by this success.

His excitement for magic was immense, so he practiced ice magic all night, and by morning, he had learned to cast it reasonably well.

Just then, someone came to call him.

Ren stepped out of his room and greeted, "Good morning, Arisa."

Arisa replied, "Good morning, Prince! What happened to you? Your face looks so tired. Did you not sleep all night? Why do you look so weak?"

Ren chuckled, "Oh, no, no, I just woke up. I definitely didn't stay up all night practicing magic."

Suddenly, Red came rushing from a distance and grabbed the main character. "I was away for just a little while, and so much has happened! You've learned magic! I told you I'd teach you swordsmanship!"

"Oh, right!" Ren exclaimed. "I completely forgot you were going to teach me swordsmanship! Big Brother is amazing; he's so skilled and can wield a sword so well!"

Red asked, "What's wrong? You don't want to learn swordsmanship now that you're doing magic?"

"No," Ren replied, "I still want to learn swordsmanship!"

"Alright, come with me!" Red said, taking his hand and leading him to the training ground.

Both stood on the field.

They held their swords, facing each other.

"Don't worry," Red said, "I won't attack too hard. I'll go slowly because you're still young and probably haven't held a sword much. I'll teach you according to your level."

And with that, he launched his first attack.

Ren evaded every single attack.

Red thought, Something's off! He's dodging so easily!

He intensified his attacks. The main character managed to dodge every single one.

Ren thought to himself, Even if it takes time for me to master magic, and even if I'm obsessed with it, I love swordsmanship even more. I've been doing swordsmanship since childhood. In my previous life, I dedicated myself to it. I trained with all my heart, but that swordsmanship never came to my aid. And besides, I used to play a lot of sword-fighting games, so I know very well how to wield a sword. No matter how many attacks he makes, I'll dodge them all.

Red realized that his little brother was an excellent dodger, but would he be good at countering?

Ren understood that this was a big attack and he couldn't just dodge it now. He had to attack. He too attacked with his sword, and their blades clashed.

The main character thought, My brother is too strong. I can't defeat him, but I can hold my own.

They engaged in a good match, their power seeming equal, but the elder brother was still much stronger.

Ren thought, I won't be able to do anything like this. Then he remembered a technique he had learned and decided to use it for practice.

He employed his technique, which allowed him to move swiftly and deceptively, creating an illusion of being in one place while attacking from another. This technique was called Flowing Shadow Blade Technique.

They continued to exchange blows, but the main character was still losing.

Ren thought, My big brother is strong. He can't be defeated right now. Then he remembered another technique he had learned in his previous life: a special technique to break an opponent's sword to win.

Ren used that technique and tried to break his brother's sword, but he failed.

"Little brother," Red said, "you are strong, but not strong enough to defeat me."

Red defeated Ren with a single attack, sending his sword flying.

Ren thought to himself, Wow, what incredible swordsmanship!

"My little brother," Red said, "you are strong! We'll practice more in the future. I'll make you very strong, you'll see."

Time slowly passed, and the main character continued to practice both magic and swordsmanship. As time went by, the main character was approaching...

...his 8th birthday.

On a training ground, Ren and Red were sparring. Both were incredibly strong, matching each other blow for blow. Neither was giving up. They were exchanging powerful attacks.

Just then, the King walked over, clapping his hands. "Oh ho! My two sons are practicing swordsmanship!"

Both stopped their sparring and greeted their father.

"What's wrong, Dad? Why are you here?" Ren asked.

"We all have to go to a party," the King replied.

"A party? Which party?" Red asked.

The King explained, "We've received an invitation to a party from Sun Palace. The King of Sun Kingdom is a very good friend of mine, and he's invited us."

"Dad, I don't want to go," Ren said. "I want to stay here."

He thought to himself, I don't want to go anywhere outside right now, nor do I feel like talking to anyone. I was an introvert in my previous life anyway. I didn't like talking to too many people or going out. I'll just practice my magic here.

"We are all going," the King insisted. "Luna, your brother, your mother, and I – we are all going. You have to come too."

"And yes, there's a special person I want you to meet there. They're also a great genius, just like you. They can also use a lot of magic power at a young age. Aren't you curious who it is? Perhaps you'll become good friends with them."

"What?" Ren exclaimed. "A genius like me? Powerful at my age? Who is it?"

Somewhere far away...

A girl was fighting with soldiers. Her long red hair and red eyes looked incredibly dangerous, like a demon. She sneered, "Why aren't you fighting? Come on, attack!"

The soldiers replied, "Princess, we are not as strong as you. You are far too powerful."

The mysterious girl unleashed a powerful attack on them.

"Cowards and weaklings!" she scoffed. "Get out of my sight! I hate you! You weaklings!"

As this arc comes to an end, a brand new one begins — a fresh start, filled with thrill, mystery, and powerful emotions.

This new chapter will be far more exciting and intense, so stay tuned with me!

But who is this mysterious girl?

Is she an enemy of our main character, or someone else entirely?

And where is the main character headed now?

What will happen next?

To know all of that, wait for the upcoming chapter.

And yes — if you liked anything, comment below!

If there's something I did wrong, feel free to let me know. Just drop a comment!