Managing anxiety is difficult enough, but for Mike not being able to do so could plunge the world into darkness.
Being born at the bottom in a society that divides itself by magic and abilities only makes navigating his struggles all the more imposs...
But where was the pain coming from? Why was it there? Had I experienced pain before? Why was I so dizzy?
As I blinked my eyes awake, I noticed that the white ceiling above me was crystal-like, sparkling and dancing in light coming from my left. It was beautiful.
Was it diamond? I knew diamond was really precious, so wherever I was probably belonged to someone wealthy.
Was I wealthy?
I sat up, wincing with the pain. Now I knew where it was from: my back. But it wasn't just in my back, it was all throughout my body. It was in my head.
Maybe that's why I can't remember, I thought, realizing that I didn't even know my name. I didn't know anything about me, actually.
Pushing this thought aside, I looked around, blinking to adjust to the light shining through the walls.
I was in a very nice room, in a soft bed with silken sheets. Across from me was a white wardrobe with an iridescent mirror. There was also a doorway to what I assumed to be a bathroom, and an actual door to my right.
"Aah..." I winced as I shifted my legs.
Lifting off the covers, I saw that they were riddled with faded scars. So were my chest and hands.
When I finally stood up, I had to hold onto the wall to keep myself from falling. My legs didn't seem used to me yet, and they were sore. So were my arms and...
"... Wings?" I wondered aloud, noticing myself in the mirror.
At first, I was frightened by my reflection. I was sure I'd never seen it before. But the more I looked at it, I found myself smiling.
I managed to stumble closer to it, curious.
In the iridescent glass, I first observed that I probably had the messiest hair of all time. It was thick black with faded magenta in the shaggy bangs. My eyes were pale turquoise. My skin was too light to be normal, and I noticed a few more scars. My nose and face were round, and my jaw curved into a soft triangle.
My ears were huge, perfectly resembling a bat's. They faded from my pale skin color to dark black.
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I could hear astoundingly well. I noticed the air current coming from under the door, and dull voices from above.
There must be another floor... I thought, turning back to the mirror.
I adjusted to see that my hair grew all along my neck and back, where a pair of thin, enormous leathery black bat wings resided. They faded into my body just below my shoulder blades.
I moved my arms up and down, and found that the wings moved with them. I tried flapping them, but they were weak, just like the rest of me.
I realized that I wasn't wearing a shirt, only a pair of baggy white shorts.
