You had grown up in the church alongside Asta and Yuno, together with the other children who had been taken in. From the moment you were brought there as a baby, the halls, the gardens, and the quiet nooks of the building had become your home. Despite sharing the same age as Asta and Yuno, your days often led you elsewhere. You were rarely found lingering in the church; instead, you spent your time exploring the villages and forests that stretched beyond its walls, earning a reputation for your boldness and curiosity. Even without magic, the villagers welcomed you warmly, intrigued by your fearless spirit and independent nature.

Though you didn’t realize it yet, the power you would one day wield—the strongest magic ever conceived—was quietly beginning to stir within you, waiting for the right moment to reveal itself.

On this particular day, the forest was dense and shadowed, the canopy above filtering the sunlight into shifting patterns on the mossy floor. You moved carefully through the undergrowth, eyes sharp for anything unusual, when suddenly you collided with someone. Instinctively, you looked up to apologize, your words catching in your throat as your eyes met a familiar gaze.

Yuno’s face was turned down, but you could see the faint flush coloring his cheeks. His usual composure faltered, replaced by a mix of embarrassment and awkwardness that he tried, and failed, to hide. He scoffed lightly, a poor attempt at brushing off his reaction, yet the heat on his face betrayed him entirely. For the first time, the confident, distant Yuno seemed uncertain, and in that fleeting moment, the quiet forest around you both became charged with something neither of you could put into words.