### **Catastrophe**

  Hiro lay in the middle of an endless meadow, his violet eyes calmly scanning the blue sky. The wind played with his black hair, and a faint smile touched his lips. In his hands—a journal. He had just teleported to yet another random location, and now his thoughts were consumed by one thing: *how to control this power.*

  **Hiro (inner monologue):** *Another teleportation. I’ve figured out that every three months, I’m thrown somewhere new. If this keeps up, I’ll never return to my home or the things I left behind. I need to change something.*

  *"Dear Diary. I’m 10 now. It just so happened that I accidentally left you in Pyron City and couldn’t write about what was going on. Not my fault! I got teleported when I wasn’t home. At least I made it back before the next jump. I also noticed that the teleportation always happens on the same day—the 18th. Sometimes it’s evening, other times I wake up in a forest at dawn.*

  *There’s something else… Turns out, I have a ‘parasite’ living inside me—or rather, in my head. Once, I looked in the mirror and saw the reflection of a 7-year-old boy in a tattered shirt and shorts, shackles on his wrists, black hair and eyes. Scared the hell out of me. Remember that voice that told me how to fight the Dragon God? That was him. He talks to me sometimes. Says he’s me—but stronger, more decisive, and knows more about myself than I do. His eyes sometimes shift from black to violet, burning with bright purple flames. Creeps me out. He also says I make ‘too kind’ decisions, that the people I help don’t deserve it, that they fear me. Basically, he’s my alter ego—and he calls himself the ‘God of the Void.’ Which, by the way, is MY adventurer alias!*

  *But that’s not all. After one of the jumps, I ended up in some kind of abandoned stone temple. A few rooms, some old clothes, and—most importantly—a teleportation seal! Figured it out real quick when I stepped on it and ended up somewhere else. Got me thinking… What if I make a seal like that, but bigger? One that covers all continents. I memorized its magical structure. Maybe today, I’ll finally break my most hated curse."*

  ---

  He crouched, pressed his palm to the ground, and closed his eyes.

  **Hiro (to himself):** *If I can create a teleportation seal linking all continents… I could go anywhere I want. Worth a shot.*

  His eyes ignited with violet light. The earth beneath him began to glow—**then beyond the horizon**. Mana surged into the seal.

  Meanwhile, in the city—**panic**.

  **Hiro (smirking slightly):** *Hope this works.*

  **Hiro (inner monologue):** *Interesting… It’s working. I can feel the mana connecting the continents.*

  The glow faded. Hiro stood.

  *"Weird. I couldn’t pour any more mana into it, but I don’t feel tired. Why?"*

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  **Hiro:** *"Alright. Time to test it."*

  He visualized himself five meters ahead—and **activated the seal**.

  **WHOOSH.**

  A burst of violet mist lingered where he’d been.

  *"Special effects? Nice."*

  He turned and walked away. Behind him, unnoticed, three figures watched—a boy with a staff, a girl, and a cat-eared woman.

  The sky, clear moments ago, darkened.

  *"Rain? Wasn’t a cloud in the sky ten minutes ago."*

  Then—**a deafening roar**.

  A **pillar of light** split the heavens, crashing down where Hiro’s seal had been.

  **Hiro:** *"What the—?!"*

  The beam passed through him harmlessly.

  Confused, he sprinted back—only to find the area **obliterated**. Buildings reduced to rubble. No survivors.

  His face paled.

  **God of the Void (in his mind, amused):** *Well, damn. You did it.*

  **Hiro:** *"I don’t… I just made a teleportation seal!"*

  **God of the Void:** *Hold up. Did it feel like your mana ‘ran out’?*

  **Hiro:** *"Kinda?"*

  **God of the Void:** *Congrats! You just unlocked two more curses!*

  **Hiro:** *"TWO MORE?! How many do I even have?!"*

  **God of the Void:** *Ten total. You now know five. The new ones? Listen close.*

  *1. **Infinite Mana Curse**: Your mana never truly depletes. You don’t need rest after spells. But—*

  *2. **Limit Curse**: You have a ‘cap’ on how much mana you can channel into a single spell. Hit that limit? Excess mana **detonates**—in this case, as a city-leveling teleportation blast.*

  **Hiro (head in hands):** *I’m so sick of this.*

  He teleported back to Pyron’s guild, relieved to find it untouched. Upstairs, he collapsed onto his bed.

  ---

  ### **Scene: Aida’s Letter**

  Six months later, a courier arrived.

  **Courier:** *"Lord Hiro? A letter for you. Apologies for the delay—after the ‘catastrophe,’ deliveries are a mess."*

  **Hiro:** *"It’s fine."*

  *"A letter? From who?"*

  He returned to his room and opened it.

  **The letter read:**

  *"Dear Hiro,*

  *I hope this reaches you. Maybe you’re far away by now, or still trapped in that hell. But I want you to know: I’m safe. I think of you every day.*

  *After they took me from that prison, an elderly couple—Lina (a former B-rank mage) and Garrett (an A-rank swordsman)—adopted me. They’ve become my family. I’m learning magic, even some swordplay (though I’ll never be as strong as you).*

  *We live at **7 Moonlight Street, Breeze City**. If you ever want to find me… I’ll be waiting.*

  *I miss you, Hiro. I still have that little figurine you made me. It reminds me of your promise.*

  *Stay safe. I’ll see you again.*

  *—Aida."*

  **Hiro’s hands trembled.**

  *"She… still thinks about me. All this time, I thought she moved on. But she’s waiting."*

  A week later, he set off for Breeze City—on Etheria’s mainland.

  ---

  ### **Ruins**

  A month of travel. Finally, he crested a hill—

  —and froze.

  **Breeze City was in ruins.**

  Cracked houses. Empty streets. The scent of ash.

  His heart **stopped**.

  He stumbled to the address—**now just rubble**.

  **Hiro (whispering):** *"No…"*

  He fell to his knees, face pale. His eyes dimmed—then burned **bright pink-violet**.

  With a roar, he slammed his fists into the foundation.

  **EARTHQUAKE.**

  Silence.

  Then, quietly:

  *"Forgive me, Aida."*

  A **violet rose** materialized on the ruins.

  And he was gone.

  ---

  ### **Epilogue**

  He reappeared on the snowy plains where he’d once been chained. No trace of the prison remained—just the lingering smell of smoke.

  Without a word, he built a small stone hut with a fireplace and a wooden roof.

  Inside, he sat.

  **Hiro (inner monologue, hollow):** *I need to control this power. Every time I gain something… I lose something else.*

  He sank into **a depression deeper than the tundra outside**—unaware that Aida was, in fact, alive.

  **She was studying at Arcane Academy.**

  **The catastrophe hadn’t reached her.**