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nMy consciousness soon slipped out of my hands again, and I awoke back in the infirmary.

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n(Luna POV)

nI didn’t have a good childhood, and I would say it’s probably just as bad as the ones who were abused every single day.

nBella had so much pressure and abuse in her life that she, of course, ended up hating her family, which is most kids nowadays.

nI, on the other hand, had a pretty special childhood compared to these other ones.

nSome will say I had it easy, but to be honest… I was no different than the mud-eating slummers surviving each day off a single copper coin.

nI was neglected and seen as a thing not even worth attending to. A parasite that doesn’t even suck blood.

nFor me, there was no dinner unless I scraped it out of the trash.

nFor me, there was no bedroom unless I stole some blankets from my siblings and curled up in the corner of the hallway.

nFor me, there was no training unless my siblings felt like picking on me because only then would I be forced to fight back and, every single time… lose.

nWe weren’t exactly an offensive specialist family, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t have kids who would fight… and of course, these were the ones who continued to pick on me.

nNot as bad as getting beaten and whipped with a steel bat every day like Bella, but the punches were still pretty **ing hard.

nAnyway, I soon knew at an early age how cruel this world was.

nRelying on my father was a no go and praying to my dead mother would do absolutely nothing for me besides a few minutes of peace.

nI soon began to build up the basics by burying myself in the library, practically even making it my new home.

nI studied and studied while also observing how my siblings used their skills until it was finally my coming of age ceremony at a ripe thirteen years old.

nThat was when the other kids would get massive parties thrown for them and where they would get to test out their new skills acquired by these new skill books… but that wasn’t me.

nThe head of the family came to me that fateful Monday morning, stopped, looked down at the peasant who had replaced his daughter, and tossed a singular rough leather book at me.

nWhile everybody else was getting skills that would allow them to create illusions within another mind, within even a monster, or possibly an animal… I could only create illusions around me.

nThis didn’t seem so bad until I realized how pitifully weak my control over it was, meaning I could barely even trick myself.

nThe illusions would appear around me in the forms of little butterflies, but there was no way I could actually trick somebody with my current skill.

nSo, once again, I studied and studied and observed and observed until my eyes began to bleed, and my brain felt like it was about to implode with information… but I didn’t come out to my family.

nI wanted my revenge. My sweet, sweet revenge against the bastards who neglected me.

nAnd for the first time in my life, somebody reached out to me. A boy with hair like a distant nebula fading into the infinity of space.

nI knew this was my chance and attempted to try and manipulate him with all the skills I had picked up.

nI attempted to seduce him, but this was when I knew he was just like me… as he slipped up for just a second.

nIt wasn’t enough for a normal person to notice, but somebody as observant as me just barely picked it up.

nHe looked bored and cold, the same way I acted inside when talking to him.

nBut, I had to confirm my suspicions, and after our plan succeeded in bringing down the Lunascar family, I went to the place he was staying, met his friends, created friendly bonds… and finally, let the cat out of the bag.

nAnd, of course, just like I had thought… he was attempting to manipulate me as well.

nSoon, I thought everything was well, and I could finally have a normal life, but I was soon thrown directly into the pit of fire known as war.

nI hated Orion for how he put me through this, using the pressure of the Wony family to his liking as if he was the head himself.

nThe amount of suffering I went through during that war was insufferable, and I would do anything to erase my memories of that place… or, that is what I thought until a fateful day when we had a suicidal mission.

nI knew this was the end, but after seeing all of us attempt to escape the enemy front lines, I saw how everybody was just like me.

nWe were scared and frightened but still continued to run past our struggles, pushing through until we were on the other side.

nThat was when my bond and trust with the others improved, and I felt like I truly had a family.

nI even opened up to them about my past, and it seemed others had vastly different experiences, but nothing worse than the others… well, except for Orion.

nThe day he opened up about his past was when we had all just finished going through a rigorous training program, maybe a month or two after the battle we just went through.

nWe all couldn’t believe our ears as it was an experience very different from ours.

nWe all had the world around us and could escape to it at any time… but it wasn’t the same for Orion.

nHe was stuck in a stone room, forced to see his mother slowly die in front of him, forced to almost go insane within his little cell, and forced to escape at the young age of… I forgot, but he was young.

nWe all had very physical traumas, but his was more emotional and mental than anything… I feel bad for him… I truly, truly feel bad for him.

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