Chapter 7 – An Unfinished Answer
The atmosphere in the house remained tense long after they left the library.
No one returned to their seat immediately.
Chad stood where he was, quiet, his thoughts still tangled in fragments of equations and symbols that refused to align.
"…The 'science' you mentioned earlier."
Kael's voice broke the silence.
Chad looked up.
A pause.
"…Is it connected to the book you were reading yesterday?"
For a brief moment, he froze.
Then—
"…Yes, father."
No hesitation this time.
Across the room, his mother, Elite, turned sharply.
"…Book?"
Her eyes moved between them.
"What book?"
Silence followed.
His father exhaled lightly.
"An old text," he said. "On alchemy."
The word settled heavily in the room.
"…Alchemy?" she repeated.
Now it made sense.
The injury.
The distraction.
The bullying.
Her expression shifted—not anger, but something deeper.
Worry.
She stepped closer to Chad, lowering herself slightly to meet his eyes.
"Chad…" she began carefully, "alchemy isn't practiced anymore."
A pause.
"Not because people forgot it…"
"…but because it failed them first."
Chad said nothing.
His father continued, calm but firm.
"And the reason for that is because it was unstable. Dangerous."
"Magic replaced it for a reason."
She nodded slightly, her voice softer now.
"If you want to learn something… learn what this world actually uses."
A small pause.
"Magic."
"Craftsmanship."
His father added—
"Weapon mastery.".
"All of them rely on mana. They're stable. Proven."
Another pause.
"…Alchemy isn't."
Silence stretched between them.
Chad looked at both of them.
He saw it clearly.
Concern.
Fear.
Hope.
They wanted him to agree.
To let it go.
To choose something safer.
Something understood.
"…Alright," he said.
A beat.
"I won't pursue it anymore."
Relief was immediate.
Subtle—but there.
His mother exhaled softly.
His father gave a small nod.
The tension eased.
But inside—
That was a lie.
...
Later that morning, Chad walked beside his father once more.
The path to the library felt familiar now.
Routine.
But something had changed.
His father didn't bring up the conversation again.
Didn't question him.
Didn't press.
But his gaze lingered a little longer than usual.
Observing.
Measuring.
Chad noticed.
But said nothing.
The library stood as it always did—quiet, vast, indifferent.
Rows upon rows of knowledge.
Ordered.
Categorized.
Understood.
Chad stepped inside.
And immediately began searching.
Lower sections first.
Nothing.
Basic texts.
Mana theory.
Elemental alignment.
Weapon forms.
All structured.
All consistent.
All… limited.
He moved higher.
Shelves grew older.
Less visited.
Dust settled thicker along the edges.
Then—
He found them.
Not books of knowledge.
But of dismissal.
"Alchemy: A Failed Discipline."
"The Collapse of Material Transmutation."
"Why Mana Superseded Primitive Systems."
His eyes narrowed slightly as he flipped through one.
"Results lacked consistency."
"Reactions could not be stabilized."
"Eventually abandoned in favor of mana-based systems."
Chad's grip tightened slightly on the page.
"…No."
A whisper.
"That's not true."
He turned another page.
Then another.
Different authors.
Same conclusions.
Wrong.
All of them.
Because he had done it.
He had made it work.
Perfectly.
…So why couldn't he now?
That same feeling crept back in.
Unfinished.
Incomplete.
"…Something's missing."
He exhaled slowly.
Closed the book.
Then moved again.
Higher.
Further.
Time passed.
Unnoticed.
And then—
Darkness.
Two small hands covered his eyes from behind.
"Guess who?"
Chad stiffened instantly.
His body reacted before his mind did—his hands rising, lightly gripping the wrists.
Small.
Not threatening.
A laugh followed.
Light. Familiar.
"Hey—relax! It's me!"
The hands pulled away.
Chad turned.
A girl stood behind him.
About his age.
Bright-eyed.
Completely at ease.
"You've been avoiding me, you know," she said, tilting her head slightly. "Or did you forget already?"
Chad stared at her.
Waiting.
Searching.
Nothing came.
No memory.
No recognition.
Just a hollow gap where something should have been.
"…I didn't forget," he said.
A lie.
"Just… thinking."
She narrowed her eyes slightly.
Not convinced.
"You're acting weird today."
"…Maybe."
She stepped closer.
Watching him.
Carefully now.
Not playful anymore.
"…Then say it."
A pause.
Chad didn't move.
Her voice softened.
But somehow—
It hit harder.
"Say it then…"
"…what aren't you forgetting?"
Silence.
His mind went blank.
Not because he didn't want to answer—
But because he couldn't.
And for the first time since arriving in this world—
That absence felt real.