The Apathetic Mage Loves Cats

Chapter 1: New World

The streets were once again filled with the bustling sounds of life. The town woke up with the rising sun and the streets were soon lined with vendors who traveled from all over the world, begging for a place on the main street leading to the castle. I sat up on my perch in an opening beneath the bell tower, cotton stuffed into my ears to block out the hourly ringing of the bell. My gaze wandering down at the scurrying people below me, getting ready to do my own shopping for the day.

It has been over seven years since I was placed in this world after, seemingly dying in New York City one night trying to go back home. I thought it was some major prank done by doctors when I was placed into what seemed to be a newborn baby's body, my mother's face hovering above me. However, after a few days, it was clear that I was very wrong.

My mother wasn't anything special like you would expect in these types of situations. In reincarnation stories, you either wind up with the mother who abuses you or loves you dearly but dies when you are an infant, causing you to wander around the streets until either the king or another wealthy family picks you up. However, I seemed to have wound up with a mother just like any other mother out there. Her eyes a stormy grey and her long hair a dirty and greasy black. She looked worn out and struggling against something. Whether that be physical or psychological, I never got to find out. She didn't seem to be filled to the brim with love for me, nor did she seem to be affiliated with the royal family. It really seemed like I was born into some ordinary house, which was struck with poverty and struggling to stay alive.

In my past life, I was already an apathetic person, struggling to cope in a society that seemed to always push me down and not work with me. I didn't have people around me that urged me to fight for something, and my family didn't want anything to do with me; so, I mostly just ignored those around me and didn't really care about them. That was probably the reason why, two years ago, when I saw my mother coming close to the end, her own physical and/or mental issues taking over, I decided to leave her alone for a day, letting her own fate drive her to whatever conclusion she came to. It wasn't like I didn't know what the outcome would be like when I came back home the following day, in fact, I expected it to happen. My mother's lifeless body swaying in the wind caused by me opening and shutting the front door.

Her demons overcame her and drove her to the end of her life.

I stood there, in the entrance to my home, and watched as her purplish toes lightly swept the floor in the rundown shack, the only place I had known since coming into this world. I stood there and tried to feel anything for this woman who, despite whatever she was fighting against, decided to try to continue living for me, a child who didn't feel anything for her. I stood there and wondered what would have happened if I cared more. If instead of turning my back on her, I stayed and asked her what was wrong.

Then, I gathered supplies, and I left, leaving behind someone who, at this moment in time, was the closest thing I had ever gotten to an actual loving mother.

It has been two years since that moment, and I still couldn't bring myself to feel anything for her. No anger, sadness, love, disappointment. Nothing. Not that I cared about my lack of feelings, but I still felt like I wasn't normal. But I didn't have much time to dwell on those thoughts, as I needed to now survive in a world that was already struggling before I arrived.

I sighed and brushed back my hair that had fallen against my forehead. The only solace that I had in this world was my face, which garnered a look of pity from the elderly. If I really felt like it, I could use my looks to charm those around me and sometimes be able to get food and other supplies for free. Unlike my deceased mother, I seemed to have been born with eye color ranging from champagne pink to lilac on any given day. My hair was a bright white/silver that really made me stand out among the hundreds of darker haired individuals. It was to my knowledge that those with lighter hair typically came from wealthier families and/or had loads of magic. Not that it was always the case, some people that roamed the street around me had naturally light colors such as red, pink, and yellow, however, mine seemed to be on a different level, not that I really needed to look into it. I also learned that, in order for people to survive around here, especially women, they often sold themselves to the wealthier people, which was more than likely how I came to be.

This world was divided into two, as was my previous world, but this time, there was a giant wall erected separating the two, creating a divide so deep that there was almost no way of bringing them together. This wall was to show off those who owned money and those who didn't. Of course, the kingdom ruled over everyone, but those with money got everything first while those who don't get the leftovers, much like any society that has ever been created. This has led to an intense divide of power between the people, especially when it came to magic.

Those of wealthier status were able to show off their magic more, as they could afford people to train them in learning magic and using their ability to their fullest. However, those with no money struggled to even recognize the fact that they had magic, let alone use it. There were, of course, exceptions, but that didn't mean that they would become anything. Even if they were outstanding, coming from this side of the wall to the wealthy side still meant you were targeted and looked down upon. So, ultimately, no matter what you did, there was no way to preach the gap between the rich and the poor, so people decided to give up.

Although recently, there has been more and more talk about the divide and how to breach the gap but this was only among the poor. There was no way the wealthy would want us on their side. Their clean and pristine side that they gained from trampling on the lives over here. However, I digress. Whatever happens, happens. It's not like I am particularly interested in this debate, nor do I wanna be interested. Instead, I would rather live out my days as peacefully as possible until I die, maybe only stopping to figure out why I was placed into this body in the first place. However, seeing as how that may never be answered, I was satisfied with living out my days here and dying whenever it suited me.

But that didn't seem like it was going to happen.