PROLOGUE

The snowy fields of Hunter Mountain Shiobara in Tochigi Prefecture is pretty cold.

Winter has come to Japan and to welcome it, I, a 45-year-old Buddhist priest have come to Hunter Mountain to enjoy ice skiing as my way of leisure.

When winter arrives, the air around it brings that certain cold breeze that reminds everyone that the yuletide season has finally entered Far East's doorstep.

Winter was supposed to be cold and white.

But what I'm currently seeing is exactly the opposite of it.

Flames.

Red hot incandescence that can be mistaken of an inferno is all that my eyes could see.

Infernal blaze that eats away the white powdered snow that covers the entire field.

I grasped my head as I tried to get up.

I can't exactly recall what happened. All that I remember was that I was skiing and upon approaching a downward slope, a blinding flash appeared out of nowhere.

The next thing I know, I was lying flat on the snowy ground several meters away from where I originally stood.

Despite being shakened, I forced myself to stand on my feet.

My clothes were marred with burnt marks but I couldn't care less. I immediately raised my guard when I felt that the flames scattered in the area was emitting traces of magic.

A huge amount of magic.

For someone who is quite prevalent in the field and business related to Magic, my name is very famous among the circles of families that are practitioners of Magic.

Because of my influence, there are elements that have sought my death. Too bad I'm quite a meticulous and elusive person when it comes to my safety.

And yet, despite keeping this vacation a secret only to myself, it appears to be that someone had managed to find me and executed an ambush.

Judging on the magical properties coming from the flames, I discerned that it is a work of a Magician.

I know a handful of Magicians, both Ancient and Modern, who specialized in flame-attribute magic spells.

While I hailed from a very old line of Japanese spirit mediums, I'm not a practitioner myself. But still I can use my inherent ability to locate any magical signatures within my radius.

Squinting my eyes as I focused on locating the perpetrator of the magic attack, my brows furowed when I discern a very powerful and huge amount of Chi near me.

And the location of it was directly above... of me...?

I was confused by this and so by instinct, I looked upward only to feel my legs to wobble and my face to be drained of blood.

"Wha..."

The breath produced by my lungs got stucked on my throat as my eyes could not believed what it just saw.

A few meters above me was a giant bird.

It had a height of almost five people combined and its entire body was covered in flames. Its eyes were glowing like emerald gems, staring at me as if it was gazing right directly on my soul.

As its scrutinizing gaze remained on me for a couple of minutes, I did not dare to move, even twitch at its overbearing and overwhelming presence.

Its powerful bearing made it hard for me breath, as if its existence alone made the atmosphere devoid of breathing oxygen.

The huge fiery bird let out a powerful and mighty shriek at the same time flapped its blazing wings with vigor. From that action, a burst of flames erupted and spread throughout the entire field in an outward manner.

I cross my arms in front of me as I shielded myself from the fiery outburst. There was no doubt in my mind that I'll die when I felt the flames engulf me.

But to my surprise, I did not feel any pain or any kind of burning sensation as one expects to feel when being doused in flames.

The flames did not burn my skin, clothes, nor my eyes. Rather, it just brushed against the very fiber of my being. It was surprisingly grounded and nurturing which is very opposite to what a fire was supposed to be.

Fire embodies wrath and destruction. A force of nature that doesn't distinguish one from another as long as it serves its purpose; to consume and bring death.

However this flames... they emanate restoration and life. I can say this because I can feel the aching that embraced my body being relieved and washed away.

When the stream of fire subsided, I slowly peek at where the huge firebird was earlier but all I can see was just a cloudy sky painted in grey. From it, specks of ashen gray dust began to fall alongside the white powdered snow.

"What the hell was that...?"

I muttered with a hint of confusion and fear as I gazed at where that blazing winged manifestation was supposed to be. In my entire career related with the Magic world, this is the first time that I encountered such otherwordly occurence.

My eyes, with the left being cloudy, then stared at my environs. I was quite surprised when my vision took a glimpse on the current situation of my surroundings.

The trees that were covered in white snow and proudly stood earlier had already fell on the ground, in an outward fashion, entirely burned from their tips down to their very roots.

The snowy dirt did not fair either. The white powder that blanketed the entire area was now entirely replaced by nothing but burnt dirt with a mixture of ashes and embers.

Though there was one particular spot that still have flames burning on it. From the way I see it, it appears to be that the blaze followed a certain line, as if the incandescence have formed a circular glyph of sorts.

"Uwaa! Waa...!"

My ears perked up as I discerned a cry of an infant echoed around the vicinity. Although quite surprised and bewildered at what just transpired a moment ago, I scanned my surroundings with caution.

With the unexplainable stunt earlier, I almost questioned my sanity and doubt it even more when a voice of a crying infant brushed my ears.

"Uwaa...!"

For a second time, I heard an infant's voice. It was quite louder and clearer than the first that I was able to pinpoint the source at the source of the cry.

It was coming from within the ring of flames.

With a gulp and mustering my courage, I cautiously walked towards the fiery circle. I could hear clearly the crackling sound of the flames as it kept itself alive amidst the wintery breeze.

The moment that I got close to the ring of flickering incandescence, I was literally lost for words.

The year is 2079 A.D. of the winter season.

It is this year that I, Toudou Aoba, have found an infant boy in the middle of the snow bathe in majestic flames.

Author's note: Another work and this time it's a crossover between Final Fantasy Type 0 and The Irregular in Magic High School, which is a first between the two fandoms. A thought had occurred to me when I was playing FF Type 0 about a "What if Ace was reincarnated in the Mahouka world?" Then my mind got flooded with excitement that I have to quit the game and write this one on the get go, LOL.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this prologue and please read and review!