ã€ŠChosen of the Abyssã€‹


 A Gift from the Abyss

    In service to the Divine, do humans commit sins against their fellow man. My life was no different, and I performed my duties exceptionally. Starting from a street orphan who was chosen by a priest to become a trainee for the Templar Order, I rose through the ranks until not even the Pope of the Church held authority over me, only the Divine. When the orders from above came, I would lead armies to slaughter-- No, enlighten those foolish enough to anger the Divine.

    My very soul was bathed in the blood of the people I extinguished as Sir Callum, Hand of the Divine. For 20 years I served, but no more. Humans are just pawns on a chessboard for those deities, and when I learned the truth that the crusades never ended, because they did not desire for it to and chose to prolong it eternally¡­ My beliefs broke. I turned in my equipment forged by Divine smiths, including my beloved spear, Ascalon and resigned from the Order. My resignation was the first, and it marked me as a traitor in the Order¡¯s eyes.

    I set out to live a peaceful life away from all the conflict, and away from my old life. Perhaps it was naive of me to think that this would be allowed after all my years of service to the Divine. One night after building a cabin in a remote forest outside of the Order¡¯s jurisdiction I was assaulted by a group of Templars who were once my brothers in arms. Now I was pierced through the chest by the new Hand who was a trainee that I trained myself, a young man named Liam, who wielded the same spear I once did.

    ¡°Why Callum? For years you said the Divine¡¯s orders were absolute! Now all I see is a shell of the brother I fought side by side with and a traitor to our Order!¡± Liam asked.

    It was near impossible to speak as the blood filled my throat.

    Liam noticed this was the case and let out a bitter chuckle ¡°This is the kind of irony that you found humorous once upon a time. The one who gave orders and expected obedience is unable to obey when ordered now.¡±

    I wanted to tell him everything. Our people deserved to know the truth, but would it help? The Order was the only life we knew, and obeying the Divine was our way of life. If I shattered the illusion, would it help or just lead to more deaths?

    The heat in my chest was making me feel weaker, and I could tell my life was ending soon. My vision was growing darker, and I used the last of my strength to give Liam a smile and say ¡°Keep our brothers safe Liam. You¡¯re strong enough to take my place.¡±

    My eyes closed and only darkness remained. If the stories were true, this darkness is the tunnel from the Divine Court, where my judgment would take place and decide where my soul went. Surely for my crimes I would be sent to the Abyss for eternal torment. Mortals do not know their trial, for after it takes place a tea is given to wipe traces of the Divine Realm from them. A mercy to mortals it was called, but I am sure it was to hide their secrets instead. Why should their pawns be allowed to remember their glorious home?

    I stayed in this darkness for what felt like an eternity, and instead of reaching the Gates of the Abyss, what appeared to be a figure emerged from the inky blackness that surrounded me. A woman in a long silk black dress, with long black hair to match. Her eyes were silver that seemed to contain the light of the Moon itself. Intoxicatedly beautiful was the only way I could describe her.

    Quickly looking away from her eyes before they could suck me in further, I awaited my fate.

    ¡°Sir Callum. I do not agree with the judgment you have been given, for you have committed no crimes. You served us faithfully for years, and to be punished for not wanting to continue playing their game is the height of egotistical on their part¡± She said.

    ¡°Thank you for your kind words, but what is the point of telling me this?¡±

    ¡°I do not agree, therefore I am going to reward you instead. You wish to be free of this conflict, so I will send you to another world outside of our influence. The state of the world you arrive at is unknown to me, so I will not promise a peaceful life however.¡±If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    ¡°I¡¯m tired. My whole life was survival, fighting, and getting stronger to repeat the cycle. I have heard the stories of you, Lady of the Abyss, and I know that you do not follow the standards of the other Divine, but surely this would only cause trouble for you?¡± I asked.

    A smile appeared on her face ¡°They are welcome to try to cause me trouble, and I will drag them into the depths of my domain to suffer a fate worse than death for an immortal. Eternal solitude with no option to end it themselves.¡±

    Fear crept into my heart. I have conversed with many Divine before, and I know that she was not being arrogant like others can be. She meant every word.

    ¡°I will send you to a land free of the Divine here, and I will allow you to remember this life so that you can lead a better one in the next. I will also leave a spark of my power on your soul as a blessing to help you grow in power to protect your ideals. You may choose to use or discard this as you wish.¡±

    ¡°Why are you doing all of this for me?¡±

    ¡°My only son took a similar path to you, and tried to dismantle the Divine Game, and was sentenced to oblivion because of it. I was unable to help him, but I will help you who followed a similar road. Relight the fire in your soul and live a happy life in his stead for me. Farewell little mortal.¡±

    ¡°Wait I have more questions to as-¡°

    Everything vanished. Silence and yet in the distance that was growing closer was a mysterious light.

    Pressure was pushing me forward, and I could loosely feel movement in my body that was different than before. I stopped struggling as it seemed to make the journey easier. After what felt like an eternity, I reached this light at the end of the tunnel.

    I emerged from the tunnel and intensity assaulted my senses. The light was too bright like looking at the sun, the mixture of noises made me feel dizzy. I tried to ask the world to be quiet, and only cries emerged.

    My mind slowly adjusted to the intense senses, and started to be able to make out words. ¡°He¡¯s a healthy boy!¡± A woman said.

    ¡­ Pardon?

    So when the Lady of the Abyss said she was sending me to another world to live a new life¡­ She meant that literally. That tunnel was my mother giving birth to me.

    I did not know how to process this realization. It makes sense, but I had thought she was going to transport my body to this new world, not turn me into a baby fresh out the womb!

    When I opened my eyes, all I could make out was blurry shapes that eventually sharpened into normal, and could see three people in the room. The woman carrying me is the doctor I am assuming, which makes the other two my parents.

    My father looked to be in his mid 20s, around the age I was when I died. He was tall, short brown hair and piercing red eyes the color of blood. If it wasn¡¯t for the smile on his face, I would probably assume he was an enemy from the strength he exuded. ¡°What should we name him Lenora?¡± He asked my mother.

    Lenora, my mother appeared to be around her early 20s, but I was never good at gauging the ages of women, and know that it is dangerous territory to venture into guesswork with. Long black hair with gray eyes that looked like it could absorb the color from anything she looked at. She looked beautiful and kind and I could feel the love in her gaze when she looked at me.

    ¡°Lucian¡± She said to my father without looking away from me. ¡°He has my black hair and your eyes, but he is the light in our lives now. So let¡¯s name him Lucian. What do you think, Damian?¡±

    ¡°Lucian Eldritch does sound like a great name. We may not be nobles, but we will spoil him all the same!¡±

    I did not know how to process what was happening. I never knew my parents, and have no memories of them before they left me at an orphanage. Love was not a feeling I was familiar with¡­ It feels nice though. If I get the chance, I should thank the Lady of the Abyss for sending me to a loving new family.

    My mother looked tired after giving birth, understandably so. The doctor handed me to my father and told her to get some rest and she would be on hand if they needed anything and left. My mother gave me one last warm look and then fell asleep as my father gently rocked me and my infant body rejected my struggles and slowly drifted to sleep as well.

    Weeks passed as I attempted to gain control over my infant body to little avail, and tried to absorb all the information I could. I learned from the stories my parents read to me that the continent we live on is called Elarion, and was home to the humans, elves, dwarves, and the fae. We live in a small coastal town in the East called Seastrand. There were also magical creatures called ¡°mana beasts¡± which were a constant threat to the races that lived here.

    Speaking of surprises, imagine the look on my face as I saw my father use magic to raise the earth to reinforce the flood barrier protecting the town from storms and water mana beasts. Magic was an external blessing from the Divines in my previous world and very few had access to it. It appeared to be an internal system of some sort in this world from what I can gather. It is really difficult to gather information as a baby when your babbling attempt at speaking makes the drunks look elegant.

    I spent the little time I could manage awake trying to master my control of my body and speak words. Anything but ¡°Goo Gah¡± babbles please! My parents noticed I liked to watch them interact with the world, and brought me with them when doing cleaning, shopping, etc and I would try to mimic them as best as I could. This body has no fine-motor skills currently, and I wanted to accelerate the development and at least learn to crawl quickly, but my body quickly betrayed my desires and I would fall asleep mid action constantly.

    When the hell do I get to move around on my own?

 Field Guide to Magic

    Starting around when I turned six months, my father would hunt mana beasts that my mother would cook into an almost applesauce mixture to feed me. The mixture was not delicious at all, yet I would eat every small bit of it because I discovered something inside of it. Mana.

    The magical power inside of the mana beast was something that I could absorb and refine using the meditation techniques of my home world. It might as well be non-existent compared to the divine energy I was blessed with, but for my infant body? It was overwhelming. Humans did not start to consume mana beasts until around eight years old, for fear of the mana overloading their system as this world did not appear to have a very developed refinement system like my meditation provided.

    In truth, I was only eating it now because I had stolen a piece out of curiosity from my parents meal and discovered that my meditation did work in this world, which means I could use the mana to refine my body earlier on. My parents freaked out at first and tried to siphon the mana from me to find I had refined it already.

    ¡°The mana is already refined? How?¡± My father asked.

    I looked at him with my blankest baby look I could.

    ¡°He¡¯s a baby, he does not have a mana core so how could he refine mana when a 1st Tier Mage has a hard time learning to do so?¡± He asked my mother.

    ¡°I-I don¡¯t know! There has never been a documented case about a young child doing this, much less a six month old baby!¡±

    ¡°There does not appear to be problems with this, but feel this Lenora.¡± He motioned for my mother to feel my back. ¡°His mana channels are using the refined mana to purify themselves already. He must be somehow directing the mana to refine his body and clear his channels of their impurities from when they were made?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s keep an eye on him for now and see if anything happens, and if it turns out to be a good thing.. Let¡¯s find proper mana beasts that are more suited to his body¡± My mother said.

    I was unfamiliar with the magic system classifications here, but it did not matter because using the mana to refine my body was highly beneficial to my development.

    ---------------------------------------------

    This resulted in a massive achievement for any baby¡­ I can crawl!

    My horizons expanded, and the world was my oyster! Well, my house was anyways. If someone was looking, I crawled and explored. If someone was not looking? I truly explored. Both of my parents were mages, which was already impressive as the majority of mages were of nobility, but they were also retired adventurers. That means they had to have books, scrolls, or whatever was used to write about magic in this world, and I needed to find it.

    I came to a realization when I found a small bookcase in what I thought was a spare bedroom or storage room in the house, that I could already hear the language my parents spoke, and now that the words on the titles of the books made sense to me. It was written and spoken in a different language than my first life, but I somehow understood it already. It did not help my physical inability to speak it well, but I was slowly making progress on that front.

    The only conclusion I reached was that it was something to do with the Lady of the Abyss¡¯s power inside of my chest. The diction of the writing system in this world was almost a comfort and an irony to me, because it felt like the dense style of writing used in the holy scriptures in the Order. It brought both good memories and complicated emotions but the important thing was that I could roughly read it.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    It took me a while, but I managed to safely drag the ¡°Field Guide to Magic¡± from the bookshelf onto the floor in front of me. Luckily it is the size of a small notebook, so opening and flipping the pages was not too difficult.

    Taking advantage of my parents being asleep, I devoured the contents of the book like a starving beast that found easy prey. From what I understood, the magic system of this world was structured like this:

    The ability to utilize magic was not necessarily related to bloodlines. Anyone could manipulate mana, BUT having mages in the bloodline passed down stronger mana channels, which gave an advantage when learning to use magic. This explained why nobilities had more mages, and commoners were less likely to become proper mages.

    Magic was classified into three types, being offensive, defensive, and utility based magic. Of the three types, utility was the least advanced as magic originated for military use in combat, which in turn means more resources are diverted to combat oriented magic research.

    The basic elements of magic are Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth, with some rare exceptions being variations of one or more elementals combining, such as Fire/Earth creating Lava magic. Mages with dual affinities were heavily sought after by countries to use for military applications, and were given a high status.

    Mages could theoretically learn all four elements, but this was considered inefficient as one element would be prominent, and it would take years or even decades to even unlock the basics of a secondary element. It is not known how the prominent element is chosen, but bloodlines tend to affect it as well since a family that has a lot of fire mages has mana channels used to channeling fire mana over the other elements for example.

    In my first life, I had received multiple blessings from the Divine and was able to use multiple elements, including ones that did not seem to exist in this world like the Light element. I wonder if that experience from there will influence my element here, or if it will allow me to be proficient at multiple elements?

    Is that something I want though? This world seemed to be in constant war with the mana beasts, and if I was a mage who could use multiple elements¡­ The military would take me and train me to be a weapon. I would just be reliving life as a weapon in another¡¯s hand this time¡­ I refuse to do that. A life of peace is impossible for me, but my purpose in life will not be as a sword to swing at a problem anymore.

    Putting those thoughts to the back of my mind for now, I continued reading more from the book:

    ¡°To cast magic, a mage must first form their mana core. It is unknown what causes a mana core to form, but it usually occurs in human mages around the age of 12-13, with other races, such as the elves occurring earlier around 10-11. While a mana core is capable of channeling magic, a mage is typically unable to do so until they have created a magic circle on their core to refine mana from their environment into mana they can use.

    When a mage forms their first magic circle on their core, they officially become a Tier 1 Mage. As the mage develops their abilities, they eventually can add additional magic circles to their core, which advances their tier and magical capabilities equal to their total number of magic circles. The current known peak for mages is a Tier 9 Mage, and only very few have reached that height, as adding magic circles is a risky process that can result in the mana core erupting and killing the mage in the process if not done properly.

    Magic is the art of using chants to channel your body¡¯s mana from its mana core into the type needed for the spell. A mage¡¯s mana core was crucial to the utilization of mana, and any damage to the core can break their ability to channel mana entirely. Protect your core at all costs.¡±

    Chants were also something used in my previous world, and yet I was privy to a secret the Divine did not want the public to know: Chants served the purpose of creating the correct ¡°image¡± in the user¡¯s mind to properly channel the blessing to create the spell. A skilled user could learn to create the image in their mind without the use of chants, decreasing the time to cast and allowing advantages in combat with other magic users. The Divine liked the ways humans would offer worship in chants to them to ¡°use¡± their blessings, so they did not want anyone but their strongest to do so.

    Would that work the same here? I would have to cast a spell normally to understand how the mana flows in my mana channels. This would have to wait until I form my mana core, or does it?

    My parents seemed surprised I was refining mana at all, and mentioned a tier 1 mage being the starting point for mana refinement. I have already been refining the mana from the mana beast I have eaten, but currently I am still unable to refine mana from the environment, as mana beast has concentrated mana, while the environment is still too diluted for me to absorb it efficiently.

    This was a risky thought, but I want to try to channel a spell. I need to test my theory if my previous experience will affect my magical abilities here, regardless of if I have a mana core or not currently. I can form a small pool of refined mana through my mana channels if I try to contain the leakage of mana when refining it from the food. It makes me feel bad to do so, but if I cry for food more often my parents might indulge me if I seem really happy to eat mana beasts.

    I wonder how long it will take to form a safe amount for a small spell?

 Selene, Part 1

    For a year and a half I consumed every piece of mana beast I could get my hands on.

    Being two years old now, my body¡¯s refinement efficiency had improved immensely, but I still lacked a mana core to properly store the refined mana in, so the excess my body couldn¡¯t contain in my channels leaked out into the ambient mana of the world. I focused on refining my channels, and had made good progress in increasing the amount they could hold and the durability of them in preparation for my first spell.

    I decided that the first spell I cast would be a Tier 1 spell called Wind Blade. It was a weak spell that even a mage with the lowest affinity with Wind could cast to an extent, and it would be relatively invisible unlike a fireball for example.

    Another achievement of mine was I could talk now! I was forced to simplify my speech as a one year old speaking like an adult was sure to raise eyebrows. I could communicate with my parents, but could also now speak the chants for spells! My theory was still that the chants were a mechanism to allow the mage to visualize the spell easier, and that still needed to be tested personally to know for sure.

    My walking skills had stabilized well above the average toddler for sure. Fine motor skills were difficult to train, and it took longer than I expected. Walking around the area of my house to be less noticeable was much easier now and would be easier to hide when I casted magic. My plan is to wait until I can get away from my parents and go out back to test the Wind Bla-

    ¡°Lucian! Will you come with me to pick up some ingredients for dinner tonight? Your dad was asked to accompany a merchant to a nearby town since bandits have been more active lately, and you would get into trouble if I left you alone.¡±

    She was right, and I knew that this was not really a request. Ever since I started speaking, she has been speaking to me like an adult in hopes it will ¡°socialize¡± me better for the world. It is honestly nice of her to do, because it means I can stop the simple infant act quicker.

    ¡°Yes mom! Where are bandits?¡± Bandit activity has started to become a problem recently, and it was even more problematic when they were known to be working with slave traders. Slavery was a foul practice, and obedience was enforced through a ¡°slave crest¡± which was essentially a magic circle that would harm you if you disobeyed your slave master.

    ¡°Your father and the local guard have been tracking them down, they have been very slippery and always seem to know when to move camp.¡± She said to me as she tousled my hair with a smile.

    ¡°A traitor?¡± I asked, making sure to watch her eyes for her reaction. She looked surprised I had thought of it, yet the look in her eyes showed she agreed.

    ¡°Potentially. That is something your father has been investigating between patrols.¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°By himself? That¡¯s dangerous!¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry. Your father may act silly and we are both retired, but he is still a B-rank adventurer and a 3rd Tier Mage. It would be difficult for him to find a dangerous challenge easily out here in Seastrand unless a Mana Beast Tide happened.¡±

    I wanted to continue and ask more questions, but I could tell that she was being honest as it was, and did not wish for me to push further. Perhaps she had concerns about the situation as well.

    ¡°I will protect you Mom. The only way you will come to harm is over my dead body.¡±

    Shit. I spoke without thinking and was beyond what a child would say.

    Mom looked at me sharply and I thought she would get mad, instead all she did was hug me and say ¡°Thank you, Lucian. You¡¯re a brave boy. If something bad happens, it is my responsibility to make sure you are safe, not the other way around.¡±

    Even after spending two years with my parents, the feeling of warmth and love was jarring and I had a hard time processing it. I was the leader of armies and the most elite warrior order in my previous world, and could confidently best challengers in duels, and yet I was thrown off balance by a parent¡¯s love for their child.

    I hugged her back and after that sweet moment we were on our way to the market. The guilt of the increased food expenses due to my mana beast eating weighed on me, but my parents always ensured me it was okay, as it was refining my body¡¯s potential for the future.

    My dad jokingly said I could repay them back in the future with a high class meal of luxury mana beasts, and I agreed. They¡¯ve done everything they could to give me a good life so far, and that wouldn¡¯t even be close to paying them back in my eyes.

    The market of Seastrand was larger than other port towns, with stalls filled with water type mana beast items and other general goods and weaponry. Being a barrier against the mana beasts in the sea and constant source of conflict, there are plenty of them available for lower prices than further inland. I tried to keep my diet filled with them since it was cheaper, but my father insisted on hunting for variety in the nearby woods because ¡°a growing boy needs to taste the world to grow big and strong¡±.

    I consistently looked around as best as I could, trying to observe every little detail around us as I had a feeling of dread that could not be explained and needed to be ready at any moment to defend my mother somehow. It may look like paranoia to most, but this habit has saved many lives, including my own more than once in the past.

    There was still so much about this world to learn, and so many new experiences. The level of human progress in this world was similar, yet different to my old world. When I first saw a common magic crystal that stored mana being used for lighting everywhere, it was shocking. Luxuries like that were something reserved for nobility or other high statuses in my old world, and are definitely not something you would see in every household or as street lights.

    ¡°Did you want to look at the bookstore again, Lucian?¡± My mother asked me and I quickly agreed before she could change her mind. She was observant like me and noticed quickly that I liked to read after catching me looking in the ¡°Field Guide to Magic¡± and encouraged me instead of taking me away from it.

    My mother purchased the necessities from the market and used water magic to keep the food at a safe temperature as I followed her deep in thought regarding the books I would look at today. There was still so much to learn about this world, and while Seastrand had a variety of options, there was not much depth in any one subject.

    A lot of the information regarding magic was purely from the ¡°Field Guide to Magic¡°, and it was exactly that, a quick read regarding magic. Ideally I wanted to acquire some books on the history and origin of magic in this world.

    As Sir Callum, I could raise a hand and libraries would fight each other to be the one to assist me. As Lucian, I was stuck with the options available at this port city, not known for catering to scholars like cities with academies like the human royal city of Solara.

    Maybe one day I will have the chance to visit the libraries in Solara?

 Selene, Part 2

    ¡°Am I weird?¡± I had asked my parents previously, and the hesitation to answer was the clearest answer they could give. My parents did their best to be honest with me, and I knew it was almost cruel to ask them this.

    ¡°Yes, but not in the way you think. Saying you¡¯re advanced for a child is being modest, and it is getting to the point where it is scary how developed you are. It is hard to treat you like a toddler, when it feels like you are much older. You¡¯re intelligent, have the reflexes of a trained adventurer, and magical potential unlike anything that makes sense when you are just two years old, Luce¡± My father said to me.

    My father had always made the point to look me in the eye when he spoke, and I could see he was scared to tell me this. My mother added on, ¡°We are very proud of how far you have come, and are excited to see the progress you will make. It can be unsettling at times to see you not do what is expected of a toddler, like playing with toys or throwing fits, but you are our son and we love you and will always support what you want to do.¡±

    I thought my actions had been careful, and tried to mimic a child as best as I could, but that seemed to be noticeable to my parents, and it was clear they did not know the best way to handle it¡­ Handle me. So they did their best to support what I wanted, and what more could a child ask from their parents?

    ---------------------------------------------

    We made our way to the small building past the food market stalls filled with shelves of books with a black cat I have not seen before at the door.

    People walked by and not once did they look at the cat. They were acting like the cat was¡­ Invisible? Pets were beloved here, and hell would break loose if someone were to abuse one here. The stray dogs and cats were well taken care of, so the fact that nobody seemed to see this cat was beyond odd.

    ¡°They can¡¯t see me, little human.¡± Words that were not my own appeared in my head through what felt like ambient mana in the area. I was so focused on people not seeing the cat, that I failed to notice that the cat was staring at me, and¡­ Speaking to me? The cat¡¯s eyes were a mesmerizing black, the pupils in the shape of a star with a shine to match.

    ¡°Fewer are able to hear me. What kind of a little monster are you, child?¡± The cat once again spoke in my mind, was this magic? Nothing I¡¯ve read mentioned magic that allowed telepathy or any kind of mental abilities. The cat seemed annoyed from lack of a response and said, ¡°Monster or not, it is a commonality that humans are unable to comprehend how to answer when asked a question. Child, respond by-¡°

    ¡°Like this?¡± I tried thinking of my response and matching the feeling of the ambient mana and imagining the words being sent towards the cat.

    The cat stared at me in what I guess is surprise? How the hell do you read a cat¡¯s facial expressions? ¡°Bit rough, but a good first attempt. I will repeat my question now. What kind of a little monster are you, child?¡±

    ¡°I am unsure how to answer that. A human?¡±

    ¡°Just a human, are you? Then what does that make the rest of humanity, when only a select few of your mages are able to see me, much less converse with me¡ª Without me having to teach them how at that?¡±

    ¡°I am only two years old. The only mages I have seen are my parents. How am I supposed to answer your question, when I haven¡¯t seen the world outside of this city, much less the world and its mages?¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    I looked around to see if my mother, or anyone else for that matter, saw this odd stare down between a toddler and whatever this cat looked like to other people. Nobody was moving though, or should I say nothing was moving. I moved my arms to see if I was frozen, and it seemed I was normal, and the cat was blinking so clearly it was also.

    ¡°You have frozen time? How is this possible? I have never read about mental magic, on top of time magic? You¡¯re asking me what kind of monster I am, but what about you?¡±

    ¡°Humans have barely begun to touch the thread of what magic is capable of, and to answer your impudent question: You don¡¯t possess the qualifications to know. You are very impressive for a human, and your potential is greater than any I have seen of your kind, but you are still a speck before me.¡± The air around me turned freezing cold, and for a second I was unable to breathe and then the pressure was gone. A warning to not step over the line again.

    ¡°If you can not tell me what you are, can you please tell me how I can address you?¡± I asked the cat.

    ¡°Humans address me in this world as ¡®Selene¡¯, and for now you can say that I¡­ Watch over humanity to see its progress in the world. Few talented ones like yourself are able to see me if I permit it, and I see if you are worthy of my time or not. Hold out your hand while I verify your capabilities.¡±

    I do as she asks, and Selene places a paw on my hand and I feel foreign mana enter my body through my hand and trace along my mana channels. It was an uncomfortable feeling to say the least, but not much choice when dealing with this being capable of crushing me like the Divines could. I needed to get stronger to never have to feel this kind of oppressive feeling again.

    ¡°You truly are a little monster. You don¡¯t even possess a mana core, yet you have been refining your body using mana from mana beasts and storing it even? This kind of training method would create a lot of impurities in normal humans, but your refinement skills are above mages with a mana core, while not possessing one yourself. Who taught you how to do this?¡±

    ¡°Nobody taught me, I just have been able to do it from the beginning, I guess? I don¡¯t know how to explain it. Also, my name is Lucian. I thought it rude of me to not introduce my name to you.¡± Please don¡¯t have the ability to detect lies, Selene.

    ¡°Instinct, is it? There have been a few like you who can develop superior magical abilities by instinct, but none were even close to your age. You¡¯re going to change the world, and who knows if it will be for better or worse.¡±

    ¡°How does having good mana refinement mean I am going to change the world?¡±

    ¡°Humans are unable to see it, but it is possible to see a mage¡¯s affinity by seeing what elemental mana in what you call ¡®ambient mana¡¯, is attracted to them naturally. The majority of mages attract a single element, with the rest being filtered out. Few can attract two elements, which results in being able to use higher element variants. You do not have a filter. The entirety of ambient mana is accessible to you, which in turns means that you are not limited to a single element, or even a variant¡± Selene said.

    So that means I was right. Is this due to my experience with multiple blessings previously? My mana refinement here is due to the meditation techniques, so maybe? Does that mean I can learn the magic that Selene uses, like the time mag-

    ¡°But therein lies the problem as well. Mana cores are formed by attracting the elemental mana into your chest and using it to form the core. Doing so also heightens the affinity of the mana used, which is why bloodlines tend to share similar affinities as the elemental mana becomes part of their body and is passed along. Mages with the rare dual affinities are not that rare, but those who survive creating a mana core with two different elements are. The two elements in the core create conflict, and the human body is rarely able to withstand the force the conflict creates, and kills them in the process.¡±

    So the lack of mages with more than a single affinity is due to creating a core with two affinities being risky, and more often than not, deadly. If I am not limited by affinity, that means I will have to create a core with at minimum, four affinities. That is, if the four elements are the ONLY affinities a mage can have, as whatever magic this mental communication, or Selene¡¯s time magic is, could those also be affinities?

    ¡°You noticed the issue, you really are smart for your age. Before you ask, I can not answer any questions regarding magic outside of the four elements and their variants. And yes, you being blessed by mana and having no filter is both a blessing and a curse for you. The chances of you forming a mana core successfully are slim to none and an attempt to do so would likely cause an explosion that extends beyond just killing you.¡±

    ¡°So¡­ If I attempt to form a mana core, I will essentially be very likely to become a human bomb and take out the area around me?¡± I asked Selene, who almost had the look of pity in her eyes.

    ¡°More or less so, yes. That said, I am very interested in seeing you grow and the changes you will bring, so let¡¯s talk about how we can potentially solve this issue.¡±

 Selene, Part 3

    ¡°As your young but keen mind noticed, there are a lot of variables at play in regards to your situation. Due to restrictions that even I am not willful enough to trespass on, the information I can give you is limited.¡± Selene said to me.

    ¡°Is there truly no way to bypass those restrictions? It is quite literally life or death for me if what you said will happen if I form my mana core. Surely that could warrant some leeway?¡±

    ¡°No. Your potential among humanity is likely the first of its kind, but that is all it is right now, potential. Perhaps if you had a life of contributions to the world, you¡¯d have a better chance, but the fact remains that you don¡¯t and are just a child currently not fated to live long.¡±

    Why is it always rules? The Divine love their damn ¡°rules¡±, and even I followed them to the letter for what? Some stupid game they played with our lives, and even now in this world I am restricted by yet more rules.

    ¡°Can you help me, Selene? You owe me nothing, and I have nothing to offer you currently, but I will surely repay the debt one day if you can help me survive now. The fact is that I absorb mana regardless of intention or not, and one day I will form a mana core by accident, if not on purpose. What can I do?¡±

    Selene looked at me and appeared to be pondering her decision. It was clear that she could help, but there seemed to be a price she would have to pay that made this no small favor.

    ¡°I have watched over humanity since before your history was recorded. Interfering with your race¡¯s development on the level you ask of me is risking my existence on the same plane as you forming a mana core. If you perish now, your soul will be reincarnated again and start a new life not knowing of this tragedy. My punishment will not be so kind, and I will be erased.¡±

    So she can¡¯t help. It is not fair to ask her to risk his life so that I may live one now. It would appear there was some reincarnation cycle in this world.. And what¡¯s the worst that could happen? I blow up who knows how many innocents along with me and just start anew? Would I retain my memories of my first life and this one, and how could I live with myself for doing so?

    I could disappear into some remote area of the woods and detonate, at least then it will just be mys-

    ¡°You are a different breed than others of your kind, Lucian. Most of your kind would have asked me to risk helping them anyways, and yet I can see you are thinking of ways to safely take only yourself out, and not others. Why do you not value yourself above others, and ask me to do so?¡±

    ¡°Because you have a life of your own. What right do I have to ask you to risk yourself for me, especially when I am just a random human of who knows how many you have seen come and go?¡±

    Selene once again seemed to consider the playing field. I could feel the hesitation in her silence, and wondered what she was thinking.

    ¡°I have lived a long time, and seen the scope of your race from start to finish. Why a child like you has been born is not something that I can answer, but perhaps with my help, you can live long enough to find out.¡±

    ¡°Why? You have no reason to risk your life just to potentially save mine?¡±

    ¡°Because you are the first human to not request something from me, even when not doing so would certainly result in your death. The courage that decision takes is worthy of reward.¡± Selene nodded at me.

    ¡°Are you aware of what a slave pact is, child?¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes, a magic circle that binds the slave to the owner. It allows the owner to punish the slave and even kill them if desired.¡± I asked, wanting to back away from her.

    ¡°I am not going to put a slave pact on you, but it can be considered a similar function. In ancient times, before mana beast and the races of this land were at constant war, there existed a ceremony that created a pact called the ¡°Equals Contract¡±, that connected the lives of a mana beast and another together. This traditionally was used in the union of marriage between mana beasts, but was later adapted into a partnership between mana beasts and other races.¡±Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    ¡°So before the war we have now, the races of this land and mana beasts coexisted in some semblance of peace? If that is true, how did this war start?¡±

    Selene went quiet when I asked that. Of course she would, I only saw her as a cat, but she was clearly a high level mana beast of some form. Living the life she has, surely she knew and likely experienced whatever incident sparked this conflict.

    ¡°I am sorry for asking that, Selene. I did not consider the possibility that you went through whatever the incident was, and please forget that I asked about it.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, child. Bringing up the history at this point is irrelevant, so I will continue with my explanation¡± She said.

    ¡°A Equals Contract was a bond of partnership between a mana beast and their partner, and allowed different benefits like an innate ability to communicate like we are, without the use of mana. There was a special benefit when mages did so, and it allowed the mage to grow in affinity with the mana beast¡¯s element. It is rare, but some members of your nobility have guardian mana beasts and their offspring that perform this pact with mages and it increases their power in that affinity.¡±

    ¡°Which also would create the motivation to hunt down mana beasts and force them to form the contracts to empower the mage¡­¡± Wait. Did Selene mention the slave pact because¡­

    ¡°Can a slave pact be used on a mana beast to force them to create the contract? Was my kind hunting down mana beasts, and enslaving them to be used for a damn power up?¡± My fists were tightening up and I was having a hard time keeping my cool. Tell me that I am wrong, Selene.

    ¡°¡­Yes¡± She said.

    A simple answer. A single word that expressed so much depth from her. I needed to contain myself, Selene was obviously affected by this so what right do I have to lose control when she hasn¡¯t?

    ¡°Then why would you want to help a human like me? You don¡¯t have to explain it, I can tell that you were affected by this, but I simply do not understand.¡±

    ¡°Let me show you something, little one.¡± Selene waved her paw and what looked like a moving picture appeared in the air. It showed what I guess is the evolution of humans from rough attire building a campfire, to creating metal tools, and eventually learning to control magic.

    ¡°Humanity has only been working with magic for around a century, and while progress has been made, you are still only scratching the surface of its limits.¡± The picture showed mages casting small spells like lighting fires with a small ember, and filling a bucket with water.

    ¡°Your kind has also worked with, fought against, and joined with other races like the Elves, Dwarves, and even the Fae on occasion.¡± The picture showed scenes of Humans and the other races building houses, fighting in wars, and weddings with happy families of different races celebrating together.

    ¡°The enslavement of mana beasts became a cardinal sin that humanity committed against mana beast kind and has created the bloody conflict that is the Everlasting War.¡± The picture slowly showed multiple battles where the different races of Elarion fought against hordes of mana beasts year after year.

    Slavery was never something that I condoned, and actively fought against when and where I could as the Hand of the Divine. The Divine humored me, but ultimately my efforts were a small drop in the bucket compared to the wide scale ¡°benefit¡± that slavery brought humans.

    ¡°You are angry against your own people for mana beasts you do not know, and ones who would now rather feast on you for the sins of your ancestors. I can see that you know this, and yet you stay angry at humanity. That is why I am going to help you, even though forming Equals Contracts between us and other races has become a taboo to mana beasts.¡±

    ¡°Is there truly no other way, Selene? I do not wish to die, but you paying the price for me to do so is too much to ask.¡±

    ¡°My life has been a long one, and for too long has it been stagnant. I wish to see the world that a child as pure as you brings and the changes you will make. The only thing I ask of you in return is to broker peace between my kind and yours when you have the strength to do so. If you are unable to do so, I know you will do the best you can.¡±

    This life has been too much. I have always lived an isolated life as Hand of the Divine, unable to connect with even my brothers and sisters in arms, and paraded as a trophy to the Divine. Here? I have a loving family and now Selene is risking her existence just for the chance to save mine.

    ¡°There is still so much you are unable to learn at this time, but know that this world shall surely change for the better if you work hard to achieve it, little monster. Now, come closer to me and I will explain how the contract works.¡±

    I did as she asked and she placed a paw between my eyes. Selene began infusing her magical power into her paw that was on my face and said, ¡°An Equals Contract allows me to infuse your body with my power, and will make it so that I can store my power near where your mana core will form in your chest to help your body withstand the impact of the conflict between the elements.¡±

    Feeling the tremendous magical power starting to enter my body, I struggled to stay in place from the pain of my body screaming out. ¡°I know that this must hurt you, child but you must withstand it. The pain you experience now will be nothing compared to what will happen if your body cannot withstand the core formation.¡±

    My insides were burning, and I wanted to scream out but nothing came out. Liam piercing me with Ascalon didn¡¯t hurt as much as this did. The mana entering my mana channels threatened to erupt from them at any moment, but Selene expertly controlled them to prevent it.

    The mana flowed into my chest, and approached near where the power of the Lady of the Abyss left me and the power began to eat the mana flowing near it, and Selene froze and stopped flowing her mana into my body.

    ¡°Why do you have this power inside your body, child?!¡±

 Fade to Black

    The pain in my body quickly simmered out, and my breathing returned to normal.

    The power left by the Lady of the Abyss was found by Selene? I had thought it was invisible to the powers of this world, as I tried to interact with it with my mana to no avail in the past. Better question is, how do I explain it? Do I explain my past life to Selene, or try to bluff my way out of it?

    ¡°It is different, but this power feels like an Inheritance Sigil used in ancient times to pass on magical power in Fae Circles. How does a human like you have one of these?¡±

    So there is something similar in this world? It¡¯s not like I can exactly ask the Lady about what she gave me now, can I?

    ¡°I am sorry Selene, but I do not have an answer about what the power is. All I can say is I do not remember it not being a part of me. Can you find any information about it?¡±

    ¡°It is hard to say. Fae magic is different from standard elemental based magics, and involves a lot of symbolism and using materials to power it through a process called ¡®Alchemy¡¯, and deciphering it can be difficult even for the Fae.¡± Selene said.

    The magic in this world seems to contain more than just elemental magic then? There were ¡°Royal Alchemists¡± in the Templar Order, although it was not magical and involved mixing herbs and other materials to create potions that were a highly effective medicine.

    ¡°Can this power be used to do anything about my situation without putting you at risk? I have tried to reach it with mana circulation before, but was never able to make the connection.¡±

    ¡°All I can say for sure is that the power in your body consumed the mana that I was pushing into your mana channels when it got near it.¡± Selene put a paw on my chest where the power laid dormant, and looked to be trying to detect any changes in it.

    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°It does not appear to have a defined form, yet it does look to have grown after feasting on my mana. I have never seen a power like this before, and even I can not say if this is good or bad for you.¡±

    ¡°If it is able to consume mana, would there be a way to use it to eat the excess power from the mana core formation?¡±

    ¡°In theory, yes. However, I do not like the idea of doing so, because it has grown from eating my mana and it is unknown exactly how much it would have to eat for you to survive the formation process.¡±

    ¡°Are you worried that it might have adverse effects if it grows too much? It does not appear to be affecting my body currently or even hindering my mana refinement.¡±

    ¡°For now it is not causing problems. What if it grows to a size that takes up your entire torso for example, if it would not eat the mana in your body or core, or even start to consume you? There are too many unknown factors with this.¡±

    I could tell that the power was something that concerned her. Would the Lady of the Abyss really leave me a power that was going to harm me? What would she gain from that, when she is the reason I was able to come to this world in the first place?

    ¡°This is my opinion, but I do not believe that the power is malicious. There is no reasoning exactly, however I feel that this power is meant to help me and not harm me. Is there a way we can figure out more about it? You mentioned it being similar to the magic of the Fae, would one of them be able to help us with it?¡±

    ¡°The Fae are likely to be the closest thing to an expert on this subject¡­ However they are a fickle kind, and are obsessed with research. Making deals with them is rarely ever in your favor, and it is likely not going to be a positive response that a human has a magic similar to their ancient magic.¡±

    ¡°We can always risk me going kaboom and hoping the power is feeling hungry enough?¡± Selene did not look amused about my joke. It was worth a shot.

    ¡°I have worked with a talented Fae professor named Sylas in the past. He is likely to still be around as the Fae live a very long time. His¡­ eccentric nature can be hard to handle, yet if anyone can solve this puzzle, it is him.¡±

    ¡°How do you get in contact with the Fae, especially eccentric ones?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that one, little one. I will personally request his help in person. He¡¯s likely to ignore any form of communication besides that. We will postpone the Equals Contract as it may not be necessary to draw the attention it will to you at this time. It will take some time, but I promise to return with good news. Continue your training for now and avoid gathering too much mana in your chest for now.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for the help, Selene. It really means the world to me.¡± Selene nodded and stretched and a circle of mana appeared beside her and she jumped through it and was gone.

    Teleportation? That was a power even some of the Divine could not perform! There is so much to learn about magic in this world, I was naive to think it was just limited to elemental magic.

    Talking with Selene for so long had numbed me to the fact that time had been frozen, and now looked to be undoing itself and the world started once again.

    Once the time had been unfrozen, my body quickly started filling up with discomfort. Light headed and dizzy, I tried to get my mother¡¯s attention by grabbing her hand but did not make it that far.

    The last thing I felt was hitting the hard stone tiles on the ground, and everything went black.

 A Mothers Ire

    Falling into the inky blackness..

    Time stretches on, but my descent continues eternally..

    The light above me is so close.. Yet it still remains beyond my grasp.

    Falling deeper into the black below me. I look around and see nothing, but I know below me is something of endless hunger. This abyss around me desires to consume me, but is unable to.

    The power enshrouding my soul in a deeper black than the darkest shadow cast by this abyss is protecting me from being devoured.

    The power speaks to me, but what is it saying? It wants me to understand, and I can¡¯t tell what it is trying to convey.

    It grows angry and I don¡¯t know how, but I know it is not at me. Itself? Angry at the inability to understand?

    The light above me grows brighter, and brighter..

    ---------------------------------------------

    I forcibly sit up in my bed, breathing heavily and drenched in my own sweat. My head is pounding. Looking around, I notice this is my bedroom.

    Everything looks like it is supposed to, and there is no hungry darkness looking to eat me.

    A dream? No. I don¡¯t know what it was, but it was not some dream. A vision? Perhaps. What does it mean?

    It was hard to think from the throbbing headache and this was no time to rest. What happened after my conversation with Selene? Why did I faint? How long has it been since I was stuck in the darkness? There were so many questions, and no answers to them.

    I need to find my parents and figure out what I can. Laying in bed will do me no good right now.

    I get out of bed, and ignore the growing dizziness and stumble my way into the kitchen. My parents were sitting at the table and I saw my father caring for my mother, both having dark bags under their eyes and looking worse than I felt.

    ¡°Mom? Dad? Could you help me into a chair?¡±

    ¡°Lucian?¡± Despite being exhausted, both of my parents quickly looked at me and rushed to hug me. The hug was warm and excited my nausea, but I could tell that they both needed this so I chose to ignore it.

    My mother was squeezing me tight and crying while saying a lot of things I could not understand. She¡¯s¡­ Worried about me? That makes sense, that¡¯s what a parent does for their child right?

    ¡­ I don¡¯t want her to be upset because of me.

    I wrap my arms around her and squeeze as much as my little body can muster, which is a humiliatingly low amount.

    ¡°I¡¯m here, Mom. Welcome back from the job as well, Dad.¡± Comforting people is not my expertise, but I hope this provides a little to them.

    After a while of calming my parents down, which mostly consisted of my father and I helping my mother to a chair and finally sitting down in one.

    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°How long was I out?¡± I asked my parents once it felt like the right time. My father answered for my mother, ¡°Three days, Luce. You apparently looked fine one second and were happy to go to the bookstore, and then passed out before getting inside of it.¡±

    Three days? I was stuck in that darkness for three days? Wait, that means my mother just saw her child pass out and not wake up for three days.

    I looked at my mother and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for worrying you, Mom.¡±

    She gave me a small smile and nodded, ¡°You didn¡¯t do anything wrong, all that matters is that you¡¯re awake now.¡± She looked at me twitching from my head throbbing, ¡°Let me take a look at your head, Lucian.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, just a headache.¡± All I got was that motherly stare of she was not asking and leaned my head towards her.  She held a hand up to the side of my head, and started to chant, ¡°O¡¯ Water, Sustainer of Life. Grant this soul reprieve from pain with your soothing embrace¡± and her hand started to glow with a green and blue glow that felt like touching a cool river stream.

    I felt my mother¡¯s mana circulate around my head and the headache started to fade. Even with the danger of my mana core, I desperately wanted to understand how the magic worked in this world.

    The conversation with Selene opened my eyes a little regarding some of the complexities, but why does the chant allow a mage to cast a spell of a certain kind?

    Wait!

    ¡°Mom, I have a favor to ask if you are able to. I want to watch you cast the spell again, and could you do the chant slower this time. I¡¯ll explain afterwards.¡± My parents looked at each other confused, and I could not blame them. ¡°Please?¡± I gave them my cutest version of cute baby eyes.

    My mother, still confused about the request, said, ¡°Of course sweetie. I will begin now.¡± She began to chant the spell slowly, and I focused my eyes on the path from her mana core to her hand the spell would be seen, closely watching the ambient mana¡¯s behavior.

    Nothing was visible to my eyes from her core to her wrist, but I could see the ambient mana react around her hand. My eyes saw all the patterns of the little specks of water mana swirl around her hand, and I could see the pattern that started the green and blue glow on her hand!

    A pattern! The water elemental mana in the ambient mana formed what looked like a strange character and triggered the spell in my mother¡¯s hand. ¡°Is this good, Lucian?¡± My mother asked, and I failed to realize that she was already exhausted prior and holding a spell looked draining enough as it was.

    ¡°Yes, you can stop the spell Mom¡± I said to her and she cancelled the spell. This is so exciting! I could see the pattern! It looked like the chant used a mage¡¯s mana to gather their elemental mana and the corresponding type of mana in the ambient to produce the spell.

    Was it like laying bait to attract your target? The mage used their elemental mana to entice the corresponding type in the ambient and continued to drain their personal supply of refined mana to keep the spell going once the ambient forms the pattern?

    ¡°What tier is the spell, Mom?¡± I asked her, the excitement burning in me. ¡°It is a Tier 1 Water spell called Healing Hand, Lucian. It works close to what a medicinal kit could perform.¡± She started to suspect why I asked her, and there was no attempt to hide it on my end.

    It is a Tier 1 spell. I looked over my mana channels, and noticed there was still a surplus of mana that had not fully been consumed by the abyssal power, or dissipated into the environment. Surely, I could cast this spell even if it for a second or two? The pattern was there, I just needed to confirm how a mage uses their mana to lay the bait.

    My father looked to be catching on as well, and asked ¡°What are you thinking of doing, Luce?¡±. Nothing much, just thinking of casting a spell without a mana core at two years old. Totally standard stuff you would see every day.

    Was I confident in doing this? Who knows the consequences to performing magic without a proper mana core or even a tested affinity?

    The mana in my channels were refined and colorless, but in no particular element. I do not know why it is not a mixture of different elements, yet my gut is telling me it will work. There is only one way to know if this will work either way.

    ¡°Will you trust me if I said that I think I can cast Healing Hand?¡± I asked my parents. They have worried about me enough, and I know this was selfish to ask after just waking up from a three day coma. They deserve my honesty in this matter, and to be here to supervise instead of potentially finding me after casting it alone and something going wrong.

    ¡°What do you mean, you think you cast the spell?!¡± My mother was not happy. I am not great at gauging emotions with women, yet this was crystal clear. ¡°You¡¯re two years old, no mana core, and we don¡¯t even know what affinity you have!¡± I looked to my father for help, and he was deep in thought about this. Ever the calm and rational type..

    Mom was clearly not going to stand for this, and continued to tell me off for considering this, when my dad asked ¡°How confident are you in doing this, son?¡±.

    ¡°What? Damian, you can¡¯t tell me you are actually considering this?!¡± My mother shouted at my father. ¡°Think about it, my love. Look at him, he clearly seems to have noticed something when you casted the spell. Lucian is a smart boy, and we have already seen his affinity with mana, and that he has been keeping a supply in his mana channels already.¡±

    Thanks for the assist Dad!

    My mother looked to be considering it and I added, ¡°I have wanted to try casting a spell for awhile now. Originally, I had thought to try it on my own with a spell that wouldn¡¯t be noticeable.¡±

    She looked to be getting upset again, and I said ¡°I see that whatever happened with me worried the both of you a lot. I know it is asking a lot, and none of us know what¡¯s at risk. I want, no I need to try this. But only if you two are on board and here to help if someone goes wrong.¡±

    ¡°Can you just wait until you form your mana core, Lucian? You are already refining your mana, and surely that will not take long? We already expect you to form a mana core any day now with how crazy your ability is with mana.¡± My mother asked me.

    ¡°Forming a mana core will turn me into a human disaster that will cause a lot of damage, Mom¡± I wanted to tell her. Yet, I couldn¡¯t. It would cause her too much worry. She deserved to know, but how could I tell her that her son had an impending death sentence?

    I need to figure out magic as much as I can before forming the core, to MAYBE stand even the tiniest bit of a higher chance of surviving. Selene is trying to help me, yet I have no idea if it will be possible. She could access the abyssal power, so surely I can learn to do so as well.

    How do I proceed with this conversation without worrying my parents more?

 Babys First Spell

    The consequences of this conversation were severe. Selene seemed to think I was fated to change this world, and I have no idea what that means. War? Ruling the world? Changing the magic systems? All I have are questions, and very little answers!

    I know that I don¡¯t want my parents involved in whatever turmoil I will cause. Whether I die to my mana core formation, or if I bring changes to the world afterwards. If I want to live, I need to be able to use the resources that I have, namely this abyssal power given to me.

    The consequences for doing so might be great, but I am likely going to die in the mana core formation anyways. The abyssal power might be able to at least contain the explosion to just harming me if anything else.

    This is a gamble, and the bet is my life. Either I will succeed and live, or fail and die.

    ¡°Please trust that I can do this. We all know that I am not a normal kid, and I wish I had the answers you wanted. It is important that I try this.¡± I said to my parents, trying to ignore the worry on their faces.

    My parents stopped and considered what I asked. ¡°You get one try, and if I sense anything going wrong you will stop the second I say so.¡± My father spoke up and made the decision, placing a hand on my mother¡¯s shoulder to comfort her. She was worried, but gave a small nod at me in agreement with my father.

    I took a deep breath. One shot is all I have. Both in mana capacity, and with my parents approval. I need to feel how the mana flowed and changed when casting the spell, if I can even get that far.

    Clearing my mind of any distractions, as I was still unsure how the chant fully influenced magic besides attracting the magical pattern formation.

    Holding out my right hand, I repeated the same process my mother did slowly, keeping an ¡°eye¡± on how the mana in my channels flowed. What my assumption was, is that when a mage casts a spell, the mana stored in the core flowed to wherever it was being outputted. Due to the core-less nature of my body, when speaking the chant the mana across my channels moved to gather in my chest, to my right arm, and finally to my hand.

    When the mana reached my hand, I had thought there would be some kind of conversion from the colorless mana to the elemental mana of the spell. The mana reaching my hand stayed the same as it was, and I could feel the ambient mana start to obey the.. Desire of my mana?

    Is that how a chant functioned? It placed some kind of message like a wish into the mana, and the ambient mana helped accomplish it with the mage¡¯s mana as a fuel source?

    When the mana and the ambient worked together to form the same pattern my mother had done, my hand glowed. A bright blue and green glow! It was slightly brighter than when my mother performed it, and I looked at my parents in excitement. ¡°Look! I did it!¡± I said, and my parents were staring at me in shock. I quickly imagined blocking the flow of mana to my hand and the spell was cancelled.

    ¡°D-Damian, you saw that right?¡± My mother asked my father. ¡°Yes. It was just a two year old casting a Tier 1 spell without a mana core or known affinity.¡±

    ¡°Did I do something wrong?¡± Yes. Yes I did. My parents deserved some sort of reaction that made them think I was still a child. I would rather them think I¡¯m some sort of prodigy than dig deeper into the way I am.

    ¡°No, Luce. We are just surprised. It is really amazing what you did!¡± Father said to me. My parents seemed to realize that the way they responded would look bad to a child. ¡°Yeah, sweetie! It was just something we didn¡¯t know was possible!¡± My mother joined in to comfort me.

    This feels wrong, and I know it. A child does not need to worry about keeping their parents safe, but I am not a normal child. Peace is likely not in the cards for me, and it will only become more true if I grow and survive the process of core formation.

    My father looked me over and asked, ¡°How do you feel, son? Do you feel tired, in pain.. Anything?¡±. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    I considered how to answer. Physically, everything felt okay. My mana capacity took a hit, but there is no sign of damage or impending doom. ¡°Everything seems okay, Dad. When I cast the spell, it felt like it had the mana around my body go to my hand. There is less mana in my channels now, and nothing feels weird besides that.¡±

    My parents looked at each other again, seemingly having a conversation with their eyes. Not wanting me to see them freaking out? If only they knew that casting the spell was step one, I needed to understand how the mana flowed for a spell so that I can understand how to control the flow of it. The real target was seeing if I could interact with my abyssal power like Selene did.

    Realizing my parents would be needing to talk in private, I asked ¡°May I go lay back down? I am starting to feel sleepy again¡±. My poor parents were forced to deal with their seemingly adult one second, and childlike the next child due to being a poor actor.

    ¡°Of course, Luce. Go get some rest and we can talk about this later¡± My father said to me. I got up and gave them both a huge and started walking back into my room.

    My parents are aware that at least to some extent, I can cast magic. There was still plenty of mana in my system, and casting the spell opened my eyes to the feeling of the way mana flows. Before, I could loosely encourage it to go through my body and work on any impurities blocking the mana channels humans make when they grow their channels. Now? I could begin to learn how to fully control it at will.

    Healing Hand used less mana than I expected, and I am unsure if it is due to my colorless mana being considered a ¡°pure¡± mana, and therefore more efficient to use with magic, or if it is that I do not understand the capacity I hold already.

    When Selene fed the mana into my body, I was being overloaded and there was no way for me to pay attention to how her mana accessed the abyssal power. All I know is that it IS accessible.

    I went into my room and closed the door, and sat down on the bed in the standard meditation pose of crossing my legs and placing my hands over my knees.

    Selene warned me to be careful gathering too much mana into my chest, and I imagine it has something to do with forming a mana core when enough gathers into one spot. In theory, I think it would be a result of enough mana of the mage¡¯s affinity gathering to form a core made of that element.

    That gives more validity to my theory that my colorless mana is a ¡°pure¡± version, and is either a mixture of the elements in harmony, or a true combination and that it is some ¡°higher¡± form of mana. Both would allow the usage of multiple elements, yet I have a gut feeling it leans towards the latter. The first option would likely work by stripping the element needed from the supply of mana, and the others would remain.

    Instead, when I cast Healing Hand, it felt like it was a connection to the ambient with no barrier. So perhaps it functions like a highly efficient fuel, such as using an oil lamp over a wooden torch? There is a lot to experiment with, and I still needed to exercise caution. If this mana of mine was a stronger version of mana, it might also require less to start a core formation.

    Problem remains that I needed to create access to my abyssal power. It was a gamble, and I knew that this was messing with forces beyond my understanding. Why would the Lady of the Abyss give me this power if not to help me, going as far to say I can use or discard it if I wanted?

    I could apologize to Selene later. This was my gamble to make, and my consequences to deal with if it goes wrong. Selene does not deserve to sacrifice her life in exchange for my own. So, how do I go about doing this in the ¡°safest¡± way? Working on my mana control to grab a tiny amount of mana to probe where the mana reacted with Selene? It¡¯s a start at least.

    I cleared my mind of distractions, and focused on feeling the mana in my body. Focus on the area in my chest, take control.

    The mana listens to my will, I imagine it moving up and it does. Too much of it reacts and shoots into my chest. No! Away from there! The mana rushes out of my chest region and into the surrounding areas, and I instantly feel the force hit my body. It hurts!

    The force of the mana slamming around my body hurts. I feel a drip on my hand, and open my eyes to see a drop of blood has fallen from my nose onto my hand.

    Shit. Mom is not going to like this.

    Wait, I can cast the spell to fix it now! This is perfect so I can practice casting the spell without using the chant by memorizing how the mana flows and do it on my own.

    I hold my hand up to my nose, and attempt to will the mana into my hand and create the ¡°bait¡± for the ambient to create the pattern without the chant. The mana moves but too much goes along with it. The accumulated mana flowing into my arm with no release starts to strain my channels and hurts once again. Amazing work, Lucian.

    I quietly grit the chant through my teeth to not let my parents hear, and the Healing Hand spell glows on my hand brighter than earlier. Too much mana! It heals the nosebleed, and I quickly end the spell and start taking deep breaths. I did not notice until now that I am sweating from the exertion.

    If I pool up the mana in the place that casts the spell, the spell is stronger but uses up more mana. The pain in my arm is also gone, and I no longer feel the strain on my channels either. In fact, the channels in my right arm feel stronger after. Does it work similar to working out your muscles to make them stronger?

    Pain is something I experienced for the entirety of my life in my previous world. Hunger, Sickness, Battles, Training, the list goes on. I exerted myself to the limit in some form every day there. Selene said the reason people with higher affinity fail or die in the process of forming their cores is because their bodies could not handle the impact of the conflict created by the multiple elements forming a core.

    I can use my mana to damage and strain my body, while also pooling the mana to ¡°work out¡± my mana channels, and then use Healing Hand to heal the damage while working on casting the spell without the chant and master mana control to access my abyssal power. It¡¯s a hellish training cycle but it uses my best ability¨C The ability to withstand pain.

    Selene and my parents would rightly throw a fit if they knew about this, and I would feel the same in their shoes. This is my life though, and I will give myself the best fighting chance to survive the future.

    Let¡¯s begin this training hell!

 Mom?

    Today is the day!

    After three years of the hellish training cycle of forging my body and refining my mana control, I can feel that today the path to the abyssal power will open to me.

    My five-year old body has grown roughly rapidly in the past three years. I take after my mother in my looks, which resulted in having more subtle feminine looks over the strong ¡°wall of steel¡± aura that my father exudes.

    The increased height and motor skills is nothing compared to the progress made in the forging process of my mana channels and control skills. It took a long time, and I can finally control small wisps of my mana supply in my body, as well as cultivate the ambient into my refined mana more efficiently than the conversion process of turning a mana beast¡¯s into my own mana.

    I have been effectively ¡°digging a reservoir¡± of mana capacity in the spot where Selene¡¯s mana has reacted with the abyssal power. The goal being if I collect enough mana there it can trigger the reaction like when Selene overloaded my mana channels previously.

    Selene has yet to return or given me any form of sign that she is okay or returning. It has been worrying me, and the only thing I can do is get stronger and maybe one day I can figure out what is happening with her.

    ¡°Lucian! Can you come with me to the market today to carry groceries home? Your Dad will be home soon, and he needs a nice meal after the two weeks on his mission.¡± My mother called out to me.

    She always has¡­ Amazing timing. It¡¯s like she has some intuition that I am going to be doing something she would not approve of.

    ¡°Of course I will, Mom!¡±

    I threw on my small mana beast leather pouch my parents made for me for my third birthday. My father personally hunted a Tier 3 Ironhide Boar, which is known for its hide being strong as well.. Iron. My mother apparently spent three weeks infusing a mana-thread to use for the stitching of the bag as well.

    This resulted in a very durable, and even luxurious quality for a commoner bag, and was surprisingly lightweight and could attach to a belt comfortably. I developed a fascination for learning about this world, and will often pick up plants, rocks, or other materials I can experiment with and test magic on.

    I like to keep small objects, like a small handful of metal chunks I acquired on the ground near the local blacksmith for emergency measures. The blacksmiths are hardworking and antisocial people, but they were happy to allow a kid like myself that is interested in the little leftovers bits. They even offered to forge me a weapon suitable for my size when I grew older.

    This world has been kind to me so far. I don¡¯t know what the future will bring, but the experiences so far have been nice.

    I met up with my mother at the door, ready to leave. ¡°What is the plan for dinner tonight, Mom? Since it''s with Dad in mind, a lot of meat?¡± My mother laughed at the question, and said ¡°Don¡¯t pretend you are not just as big of a fan of meat as he is. I swear, you¡¯re starting to eat as much as he is!¡±.

    ¡°I can¡¯t help it, I¡¯m a growing boy!¡± We left the house and walked down the dirt path from the outskirts of Seastrand, home to the dense forests hunters frequently occupy. It is a path you rarely encounter any issues, like mana beasts or even.. Bandits.

    The bandits have grown to become such an issue that even the royal capital, Solara has dispatched a team to investigate the issue. The bandits have even managed to elude them, and has caused the ¡°traitor¡± theory of Seastrand to become a hot topic, which has lowered the people¡¯s trust in the guard. It¡¯s only resulted in a tenser atmosphere with the guards, and nothing major has occurred as of the moment.

    This path was usually safe. It was quiet, but there would generally be some level of activity happening, like a guard patrol or even birds chirping. This time however, the area was silent. I held out my hand for my mother to stop and I looped my finger around my head to have her notice the area. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    I took a deep breath, and stretched pretending to not notice the environment around me, while internally I mobilized my mana into my right foot and casted the Tier 1 Wind Spell, Wind¡¯s Guidance. It was a short range sensory spell, but was extremely useful for situations like this. Years of training in different magic has allowed me to cast chantless magic at least at the Tier 1 level of the basic elements.

    I kicked up a bit of dirt to create a small cloud of dust to disguise the gust of wind sent from my foot as it scanned a short distance from and the surrounding treeline around my mother and I.

    It took a few seconds, but I felt the spell trigger in four different spots. One high in a tree, two to our right, and one to the left. I put a hand on my mother¡¯s shoulder, and relaid the information to her using the rudimentary recreation of Selene¡¯s mental magic. It took a long time and a lot of practice, but I managed to create a one-way version of it that requires physical touch. My mother nodded to me, and readied the small wand usually kept on her waist.

    I heard a stir in the trees, and my mother did as well as she quickly chanted a spell I was unfamiliar with, and a transparent mana shield formed around us in a dome. She specialized in defensive and utility magic, and I have never seen her cast an offensive spell. She yelled out ¡°We know you¡¯re there! Come out!¡±.

    The three figures to our sides came out, but the figure in the tree did not move. Trying to get us to let our guard down? Two of the figures turned out to be muscular men, who gave the tavern drunks a run for their money on the worst looks. The third figure was wearing a black robe that covered all but his face. A thin and frail looking man, with an extremely pale complexion. Is he a mage? A mage is rare among your typical bandits.

    Going off of looks, there was a mage, and two warriors in front of us, with an archer in the trees. A well rounded party that would be difficult to deal with. ¡°Look what we have here, lads. A pretty lady, and a small whelp. I see a pretty payday when we turn in these two to our buyers.¡± One of the grisly looking men said.

    Bandits. Not only that, but fucking slavers.

    My mother has this shield up, but I don¡¯t know the limitations of the spell. ¡°Do you have a plan, Mom?¡± I asked quietly, wanting to follow the lead of the experienced albeit retired adventurer. ¡°This shield requires my full attention, and all we can do is hope I can hold out long enough for help to arrive.¡±

    A risky, but a plan that suited that of a defensive mage. This road was usually populated, so reasonably it should have a guard or someone show up soon.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, pretty lady. I will help you grow accustomed to what our clients expect from our slaves before you¡¯re sold. Just open up and make it easy for all of us and it will be less painful, I promise.¡± The other grisly looking man pulled out a large axe and started swinging at the shield. The shield held, but I could tell each hit took a toll on my mother¡¯s mana supply.

    *bang*

    What is the best way to deal with this, Lucian? THINK.

    *bang*

    The other man joined in swinging a worn down sword, likely taken from another victim. The advantage I have right now is they wouldn¡¯t suspect a kid like me to be able to cast magic. If mother¡¯s shield fell, and they got close I could at least use the surprise to kill the two men. The mage¡¯s abilities are unknown, as well as whoever is in the trees.

    *bang*

    The two men were the only ones bashing the shield, and after what felt like 10 minutes, help had still not arrived. Mother was visibly strained and barely holding on, and the men got more excited seeing it. ¡°Almost there! You¡¯re giving us quite the workout! We gave you a chance, and you didn¡¯t want to behave!¡±

    *bang*

    I was not going to let them put their hands on my mother. This spell is almost going to break, and if nobody arrives in time¡­ I will have to figure out how to keep her safe. The mage still has not done anything, and that only leaves one guess to me. He¡¯s the mage that puts the slave crests on their victims. I keep watching him because once the shield goes down, who knows how he will react.

    Thud. A loud and dull noise came from beside me. I quickly turned to check, and my mother is not standing beside me anymore? Looking down, I see that my mother is on the ground, unconscious with two long arrows sticking out of her chest, and a blood stain tinged with purple coming from the puncture.

    How? The shield is still up! I look from where the archer was in the trees, and see two small holes in the shield. They didn¡¯t break the shield, but pierced it. I quickly cast a Tier 1 Earth spell called Shield Wall, and slam my fist into the ground and a thick wall of the earth rises from in front of us to block us from more attacks from the archer.

    The shield was going to go down on the next hit, and I had no time. My most proficient spell was Healing Hand, and I used as much mana as I could to increase the potency as I cast Healing Hand in one hand and removed the poisoned arrows from my mother¡¯s chest with the other. Her breathing was shallow. The blood flow was stopped, but she was still unconscious. Her breathing was getting slower, and so was her heart beat.

    WHY?!

    My version of Healing Hand was stronger than even my mother¡¯s! Why isn¡¯t she waking up, and instead getting worse?!

    ¡°It is a Tier 1 Water spell called Healing Hand, Lucian. It works close to what a medicinal kit could perform.¡±

    It can¡¯t heal poison. I don¡¯t know a spell that heals poison. I only know Tier 1 Magic.

    I gently shake her, trying to get her to wake up. ¡°I can cast the spell if you tell me the chant. It¡¯s risky, and I avoided casting above Tier 1 so far, but it¡¯s worth it!¡±.

    She won¡¯t wake up. I roughly shake her. ¡°I¡¯ll apologize when we get through this mom! I¡¯m sorry for being rough with you, Mom. Please just tell me the spell and I can take care of the rest!¡±.

    Nothing. No response. Silence.

    ¡°Mom?¡±

 A Templars Wrath

    ¡°Wake up, Mom! Please!¡± I tried one last time. Stay in control. Don¡¯t let it loose. Deep breaths. I look towards the shield dome and notice it is starting to fade from the top. We¡¯ll have company soon.

    Remove the two warriors, and the archer. Restrain the mage. He might have the antidote or the water affinity to cast the spell. The two warriors are overconfident of their abilities and underestimate me as an opponent. That will be the death of them. She¡¯s not dead. She just needs healing!

    Templars are trained in compartmentalization of their emotions, so that we can remain calm in battle and not lose our reason. If you must show emotion, do so in your own time, not in a fight. Don¡¯t look at her.

    This Shield Wall will protect her cor- HER BODY. Healing magic is strong in this world, she¡¯s not dead. She just needs stronger healing. They¡¯re slavers, we¡¯re worth nothing to them if we are dead, right?

    ¡°I hope you¡¯re ready for us, pretty lady. Don¡¯t worry, your son will likely be sold to some wealthy countess or other noble. They like their male servants to look girlier, like your boy.¡± they said, and I heard them getting closer. They might be on their guard, and don¡¯t know my mother is de- needing healing. I lean beside my mother, and pretend I am terrified of what is happening and why my mother is unconscious. It only requires half the effort on my part. Don¡¯t look at her. Don¡¯t look.

    ¡°Here we are, lit- What? Those arrows are Gren¡¯s, when did the bastard hit her. She must have healed herself before she passed out. Gren¡¯s a cold bastard, but damn if he¡¯s not good using those poison arrows of his.¡±

    Poison arrows? Deadly? Did you kill my mot-

    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s more likely to shoot you than be friends with you, but damn if the arrows don¡¯t make transporting the slaves easier. As long as they get the antidote quickly, they survive with barely any effects to lower their price¡±.

    I look at them like the most terrified child ever, ¡°Please, can you give my mommy the antidote? I promise we¡¯ll behave¡­ What do I call you misters?¡± I plead to them. Not yet.

    ¡°Well aren¡¯t you a polite brat.¡± The grisly man with the sword said to me, not taking his eyes off my unconscious mother. Keep the act up. ¡°Name¡¯s Rolf, and this ugly troll here..¡± He points to the other man with the great axe, ¡°.. Is Sven. As for the antidote, nothing we can do. Gren keeps it locked up and secret. Maybe if you beg him enough¡± Rolf and Sven laugh at the scared appearance of mine.

    ¡°Look weak to the strong, and strong to the weak. Lower their guard, and strike¡±. My training from my previous life reared its head, and I long since mastered it. My only advantage is my magical ability, and that only helps if they¡¯re caught off guard. Ignore the pain. Ignore the anger.

    Sven looks lecherously at my mother and says, ¡°Rolf, what do you say we knock out the kid and have our fun before we set off to the slave market?¡±.

    Rolf lets out a laugh and says, ¡°Impatient to start, are you? Take care of the kid, and I¡¯ll start setting the mood¡±. I understand now.

    I have had enough.

    ¡°You two will be the first since coming to this world.¡± I tell them both. ¡°Huh? What are you talking about boy?¡± Sven asks as he approaches me. I grab the ground and use it to launch myself forward to close the distance, and hold out my right hand, fingers spread out like a wing as I channel my mana to infuse my hand with the Tier 1 Wind spell, Wind Blade. It places a wind mana edge around my hand, and mimics a transparent green blade. ¡°What are yo-¡±, and Sven does not have the chance to finish speaking before I slice my infused hand across his throat, cutting deeply into the unprotected flesh.

    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    There¡¯s the first. I will slaughter them.

    Sven falls to the ground, frantically trying to hold the wound close as the blood has no intention of stopping. Before witnessing his last few breaths, I use the momentum of the first strike to dash forward besides Rolf who only just noticed Sven hit the ground, panic starts to set in his eyes as he realizes what had happened to his friend. You don¡¯t deserve these quick deaths. I need to hurry so that I can try and save my mother.

    He has a better reaction time than Sven, and starts to reach for his sword, but it does not matter. The underside of the lower jaw of humans is a weak point, and perfect to kill with bladed weapons. I swing the infused hand point first of the blade upwards into the underside of Rolf¡¯s lower jaw, and puncture his head cleanly. He froze in shock from the damaged nerves, and was quickly fading as well.

    That¡¯s two.

    They were not my cleanest work, but that was not a matter of concern at the moment. I pull the bladed hand out of his head and kick him to fall away from my mother, so as to not land on her. In what felt like an instant, I had killed two people for the first time in this world. The warm red stains on my body are a callback to my past as Callum. A past that is serving me well at this moment.

    It had to be done to protect my mother and I. It was the right thing to do.

    I needed a plan for the archer and the mage. Gren was in the trees, and was the only one with the antidote, so I needed to be careful with him. It would be easier to deal with the mage if I knew what his affinity was. Wind is known for speed, Fire for power, Water for support, and Earth for defense. Based on his build, I can rule out Wind and Earth, since mages of those affinities train their bodies to better use the magic.

    I could throw a fire spell into the air as both a distraction, as well as a signal to alert anyone nearby to come help with my mother, and hope they are friendly. Even though I was covered in the blood of the two men, I still placed my hand above my mothers chest over her heart, and cast Healing Hand on her slow beating heart. The poison was above my capabilities to heal, but I could prolong the duration the poison will take to be fatal and buy more time to finish this. A few more minutes is all I need.. Please hold on, Mom. I can¡¯t lose you, Mom.

    Her breathing regained more life, and I smiled at her. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you can hear me, Mom. We are going to make it through this, okay?¡±. Reaching into my pouch, I grabbed one of the metal scraps roughly the size of a pen.

    Two more. Remove the mage, restrain Gren. I only had enough mana for a handful of spells at most, and mistakes were not allowed.

    I take another deep breath to calm my rising anxiety about my mother. Retrieve the antidote, and the rest will be fine. This is nothing compared to the wars I¡¯ve fought for less than is at stake here. The first person to teach me what love can feel like. I am unworthy of my parents'' love, and they shower me in it anyways.

    The mage only knows that my mother is a water mage, and probably thinks Sven and Rolf are¡­ Handling my mother first. I can use the Tier 1 Fire spell, Flame Darts to try to ignite his robe. It can provide a distraction while I use a Wind Blade infused metal scrap to cut the tree limb Gren is on, and then use two Shield Walls to restrain Gren when he reaches the ground.

    Deciding on this, I sprint out from behind the Shield Wall protecting my mother, and cast Flame Darts once the mage is in sight, and six small flames the sizes of pebbles scatter from my hand and quickly shoot towards the mage¡¯s robe. The mage started to chant, ¡°O¡¯ Water, provide me your loving em-¡± and before the spell finishes casting, four of the Flame darts hit their mark, and I misunderstood the potency of Fire magic, as I watched the mage¡¯s robe quickly set alight when I expected embers. All of you will burn for your sins of harming my mother. Some more literally than the rest.

    ¡°AGHHHH!!!!¡± The mage was set ablaze and dropped to the ground rolling trying to put the flames out. The magical flames were not that easy to put out, and the man stopped moving and screaming as the flames still blazed. It made me hesitate for a second, as this was the first time I have burned a man alive. The smell was awful.

    I could see Gren in the treeline now that I know where the arrows came from. He was surprised to see a kid burn the mage alive as well, and was slow to nocking an arrow to his bow. I infused Wind Blade into the metal scrap, and launched it the best I could towards the tree branch Gren was standing on. This body is too weak.

    The accuracy left a lot to be desired, but the wind blade scrap mostly did the job of slicing into the branch, and Gren¡¯s weight finished breaking it off the tree and he started falling to the ground.

    He landed on his left leg and I heard a loud *crunch* as his leg caved in on himself, breaking the leg and bending it to his side. He started to scream in pain while I ran to him and infused Shield Walls into both my legs. Once the spells were ready, I took a large leap towards Gren and slammed my feet into the ground, both feet sending two lines crackling through the earth towards Gren and Shield Walls lifted out of the ground and slammed into his arms pinning him down to the ground as he continued to scream.

    With him broken and immobilized, I walked up to see him face to face. Searching his person, I found multiple small vials of a purple liquid, which looked to be the same color as the poison on the arrows, and three bottles of a milky white liquid. Purple is poison, the white must be the antidote.

    Ignoring the screams of Gren, I ran back to my mother¡¯s side, and tilted her head up as much as I could with this body, and poured her the vial of the milky white liquid. There was no time to interrogate Gren for the correct dosage of the antidote, and I had no intention of healing his wounds to get him to talk either. If this harms my mother in any way, Gren will wish I had killed him instead.

    I held my hand to the sky, and used the last of my mana to cast a Tier 1 Fire spell, Fireball. It flew high above the tree line and exploded making a loud noise and noticeable signal in the sky. A signal and a risk, and the mana deprivation has me feeling sleepy. I grab a rock nearby and when I feel the sleep start to overcome me, I slam the rock into my thigh as hard as I can. The pain of the blow keeps me awake. Until help arrives, I will watch over her.

    Please, let me have made it in time to save my mom.

 The Aftermath

    DAMIAN ELDRITCH

    We have made it back to Seastrand after our mission of clearing out the discovered bandit camps in the surrounding area. The fight with them has been long drawn out, and I am unable to shake the feeling that there is a specific purpose in them being here, beyond just it being a hub for businesses around the port and easy targets.

    The way the bandits are organized is unlike typical thrown together groups of bandits. These are professionals, and every time we locate a camp, they are gone from it before our task force can clear them out. SOMEONE is helping them in either the task force or the local guard, or multiple people are and it¡¯s costing a lot of lives and good people.

    They started around the time Lucian was.. Two? Three years of consistent hunts and very little progress has been made. It¡¯s a disgrace, and just when you think you caught the rat in a trap, it gets out and bites you back.

    ¡°Damian, are you still with us?¡± I snapped out of my thoughts to the meeting room of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, where a debriefing was happening regarding our mission, and realized the Chairman of this Guild branch was speaking to me.

    ¡°I apologize Chairman Vincent, the mission has taken a toll on my exhaustion, and my mind was thinking over the bandit issue.¡± I quickly responded, and Vincent simply nodded and said, ¡°Understood. I expect you wish to get home to Lenora and your boy, Lucian, was it? How old is he now?¡±

    ¡°He is five years old, and turning six in a few months. Lucian is going to make an excellent adventurer one day, and far surpass his mother and I. I know that is something every parent says about their child, and I will just say this: Get in his good graces before he is too far out of reach for any of us.¡± I say to the room.

    The reactions are mixed, to say the least. Well, I tried Lucian.

    I look at the table map on the wooden stand, with markers for notable landmarks such as Seastrand or local villages and cities, and red pins for known bandit camps. ¡°Now, all jokes aside, we need to figure out real solutions to these bandits. Who has an idea?¡± Chairman Vincent said to the group.

    ¡°Root out the traitors and set up a trap to catch them.¡± One of the lower E-Ranks called out. Solid idea, no easy way to implement, however. ¡°How do you propose we do that? Round up everyone involved and torture the truth out of them?¡± Another of the E-Ranks called out. Hot shots looking to rise to prominence tend to bark the loudest.

    The two men started to argue back and forth, and quickly turned into a pointless argument. ¡°ENOUGH¡± Vincent shouted and released his magical aura into the room. Vincent was a 4th Tier Earth Mage, and his aura would make a 2nd Tier freeze up, much less the 1st Tier E-Ranks arguing. It probably felt like a mountain was dropped on their shoulders and they stopped speaking immediately, whether by choice or inability to.

    Vincent glared at them for another few seconds, and then withdrew his aura. The veterans in the room knew Vincent had no tolerance for petty squabbles like that. ¡°Well, Vincent. After three years, the ideas have seemed to dry up. Anything of note for us to know about lately?¡± I said to him.

    ¡°The capital plans to send out¡­ specialists to help deal with the issue, since the performance here in their eyes has been¡­ Lackluster on paper. They won¡¯t listen to reason on that assessment either. The rumors of traitors amongst us has not helped either. The specialists are due to arrive at any time, but they are not held to any authority here, only the royal family. If encountered, do not cause offense, it is not something any of us can afford to handle.¡± Vincent said to us.

    So, these specialists are not necessarily a good thing for us, or Seastrand. I will need to warn Lenora and Luce to not draw attention to Lucian¡¯s¡­ Talents.

    ¡°Do we still need to perform our normal patrols of known areas, or is it out of our hands now?¡± I asked Vincent, who looked uncomfortable at the question. ¡°Frankly, I have not been told anything besides being prepared to strike on any given notice. They are intentionally not keeping us in the loop to prevent¡­ Spread of information.¡± The room grew tense, knowing the implications of what was said under the table.

    The traitors can¡¯t reveal information none of us know.

    I laughed bitterly, and said ¡°I can¡¯t deny that it¡¯s probably the most effective solution we have at the moment, and so we will make sur-¡±

    *BOOM*

    A loud explosion outside of Seastrand had the entire room of adventurers standing and hands on their weapons in a moment''s notice. ¡°Let¡¯s go find out the source of the noise, the bandits might have started something! Vincent, have the town guard reinforce the entry points to the city. The rest of you, with me!¡± I call out to the group and take control, and we quickly move out into the lobby. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    Once we get into the lobby, I see one of the local shop owners, Meredith, in a panic yelling at the Guild attendant, ¡°There¡¯s no time! The explosion came from the area Vincent¡¯s home is at! They need to stop the meeting and go make sure his wife and son are safe!¡± It came from my house?!

    ¡°There¡¯s no time to stop, my family might be in danger! I will thank you properly later, Meredith!¡± I say as I fully sprint out the door and down the main street of Seastrand.

    Please be okay Lenora, Lucian. I¡¯m coming!

    LUCIAN ELDRITCH

    Mana deprivation is something that every mage experiences, but can never get used to. It feels like your body has been wandering through a desert for days with no food or water. Starvation does not begin to cut how intense it feels.

    I get into a half-meditation trance as I call the ambient mana into my body to start refining, just in case more trouble arrives. It¡¯s not as effective as a full trance, but I can remain alert enough to protect my mother if necessary.

    The exhaustion is taking its toll on me at the same time. When I feel my eyes start to close, I break the meditation trance and slam the rock into my thigh once again. The pain keeps me alert.. It keeps my mother and I alive right now.

    After around 10 minutes of the meditation cycles, my mana deprivation has alleviated some, but the physical exhaustion is still affecting me. I should not be surprised, I killed three men, and crippled a fourth. His wounds are painful, but not deadly. The Adventurers Guild, or my father can handle the rest with him.

    Now that I think about it, there¡¯s no way I can explain the situation to anyone that isn¡¯t my father. The hell do I even say to him? ¡°Sorry Dad, we were attacked by bandits, and I killed all but one so you can extract information from him.¡±, like any normal five year old would.

    I heard the sound of yelling and heavy, armored footsteps marching towards me, and I slowly began to piece together what was being said past the exhaustion.

    ¡°LENORA! LUCIAN! ARE YOU THERE?!¡± A man¡¯s voice yells. I know that voice, it¡¯s my father¡¯s! ¡°DAD, I¡¯M HERE!¡± My body is so damn tired. This body of mine might literally be the death of me someday.

    ¡°CALL OUT FOR ME AGAIN SO I CAN FIND YOU! LENORA! LUC-¡± My father and a group of me arrive in the area and freeze up at the scene. They look around, and see a man hysterical from the pain pinned down to the ground with earth magic, and a broken and twisted leg. A man burned to a crisp with a staff beside him, a woman unconscious on the ground, pale and blood stains on her chest with puncture holes from the arrows. Unconscious, but alive.

    Potentially the more gruesome sight? The young boy sitting beside the woman, covered in blood with two dead men beside the woman and him. The men with a sliced or stabbed throat. The boy was young, but the killing intent in the scarlet eyes of his made the group of veteran adventurers stop in their tracks. They felt danger in those eyes of his.

    My father ran towards Mom and I, and when the group behind him tried to follow, I ignored the pain and channeled spell-less Earth mana in my hand and smacked the ground, sending forth a faint but visible alone behind my father.

    ¡°None of you will approach my mother. I don¡¯t know any of you, and I don¡¯t trust you to not be part of the bandits who tried to kidnap us. Cross the line without permission, and you will die.¡± I coldly said to them, not taking my eyes off of them as my father approached. It¡¯s a bluff, and I just have to hope it will work.

    The group did not try to go past the line, and looked around at the bodies before waiting for their captain to explain.

    My father quickly dropped down to my mother¡¯s side, and checked her pulse and breath. He breathed a sigh of relief when he seemed to confirm she was okay, just unconscious now. He was not a healer, but an experienced adventurer knew basic first aid at the minimum. ¡°Lucian, tell me what happened.¡± My father said in a tone I haven¡¯t heard from him. He was the same as me. Barely controlling his rage.

    ¡°Mother and I were on the way to the market to get groceries for a welcome back dinner for you. Noticing the forest was unusually quiet, I warned mother and used wind magic to detect the locations of the people. Mother quickly casted a water magic shield, and held off the attacks for a while and we waited for help to show up.¡± I took a deep breath, talking this much was hell for now but the situation needed to be explained.

    ¡°Help never came, and we were focused on the two men here attacking the shield with their weapons, that the archer, the man crippled over there.¡± I motion towards the hysterical Gren near the adventurers. My father glares at Gren with such intensity, he would have gone crazy, even without the pain.

    ¡°He managed to pierce Mom¡¯s shield with two poison arrows and when I had noticed, she was already on the ground unconscious with the two arrows in her chest. I thought she was dead, and she almost was.¡± My father tightened his body and clenched his jaw  with such force I felt the earth under him threatened to break. A fearsome Earth mage, indeed.

    One of the adventurers, a weak looking man yelled out, ¡°Boss, there is no time for this. We need to find the killer of the-¡±, and my father looked at him and said, ¡°Another word before I give the clear, and nobody will be able to save you. This is my wife and son, and you will not interrupt him again¡±. He looked at me a little more warmly, and said ¡°Continue, Lucian¡±.

    ¡°Mom¡¯s barrier fell, and the men approached us saying they were going to.. Make slaves of us, and wanted to test out Mom first before they put the slave crests on us.¡± The rage boiling in my father¡¯s eyes is filled with more anger than even I had when I fought the bandits.

    ¡°I took advantage of them underestimating me and used my magic to kill them. The only thing of theirs that touched Mom was the arrows, Dad. I healed her, and took the antidote from the archer and gave it to her. she has not regained consciousness, but she¡¯s okay now right, Dad?¡± I asked my father. My skill was in combat, saving lives was an indirect result of my killing more. She looks okay, but I don¡¯t know for sure if the antidote worked.

    ¡°Your mother is the expert with healing, but what she has taught me says she will recover. We will know for sure when she wakes up however¡±. He was having a hard time maintaining his cool in this situation.

    He gently picked up Mom into his arms, and took one last look at the area and said, ¡°I am sorry that I wasn¡¯t here to protect you both. We can talk about the details of this later, but just know that I am beyond proud of you for doing what was needed to keep her safe. Thank you for protecting my wife, son.¡±

    Proud of me? I can¡¯t recall anyone ever saying that to me, especially not after I murdered multiple men and crippled one. It left a conflicted, but warm feeling in my chest and I nodded to my father.

    ¡°Men, break the crippled man out of the binding and drag him along with us to the clinic in Seastrand. We need to make sure both my wife, and he survive.¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. We will be taking possession of that man as a suspect in our investigation.¡± An unknown voice came from the shadows of the forest near us. It was hard to tell where the voice came from.

 Eveline

    The voice of the stranger immediately had the adventurers in the area on guard, with weapons drawn, not knowing where exactly the source of the voice was. There was a strong gust of wind and a group of three adults landed gracefully on the ground, each covered in a black form fitting robe and a white mask covering their faces, looked to be two men and a woman. The mask on the two men had a half sun symbol, while the woman¡¯s had a full crescent moon.

    The group was strong. Even without a core, it reminded me of the feeling of Selene¡¯s aura when she released it. The group looked around at the area and saw the battle that had occurred. The two men without speaking a word, moved towards Gren and poured a small vial of a red potion into his mouth. After a few seconds, one of the men nodded to the woman as she looked intently at me.

    I¡¯m too tired to deal with this shit, and there¡¯s no time we need to get my Mom to the cli-

    Without speaking a word, she waved her hand and I felt the wind grab me and lift and pull me towards her direction. ¡°Do not get in our way! My mother needs help NOW!¡± I yelled as I channel mana into my hands and imagine forcing a gust of wind out my hands. Spell-less mana is not efficient, but handy for niche situations like this. The currents blast out of my hands, and break the gust of wind carrying me and I fall to the ground.

    My father looks ready to pounce, but is hesitant to do so with my mother in his arms. ¡°Take care of Mom, I can handle this, Dad.¡± I tell him and he still looks worried.

    The woman seemed to hesitate for a second as she looked like she was going to try again. ¡°If I heal your mother and you, will you cooperate and answer our questions?¡± She said softly to me. Her voice was soft and serene, which was completely different to the ferocious aura she expressed, like a vicious tornado ready to ravage a town.

    ¡°How can I trust you? You randomly show up and start doing whatever you want, and even try to forcefully snatch me without a word? Now you think that I will let you close to my mother? For all I know you¡¯re part of the bandits that hurt her!¡± My anger was overtaking the exhaustion. I keep trying to control my anger, but when I see my unconscious mother it starts to rise again.

    The woman responded calmly, ¡°We are not part of the bandits. If that was the case, you would all be dead already¡±. That¡­ Was reasonable. She continued, ¡°We have been sent by the capital to investigate the strange circumstances surrounding the bandits here. You are a child, and an unnaturally powerful one at that. While examining the forest, we saw your mother drop, and then a kid using not one, not two, but THREE elements at Tier 1 level and expertly dispatch three men, and tactically take out the fourth in a matter of minutes.¡±

    This is not the attention I want. If they are part of the military, this will get annoying very fast, if not dangerous to my family.

    I asked the woman, ¡°Why do you want to heal my mother and I then? You could just forcefully have all of us comply and execute those who don¡¯t comply¡±. She let out a small laugh and said, ¡°We have the authority to do that, yes. But you¡¯re an interesting child who fought his hardest to save his mother, even at your young age. You can think of it as a reward or a bribe to get your cooperation without a struggle if you¡¯d like.¡± The adventurers looked stressed

    ¡°How will you heal my mother? What was that potion those men gave the crippled man, Gren?¡± I asked her once again, curious and distrustful as I have not heard of a healing potion or such besides water magic.

    ¡°The potions provide an internal healing effect, it works good for keeping a suspect alive but not fighting capable. No, I will personally use a Tier 6 Water spell called Goddess¡¯s Cleanse on both of you. It can be considered excessive, and I hope this shows that I am being sincere in wanting to obtain your help without conflict.¡± She said and then hell broke loose.

    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    ¡°She¡¯s a Tier 6 Mage?! One that has a dual affinity for Wind and Water magic too?¡± Chatter broke out among the adventurers, and I was conflicted and looked towards my father for help deciding. He considered for a second and then asked, ¡°I am of course grateful if you¡¯d heal my them. What do you need my son¡¯s cooperation for however? He¡¯s not an adventurer, and is only involved in this by chance. What help can he provide you?¡±.

    I had not considered what they needed me for, and I¡¯m sure it wasn¡¯t because of this incident. Recruit a mage with multiple affinities while he was young?

    ¡°Selene asked me to watch over you while she was¡­ Occupied in the Fae Courts, Lucian¡±. The familiar mental magic that Selene used with me appeared in my head.

    I quickly responded back, ¡°Selene sent you?! What happened, she made it sound like it would be a quick trip there and back. It¡¯s been three years!¡±

    ¡°First, I will cast the spell on the two of them.¡± The masked woman held her arms out towards my mother and I, and chanted, ¡°O¡¯ Merciful Goddess, Grant these souls the cleansing power of your love and remove the impurities affecting them!¡± And a large amount of water mana gently covered both of our bodies and vanished inside of us.

    Internally, the magic ran through what felt like the entire body, and any damage or wounds quickly bubbled and vanished. Truly the power of a Tier 6 spell. One day I will be able to do the same, and never be in a situation like this again.

    This might be a side effect of the spell, but it even removed the blood from our clothing, and I had grown used to the feeling of being drenched in blood like I did as Callum, but now that it was gone¡­ It felt uncomfortable. A mental muscle memory perhaps?

    ¡°Your son was involved in the incident, and will likely be able to remember better details than we can identify now that they have been.. Dealt with. We can match this information up and use it to easily tell when this.. Gren lies or speaks the truth.¡± She spoke to my father, who was focused on my mother¡¯s face turning a healthy color, along with her breathing and nodded to the woman. ¡°I understand, thank you very much for healing both of them. It is up to Lucian to cooperate, but I am sure he will do so as thanks.¡±

    ¡°Do you actually need help from me with this, Miss¡­?¡± I asked her

    ¡°No, but Selene wanted me to watch over your progress once I got here, and verify everything was okay and your core was not at risk of formation. You may call me Eveline, but publicly the name for me is Captain Eveline of the Sun and Moon Squad.¡±

    ¡°Of course, I will be happy to help with your investigation. Getting rid of these bandits is a benefit to us all.¡± I respond so everyone hears it.

    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you have some solution to not letting the adventurers leak my magical ability? Something tells me the city will not keep this a secret.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, the adventurers here will not remember the event that happened here. My two squadmates near them have already casted the spell. We¡¯re not in the business of being seen, and remove traces of our visits when possible¡±.

    ¡°I understand, the best I have been able to do is replicate Selene¡¯s mental magic into a one way communication, not able to make it go both ways like this one does.¡±

    ¡°You.. What?! You spoke with Selene once, and managed to create a version of the magic without being taught how mental magic works by her? Selene told me your potential was unmatched, but her title of little monster truly fits here.¡±

    ¡°Dad, you can take Mom home to rest, and she should hopefully wake up soon. I will go with them and return once I¡¯m done helping them.¡± I tell my father, and he nods and says ¡°Men, report back to Chairman Vincent and let him know the specialists are taking care of it. I¡¯m taking my wife home and will be back once everything has been resolved here¡±.

    The men grumbled about not being able to see any action, and moved to leave back to Seastrand. The two masked men look at Eveline and nod. I assume that means the spell has gone off without a hitch.

    I go and kiss my mother on the forward and say, ¡°I¡¯ll be home soon, Mom. Get better and we can figure out dinner for a while while you rest¡±. Looking at my father, we both nod at each other, ¡°I protected her while you were gone, now it¡¯s your turn to keep her safe while I am gone, Dad.¡± I wink at him, and we both have a laugh as he sets off to take Mom home.

    Eveline and the two men are waiting for me, and I approach them and give a small bow, ¡°I apologize for my outburst earlier, and hope that it did not leave a bad impression of me. My name is Lucian Eldritch, and I am at your service¡±. All three looked amused by my polite show of manners.

    The three of them took off their masks, and revealed their faces underneath. Eveline looked to be a young woman in her 20s, with medium length brown hair and green eyes. You¡¯d think she was a gentle flower, if you did not see the turbulent storm in her eyes that screamed destruction. A gentle flower with thorns it is.

    The two men turned out to be identical twins, both with short black hair and blue eyes. One of them smiled and spoke up, ¡°Not to worry, little one. It was extremely manly of you to protect your mother from those bandits! My name is Owen, and this quiet brother of mine is Alex!¡± Alex looked at me, and nodded. Quiet type, my favorite kind of person.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s head back to our office and go over the necessary details¡± Eveline says and waves her hand, and I feel a strong grasp of wind surround us and we lift off into the sky over the forest.

 The Sun and Moon Squad

    The temporary hideout for the Sun and Moon Squad is a hidden underground bunker entered by telling the barkeep ¡°The Moon covers what the Sun does not wish to show¡±, and a secret entrance is opened in the backroom that leads to the bunker.

    Normally, a kid like myself would not be allowed in a bar. Special exception for this case I guess. The rumors that would spread from the regulars of the bar will be entertaining to hear at least.

    Once in the bunker, Owen and Alex threw Gren into a cell that had no windows, and a magically sealed door with a magic one-way window that lets anyone outside the cell see inside it, but not inside from Gren¡¯s point of view.

    ¡°Is this a magical artifact? I have never heard of an item like this¡± I asked the group, who seemed to be debating how much they could tell me. Eveline spoke up and said, ¡°Magical engineering is a newer creation of humanity, and uses research of different races in concert with each other to produce artifacts like this window. We are not privy to the details to give you much more of an answer than that¡±.

    ¡°I understand, thank you for humoring a child like me anyways¡± Owen and Alex looked at me, and I could tell they were thinking ¡°Is he actually a child?¡±. Selene trusted them, and I will believe in Selene¡¯s judgement for now and not try to put up the child facade as I smiled at them. Smiling at them like a normal kid was just because I found it entertaining to throw the twins off.

    Eveline also seemed to find the situation amusing, and led us to a meeting room of the bunker. Large wooden table that could host 12 members comfortably, with luxurious brown leather chairs to complete the image. The facility seemed grander than an impromptu ¡°temporary base¡± would be. I started to suspect that this was actually some kind of permanent station that was already prepared for the squad¡¯s use when they arrived. Eveline sat at the head of the table, and motioned for me to sit in the chair closest to her on the side of the table. Alex was kind enough to silently stack a few of the seat cushions from the other chairs so that I could remain at a relatively standard eye level to the rest of the group. Bowing my head in thanks to him, he sat down across from Owen.

    ¡°Do the twins know of Selene or myself?¡± I asked Eveline, using the mental magic of Selene. ¡°They know of Selene, and that you¡¯re of a special status to not ask questions that are not necessary. Selene has put a strict gag order on mentions of you in any official documentations, and knowledge of you is strictly spoken directly and forbidden to be written¡±.

    Way to go Selene. I was worried there was some secret dossier in the military waiting to swoop me up at the ¡°right¡± time.

    Owen looked at Alex with hesitation, and then asked Eveline, ¡°Captain, could you tell us why we brought Lucian to the base?¡± Eveline looked at Owen and said, ¡°Selene favors this child highly, and does not wish for him to come of any danger. I am personally making sure there is no risk to himself or others as a favor to her¡±. Owen and Alex looked at me with fear, which was not a pleasant feeling to experience again. ¡°No need to worry about me. I just happened to catch Selene¡¯s eye at a bookstore, and she is helping me figure out some stuff as a favor.¡± I shook my head at the twins and hoped that would smooth things over.

    ¡°First, I think we should introduce ourselves to Lucian. As modest as he is, he is likely to be someone who reaches a height we won¡¯t in life. Perhaps he can remember us when he gets to those high peaks? Owen, you can go first.¡± Eveline winks at me, and I am caught off guard by the playful attitude.

    Owen stood up and saluted me as he said, ¡°Sir! My name is Owen Dunkirk, son of Lisa and Gabriel Dunkirk, sir! I am a Tier 4 Wind Mage, and junior member of the Sun and Moon Squad, sir!¡±. Speaking as a former leader and known for strict discipline, his salute was off. Elbow was bent too low, and he was standing stiffly, which led to his form being curved, not straight¨C No, I am no longer Callum, but Lucian. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°No need to address me as anything but Lucian. Despite the circumstances, I am still a five year old that deserves no special treatment from any of you¡± I tell the group, and Owen quickly sits down and tries to relax. We look to Alex next, and he quietly says, ¡°My name is Alex Dunkirk. Tier 4 Fire Mage¡±. Truly a man of few words.

    Eveline looks at me directly in the eyes and says, ¡°I am Eveline Grace, daughter of the Count Charles Grace, and Captain of this division of the Sun and Moon Squad. Sworn to defend the kingdom from external, and internal threats. Our information on you is minimal at best, and Selene asked that I watch over you as long as I can, until she returns in three years, if everything goes as planned¡±. Her eyes betray a hint of worry, and I could tell that Selene was important to her, and she was worried for a reason.

    ¡°What happened with Selene? Did something go wrong in the Fae Realm?¡± I asked Eveline. Why is she worried? Eveline hesitates to say anything at first, and then says, ¡°Selene is caught in a matter of politics regarding Fae successions of noble bloodlines, and is currently unable to leave until those matters are settled. Leaving prematurely before the succession is complete will trigger a war on humanity as the Fae regards matters of succession most sacred. She left me a message saying she expects to be able to return in three years. I hope to train you personally in that time, to prepare for Selene¡¯s return and your core formation¡±.

    I had a fond distaste for politics. Speaking sugar coated sentences, with an abundance of hidden and false meanings. It is only a headache and a distraction to a warrior.

    Eveline nodded and turned to Owen/Alex and told them, ¡°Lucian will be training with us for up to three years as a favor to Selene.

    ¡°Training?! What kind of training are we giving a five year old? Captain, our training regime has a high chance of failure for adults, let alone a kid!¡± Owen shot up and slammed his hands on the desk.

    This is not something I expected to see from Owen. He seems to care about the safety of kids. An energetic but nice guy.

    Eveline looked at Owen sternly, but let the rudeness slide. ¡°A five year old kid who managed to slay three men, and effectively crippled one to leave for interrogation without a risk to his health. Don¡¯t hold him to normal standards¡±. Owen was about to say something and Eveline continued, ¡°The physical training his young body can handle is limited also, so we will be focusing on his magical ability. Lucian, I saw that you used Fire, Wind, and Earth at the Tier 1 level. Are you able to use Tier 2 or higher?¡±.

    This will be fun to see. ¡°I¡­ Might be able to do so, but have not tried it until now. If we¡¯re being honest¡­ I can also use Water at the Tier 1 level as wel-¡± and Owen and Alex both stood up and yelled, ¡°YOU CAN USE ALL FOUR ELEMENTS?!¡±. Eveline looked surprised, but maintained her strong and cool image anyways.

    To avoid further explanations, I held out my palm and infused a different element into four fingers, and summoned a small spark of each elemental energy. All four elements flickered like colored flames on my fingers. ¡°I apologize for not being able to explain any further, but yes, I possess the ability to use all four elements. My speciality leans to offensive magic, but I can use the other types of magic reasonably well¡±.

    The three squad members stared at the ¡°flames¡± flickering on my hand, and sat down eventually. ¡°Captain was not joking when she said you would be reaching a height far above us¡± Alex said. I could only awkwardly laugh in response.

    Eveline looked like she was getting a headache, Owen was quiet for once, and Alex was examining me like he was trying to figure out a puzzle. ¡°I want the both of you to train Lucian in the finer points of your elements, and I will focus on teaching him Water, and Wind if he can manage to reach the limits of his training with you, Owen¡±.

    Alex and Owen nodded to Eveline¡¯s order, and she continued, ¡°He is an honorary member of our squad, with the protection and privileges it provides. No documentation of him is allowed, and he will not be doing any missions with us. Our investigation is first, and any help we can provide Lucian will be doing Selene a favor and increase his chances of surviving his core formation¡±. The twins looked somber when hearing the part about my core formation, which means they understand my chances are not amazing.

    ¡°Eveline, I wish to tell you about a training method I created to refine my mana channels in preparation for my core formation while waiting for Selene¡±. Selene didn¡¯t mention it, so I won¡¯t speak about the abyssal power I have hiding inside me, but I was curious what a Tier 6 Mage would think about my channel refinement technique.

    Describing the process of using my mana to damage my channels, and then healing it with magic, and repeating the process had the room staring at me with sad eyes. Owen being so quiet with anger felt off to me, and he slammed his fist on the table and said, ¡°A kid should not have to perform this kind of training just to have a better chance at survival¡±. Alex nodded to what his brother said, and Eveline just patted my head and looked at me with sad eyes, a direct contrast to the power normally in her gaze.

    ¡°You do not need to feel bad or anything, nobody asked me to do this. I chose to fight my chance at survival, and a little pain will not hinder me doing so. The power I will obtain in return for my suffering now makes it an easy choice to do¡± I told the group. The twins stood up, saluted Eveline and said, ¡°Captain, we will train Lucian to the limit of our abilities when we are off duty. We will make sure he survives the core formation process!¡±. Eveline stood up and saluted them in return, a show of respect to her subordinates.

    Being trained by professionals was an unexpected but exciting prospect. I will have to thank Selene for setting this up when I see her next!

 Hello, Little Pup

    A few weeks have passed since I met the Sun and Moon Squad. My life following the bandit attack consisted of a complete focus on training, and spending time with my parents and the Sun and Moon Squad. I decided to hold off on interacting with the abyssal power due to Eveline¡¯s request when I told her about it as she was scanning my body for issues. She was worried that provoking the power might create a disaster, and pleaded that I wait until Selene returned at the minimum to start the process, and I could only agree as a small part of paying back her kindness.

    The squad was focused on the investigation of the bandits, and I could tell it was causing issues for Eveline as the capital only cared about the results. She has managed to track down and destroy a few ¡°real¡± bandit camps, which is already more progress than prior to the Sun and Moon Squad¡¯s arrival. Mission information was set aside when off duty, as a rule of the squad to maintain proper relaxation and morale levels.

    The Squad seemed to get enjoyment out of teaching me and watching my progression. Owen was a mage who used magic with instinct, while Alex was of the logical type, and studied any magical texts he could acquire. Eveline was a true master of magic however, and was able to modify her understanding in multiple ways if necessary to make sense for me. It is a great honor of mine to be training with them.

    Speaking of which, it was time for training to begin. Owen had a habit of running a few minutes late, which was ironic considering he was the fastest Wind user in the Squad, ever faster than Eveline with her Tier 6 Wind Magic.

    ¡°Alright Lucian, let¡¯s get this thing started!¡± Owen, almost right on cue, walked into the training facility, a surprisingly large room made of durable magic resistant materials. Owen¡¯s current project for me was to turn my use of wind magic into a reflex to dodge attacks just on sensing them. He would do this by having me wear a solid blindfold, and infuse his Wind mana into these thin but blunt edged metal discs and throw them at me using his Wind magic to move them at different angles.

    The goal was to focus on sensing the mana without the use of my eyes, and dodge with or without Wind magic, depending on the speed of the disc incoming. The discs were blunt on the edge, but that did not mean they did not hurt if they struck you, especially the fast ones!

    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you would tell me the trick to this, would you, Teacher?¡± I asked him, using his love for being called ¡°Teacher¡± against him. Owen smiled wide and said, ¡°Sure, my favorite student! You just listen to your body and when you feel the disc coming, decide whether to use Wind magic to dodge! It feels like a floosh, and you dodge with a flooosh¡± Owen imitated different acrobatic movements. He was very flexible and a natural Wind user, making him difficult to catch if he did not let you.

    I could only sigh at Owen¡¯s lack of productive explanations outside of his instinctual understanding. I put the blindfold over my eyes, and got into position and nodded to him. ¡°Alright, focus hard because they are coming at you soon!¡± Owen excitedly yelled.

    The world before me was black. It felt like I had gone blind, as not even the smallest bit of light leaks through this cloth over my eyes. I take a deep breath, and focus on the ambient mana around me to detect any changes to indicate the disc¡¯s path.

    One minute passes. Everything feels normal so far.. Is Owen delaying to throw me off?

    Another minute passes, and I¡¯m starting to wonder if Owen is playing a prank.

    I feel the ambient get excited to the left, and focus on the change and feel the circular shape covered in the Wind element heading towards my left shoulder. Remembering the movements Owen has taught me, I fluidly maneuver my torso so that the disc just barely flies above my body without touching me. The purpose of this was to train my body to dodge with as minimal room for error as possible, as this would help conserve energy in a long drawn out encounter.

    After dodging the first disc, I feel another disturbance heading towards my head and ankles. I channel Wind magic into my body to lighten the feeling of it, and jump and spin sideways, rotating a couple of times as the discs fly past where my head and ankles flew with me in between them mid-spin, landing and finishing a rotation on my heel as I landed on the ground.

    ¡°Very good, Lucian! You have made a lot of progress in this. So now, what if I take off the handicap and don¡¯t infuse it with detectable Wind mana?¡± Owen said, and I could feel this was going to end badly.

    Another round of silence, with no disc appearing that I could notice.

    I felt the change in the ambient too late, and before I could pivot away from it, two discs slammed into my chest and knocked the wind out of me. Dropping to the floor, wheezing as I try to regain my lost breath, Owen runs over and takes my blindfold off and says, ¡°Lucian, are you okay? I wasn¡¯t trying to hurt you, I was just too excited by your progress and failed to think it was too soon for that level of mana detection, I¡¯m sorry!¡±. I considered letting him think he hurt me, but I knew it would bother him for a long time so I just nodded at him. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°No, the training is good. We should continue with that since I have gotten good with the first level. It was surprising when I could easily detect the disc before, and now it only appeared when it was about to hit me. My mana detection still needs further training¡± I tell Owen, and he laughs as he says, ¡°I think you have the potential to get it down, Lucian! Even Tier 3 Mages can struggle with training like this, which is why I was worried when the Captain wanted to train you like we do¡±.

    We talked for a little while and then got back to training for another hour. Alex arrives to swap in with Owen after a 30 minute rest period for me to recover. Alex¡¯s training was typically a lecture on fundamentals of magic, and then a practical study of Fire magic. His magic knowledge was very advanced, and he wanted to teach me chant-less magic originally, until he discovered I had figured it out on my own.

    He was trying to further refine my ability to do so however, and taught me how to encode the instructions for my mana, and did not need to rely on creating the symbol with the ambient mana. Instead, he was teaching me how to skip the symbol creation as well. This was a theoretical side of magic currently, and was very rare to see, as apparently only 7 people have accomplished it of the humans thus far. Not even Eveline, as a Tier 6 Mage has managed to do it so far. She was capable of chantless magic, as joining the Sun and Moon Squad required it, and only used chants in public settings to not alarm civilians.

    Similar to Owen¡¯s mana detection training, Alex was trying to set me up for future success, and even included a hands-on guided training to casting and controlling the destructive power of Fire magic. Alex¡¯s speciality was being able to charge up a spell to increase its power, similar to how I store an abundance of mana to overcharge a spell. Both of our methods are not quite the same, as Alex¡¯s has a more refined version of it, and mine is similar to brute forcing the power increase instead.

    ¡°The crucial key of the notes left behind by the fully chantless casters is the ability to understand why the ambient interacts with our mana. It is described as our mana with our instructions is a key to ¡°unlock¡± the abilities of the ambient mana with our mana as the fuel source. Being able to do this without drawing upon the chants or symbology of spells requires a deep understanding of the essence of the magic¡±. Alex instructed me, always going as in depth as I needed.

    ¡°What Tier are the mages that have accomplished this so far?¡±. Alex looked uncomfortable for a second and quietly responded, ¡°... Tier 8¡±, and before I could act confused to why he was teaching this now he continued, ¡°The mages feel that if they had the proper understanding earlier on, it would be something a lower Tier mage could perform as well. My theory is that you, as a user of all four elements, will one day gain the understanding of the elements, and become a true powerhouse of humanity!¡±

    It was truly a privilege to study under these kind people, who have asked for nothing in return for their tutelage. One day, I need to find a way to repay their help.

    Eveline was currently out on patrol, trying to discover the traitors supplying the bandits with the information allowing them to escape capture for so long. The twins were to remain here to defend the base while she was away.

    Alex handed me a water canteen and I took a drink of it, not realizing that I was still parched from training with Owen and thanked him. He has opened up a little more to me as we spent time together, and was not quite as silent anymore.

    ¡°Alex, can I ask about where Owen and you came from, or how you joined the Sun and Moon Squad?¡± I had been wanting to ask this, but was worried it was a bad question to ask. The sad smile on his face when I asked confirmed it was not a happy story. ¡°Sure, I will tell you Lucian. I only ask that you don¡¯t bring it up to Owen, as it''s something that he is still working through¡±. I nodded and he smiled at the child before him.

    ¡°Owen and I come from a small town called Rootcreek, which was on the border between our country of Solaris, and the Elven Kingdom Sylvaris. It was a small place, and was destroyed along with our family in a Mana Beast Tide when Owen and I were a bit older than you are, Lucian¡±. This was the first time I¡¯ve heard of the damage caused by a Mana Beast Tide besides a story to scare kids into behaving.

    ¡°The former Captain Magnus found us in the destruction, and brought us to the capital, Solara. Once Owen and I were found to have high affinity for our elements, he recruited and trained us as Sun and Moon Squad members. He was like a grandfather to us before..¡±. He stopped speaking, and I could tell it was not something he wanted to talk about further, and I said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to continue, thank you for telling me about your town. I am sorry to hear about what happened to it and your family¡±.

    Alex smiled at me once again, and said ¡°You are mature for your age, Lucian. It¡¯s sad to see it, because it feels like you are skipping your childhood and not living it as you should, similar to Owen an-¡± Owen flew into the room using his Wind magic and yelled, ¡°Something bad is happening in the bar above us, we need to check it out!¡± Alex nodded and told me to stay put, and Owen wrapped them both in Wind magic and they took off at lightning speed to check on the situation.

    Nobody returned for around 10 minutes.

    I could not detect the mana upstairs with my limited range, but I could hear the noises of the battle. It lasted for a while, and then the noise stopped. There may be cleanup needed that I could help the Squad out with for once, and I headed up the stairs to the bar backroom. I stepped on something sticky and looked down at what it was. A thick red liquid was under my foot, and was flowing in from the main room of the bar into this backroom where the entrance was.

    This is blood. A LOT of blood. Who did this?

    I tried to detect the mana in the other room and avoided making more noise, and I could not feel Owen¡¯s or Alex¡¯s mana at all.

    No, they were Tier 4 Mages, even if the bandits attacked how could they lose?

    I quietly moved to the corner of the backroom entrance, and took advantage of my small size to peek into the main room.

    I saw Owen and Alex next to each other looking at me, with a weird look in their eyes. Was this some kind of test or prank on me? Why were they looking at me like that?

    Wait.. NO!

    They weren¡¯t looking at me. It was just their.. Heads stacked next to each other looking at me, eyes frozen with fear. Then I heard the crack of bones and a gross sounding slurping noise. I looked to the source of the noise, and found an extremely tall and muscular.. Man? A man with the head of a wolf and fur all over his body. He was feasting on one of the regulars of the bar. A rowdy man, but never rude or hurtful to anyone. The.. Wolfman was tearing off the heads of his victims and stacking them on the table as some kind of trophy?

    I tried to back up into the secret entrance, as I knew there was no way I could beat someone who killed two Tier 4 Mages. As I tried to be quiet, I failed to be aware of my surroundings and stepped in a deeper puddle of the thick blood with a squelch sound, and the Man heard it and looked towards me, blood all over his mouth and smiled with his sharp wolf teeth.

    ¡°Hello, little pup¡±.

 The Fall of Seastrand

    What should I do?

    What CAN I do? He was able to kill the twins, and they were Tier 4 Mages! I barely qualify as an above average Tier 1 as it is, can I even run away from him?

    I need to distract him somehow.

    The Wolfman starts to walk towards me, and I can see the bloodlust in his eyes. He knows he is stronger. Not a challenge to kill me, is it? I start channeling mana into both of my hands, as he takes one step after another towards me. It¡¯s risky, but I channel as much as I can for the right time. As he gets far away from the front door, I slam my hands into the ground and cast Shield Wall with one to create a wall blocking the entrance to the backroom, and another to fire a Wind Blade at the window, shattering the glass.

    ¡°What?! A little pup like you is a mage? Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t kill you then. You¡¯re too valuable to eat¡±. He starts swinging at the rocky wall, and I know it won¡¯t last long. I don¡¯t have time to wait and run and jump out the window with the help of Wind mana to lighten my upper body so my legs can push harder and faster. I see houses on fire, corpses of the town members, and human-like mana beasts like the Wolfman.

    I can¡¯t save anyone here.. I just can¡¯t. I don¡¯t have the strength I did as Callum..

    My parents! I infuse more Wind mana into my body and charge as fast as I can towards where my house is in the forest. Fire, smoke, the smell of burning bodies, and the mangled ones of people I grew up with and saw on my trips with my mother to town.. Everywhere I look.. Gone.

    I can mourn later. Right now, I need to check on my parents. Figure out whether they are alive¡­ or dead.

    Reaching the forest, the world almost seems like a different place. The fire has not fully spread to the trees yet, and the path to my house is clear¡­ Looking down at the ground, I see there are heavy non-human footprints in the ground. Please let me make it in time!

    Reality is feeling far away as I reach my home, and see the damage. The door has been ripped off the hinges, and my father¡¯s warhammer is bloody and on the ground next to no bodies..

    I reach the door.. Or where the door used to be. My father is fighting a larger Wolfman than the one I saw in the bar. They both have serious wounds on them, and I look behind my father and see.. What remained of my mother. The woman who showed me what it felt like to love something unconditionally, despite my flaws and differences. Don¡¯t lose control, Lucian.

    My kind and wonderful mother¡­ Keep it under control, Lucian!

    Mutilated by these fucking monsters¡­ KEEP IT UNDER CONTROL, LUCIAN!!

    ¡­ I can grieve later. My father needs my help. Grieve later. Don¡¯t look at her.

    The Wolfman smells me and laughs wildly at my dad, ¡°Is this your pup? I will have a great time eating him like I did your woman!¡± Ignore it. Ignore it. IGNORE HER.

    My father looked at me and desperately pleaded with his eyes for me to leave. The Wolfman and him keep dealing blows, the Wolfman ignoring me as not a threat.. Once again. Everyone who has faced me in combat has died, and the only survivors are the ones that I still had a use for. They look at me and see a child, yet the bodies I have stacked would fill this continent alone.

    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    I wanted a fucking peaceful life, and yet here we are. If peace is not an option, then I will show you what the consequences of war are.

    ¡°Father, don¡¯t argue and hold him down.¡± I ordered coldly. ¡°Who does this brat think he is?¡± The Wolfman looked at me and snarled, my father wasting no time to ask questions wrapped himself in Earth magic that formed a rocky armor around him and wrapped his arm around the Wolfman and slammed him to the ground. He sheds the rocky armor and it falls on the Wolfman, and he uses Earth Magic I am not familiar with to make it form a rocky cast on the Wolfman, only exposing his head.

    ¡°What¡¯s the plan, Lucian? He has a high level of regeneration and normal wounds won¡¯t work¡± The Wolfman starts snarling profanities and trying to struggle out of the cast. He is strong, I will give him that. My father is reinforcing the cast with his mana, but it is clear it won¡¯t hold forever.

    ¡°Beasts like this with high regeneration are hard to kill, but they are not immortal¡± I say as I walked towards the Wolfman making sure he could hear me and he kept fucking barking, ¡°W-What¡¯s a little pup like you going to be able to do? I am as strong as one of your Tier 4 Mages!¡±. I looked at his ear, and saw the long side of it has a host of adornments, very fancy gold earrings. They would probably fetch a pretty sum if sold to a vendor.

    I walk into the kitchen and see a mess of cooking equipment and food on a cutting board. Mom was in the middle of making dinner.. Looks like my favorite stew with potatoes, carrots, onion, and delicious mana beast meat. ¡°I wonder how your meat tastes, beast¡± I call out to him. ¡°Probably disgusting, huh?¡± and grab one of the meat cleavers that were perfect for cutting into thick pieces of meat. ¡°This will work¡± I say and walk back towards the Wolfman still being held by my father.

    ¡°Tell me why you attacked Seastrand, beast. You all slaughtered the town I loved, and my mother who only gave this world warmth and love. The only times she got angry was for my benefit. She never raised a hand to me, and only did the best to provide everything I ever wanted and more¡± and the Wolfman noticed too late that I was not a simple kid. I could see the fear begin to crept into his eyes as he noticed the way I was holding the cleaver.

    ¡°Good, so a filthy mutt like you can feel what fear is. Since you don¡¯t want to answer however..¡± and I infused the cleaver with a charged up Wind Blade to increase the cutting power, and slammed it onto the beautifully adorned ear, and cleanly the ear fell onto the floor. The Wolfman¡¯s blood hits me in the face and drips down my eye. Amidst the Wolfman¡¯s howls of pain I say, ¡°It was thanks to Alex that a weak mage like myself could cast a spell strong enough to allow this little kitchen cleaver to cut into a beast as sturdy as you¡±.

    This is what you deserve.. I would normally say this was horrible, but I don¡¯t care anymore.

    ¡°You beasts killed him too. His brother Owen and him treated me like a little brother, and always helped however they could. I found their heads stacked on a table by one of your kind¡±.

    ¡°Lucian, what are you doing?¡± My father asked in fear for what his son was becoming. I look into his eyes, and see the man who went above and beyond to provide for his family and would put me on his shoulders when I wasn¡¯t paying attention and run around the forest. This wasn¡¯t what I wanted him to see of me, but I can see the deadly wounds in his side, and the blood dripping from it. Before it was my mother being poisoned, and now I can¡¯t heal his injuries either. I am too weak once again.

    ¡°What I must, father. He has information we need, and I am going to be alone soon. You can pretend, but I can see you do not have much longer, and I can¡¯t heal you, just like I couldn¡¯t with mother last time¡± and my father didn¡¯t speak but sadly nodded to me.

    Turning back to the Wolfman with a missing ear, very slowly starting to regenerate itself. Fascinating stuff to witness. ¡°Why are you here? Do not make me ask again¡± I looked into the Wolfman¡¯s fearful eyes and waited. When he still failed to speak, I held up the cleaver once again and prepared to take an eye, he yelled, ¡°W-We were paid to rampage in the city! These strong humans paid us a horde of gold to tear this city down!¡±.

    ¡°Names, appearance, location, what do you have?¡± I asked him. ¡°Nothing! They paid in advance and told us all we had to do was go wild!¡±. I looked to my father and asked, ¡°The Bandits?¡± and he seemed to think the same thing. ¡°Was the contract to slaughter and mutilate the people here? We don¡¯t even live in the city!!¡± He pressed down on the rocky cast encasing the Wolfman and I could hear the sounds of bones giving way.

    The Wolfman coughed up blood and cried, ¡°N-No! It wasn¡¯t! Spare me and I will take you to where we met the humans! I swear!¡±. My father and I looked at him coldly, and shook our heads. I lifted up the cleaver with both hands, which only worked because of my smaller frame. One way I infused Earth mana to reinforce the cleaver¡¯s durability and strength, and charged an infused Wind Blade to the entirety of the blade this time to strengthen the cutting power as much as I could.

    ¡°My mother is the only one who would have granted you mercy, and because of you, she isn¡¯t here to stop me from ending your pathetic life¡±. I slammed the cleaver down, using every bit of rage and power I could produce onto the Wolfman¡¯s neck, and it slices through the majority of the Wolfman¡¯s neck, but not cleanly as the front half of the cleaver hit the wooden floor below him and stopped the cut from following through completely.

    It was good enough for me, and I stared into the Wolfman¡¯s eyes of fear as the light quickly faded in them as the bleeding from the cut finished the job for me.

    It was over, and I was once again covered in blood for a second time. I tried, and tried, and tried, and tried to live a peaceful life. It still ended up with blood on me once again. Maybe if I had gone with Owen and Alex, they might still be alive. Maybe we could have saved the city, maybe my mother would still be alive and they would be waiting for me to get home for my favorite mana beast stew.

    Maybe if I was stronger this would have never happened to the people here. If the Everlasting War had never started, these Wolfman would not have been willing to take the mission for some fucking gold.

    ¡°Lucian?¡± I heard a woman¡¯s voice behind me. The woman with the strength to have solved this invasion quicker. Late again.

    Eveline showing up at the perfect moment once again.

 Goodbye

    ¡°Eveline, explain to me. Tell me there¡¯s a good reason for all of this¡­ Perfect timing of yours¡± I asked her quietly. She looked at the blood on me, and the cleaver in my hand with the dead Wolfman on the floor. ¡°Lucian, there¡¯s no time to explain, we need t-¡±

    ¡°No time? NO TIME? There was plenty of time, the twins told me to stay in the base and went upstairs and never came back! I waited, and maybe if I had not, they would still be alive and not dead with their heads stacked along with the towns people as some fucking trophy piece!¡± I yell at her, letting it all out.

    Picking up the adorned ear and putting it into my pouch, bloody or not. Can turn it into gold later.

    I looked her in the eyes, seeing fear in her eyes as well, pointing at where my mother remained, and continued, ¡°My mother is dead, Eveline. Maybe if I had not stayed put like the twins asked, we could have saved her together too. My father and I defeated this Wolfman, but there is still who knows how many more! He is going to be dead soon, and I can tell not even your Tier 6 Water magic can heal him. He is alive on pure willpower at this point¡±. My father stayed quiet, but was holding on as long as he could.

    I bent down and used my Healing Hand on him, to ease his suffering if anything. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me there¡¯s no time to explain, Eveline. You will explain, or I will activate the abyssal power with every fiber of power I can muster, and start forming my core to take out the town and the remaining Wolfman with me. Everyone is fucking dead already, so what is the point?!¡±

    ¡°Lucian, I rushed back as fast as I could! On patrol a group of strong mages ambushed me and left after buying enough time for me to get back to everything destroyed! Owen and Alex are dead, and we can not save anyone else! I thought you were dead too! We need to leave before it is too late!¡± Her rage was apparent, but not at me. The look in her eyes was guilt, and it became clear that I misjudged the situation.

    She feels the same as me right now.

    ¡°You feel powerless to do anything too, huh?¡± I asked, and she didn¡¯t answer but that was enough to know the answer.

    ¡°Give me a minute and I will listen to your plan, Eveline¡±. I turn to my father, and smile at him as if to pretend I was still the loving child he carried on his shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s almost time, Dad?¡± Grabbing his hand and squeezing it.

    My father who has been quiet this whole time says, ¡°I was worried about you being alone in this world, Lucian. I was in the yard, performing maintenance on my gear, and the Wolfman charged out of the forest and we fought¡± his voice was starting to shake and lose its strength. He continued, ¡°Your mother tried to support me in the fight, and the Wolfman targeted her and was faster than I was to stop him. It was over so fast, and it was all I could do to stop him causing her body more damage¡­ I failed, son¡±.

    I squeezed his hand tighter as I felt his weaken, not letting the strong feeling in our grasp lessen, as if it would change anything. What should I say? Don¡¯t worry about me? Go rejoin with mother?

    My father noticed my conflict and said, ¡°Your mother and I have always known you were different, Lucian. You always have done what was necessary, whether in combat, or to try and pretend to be a normal child for us. Don¡¯t forget to protect this¡± he puts a weak fist my chest where my heart is, ¡°Don¡¯t lose this in the pursuit of power, son. It is normal to feel rage, especially in these circumstances, but don¡¯t let it control who you are as a person¡±. He bumped his fist against my chest. ¡°You will grow strong, just need to give it time, Luce. I can see the desire for revenge in your eyes, but promise you won¡¯t try anything like that until you can confidently do so¡±. He looked into my eyes one last time, and I couldn¡¯t lie to him.

    ¡°By my name as your son, Lucian Eldritch. I promise to not foolishly seek revenge before it is possible to do so. I also promise that I will bring a high class mana beast meal to your graves one day like we swore years ago¡±. He smiled and I leaned him back against the remnants of the wall in the house. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    As he started to fully fade away, he looked at me with the most pride and love he could fill his gaze with and said, ¡°Most importantly, don¡¯t forget that no matter what, your mother and I love you more than anything in this world. Take care of yourself, son. We are sorry to leave you alone¡±. I nodded to him one last time, and he closed his eyes and he was gone.

    ¡°Eveline, I don¡¯t suppose you have a way to freeze the bodies, do you? There¡¯s no time to dig graves..¡± I asked her, and she shook her head. ¡°The closest option would be making a beacon of our location from the mana fluctuations. Wolfman mana beasts are especially sensitive to high tier magic¡±.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to ask, but could you move my mother¡¯s body next to my father¡¯s?.. What remains anyways. I am going to collapse the house on them to avoid their bodies being savaged by the Wolfmans anymore than has been done already¡±. Eveline looked at me sadly, and said ¡°Of course, Lucian¡± and she picked up my mother and put her next to my father. A loving couple like them deserves to be together at the end.

    I¡¯m only sorry that I can not bury you properly right now. Our home shall serve as your grave until I am able to do you both justice.

    Eveline and I walked out of the door, verified that we were in the clear for the time being. I channeled mana into both my hands and legs and cast the strongest Tier 1 Earth spell, Tectonic Tremor and used the last of my rage to slam my feet into the ground, and then my fists. Cracks quickly formed into the ground and surrounded and went under my home and started to collapse in on itself.

    Goodbye, Mom and Dad. I don¡¯t know if what I feel for the both of you is love, but I like to think that it is¡­ In my own way. I will remember our times together fondly, and vow to wipe out the ones responsible for this sin one day.

    I looked at Eveline, who has waited patiently for me and nodded to give her the all clear, and she cast a Wind spell that wrapped the both of us in a windy storm, and we took off faster than I have ever moved the opposite direction of Seastrand, or what used to be Seastrand.

    <hr>

    What felt like a few hours passed, and Eveline and I had both been silent. Neither of us were great at communicating it seemed.

    ¡°I¡­ Am sorry, Eveline. I let my anger take control over me, and I lashed out at you when you only did the best you could. I wasn¡¯t the only one who lost people tonight, and I want you to know Owen and Alex were brave and rushed to help the people when they first felt something was wrong. They are the reason I am still alive, despite the possibilities that do not matter anymore because we can¡¯t change it¡±.

    It felt nice to get that weight off of my chest, and Eveline smiled at me and said, ¡°You are handling this like someone who has lived through many battlefields, Lucian. Thank you for trying to comfort me¡±.

    I could only look away from here and quietly say, ¡°Maybe Selene¡¯s nickname of ¡®little monster¡¯ is more accurate than we thought..¡± and Eveline did not respond. She doesn¡¯t lie to me, and I appreciate that.

    Seastrand has been my entire experience in this world thus far, and I only had a vague understanding of surrounding areas. Was she taking me back to the capital, Solara to report what had happened?

    ¡°Selene does not want you to be well known in the capital at this time, so I will be reporting back there after taking you to her for safety, per her request if something went wrong in Seastrand¡±.

    ¡°I see¡­ What will happen when you report back, Eveline? Surely they have to understand that it was out of your control?¡±. Eveline let out a bitter laugh and said, ¡°They only understand the results, that being that I failed, and lost two of our strongest members of the Squad in the process. At best, I will be demoted, and at worst¡­¡± she didn¡¯t finish the sentence, so I did.

    ¡°Execution?! They would execute someone as loyal and strong as you over something you could not change?!¡± The mana inside me started to get excited, and I had to quickly take control to prevent it going to my chest. Keep it under control, Lucian.

    Yeah, I know.

    Eveline waited until I had calmed my agitated mana and said, ¡°The price for this failure was a loss of a city population, and a potential conflict arising in the Everlasting War after it has been relatively quiet besides a few small skirmishes in the Wilds. If they decide they need a scapegoat to appease the people¡­ I¡¯m the first choice¡±.

    ¡°If you did not try to find me, would others in the city have survived, and your life would not be at risk?¡± I asked quietly, wanting to be wrong.

    I rarely am¡­

    ¡°Yes, Lucian. I chose to save your life over the remaining civilians in the city because that is how special you are. Selene has taught me a lot through my life, and you are the first one I have seen her eyes glow with anticipation for. She believes you will be a major figure to change the fate of this world, and that is all I need to risk my life to protect yours¡±.

    Now was not the time to be childish¡­ A little ironic to say in this body.

    ¡°Thank you, Eveline. I will do my best to live up to the weight of everyone¡¯s expectations of me and make you all proud¡±. I wanted to be selfish¡­ Tell her to stay with Selene and I¡­ But that would only cause more suffering for everyone involved.

    ¡°You are the most talented student I have had the honor of teaching, and I believe you will stay true to your word, for better or worse¡±.

    More time passed, and I saw a forest in the distance that was covered in a purple fog so dense you could not see inside of it.

    ¡°Is that?...¡± and Eveline nodded, ¡°Yes, that is the entrance to the Fae Realm¡±.

 The Fog Wall of the Fae

    Eveline and I landed on the ground of a road that looks to lead into the forest covered by impassable fog, the only visible structure being a large wood gateway arch at the entrance to the fog. Looking at the fog for too long enticed you to enter it, but my senses told me I would not make it out if I did so.

    ¡°What is this fog, Eveline? It¡¯s pulling me to go in, but my body is screaming danger at it¡± and Eveline said, ¡°It¡¯s a safety magic of the Fae¡¯s creation. We do not know much about it, except that anyone who went in without permission was not found again¡±. She looked at me for signs of fear, and laughed awkwardly when she didn¡¯t get the reaction she had hoped for.

    ¡°Do we need to pass it as some kind of trial?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s one way to do it, although I don¡¯t recommend it. The Fae do love an entertaining visitor, however¡±.

    I need Selene and the Fae named Sylas she mentioned to figure out what to do about my core. I can not wait longer to form my core. The Fae like interesting things and people, and what¡¯s more interesting than a five year old human child passing the fog known as their greatest defense? Surely that warrants some interest?

    ¡°I won¡¯t stop you if that is your decision. The fog will try to find a crack in your mind to exploit against you. Do not respond, or let it break you. You are too important to fall in this place, Lucian. If you fail there, you will not return. Not even Selene can save you¡± Eveline said to me, wanting to verify I knew the risk of this.

    ¡°I know, thank you for everything, Eveline. Please¡­ Do whatever you can to survive whatever comes next. Besides Selene, you are the closest I have to another family member¡±. I give her a hug, one of the first I have chosen to willingly give.

    If they dare to lay a hand on her, I will add them to the list of people to execute.

    Eveline gives me a tight hug back, and we both know this could be the last time seeing each other. ¡°I will wait until you go into the fog, Lucian¡±.

    ¡°Okay, farewell for now, and may we meet again¡± I wave to her and walk towards the wooden arch, take one last look at Eveline and head into the fog.

    <hr>

    Time goes on forever here. I ignore the illusions and my senses betraying me. Focusing on each step forward, so that the direction does not play a trick on me unknowingly.

    The illusions are a mixture of both lives. I see battlefields, the smoke of war and the blood filled fields, littered with the hordes of fallen enemies and allies. My resolve stays hardened throughout this walk of my past. Former comrades, teachers, civilians, leaders. One by one they approach and attempt to lure me off the path forward, and my resolve hardens with every step.

    My path will not end here, not to some illusions of a life long gone. I am no longer Callum, and live as Lucian Eldritch now. Son to wonderful and loving parents, and will grow strong and seek justice for my fallen people.

    The illusions seem to understand Callum¡¯s memories are ineffective, and shift to reflect my life as Lucian¡¯s. The many memories of my life flash before me, my father and mother carrying me around, reading me stories, and showering me in their love and warmth. I do not deserve to feel it inside, my soul is too stained with the sins of my path following a false path to embrace that joy filled path.

    ¡°Is that all we are worth to you, Lucian? Servants to cater to your every whim for nothing in return?¡± My illusionary parents look at me with open eyes that lack depth, and I almost stopped on the path. Step by step, keep moving on the path¡­

    ¡°You don¡¯t deserve the care we gave!¡± Clenching my first and feeling the heat of my nails digging into my palms, I keep moving forward.

    They are fakes. Just illusions. You know they would never say this to you.

    The illusions fade away for a time, and just when I think perhaps I am reaching the end of the path, my mother shows up as she was last I saw her, head missing from her shoulder and a gaping hole in her chest from the Wolfman¡¯s blow.

    ¡°Why weren¡¯t you there to protect me?¡± I froze in place at its words, spoken from no mouth. Duplicates of the illusion form around me and start to circle me repeating, ¡°Why? Why? Why? WHY, LUCIAN?!¡± and my mana agitated once more. It desired to rush to my chest, it demanded to start the core formation.

    Fix it.

    I take control of the agitated mana and slam it into my sides, just as I have done plenty of times to train. The emotional torment and rage from recent events make the control more forceful, and it pushes the mana harder than I have before. When the mana impacted my sides, I coughed up blood. The illusions faded as my mind became clear once more, and I slowly continued on the path.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    I don¡¯t know what will happen if I use magic in this place, so the damage needs to be ignored for now. The illusions are getting weaker, losing the power to speak in my mind.

    I keep walking forward on the path for a time, and as the fog starts to fade as I reach what I assume is the exit, I hear a faint whisper in my ear, ¡°You know it will always be your fault that your parents died, Callum! If they had a normal son, this would have never happened to them!¡± and I wanted to lash out at the illusions, but barely contained it and kept moving until I was out of the fog.

    Stepping out of the fog, I appeared in the middle of a throne room, containing towering thrones of different colors, seven in total circled around me. There was an intricate stone building of white pillars surrounding the throne room that reminded me of marble from my past word, and a grand glass ceiling overhead. Outside of the glass ceiling, I could see an abnormal sky, shining rainbow flowing colors instead of the usual blue outside of here.

    My head is still dazed from the fog and the illusions. I looked around, and the area looked too¡­ Perfect. Grand architecture and rainbow sky? I can believe that in a magical world, even if it is unlike anything seen in Seastrand.. But the space around me.. Is wrong.

    It¡¯s like a painted picture of the area around me.. A barrier? I reflect back to my training with Owen and spread my mana sense to check the area for anything abnormal. The ambient is.. A giant symbol of magic! It¡¯s written in a different type of language than I¡¯ve seen with magic so far, but I could still identify points of weakness in such a large symbol. Focus on the points of weakness, and find the critical one¡­

    THERE! I harness my rage built up in the fog, and use it to control the mana to flow to my fist and burn.. Burn with the ferocity of a raging inferno¡­ Burn this illusion before me, and scorch the world that seeks to prevent me from going forward.

    I swing my fist at the point of weakness in the symbol, and the dome around me shattered like broken glass around me, and the mana forming the barrier begins to fade out of visibility like it was never there.

    ¡°HAHAHAHAHA! I like this boy! He burns with the flame of Wrath at such a young age!!¡± I look to the source of the voice, and now see this throne room is filled with people that.. Look like humans, but have different features. Some have wings, horns, long ears, and various differences from normal humans from small to large. The six thrones were covered in a similar fog I was just in, except for the one the voice came from.

    The voice that seemed to like my¡­ Self-made spell? I¡¯m not sure what to call it as of right now, and will have to decide later¡­ The voice belonged to a tall, adult male likely around lower 20s in appearance, with long hair that seemed to mimic the tongues of flames, and a fiery color to match. He was shirtless, with a metal pauldron on his left shoulder holding a vibrant red cloth that half-covered his muscular torso, with his arms and legs encased in a brass colored armor that looked like a Knight¡¯s set in my previous world.

    Great, I¡¯m in another kind of trial? I¡¯m so tired of obstacles in my way¡­

    ¡°Please forgive my bluntness, my lord. I am young, and do not know your ways to properly understand how to conduct myself, so I will be forward with you.¡± The fiery haired man looked at the child in front of him and said, ¡°The others may not appreciate the lack of decorum, but luckily for you, I couldn''t care less, for I see the fire in your eyes. Speak, child. What is it you seek by coming here?¡±

    ¡°I was told that my companion, Selene was here, and I have come to find her after my city of Seastrand in Elarion was invaded by the Wolfman clan of mana beasts, and frankly my lord, I need to meet with Selene to discuss what is necessary for me to grow stronger¡±.

    ¡°Why do you seek power, child?¡±

    ¡°I made a promise to my father before he died to not rush my revenge. I made a vow to myself to not let a single person involved with the destruction of my city not receive justice for their sins¡±.

    ¡°How did he die?¡±

    ¡°My parents were at our home when a Wolfman rushed and engaged in combat with my father. He eventually died from the wounds from the fight after I got there.¡±

    ¡°And your mother?¡± Why does he keep fucking asking questions?

    ¡°... My mother was headless and had a hole in her chest before I got there. My father said she tried to support him in the battle, and the Wolfman rushed her and killed her on impact.¡±

    ¡°What happened to the Wolfman?¡±

    I reached into my pouch, and grabbed the jewelry adorned ear I cut off the Wolfman. I threw it to the man on the throne and he caught and looked over it.

    ¡°Your father killed him?¡± Keep it under control. Lashing out here will only cause major problems.

    ¡°No, but he assisted me while I got the information I needed from him, the ear was cut off to get him to speak, and once he did I killed him. I planned to sell the ear for money since I am alone now¡±. I answered, gradually getting more annoyed at the questioning.

    The man looked over the ear once again, and looked at the other thrones and nodded, throwing the ear back to me. I felt angry looking at the damn thing, and put it back into my pouch.

    ¡°Why did you go through the fog when Selene could have invited you in? Surely the Tier 6 Mage of your race could have notified her to do so?¡±

    ¡°The Fae are known as an immortal race. Eternity is a long time, and I¡¯m sure you start to run out of interesting things after so long¡±.

    The man on the throne laughed at this, and so did the Fae not on the thrones. I could make out the silhouettes of the Fae in the fog covered thrones laughing to this as well.

    I continued, ¡°What is more interesting than a five year old human attempting the challenge and succeeding where so many have failed prior?¡± The crowd went silent, and then a loud noise of clapping and cheering started. Eventually the fiery haired man raised his hand high and the crowd quieted down.

    ¡°What is your name, child?¡± He asked.

    I remembered a story about the Fae from my parents, and it was a legend about the dangers of revealing your true name to them, as it grants them power over you. I can not tell them my full name.

    ¡°My name is Luce, my lord¡±. A bitter feeling grew in me using the nickname my father gave me.

    The man smiled, amused at my cunning response.

    ¡°It is very rare for us to get a visitor through the Fog Wall, much less one so interesting and ferocious as you. If we¡¯re both being blunt as you were, you look like shit, Luce. I acknowledge your presence because of the fire I see in your soul, but you need the acknowledgement of the rest of my fellow Fae Lords to be accepted into our nation officially as a Friend of the Fae¡±.

    Before I could ask any questions, he continued, ¡°Due to the uniqueness of your situation, we will grant you temporary leave to cleanse yourself and rest for a time before returning here to complete the ceremony. We have servants who will assist you and accompany you, but do not fall out of line and follow their instructions. Understood?¡±

    ¡°Yes, my lord. Thank you all for your kindness and generosity, I am truthfully so fucking tired and have not rested since before the attack. I will return promptly to complete the ceremony and will not forget this kindness¡±.

    ¡°Oh, and Luce?¡±

    ¡°Yes, my lord?¡± I asked in response.

    ¡°I appreciate the humor you have brought, but do remember to be on your best behavior in official capacity when you return. My fellows will not find it as amusing as I do. That¡¯s my advice for you¡± and he pointed behind me to two servants waiting beside a door.

    ¡°Thank you, my lord.¡±

    I followed the two servants beside the door, and when we were down the hall, a familiar black cat was waiting at the end of the hall, looking worried and happy to see me safe.

    ¡°Hello, little monster¡±.

 The Black Leathers

    Selene was waiting for me at the end of the hall, and looked relieved to see me.

    ¡°Hello, little monster.¡± She used the now familiar mental magic to communicate in secrecy.

    ¡°It has been awhile, Selene. It is nice to see you¡±. I gave her a bow and a smile.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to pretend, child. You look different than I expected. Your eyes look tired, and I can see that you are carrying a weight made for one much older than you are¡± she said sadly.

    We walked together with the servants to a bath chamber, with a large bath already full of steaming hot water. Selene laid beside the bath, enjoying the warmth of the steam, while the servants insisted they make me presentable to the assembly awaiting me, after scrubbing all the dirt, blood, and other grime on me off completely.

    ¡°A lot has happened in a short amount of time, Selene. It was either stay the same child and die, or to grow up faster to survive. I know if I was just¡­ If I was just a little stronger I could have made a difference¡±.

    ¡°Lucian, I-¡±

    ¡°Everyone but Eveline is dead, Selene! The entire city I grew up in, and people I know are gone¡­ My mother was gone before I could even say goodbye to her¡­ That fucking Wolfman mutilated her and I was not there to make a difference!¡±

    ¡°You do not need to repeat yourself and hurt yourself again, Lucian. The Fae Lords will surely ask for the details, and I will be with you when they do. You are not alone¡±.

    ¡°Were you able to locate the professor? I have been interrupting my mana from forming the core for a long time now, and I can not wait any longer. I need to get stronger, so that I won¡¯t ever lose anyone like that again!¡±

    I will take my changes without you if I have to.

    ¡°Yes, and he is interested as I had guessed. Once you are through the ceremony, we can begin the process of figuring out what needs to be done to keep you alive through the process and that abyssal power of yours. After you rest first, you look like you haven¡¯t slept in ages¡±.

    I don¡¯t remember when I last slept. The night before the invasion happened? That was¡­ Two days ago?

    ¡°Once you are thoroughly presentable, we will return to the throne room to finish the ceremony so you can get your overdue rest. Going through the Fog Wall was stupid and risky, but a masterful move on your part, Lucian. It gives us much needed leverage for the Fae Lords to take an interest in the research and contribute their expansive knowledge and resources to study how to help you survive¡±.

    ¡°I understand, and I will do what I must¡±. I answered coldly.

    ¡°Child, you do not have to carry all of this weight alone.¡±

    ¡°At the end of the day, aren¡¯t I alone, Selene? You are being very helpful and I am likely dead without you, but I can¡¯t expect you to be with me every step of the way. You have your own life, and I can¡¯t ask you to risk losing it for me. I¡¯ve lost enough, so if I have to suffer a little to protect you and anyone else, that is fine¡±.

    ¡°Your consideration is appreciated, Lucian, but not necessary either. I will be here as long as you need, to help you grow properly and accomplish your ideals. I have an eternity to live any other way, so I will be happy to accompany you for an interesting time¡±.

    The servants must have just accepted I was a quiet child, and continued to dress and brush my just past shoulder length black hair. Looking into the reflection of the mirror before me, I see my red eyes received from my father, and the black hair from my mother.

    A part of them remains with me, even now.

    I see the reason for Selene and Eveline¡¯s concern. My eyes are a tragic sight, indeed. The color may be different, but the look is the same¡­

    These are the eyes I had as Callum¡­

    ¡°Selene, you have watched over humanity for a long time from what I understand. Do humans change a fundamental part of themselves often?¡± Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°Not just humans, it is hard for any of the races to do that. Asking me to do something like that after my long life would be almost impossible, for example. For you? You¡¯re very young, and still have time to work on whatever it is you wish to change¡±.

    What if I am not as young as everyone thinks?

    The servants move to bring clothing for me to wear, and look conflicted because of the size differences from normal guests. Selene waves her paw and a big intricate black wooden box appears before me, looking to be made out of a magically infused wood. I attempt to detect the mana, and my sense is denied as it bounces off when it reaches the box.

    ¡°Not even I can easily peek into this box, little monster. Open it up, consider it an early gift for surviving this far¡± and I move to open up the box. The servants gasp when they see the folded black leather outfit contained inside. It looks to be too big for me, but Selene still motioned for me to put it on nonetheless.

    I do as she says, and it is definitely too big for me. Selene lets out a small chuckle, and waves her paw and the leather top and bottom shrink to become form fitting to my body, a perfect fit.

    I practice basic hand-to-hand movements, throwing punches at different angles, elbow swings, and kicks and the outfit does not hinder the movements at all.

    The servants looked to Selene to verify that she was giving this to me, and Selene nodded at them. ¡°What is it, Selene? They looked terrified that you gave this to me¡± and Selene waited a minute and said, ¡°It¡¯s a symbol to show that we are partners in this now, Lucian. When a mana beast and human for an Equals Contract, it is customary to present them with this suit made by the finest of Mana Beast smiths. It¡¯s exactly a magical alloy created by my kind that has the appearance of leather, but the strength of a hardened mana beast hide. As you get stronger, it will provide additional benefits you will discover later. It uses your mana to maintain itself, and can restore itself if damaged, using the user¡¯s mana, or the bonded Mana Beast¡¯s¡± She said to me, and I froze up and looked at the suit in shock.

    A symbol of our partnership¡­ She still intends to form the Equals Contract with me regardless if it¡¯s necessary or not.

    Selene continued, ¡°I know that you feel like you have to carry it all yourself, but we are partners whether we have already formed the Equals Contract or not, Lucian. You are special, and it would be an honor to help guide you towards the heights of your ideals and dreams. Please rely on me too.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Selene. I understand that this is likely another one of the big taboos like the Equals Contract, I will do my best to become worthy of your partnership and what this represents¡±.

    ¡°You are already worthy enough, Lucian. Now, let¡¯s go to finish the ceremony side by side¡± and I nodded to her, and asked the servants to show us the way out. The last thing the servants did was tie my hair into a ponytail using a high quality red ribbon that matched my eyes.

    Taking a last look in the mirror on my way out, I almost looked like a respectable noble you¡¯d read about in a story. Almost, that is.

    We started heading back to the throne room, estimating that it''s been about an hour since leaving it. I did not take the Fae Lord up on his offer to rest, as I would prefer to do that once everything was dealt with. No rest for the wicked, eh?

    With Selene by my side, I confidently walked into the throne room and back to the spot in the center I was previously.

    Upon seeing the black suit on me, the Fae crowd went into a loud uproar of excitement and shock, and even the Fae Lords I couldn¡¯t see clearly, and the one I met earlier were shocked to see both the leathers and Selene by my side.

    ¡°Kid, do you truly understand what you¡¯re doing by donning those leathers?¡± The fiery Fae Lord asked.

    I looked at him directly, and nodded, ¡°I understand the weight of this decision Selene has made to choose me as her partner, and I hope to grow to be able to prove it was the right decision¡±. Selene pressed her head against the side of my leg, and the crowd got quiet once again.

    ¡°I had a suspicion when you arrived asking for Selene, but to see it in front of us so soon is¡­ FASCINATING! I LOVE IT!¡± The Fae Lord let out a wild laugh.

    ¡°Okay Luce, you are crazy but I can¡¯t help but admire the fire in you! Okay, so let¡¯s discuss the rest of the ceremony. You need to obtain the approval of my fellow Lords, minus myself since I already approve of you staying here. Selene is allowed to accompany you as your partner, but she is not allowed to directly interfere with the trial. Are you sure that you wish to not rest before starting this?¡±

    ¡°I do not like to make people wait on me, and I do not think that my sleep will be of much use until we have settled these matters. Please, my lords. Tell me what it is I must do to gain your approvals¡± I put my fist into the palm of my hand in front of me, and perform a quick bow to the Fae Lords, realizing too late that this was the formal bow of my previous world.

    ¡°I understand your resolve then. What do you know of our kind, Luce?¡±

    ¡°I was not privy to much information about the Fae, my lord. From what I have read, there are seven Fae Lords, each with a faction below them. Each Fae Lord and faction follow the path of one of the Seven Deadly Sins. You all make decisions for the Fae Realm, with one of the seven Fae Lords on reserve from active decisions and only votes in case of a tie. That reserve Fae Lord is cycled every 100 years. The Fae are immortal, and a Fae Lord can still step down, or be slain. Either one of those results in a Succession ceremony, decided by the Sin of the faction to decide the next Fae Lord of that sin, and leader of the faction¡±.

    The Fae seemed to appreciate my depth of knowledge about their kind at my ¡°young age¡±. The Fae Lord smiled approvingly at me and said, ¡°Not only are you a fiery young man, you are a talented and smart one at that. You will cause a whirlwind of events wherever you go. I can tell by your looks that you will grow into an enchanting man that will cause trouble for fathers in fear for their daughters and sons¡± The Fae Lord laughed once again.

    ¡°Well done with your drive to learn about the world you inhabit. Full points for your answer! Since you already understand the basics about the Sins of the Fae, this will be easier to explain. Each of us Lords will test you in accordance with our Sins, and you need to get at least four Sin approvals in order to complete the ceremony. If you fail to do so, you will be subsequently banished from our Realm, never to return on threat of eternal torment¡±.

    I nodded and bowed once again, and asked the Fae Lord, ¡°I understand the terms and what the consequences of failure are. Failure is not an option to myself, as it is a matter of life or death that I remain here for now¡± the Fae Lord raised an eyebrow to this, but did not inquire about it. ¡°I see, be that as it may, there will be no special treatment here, no matter how much I¡¯ve enjoyed you thus far¡± I nodded to him once more.

    ¡°You passed my test when you destroyed the illusionary barrier around you using a flame of Wrath. You caused the Sin in my chest to react, and I have never seen a human do that before. A truly bottomless Wrath lies within you, and that is a danger if not trained properly. That said, we shall move on to the next Trial¡± and nodded towards a Fae Lord beside him, and they waved their hand and the fog covering them vanished. On the throne was an enchantingly gorgeous woman with long purple hair and rainbow butterfly wings, wearing a silver dress made of what looked like silk butterflies. Looking at her eyes made various desires, and my agitated mana started to act up, and I quickly had to look at her forehead to not appear rude.

    ¡°Do not speak a word, or my Sin shall bury your desires themselves.¡± She said to me coldly.

 The Sin Trials

    ¡°Do not speak a word, or my Sin shall bury your desires themselves.¡± The second Fae Lord said to me coldly.

    I nodded in agreement, and bowed to her as well. ¡°She is the Fae Lord of Lust, and is one of the Fae Lords not fond of humans. Be careful when dealing with her, as she is likely looking for a reason to harm you¡± Selene said to me, and I did not react by trying to pretend nothing was happening to the Fae Lord¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Humans are a race full of the most hideous desires among the races of this world. You bow to us and act nice, but you secretly desire to use us for your own selfish desires. Why should we allow you to stay here, human?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re casting your hatred of humans onto me, when I have done nothing to harm you, or the Fae. I will do the best I can to respect your race, and your Realm, but is it not right for you to treat me like this, my lord¡± I responded back to her coldly. Two can play this game, your highness.

    ¡°Insolent child, who are you to decide what is fair or not when you were too weak to defend your home and parents from invaders?¡±

    My anger flared up in an instant, and I could feel the desire to attack the Fae Lord. This is her power, stimulating the desires of her target. I calmed my anger down, and said, ¡°You must be the Fae Lord of Lust, my lord¡±.

    The Fae Lord of Lust looked surprised I resisted her power, ¡°Yes, and so what if I am? You failed to answer the question!¡±.

    ¡°Yes, my lord. I was too weak to defend the people I cared about. One of the reasons I am here in the Fae Realm is to work with a Fae professor named Sylas to research an abyssal power inside my body that Selene believes to be similar to an Inheritance Sigil. I possess no filter to ambient mana, and will form a mana core able to wield every element¡± and the Fae Lords and the crowd went silent.

    ¡°Y-You possess an abyssal power in your body similar to a Fae Inheritance Sigil, and know for a fact that your body will form a mana core capable of wielding all elements?¡± The Fae Lord of Lust asked shakily, and I was confused as to why, and said, ¡°Yes. Selene and I are hoping to work with Sylas to find a solution to my body being unable to handle the core formation, otherwise Selene plans to burn her mana to safely form the core at the cost of her life. I WILL find another way that doesn¡¯t result in her life being the cost¡±.

    ¡°Show us proof of your elemental ability¡± She demanded, and I held my fingers up and showed the same mana flames of different elements that I originally showed the Sun and Moon Squad, and looked at the flames sadly in remembrance. Owen.. Alex.. I will avenge you all one day..

    ¡°By the Sins¡­ You pass the Trial of Lust!¡± She quickly said, and following the similar gesture of the Fae Lord of Wrath, she opened the floor to the next Fae Lord, who before I could even get a good look at them said, ¡°You pass the Trial of Greed!¡± and my annoyance started to rise up as each Fae Lord claimed I passed their Sin Trials.

    When the last Fae Lord claimed I had passed his Sin Trial, I looked at the Fae Lord of Wrath with my annoyance clear in my gaze. He laughed more subdued than before and said, ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that, Luce. There¡¯s a reason! Of course, there¡¯s a reason!¡± And I continued to gaze at him, my annoyance going up even more.

    ¡°Would you be willing to explain to me, my lord?¡± I ask, words dripping with my displeasure. ¡°I am here trying to do my best to respect your customs and traditions I am unfamiliar with, and I feel like I am being made the punchline of a joke that nobody will tell me. Please explain it to me at least¡±.

    The Fae Lords all snapped their fingers and the Fae left the room, leaving just them with Selene and me in the throne room. ¡°Now, Luce. You understand that the Fae are immortal beings, and we have lived here a LONG time. We have a lot of secrets, and we are going to tell you one of them. Let it be known that it is specifically because of your status that we can tell you this. Our Sins would not allow it otherwise¡± The fiery Fae Lord of Wrath said to me. I am going to call them by their Sins for annoying me with that bullshit ceremony for nothing.

    ¡°The Fae Realm is a mostly secluded nation. We have visitors from time to time, and we do leave at times for explorations, events, and so on. One of the reasons we do not worry so much about forging strong diplomatic bonds with other nations is because the Fae possess what are known as Oracles, Fae with a gift for prophecy¡±.

    I really do NOT like where this is going..

    ¡°One of the oldest prophecies we have is of someone being born with the ability to wield magic as if he was part of it. A mage with no filter, and naturally able to wield the elements that talented mages could train for a century and not come close to wielding. But beyond that, you appear to possess the makings of a second prophecy as well. The abyssal power is similar to a Fae Inheritance magic, but in one not of the Fae. This is a grand taboo in our kind, but we do not suspect it was of your doing¡±. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    The Fae Oracles have.. Predicted me being sent to this world? ¡°Any idea what is going on, Selene?¡± I asked her, hoping she had some insider information for me. She did not respond, and instead seemed to be preparing to protect me if necessary. Is it that bad?

    ¡°What do the two prophecies say about¡­ Me if I am this person in them?¡± I asked Wrath, to which he answered with, ¡°Salvation and Calamity¡±. Oh, so nothing major to worry about or anything.

    I moved into a defensive position besides Selene, and asked, ¡°Do I need to be worried about my life, my lord?¡± and the Fae Lords looked to each other, and then back to me, and started laughing in unison. ¡°If we thought you were a threat, Luce. You would have been eviscerated by us the second you revealed secrets of yours you shouldn¡¯t have. If you hadn¡¯t been smart and given us a fake name, some of us might have been enticed to¡­ Forcefully absorb you into our factions.¡±

    ¡°You could have very well unintentionally caused a Calamity to our nation by the feud between us Lords over possession of you, child!¡± One of the other Lords spoke, I believe she was¡­ Envy?

    Greed spoke next, true to their Sin, ¡°There is still time. Join my faction, Luce and I guarantee the resources to grow into the most powerful mage this world has ever known. I will personally make sure of any information on the people responsible for your hometown and family¡¯s destruction and allow you to deliver the justice you crave¡±.

    Greed¡¯s appearance was hard to say. It looked like they were constantly changing a different aspect of their body. Nose, ears, eyes, and other parts constantly morph into a different version of itself.

    ¡°I would be lying if I said that wasn¡¯t a tempting offer, my lord. I must refuse you, as I am unaware of the details of what is going on. A good business decision involves being aware of all the facts regarding the deal, after all¡± I said to Greed with a sly wink. Greed looked disappointed by the answer, but amused by the attitude.

    ¡°Back to the matter at hand, Luce. These two prophecies in particular are part of the oldest dating back to the first generation of Fae Oracle. For you to represent both of them is a colossal matter. Not even us Lords know all the details of the prophecies, and only the Oracles can explain it in detail. Be that as it may, it is our honor to welcome you as a Friend of the Fae, and we hope you take no offense to our expediting the ceremony with no warning¡±.

    Wrath has been forthcoming and honest as far as I can tell, and I can feel they do not mean harm to me at the moment. Yet.. Something is telling me at least some of them are faking it. I have dealt with politicians, corrupt holy leaders, and other wolves in sheep''s clothing to notice that much at least.

    I looked at Lust''s face, and making direct eye contact regardless of the risks, I asked, ¡°I understand that you do not have a fondness for my kind. Your past is unknown to me, and I have no way to be anything besides a human to you. Please heed my words carefully, Fae Lord of Lust¡± and the other Fae Lords look in anticipation to my words.

    ¡°I am kind to my friends, and merciless to my enemies. Decide quickly which you want to be. I am happy to make friends, but eliminating a snake waiting to strike is fine by me too¡± I infused my bloodlust, hatred, and anger I felt watching my city be burned into these words. They needed to know I was not taking chances on threats anymore.

    ¡°HAHAHA! You hear that Lust? You better decide quickly! I for one, do not wish to anger that little ball of Wrath. You are always welcome in my faction as well, Luce. You seem the type smart enough to avoid political intrigue if you can, however, and that is fine with me¡±.

    Selene coldly spoke in all of our minds at once. ¡°Someone explain what needs to be done so we can find out what fate has been foretold about my partner..¡± and it felt like a cold bucket of water splashed onto our face.

    ¡°Well, that was sobering as hell¡± The Fae Lord of Sloth spoke for the first time, even earlier all he gave was a hand wave to show he approved. ¡°Luce seems to have a lot of Pride in himself, as well. Very well! You shall be allowed the honor of joining my faction. No need to thank me!¡± And I could tell the Fae Lord of Pride was going to get on my nerves. Best avoid him when possible.

    ¡°Thank you for the invitation, my lord. I once again must decline to join any factions for the time being¡±. Pride looked offended by this, but stopped speaking when the other Fae Lords looked at him.

    ¡°How¡¯s your appetite, Luce?¡± This time it was the Fae Lord of Gluttony who spoke, and another irrelevant question. ¡°Bottomless. Meat is my favorite. Wrath, can you please answer Selene¡¯s question before we all suffer for it?¡±

    Wrath nervously looked at Selene, and then nodded quickly and started explaining. ¡°Yes, the details of the two prophecies are not well known to us Lords, but the Oracles will happily invite you to discuss them. All we know is that just one of them concerns the fate of the world, and you so happen to be the person with two of them. The Oracles will be able to examine and confirm this, however¡±.

    ¡°Are we clear to return to my housing here for the time being so Luce can get some well deserved rest, and then can meet with your Oracles afterwards?¡± Selene asked, but it sounded like more of a demand.

    Wrath was more than happy to tell Selene, ¡°Of course! Luce is a guest of the highest status currently, and is open to experience any of our Realm¡¯s offerings. If there is anything he needs, please do not hesitate to ask and we will see what we can do!¡±

    ¡°Thank you all for your kindness, and allowing me to stay. I will try to uh.. Not cause calamity?¡± and nervously laughed as Selene nodded and opened a portal and pulled us both through.

    The experience of going through the portal was disorienting, but not as terrible as one might expect. I expected to feel sick or vomit. The Divine had a magic similar that when used, would cause legions of troops to violenting get ill and delay proceedings.

    Looking around, we are now in a grand looking room, made of similar marble-like stone as the throne room, with large windows overlooking a fascinating city scape that put Seastrand to shame by a long stretch. We appeared to be in a tall tower in a wealthy looking area, other big houses outfitted with expensive looking tapestries, flags, and emblems of what I assume are the different Sins, Wrath being a bright red flame symbol for example.

    Selene looked at me seriously and said, ¡°Child, you may have shown off too much. I knew of the Fae Oracles, but had no idea there was not one, but two prophecies that can be directly pointed to you. You now have the interest of the entire Fae race, including both the Lords and Oracles. The Oracles are a neutral faction, but even that may change now that your existence is known. You need to rest, but we best prepare afterwards.¡±

    ¡°Prepare for what, Selene?¡± I asked cautiously.

    ¡°The price of being a desirable political target in the Fae Realm¡±.

 The Irony of Life

    Falling¡­

    Falling once again into this endless abyss below me¡­

    The ever present feeling of the presence below me that wished to consume me, and the abyssal power guarding me while it tries¡­

    My mind always feels hazy whenever I am here, and I don¡¯t recall much when I am here¡­ Wherever HERE is

    I hear a voice calling for me from far away, never able to quite make out what it is saying.

    This time is different, I can feel the desperation in the voice. What is it saying?

    [Lu-i-n!] The voice is getting closer, I can hear more of it!

    [Luc-an!!] It¡¯s getting louder, too loud!

    [LUCIAN!!!] I grabbed my head in pain as the voice booms inside of it.

    Wait, I heard it! It said my name! The voice¡­ Is it coming from inside me? I remember now! The first dream of this place, the power inside of me trying to talk to me, but I couldn¡¯t understand it, and it was getting frustrated by our language barrier!

    I don¡¯t know how to respond to it. This doesn¡¯t feel like Selene¡¯s mental magic.

    [You can finally hear me?] The voice said, surprised at it working now.

    I couldn¡¯t speak in this voice, or move much at all. All I could do was barely nod my head.

    [There¡¯s no time to establish a mind link. I know you have a lot of questions, but they will have to wait! You need to form your mana care as soon as possible, rely on my power to help you! When you form the core, focus on forming the core where you built the reservoir near my power in your body. Focus on protecting the rest of your body as best as you can, and I will absorb as much of the damage as I can. I know it¡¯s risky to you, but you HAVE to trust me on this. There is not enough time as it is!]

    The connection to this dream was fading¡­ I needed to know who or what it was. Is the Lady of the Abyss speaking to me, or is this some kind of remnant clone or something?

    [Next time! We can talk when we have more time! Remember, you need to form the mana core as soon as possible to train more and learn my power!]

    Plunged into the darkness, now I felt I was being grabbed by a powerful force and fished out of the darkness into a bright and blinding light.

    <hr>

    Awaking into an unfamiliar room, I shot up in bed huffing like I have never taken a breath in my life. Scanning the room, I did not see anything, but something was wrong. Someone was in here with me.

    I channeled mana to both of my hands, prepared to dual-cast the Tier 1 Wind spell, Lone Squall, aiming to blast the entire room around me in a violent wind to find the invisible watcher. However, when trying to cast the spell, the ambient was silent to finish it. No, it was better to say the ambient was frozen.

    The Fae! Of course they would have anti-elemental magic, they have fought against humans and elves before!

    ¡°SELENE! Someone is here, and I think they are tryingto attack me! Where are you?¡± I used as much force as I could to send the message as far of a range as I could, hoping to catch her.

    There was no response, and I needed to act upon my instincts, legal issues were to be dealt with later. Causing a political storm is much preferable to dying to some invisible assassination. Think, what can I do? This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    If I can not use elemental magic to find them, then it would need to be the riskier approach. Pretending I jumped out of bed to stretch, I calmly but quickly put on my black leather set from Selene for extra protection, and acted as calm and casual as I could.

    I stood in front of the large mirror in the room, and started to brush my hair to look as presentable as I could, just like a normal guest would in a foreign land. Keeping an eye on the mirror, and realizing how much I came to rely on magic and ambient mana for my detection skills now, I felt weakened heavily. It has become a crutch, I will need to work on that issue later.

    No noise, no visuals, but my instincts said they were approaching. I have been to many battlefields, trained to my limit daily, personally slayed countless monsters and people. An assassin will not be the one to end my life.

    Trusting my instincts and body¡¯s reflexes, I let it take the reins and when I felt a sharp object start to slice against my neck, I pivoted my head and neck to the opposite direction of blades incoming direction, and ducked to avoid the slice. Barely.

    The attacker was still invisible, but it was the same to assume it was a Fae. I would have to work on rough guesses of the height and size based on the angle of the blade swing. I have always been at a disadvantage in this world in regards to size, and I have grown accustomed to it.

    I channeled mana into my right fist before the attacker has the chance to get out of reach, and instead of casting a spell, I planted my left foot to close the gap between us, and used it to strengthen the swing of my punch towards the attacker¡¯s position, aiming for the torso and hoping for a critical strike on an organ.

    My punch landed on a thin but toned abdomen with a loud whud as it made contact, the mana reinforced punch did wonders to strengthen my small body¡¯s blow, and I had an idea as well.

    I controlled the mana in my fist directly, and ordered it to explode out of my fist, and it did exactly that. What was a solid blow, became a deadly one if it struck a critical point. When my mana exploded against the target I felt the attacker get the wind knocked out of them and flew back onto the ground, the invisibility fading as the blow had damaged what appeared to be a cloak on them.

    It was not over yet!

    Rushing forward as the attacker attempted to get up while catching their breath, I jumped on top of them and started swinging rapid mana infused fists into their face, one after another blood splattering with each punch.

    I swung, and swung, and swung until the attacker had long ceased trying to move, and there was no longer an attempt to breathe. My fists are bloody, and I am once again covered in the blood of another. The face was heavily disfigured from the stream of blows, and I looked to see the dagger the Fae had sliced my neck with. It was an intricate and ornate dagger with a black metal handle, and a long silver blade with a thin thick black coating on the edges.

    Shit!

    I quickly search the Fae¡¯s body for the dagger sheath, and see it is a thick black liquid inside that matches the blade. Poison! Searching the Fae¡¯s body once again, there was no antidote or item of any kind. Nothing that would mark him as of a certain faction, or identity at all¡­ The most dangerous type of assassin¡­ One where failures means not returning entirely.

    Testing if I could use magic once again after killing the assassin by lighting a small flame of mana on my finger, I quickly infuse mana throughout my body and cast spell after spell, destroying the room, windows, and the door with earth magic to make the biggest noise.

    Looking into the mirror from the side of my view, I can see black veins spreading from where the slice is. Fast acting poison, and dizziness was starting to set in.

    I could not trust the Fae to get me to safety, not after this so I stayed in the place that Selene expected me to be, and whoever ordered this assassination would expect me to either be dead in, or gone from.

    Looking out the now destroyed windows, I could see Fae on the ground outside looking at the damages and noise I was making and a patrol of Fae guards and the Lord Wrath looking to my window, and Lord Wrath losing his temper and ordering the guards to follow him as he rushed into the tower and assumedly was coming to me.

    The black veins were spreading quickly, and what was just a little above the slice, was now almost to my jaw line. I was focusing on staying awake, not letting the dizziness overtake me.

    My strength began to leave me, and I collapsed to the ground on my back. Realizing that this was likely my end, all I could do was bitterly laugh at this situation. The absurdity of this life was almost unbelievable. Five years old and I have killed three different races now in defense of myself and parents.

    I couldn¡¯t save my parents, the twins, the townspeople who were always kind to me. My promises were not going fulfilled, and I will die fighting as Callum, and not being a better person.

    The fucking irony of this is hilarious. Liam had my humor down perfectly. I let out another laugh, this time at the absurdity and irony of my deaths.

    Callum¡¯s life was one of conflict, and I followed my orders exactly and lived for the fighting. I died then trying to pursue peace at the end. This life as Lucian, I pursued a life of peace, and was involved in constant conflict. Five years old and I have already killed six people of three different races! I pursued to live a life of peace, and I will die embracing conflict to not let the invasion of my hometown happen again.

    ¡°SELENE! I killed the assassin, but they had a poison dagger that sliced my neck and I can feel its effect trying to make me lose consciousness.¡± I used all the mana my body could to push this message as far as I could, realizing now that Selene couldn¡¯t hear me earlier due to the anti-magic of this Fae¡­

    ¡°I AM COMING, LUCIAN!¡± I heard Selene do in hazy vision, as Lord Wrath and his guards ran into the room and saw the dead Fae and me on my back. The anger on Lord Wrath¡¯s face when he saw the dagger had poison and the black veins on my neck would make a Divine¡¯s hatred look like a temper tantrum of a child.

    ¡°Luce, you need to stay strong! We can get the cure for this, you just need to stay with us!¡± Lord Wrath picked me up and was trying to keep me awake.

    Selene¡¯s portal had appeared in the room, much larger than normal. What came through was not the Selene I had known however, but a large black and purple lion like creature, with large leathery wings, and a scorpion¡¯s tail.

    The creature I could only assume was another form of Selene saw me in Lord Wrath¡¯s arms and the black veins on my neck, and unleashed an aura that covered the room in power. It reminded me of the pressure Selene had used on me as a warning on our first meeting, but many, many times stronger.

    This time, however, the pressure did not affect me, as if Selene was protecting me. The last thing I heard before blacking out was a voice so cold and angry that was nothing close to the kind and gentle Selene I had spoken to before.

    ¡°WHO DARED TO LAY A HAND ON MY PARTNER?!¡±

 Professor Sylas

    The last thing I remember was seeing Selene in her transformed state entering the room I destroyed in a large portal and being beyond angry. Opening my eyes now, I see a bright floating light that looks like a bright light inside of an ornate cage.

    Fearing another assassination attempt, I forced my weak body to sit up in the bed I was in. Looking around the room, I saw a handful of similar beds, and curtains that could be used to cover a bed for privacy if needed. A hospital?

    Despite my body refusing to cooperate, I took a deep look around the room, trying to see if there was any other invisible Fae just waiting to get the drop on me again. I did not want to blow this room up as well, as hospitals were traditionally a no-combat zone for all races, in my previous world, and works similarly in this world as well.

    There was nothing I could do as I was now, and making contact with Selene was the important part. At worst, she can help protect me until I can do it myself. ¡°Selene, where ar-¡± AGH! I fall back into the bed gripping my head, which feels like it just got shocked by a lightning bolt when I tried to use the mental magic of Selene¡¯s.

    I was of no use physically, so I focused inside my body, and tried to observe my mana state. Sluggish was a modest word for it. The reaction time of the mana which had been refined into near-instant response, was now like trying to get the attention of a child running around playing with a toy.

    What is happening? This is beyond being exhausted. Could it have to do with some after effects of the poison?

    Any attempt to contact Selene with our mental magic will likely just result in that thunderbolt in my head, so that was off the table. All I could do was the same thing I did, focus on training.

    The normal mana channel refinement was off the table, so let¡¯s go back to the basics, the same thing I did as a baby. Sitting up in bed once more, I got into the normal meditation position, albeit not as comfortably, and focused on absorbing the plentiful ambient mana in this room, and spreading it throughout my body to replenish the lackluster amount inside it.

    I was in the deep meditation trance for roughly two hours, before I heard a door open and quickly exited it to look at the visitor. Prepared to try whatever I needed to if it was another assassin.

    ¡°Glad to see you¡¯re awake. Before you remake my face like you did the poor sap who tried to kill you, I am no enemy. Well, I know that¡¯s what everyone who is an enemy would say, but I¡¯m not¡± A older Fae man with long slicked-back black hair, sharp green eyes, and a resting face of disinterest.

    I examined him carefully, and he sighed and put his arms up as he began to walk over to me, ¡°My name is Sylas. I am a professor of all things magical in the Fae Realm, and widely renowned for my store of experience and knowledge with magic. That means I am bothered by countless requests for me to attend events, work for a nation¡¯s personal laboratory, and other various annoying and tedious tasks that only serve to get in my way of researching¡±. Oh, so this is the Fae Professor Selene had been looking for.

    My voice hoarse, I asked, ¡°My name is Luce, Selene mentioned you. Do you know where she is?¡± and Sylas looked at me a bit awkwardly.

    ¡°That partner of yours caused more damage than you did in the room. When she found you in the Lord of Wrath¡¯s arms, going unconscious and visibly poisoned by a Fae assassin in her own residence? It was not a pretty sight at all¡±.

    Selene did that? She always looked so calm and reserved, who knew she was hiding a monster inside of her too? Looks like we have more in common than I originally thought¡­

    Sylas continued, ¡°She was in the throne room while the Lords were discussing what was to be done regarding the assassination attempt. When the discussion of the antidote was taking too long, she was about to start destroying the thrones themselves when one of the Head of the Fae Oracles personally arrived in the throne room, and gave Selene the antidote¡±.

    ¡°Why did they have the antidote already prepared? Could it be that they..¡± Before I could finish asking my question, Sylas gave me a stern look and quickly said, ¡°Do not finish that thought. The Oracles are held in a higher respect than the Lords themselves, and even I will not allow slander of any form regardless of the situation. The Head Oracle said she had foreseen the attempt and prepared the appropriate antidote in advance, as she is not allowed to intervene with the events she foresees, none of the Oracles can directly intervene¡±. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    I understood that my assumption had been disrespectful, ¡°I would bow towards you, sir, but currently I am unable to do so. I apologize for the lack of respect I showed the Oracles, and hope you will dismiss it as an aftereffect of the poison confusing my mind¡±, I said to Sylas respectfully. This is the man Selene thought could help me, and I could not afford to offend him at this stage. My abyssal power directly telling me to hurry and form the core has me in a rush.

    ¡°You¡¯re a smart child. Using the ¡°after-effects¡± of the poison to dismiss your rude remark. I like people who use their minds correctly, and will look past your remark this time due to the poison affecting you and all¡± he said as he winked at me.

    ¡°So where is Selene now, Sylas?¡± I asked once again, hoping she was not in trouble because of me.

    ¡°She brought you the antidote and we administered it to you, so you will be in here a few more days to recover fully, in the meantime she has guards posted outside the perimeter entirely, Lord Wrath¡¯s personal guarantee of protection, and is offering her services to repair the damage caused by you both¡± Sylas looked at me like he thought Selene and I were destruction-crazy maniacs for a moment.

    I breathed a sigh of relief at the knowledge Selene has not gotten into serious trouble. Oh, but do we know who was responsible? ¡°Sylas, I wan-¡±

    ¡°You want to know if the culprit is known? It¡¯s not an easy answer, but the Fae who assassinated you was of the Lust faction¡± and my eyes went cold with anger towards Lust thinking she had ignored my reminder, but Sylas continued, ¡°However, the member was one who had been exiled prior to your arrival, so for now it is not confirmed if it was Lord Lust who sent them after you¡±.

    Not confirmed, but still looking like it. Who¡¯s to say this assassin wasn¡¯t exiled prior in case of a secret political assassination needing to occur ¡°off the records¡±?. Perhaps she is innocent, but I¡¯m not holding my breath about it.

    There is a cost for trying to kill me, and I still don¡¯t consider it even after Selene went on her rampage.

    I stared at my fist, and willed the mana to flow into it, faster than before but still slow, and recalled the feeling of when I used the flame that Wrath said caused his Sin to react, and imagined the same thing happening again.

    The flame to burn those who oppose my path. The fire that will burn away the falsehoods of reality and reveal the truth. IGNIS!

    When I spoke the name that came to me when imagining the self-made spell once again, my fist lit up in a dark crimson flame, encasing my hand like a fiery glove. This was the spell¡¯s true name. I recall that the Fae place great importance on true names, and that they hold power over the owner of the name. If that is the case, I should be able to use it to summon this flame on command, and not have to follow the same process as normal spellcasting.

    Sylus was first surprised by me summoning the Wrath flame, and then he stared at it in wonder like a child in a toy store. ¡°I heard the tales of you doing this when you entered the throne room, but to see it in person is a different story!¡±

    His left eye went from a sharp green to a color that fluctuated between seven different colors as he looked at my flame. ¡°Is that eye able to see the Seven Sins or something of that nature, Sylas?¡± Sylas looked at me quickly real quick, nodded approvingly, and went back to admiring the flame.

    ¡°Yes, this special eye of mine is one of the reasons I am able to do the research I can. It allows me to detect and read the levels of mana and any Sin usage. Looking at your flame, it¡¯s quite shocking and a cruel sight to see in a child of your age. Please release the spell.¡±

    I did as he asked, and did not realize the anger in my chest had begun to rise and went away when I released the spell.

    Looking at Sylas in shock, he said, ¡°The Sin of Wrath is the strongest one in terms of power, but is also the most corrupting of the Seven Sins. Its power is fueled by negative emotions like anger, hatred, and other feelings like that. Fae of the Wrath faction have to experience a large amount of bloodshed and fighting to grasp the essence of the Wrath Sin. So for a child like you to not only have grasped it, but have a high purity of it is¡­ Tragic¡± Sylas patted my head as he looked at me with sadness and pity in his gaze.

    ¡°I¡­¡± Sylas cut me off and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, Luce. The world we live in is cruel, and unforgiving. It¡¯s a shame a child like you is not able to be one, but you are clearly of strong mind and will. Remember something though, only use the Wrath flame when you need to. Your strong will can prevent the corruption of the Sin, but even that is finite if you use it for too long at once. Fae who get corrupted by it turn into bloodthirsty berserkers that attack any living thing, even their closest family and lovers¡±. He told me sternly.

    ¡°Your version is fascinating, as it is a Wrath flame powered by non-Fae mana. Normally this combination would not work, but perhaps you are key to a new school of magic. Or maybe it¡¯s something only someone with a unique body like yours can do. We¡¯ll find out one day¡±.

    He shrugged his shoulders as he got up and said, ¡°I will inform Selene of the news that you have awoken. Doctor¡¯s orders are for you to remain in bed until you are cleared to get up and exercise. You are allowed to do the meditations you were doing prior to my arrival in secrecy and all¡± he laughed as he headed out the door.

    Was he making fun of me?

    Resuming my meditation, trying to quickly refine the sluggish effects on my mana from the poison once more, I noticed something different while controlling the mana through my channels around my chest. In the reservoir I had burrowed in my mana channels near the abyssal power, the power had grown, to where I could feel like my mana could touch it now.

    Ignoring the fact for now that Selene was likely to be pissed at me for intentionally acting without her around, I channeled a small strand towards the abyssal power. To my surprise, it didn¡¯t feel like it was being consumed like with Selene¡¯s mana, but a connection was being formed instead. Like a pathway similar to the mental magic Selene uses, but from deep inside my being instead.

    [Lucian, can you hear me?] The voice I remember from my dream asked me.

 Eclipse of the Fallen

    [Lucian, can you hear me?] The voice I remember from my dream asked me. How was I supposed to respond?

    [We are connected with a mind link, so anything you think of, I can hear if you choose to share it. Imagine you are speaking like you do with Selene, but without sending it onto the ambient mana.]

    ¡°Like this?¡± It was jarring to stop the now muscle memory of speaking like this when I don¡¯t think of the ambient mana side of it, and instead have to make sure I¡¯m NOT using it to speak.

    [Perfect. Okay, a little explanation is in order and then you can ask your questions. One, our mind link is open as long as you are fueling mana into the connection reservoir in your mana channels, if you wish to cancel it for any reason, all you need to do is stop supplying mana to it.]

    ¡°That sounds simple enough¡± and I could feel the mana drain was minimal as well. My mana capacity was above a Tier 1 Mage in terms of purity. I may not have the actual capacity of one, but the purity allows me to use magic with a higher efficiency than the standard Tier 1 Mage.

    [That said, where do you wish to begin? My knowledge is limited, but I am happy to answer anything I can for you.]

    ¡°I know the Lady of the Abyss left the power inside of my body to help me, but why? I know she was taking pity on me, but with no explanation? Even now I am unsure if this power is here to help me or a trap left by her. I want to believe in her since she sent me here, but that makes no sense to me.¡±

    One of the biggest questions I have wanted to ask but nobody besides me had known about my previous life until now.

    [I can not pretend to understand her intentions, only what I have known of her after serving her for countless years. She does not do anything without a good reason, and the power she has left is an honest gift that even the Divine would fight over.]

    ¡°You mentioned forming a mind link, which I would then assume you are a living being of a kind? Who or what are you?¡± I know it was rude to ask someone this, but a mysterious being and potentially dangerous power inside my body was something I needed to understand.

    [Cautious and observant, just as I saw you be in your life as Callum. The names in the Abyss are different from human standards, mine being Eclipse of the Fallen. You can call me Eclipse for short. Explaining the complexities of how the Abyss works will take a lot longer than we have, so just think of me as a direct servant to the Lady of the Abyss and her alone, and I am here to help and guide you in adjusting to her gift.]

    ¡°Can you tell me what the gift is, and what the Lady of the Abyss expects from me?¡±

    [The gift is¡­ Hard to explain in a way that would make any sense to you. You can think of it as an inheritance of sorts that was given to you. Know that the decision to give this to you was not made lightly, and it is because the Lady believes you are capable of properly acquiring it. It won¡¯t be easy, but you will recognize the value of the gift one day.] Eclipse said, almost trying to hide how important it is.

    ¡°And the cost of accepting this power?¡± There is something off about this, and I don¡¯t understand what it is. It¡¯s too¡­ convenient.

    [...]

    ¡°You have to realize that this power sounded too good to be true, right Eclipse? Sure, the power can help me and that¡¯s great, but I am not foolish enough to believe something like this will be free. I was used as a chess piece by the Divine before, and it feels like I am once again, just under a new Divine¡±.

    [The Lady is not like the other Divine. She has fought against the other Divine for years, and even saved you, Lucian! Surely that deserves a little trust in her gift for you?]

    ¡°I want to believe that she helped me out of good will. The fact remains however, that I was used by the Divine my entire life. The Lady of the Abyss being different and more mysterious than the Divine I served only makes it harder to trust. You¡¯re asking me to trust her, so you have to trust me as well¡±.

    [Lucian, I can¡¯-]

    ¡°TELL ME THE COST. The gift is only sounding more suspicious and now I am tempted to discard it as the Lady said I could. I can feel that if I want it, the power can be destroyed. Tell me the cost, or I will discard the gift and take my chances¡± and I meant it too. A power I don¡¯t know the price to use is just a bad thing waiting to happen.

    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    [Lucian, I understand that you are weary of the gift. I can not tell you what it costs to use, because only the Lady knows. This is not the Lady doing a favor to protect you one time type of thing¡­ She is GIVING you part of her power. It will be yours, and yours alone. It goes beyond what you had as Blessings from the other Divine, she is making you her Chosen.]

    ¡°I am being given the power of a Divine?! Why? What would that make me? What is a Chosen?¡± Questions flooded my mind at this revelation by Eclipse.

    [Nobody knows. The Lady of the Abyss might, but I was not privy to the information if that is the case. There¡¯s no written evidence of it ever having been done. The Divine are very careful about their powers, and the Blessing is a miniscule effort from them for more amusement¨C I¡¯m sorry Lucian, I know that their game is the suffering of humankind in your old life. That was insensitive of me to mention.]

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I made my peace with the fact of the matter in my last life. There is nothing I can do about it now¡±.

    All this new information is a lot to take in at once, I finally have the chance to ask the questions I¡¯ve wanted to know the answer to¡­ My entire life as Lucian?

    ¡°What is the plan, Eclipse? Was the Lady forthcoming with you enough to explain to me how this process worked?¡±

    [The only thing she told me to watch for was a way of integrating the gift with your powers in this world. I am going to connect the abyssal power to your mana core during the core formation, which I expect to absorb most if not all of the conflict of the process, if you¡¯re properly protecting your body that is. Since it is a Divine¡¯s power, I am going to form 9 Abyssal Seals on it, and each one can be unlocked when you are of the appropriate tier of mana core to adjust to the power gradually.]

    ¡°I would like to inform Selene about all of this, Eclipse. You might have reservations, but she ha-¡±

    [You are welcome to tell her any of this, Lucian. While you were unconscious, she was prepared to destroy the Fae Realm for harming you. She obviously cares deeply about you, and is even taking on a huge risk in forming the Equals Contract with you from the way it sounds. It likely will result in a complete hostility from other mana beasts in the future for the both of you. You can trust her for now at least.]

    I thought Eclipse would have wanted me to keep this all quiet, to prevent the spread of information about The Lady of the Abyss, or her.

    [Are you going to tell her about your life as Callum?]

    ¡­ That was the question I was dreading. I don¡¯t know.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Eclipse¡­ Part of me knows I should, the other desperately wants to forget my life as Callum and only be Lucian¡­ I know that it is wrong, and selfish, but I can¡¯t tell her at this moment at least. Lots of mixed feelings and all¡±.

    [I understand, Lucian. My only advice about this will be to know that you can try to forget your life as Callum, but your soul originated from that life¡­ It will not be easy nor really possible to completely scrub Callum from yourself.] She says to me, knowing the conversation is at the end.

    ¡°I know, and thank you for telling me everything. I am going to go back to meditating, and trying to heal my body quicker, and I will talk with Selene about everything we discussed. Goodbye for now, Eclipse¡± and I shut off the connection. The mind link faded soon after, and I was alone again.

    The power of a Divine¡­ Is this something I want? Will it turn me into some kind of Human-Divine hybrid? It hasn¡¯t been made known to non-Divine what happens at the least, and is that to protect against potential mobs of humans trying to steal the powers of the Divine?

    Will I become the thing I grew to hate after finding out the truth as Callum?...

    I should try contacting Selene once more, see if the meditations have helped. Anticipating the thunderbolt, I sent a message to Selene, ¡°Selene. Can we talk when you have a moment?¡± and to my surprise there was no shocking pain inside of my head.

    ¡°Of course, Lucian. I will be there in a bit, taking care of the final pieces of the compensation for your suffering from these oh so noble Fae Lords¡±.

    ¡°Compensation?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Oh yes. You did not think I would let them off with just a little destruction after assassinating the human I declared to be my partner? Wait a little longer, and I will be there right after¡±.

    ¡°Okay, Selene. Stay safe¡±.

    ¡°You too, little one¡± She said and the messages stopped. I sighed and got to work on meditating again, slowly regaining the flexibility and control of my mana channels once more. Testing my magical casting, I performed my elemental mana flame trick and saw all four colors like they were before flowing off my fingers.

    Everything seems normal, albeit still a little sluggish. There was not much I could do about my body¡¯s recovery besides fueling it with mana, yet even that took time.

    Nothing to do but wait it out. Selene might actually finish the assassin¡¯s job if she finds out I tried my training method in the hospital. Speak of the mana beast, there she is! A small portal appeared above my bed and Selene moved through it to be sitting on the edge of my bed, back in her normal cat form.

    ¡°It is good to see that you are well, Lucian¡± She said to me, looking less worried now than she did before.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be back to normal in no time, Selene. I heard that you had a little bit of fun without me?¡±

    ¡°The Fae Lords might not see it that way, but yes, it was a good stress reliever if nothing else. What did you wish to speak to me about?¡±

    ¡°This is going to sound crazy, Selene, but listen to what happened while you were gone¡± and I explained the conversation with Eclipse the best I could, mentioning the hazy dreams and recalling the meeting with the mysterious Lady of the Abyss a long time ago, but did not recall it happening until now.

    Selene listened to the entire story, and seemed a little suspicious of some of the details, such as the risks of not knowing the price of said power, and she seemed to have an idea of what the Divine were, which did not bode well. That was a question for another time, because too many questions would look too suspicious currently.

    ¡°What is your opinion on all of it, Lucian? Ultimately, it is your decision to make¡± she asked.

    ¡°I was cautious of it at first, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. If this Lady of the Abyss wished me harm, why give me the power in the first place? I have never felt that it would harm me, it was hard to explain because it was purely my gut feeling. I¡¯m willing to take the risk, especially when it means you won¡¯t have to harm yourself to keep me alive¡±.

    ¡°If this works, do you still wish to form the Equals Contract with me, little one? I am willing regardless to make the journey with you. If you have second thoughts, or do not wish to draw the risk of mana beasts on you I understand and will still help you¡± she asked once more.

    ¡°It would be my greatest honor to form the bond with you, Selene! I was worried that you would decide to leave if it was no longer necessary for my survival, and did not want to force you to stay¡± I told her confidently.

    ¡°Then when you are fully recovered, we shall from the Equals Contract in the magic insulation room the Fae Lords were¡­ Motivated to allow us the use of¡±.

 The Equals Contract

    It took about a week for my body to recover back to normal, with an unexpected benefit being that the sluggish nature of my mana flow allowed me to finetune my control of it. This resulted in a more efficient utilization and flow of the mana in my channels. I would compare it to instead of my usual method enhancing the defense of my channels, this one enhances the agility of the mana inside of them instead.

    Wearing the black leathers that Selene gifted to me, we headed into a large room that was covered from top to bottom in a glowing blue crystal. There was a platform in the middle, set up with a magic circle on the ground. I looked to the circle, and then to Selene with an inquisitive look.

    ¡°The crystals in this room are the perfect magical insulators. Not even the ambient can leak through them. It¡¯s a rare material called Magicite, and a room like this would not be built without the utmost importance to do so. The Fae use this to conduct rituals that they absolutely do not wish for the other races to detect being cast, or spied upon¡± Selene responded to my look with.

    ¡°This room must have cost a fortune then. I never heard of this material even living in a port city that handles shipments of all types. What about the magic circle on the ground then, that doesn¡¯t seem like something the Fae would use?¡± I asked again, while pointing towards the magic circle.

    ¡°Normally the room would be sealed with a Magicite door, but due to recent events, we had to compromise and create this magical circle to act as the barrier against the opening of the room due to the lack of the sealed door. After recent events, I did not trust whoever tried to assassinate you to have you in a magically sealed room. If it wasn¡¯t for the dangers of forming the Equals Contract being detected, I would avoid this room entirely¡±.

    If Selene and I were to be locked in a room that is perfectly insulated against mana, the chances are that not even Selene¡¯s magic would work since I imagine it requires the ambient in some manner.

    Selene guided me to sit in the circle across from her, and she explained, ¡°The Equals Contract is formed by using our manas to inscribe a magical circle on each other¡¯s hearts. I will inscribe the circle on yours first, and you will copy the design to inscribe your mana onto mine. The design is not universal, and it can be said to function similarly to the Fae¡¯s True Names symbology. This design is an inscription of the essence of my being, so you must not show anyone else the design or write it down¡± Selene said seriously.

    ¡°I understand, Selene. Do not speak or write about the magic circle design¡±.

    ¡°The first time I was going to form the bond with you, I was hasty because of your situation, and was going to force the bond. That caused you a lot of pain, and for that I am sorry, Lucian. The traditional process of it is simply the process of inscribing the magic circles on our hearts, and the bond will connect our souls and have the benefits of a mind link among other benefits. A lot of these will be limited for now, since you are not even a Tier 1 mage technically speaking. The path will open more and more as you grow stronger. That said, let us begin¡±.

    Selene put her paw out, and I followed suit with my hand, and we put our palms together. She nodded to me, and I felt her mana start to flood into my body once again. It was less intense and overwhelming than last time, but it still felt like I was like a water jug overflowing with mana. Even my purer than average mana doesn¡¯t compare to the strength of Selene¡¯s, not by a long shot.

    I maintained focus to not cause any conflict with her mana flowing to my heart. When Selene¡¯s mana reached where the abyssal power was, Eclipse did not let it absorb any of the mana, and it flowed past the reservoir towards my heart.

    ¡°This is the crucial part, Lucian. It will likely cause a lot of pain inscribing the circle onto your heart, but please bear with it, and I will do my best to be quick¡± Selene warned me, and I nodded, sweat starting to drip down my forehead.

    I could feel Selene¡¯s mana turn into what I could only describe as a stick of chalk made out of mana. Bracing for the pain, the mana chalk touched upon my heart, and my body instantly constricted. Like the hand of the Grim Reaper grasped my heart in its hand. An icy cold that penetrated to the depth of my being. The pain and icy feeling only continued as she started drawing the circle, multiple circular shapes, with the inside of a pentagram that formed the shape of Selene¡¯s transformed state, reminding me of a photo of a Manticore from my old world.

    Once the circle was done being formed, Selene released the flow of her mana into my body, and my body stopped constricting and I was breathing heavily like I had not taken a breath in a long time.

    Selene looked at me with worry in her eyes, and I said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m okay. I just¡­ I just need a minute. There was no real way to prepare for something like that¡± and gave a dry laugh which made me cough a few times.

    After a few minutes of rest, I was mostly recovered, and I turned my attention to the magic circle now inscribed on my heart. It felt foreign at the moment, and incomplete. Like it was missing a crucial part of itself to feel whole, assumedly the corresponding circle needing to be placed on Selene¡¯s heart.

    ¡°Look, Selene! My heart is missing its other half, namely the circle on your heart!¡± I laughed and Selene was thrown off guard, and then I just heard a.. Laughing meow from Selene? Was this the first time I heard Selene meow?The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°Stop messing around, you future playboy, and let¡¯s begin. Focus and flow your mana into my body without diverting from the natural channel path. When you reach my heart, imagine your mana converging into the shape of the mana chalk I used on yours, and follow the exact same pathway I did for it. Once the process starts, you can not hesitate or quit midway¡± Selene made sure I was clear on the instructions, and we both nodded and got back into positions of palms against each other.

    I followed her instructions, and when my mana flowed into her body, I realized the disparity in our magical abilities first hand. If my mana channels were like the size of a standard pen, hers were the size of a strong tree trunk. I was unsure how this physically was possible, but I pushed the questions aside for later, and followed her mana channels to her heart.

    Once at her heart, I cleared my mind and focused on the job at hand. There was no room for error, and neither could I go too slow, or Selene would be in pain longer. I converged the mana gathered near her heart into the mana chalk, similar to Selene¡¯s, and began the process of carving the magic circle, using my own as a guide to reproduce it. Selene''s body handled it better than I did, but I could still feel the stiffness occur inside her paw.

    Gradually, and still carefully, I carved the magic circle almost identical to Selene¡¯s version on my heart. Once it was finished, I released the mana from flowing into her body, and it felt like the process was over.

    I was wrong.

    When it felt done, Selene and I both coughed up a small mouthful of blood suddenly, and the blood flowed to and disappeared into the other¡¯s chest, and I felt her blood get absorbed by the magic circle on my heart. What was once a whitish circle slowly turned crimson red until the entire circle glowed with a bloody aura.

    Selene seemed to be okay, while surprised at the same time. I went to ask, ¡°Is it done?¡± and then I felt my heart convulse painfully.

    *Thump* Another painful convulsion.

    *Thump thump* Each convulsion feels like it''s strangling my insides.

    *THUMP THUMP* The convulsion occurs faster and faster, while increasing in intensity until I am on the ground body shaking so much it looks like I am violently vibrating. I could feel my insides shredding themselves.. Forcefully enlarging my mana channels. It hurts so fucking much. Selene is trying to help, but nothing is helping.

    This is my body trying to grow stronger, I can not let it overcome me. I have been through worse many times.

    Forcefully moving my body into my meditative stance, I treat this extremely painful process like my normal training. Trying to ignore the pain, and focus on not interfering with the process as my body¡¯s natural response at this point was to reinforce the injured area with mana.

    My mind is the Temple, and my body is the Fortress. The Fortress seeks the wisdom of the Temple, and it in turn seeks the protection of the Fortress. Both exist in a harmonious relationship to each other.

    Separate the pain from the mind, for the pain keeps you alive, but being overcome by it becomes a threat to that very same survival.

    Using the mantras of the Templar Order, I focus away from the pain, the rebirth happening inside of my body, and take control of my body to no longer convulse painfully.

    After around 15 minutes of the intense process, everything calmed down and finalized. My body was different. It was no longer quite the same, more built than the average five year old, but larger now. Going off of the extra length, muscle, and general size of my body now, I would put it about the average.. 12 years old? Selene never mentioned this happening.

    ¡°Lucian, can you hear me? The mind link should have been made, so you can just pretend you are talking to me like normal, without the use of the ambient. Same as you explained speaking with Eclipse¡± Selene spoke inside my mind, but it felt even closer than the mental magic did.

    ¡°Hello, Selene. I am confused about what has happened. I don¡¯t know for sure, but am I really as big as a 12 year old now? I feel a lot larger, the bond remade my insides. My mana channels are larger, more durable, and I feel taller, stronger, and¡­ Completely foreign in my own body¡±.

    ¡°I wish I had the answer for you, Lucian, but I honestly do not. It could be due to how young you are, causing a metamorphosis in your body, as children are generally not mages at your age, let alone forming the contract we did. Without our intentions to, we ended up forming a Soul Pact as well, which is the once in a lifetime for a mana beast contract. It binds our souls together, so¡­ We share a life now, Lucian. If you die, I will, and vice versa. This should not have happened without our consents, but it is not something that is undoable. You should have had a say in it however, and I apologize for being partly responsible by forming this pact¡±.

    ¡°There is nothing to apologize for, Selene! You have always tried to help me, and I am honored to have formed this pact with you, just like I was forming the Equal Pacts one with you. I will work to grow strong enough to be worthy of these pacts. My.. Metamorphosis is an unexpected boon that will serve us well when forming my mana core, and protecting ourselves¡±.

    It also means that I am no longer quite as stuck to a child¡¯s body. It is still light and day compared to my body as Callum, but it is closer to where I can actively train and build the muscle required to grow stronger. Mana training will only enhance my training on top of that.

    Selene still looked at me with guilt in her eyes, and I reached over and pet her head. ¡°No need to be like that, Selene. I promise that it is okay. I am beyond lucky to have a partner as great as you, and I will not regret that decision regardless of what comes for us in the future¡±.

    ¡°What if the enemies who seek us are beyond our abilities?¡±

    ¡°Then we will fight and die together, Selene. We are partners now, and we will live and die together if necessary. I do not plan for either of us to die, however. So I will continue to train and grow stronger¡± I told her confidently.

    ¡°What do you think my odds are of forming the mana core now, Selene?¡± Selene looked over my new body, and scanned my mana channels for any signs of damage or abnormalities, and nodded when she seemed to find none.

    ¡°This change has indeed changed you for the better. Your body is stronger, and your mana channels are especially impressive. It would only be a detriment to hold yourself back longer just to wait to form your mana core. You should consult with Eclipse, and verify if she is ready to do so, and we can start the process of that while we are here¡±.

    I nodded to her, and flew my mana in my new channels to the larger reservoir connected to the abyssal power, and activated the mind link with Eclipse.

    ¡°Congratulations, Lucian! This is a wonderful thing for your growth!¡±

    ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t know you already knew everything, Eclipse¡± I said hesitatingly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can only see inside your body and the surroundings just because you never blocked me from doing so. Your inner thoughts are only known to you, unless you give Selene or I the ability to do so. I will teach you how to block off my sight for privacy at a later point. I know Selene and you have a similar mind link now, but I am unable to hear your conversations. What brings you to me right now?¡±

    ¡°Eclipse, I want to form my mana core right now. What do you think about doing so?¡± I asked her.

 The Mana Core

    Eclipse was quiet for a second as she scanned my body¡¯s condition, and then responded, [Your evolution has increased your physical ability drastically. If you feel that you are up to the task, we can begin the process. Because of recent events, you should consider having one of the Fae Lords stand guard for you as well, since Selene will be focused on your survival.]

    ¡°You make a good point. I will consult with Selene about getting Lord Wrath to stand guard. He seems to have the best opinion of me, and I don¡¯t trust the others even a little. Anything to note about the mana core formation with your sealing process?¡± I asked Eclipse.

    [Since you have been holding your mana core formation back, all you need to do is let it go. Let the mana do what it wants to do, and it will all flow to your chest region to form the core. I will make it so your core and the gift connect properly, and will redirect the elemental conflict energy to help form the Nine Abyssal Seals. All you need to do is survive, and we¡¯ll take care of the rest.]

    ¡°Okay, I am trusting you with my life, Eclipse. Don¡¯t let me die?¡± I asked jokingly, with the smallest hint of concern.

    [Of course, Lucian. You can leave it to me] and I closed off the connection and relayed the conversation with Eclipse to Selene. Selene agreed with the point about acquiring a guard, and set off to speak with Lord Wrath.

    It is finally time! After so many setbacks, it is finally time to form my mana core. My parents would love to be here for this, and they will never be able to now. I wonder if they have been reborn according to the rebirth cycle Selene mentioned? They won¡¯t remember me or anything, but I hope they went to families that loved them like they did me.

    After around half an hour, Selene returned with the fiery Fae Lord of Wrath. ¡°Selene said it was finally time to form your mana core, Luce! As part of my apology for not guarding your residence well enough and the assassin sneaking by the guards, I will personally stand guard while you form your core!¡± Lord Wrath confidently declared.

    Well, it¡¯s hard to pass up protection from the strongest fighter of the Fae Lords.

    ¡°I will consider you are doing me a favor, Lord Wrath. Thank you for your kindness¡± I said to him, and he let out a loud laugh.

    ¡°You are learning the game well, my young friend. Focus on forming your core, and then we can see about getting you some training to adapt to your new body and core!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a very outgoing and easy going looking Fae, but don¡¯t doubt his abilities, Lucian. He is known as the ¡®Defender of the Fae Realm¡¯ and it would take the combined strengths of a handful of the other Lords to get past him¡± Selene said to me.

    ¡°Do you think he is doing this out of the kindness of his heart, or has an ulterior motive to try and recruit me?¡± I asked her.

    ¡°I think ALL Fae have some kind of ulterior motive, not unlike the other races. He seems to feel an affinity with you in particular, likely due to Sin of Wrath telling him to, or sees his younger self when he looks at you¡±.

    Lord Wrath faced the entrance of the room, and felt like a new person when he focused on defending what was behind him. If anyone tried, it would be a very bad day for them.

    ¡°Okay, we will begin now. Lord Wrath, I am entrusting my safety to you. You might have seen a mana core formation before, and mine will be different. Please keep what you see or feel to yourself, and I will owe you a favor for your confidence¡±.

    Owing a favor to a Fae is a dangerous move, yet this was too important to not offer something of an equal value to protect what might happen here in the formation. The Fae Lords are aware of my special characteristics, and I¡¯d like to keep them just interested for now. If they are aware of the details, it might escalate the danger for my life even with the protection of Selene, and favor of Lord Wrath.

    Lord Wrath understood that I knew the dangers of offering a favor to a Fae, and nodded to Selene and me. ¡°We can discuss favors and the likes after you get through this, Luce. I swear to not use the favor to force you into a bad position, however¡±.

    That¡¯s good to hear at least, although I am unsure if a Fae swearing has the same level of effect as the magical contract nature of the Fae, such as making deals or owing favors. I looked to Selene with an inquisitive look, and she responded with, ¡°It was gracious of him to make an oath to not use the favor to harm you. I understand the reason why, but you must not likely do such a thing again, Lucian. Our souls are connected now, and he could use his favor to have influence on me through the bond¡±. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°I did not realize that it worked like that, I apologize, Selene. Going forward, I will be more mindful and consult with you first on things like that¡± and Selene nodded in return.

    Taking a deep breath, I got into the meditation position in the magic circle and said, ¡°Okay. Time to let my mana do what it wants now¡± and with that, I turned off the control on the mana and allowed it to agitate and burst with excitement. It almost reminded me of when I would run with my mother to the book store in Seastrand.

    Selene placed a paw on my back, and was fueling her mana into my body to help reinforce my body in anticipation. A new feeling in my body was the abyssal power activating, preparing to fight the elemental conflict.

    When the collective mana in my body all reached the now expanded reservoir area of my chest, a pain similar to when Selene overloaded my mana channels on our first meeting happened. The pain was intense, but nothing I could not handle, and then the mana kept flooding into the reservoir.

    This is going to fucking suck.

    What originally felt like I had simply eaten more than I should have, started to turn into my insides felt like they were about to burst. Feeling Selene¡¯s mana reinforcing my mana channels and internals, and Eclipse spreading a black shadow-like energy around the reservoir preparing to encapsulate the mana core at the time of formation.

    ¡°This shit hurts Selene, how is it looking? I feel like I am about to burst¡±.

    ¡°You¡¯re doing good so far, once enough of the mana has condensed into the area, the crystallization of the mana will start and when that finishes, the core is formed. You need to bear with the pain for now, and we will get through it¡±.

    Selene, isn¡¯t this too much mana? My capacity in my body is well above what the normal mage would condense into a core, and it is STILL pushing more.

    This fucking core, it is trying to absorb Selene and Eclipse¡¯s power now!

    ¡°Selene, it wants to absorb the mana from Eclipse and you now. Is that going to cause problems?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea! This is not normal for mana cores at all! Lack of mana to form an elemental core like yours might be part of why there has never been one. I will push more of my mana into your body, consult with Eclipse to find out if there¡¯s any apparent risk to absorbing her power as well!¡± She said, and I could feel the panic coming off of her.

    ¡°Eclipse, can you hear me?¡±

    [Yes, Lucian. I heard Selene speak as well, due to the special nature of this conjoining of our mana. While I can¡¯t answer her like this, there should not be any problems absorbing our mana into your core. All it will do is help your body adjust to the abyssal powers quicker. I won¡¯t lie to you though, it will hurt though. Nobody knows what the end result will be for your mana core alone, without the addition of our manas and the abyssal gift.]

    ¡°Great, I love unexpected factors in things that may or may not spell my doom¡±.

    I swear I felt Eclipse chuckle, and she said, [All power comes with a price. The end results will surely be worth the suffering it brings now. Focus on condensing the core, and we will handle the extra factors, Lucian!]

    Informing Selene of what was said by Eclipse, she said, ¡°Alright, we will do what she said. Please survive this, Lucian. It will hurt¡± and Selene turned the mana flowing into my body from her up and my body felt so bloated and was about to explode from the inside.

    The mana finally started to condense into the beginnings of a large crystalline structure. It was different from the ones I have read about, where the color reflects a mage¡¯s affinity, such as red for fire. Mine did not have a color, and looked to be a similar clear white as my mana is, with the outer layers reflecting the inky blackness of the abyssal power, and a shade of grey that was devoid of warmth of Selene¡¯s.

    The pain subsided from my body as the crystal kept forming, but I could tell that it was a different situation than being in the clear of the formation. The mana inside the currently forming core was volatile, and I could feel that it was on the verge of exploding with energy.

    ¡°Is this the elemental conflict forming, Selene?¡± I asked.

    Selene did not respond for a second, and I could feel the worry skyrocketing. ¡°Lucian, this is way beyond the energy a human body can withstand even at your level. Eclipse, can your abyssal power protect him from this?¡± She asked Eclipse directly, knowing that Eclipse could hear her, but not respond directly to her.

    [I am going to seal the energy into the Nine Abyssal Seals, Lucian. This will divide the energy into nine portions of escalating levels of energy, and to unlock one of the seals, you will need to be able to withstand that level of the sealed energy to unlock it and obtain the abyssal power within. You will still need to handle about 10% of its power currently.]

    I confirmed I heard her, and told Selene what Eclipse said. She seemed less worried, but still skeptical of the seals working.

    It was a weird situation to be in. We were watching my core form, and when it reached a ninth of the way formed, Eclipse used some unknown magic to create an inky black seal that would contain the growing energy of the elemental conflict inside.

    The seals looked dangerous to even look or probe at, and the destructive energy contained sparked off the seals not allowing anything to get close.

    [When you are ready to form a magic circle to raise the Tier of your mana core, use the unlocked seal as the basis for your circle, and it will grant you a portion of the abyssal power, and may unlock some of the abilities granted to you by the Lady of the Abyss. They are unknown to me besides guesses, and it will depend on your growth in using the abyssal power] Eclipse informed me, while I was preparing to handle the remaining 10% of the energy¡¯s destruction.

    [The Lady of the Abyss, Selene, and I all believe you can survive this trial. It will be well worth it, Lucian. Prepare for the attack!]

    I could feel the elemental conflict calling the ambient mana in a large area, potentially inside the Fae Realm to gather above me, forming what looked like a dark storm cloud. The ¡°cloud¡± crackled with differing colors of lightning, preparing to strike me.

    The growing but not complete mana core in my chest appeared to anger the cloud. After Eclipse had formed the last of the Nine Abyssal Seals, and the core was nearing completion, the cloud struck with a large elemental lightning strike that spelled my doom towards me.

 The First Elemental Tribulation

    There was a word for a trial that was a calamity to the individual taking it in my old world¡­ Tribulation. In my life as Callum, I was subjected to multiple such Tribulations. The politics of the Templar Order¡¯s connection to the Holy Church led corrupt high ranking officials of the church to try to get rid of anyone that didn¡¯t fall in line to their filth. The Tribulations rank at the top of my painful experiences in life.

    Now as Lucian, I was facing another one that wanted to destroy me completely. Selene attempted to slow down time but was unable to due to the chaotic nature of the environment currently. Lord Wrath noticed the issue and tried to charge towards me to protect me, but he was not going to make it in time. Even I was not faster than lightning at my peak as Callum¡­

    [Forgive my insolence, Lucian. I will apologize properly after we keep you alive.] My body grew rigid, and it felt like I was having an out of body experience like a high level meditation can enable.

    Eclipse has taken control of my body. She has been able to do this the whole time?

    She looked at the incoming lightning strike and said one word.

    [Devour]

    A black energy that looked to contain an infinite depth to it flooded out of my body, and¡­ consumed the lightning. I saw my body cough up a small mouthful of blood, and the blood looked to contain some of the elemental conflict energy in it. I could not feel anything in my body currently though, so was Eclipse taking it for me?

    Eclipse looked up to the ¡°cloud¡± and said, [You took your chance and failed this time. Follow the rules and begone until the next time, or I will sacrifice my existence and consume you whole.]

    The ¡°cloud¡± seemed to have some level of sentience, as it looked like it was going to strike and then stopped for a minute at Eclipse¡¯s words, and then dispersed.

    Eclipse gave back over control of my body, and told me, [I am sorry for forcibly taking control over your body. There is no threat to me trying to assume control of your body permanently, that was one of the life saving chances I had to protect you. Once you are stronger, you will even be able to reject control of the chance entirely.]

    ¡°It is okay, Eclipse. I know you did that to keep me safe. What did you mean by following the rules?¡±

    [I am sorry, Lucian. I can not tell you about that topic currently. You are not strong enough, nor unlocked the sufficient authority to learn about it as of this time. Grow stronger, and the answers will be made available to you.]

    Another reason to grow stronger, I suppose.

    [Using that move has drained a lot of my essence, and will take a bit of time to regain it and be back to normal. I will be in a deep sleep during this time, so you need to be extra careful to not fall into a dangerous situation until I can wake up, Lucian.]

    Eclipse said that and the connection broke off before I could ask any questions. What is it with the Abyss denizens and just vanishing when you need to understand what is happening. I can forgive them both this time because they did save my life after all.

    Lord Wrath reached my side, and looked at me and said, ¡°Are you okay, Luce? That lightning felt dangerous even to one of my level. Whoever it was that destroyed the lightning was beyond powerful. The closest I¡¯ve felt was the Head Oracle. I¡¯d love to spar with them one day¡±.

    ¡°That will have to wait, Lord Wrath. Lucian, how does the mana core feel?¡± Selene asked. Oh right, I was caught up in the Tribulation that I did not realize what it was because of.

    Looking inside at my mana core, I saw what looked like a clear spherical crystal with the black and grey colors on the edges like it was during the formation. Potent mana flowed from it into my mana channels. Where I had stored the mana in my channels before, it felt like that was nothing compared to the capacity in my core. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

    Before, I had to learn my capacity in my body through trial and error to gauge the mana levels, whereas now I just¡­ Know how much I have. It was like doing a task for a month, and starting to feel confident, compared to the confidence someone who¡¯s done the task for years has in it. The speed and efficiency of the mana flow was faster as well.

    ¡°Compared to how I was before the Equals Contract, my body feels completely foreign to me now on every level. It will take time to adjust to it now¡±.

    ¡°A lot has changed in a very short time, Lucian. I think right now, you should eat a good meal and rest to recover from the taxation of today. I certainly do¡± and Selene looked at Lord Wrath and continued, ¡°I don¡¯t suppose a certain Fae Lord would want to curry favor with us and treat us to a good meal, would you Luce?¡±

    Lord Wrath caught the hint instantly and said, ¡°Please, it would be my honor to have the both of you accompany me to my favorite restaurant in the Fae Realm. Follow me, please¡± and he gave a small bow and started walking out of the room.

    <hr>

    Lord Wrath led us to a local tavern, full of rowdy Fae drinking together and eating a hearty looking stew. It reminded me of the Adventurers at the tavern in Seastrand¡­ The tables looked really similar to, and I had to pretend to not imagine the heads of the twins and townsfolk laying bloody on the tables.

    He ordered for our table, and we had a plate of meat I did not recognize, but I could tell it was mana beast meat of a quality I was unfamiliar with. Accompanying it were sides such as freshly baked rolls, a stewed vegetable that reminded me of a cabbage, and a large tankard of a red sweet smelling drink.

    Lord Wrath looked at my confusion at the unrecognizable food and said, ¡°I may have gone all out to treat you. A user of Wrath needs to make sure they eat plenty and train their bodies to better resist the corruption of the Sin¡±.

    He then pointed out and told us what the items were, and the two that struck me the most was the tankard, which contained a drink called Faerune Juice, which was apparently a great restorative drink that worked wonders after a long day or labor or battle. Taking a sip of it, I could feel the mana in my body recovering quicker than normal. A wondrous drink for sure that tasted amazing.

    The second one struck a different chord in me, and it was the meat of a Tier 6 mana beast called a Moon Elk, and was a rare high tier mana beast in the Fae Realm. I stared at the meat and remembered my parents. My dad¡¯s joke that I could repay them back one day by bringing them a high tier mana beast for a meal. A meal we can never have now.

    Taking a bite of the meat, I understand why my father desired it so much. The meat was perfectly tender, juicy, and worked wonders on the tongue. The mana contained in it was also extremely pure, requiring almost no refinement to process it.

    ¡°Thank you, Lord Wrath. A promise I made to my father years back was to bring him a high tier mana beast once I grew strong enough to hunt one, as a means of paying him back for hunting to feed my ravenous body. Now I understand why he wanted to taste one so badly. It tastes absolutely wonderful¡±.

    Lord Wrath reached over and patted the top of my head a few times. With a soft look in his eyes, he said, ¡°I know the events of Seastrand are still fresh to you. Losing family is hard, and the pain never will quite go away, but do your best to remember them and live in a way that would make them proud, Luce¡±.

    He was a kind man after all. ¡°Can I ask a question that might get personal, Lord Wrath?¡± I asked him.

    ¡°As long as it¡¯s something I can answer, go ahead!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve been on my side since I arrived, why is that? Why have you been so kind to me, and asked nothing in return?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ Complicated. When you first came through the Fog Wall, I thought you were just a lucky kid. Then you summoned the flames of Wrath to break through our illusion spell, and the Wrath flame was a relatively pure one at that. There¡¯s no way a normal kid could create a Wrath flame, much less one of your purity¡± and he pointed towards the side of his chest, opposite of his heart.

    ¡°The Fae Lords are ones who have reached the pinnacle of using their Sin. When we succeed in the position, the final trial is to accept a part of the original Sin into our body and survive the process. A normal Sin flame would not cause a reaction in this flame in our bodies, yet yours did. The Sin told me to keep you safe, and help you get stronger. The Fae obey our Sins to the highest degree¡±.

    ¡°Does the Sin wish for me to grow your faction and serve it?¡±

    ¡°Not even a Fae Lord can do anything but guess at best to the motives of the Sins. The closest would be the Oracles prophecies, but we are only privy to the important ones that we have to watch out for, such as the two pertaining to you. You are welcome to join my faction if you wish, but I will not force that upon you, and will provide you training all the same¡±.

    I was right. He truly is a kind man.

    ¡°I will avoid joining any factions for the time being, but if I join one, I promise to look to yours first, Lord Wrath. What did you have in mind for the training?¡±

    ¡°First, I think we need to get you adjusted to your new body and mana core. The Fae are not a race that uses mana cores, but I think Selene can assist you in that regard. What I was going to focus on was physical training, as well as teaching you my hand-to-hand fighting style using the Wrath flame. Seeing the result of the almost assassination on you, I think it would fit you very well¡±.

    Was he referring to the state I left the assassin in?

    ¡°I will be able to help you in regards to the mana core adjustment. Even though we have an answer, we should still allow Sylas to research your abyssal power as a token of gratitude for the strenuous work he went through to keep you alive after the assassination attempt¡± and I nodded in agreement. Sylas never pushed his luck, and always asked permission before doing anything or observing anything from his scientific approach.

    We all were eating our food, and it was delicious to say the least. I wish my parents were here to taste it, but one day I will fulfill our promise and build a proper grave for the both of them, and offer the highest tier mana beast meat I can for them.

    ¡°Where do we begin, Lord Wrath?¡± I asked.

    ¡°If it is okay with Selene, I was thinking morning training with me for physical exercise and sparring, and the evening would be free for Selene¡¯s training with you¡± and Selene agreed to that timeframe.

    ¡°Okay then, let¡¯s begin the training starting next week then!¡± Lord Wrath said.

 Lessons From A Fae Lord

    The next week quickly arrived, and I was currently being escorted into a courtyard by Lord Wrath¡¯s servants. Lord Wrath was shirtless and currently training his martial arts in the courtyard on what appeared to be a magical illusion. I can not tell what exactly, but there was some kind of magic in effect here that seemed to numb the power fluctuations Lord Wrath was releasing. Until I arrived in the courtyard, there was nothing noticeable from the outside.

    ¡°Hey, Luce! It¡¯s nice to see you! There are not too many opportunities for me to fight in real combat, so I have to practice when I can on these Shadow Boxing recreations of my past fights¡± he said as he effortlessly grips the throat of what looked like a humanoid tree, and crushes its throat and the illusion fades into a metallic box nearby.

    A servant hands him a towel, and he wipes the sweat off his muscular frame. I go to perform a bow, and he waves a hand as he says, ¡°There will be none of that in private settings, Luce. In this courtyard, we are just two men training to improve our strength¡±.

    ¡°In that case, I shall not be polite and forego the formal procedures, Lord Wrath. Taking the time to help me train is a great honor to me, nonetheless¡± and hold my fist out to him. He looks at my fist and clearly does not understand the meaning. ¡°Bump your fist into mine. This is called a fist bump, you can think of it as a high five of sorts¡± and once again, a blank look that made me realize the Fae Realm lacked these kinds of things.

    Looks like I won¡¯t be the only one learning from the other.

    I motion for him to do the fist bump, and he does so. Explaining it to him, ¡°A fist bump and a high five are two ways to express a greeting or affirmation using physical touch. It is like saying ¡°Hello, friend¡±, or ¡°Well done!¡± Does that make sense?¡± and Lord Wrath nodded.

    ¡°Humans have a lot of interesting ways to communicate! A fist bump, eh? I like it!¡± He let out his signature loud laugh.

    ¡°So what did you have in mind for training, Lord Wrath?¡± I asked.

    Lord Wrath motioned towards a host of exercise equipment, which looked to be of magical engineering origins. ¡°We are going to use these to help you adjust to the limitations of your new body for about a week. I will push you to the absolute limit of your physical ability, and will not allow you to slack off, Luce. Show me the strength of your resolve¡±. Lord Wrath had the unique ability to change from his energetic side to his serious side instantaneously, almost like he was just putting on a mask.

    I gave him a serious nod, and he led me over to the equipment. What followed was a series of tests that involved wearing a progressively increasing weighted armor-like outfit and moving around the courtyard, a variety of exercises using traditional weights, as well as calisthenic movements that only used my body weight.

    If this had occurred prior to my body¡¯s evolution, I would have broken down very quickly, yet my body was somehow holding itself together throughout the exercises. Even Lord Wrath had a look of approval seeing me struggle to go just a single step beyond the exercise. My body will collapse before my mind will, and I would drag the body along if necessary.

    After an hour of the strenuous exercises, Lord Wrath gave me a canteen of a drink that had a similar effect to Faerune Juice, but instead boosted my physical capabilities quicker. While I drank the juice, and rested for around 10 minutes, his servants used a Fae magic to cleanse us of our sweat and odor. I should learn this magic if I can, it looks extremely handy.

    Lord Wrath motioned for me to sit in the middle of the courtyard on one of two cushions. We both sat on the cushions with our legs crossed, in a traditional meditation stance. ¡°Can you show me your Wrath flame, Luce?¡± he asked after a minute or so.

    Holding up my fist, and thinking of the true name [Ignis], my fist was surrounded in the crimson flame of Wrath. Lord Wrath examined both the flame and myself, calculating the effect it had on me. ¡°Do you feel any complications from using the flame for a long period? Feelings of anger, madness, or other negative emotions?¡±.

    ¡°Not at first, but it gradually starts to whisper things in my head the longer I use it. I haven¡¯t used it long enough to see long term, but I can handle using it for a few minutes without too much trouble at least¡±. Lord Wrath looked at me with a complicated expression, and looked towards my flame again. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    ¡°Luce, your situation is¡­ Abnormal to say the least. Possessing a flame of Sin, let alone Wrath at your age is monstrous, and tragic. You must have truly lived a life drenched in blood, and suffered a life of battle. How many have you killed?¡± and I did not know how to respond. He was looking into my eyes seriously, and I knew that lying was not going to work out.

    ¡°Countless, Lord Wrath. Six people of three different races in this life¡­ But I feel like I have the experiences of a previous life as well. A life that was lived as a weapon on countless battlefields. The feeling of blood on me is a familiar one. Killing does not affect me mentally, and I am numb to the aftereffects. Those I have killed in this life, are ones I will never forget, but I will not regret because it was to save myself or someone I cared about¡±.

    Remembering the human bandits, the Fae assassin, and the fucking Wolfman Clan in Seastrand¡­ I could feel the anger and hatred bubbling up. Why shouldn¡¯t I be angry? Why shouldn¡¯t I hate them? They tried to sell my mom and I into slavery, tried to kill me, and slaughtered my fucking hometown!

    Why shouldn¡¯t I just slaughter them? It is perfectly normal to hate the ones who try to harm yo-

    *CLAP*

    A loud clap sound made my ears ring, and I blink back into focus and see Lord Wrath looking at me with an even more serious gaze.

    ¡°Release the flame, Luce. Now¡± he said sternly. What did he mean? I looked down to my fist, and saw the flame of Wrath had grown in size, and deeper in color. Don¡¯t listen to him, Lucian. Embrace your anger and hatred. It will make you strong enough to burn all your enemies away.

    A tempting offer, but not necessary as of right now.

    Breaking the tempting spell, I stared at Lord Wrath and said, ¡°That was the temptation of the Sin of Wrath?¡± and he nodded. ¡°I see, that¡¯s a hard one to protect against. It made me feel justified in feeling the anger and hatred towards the Wolfman Clan that slaughtered my city. Normally, I can cast those feelings aside, but it made me think that it was my own idea to embrace it¡± I told him.

    ¡°The Sins have many powers, and many weaknesses. Our Wrath gives us the strongest combative power of the Seven Sins, and also the largest burden to carry. If you lose control and the Sin takes you over, you become a Forsaken, and will become a living incarnate of the Sin¡¯s dark side. Part of the Fae of Wrath¡¯s duties are to eliminate such beings, even if we become one down the line¡± Lord Wrath said.

    There was a similar instance in my previous world when someone with a Divine¡¯s blessing betrayed the Divine and used their power for evil, and became Corrupted in the process. They were stronger, and required an individual two tiers stronger than them, or a team of similar tiered members to take them down. A true abomination, and would go on crazed slaughters of anyone they could find.

    ¡°Enough of that, the point I want to address with you, is to always be mindful of using the flame of Wrath. It would be foolish of me to discourage using it, because in this world and the dark future coming, you will have to. Be mindful of your limits, and know that this power has a price that we all have to pay one day in our lives. Few can overcome the burden¡±.

    Lord Wrath placed a hand on my shoulder, and gave me an encouraging smile. ¡°That is why having a good grasp on your emotions is a requirement of your training. I have heard you are very active in meditations, even at your young age. This is good! Do not forsake the calm and peace that meditation can bring, even if you view it as training. It will serve you well in combating the corruption of the Sin¡¯s double edged sword nature¡±.

    After the explanation, Lord Wrath had us both meditate for 30 minutes. The bubbling feelings from the Sin of Wrath subsided, and I could breathe normally again.

    ¡°We will do a similar routine each training day, and slowly work on increasing your physical ability, as well as your tolerance to the Sin. Now, I will teach you my self-made style of hand-to-hand that works well with our Sin flames¡± he said, while getting up and motioning for me to follow his movements in stretching.

    While we were doing the stretches, he asked, ¡°What is your preference in fighting? What do you lean towards in sudden situations?¡±

    ¡°Due to my size prior to the bond with Selene, I would use the perceived weakness of my body to let an enemy get close, and lower their guard. When the time was right, I¡¯d use magic to take them out efficiently. My only advantage was their lack of awareness about the child before them¡±.

    Lord Wrath thought about this, and seemed to agree. ¡°Your capabilities are definitely above what they were in the attempt on your life here. That said, you will likely no longer benefit from enemies thinking you are some weak child now. Do you have a preference for a weapon type, or are you leaning towards hand-to-hand with magic for long range?¡±

    I thought about this for a minute, and decided, ¡°I have always been drawn to the idea of using a spear, but I think I want to learn hand-to-hand as the priority because my magic is less useful once the enemy gets close¡±. Lord Wrath agreed with this as well, but I added, ¡°That said, I wanted to inquire with you about something first. Using the flame of Wrath in hand-to-hand distance makes sense, but can you tell me about the other uses for it?¡±

    ¡°Hmmmm. The Sins have a lot of uses, even where Wrath is more combat-specific. You mentioned being drawn to a spear, yeah? You could learn to do stuff like this as you grow stronger and gain mastery of the Sin¡± and he held out his hand, and his flame of Wrath glowed in his hand, and quickly formed a long and standard tipped spear that had the crimson flame radiating off the tip.

    The spear itself looked to be condensed, and having a solid form, while still having the flames flickering off of it. ¡°When you get better at manipulating it, you can create temporary things that are solid and have mass like this spear here. It¡¯s not a permanent creation, but can help you in a pinch if you need a weapon in specific situations. While you can use it for long range options, similar to elemental Fire magic, it is considered wasteful as the taxation on your body is extreme and instant¡±.

    He released the crimson spear from his hand, and it faded away. ¡°We can work on that down the line, but let¡¯s focus on the hand-to-hand first, shall we?¡± and I nodded in agreement, and excitement. I was known as a master of the spear as Callum, and I was excited to learn new things in the realm of combat.

 The Price of Greed

    ¡°The first thing to know about my style is that it was developed solely for killing, Luce. I have created a few tricks to subdue targets, but even then, it will result in broken limbs, and even crippled ones. The flame of Wrath added to it only makes it deadlier. Keep this in mind when you are deciding what to use on your target, understood?¡± and I nodded in agreement.

    ¡°Good! We will slowly incorporate each form, starting with specific strikes, such as using the fists, elbows, knees, and legs. Depending on your talent with it, we will progress and eventually move to sparring and using Shadow Boxing illusions to recreate opponents suitable for your level. After that¡­ I will bring you along to see it in action against the Forsaken forces that periodically attack the Fae Realm. Real combat will always be the best teacher, after all¡±.

    Lord Wrath spent the remaining few hours of the morning teaching me the basic fist strikes he uses, and the basics of humanoid weak spots, such as controlling the opponents movement by bending their elbow, and even easily breaking it if needed. He ended with having me throw so many of his different fist strikes that my arms felt like they were going to fall off.

    As the time together was ending, his servants used the same cleansing magic to at least make me smell like I have been training for hours, although it had no effect on my exhaustion. I was very grateful for Lord Wrath taking the time to train me, and he looked to be enjoying it as well.

    ¡°Luce, I wanted to let you know in advance, that while I am training you, officially you are not my student. It¡¯s not out of disregard for your talent or anything, I would be happy to take you on, but it will engross you into Fae politics even further, and well¡­ You¡¯re already experiencing enough as it is. It¡¯s for the best that this is kept secret as of now¡± Lord Wrath said on my way out.

    I gave him a knowing smile, and said, ¡°Of course, Lord Wrath. One day, I will find a way to repay this favor you have given me. Thank you for taking the time to train me today¡± and gave a small bow and was on my way.

    Walking through the street markets on my way to our residential tower that was repaired after the fight was a small token of peace for me. It reminded me of the stalls I¡¯d walk with my mother. The Fae were kind, if not intense in their ways. The Sins deepened aspects for better or worse in the Fae, so the majority of merchants you saw were Fae of Greed, the actors running the plays were Fae of Pride, and so forth.

    From my observations, it looked to be that the Sins represented a common disposition towards certain actions. A Fae of Greed merchant was not necessarily your slimy, greedy merchant, and seemed to reflect more of an affinity towards that ¡°element¡± for the Fae. The same merchant is not required to be a scumbag profiteer, as long as they work towards a goal in a way that the Sin abides by, they are in the clear.

    I was unsure what happened if a Fae betrayed their Sin, and I have to wonder if it was similar to losing control of their Sin and becoming a Forsaken, like Lord Wrath had mentioned. It¡¯s a touchy subject that most Fae avoid, so I did not want to inquire and upset anyone.

    Walking by the fruit stall, the owner named Riven, called out, ¡°Hey Luce! Try one of these I got this morning!¡± and motioned towards a selection of apples, oranges, and a small hand sized melon-like fruit. Riven knows I am a sucker for fresh fruits, and the Fae have enhanced the tastes of the fruits to be even more addicting in flavor. I imagine it will be difficult to enjoy these fruits outside of the Fae Realm later on.

    ¡°Alright, you convinced me once again. Let me get a small sack of each¡± and flipped him a silver coin with a Fae¡¯s face on it. He caught the coin, and smiled with a fake glint of Greed in his eyes when he saw it, and put it carefully into his money pouch.

    As he was filling the sack with some of the fruits carefully, I leaned in and asked, ¡°So what have you heard, Riven?¡±

    Riven looked around carefully and told me, ¡°The Wolfman Clan has publicly denounced the warband that assaulted your city, Seastrand, and claims that it was done by outlaws who happen to be exiles of their clan. They also claim no consequences to any that slay their exiles and instead claim it will be doing them a favor in cleaning up their mess¡±. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    Right. The large scale warband of Wolfman Clan members who are conveniently of exile status after ransacking and pillaging a port city of Elarion. How very fucking convenient.

    ¡°Thank you for the information. I will pay handsomely for any information you can get for me about the Wolfman warband in the future as well, my friend¡± and he handed me the sack of fruits with a nod, and a gesture of acknowledgement by touching his fingers to his forehead and waving them off his head to the side of it.

    It was not easy to locate the informant network in the Fae Realm, run by the Envy faction. They were master spies, and have likely infiltrated deep into every major nation and government in this world. Riven was one, posing as a Fae of Greed merchant, and has been a welcome addition to my walks home. When he has news for me, he will call out for me to try his fruits, and he has yet to disappoint me thus far.

    The Fae Realm is a dangerous place of political intrigue if you are not careful about where you step. It looks like a beautiful garden, but has a lot of pretty flowers that would kill you if you approached in an instant. High risk, and high reward if you can survive it.

    ¡°Hey you! The human!¡± I heard a voice call out to me, and I looked to the voice and saw a rich looking Fae man probably 18 years old or so, walking towards me, with two large muscular human body guards following closely behind him.

    The crowd of the market looked nervous around this Fae man, and I could tell this was going to be a headache. ¡°How may I help you, sir?¡± I responded, attempting to be polite at least.

    ¡°Your pouch that you carry around, I have taken an interest in it. Name your price, I am going to purchase it as a gift for my future fiance!¡± and I realized he was talking about the pouch my parents handmade for me.

    ¡°I must apologize, sir. This was a gift from my deceased parents, and it does not have a price I would sell it for. Please forgive me¡± and moved to walk back home.

    This, of course, was not the end of the headache for me. The Fae man appeared to be about to explode with anger and shouted, ¡°I HAVE OFFERED TO PURCHASE THE POUCH. WHO ARE YOU TO SAY NO TO ME?!¡± and I stopped leaving and turned back to the man.

    ¡°I have told you that it was not for sale, sir. I apologize for the inconvenience, but there are surely many more luxurious pouches available for you to select. Good day, now.¡± I politely say, once again and go to leave.

    ¡°I DON¡¯T CARE IF IT WAS A GIFT FROM YOUR DEAD PARENTS. WORTHLESS SCUM LIKE THEM SHOULD FEEL HONOURED TO HAVE ME WANT ONE OF THEIR POUC-¡± He tried to finish what he was saying, but was unable to as I released my killing intent at him and he was choking on his words.

    Walking towards the Fae man, I said, ¡°Twice, I have declined your offer to purchase my pouch. Twice you refused to accept no for an answer, and now you insult my parents¡± and as I was getting closer to him, Riven quickly spoke up, ¡°Luce, you can¡¯t hurt him! He is the son of the Fae Lord of Greed!¡± and I stopped and coldly looked at Riven.

    ¡°What is your point, Riven? Should I ignore his shameful behavior and insult towards my parents who were recently murdered, and allow him to lay claim on my only gift I have left of them?¡±

    ¡°N-No, Luce! You need to deal with this in the proper ways though, you can appeal to the Fae Lords to arbitrate this matter!¡± Riven was pleading, aware of some consequence that will happen for me if I don¡¯t listen.

    Maybe I was acting too hasty, and allowing my anger to cloud my reason¡­

    Looking at Riven, I nodded and told him, ¡°You are right, my friend. I will let the Fae Lords arbitrate this matter¡± and looked towards this apparent son of Lord Greed, and told his bodyguards. ¡°You have two choices, you can bring this little lord of yours along, or I will drag him. What is your choice? Decide quickly, because he is currently pissing himself¡± I say and everyone looks to the puddle quickly forming from the drippings of his pants.

    The bodyguards look at each other, and then stand in front of the little lord prepared to defend him. ¡°You will have to get past both of us to do anything to the young master. Simply offer the pouch as an apology, and grovel before him and he may show you mercy. It is your honor that your worthless pouch has caught his eye, after all¡±.

    ¡°WHY ARE YOU GUYS WAITING AROUND? KILL HIM AND GET ME THAT POUCH! I WILL TELL MY FATHER THAT YOU FAILED TO PROTECT ME!¡± The squealing pig of a little master continued to oink, and the two body guards pulled out a large two handed sword, preparing to cut me down.

    I looked at Riven, and asked, ¡°Am I free to defend myself in this matter, Riven?¡± and Riven looked like he was going to blow a fuse at the other party¡¯s actions. Letting out a sigh, he said, ¡°By the Sins, I tried to resolve this peacefully. Nobody will fault you for self defense, Luce. Try to not ruin anyone¡¯s merchandise in the process, however?¡± and I laughed and nodded to him.

    Despite the soreness in my body from the training, I was feeling more confident than ever in dealing with this battle. Putting up both of my fists, I got into the defensive stance I was taught, with both arms and hands guarding my head.

    [Ignis]

    The crimson flame of Wrath came alive on my fists, and I prepared for the two bodyguards to make their moves.

    Let¡¯s test out what Lord Wrath has taught me. He¡¯s the one who said that real combat was the best teacher after all.

 The Price of Greed, Part 2

    The crowd of Fae in the market were shocked to see the flame of Wrath on my fists, but I had to ignore that now. These two bodyguards looked trained to some extent, and not likely to just rely on their muscles to overpower me.

    They both move to charge towards me, and I cast the Tier 1 Earth magic [Earth Grasp] with my right leg, and when I take a step towards one of the men, the magic forms a tight embrace around the other man¡¯s legs, and he trips over from his weight, and lands painfully on the earth shards that were gripping his legs, embedding shards from his ankles to his knees.

    The remaining man charging at me with his large sword overhead, preparing to cleave me in two, not focused on anything but his job of killing me. ¡°If you stop now, I will still let you live¡± I told the man rushing at me, and he snorted and said, ¡°Not a chance, kid! Regret your actions in the next life!¡±.

    I did try, at least. His sword swung down at me with a heavy swing, a product of the man¡¯s muscles. Using the footwork of Lord Wrath¡¯s, I close the distance safely beside him, instead of backing away from the sword¡¯s swing. The large sword of his sliced into the ground, and was stuck until he pulled it out.

    ¡°Regret your choice in the next life¡± I tell the man as I grab his face and channel the flames of Wrath from his fist to cover the man from head to toe quickly. The flames of Wrath worked a little differently than normal flames, where it targets the mana inside the body instead of the typical flammable materials like clothing. It sets the mana inside the body on fire, and it was a slow and painful death.

    Worst part was, there was no way to put the flames out under ordinary circumstances. A strong user of the Sins could extinguish them, but none of those were around, or willing to help him and he slowly burned from the inside out.

    Not waiting for his struggling to stop, I walked towards the second bodyguard who was grabbing his legs that had been crippled from the earth shards. Crippling him was not my intention, but him tripping over his weight onto the earth magic was not a factor I accounted for, and it worked out in the end anyways.

    Looking at him with my hand prepared to grab his face at a moment¡¯s notice, I ask, ¡°One is dead already, will you choose to be a second? Surrender and you may live to get your legs healed¡±. I¡¯d rather not entice my Sin more by killing if I can avoid it.

    Ah¡­ Is that the only value I see of these lives before me? Something that can inconvenience my power? I guess that part of me that wanted to care more for life was buried in the embers of Seastrand after all¡­

    Regardless, I waited for the man¡¯s response. ¡°Y-You don¡¯t understand. If I don¡¯t fight you, and let you harm the young lord, they will do more than just kill me. My family, and friends will be tortured before being sold, eaten, or worse¡±.

    Looking at the man with pity in my eyes, I nodded to the man and said, ¡°Unfortunately, I have no way to guarantee your protection in this case. You¡¯re a brave man, and I will make it painless and quick¡±.

    Tears fell from his face as he closed his eyes and waited for death. ¡°I will make sure your young master gets what he deserves¡±, I quietly told the man. Dispersing the crimson flames from my hands, and forming the sharpest [Wind Blade] in its place, I used it to slice through the man¡¯s neck as fast and clean as I could, not allowing the brave soul to feel a single bit of the pain of death.

    Looking at the young master these men died for, I let out every scrap of killing intent I can muster against him. He started leaking a putrid smell mixed with urine in fear, and it was vile.

    This guy shit himself.

    It was so pathetic, that it only served to piss me off more. The first guy I killed, sure. He seemed like a pretentious asshole. The second guy didn¡¯t want to die, but had to so he could protect his loved ones. Two lives lost because this pathetic scumbag wanted to buy a pouch that wasn¡¯t for sale and threw a temper tantrum.

    ¡°D-D-Don¡¯t come near me! Someone help me! You¡¯re going to let this filthy human hurt one of your own?! I can pay you handsomely if any of you stop him! You¡¯ll be doing a favor to our Lord of Greed!¡± and I kept walking towards him, seeing if anyone was going to be interested. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you realize by now?¡± I pointed at Riven, ¡°You are only alive currently because he was nice enough to speak up for you¡±, and pointing towards the two dead men behind me, I continued, ¡°And these two men died in service to your petty¡­ Stupid¡­ Obsession¡±. I grabbed his head and made him face me so our eyes made contact.

    ¡°I am not going to kill you right now, we are going to the Fae Lords to decide how to deal with you. You will remember this one way or another, or I will burn the words into your flesh. All of this is the price of your Greed¡± and I dragged the struggling but weak man towards the Fae Lord¡¯s Throne room, ignoring the dark line in the ground the man left on the ground from his pants as I dragged him.

    Disgusting.

    ¡°Selene¡± I called out using our mind link, and continued, ¡°Please go to the Fae Lords and have them assemble for an arbitration case for a Fae¡¯s actions against me¡±.

    I could feel Selene¡¯s worry spike over the mind link, and she asked, ¡°Are you okay? I sensed anger and annoyance through our link, but had thought this to be an effect of your training in the Sin of Wrath¡±.

    ¡°No need to worry, Selene. I am okay. Had an incident with a Fae man and wanted to handle this the right way, which I told for his status required the arbitration of the Fae Lord Council. I can tell you about it all when I get there¡±.

    ¡°Okay, Lucian. I will have them assembled for you now¡± and the mind link was dropped. There was so much to learn about the bond with Selene, and we will figure it out together later. For now, bigger fish to fry.

    <hr>

    Reaching the doors to the throne room was a little bit of a hassle, as many of the guards attempted to pull the young master from my grip, but soon realized the danger to him if they continued. The servants quickly noticed the situation, and opened the throne room doors, which I walked into the same center I arrived in from the Fog Wall previously.

    The Fae Lords were in chaos as they didn¡¯t know why they were called to assemble here yet. Once I arrived in the center, and threw Lord Greed¡¯s son onto the ground in front of me, the room went silent.

    Selene quickly joined my side, realizing the situation was complicated enough to assemble the Fae Lord Council. Lord Wrath quickly spoke up, and asked, ¡°Why have you asked for this assembly, Luce? What has occurred here between this¡­¡± realization hit most of the Fae Lords and they looked to Lord Greed. ¡°What has my son done to deserve this show, young child?¡± Lord Greed asked me.

    ¡°This is how it is going to work, young master¡±, I said to Lord Greed¡¯s son, and continued, ¡°You are going to tell the Lords here the full story of what happened. If a single word, event, or threat is not recounted properly, I will personally jog your memory, do you understand?¡± and the Fae Lords looked confused about the severity of the situation, and deferred to Lord Greed for this.

    ¡°Are you threatening my son, in front of me, child?¡± and I could feel the anger in Lord Greed rising. Selene moved to stand in front of me, and I held my hand out.

    ¡°I have this, Selene¡±.

    ¡°I would not dare to, my lord. Your son has committed multiple crimes against me, and my parents. The end result was that he tried to take my life, and only because of the merchant Riven¡± I look to Lord Envy to make my point of dropping Riven¡¯s name, ¡°Is your son still alive to tell the tale of what happened. I am of the mind that your son deserves to be slaughtered, to prevent further incidents in the Fae Realm, but I wanted to attempt the way you do things in your lands¡±.

    Lord Wrath grumbled to his fellow Lords, ¡°Can we stop pissing him off? He has achieved battle ready use of his Sin of Wrath, as a human child¡±. Letting the hidden meaning of what that meant about me linger to the Fae Lord Council.

    ¡°The Lords are waiting on you to speak, young master. So am I¡±. Lord Greed¡¯s son looked at his father in terror, and I held up my left arm.

    [Ignis]

    The crimson flames once more flared up on my left fist, and I held it up to look like I was about to strike him. ¡°There¡¯s no need to think of some way to look better and like a victim to the Council, I will correct any vile you spew¡±.

    He told the Council what went on, and I corrected any of his embellishments to make him look exactly how he acted in the market. The Council called in some of the Fae present at the scene, including Riven, and got their testimony from them to confirm what had happened, and they were honest and it matched my corrections to the otherwise true story.

    Once the trial was over, Lord Greed snapped and yelled, ¡°You fucking bastards!¡± and used his Sin of Greed to summon golden shackles that flung towards us all. They moved extremely fast and bound both his son and me. His son dropped to the ground when they coiled around him, tightening more. I refused to fall, however and watched the chains tighten around me.

    The Council arose in an uproar, and before Selene could intervene, hell froze. All the talking stopped at once, any heat originally present vanished. The hairs raised on my skin, and I could feel that if I moved, I would die.

    The Fae Lord of Wrath, true to his name, had finally shown his anger. Unleashing killing intent that I have never felt before, and this was just the indirect effect of him doing so, his target was Lord Greed, who was bearing the majority of the weight.

    ¡°You dare to shackle the human I have taken a liking to, who graciously spared your life when any of us would have killed him, and tried to settle things according to our rules when the fight was over? The guest we are to treat with the highest of respect?!¡± His tone did not let any feeling of wrath out, but it was obvious that Lord Wrath was beyond pissed. He was quite literally, feeling wrathful.

    ¡°If you do not immediately unshackle Luce, I will exercise my right as Defender of the Realm, and slay both your son and you, and we will host a succession to replace you immediately¡± Lord Wrath said, and Lord Greed was sweating and stammering for words.

    ¡°You have to the count of three, Greed. Choose¡±.

 The Price of Greed, Part 3

    It took about a week for my body to recover back to normal, with an unexpected benefit being that the sluggish nature of my mana flow allowed me to finetune my control of it. This resulted in a more efficient utilization and flow of the mana in my channels. I would compare it to instead of my usual method enhancing the defense of my channels, this one enhances the agility of the mana inside of them instead.

    Wearing the black leathers that Selene gifted to me, we headed into a large room that was covered from top to bottom in a glowing blue crystal. There was a platform in the middle, set up with a magic circle on the ground. I looked to the circle, and then to Selene with an inquisitive look.

    ¡°The crystals in this room are the perfect magical insulators. Not even the ambient can leak through them. It¡¯s a rare material called Magicite, and a room like this would not be built without the utmost importance to do so. The Fae use this to conduct rituals that they absolutely do not wish for the other races to detect being cast, or spied upon¡± Selene responded to my look with.

    ¡°This room must have cost a fortune then. I never heard of this material even living in a port city that handles shipments of all types. What about the magic circle on the ground then, that doesn¡¯t seem like something the Fae would use?¡± I asked again, while pointing towards the magic circle.

    ¡°Normally the room would be sealed with a Magicite door, but due to recent events, we had to compromise and create this magical circle to act as the barrier against the opening of the room due to the lack of the sealed door. After recent events, I did not trust whoever tried to assassinate you to have you in a magically sealed room. If it wasn¡¯t for the dangers of forming the Equals Contract being detected, I would avoid this room entirely¡±.

    If Selene and I were to be locked in a room that is perfectly insulated against mana, the chances are that not even Selene¡¯s magic would work since I imagine it requires the ambient in some manner.

    Selene guided me to sit in the circle across from her, and she explained, ¡°The Equals Contract is formed by using our manas to inscribe a magical circle on each other¡¯s hearts. I will inscribe the circle on yours first, and you will copy the design to inscribe your mana onto mine. The design is not universal, and it can be said to function similarly to the Fae¡¯s True Names symbology. This design is an inscription of the essence of my being, so you must not show anyone else the design or write it down¡± Selene said seriously.

    ¡°I understand, Selene. Do not speak or write about the magic circle design¡±.

    ¡°The first time I was going to form the bond with you, I was hasty because of your situation, and was going to force the bond. That caused you a lot of pain, and for that I am sorry, Lucian. The traditional process of it is simply the process of inscribing the magic circles on our hearts, and the bond will connect our souls and have the benefits of a mind link among other benefits. A lot of these will be limited for now, since you are not even a Tier 1 mage technically speaking. The path will open more and more as you grow stronger. That said, let us begin¡±.

    Selene put her paw out, and I followed suit with my hand, and we put our palms together. She nodded to me, and I felt her mana start to flood into my body once again. It was less intense and overwhelming than last time, but it still felt like I was like a water jug overflowing with mana. Even my purer than average mana doesn¡¯t compare to the strength of Selene¡¯s, not by a long shot.

    I maintained focus to not cause any conflict with her mana flowing to my heart. When Selene¡¯s mana reached where the abyssal power was, Eclipse did not let it absorb any of the mana, and it flowed past the reservoir towards my heart.

    ¡°This is the crucial part, Lucian. It will likely cause a lot of pain inscribing the circle onto your heart, but please bear with it, and I will do my best to be quick¡± Selene warned me, and I nodded, sweat starting to drip down my forehead.

    I could feel Selene¡¯s mana turn into what I could only describe as a stick of chalk made out of mana. Bracing for the pain, the mana chalk touched upon my heart, and my body instantly constricted. Like the hand of the Grim Reaper grasped my heart in its hand. An icy cold that penetrated to the depth of my being. The pain and icy feeling only continued as she started drawing the circle, multiple circular shapes, with the inside of a pentagram that formed the shape of Selene¡¯s transformed state, reminding me of a photo of a Manticore from my old world.

    Once the circle was done being formed, Selene released the flow of her mana into my body, and my body stopped constricting and I was breathing heavily like I had not taken a breath in a long time.

    Selene looked at me with worry in her eyes, and I said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m okay. I just¡­ I just need a minute. There was no real way to prepare for something like that¡± and gave a dry laugh which made me cough a few times.

    After a few minutes of rest, I was mostly recovered, and I turned my attention to the magic circle now inscribed on my heart. It felt foreign at the moment, and incomplete. Like it was missing a crucial part of itself to feel whole, assumedly the corresponding circle needing to be placed on Selene¡¯s heart.

    ¡°Look, Selene! My heart is missing its other half, namely the circle on your heart!¡± I laughed and Selene was thrown off guard, and then I just heard a.. Laughing meow from Selene? Was this the first time I heard Selene meow?The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    ¡°Stop messing around, you future playboy, and let¡¯s begin. Focus and flow your mana into my body without diverting from the natural channel path. When you reach my heart, imagine your mana converging into the shape of the mana chalk I used on yours, and follow the exact same pathway I did for it. Once the process starts, you can not hesitate or quit midway¡± Selene made sure I was clear on the instructions, and we both nodded and got back into positions of palms against each other.

    I followed her instructions, and when my mana flowed into her body, I realized the disparity in our magical abilities first hand. If my mana channels were like the size of a standard pen, hers were the size of a strong tree trunk. I was unsure how this physically was possible, but I pushed the questions aside for later, and followed her mana channels to her heart.

    Once at her heart, I cleared my mind and focused on the job at hand. There was no room for error, and neither could I go too slow, or Selene would be in pain longer. I converged the mana gathered near her heart into the mana chalk, similar to Selene¡¯s, and began the process of carving the magic circle, using my own as a guide to reproduce it. Selene''s body handled it better than I did, but I could still feel the stiffness occur inside her paw.

    Gradually, and still carefully, I carved the magic circle almost identical to Selene¡¯s version on my heart. Once it was finished, I released the mana from flowing into her body, and it felt like the process was over.

    I was wrong.

    When it felt done, Selene and I both coughed up a small mouthful of blood suddenly, and the blood flowed to and disappeared into the other¡¯s chest, and I felt her blood get absorbed by the magic circle on my heart. What was once a whitish circle slowly turned crimson red until the entire circle glowed with a bloody aura.

    Selene seemed to be okay, while surprised at the same time. I went to ask, ¡°Is it done?¡± and then I felt my heart convulse painfully.

    *Thump* Another painful convulsion.

    *Thump thump* Each convulsion feels like it''s strangling my insides.

    *THUMP THUMP* The convulsion occurs faster and faster, while increasing in intensity until I am on the ground body shaking so much it looks like I am violently vibrating. I could feel my insides shredding themselves.. Forcefully enlarging my mana channels. It hurts so fucking much. Selene is trying to help, but nothing is helping.

    This is my body trying to grow stronger, I can not let it overcome me. I have been through worse many times.

    Forcefully moving my body into my meditative stance, I treat this extremely painful process like my normal training. Trying to ignore the pain, and focus on not interfering with the process as my body¡¯s natural response at this point was to reinforce the injured area with mana.

    My mind is the Temple, and my body is the Fortress. The Fortress seeks the wisdom of the Temple, and it in turn seeks the protection of the Fortress. Both exist in a harmonious relationship to each other.

    Separate the pain from the mind, for the pain keeps you alive, but being overcome by it becomes a threat to that very same survival.

    Using the mantras of the Templar Order, I focus away from the pain, the rebirth happening inside of my body, and take control of my body to no longer convulse painfully.

    After around 15 minutes of the intense process, everything calmed down and finalized. My body was different. It was no longer quite the same, more built than the average five year old, but larger now. Going off of the extra length, muscle, and general size of my body now, I would put it about the average.. 12 years old? Selene never mentioned this happening.

    ¡°Lucian, can you hear me? The mind link should have been made, so you can just pretend you are talking to me like normal, without the use of the ambient. Same as you explained speaking with Eclipse¡± Selene spoke inside my mind, but it felt even closer than the mental magic did.

    ¡°Hello, Selene. I am confused about what has happened. I don¡¯t know for sure, but am I really as big as a 12 year old now? I feel a lot larger, the bond remade my insides. My mana channels are larger, more durable, and I feel taller, stronger, and¡­ Completely foreign in my own body¡±.

    ¡°I wish I had the answer for you, Lucian, but I honestly do not. It could be due to how young you are, causing a metamorphosis in your body, as children are generally not mages at your age, let alone forming the contract we did. Without our intentions to, we ended up forming a Soul Pact as well, which is the once in a lifetime for a mana beast contract. It binds our souls together, so¡­ We share a life now, Lucian. If you die, I will, and vice versa. This should not have happened without our consents, but it is not something that is undoable. You should have had a say in it however, and I apologize for being partly responsible by forming this pact¡±.

    ¡°There is nothing to apologize for, Selene! You have always tried to help me, and I am honored to have formed this pact with you, just like I was forming the Equal Pacts one with you. I will work to grow strong enough to be worthy of these pacts. My.. Metamorphosis is an unexpected boon that will serve us well when forming my mana core, and protecting ourselves¡±.

    It also means that I am no longer quite as stuck to a child¡¯s body. It is still light and day compared to my body as Callum, but it is closer to where I can actively train and build the muscle required to grow stronger. Mana training will only enhance my training on top of that.

    Selene still looked at me with guilt in her eyes, and I reached over and pet her head. ¡°No need to be like that, Selene. I promise that it is okay. I am beyond lucky to have a partner as great as you, and I will not regret that decision regardless of what comes for us in the future¡±.

    ¡°What if the enemies who seek us are beyond our abilities?¡±

    ¡°Then we will fight and die together, Selene. We are partners now, and we will live and die together if necessary. I do not plan for either of us to die, however. So I will continue to train and grow stronger¡± I told her confidently.

    ¡°What do you think my odds are of forming the mana core now, Selene?¡± Selene looked over my new body, and scanned my mana channels for any signs of damage or abnormalities, and nodded when she seemed to find none.

    ¡°This change has indeed changed you for the better. Your body is stronger, and your mana channels are especially impressive. It would only be a detriment to hold yourself back longer just to wait to form your mana core. You should consult with Eclipse, and verify if she is ready to do so, and we can start the process of that while we are here¡±.

    I nodded to her, and flew my mana in my new channels to the larger reservoir connected to the abyssal power, and activated the mind link with Eclipse.

    ¡°Congratulations, Lucian! This is a wonderful thing for your growth!¡±

    ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t know you already knew everything, Eclipse¡± I said hesitatingly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can only see inside your body and the surroundings just because you never blocked me from doing so. Your inner thoughts are only known to you, unless you give Selene or I the ability to do so. I will teach you how to block off my sight for privacy at a later point. I know Selene and you have a similar mind link now, but I am unable to hear your conversations. What brings you to me right now?¡±

    ¡°Eclipse, I want to form my mana core right now. What do you think about doing so?¡± I asked her.

 The Twin Prophecies

    ¡°The Divine will discover this world soon, Lucian¡± the High Oracle said to me.

    ¡°What do you mean? How? What do they want? How will they find out-¡± the High Oracle raised her hand to cut off my rapid fire of questions.

    ¡°I know you have a lot of questions, but that will have to wait. First, allow me to present the story of the Twin Prophecies to you¡±. She motioned for me to follow her, and I walked at her side, admiring the sights around me. Floating lights of different colors, the ambient was so dense up here that I could almost see strands of the elemental colors as I walked with the High Oracle.

    She led me to a section of the island, that house towering walls of murals, showing different scenes. The artist responsible for creating these was magical, quite literally. The murals were paintings that moved, showing a section of time in each one. This is a wondrous example of the magic in this world.

    Magic should be used for creating things like this, not destroying like mine does¡­

    I feel a slight discontent with that thought originating from the Sin of Wrath in me, but I chose to ignore it for now. Even now, it is trying to influence me¡­

    ¡°Do not hold it against your Sin, Lucian. It can only act in response to its nature, nothing more, and nothing less¡± the High Oracle said, and I realized something just now.

    ¡°How did you know my name was Lucian? I¡¯ve only introduced myself as Luce in the Fae Realm¡±.

    Oracle. She can see into the future. Of course she knows my name.

    Seeing the realization in my eyes, she smiled and nodded, ¡°Correct. Do not worry, I shall not divulge any information about yourself that you do not wish to share¡± she said as stared at the first mural.

    ¡°Thank you for your kindness, High Oracle. I still do not feel worthy of it, but thank you all the same¡±. I truly do not know what would have happened if things happened differently on arriving here. There was nowhere else I could turn to, besides maybe the human capital, but even there it¡¯s unknown.

    She nodded and looked at me with warm eyes that almost reminded me of my mother. I wish that we could have talked one last time, Mom. There was so much left unsaid to both Dad and you. I shook my head and put those thoughts to the side, there were bigger things to think about now. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    ¡°The Twin Prophecies are one of the first to be foreseen, and even those are before I inherited the role of High Oracle¡± She spoke softly, remembering the weight of time that has passed since she received the role.

    Waving her hand over the first mural, it changed to reflect a scene showing a young man with black hair and crimson eyes, fighting in various battlefields with the assistance of multiple different color lights casting various spells, ending in what appeared to be two scenes: Reaching an agreement with races of the world, or standing amidst the rubble of a capital with the nation¡¯s flag burning to ashes.

    Salvation or Calamity.

    ¡°The Fae Lords are aware of the Twin Prophecies, but assume that the one of Salvation or Calamity are the two separate ones, but it is instead a single one. The second one is something that has only been seen by my predecessor, the original High Oracle. She gave her life to transcribe this prophecy, and shattered her soul in the process¡­¡±

    The High Oracle covertly wiped a tear from her eyes before regaining her composure and continuing.

    ¡°While I can not describe the origins of this world due to a Soul Oath preventing me from going into much detail, there is a small amount I can tell you. This world is hidden from outsiders and protected by figures strong enough to be called Demigods¡±.

    Demigods? That¡¯s a term that is used in my old word as well, for powerhouses below the level of Divines, and the peak of humanity¡¯s potential.

    ¡°Yes, it is. It works in a similar way for most worlds. The peak of the races are known as Demigods, and it is theorized that a level above has existed among the powerhouses of the world¡± She told me, and waved her hands towards the first mural, and the scene changed from the first prophecy.

    Motioning for silence with her finger over her mouth, she looked towards the mural, showing a tall man with long black hair down his back, and crimson eyes standing against a sky full of hostile stars, a darkness of infinite depth behind him.

    Those stars¡­ The Divine! Those were how the Divine presented themselves to the masses as a show of power in my previous world.

    You will get the chance to enact your revenge after all. Except this time, you will rise to the occasion and burn those false Gods into nothing. Your anger and rage will guide you to the strength to do so!!

    The High Oracle placed a hand on my shoulder, and I felt the Sin of Wrath recoil and hid deep inside of my being. Nodding to her in thanks, I took a deep breath and asked, ¡°Can you tell me how long this world has until I have to fulfill the second prophecy?¡±

    She shook her head sadly, and motioned towards my core. ¡°You already have someone who will be able to give you a clearer answer than I can with my limited knowledge and ability to speak upon it. When your helper awakens, let them know that you are aware and need to know the time limit if possible¡±, and I nodded to her advice.

    ¡°Any advice on what I should do until then, High Oracle?¡± I asked, confused about the scope of this¡­ Destiny?

    ¡°As hard as this may be to hear, just keep following what feels right. Your training with Lord Wrath and Selene will sow the seeds that will bear the fruits necessary for the future. Work hard and take care of yourself, as the Fae Realm will be but one stop on your journey¡±. She said as she gave my shoulder an encouraging squeeze.

    ¡°You should return to Selene and the Lords now, and remember to continue your training¡±. She hands me a crystal pendant, and I put it on. ¡°If you are ever in need of my assistance, simply infuse the crystal with your Sin flame and I will rush to aid you. Goodbye for now, Lucian¡± and she waved her hand and I was sent back to the throne room.

    The High Oracle looked to the stars in the sky, and said, ¡°For all of our sakes, I hope you will grow as strong as you can before it is time¡±.

 Training with Selene

    Selene seems to be a creature of habit. The events of the day cut into her planned time to begin my training, and I told her that it was okay with me to cut into the night this time to do so.

    She, of course, refused to take me up on that offer, saying that a child like me needed all the sleep I could get to ¡°grow properly¡±.

    Leaving the start of her next day, I spent the morning training with Lord Wrath, who repeated the training from the first day to work on the forms of the strikes, and the other training my new barbarian of a teacher designed for me. Effective training, but it truly pushed me to the limits.

    Not waiting for a situation to arise, I left Lord Wrath¡¯s residence right after training concluded and headed straight to where Selene was waiting for training underground. It was some sort of Fae training facility, made by magic resistant materials, but not the extremely expensive and rare magicite crystals, but more magically engineered alloys to reduce the cost of repairs.

    ¡°I think the best course of action for your training with me, is to focus completely on your magical abilities. Lord Wrath is taking good care of your physical capabilities, and training of your Sin of Wrath. Eclipse will have to be the one to teach you about your abyssal ones, as I have not seen anything close to what she performed in your core formation. So, ONLY your magical abilities are allowed in this training, understand?¡± and I nod to her in agreement.

    ¡°Good, so first on the list is that we are going to forget inscribing a magic circle on your core for the time being. At least until Eclipse awakens, as we will need her assistance to deal with the Abyssal Nine Seals and the remnant energy of the Elemental Conflict contained within them¡±.

    She motioned for me to stand within a magic circle on the ground, facing a magic circle of the same design farther away from me. ¡°Your magical abilities consist of using your body¡¯s mana to perform the spells. Creating your own chantless system is very impressive for your age, yet you now need to modify your understanding of mana manipulation since you do have a core now¡±.

    ¡°Wait, what do you mean? Did I do something wrong in how I used my mana to draw the sigils that corresponded to a spell¡¯s true name?¡± I asked her. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    ¡°Yes, and no. Your idea was correct, and that is a way to perform chantless magic, but it is an archaic and inefficient way of doing so. Instead, you need to increase your understanding of the elements, so that you can learn the true names for your spells, as this will both increase the potency, while reducing the time to cast them. Your core will handle the mana flow, and all you need to do is focus on how to use the magic¡±.

    Increase my understanding of the elements in order to maximize the ability to use them at a moment¡¯s notice. A hell of a way to start training someone who has a circleless core, Selene.

    ¡°So how should I start the process of increasing my understanding, Selene?¡± I could take a guess and say if I cast a spell 100 times, I would learn to understand it more, but that may not be the answer.

    ¡°You need to learn to effectively communicate with the ambient mana using your mana to translate your intentions. You drawing the sigils manually is like someone pointing to an item to communicate it to someone who speaks a different language. Essentially, you need to learn the language of mana¡±.

    I stared at Selene blankly. While it makes sense what she said, I was at a loss for how to begin this mountain of a task set by my bond.

    ¡°So instead of using the item to communicate my intentions, I need to learn how to describe the item with my mana so the ambient better understands what I am looking for?¡± Selene nodded to this, looking impressed in her young bond.

    Thinking back to the hospital room with Sylas, when I learned the true name for my Sin of Wrath flames. There was that moment when I felt like I was enlightened regarding the meaning of the crimson flames, and what they represented.

    ¡°I need to learn what the essence of the item represents in order to increase my understanding of it, is that it?¡± and I swear Selene would clap with joy if she could, based on the proud look in her eyes.

    ¡°Yes! It is not an easy process, but learning how, why, and the other variations of what makes up the mana that creates a spell will empower said spell because you are informing the ambient mana more clearly than you have been thus far. Your method of using more mana to empower the spell is like creating a bigger sign to advertise your intentions to the ambient mana¡±.

    Selene pointed to the magic circle I was in, and to the one farther away from me. Waving her paw, a large fireball appeared in the second magic circle, and she said, ¡°The magic circle you are in will allow you to view the magic from different viewpoints, and the properties of the mana involved in producing the spell. When it comes to fire, you need to figure out why the fire burns the way it does, what is fueling it, and as many factors as you can to understand it¡±.

    So things like how the mana is able to serve as fuel for the flame, and what is fire? Wait, what if I meditated while focusing on only absorbing fire elemental ambient mana, or better yet, casting and absorbing the ambient mana from a spell to better understand why it works the way it does?

    Getting into my normal meditation stance, and ignoring the confused look from Selene, I reached out my hand to the fireball she had casted, and decided on my course of action.

    I will absorb it in order to understand it! Pass or fail, this will only benefit my training.