One day I will become the Wizard King, and when that day comes... Will you please marry me?!"

"No, Asta."

He purses his lips at her response, looking up at her. The woman of his dreams wears a carefree smile that complements her soft pink cheeks and blue-green eyes.

"Marry m-"

"No. "

"Mar-"

"Nope."

His heart wrenches, thumping against his ribcage and his eyes grow wet. Taking a shaky breath, he puffs up his chest and smiles. Nothing will break his spirit.

"Mar-"

"No."

Asta's grunts, collapsing onto the grass beneath him. The blades tickle his forehead, reminding him of the warm fuzzy feeling that fills his chest every time he looks at her.

"Marry me, please..." he whines- no- begs, sticking out his lower lip in an attempt to sway Sister Lily.

Her gentle face softens, eyes melting as she takes in the messy sight that is Asta. His hair is sticking out in every direction, framing his small face. He's wearing a baggy shirt and cropped pants that are covered in grass stains.

She could've sworn she washed those pants this morning...

"I'm sorry, Asta, but I can't."

He groans, flopping back onto the grass. Sister Lily giggles, fixing the basket she has resting on her hip.

"Why not?"

"You know why, silly. I'm a nun."

"So?" He draws out the syllable, flipping onto his back to get a better look at her.

"It means that I practice celibacy."

Asta's eyebrows knit together in confusion as he casts a glance in her direction.

"Celery?"

She laughs, shaking her head as she walks over towards the clothing line.

"It means that I abstain from marriage and things of that nature."

"That doesn't make any sense though!" Asta exclaims, "If you're not supposed to get married, then why do you have a soul mark?"

Sister Lily glances to her left wrist where her soul mark resides. It's a small sunflower that's nestled in the center of her wrist. A brief memory flutters through her mind, taking her back to the day it first appeared. She had just received her grimoire and with it, her soul mark. Back then, she didn't know much about soulmates, but over time she's become well acquainted with the subject.

"That's because there's more than just one kind of soulmate."

He rolls to his feet, walking towards her.

"What do you mean?"

She grabs a piece of damp linen from her basket and two wooden clothespins.

"Most often when we think of soulmates we think of romantic love, like the marriage between two people. The truth is that soulmates are much more than that."

Sister Lily pins it in place, turning to grab another piece of damp laundry only for Asta to grab it for her. He places it in her hands with a warm smile.

"Soulmates are people that we have a natural affinity with, almost like an extension of yourself. Our soulmates can be our friends, our families, even the people we least expect them to be."

"How?"

Sister Lily glances to Asta, who is watching her with curious eyes. She sifts through her thoughts for an answer. After a moment, another flicker of a memory hits her.

"I once helped out this woman," she begins, "she was an older woman who lived in a village just east of here. She had one of the kindest souls I've ever met. That and she loved pot-potatoes."

Asta laughs.

"One night, while we were preparing dinner for some orphaned children, I saw her soul mark. It was a beautiful sparrow. I asked her if she had ever met anyone with the same mark as her."

"Did she?"

"Yes. Her two daughters.

Asta's eyes go wide, nearly bulging out of his skull.

"Really?"

"Yes. On the day they were granted their grimoires, the same little sparrow appeared on their wrists."

"How is that possible? I thought you can only have one soulmate."

"You can have multiple soulmates, Asta. Just like there are multiple kinds of soulmate bonds, and for that woman, it was a familial one shared with her daughters."

"Then why did she only have one soul mark?"

"That's because everyone has only one soul mark. A soul mark can be shared among soulmates, but they will only ever possess the one mark."

"What if someone has two soul marks?"

Sister Lily grabs a few more clothes pins from Asta's hand, moving to hang a few more pieces of damp laundry.

"I don't know Asta, no one has ever had two soul marks before."

"Do you think that I'll have two soul marks?"

Sister Lily laughs, shaking her head.

"No, but I believe that you'll have at least one soul mark."

He's always known that someday he'll have his own soul mark, after all everyone has one, yet hearing Sister Lily say it fills him with a rush of exhilaration.

"I can't wait till I get my grimoire... and my soul mark! It'll look exactly like yours and once I get it, I'll make you proud and become the Wizard King! After that I'll definitely marry you!"

"That's a sweet sentiment Asta, but like I said before, my answer is no."

Asta groans, falling to his knees for what feels like a hundredth time today. His heart races with the familiar sting of rejection, but he won't let it get to him. He's not going to give up on marrying her.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't have a romantic soulmate, at least I don't believe I do."

"Then what do you believe?"

"I know that I have a soulmate." Sister Lily pins the last of the laundry to the clothes line. "Or multiple soulmates. I don't know who they are or what they'll mean to me, but deep down I know that no matter what, I will cherish them.

A bright smile bursts across Asta's face, the familiar thrum of excitement running through his core.

"Does that mean that you'll cherish me?"

She giggles, reaching out and tapping the tip of his nose.

"I'll always cherish you Asta. You and the other children."

His mouth falls open, cheeks bright red as he stares at her with wide eyes. It doesn't take much to get his imagination running wild, yet with every shallow breath he can imagine it all. The day he receives his grimoire, the matching sunflower that forms on his wrist. After that he'll become a Magic Knight, working his way through the ranks until he becomes the Wizard King. He'll prove to the kingdom that commoners like him are capable of great things.

Once he achieves all that, he'll return to Hage, he'll return to Sister Lily.

Getting down on one knee, he'll look her in the eye and offer her a single sunflower. Her beautiful blue-green eyes will sparkle due to the setting sun, complimenting her rosy cheeks.

"Sister Lily, please marry me!"

His heart is pounding against his ribcage as the mental image fades, but the warmth in his body continues to lick across his body and soul. In a desperate attempt to recreate that beautiful image, Asta grabs the bottom of her ruffled apron, looking up at her with hopeful eyes.

"Marry me!"

The raven hair woman yelps in surprise, stumbling back into the clothes line. Instinctually her grimoire flickers open as she shouts a familiar spell:

"Water Creation Magic: Holy Fist of Love!"

A swirl of water forms midair, creating a large closed fist that launches towards the eager ash blonde. It hits him square in the chest, sending him flying backwards onto the ground with a thud.

"Eeeek!" He yelps, pushing sopping wet hair out of his eyes.

"I'm sorry Asta! I used the magic from my grimoire without even thinking!"

"It's okay Sister Lily," he flashes her a dazed smile, "that doesn't change how I feel about you."

Closing his eyes, his mind races back into the depths of his imagination, latching onto that beautiful scene. The wind flutters through her black veil and exposed bangs, framing her cheeks. With a warm smile, she tucks a loose piece of hair behind Asta's ear.

"Of course I'll marry you Asta! You're my soulmate!"

A giggle escapes his lips as the image melts away once more, leaving him with an even stronger desire to win her heart. After all, Sister Lily already has his.

"I'll win you over some day, I just know it!"

Everything burns.

Everything about this magic region screams fire... because that's exactly what this mana is... fire. Hot lava exploding from the earth's crust, searing everything in its path as it inches towards the bottom of the volcano. It's red hot, emitting a scorching heat that surely would melt Asta's skin if he gets too close to it.

Every time he swings his anti-magic sword, the raw mana filling the air replenishes itself. He's tired, he can feel it in his bones, but he has to keep going. He needs to make it to the peak of the volcano.

Taking another step, Asta's leg gives out beneath him and he falls onto his hands and knees. Squeezing his eyes shut, he takes a gasping breath, ignoring the searing pain burning his throat. Everything's dry, everything hurts .

I don't think I can make it up there after all...

"Then quit."

Asta's eyes immediately shoot open, locking on the hot earth below him. His heart is pounding against his ribcage, not in fear or shock, but confusion.

"Only a fool without magic such as yourself would try to scale an active volcano. Here I thought that a rookie like you had something going for him. Seems you only got here because of sheer luck."

Asta clenches his fist, turning to look at her.

Is he dreaming or did Captain Mereoleona, leader of the Crimson Lion Kings, insinuate that all of his hard work up until this point was nothing but luck? That his days spent working himself to the bone to grow stronger was nothing but life dealing him a few cards?

"Do yourself a favor and climb down."

No. He isn't dreaming. Even if he were, no one gets to criticize his hard work... No one but himself.

He hasn't got here because of 'sheer luck.' How could he if luck has never been on his side? There's no way he could achieve his dream of becoming the Wizard King that way. The only way to earn that title and defeat his rival is to work hard and get results. He isn't going to wait around for luck, after all, that's Yuno's thing.

"I'm not leaving."

Asta releases a ragged breath.

"What I want--no, what we want-- isn't something achieved through luck." Getting to his feet, he turns towards Mereoleona, knuckles white. "I am going to get to the top...my dream depends on it!"

An animalistic smirk crosses her features.

"Then you better get moving!"

Without even blinking, she breaks into a sprint, darting through the chaotic landscape as if she were a cheetah darting through a savannah. A warm red glow envelops her body and with a leap, she surges into the sky.

Glancing down to his sword, an oddly familiar sensation begins to build within him. Almost like pins and needles working their way up his arm until and throughout his body. Closing his eyes, he takes a deep breath, allowing himself to become one with the sensation.

"Stay calm, Asta. If you can't use your strength or anti-magic to get up there, then there has to be another way to get up there."

The sensation pulses through his veins as a dull thrum, reminding him of the days spent swinging his sword in the forest outside Hage village. He was training to become a Magic Knight, and look where that's gotten him. A junior class Magic Knight who fought two terrorists and saved an entire forest of witches.

"My new power! The one that happened in the forest! I don't remember much of what happened since I blacked out, but there has to be some way to access it."

Taking another deep breath, leaning into the sensation some more. It almost feels like a warm hug.

"I remember now... I almost died. That's why I blacked out."

Turning to the lava, he briefly considers jumping in it, wondering if maybe that'll activate it.

"No, that's just stupid. I can't use my power if I don't know how it works!"

The thrum is deep in his core now. It's white hot, almost like a mix between pain and pleasure. A part of him wonders if it's screaming at him, begging him to make some use of it.

"That's it! I just need to understand my power more! Maybe if I channel my ki..."

Closing his eyes, he fully gives into the sensation. Instinctually, he lifts his sword and grabs the other end. Soon the power within his body seems to swirl through him like a wind current. That's when he notices it... deep within him, that white hot pain, is a rubber band that's getting ready to snap.

About time.

An instantaneous surge of energy lights his blood on fire. His face twitches and the right side of his body morphs into something he can only describe as inky black.

The sword in his hand thrums with newfound purpose, almost like it's searching for something to prey upon. Immediately he surges into the air, flying hard and fast past the fiery landscape of the volcano. Shouts of surprise escape his lips as a mass of living fire appears before him.

"Come on!" Shouts Leopold Vermillion to his fellow squadmates, only to be interrupted by a flying Asta who destroys the creature with his sword.

Asta barely recognizes the shout of his name as he goes flying towards the peak of the Yultim Volcano.

"Stop! Stop! Stop! Please! I don't want to die like this!"

Wind whips through his hair until he's finally at the top, circling through the air like a predator preparing to strike its prey. He can't tell what he's searching for, yet something inside of him already knows. Lurching forward, his body soars through the air with the speed of a hawk.

"You better get out of the way!"

The target of his power, Captain Mereoleona, stands on an island in the middle of a lava lake, a wicked grin on her lips.

"You fool! As if! Don't you know that the female lions are the hunters?" A burst of flame magic explodes from her body. In an instant she launches into the air with incredible speed, poising for the attack.

Grinding his teeth, he prepares for the blow soaring in his direction, but it never comes. She disappears without a trace.

Where did she go?

"Flame Magic..." His eyes go wide as she appears beside him. "Calidos Brachium!"

A fist collides with his cheek, sending him flying. His back collides with something hard, taking the brunt of the impact. Pain radiates up his body and his new power suddenly disappears.

"Hey, Kid! You still alive down there?"

Captain Yami's voice brings him back to the present. A groan escapes his lips.

"Yeah! She's definitely Fuegoleon's sister!"

Asta gets to his feet, rolling his shoulders. His body hurts, yet an invigorating buzz seems to partially numb the pain.

"It seems like you're starting to understand yourself better..." Captain Mereoleona comments, narrowing her eyes. "But you're not done yet!"

She's right. I couldn't control my power, but I was able to use it. If I hope to be the Wizard King someday, I've got to learn how to control it and become stronger. In order to do that, I've got to pass that Royal Knights Exam next week.

"I won't let you down!"

Mereoleona offers him a sincere, almost kind smile. She turns and walks away.

He releases an almost relieved sigh, closing his eyes and leaning back into the rock wall behind him.

"Asta!"

He opens his eyes at the sound of Yuno's voice. It takes him a moment before he spots his rival using his wind magic to cross the lava lake. He lands a couple feet away from him.

"Hi Yuno"

"I see that you made quite the entrance."

"Yeah, well, unlike everyone else, I don't have the magic necessary to get up here. I was having a hard time getting up here, but then I remembered that I gained this really cool power that is super cool and-"

Yuno chuckles, interrupts Asta's nervous ramblings.

"I'm glad you could make it up here. It would've been a shame to enjoy the hot spring without you."

Asta's cheeks grow a shade darker in embarrassment.

"O-Of course I made it up here!" He stutters, trying to regain his composure. "I'm not just going to sit around and let you enjoy a hot spring without me! Someone's gotta enjoy it more than you!"

"Oh Asta," he sighs, "only you would take something like that as a challenge."

"Of course I would take that as a challenge someone has too-- Hey!"

Yuno laughs and for a brief moment, Asta swears that his rival was smiling at him. He can't believe his eyes... and yet... a part of him wants too.