Wilhelm fell to the ground on the other side of the portal, barely registering that he had fallen through one as the mana from the gem coursed through him and brought pain with it. The teen struggled to breathe at all as another vision entered his head.
Wilhelm collapsed as the mana exploded around him and the vision began to be the only thing his mind could register.. The teen went unconscious as someone went up to the teen and pulled out their grimoire.
"... I bet they're scared. Just like us." He spoke to the younger person next to him. "We're similar, but they don't know that, so they fear us." He paused for a second. "We're both given grimoires by this land, we should be able to understand each other, but..."
At that point he stopped speaking, taking notice of rapid winds close by.
"It's a tornado. Natural mana running wild..." He commented, before noticing something in the tornado and instantly jumped up from his position and rushed forward to get to the situation at hand.
"/8'-5!" The teen he left yelled his name as the man ran towards the rapid winds.
The man had his grimoire appear quickly as he jumped up at the tornado, the book opening to a spell as he said the name of the technique, a golden sword appearing in his hand. "Sword Magic: Origin Flash!"
At the same time, he heard someone else simultaneously use their own spell on the other side of the tornado. "Light Magic: Lamp of Avior!"
He swung the golden sword at the tornado, it giving off a dazzling light as it slashed through the mana infused weather. Combined with the spell cast by the other person, they both destroyed the tornado and freed the person trapped within it. The man caught the person before they could fall, holding them in his arms gently as he landed on the ground without so much as a stumble.
He looked at the person, a woman with vermillion hair and vibrant yellow-green eyes. "Are you all right?"
The woman looked up at him with amazement. "Y-yes! Thank you very much!"
Someone landed on the ground close to them. "Tetia!" He was speaking to the woman the sword magic user was in the middle of setting on her feet. "Sneaking out of the castle without permission... and you have Wind Magic. What was all that about?" He referred to her getting caught in a tornado of all things.
"Big brother!" Tetia showed surprise at her brother being there.
At that moment, both men noticed the other's grimoire, and the intricate designs that covered them. Most importantly they saw the other had a four leaf clover, and realized they had met someone else who was chosen by mana.
Barely an hour after he had been taken and had fallen unconscious, Wilhelm shot up to a sitting position.
"Well that was quicker than I thought." A tired voice commented from near Wilhelm. "So what'd you see?"
"I-..." The teen stopped himself from answering as his vision returned and he saw that he was in what looked like another bedroom, set on the bed while the person who spoke sat at a chair close by. He looked at the man and asked his own questions. "Where am I? Who are you?"
The person who spoke was a man with messy black hair that had latches of white in random spots, and a tired expression. He wore a white cloak with blue edges over a dark blue outfit held together with a purple robe, and a light blue scarf around his neck. He had a red tattoo along the left side of his face. He gave Wilhelm a half unserious expression and replied. "I think you know the answer."
Wilhelm looked at the man for a second and realized who he was looking at. "Raia?!" The man was almost the spitting image of the person he saw in his vision
The man clapped his hands together. "So you do actually remember me… that's good in a way."
"Remember you? So these are memories I am having?! They're not some sort of visions of the future?!"
"Is that what those scum are thinking?" Raia asked. "I could explain everything but I don't really know how much I can disclose. First I need to know what you just saw when I gave you that magic stone."
"You gave me the magic stone? Why?"
"Aye aye aye," Raia held up his hands in a motion to get Wilhelm to stop. "I said I'll explain later depending on things. What'd you see exactly?"
The teen stared at the man who was asking him questions and thought for a second. He wanted answers to his own questions but had to accept the fact that this man wasn't budging on his own part of the conversation. So he has to speak first.
"I was talking to someone… I didn't get their name but I said something about another group of people who I thought were scared but just like us. About us both being from that land and getting grimoires and wanting us to understand each other. Then a tornado appeared that had a woman trapped in it. I used my magic to save her and catch her…" Wilhelm paused as he processed who the woman was. "Wait, that was Mimosa again!"
Raia showed an odd expression at the mention of Mimosa, but nodded to the information he was given. "What magic spell did you use, did you catch the name?"
"It was sword magic, but that's not even my actual magic."
Raia stood up, gaining a sad expression for a reason Wilhelm didn't understand. The man looked at the teen for a second before walking to a door out of the room. "I'll be back."
Wilhelm stood up, and realized his arm was somehow healed back to normal, his right arm in no amount of pain like it was prior to being taken from the capital. He ignored that and followed the man out of the room. "Hey! Wait!"
As the teen entered the other room, he saw two more people who were sitting at a table that Raia approached.
One of the two people was a very tall and muscular man with long blond hair and a blond beard with sharp teeth. He had a red tattoo like Raia, his tattoo however crossing horizontally under his eyes and over the bridge of his nose. His clothing consisted of a short-sleeved vest, light colored pants, and a pair of sandals, but no shirt which left his powerful physique on display.
The other was a young girl, around Wilhelm's own age if not slightly older. She had thick, wavy, pink hair that fell just below her shoulders, and large sea-green eyes. In the center of her forehead was a purple, multi-faceted stone that is framed by a red tattoo. Her clothing consisted of a high collared, furry maroon dress beneath the standard light hooded robe of her group, with open-toed, knee-high boots.
Wilhelm did a double take as he saw her.
"Fana?" He swore that she was Fana, even if a second glance would prove she looked younger than in his visions.
The two people who were sitting at the table had a confused expression as Raia entered the room and they heard yelling, but both gained shock when Wilhelm said Fana's name. They both stared at him and the girl was the first to speak.
"You… remember my name?" The girl asked, confirming she was in fact Fana.
"He woke up?" The muscular man asked Raia.
"Yes, well partially, he remembers enough that I know who he is without a doubt." Raia stated.
"What am I remembering exactly?!" Wilhelm asked. "Why do you look the same age as those visions but Fana and Mimosa look years younger?!"
"He's not completely awake, I take it?" The muscular man asked another question.
"It seems like he's waking up slowly, thanks to the magic stones. This kid however is still calling the shots."
"So who is he?" Fana asked. "Is he who we think?" Her downtrodden look lost its edge and looked a bit hopeful at the question.
"Should we really speak around him if he isn't exactly clear headed?" The muscular man asked.
"What's going on exactly?!" Wilhelm shouted to make everyone look at him. "You all are talking like I forgot who I am?! Who am I then?! Tell me!" He had anger edging into his voice by the end of it.
"The kid is a bit restless." The muscular man commented.
"The humans from his original land caused him a lot of grief and so the kid is edgy as hell." Raia explained as he turned to Wilhelm who only looked more pissed at not having any answers. "How you are connected to the Magic Stones though is not exactly known, but why you are is known now, or at least I can take a jab at it."
"Can I explain it?" A new person asked as a door was opened. Everyone turned to see a man in a massive robe, with designs similar to those found in the other three's clothing.
The newcomer had red crescent tattoos with three buds framing the sides of his eyes, and two red dots above his eyes instead of eyebrows. His long hair was braided back into several long extensions and a headpiece Wilhelm hadn't seen anything like before, covering the man's forehead with an eye etched into the center. His own clothing consisted of dark and light colored robes that covered most of his body except for his hands and head, with a larger, white hooded robe that covered his other clothing.
Wilhelm found his clothing a bit much, or on the lines or someone like Julius who was clearly a leader if you put them in their outfit next to someone else. It was also possible this man was just a royal or noble who overdid trying to show the fact that they were someone of that status.
"I'm sure you want your questions answered Wilhelm, but I do require my own level of answers before we can properly explain things." The man spoke calmly as he walked in. "It wasn't easy to find the right moment to talk to you either, once we knew we had reasons to talk to you."
"Who even are you people?" Wilhelm asked.
"We can't really properly explain that. You need to wake up more for that." The man answered apologetically.
"What do you mean I need to wake up more?" The teen asked.
"In the easiest way to explain that, you're still asleep. Your name isn't actually Wilhelm either… That's a name you must've given yourself after you forgot yourself."
The teen narrowed his eyes. "I didn't name myself." He spoke bitterly. His name was something he had confusion over in the past. He knew full well that he didn't give himself that name, it was given to him. He remembered vaguely that someone told him his name was Wilhelm, he just couldn't remember who that person was.
The man didn't take offense at Wilhelm's bitterness or tone. "Right, I apologize. However it isn't your only name. Those memories you have been receiving from the magic stones are your true life, and with it you have a true name."
"How much should we tell him before he truly wakes up?" The muscular man asked.
"Vetto, I believe that Wilhelm here deserves a few answers about himself since we dragged him out here." The robed man responded, revealing Vetto's name.
"Why do those gems give me memories?" Wilhelm asked.
"You used the stones to protect everyone that day." The man replied. "It affected everyone differently, which is why Fana looks younger than in your memory. To narrowly save us all from death you risked everything and it cost you your identity, and your mana."
"So no one died?" The teen asked. "Wait, then what about Mimosa?"
The man raised an eyebrow. "What about her?"
"Why is she younger and doesn't remember anything then? Why do you guys remember things but me and her don't? I barely understand magic but I don't think that's true that it would've only made some of us look younger. I lived a whole different life in a different world that isn't connected to this one or magic at all." He pointed at the man. "You're lying. You're hiding something and not telling the actual truth."
Raia snorted. "The kid's intuitive."
The robed man showed no negativity to Wilhelm accusing him of lying. "You are right, Wilhelm. It's a difficult subject to properly explain, especially when you aren't awake yet. Trust me however that those memories you are having will show that you did indeed use the stones and saved us. I may be murky on the details but that's for a good reason."
The teen had a hard look. "Why did you people just take me from the street? That felt like a kidnapping more than just wanting to talk."
"His lack of trust really is something." Vetto commented. "Did those humans really make him go through that much despair?"
"One of the captains showed way too much concern after reading his mind and seeing his past." Raia commented. "Either overdramatic or the kid has been through the ringer."
"Even in a different land, the humans are terrible…" Fana began to look mad. "I hate them."
Wilhelm didn't even question the part of them referring to other people as humans like that. "I already died once, sorry I don't trust mysterious people who yank me off the street."
"I apologize for that, but we don't exactly get along with people in the capital, and had to talk to you." The man in the robe responded.
"Then actually answer my questions with the truth." The teen responded flatly.
"You need to wake up more for that." The man repeated himself from earlier. "Luckily, we can help you wake up."
The teen's irritated expression changed to neutral. "How?"
"With this." The man had moved forward and placed something in Wilhelm's hand he grabbed.
The teen looked down and saw another gem, one of the magic stones, in his hand. This magic stone was a rectangular, purple stone with a crescent design etched into the front. He had enough time to register another stone being placed in his hand before the process of mana coursing through him and shocking him occured. Wilhelm clutched the gem hard as his entire body was shocked and he fell to his knees.
"Is there a way to lessen the strain?" Fana asked in concern.
"All we can do is contain the surge and heal him afterwards." The robed man responded. "It pains me to have to see him in pain but this is how we help him remember himself."
As they talked, Wilhelm heard none of it. His mind only able to focus on the pain and new memories entering his head.
The man had a content look as he sat in the grass, enjoying the light breeze of the early morning.
"Aye Licht." A voice made him turn and he saw Raia and Vetto, both of whom also had content expressions. "How are you feeling?" Raia asked as he sat beside his friend.
"Good. It's a beautiful day today. And you?" Licht responded with a smile.
"You're telling me you aren't nervous at all?" Raia ignored answering how he was, clearly content and more focused on Licht's mood. "No pre wedding jitters?"
"None at all. I'm happy and excited."
"You liar." Raia gained a flat look. "I can feel that you're nervous."
Licht laughed softly. "Right. Can't get anything past that sense of yours. I admit I'm a little nervous."
"It's a big day, I'd be concerned if you weren't." Vetto remarked, sitting on the other side of Licht from Raia.
"It's only a little bit. I'm nervous that I may not keep 53581 as happy as I want her to be." Licht explained. "She deserves the best."
"Aye aye aye," Raia poked Licht in the chest. "Don't act like she doesn't instantly light up at the sight of your goofy face."
"As long as you keep in mind trying to do the best for her, I have no doubt you'll be fine." Vetto added.
Licht smiled before giving another light laugh. "You guys are right. I have no reason to worry. Today will be a good day."
Everyone was in awe as Licht stood in the middle of the tower, his grimoire appearing before him for the first time. The golden cover with intricate designs gave off a golden glow that made the four leaf clover on the front stand out.
"It's a four-leaf grimoire!" Someone exclaimed. "Licht of Sword Magic was chosen by a four-leaf grimoire!"
"What's a four-leaf grimoire mean?"
"It's a grimoire with good fortune inside it!"
"Only the chosen can obtain a four-leaf."
Licht looked at his grimoire and smiled, feeling honored at being blessed by mana.
Licht stumbled through the bloodied grass and towards her, praying to the spirits that she had survived.
"TETIA!"
The child stared ahead as he sat on the cold ground, his knees pulled up to his chin. The rain dropping hard on the sheet of plywood he used for a makeshift roof drowning out the sounds of his stomach growling. He couldn't do anything about it until the storm passed, the kid barely having enough layers to stay warm in his small spot out of the rain.
All he could do was look forward into the storm and wait. After a few hours of this his expression became dead and he stopped processing time, lost in his own thoughts, a vast majority of them consisting of negativity about his situation. A train of thoughts that was more than common for him to have every day. His life was a cycle of constantly being in the territory of close to over if he didn't secure scraps to keep it going until the next time he had to secure a possibly smaller amount of scraps was making the teen become disheartened at trying to continue this cycle. As his thoughts entered the territory of attempting to convince himself to call it quits, he let out a long exhale that only left him feeling more tired mentally.
"Why…" Wilhelm muttered as his eyes began to tear up. "Why am I here?"
He heard a few machines beeping. Nothing was visible but the air felt cold and tense. He felt someone breathing hard and then they spoke softly.
"Hello Wilhelm…"
With a gasp, Wilhelm woke up and shot up, once again in the bed he had awakened in before.
"Do you always wake up like that?" Raia asked, while eating an apple. He only got a slightly irritated look from Wilhelm before Raia gave a chuckle. "Relax kid. You're always edgy."
Wilhelm was about to speak, but before he began coughing horribly, blood coming up and coating his hand he tried to cover his mouth with. The red liquid had also begun to leak from his nose and the kid felt light headed.
"Flame Recovery Magic: Phoenix Feathers Robe." Fana used a spell, having also been in the room, to coat Wilhelm in a robe of flames that began to heal him.
"Relax kid. You had a worse reaction to this stone than the others." Raia spoke. "It seems every stone gets a stronger and stronger reaction with you."
"We should wait before giving him another." Fana suggested with concern. "This time he was unconscious for five hours."
"It's possible that his body doesn't know how to react to his waking up, and is struggling with the process." Raia mused. "We'd definitely be better off taking it slower to let his body adapt."
"With him being in a unique situation we really should have thought to be careful too." Vetto pointed out.
"Yea yea. We kinda rushed it." Raia waved his hand.
Once again Wilhelm tried to speak, and ended up coughing again.
"Please stop pushing yourself." The girl healing him asked.
Wilhelm, true to his nature of not caring about his own health, tried to speak again. "You called me the name Licht," He pointed at Raia at that point. "Is that supposed to be what you people think is my real name?"
At the mention of that name, Raia actually dropped the fruit he was eating. The room became dead quiet for a solid five seconds, broken by Vetto.
"You heard your name?" The man asked, leaning forward in his chair.
"What was the context exactly?" Raia asked.
Wilhelm had no reason to act distrusting of them at the moment, especially with Fans currently using her flame magic to make his body stop feeling like it had when he was drowning back in his original life. "I had different memories… the first one was me sitting in a field and you two," he pointed at Raia and Vetto, "showed up and asked me how I was feeling because I had a wedding later that day."
"The day of your wedding is what you remembered again? Are all the memories you are getting from that day?" Raia asked.
"It is the day he had to use the magic stones." Vetto pointed out
"I didn't just see that day." Wilhelm stated. "I saw me, or Licht, getting a grimoire that had four leaves on it."
Vetto gained a soft smile. "That was a pleasant day…"
"The show-off didn't even try to brag about it either." Raia looked at Vetto and laughed. "He had a smile and of course had to say something about how we're all still blessed by mana in our own ways."
At that point Fana turned off her spell since Wilhelm was in a completely healthy state now.
"That's not my grimoire though." The mana-less teen stated. "I read that our grimoires are connected to our souls and I got a different one with a different kind of magic."
"What? This?" Raia yawned and held up a book Wilhelm realized was his actual grimoire, which he was still holding when he fell through the portal hours earlier. "This book's busted though. Nothing is actually going on with it."
"But it's the grimoire that appeared to me when I was at a ceremony where people get grimoires!" Wilhelm argued, not liking that the man pointed out that his book was useless. Especially since he was told people's magic and grimoires therefore are a representation of a user.
"That may be true… Dunno how to explain that to ya." The man shrugged as he placed Wilhelm's grimoire on a nightstand next to the bed.
"What else did you remember, Licht?" Vetto asked, taking the focus back to that subject.
Wilhelm paused for a second, something not sitting right with being called Licht. "I saw the memory of that attack again, and I heard myself yell someone's name. Who's Tetia? Is that the woman I thought was Mimosa? Why does Tetia look like Mimosa?"
"Who exactly is Mimosa?" Fana asked Raia, expecting him to have the answer since he was the one who retrieved Wilhelm from the capital.
The man showed a slightly displeased look. "She's a royal blood."
"So another one is trying to get close?" Vetto asked.
"I hate her." Fana's softness she was displaying so far was instantly replaced by venom when Raia stated Mimosa's status.
"What's wrong with Mimosa?!" Wilhelm looked at Fana with a look like he was offended. "She's been nothing but helpful to me since I met her. Even if overbearingly concerned about everything I do."
"She's one of them." Fana replied like it was reason enough.
"You guys…" Raia was about to speak before he stopped and thought for a second. "You think it's possible that…"
Vetto knew where Raia was going with his thoughts. "I refuse to believe that."
"Aye I am not saying I approve of it, but think about how that whole mess happened. Very easy to assume."
Fana caught on to the meaning also. "I hate that idea."
"I do too, but think about it."
"Think about what?" Wilhelm looked at everyone with annoyance at them returning to being mysterious about everything.
"Should we tell him?" Raia asked.
"Licht isn't completely awake, so is it really safe to?" Fana responded with her own question.
"That's for the big guy to decide I guess." The tired man replied. "When does he get back?"
"Are you talking about the guy who gave me the last magic stone?" Wilhelm asked and halfway expected a vague answer.
"Yea, that's him. He's off somewhere right now but he'll probably be back in a bit if he knew you were awake."
"So I have to wait for more answers?" The teen returned to complete irritation.
"You don't know how to relax do you?" Raia asked. "Man, I can't wait for you to wake up completely and go back to being chill."
Wilhelm moved to stand up. "I want explanations and you guys are being very annoying."
"This situation isn't the best," Vetto tried to explain. "Understand that we want to tell you, Licht, but-"
"THAT'S NOT MY NAME!" Wilhelm snapped. Something in him felt anger at the claim, he didn't understand it properly but the words came out of him instinctively. That small memory of a tired voice greeting him and saying his name was put to the front of his mind.
The three people in the room looked at Wilhelm for a few seconds while processing his outburst.
"Li- Wilhelm," Raia fixed himself. "Let's stay calm here."
"No!" The teen shouted. "You all just took me off the street and forced me through more memories that gave me pain and won't actually explain anything to me!" His anger was rising more than Wilhelm meant for it to, and his eyes gained a yellow tint. "I'm tired of people talking about my life and not actually helping me!" His eyes begin to completely change to yellow and the teen began to leak out negative mana.
All three people stood up in reaction to the change in demeanor that Wilhelm displayed, and before any of them could react, a hand was placed on Wilhelm's shoulder. The teen whipped his head to see the robed man who had somehow entered the room and got right next to him without being noticed.
"The curse you ended up enduring because of your sacrifice has affected your mana." The man started. "You need to calm down before it gets out of control." The man hoped Wilhelm would begin to calm down with his presence.
Wilhelm grit his teeth. He desired so much to stay mad and use the power to beat them into giving him actual answers. However, he knew his attitude was becoming overboard, especially with this power he was gaining from his rage.
Before Wilhelm could even attempt to overcome his rage, or give in to it, his body became racked with shocking pain. The teen let out a gasp as his body began to go numb and his heart felt like it was going to explode. Unceremoniously, he began to fall over, blacking out as everyone moved to catch him.
A while later, Wilhelm began to wake up. This time he didn't shoot up and gasp, or anything to show he was waking up. The only way someone would know if he was awake was if they saw the teen open his eyes.
The teen stared at the ceiling as his mind began to gather itself, and heard talking from the other room, the door between them not being closed giving him the chance to hear things.
"Since we have a moment to actually talk now, I think we should actually discuss… Mimosa I think the name was." He heard Raia speak.
"What is there to discuss?" Wilhelm heard the leader ask.
"You know what I mean. I doubt it's a coincidence she happens to look like Tetia."
"There's no way it's a coincidence." Vetto added.
"You think I don't know that?" The leader asked. "I've seen those two interact. She is also reincarnated and I don't like it."
"I'd prefer no royals at all but you know that if Tetia was brought along, that Licht added her to this." Raia stated.
Wilhelm quickly looked at the room to see no one in there to see him, so he silently moved to get closer to the door. He was finally hearing the truth and would be damned if he didn't make sure to get as much of it as possible. Especially since this had to do with Mimosa as well.
"But why?!" The leader sounded bitter as he spoke. "She was one of them."
"She should've been left to die." Fana added.
"Aye aye aye…" Raia replied. "We can't get angry with Licht over that. There's two factors you guys are letting be ignored. One; she was attacked just the same as us. Two; Licht absolutely loved that woman. Hell, half of his memories he has been getting back have been about her."
It was silent for a bit after Raia spoke, and Wilhelm halfway wanted to peek around the door to see why it was silent. He ignored the thought and soon the leader of that group spoke again.
"She was pregnant with his children. She was killed the same as us because of that, no doubt." He sighed heavily. "In their eyes I suppose it's possible her being a royal was revoked and she was viewed like us."
It was silent for a small gap of time again, and Fana broke it this time. "She was going to leave them to join us, and Licht, after their wedding."
"So there, she was betrayed just like us." Raia sounded cocky that he got everyone to agree with his points.
"The two have shared odd interactions, I watched them during the time that they crossed the kingdom to get to Kiten…" The leader started. "You think she also is capable of waking up when we have everything prepared?"
"Maybe that's what drew them to each other?" Vetto asked.
"It's possible. And Licht is also drawn to the stones… why are those helping him wake up exactly?" Raia asked his own question.
"He used them to start the spell. To use such a large spell must have wounded him deeply. Every time he interacts with a stone I feel his mana stirring." The leader spoke. "He's not waking up as much as he is recollecting himself."
"So the stones are holding pieces of himself? That fits everything so far." Raia went along with it. "So how does Wilhelm fit that? Mana-less foreign kid and Licht being connected feels off."
Wilhelm gained a confused look. He thought he was supposed to be Licht who forgot himself, but now they're implying that he and Licht were separate people. He believed that at one point, that those weren't his own memories, but these people tried to convince him that he was Licht but asleep. His belief that he was being lied to was proven right then, and not that they were just avoiding the complete truth.
"Because he is mana-less. Think about it," The leader spoke. "He's an empty cup. For someone as great as Licht it fits."
"What if he is actually Licht though?" Fana asked.
"What do you mean? They have different grimoires, can't be." Raia replied.
"I mean… Licht used the spell to save us and he possibly split himself, and Wilhelm is a piece of him." Fana explained her thinking.
"That could explain the kid living a life and dying, and coming here. Licht's soul can't move on to the afterlife because of the spell and how he isn't whole anymore. It ended up in a land where mana is non-existent for whatever reason, and shot back to this land after the other death." Vetto offered.
"So he had to suffer through a life like that? Some sort of price for the spell?" Raia asked. "Enough pain to make Licht, one of the most positive people we know, become insanely bitter, distrusting and angry?"
Wilhelm gained an annoyed look at how Raia described his personality and wanted to say something, but also knew the man wasn't exactly wrong. He tried to question their assumption that he was a fragment of Licht. He was against the idea that he wasn't his own person and identity, but at the same time felt like it would explain his shitty luck and how he ended up in the Clover Kingdom.
"Does this fragmentation have anything to do with his use of negative mana?" Vetto asked. "He used a relatively unknown kind of magic to use a massive spell."
"His usage of mana is chaotic and messy. It's possible that he can't use his mana because of his not being completely together." The leader spoke. "Also explains his reacting horribly to it earlier. His mana is negative because of the spell's influence and it not being whole yet. I believe it will become normal once he gathers all the stones."
"That will be some time likely… and he may end up using the mana again and injuring himself." Raia stated.
"I hate that idea." Fana commented. "We should do something to prevent that from happening."
"The seal I have," The leader started. "You three use that same one and place it on him, but at a higher level. Completely seal off his mana until we have all the stones and can restore everything."
"Should we place it on him now?" Vetto asked. "Before he wakes up?"
"Would make it easier. The kid seems like the exact kind of person to not want even the broken mana taken away from him." Raia stated.
The man was right, as Wilhelm instantly hated the idea that he would lose access to the mana. Even if this mana had caused him to become a barbaric animal who was guided by rage, it was his only kind of mana! Even if it was possible to make it normal like the other's, there was no way to know how long that would be! It could be days, weeks or years!
The kid stopped himself right there. He had to avoid being mad because he knew he would possibly begin using negative mana and he had no control yet. He remembered how no one could actively sense him because of his lack of mana, and this negative mana only appeared in him at the times he used it, meaning he was still undetectable. He assumed that since no one seemed to notice him crossing a room and being by the door for that long.
He thought for a second, part of him questioning whether or not it was the right call to panic and try to jump ship here and now. Would it be better to work with these people? Or would it be better to attempt running out of this situation? They seemed to genuinely care about his safety.
No they didn't. They cared about Licht's well-being, not Wilhelm's. The teen wasn't sure if he was actually Licht or who he had believed himself to be for so long, but he didn't want to receive any sort of care because of who people thought he was, rather than who he actually was. And Wilhelm himself didn't even know who he was truly. His life had been nothing but misery with no answers and while these people had answers, he wasn't sure if these were the truth, or just their belief of the truth. With all the confusion in his head, the teen threw it all out and made the choice to follow his instincts, and his instincts told him that there was something off about these people.
With that, Wilhelm decided he needed a way out. He was not an idiot and knew he couldn't stand a chance fighting four mages while he himself was completely unarmed and had no way to consciously use that negative mana. He however could run if he was undetectable, and even if he wasn't, it was his best option in this scenario. He turned around the room hoping for an answer to his problem and saw a window. The shutters were shut but that didn't matter as he moved across the room, grabbing his grimoire on the way.
A moment later, the four others entered the room, and saw the room empty and the window wide open.
The leader stared at the window and his normally calm look gained slight irritation. "Find him."
The teen jumped over a fallen tree and broke through the tree line. He hadn't quit running since he had jumped out the window. It was in the middle of the night, and the teen had begun running east from his guess, which he made using the position of the moon. He chose east since he knew that the royal capital was on the eastern side of the kingdom, and he could look for it better if he hit the coast. That is, if he hadn't ran into a town or location of people that can help him get back there.
As he ran across the field the teen tripped, a lower part of the ground rising enough in the grass that his foot crashed into it and made him stumble. He worked with his momentum and kept himself from smacking into the ground. He cursed as he began to properly run again, knowing that he needed to absolutely make distance and not be spotted since one of them had spatial magic. He didn't know which one it was, although he wanted to assume Raia.
As the teen made his way out of the field and back into the trees, he heard something to his right and the hairs on his neck stood up. Instinctually, he leapt forward and narrowly dodged a large mass that moved through the spot he had just been in.
The teen didn't bother to try to see what it was, and kept running, only to see the large mass appear on his left, running alongside him.
"You move fast for a scrawny kid." Vetto remarked as he easily matched Wilhelm's stride. "Fun's over though."
Wilhelm didn't respond as he felt another instinct tell him to dodge again, and the teen dodged towards his left, behind Vetto's position. He once again narrowly dodged the man's attempt at grabbing him, and began to run in the direction he was facing, which was north.
"That's a sharp mind, Licht. Reincarnation hasn't made you rusty at all." Vetto commented as he changed his direction to match Wilhelm's.
Wilhelm was about to yell that Licht wasn't his name, but the teen fell through a portal that opened on the ground in front of him, and crashed into a tree on the other side. He had ran full force into the tree, breaking his nose and tumbling over onto his back.
"Sorry kid. Had to daze you to get ya to stop." Raia said as the teen walked to stand above Wilhelm. He held up a communication tool. "Aye I got the kid."
Wilhelm quickly twisted himself to try to kick Raia in the shin, and instead his foot went through a portal and slammed into his own back. The teen yelped from the reversal.
"Aye kid… I can use spatial magic." Raia sighed. "That means I can just make you smack yourself and keep you from leaving."
Someone walking up to them spoke. "I was about to grab him." It was Vetto.
"I know, but this way he should actively know he lost this game of tag." The spatial magic user replied, getting a nod of understanding from his friend.
Wilhelm tried to get up from the ground, and saw Fana and the leader both approaching too. He cursed internally that he was only able to get five minutes away and have them catch up and without real effort capture him. He began to hate spatial magic and how stupidly useful it was. The teen didn't bother to stand up, instead just sitting up.
"Wilhelm…" The leader spoke as he got within talking distance. "Why'd you run off like that?"
The teen dropped his brow into a glare. "You all keep lying to me and are trying to seal my mana!"
"So you did hear that…" The robed man paused. "So you should also have heard how we were doing it with your best interests in mind."
"You didn't ask me!"
"Wilhelm. That's negative mana. It's cursed and leaves a negative impact on you physically and mentally."
"I don't care!" The teen snapped. "That's my mana! I almost died in Crete and got that to barely survive! I earned whatever damned mana I got!" His irises began to gain a yellow tint, something the adults noticed.
"I told you he would be stubborn about it." Raia yawned as he looked at his robed ally.
The robed man lowered himself to be eye level with Wilhelm, only a meter away from him at most. "Wilhelm, I understand how you feel about earning that mana. You fought hard in Crete and deserve nothing but good things for your efforts… but negative mana is not something that is good. We all want to fix your mana, believe me I want nothing but good things for my friends… but right now we have to hide away that mana that the stones are returning to you in order to protect you until it is all returned." He spoke softly, hoping to slow the progress of negative mana he could feel was building up in the teen.
Wilhelm kept his gaze on the man and didn't speak for a few seconds. "I don't care."
"Li- Wilhelm…" Fana fixed herself. "It's nothing but destructive to yourself to try to use that mana."
"Every other day something bad happens to me anyways," The teen responded. "I. Don't. Care." His irises became completely yellow and the red markings near his eyes began to slowly fade into sight.
"Question," Vetto looked to the others, and they looked to him. "Sealing it would be easier if he had it out right?"
"Well, yea it'd be easier to stick a seal on something that he's filled with and using." Raia shrugged. "That's only if he is conscious though and we didn't have as much time."
"We're not letting him use it!" Fana opposed the idea.
"I was just thinking… the kid wants to keep his power and we want to seal it for his own good…" Vetto began. "Let him fight for it."
"Fight?" The leader looked at his friend with a raised eyebrow.
"If he can best even one of us, he has control to avoid harming himself doesn't he?"
"Possibly." The leader responded, before turning to Wilhelm. "Are you willing to accept that?"
The teen, knowing full well that he was slowly building up the mana, thought for a second. He knew it gave him vastly increased strength and speed, but his attacks became sloppy and straightforward. However he can easily become too much for someone to counter, like James. The teen realized he didn't have his sword, a main component of how he fought, but knew this was his only way to keep the mana. With or without proper training this was the only option he had and he had to fight. "Yes."
"My idea, so I will be your opponent." Vetto held out a hand to help Wilhelm up, which the teen ignored to help himself up.
"Let's have this back in that field." Raia said without hesitating to open a portal right below Wilhelm, dropping the kid back in the field he had almost tripped in. The others walked out of a normal portal seconds later and Raia had a smug grin at messing with Wilhelm how he did.
"Fair fight, no going out for blood. We're allies here after all." Vetto stated as he stood a few meters away from Wilhelm.
"If you manage to beat Vetto or show good control, we'll let you keep the mana unsealed." The still unnamed man said.
The teen didn't reply, instead he looked at his opponent and tried to think of how to use the negative mana.
Previously he used it when James injured Nero and he got hateful about the bird's state, and his inability to do anything real to prevent it. Then it got stronger fighting the Minotaur because he kept getting angry at still not being able to beat the beast. The key to this mana definitely lied in his anger and hate. So he had to consciously be angry most likely to use it. However he wasn't sure if he could actively be angry while his only intention was to simply be angry. He needed a reason to fuel the rage.
At that point, the unnamed man calmly said one word. "Begin."
Wilhelm instantly jumped to planning how to fight a man who was, by far, physically stronger than him, but before he could even move, the man moved in a flash to Wilhelm's position and slammed a fist into the kid's ribcage.
With a crack to his bones, Wilhelm was thrown backwards into the waist high grass. The kid barely processed how fast Vetto had struck and thrown him back with a single move.
"Your negative mana so far only seems to work like reinforcement mana, so I figured I could limit myself to just that." Vetto commented as he looked at the area of grass that Wilhelm had fallen onto.
"That was too hard Vetto!" Fana scolded, actually needing to be held back by the leader because he knew she may try to move forward to heal Wilhelm on impulse.
"I was holding back, and he is tougher than he looks." The man shrugged off the comment.
Wilhelm moved to get up, knowing his rub was definitely cracked if not outright broken from the force of that hit. He looked at the man with a glare as he realized how royally screwed he was. They purposely baited him into this agreement because they knew he had no chance of winning if this is the man holding back. They were looking down on him. It absolutely pissed him off that once again he was being thrown around, and something the last person to throw him around said popped into his head.
"No one else!" James shouted. "Nothing else can save you from dying here. No more having your ass saved by everyone around you!"
He gained a scowl, remembering that asshole, however the statement applied. Wilhelm had nothing to help him here. Nobody was close by, he had no Nero, he had no sword. He had absolutely nothing in this moment to help him. The thought that he could only win through sheer luck was something he had said himself once, but being forced again and again to have to think that and experience it made the teen become enraged more.
With a booming sound the teen had a rush of negative mana course through him, and change his body like it had before. His eyes, already yellow, gained the twisted glow. His dark brown hair became pale white and straightened out. The red markings on his face appeared in full force, as did the markings on his chest that glowed through his shirt. Lastly, the skin around his eyes and fingers blackened.
"STOP TOYING WITH ME!" The demonic teen yelled at Vetto.
Vetto narrowed his brow as he studied the teen. He knew the kid would absolutely go full force violence with this form, so he had to take the kid slightly seriously.
Fana and the leader both showed discomfort at seeing the teen completely use negative mana.
The only one who didn't seem concerned was Raia, who laughed. "Jeez kid, you look like a gremlin."
"I'll start taking this serious Wilhelm, if you give me a reason to." Vetto goaded the kid's rage.
Much faster than anticipated, Wilhelm shot across the distance between him and Vetto to slam a foot into the man's side.
Vetto blocked the kick however, barely budging from the force behind it. "That's getting closer."
The teen yelled in anger as he spun into another attack, trying to slam his left fist into the man, only to have the man grab his arm and throw the teen over his back with ease.
"Come on Licht!" Vetto turned to face the kid who had landed on his feet. "Your attacks are so predictable like this."
Wilhelm's scowl worsened the more he saw the gap and how every bit of the negative mana he got did barely anything to increase his odds. He was so miserably outclassed by this guy who wasn't even using his actual magic!
With another boom, the amount of negative mana in Wilhelm surged and began to grow quicker. His eyes and markings glowed brighter and the teen yelled like an animal before rushing back at Vetto.
The man braced himself as Wilhelm launched a fist, catching it with his own and not letting go. As Wilheom tried to attack with his other fist, Vetto caught it just the same and held on.
"Licht, your attacks are basic." Vetto sounded disappointed.
In response, Wilhelm yelled and jumped up with force, slamming his head into Vetto's nose and cracking it. The man loosened his grip as a result and Wilhelm planted his feet into the ground to try to throw Vetto. He moved the man off the ground and slammed him to the ground with a crash.
Without hesitation, Wilhelm moved to strike again, aiming a kick at the man's throat.
Before he could though, ropes made out of golden light grabbed his ankles, wrists and neck, and yanked him backwards to the ground.
"This is enough." The unnamed leader said as he put pressure on his magic that was restraining Wilhelm. "He is using enough for you to seal it properly now."
"I was wondering how long you were gonna let him yell like that." Raia stated.
"He certainly packs a punch like that." Vetto was already up and unconcerned with the small damage Wilhelm did to him.
"We grabbed you too soon Licht." The leader looked at Wilhelm. "We'll seal this cursed energy to prevent it from harming you more… but I think it is best for you to be sent back to those people until we are ready to reunite properly."
"You're sending him back?!" Fana looked at the man and shouted in protest.
"Why?" Vetto looked at the man as well.
"Look at him…" Raia gestured to the kid who was struggling against his bonds. "He isn't exactly in the right state of mind to join us right now."
"That doesn't mean we should let them be allowed in his presence!" Fana yelled.
The unnamed man looked at the girl. "Fana, I don't like it either. Ever since he returned he has been through event after event because of those people. However some of them believe they have a right to attachments to Wilhelm, so he will be out of danger for a while."
"Trouble seems to find him though." Vetto stated.
"True, which is why I think we will have to keep an eye on him from time to time, in case anyone oversteps their bounds."
"Don't tell me that's my job." Raia halfway groaned.
"You're the only one here who can use spatial magic." The leader replied.
"Fair."
"Are we really gonna keep talking instead of sealing his magic?" Vetto gestured with his hand to WIlhelm, who was still aggressively struggling with the magical bindings, and gaining more negative mana as he did.
"I mean… he's only getting madder and gaining more negative mana." Raia shrugged. "Easier to seal if he is emitting that large an amount."
"It is still better to seal it sooner rather than later." The leader pointed out. "I can feel him gaining just a fraction of leeway and that's not exactly ideal."
"So let's hurry." Fana spoke as the people moved into positions around Wilhelm.
The teen continued to fight against his restraints, and began to panic as he saw the people move. He needed to do something quick and needed to do it fast. He couldn't think of anything and it only fueled the mana that clouded his mind more. He had finally gotten something to put him the bare minimum closer to being on everyone else's level and he was instead made into a fool and was about to have that hard earned power taken away. It was completely unfair! Who the hell were these people to push him around, try to make him question his identity, and then take away his gift?!
His hatred grew, for people with mana this stupidly powerful that it completely blitzed him, while holding back. He yelled again as his negative mana began to morph and his yellow eyes began to shift into an orange tint, and his blackened skin began to web itself farther across his body.
Cracks began to appear across the golden bindings and the magic began to burn away where it touched Wilhelm's skin.
The unnamed man gained a shocked expression. "Hurry! He's gaining a different level of power!"
Wilhelm's eyes shifted completely to red, and black streaks appeared in Wilhelm's hair and his fingers became more claw-like. He shouted as he began to muscle his way out of the bindings, ripping one arm free as the man threw another rope of mana to try to stop the kid. The new rope was destroyed as Wilhelm gained sharp teeth and instantly bit through the magic like an animal.
"Shit!" Raia cursed.
"Now guys!" Vetto shouted
"Trinity Sealing Magic!" Raia, Fana and Vetto all shouted at the same time as they worked in unison to create multiple rings of words written in the tongue of mana that encircled Wilhelm. The rings instantly collapsed against Wilhelm and wrapped across his body
The area surged with explosions of mana and the seal fought against Wilhelm's raging mana, causing searing burns across the teen's body. He screamed in pain and rage as he tried still to fight against the spell being used on him.
The leader looked at the teen in shock, never would he have expected this mana-less foreigner to produce such a fight against them. He knew Licht was easily the most powerful among them, but his vessel who was incomplete somehow had this kind of power hidden in him?
"Dammit! Hey Fake-Licht, we need a stronger spell!" Raia looked at the man as he tried to maintain his efforts.
The robed man turned to Raia and snapped himself out of his shock. "Let go of him…"
"What?!" Everyone turned to look at him in shock.
"We have to knock him out! While he can consciously tap into that mana we can't seal it!"
"You better know what you are doing." Raia responded as everyone stopped trying to apply the spell to Wilhelm, and the teen quickly ripped apart the rest of the bindings on him.
"I'll knock him out." The leader stated as he held up a hand to point at Wilhelm. "Licht!"
The demonic teen snapped to look at the man who was referred to as a fake version of the name they kept calling him, his eyes an intense blood red that shined brightly. His appearance became more monstrous, it being night were the flames on him and his eyes stood out making the chaoticness of his situation stand out.
The teen didn't respond, except yelling like he had completely become a beast.
"I'm sorry Licht but you are corrupting yourself right now." Fake-Licht said and brought up a spell of golden light and shot a beam at Wilhelm.
Despite the spell moving at what was presumably light speed, the beast-like teen moved like a blur to dodge the attack, rushing at the man in a low stance before throwing his fist at the man.
Fake Licht disappeared in a flash, reappearing behind Wilhelm and slamming a spell into the teen's back, the force of the spell crushing him into the ground.
"That was a strong attack." Fake Licht stated, believing Wilhelm to be out cold. He was about to say for the others to attempt the spell before Wilhelm, in a blur, appeared in the man's face and slashed his claws against the man's face.
The strength behind Wilhelm's strike threw the man back, and before anyone else could react, Vetto rushed forward and slammed his fist into Wilhelm's head. He pushed hard and slammed the kid head first into the ground.
"Come on Licht!" Vetto shouted as he lifted his hand up and saw that the teen was somehow still conscious, beginning to move despite the force he was slammed into the ground. What exactly was this new mana that the kid gained that gave him this unreal level of power for a mana-less kid?
Wilhelm tried to get up and was grabbed by multiple bindings of the golden magic, thrown by both Raia and Fake Licht.
"What the hell is this kid made of?!" Raia shouted as Wilhelm began to struggle and gain ground against their combined restraints. That unnatural mana that surpassed negative mana burning the bindings and magic that touched the kid.
"Dammit…" Fake Licht cursed as he had to keep reapplying his magic. "Vetto! Keep attacking while we hold him back!"
"Got it!" He raised his fist as Wilhelm struggled to get up from the ground and escape his bindings. "I'm sorry Licht, you'll understand later."
The man then slammed his fist into Wilhelm's face, the force slamming the kid's head back into the ground. He held his fist up and saw that Wilhelm was still conscious, so he brought his fist down again with equal force, and repeated that again a third time. After the third time he held his fist again and looked at the teen, who had stopped moving, blood leaking from a wound on the back of his head and where Vetto struck him.
Wilhelm's twisted form began to melt off of him, his appearance returning for the most part to normal, save for the burn marks from the spells and the wounds Vetto gave him.
The area became silent and everyone sighed.
"Fucking hell… That kid's a monster." Raia commented.
Fana knelt next to the unconscious teen and put a hand, which was lit with the fire of her magic, to his head. "He got a concussion from that. You knocked him out after the second hit, Vetto."
"I didn't want to overdo it but damn that kid really doesn't give easy ground." The man exhaled. "Licht really ended up with an interesting vessel."
"The way he twists Licht's mana is interesting for sure. Then again I think that's just the effects of the reincarnation spell." Raia stretched his hands. "Anyways, let's seal this kid's anger issues charged mana up before the gremlin wakes back up."
"This is why I think it would be better for him to be among them." Fake Licht commented as he held up his hand to the wounds on his face that seemingly wouldn't heal. "If somehow he loses control and breaks free of his seal… He'll unleash karma upon them."
Fana looked up as she used her fire magic to patch up Wilhelm's head. "I think we should seal as much of it as possible. As much as justice should be served, I don't want to see Licht in that state again."
"Agreed." Vetto stated and Raia nodded as well.
"That is for the best." Fake Licht nodded after a second of thought. "Seal it and Raia, use a portal to leave him somewhere noticeable in the capital."
"Just unconscious? On the ground?" The man asked with a look of mild amusement and surprise. "The sun should be coming up soon so alright."
After that, the group set up to properly seal the negative mana Wilhelm was capable of using.
As the first rays of light began to rise on the horizon, a portal opened on the same street that Wilhelm had been taken from the day before, and the unconscious teen was placed on the ground before the portal disappeared.
A/N: That's the end of the kidnapped section. Tbh I almost made it into two different chapters, but this also felt good. I mean something feels off in my head, like I think I rushed through the interactions at some points. On rereading it though it feels alright enough. I had to look up multiple different chapters of Black Clover about the people in this chapter to make sure I was getting things right, and I think I did alright.
I find it funny that I never actually said Patolli's name, given that anyone who read Black Clover knew who he was this chapter. I didn't know how to name him since he went by Licht's name until the reincarnation arc, but they know Wilhelm is supposed to be Licht. Wasn't sure if he'd want to keep up the façade or go to his actual name. Calling him "Fake Licht" was funny though.
I dropped some more Licht stuff, kinda the same and stuff we all know. I enjoyed it because I think making Wilhelm be reincarnated as Licht's vessel is something of one of the better elements of the story.
More importantly, I showed part of Wilhelm's life. In case anyone wondered why, it was because I was going for a more 'chaotic' stone moment, because as Wilhelm gets more of the stones, he will have a tougher time, including with his own self. His memory of being close to giving up was something of a contrast to how Licht's life was mostly great, and how Wilhelm's was far in the opposite direction.
That second memory though? I have no comment on, because I want to build up who Wilhelm is, the slow way. Part 2 is about who and what Wilhelm is, in regards to his position in Clover, and in regards to his own identity with himself. That memory ties so importantly to the biggest moments of this part and I am excited the closer I get to those moments.
That's all I got for now. As I say at the bottom of every chapter, I have a discord server with the link in my Bio. Is a good way to talk with me about this or any other story/topic you'd like to discuss.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter, let me know how it was and have a good day!