Chapter Two: Assimilation

While Tenko's parents had attempted to teach him some simple things before he'd accidentally killed them, he had no formal education. Therefore, he knew nothing about magic, other than that it changed the lives of anyone who used it. Anti-magic? What was that even supposed to be? Magic that did things backward?

He had no words to say, so he just shook his head.

The man didn't seem very surprised about his lack of knowledge. "I don't know that much about anti-magic either, no one does. However, I did manage to learn its most important components. Anti-magic reacts violently upon being exposed to regular magic; the more of each is available, the more explosive the result. Since Keys are basically nothing but condensed magic and you more or less represent condensed anti-magic, I think you can figure out what happened from there."

It took Tenko a few seconds to work out the implications, but when he did, his head hung in shame once again. While he might not have been able to control it, it still confirmed that Tenko had been the one responsible for killing all those people.

Yet, the man kept going anyway. "Because of this, people born with anti-magic that survive using a Key are quite rare; the reaction usually kills them. Normally, they don't make the Key explode in the process, but I have a feeling that has something to do with your magic specifically. It's probably why you survived, to be honest: the reaction got cut off before it could kill you because the Key no longer existed."

If he was dead, at the very least he'd have joined his parents in the afterlife, not be on Tartarus with this man trying to make it seem like everything was going to be okay. Tenko considered running, but he had nowhere else to go. As much as this man made him uncomfortable, at the moment it was still a tiny bit better than being alone.

"Can you… can you stop? I have a lot to think about."

The words came out before Tenko could react to them, but thankfully the man didn't seem to care that much. "My apologies, I was rambling. I'm happy about all this, but I should get to the point."

Clearing his throat, the man did just that. "There's powerful magic keeping us here that you'll be the key to disrupting. It'll take time and effort, but given your abilities? You could take down that magic, and anything else that stands in our way, too."

Tenko didn't want to be here, and it looked like he never would, given his introduction to the place. While he'd seen everyone else, the only person he'd spoken more than a few sentences to was this man. How was he to know whether he wanted anything to do with anyone else, let alone set them free into the world to do as they pleased? Then again, he had to meet them first…

Even ignoring everyone else on Tartarus, there remained quite a few other things for him to figure out before he looked any further. What was expected of him here? What did having anti-magic mean for him? Who could he trust, and did it include the man he'd been talking with all this time?

What was his life going to look like, now that he'd been more or less sentenced to death?

Tenko took a few seconds to ponder all those terrifying questions, then tucked them as far back in his mind as possible. All that sounded like things to worry about in the distant future. In the meantime, however, he wanted to know something far more important. "Before that happens, where am I going to stay?"

"I'm sure just about anyone here would be happy to take you," the man said, his expression making it clear he didn't care what their wishes were. "However, since I'm the only one you've had a real introduction to, I think that I should handle it for now. Are you okay with that?"

At this point, Tenko didn't care very much, no one could replace his real parents. Plus, this man didn't seem like the kind of person who would accept no for an answer, and Tenko didn't want to know what would happen after that. Still, he found the need to ask an important question, one which he felt almost embarrassed he hadn't asked him earlier.

"If you're taking me in, what's your name?"

That question required a pause for longer than it should have. Did the man have some kind of issue with his name or something? Maybe he thought it sounded stupid?

In the end, it didn't seem to be either of those things, although Tenko still didn't know and didn't expect the man to share it with him. He seemed like someone who enjoyed his mysteries.

"Everyone here calls me All for One," All for One said. "But for now, you may call me Father."

All for One could have fashioned himself as luxurious a home as he wanted, but he didn't want others to view him as arrogant. Thus, he'd made his dwelling a little larger than was standard, but no more.

Fortunately for him, he had more than enough room to fit Tenko. He was far from the only person here who shared their living space. He even had an extra mattress for Tenko to sleep, meaning he'd need to expend little energy making sure everything was set up for him.

"This is my home," All for One said. "I'm sure I have everything you might need for now, but if there's something that's missing, please tell me and I'll try and fix it for you. Okay?"

Tenko nodded, which was good. All for One doubted things would stay this rosy for long, but a few hours of compliance worked well enough for now.

The next few hours passed in relative silence. Apart from them splitting a meager meal, they didn't spend much time together. As soon as he'd finished eating, Tenko had gone out on his own to explore the rest of the village, All for One watching from a distance as he did. His introductions to others went as smoothly as could be expected: All for One didn't have many who he called friends, but enemies were more or less nonexistent, he'd made sure of that. And anyone who tried harming Tenko would experience the full weight of his wrath, one capable of crushing even the strongest men beneath it.

Tenko returned to him when true night fell, fumbling around in the dark for a while before he reached the mattress. All for One followed soon afterward, although he had no intention of sleeping at the moment, he felt too energized for that. Instead, All for One lay awake for a bit on the mattress next to Tenko, waiting for him to fall asleep as moonlight began to filter into their dwelling.

After quite some time passed and Tenko remained just as awake as he'd started, All for One considered just calling it a night and starting to prepare in the morning, but right before his eyes closed for the final time, he heard deep, regular breathing coming from next to him, and precariously standing up found Tenko's eyes closed.

Without any hesitation, he slipped into the night, wanting to issue orders to his most trusted allies before everything could get into motion. There was still a lot he needed to do to get everyone out of here and time waited for no one.

Tenko learned a few fundamental things about his new home very quickly.

One, All for One scared everyone there, not just him. Everyone put respect on his name, and anyone not in his inner circle who dared to speak with him often failed to disguise their fear. This extended somewhat to him as All for One's surrogate son, but his young age led to them not fearing him nearly as much. Tenko was fine with that, he didn't mind being respected and didn't want to be feared.

Two, just about everyone here was angry and aggressive most of the time. They all had their reasons for it: the families they'd never see again, the people who'd turned on them and gotten them sent here, or even just the world in general. Tenko could sympathize: whenever he had time to himself, he thought of either his parents that All for One could never replace or the life he could never return to, trying his best to choke down the grief either way. He'd gotten better at it since he arrived, but wounds like that were always slow to heal; he still had a lot of work to do.

Three, while everyone here was angry and aggressive most of the time, actual fights rarely progressed very far. All for One had the uncanny ability to figure out where such events were occurring and break them up, often before the first punch was thrown. The one time a fight had escalated to using any sort of magic, after All for One separated them he didn't see either person involved for several weeks. Furthermore, when they returned, both had horrified expressions permanently etched onto their faces. All for One didn't answer when Tenko asked what he'd done with them, which was information enough.

And four, until a new path was found, the rest of his working life would be dedicated to figuring out how to escape this island prison.

All for One had explained everything about that to him after Tenko had a few days to get used to his new routine. "It's not the security that gets you, none of them are stationed here so they don't matter until after we get out. It's not the sea that gets you, anyone competent can build a seaworthy boat to counter it. The true barrier between us and escaping is the wards."

They had a long and complicated backstory behind them that All for One had shared all of, but Tenko only internalized the wards' purpose: anything could enter the area they encompassed, but nothing could leave. Including them.

So far, they'd proven an impenetrable barrier. They had no gaps to squeeze through. No amount of physical force damaged them. Temperature, lightning, and chemicals damaged them even less. None of Tartarus' residents had magic that disrupted it or even allowed them to pass through it.

"However, they weren't designed with anti-magic in mind, I'm sure of it," All for One had finished. "If you funnel anti-magic into them, they might go out far more violently than I'd like, but that's better than them remaining there until the end of time."

Tenko heard All for One say that over and over again, and every time it grew less satisfying. It took him a few days to finally ask the question, but eventually he forced it out into the open. "How do you know that?"

Fortunately, his question seemed to have a simple answer. "The odds of an anti-magic wielder capable of using their anti-magic existing at any given time are near zero. The chances of one being sent to Tartarus are even lower than that, and anti-magic can't be replicated with regular magic. Why put in so much effort and research for something that will probably never happen?"

In other words, he didn't know, he just hoped. That definitely sounded like something that would block them from progressing at the last minute. Tenko tried to put it to the back of his mind for now, but with his luck, the wards had been designed with exactly this scenario in mind.

Still, Tenko wanted to find that out as soon as possible. "When will I get to take them down?"

"Unfortunately, you're not ready yet," All for One said. "Wards take a lot of magic to make, and unless you made them, taking them down is even harder. You're going to have to train if you want to even stand a chance of destroying the ones around Tartarus."

The question to follow became instantly obvious. "What do I have to do to be ready?"

"You have to get stronger of mind, of magic, and of body," All for One said. "I'd say you've had enough time to get used to life here. Tomorrow, I'll start training you."

While Tenko had no idea what this training entailed, at the very least it'd keep his body and his mind in constant motion. The less time he had to drown in his thoughts, the better. Thus, he accepted the new development without thinking about it too much.

In this state, less thinking was probably a good thing, to be honest. He'd never forget the horrific incident he'd caused, but he'd take fewer flashbacks to it without question.

After two hundred years, All for One didn't feel the passage of time in quite the same way anymore. Therefore, establishing a functional relationship with Tenko took what felt like no time at all, his initial reluctance to viewing All for One as a father figure fading before long. Furthermore, Tenko seemed to explode in both size and strength under his tutelage, All for One remaining unaware he was just growing at the rate of an average child his age, maybe a little faster when accounting for the training.

He didn't expect that much out of Tenko at the moment, but he stood by those expectations and made sure they were met. Each day, Tenko did some light work that didn't require magic: tending to the crops, roaming the island to gather useful materials, fetching things for the adults, and other jobs easy enough for a child to pick up. Each evening, just before dinner, it was followed with some exercise designed to make him stronger and more durable: stretching, picking up and carrying large rocks, brisk walking that soon graduated into jogging, and many others. All this combined with a healthy diet and adequate sleep led to Tenko shooting up like the weeds he had to pull.

All for One smiled and encouraged him the whole way, knowing that all this time Tenko was getting closer and closer to being ready for his ultimate purpose.

He underwent some training as well during this time. Creating wards was a difficult and finicky process; not as bad as creating a Key but not by much. He'd had to scour the memories of everyone who'd ever learned of their inner workings to piece together enough that he felt confident trying to make one. Even then, for a while, his efforts resulted in failure after failure after failure. His first attempt burned a scar into the ground that resisted all attempts at being plowed over or removed. Another attempt severed his hand, leaving him inactive for a few hours as he regenerated it again. Yet another attempt blew up his house with Tenko sheltering inside, nearly killing him in the process. He'd insisted Tenko be far away from any future attempts after that.

The air was sharp and brisk and the few leaves on the island were vibrant autumn colors the day he finally achieved his goal. With his portion of the process complete, if only for now, he decided to see how far along Tenko had come. Thus, as the sun disappeared below the sea and a frosty moon took its place, he summoned Tenko back to their dwelling as he always did, albeit with something entirely new on his mind.

"You're not going to exercise tonight, at least not yet," All for One said. "Instead, I'd like you to try something different."

That immediately grabbed Tenko's attention just as intended. "Different? How?"

All for One beckoned to Tenko. "Follow me, and you'll see."

Tenko seemed to understand the context behind that, following All for One as the two of them slipped inside. Just above the table where they usually ate sat the ward he'd gone to all the effort of creating. It resembled a floating box, glowing slightly in the faint evening sunlight as Tenko took it in.

"This is what a ward looks like," All for One said, pointing at it as he did. "Usually they aren't visible, but for the sake of practice…"

"You don't want me guessing where it is," Tenko finished.

"Excellent," All for One responded.

Tenko swung his arms back and forth for a few seconds, probably trying to get them loose. "Are there any other differences between this ward and the ones around the island?"

"The only major difference except the size is the direction they face," All for One said. "Anything can come out of the area this ward covers, but nothing can go in. Flipping the direction they face doesn't make building it any harder, but it made me nervous you'd get your hands stuck in them. Not worth the risk."

Tenko wiggled his fingers. "Thanks. I always preferred my hands to be attached to my body, anyway."

That got a raspy chuckle out of All for One: even after so much time had passed, Tenko remained just as gloomy as he'd been upon arrival. Jokes from him remained something to treasure.

A brief pause, then Tenko started asking questions again. "What do I have to do with the wards?"

"It's quite simple," All for One said. "Just do the same with the wards as you did for the Key."

Tenko's eyes filled with fear. "Wait, how do I know they won't explode when I do that?"

"Keys are designed to let magic out, but wards are designed to suck it in," All for One replied. "If you're able to funnel so much anti-magic into the wards that they explode, assuming we both survive you could probably be worshiped as a god: no human should be capable of containing that much magic, or anti-magic in your case."

That statement seemed to embolden Tenko. Then again, the idea of making something they hated explode crossed the minds of many on bad days, All for One included. Although a severe lack of explosions promised to follow Tenko's efforts, they'd be interesting to watch nonetheless, if only to determine whether his priorities would need to be adjusted.

Without waiting for a signal, Tenko pressed his hands against the wards and closed his eyes, pushing against them with all his might.

Other than a slight humming sound filling the room, nothing of note happened even as Tenko strained and sweated. Even with his newly-amassed strength, he soon burned through whatever reserves of energy he had and pulled away, having gone quite red in the face in the process. The miniature ward still stood there, resolute as ever. Thankfully, the house had not been destroyed this time. Small mercies.

"It didn't do anything," Tenko said, sounding quite dejected.

While All for One was disappointed with the result as well, he should have been less surprised than he was. "That's to be expected. Don't worry, we have all the time in the world for you to get it right."

A sigh. "I don't want it to take all the time in the world. Can I just try again tomorrow, Father?"

"I'd say you should return to your standard routine for now, we'll try this again in a few days," All for One said. "That way, it gets easier every time."

Tenko didn't seem to like that very much, but he did at least understand it.

"If you still want to train tonight, I'm sure Yuma's available," All for One said. "If not, that's not a problem, you've done enough for tonight."

His words sent Tenko out the door, hopefully on his way to find Yuma. The man did his fair share of work whenever All for One didn't need his expertise, but past sundown, not much could be accomplished, so chances were Yuma had gone on patrol in the early dusk like he usually did.

All for One had been truthful with Tenko earlier: as long as Tenko still breathed, the wards would remain as they were, giving them as much time as they needed to practice. Obtaining enough skill and power to destroy them might take a while on Tenko's scale, but for him? Everything would be in place before he knew it.

The next test accomplished nothing the first hadn't. Nor had the test after that. Both Tenko and All for One kept track of how many had occurred by marking the inside of their wall at the end of each one. The marks became noticeable even if you weren't looking for them, then they covered the wall entirely, then they had to start afresh on a separate wall.

Time crept by. The weather cooled, then warmed, then cooled again. New arrivals made their homes on Tartarus, while old arrivals passed into the afterlife. Tenko grew taller and stronger. All for One grew more desperate. The ward All for One had made remained standing through it all, a constant and aggravating reminder of their continued failures; an inescapable presence while awake and a haunting reminder while asleep.

Then, one gorgeous summer day, under a sunset one would be hard-pressed to outmatch in splendor, everything changed.

Most of the day progressed the same way as always: Tenko, now tall and strong, helped water and weed the crops that'd be harvested in the fall. In the sweltering heat of the afternoon, he'd gone for a walk, wanting some time for himself. Then, at the end of the day, he'd gone inside, gotten permission to make an attempt on the wards from All for One, strode up to them with as much confidence as he could muster, then pushed once more.

This time, however, he felt a tingling sensation creeping down his spine, and a sickly screech emanated from the wards in response. Pressing his hands against them harder in response, the screeching became louder, and his hands moved involuntarily, nearly sending him tumbling forward. Still, however, he maintained contact with the wards.

"Yes!" All for One watched him with intense fervor, mania dripping from every part of his expression. "You're making a hole in the wards! Keep pushing!"

The hole where Tenko's hands used to be got wider for just a few extra seconds, but then its growth stagnated as Tenko poured the last of his energy into the endeavor. Before he could finish his task, he drained himself dry, forcing him to relent. Within seconds, the hole he'd made in the ward patched itself up, the magic within the wards working to restore what had been taken from them.

All for One's face fell. He tried not to show it, but Tenko had long since gotten used to interpreting him; he knew better than to fall for such a simple trick.

"That's a bit disappointing," All for One said. "However, you have provided proof that it can be done. For now, that's everything I need."

Tenko's mood remained chipper, despite All for One not matching his energy at all. One might wonder why he felt that way: he'd been so close to victory, only for it to have been snatched away from him at the last second. On the other hand, this is the first time he's ever made progress against the wards, even if he didn't finish the job. Therefore, it took him far longer than usual to classify this attempt, time he used to figure out what to say out loud as he did so.

He figured it out right as he added another mark on the wall that would soon be full of them. "Test number four hundred and fifty-two: partial success."

"I wouldn't say that," All for One said. "Either you took the wards down or you didn't, there's no such thing as partial success in that regard. At the same time, though, it means you're getting close. It shouldn't take long to achieve complete success."

Tenko wanted to argue, and if he'd been anything less than deliriously happy about this supposed failure, he would have. Something had finally changed, and it was for the better: why treat it like it didn't matter?

At the same time, though, he could bury the unwelcome feelings of disgust at the moment; his routine had finally been shaken, and that meant the end had to be near.

The end of his training, the end of his imprisonment, and the end of everyone's time trapped on Tartarus.

Several more attempts passed. Tartarus was shrouded in howling winds and bitter cold now; few left their houses for anything except to look for more things they could burn, the food they'd stockpiled leading up to that point serving as their rations. They always got thin at the end of the year, but they pulled through it.

That night, Tenko entered their home brushing some snow out of his hair: he'd been exercising outside even when many of the adults remained hidden in their huts, a sign of his dedication if nothing else. His face was as red as his eyes and his hands were not much better even with them having been wrapped, and his clothing had wet spots from moving through the snowdrifts.

"I know what you're doing, and don't start right away," All for One said without looking up. "Regain your energy first. You know what to do."

Tenko grumbled something unintelligible under his breath, but he began to march in a steady circle around the room, waiting until All for One said his energy levels had peaked. No sense in wasting any more attempts, after all.

After what felt like far too long, Tenko's breath finally steadied, his laps around the room now carefully measured in pace. Once All for One gave him the cue, he wasted no time, striding right across the room to try and achieve his life's goal once more.

As had been the case the past few times, the holes got larger and larger, Tenko's face flushing deeper and deeper as he forced every ounce of his being into them. The screeching noise filling the room only got louder, the wards straining against Tenko's might as he funneled his anti-magic into them.

A crack echoed through the room like that of a miniature thunderbolt, followed immediately by a high-pitched shriek that threatened to render the both of them permanently deaf if it continued much longer. With an unearthly howl bursting from Tenko's chest, he threw the rest of his body against the wards—

Without any further indication of distress, they collapsed under Tenko's onslaught, blinking out of existence just like that.

The resulting pulse of energy was enough to knock a few things off the makeshift table they ate at and caused a few other nearby objects to wobble, but nothing more. All for One noted that the wards outside the island were likely to have a much larger reaction due to their size difference, but that thought was promptly shoved to the back of his mind due to the sheer overwhelming joy that flooded it. If Tenko hadn't been watching him, he would have started performing a victory dance right then and there.

He'd done it. His escape had materialized.

Once the strongest surge of emotion began to fade, All for One's focus shifted back toward Tenko. He looked ready to fall asleep on his feet, his hands were the color of raw meat, and his expression mirrored his pain, but his eyes were smiling. "I did it."

"That you did," All for One said. "Congratulations. Now all you need is a bit more training, and we can get everyone out of here."

The statement looked like it would have confused Tenko if he had enough energy remaining to be confused. "Wait, I thought you said this ward wasn't any different than the one around the island. Why do I need more training?"

All for One understood the confusion there, so he added some clarification. "If you can break down those wards, it means you have the technique down for doing the same for the ones surrounding the island. However, the sheer amount of energy it requires will be much higher. It takes a lot more strength to lift a big rock than a small one, right?"

Tenko nodded.

"The wards locking us in are much, much bigger than the ones you destroyed," All for One continued. "They're going to require you to expend much more energy to take them down. Furthermore, we only have one try to take them down. Those fools back on the mainland might not know what we're planning, but they will notice when the wards get disturbed."

Despite his low energy level, having spent most of it breaking down the wards, Tenko maintained focus, staring right at All for One. "When will that be?"

"Soon, Tenko. Soon."

That got Tenko to smile once again, still a rarity even after all this time. Marching into the corner of the room in triumph, he picked up the rock he'd been using for so long and crossed over to the wall he'd been using it on, now littered with marks, if not so many as the wall to its left. Then, he raised his hand, and for what may very well have been the last time, scratched a line into the wall.

"Attempt four hundred and sixty-seven: success."

This chapter wasn't as much fun for me to write as Chapter One, but I enjoyed quite a few parts of it. The last chapter's looking to be more entertaining for me, though.

Not much else to say about this chapter. With regards to the future, I have about 1.5k words of the final chapter written and the ending is set. With luck, it'll be out before the end of the month. Without luck... well, who knows?

Thanks for coming back for Chapter Two. I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope to see you again for the final chapter!