God of Swords: How a Sword is Forged

by manram

Why should someone fight, if his ideals have betrayed him, there is no-one to fight for and only despair wait him? EMIYA certainly wouldn't, and his story has finally come to an end. Or is it?

3. Chapter 2: The Preparations of a sword

HALLLLLLLLOOOOO!

*schiva una stele egizia* I am always prepared for you, rememeber.

Now now, I know I was slightly *CoughCoughTwosomethingmonths* late, but I have an excuse!

Which I can't say, but I have it!

But, before you read the chapter, I want to thank whoever has critized me for the previous chapter.

Even if I can't always put what you wrote into the chapters I put, I really thank you for trying to make me become better as a writer.

But now, on with the Chatper!

GOD OF SWORDS: HOW A SWORD IS FORGED

CHAPTER TWO: THE PREPARATIONS OF A SWORD

I didn't think this through.

Maybe it was my own rashness, that remained even after those eons of serving as a Counter Guardian.

Maybe it was because I could see some of myself in this girl, and I didn't want another one walking in that hateful path.

Maybe it was caused by my own guilt, which had followed me like a cloud since I was cursed to be reborn in this world.

'Didn't I already apologize for it?'

Maybe it was caused by the meddling of that same goddess.

'Oi.'

Or maybe it was better to say by her idiocy.

'Oi!.'

Unfortunately for me, being angered at her would have been as useful as spitting to the sky in spite.

It would only have come back into my eyes, with the other outcome of having lost an ally in an useless hatred, which would have left me in a dimension that I didn't know.

'Oh, so you care about me!'

An annoying, selfish, idiotic, too much powerful ally, who, while being able to avoid that my desire of being erased was completely blocked, still did so without my acceptance.

'…I'm sorry.'

'You already said it several times, saying it more will not help unfortunately.'

But in every case, it wasn't the 'why' the great question.

The great question was 'what'.

As in 'Now what would happen?' and 'What do I have to do?'.

The only sure thing was that the kid and I would have asked (and I did ask this afternoon) to our mothers if the kid could go to our house to play two days after.

They would go and talk with each other and most likely accept.

Not an elegant way to do it, but that was the way a kid would have used.

But the reaction of my 'mother' when I asked…

*shudder*

She had never been this passionate since the time I asked her to go to the medieval warfare museum.

So here I was, looking at the roof of my room unable to sleep, the darkness lit up by a light on my desk, reflecting about my own situation and preparing for the fallouts which will have to come.

Because I knew my luck, and it would have come to bite my ass sooner or later. Much more probably sooner.

'What a depressing thought to have, don't you think?'

'Not less true. Now I have in my hands a child who practically is a Prana beacon, who could expose me to the world and kill herself. Then I have the problem that she is a completely untrained child who will need to be trained to not be said Prana beacon. A wrong step and she becomes a morsel for monsters, and I become a pet for gods. Then there is the matter of what I have to teach her: teaching her how to handle weapons will not be that difficult for me, after having used the weapons of heroes themselves and being able to copy a part of their ability; training her to fight monster will not be difficult at all, if they were beaten by heroes, for the same reason; but training her at the use of Thaumaturgy? My own being undermine that, and I can only start with the foundations. Then it will be her own path to walk, if she doesn't destroy the tracing of the amulet, that is.' I mentally explained, my own tone tired while with my fingers I traced the runes etched on the silver sphere, hundreds of them carved with Magecraft on a five centimetres of diameter object, some being reinforcement for the sphere itself, others being runes to recognize the deactivating and activating Arias, but most strengthening the reversed M in the middle which made my own signature as similar to a mundane as possible if I didn't use my most powerful weapon, even though my own Prana output was a bit sacrificed for it to work.

That bit depended on how much I used that, of course.

A piece of art made with the knowledge of thousands of Shirous Emiya's selves, along with the help of an eons old entity, which took four months of planning and two hundreds and forty hours to materially fabricate.

The problem was that it was adjusted to my signature, to my prana output, not to someone else's.

'You think that she will destroy it?' asked the goddess, her tone not surprised at my own hypothesis.

'The problem of this amulet is that it was created to contain my own power when I was unable to control it with only my own training. It's a crutch, an help, not a complete shield. It can't stop a greater source of Prana than it was designed for, it can only masquerade it to an extent before it's too much and it will simply go into overheating. Even less can do a Projection of it. At least if it will fail she won't be in danger due the amulet itself.'

And how much better it was than my first time it went badly, during a test in which I Traced high ranked Noble Phantasms to see how much it could shoulder before failing.

A burning hot piece of metal directly on my chest wasn't something which I wanted to feel again, thank you.

'So, if we are unlucky, and, knowing myself, we will be, the girl will be much more able than me Prana wise.'

'So the problem is that the Projection of the amulet you gave to her isn't powerful enough to block the Prana's flux coming from Penelope? Couldn't you just not activate her Circuits at all and not train her on Magecraft?' askedthe goddess, curious.

'And wait for a catastrophic event in which she activates them unconsciously while fighting some monster and become something like a flame for a moths' flock? There are better ways to kill someone, much less painful and more human than being eaten by some vengeful entity.' I answered, my tone flat.

While the amulet wasn't the best I could offer, it was much better than nothing.

It's like having an helmet on a bike: if you go against a car you die in every case, but if you just fall down with it you probably will live to tell the story.

And not training the girl about Magecraft was out of the question.

Or at least the bases of Magecraft, control and such.

If she didn't have it and activated her circuits with monster nearby, or if she activated them and used her power without training…

I was nothing more than a cursed corpse, and I wished nothing more than my demise to finally end that curse, but I wasn't so heartless to let a little girl walk on it, or die trying.

No-one deserved that destiny, even less a child.

'It does seem a bleak scenario, old soul, but I think that you will be able to help the young child.' Commented the goddess, her voice half understanding the gravity of the situation, and half hopeful at my own abilities of teacher.

I snorted, filled with black amusement, and continued my own thoughts, logical and surgical:

'It would already be, if I had more than seven years to train her; in seven years I will have to train from the ground up a child in weaponship, Magecraft and knowledge, both about her enemies and her 'allies', if we can call the gods that. All while keeping it secret from the Kajiya's family and her mother as well, while doing all of this under their nose, and having less than optimal time to teach her. With this much time and amount of training to do it would be a miracle having prepared her for what will happen.'

'Hmmm?' was the sound which came from the goddess, like she didn't know what I was talking about.

I wasn't impressed by it, but I left them for me and I ended my thoughts:

'If an 'horrible change' is coming, I will need to have her ready to fight for herself and not drown. Or at least to be able to resist for the next month and not make all the block die.'

Neither by those foolish ideals nor by a monster's hand.

And if our hypothesis was right…

'That's good. The girl could be an important piece in the incoming battle, and she will surely be able to fight against the forces of evil; But are you sure that you will be pleased by it?' asked the goddess with a strange tone, something between concerned and something else…which was very similar to… sadness?

'What do you mean?' I asked in turn, confused by both the question and the tone.

'Do you really want to live the burden of being a warrior to a little girl, who will kill and slay without anyone to sustain her?' explained the goddess, her voice the same as before.

I didn't say anything.

Maybe only some minutes passed.

*There was such a man, once.*

Maybe those were only seconds, or even fractions of them.

But those came.

Those, which happened all because of my own desire:

*A desert, a tundra, a mountain, a plain, at dawn, at dusk, during the day and night, with fresh air or the thickest smoke in my lungs, with dry grass under my feet or snow, with Egyptian, Cretan, Latin, English, Japanese screams coming in front of me.

Those were the differences.

The ferrous taste in my mouth, the cold warmth of my hands, the slippery stickiness of the lymph, the noises of tens, hundreds, thousands of running people, men and women, children and elders, slaves and kings, beggars and merchants, innocent and guilty, all run and screamed the same way.

Fearful.

Terrified.

And I was the reason, the source, the Evil who wasslaughtering pregnant women, slaying children, killing the innocent.

Because I wished to be a Counter guardian. Because I desired to be an hero. Because I thought that saving everyone without thinking of myself or those that I cared for was right.

What a fool I was. What an idiot I was. What a cretin I was.

Was this the ideal I strived for? Was this what Rin tried to shield me from? Was this the desire of my father?

Emiya Kiritsugu, did you know about this hell and didn't stop me from trying to reach it?

"It's all your fault!" shouted a voice, young and insulting, coming from an eyeless, white haired corpse who was grinning at him while black blood came down from her eyes.

I tried to save everyone!

"It's all your fault!" shouted another voice, soft and suffering, coming from a red eyed, white haired girl, who was smirking at him while being devoured by her own shadow.

I didn't want it to end like this!

"It's all your fault!" shouted yet another voice, authoritarian and cold, coming from a black armoured king, who was looking at him without an ounce of emotion in her yellow eyes while a wound on her heart let blood gush out.

It wasn't what I desired!

"It's all your fault!"

That voice was!

Not her!

All but her!

I only curled up in a ball, my swords still bloody, my eyes still weeping, my heart now cold as a weapon.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry...!*

'Shhhh. Just let go and cry. This time I am here. I'm sorry for my words, but this time I'm here.'

I… I…

That… was one of my worst episodes.

I put my head into the pillow, curling myself into a ball and trying to breath rhythmically and calm myself and, aftersome hours of calming exercises, I was finally able to shut my eyes.

And so, with the sounds of death and slaughter and the images of corpses and blood, the bloodied sword slept.

The day after, At school, almost the end of the lessons

"What an horrible night."

That… was one hell of a night.

I didn't want to think about it, but it was somewhat concerning that it happened.

'You are stressed, old soul. Probably caused by the recent events. My words were much probably the trigger for your attack to start, and for them I apologise.' Her tone was truly regretful, something that I still couldn't wrap my head around.

But those opinions I had were safely protected outside of the bond, and I only answered with an amused false concern to divert her attention:

'Are you all right? I didn't think that you could apologise this many times to a low cur like me, so are you sick? Do you feel lightheaded? Cold? A bit of shivers?'

'Hmmph! If it's this your response to my kindness, then you are well!' was the annoyed answer coming from the powerful entity, who I left grumbling in the back of my head, without understanding my ulterior motive, while (not) paying attention to the lesson and (not) taking notes about the lesson and (not) reading the book in front of me.

Which would be extremely useful in a third grade year.

If I wasn't a grown man with multiple selves in my memories.

And even if I didn't have them, I still wouldn't be paying attention, so much was the sheer boredom in the teacher's voice, who wanted this day to end just as much as the squirming children around me, who were looking at the clock on top of the teacher not so covertly, along with the young woman who was, just as covertly, looking at her wrist watch.

Then the bell came, and along it came the excited shouts of the young boys and girls, who had prepared their bags in a chaotic hastiness, which left books with ears and ripped papers, while the teacher shouted in the confusion, already beside the door:

"Have a good weekend children!"

And she run out.

She was faster to get out than a classroom of children.

I didn't know if I had to be impressed by the speed, which was surely impressing.

At least I wouldn't be disturbed by some noisy brat who wanted to be the top dog.

And in every case I had other things to think about, while following the horde of little Hunns.

Like the upcoming training I had to impart.

Or about what exactly reveal to her and what to not, for my and her own sake.

Or even how to make her trust me; I wasn't so fool to think that she even had one spec of trust in me, and my own way wasn't… exactly… the best way I could make her my own apprentice.

'You practically used the first thing came to your mind, so much you were concerned for her. It was something so-'I was going to interrupt the goddess from her teasing tone with my own irritated one, but she continued amused:'-Cute! What you did was so cute that I would have eaten you!'

'Cute?' I countered sarcastic, trying to take my mind out of that word: 'I would call it 'disastrous', but if you call it 'cute' lets go with that.'

'It did work, didn't it? If something is stupid but it works, it ain't stupid. So stop moping!' came the grinning voice of the goddess, who was trying to cheer me up and distract me from what happened.

It was too forceful, too clumsy to be natural.

But I let the lie live, so my mind wouldn't be so taken by the past.

Then, when I was around the exit, I smelt two thaumaturgical signatures, different and distinct.

One, I already knew of, now at least a bit controlled and muffled in such a way that it wouldn't call monster from the whole state.

Maybe.

If she didn't explode.

But was the other that made me stop for a moment, confused.

It did have the same stench that the girl had, maybe stronger, but there was something under it.

Something which I had already smelt before.

*Sempai!*

I minutely flinched at the memory, but I knew what was that odour.

Ether.

'How did I not notice that?' I asked inside the bond, both annoyed by my own incompetence and concerned that I could have missed a thaumaturgical signature in a place that I was in every day, while trying to pinpoint where they came from and walk towards it.

'The scent it has is eerily similar to a monster's one,' came the goddess's voice, calm and posed: 'so probably when you smelt it we just decided to go away as fast as possible. But from what you have just gathered it has an Element in it so, because of this reason and the fact that it isn't extremely powerful, it can't be a monster. The only clue that we have is that she is somehow related to Penelope, due to her own strange scent.'

Waiiit a moment there.

'With my luck, how much is it possible that she is her mother, who I am going to walk along and talk to and try to not make aware that I will train her daughter, is inside the Moonlit world?' I said calmly, my own steps directing myself in the middle of the court.

You know how someone goes calmly to his own execution? That kind of calm was what I was feeling at the moment.

'With how much lucky you are?' was the faintly amused answer of the goddess which made me sigh.

'Okay,' I conceded, the tension in me not wavering in the slightest. That was a stupid question: 'But how much do you think is she inside it?'

'I think that she knows about what you are, if the way she is staring at you is telling' was decided by the voice of the entity, just when I was finally able to pinpoint when the two signature were, after being finally out of the maze which was the horde of little children.

One of the two was the girl who was pointing at me and talking excitedly to the other signature, who was rubbing the kid's hair with one hand and carrying her bag with the other, while staring at me.

She was around the same age of my own 'mother', being around her thirties, and was dressed with a uniform with red, white and blue stripes, which had a breast pocket on the right side and a logo on the left side of the chest which had a red and white lollypop at one side and a marshmallow at the other, with the name of the workplace written on it 'Sweets on America', and along with all that she had a simple blue purse.

Physically she was on one meter and seventy tall, with a slightly tanned skin, long brown hair, a light make up, slightly thicker on some parts of her face, and blue eyes.

How was I able to tell that she had blue eyes?

Because she was staring at me with them, her own gaze calculating until she noticed I was looking at her, after which she immediately schooled her own features into a smile.

It was a soulless smile, without any spark in it, but it would have tricked every other person around that it was just a mother seeing a friend of her daughter.

Remarkable.

It was more than a bit concerning that she was so good at using this, and this made me even more tense, while the girl continued to talk clueless.

Then the excited words ended for a moment, while the girl's green eyes were looking at me, then she run in the middle space between me and the woman.

After a few moments she first pointed at me and presented me:

"Mum, this is Sheru Kishiya, my friend, and he is a meanie, so lets not make him encounter the smelly one."

Smooth. She got the name wrong, and, by the tone used, insulted me, but smooth.

If you can't say, I was sarcastic.

"Sheru, this is Sally Jackson, my mum, so don't make her angry or sad or anything else or I will make you sorry!"

Smooth.

Really kid, so smooth that sandpaper is ice at the side of that presentation.

Then I heard a chocked laughter, not coming from around us, where the last children were running either to their parents or to the school bus to get home, but from the woman, who had her hand in front of the mouth to not laugh openly.

'Uh. Maybe we were just overreacting?' came the confused comment of the goddess.

I swore inside my own mind, which made the entity squawk at my words, while on the outside I bowed with my arms attached to my body and presented myself as childishly as possible:

"Hello, Penel's mum, my name is Shirou Kajiya."

A quarter of hour later, Chocolaterìa y restaurante de Fernandez

"Why are you doing this?"

I remained stoic, but inside…

'Oi. This time it's not my fault.' Came the voice of the entity through the bond, feeling my own internal annoyance towards her.

Annoyance which seeped in my words when I shouted through the bond: 'Murphy doesn't care about it! Nor does my luck! And where is the kid now!'

'She is looking at the blue sweets in the back.' Answered serious the goddess, and I could hear a bit of understanding and interest there: 'And if the mother is asking this question then she knows that there is going to be enough time for her to interrogate you.'

'… I will need to make that time longer.'

Internally I was extremely annoyed, but I was able to reign that annoyance and asked, tilting my head, with my most innocent tone:

"What are you talking about, Miss Jackson? I'm a child, right?"

"Don't joke with me." was the curt response of the woman, who was calmly glaring at me from the seat opposite to me:"I know that you are not an human, not completely, but unlike the other beings who are mixed with the world beyond the Mist, your own self is almost shrouded from my Sight. What do you want from my daughter."

"I'm sorry, but I really don't understand what you are talking about, miss Jackson." I tried to make myself look dumb, but I was already reflecting about what to say and what not.

I knew that the woman in front of me was aware of me being part of the Moonlit world, thanks to her own signature and the fact that she was aware of the Moonlit world, or as she said the world beyond the Mist.

Now, how much did she know about me?

"I repeat my words, Kajiya, don't joke with me. I know that you did something to my daughter, and I know that you gave her that silver amulet. What I want to know is what do you want from her." were the words, uttered with a venomous tone while her own glare was boring into my eyes.

I just sighed.

Well, what do I not want her to know?

That I don't want the gods on my tail for being a resurrected soul, because that would give her the higher hand from the start, but maybe if I destabilized her enough, I could have made her overlook that, and maybe even give her a reason, and I would have to equally avoid to talk about my vacillations.

Then I would have to make sure that the girl didn't barge in during this… conversation. It would make for troublesome question, if the fact that the mother didn't let her know about her heritage.

But I knew her weak point.

After all, what is stronger than the love of a mother?

And if she wasn't someone who would defend the girl, then…

"Trace on."

Thurisaz. Hagalaz. Isa.

After activating my circuits and feeling their warmth spreading into me, I pumped a bit of Prana on my forefinger and drew the runes on the wooden and worn table.

Then I overloaded them with Prana, so much that they almost faded due to the stress I was putting them through, but, when they were almost at their limit, I cut the Prana output and sat straighter.

It would make them last much less, but their effect would be strengthened.

This was going to be my last defence from being discovered by outside influences.

'It could also attract any monster on a kilometre radius.'Warned the goddess, her tone alarmed.

'At this moment it would be worse if the girl came here, but the probability is indeed high. Could you please control if either the girl or a monster comes here?' I asked, my tone serious.

'All right, will do. Do not underestimate her.' This was the last advice given by the entity before she became silent.

Not like it was needed.

"Penelope Atalanta Jackson," I started, my tone lacking the earlier childishness, while my eyes were now staring directly into the mother's ones, which were before staring at the runes on the table:"demigod," no strong reaction at that, just a quickened heartbeat, visible from the temple veins:"daughter of Sally Jackson and the god of the Sea and Earthquakes."

The woman in front of me for a moment became wide eyed, her pupils widened and her breath quickened.

After that moment she squashed those symptoms, but my bet was successful for one time.

But I needed to continue to control this, so I continued, emotionless:"Three days ago she was attacked by a Cyclops, who probably had been looking for her for some time given its mundane clothes." The mother turned sharply towards the direction where the daughter was and was preparing to get up, but I rose one hands placating and said calmly:"This store is secure, there is no presence of presence of the mythological world other than me, you and the kid. If not, then you would have also sensed it, right?"

The mother stopped then, after having meditated between herself for a few seconds, she sat again and made a gesture with her head, which I translated as 'continue':

"The day after the girl was somehow able to track me down, and I gave her bits of knowledge about the other world along with a copy of the talisman, which helps covering her signature, and lied about her heritage to avoid her developing a stronger signature, and instead I said that she was a Clear sighed mortal instead of giving her the truth. Unlike you, who is one it seems."

The mother closed her eyes and leant her forehead on her closed hands and then she commented, her voice tired:

"So today you will train her while the other members of your family believe you are playing, right?"

I nodded, not adding anymore.

"But you didn't answer my question: what do you want from my daughter?" continued the woman, her eyes now reassembling ice for how much they were cold.

I just continued to stare into her eyes and said calmly and truthfully:"I need to train her to avoid her attracting the presence of the monsters around this area. I will not leave a child to be killed along with my own innocent family, and the other world is cruel to the innocent and the unready. This is also the reason I gave her a copy of my talisman: to avoid attracting monsters and gods alike. We both knows what would happen to her now, with so much potential she has for being a offspring of the Earthquaker, if she encountered the gods."

"And how, pray tell" asked the mother, her tone cutting and her eyes angry:"would a young boy like you, even if clever with words, train someone to fight the monsters? You could have just lied due to the whispers of some god, am I-"

*Thunk!*

The sentence was blocked by a Traced bowie knife which I had embed in the middle of the table to the hilt, thanks to my own strength.

"You could wrongly think that the runes are a simple lightshow, but this is not some illusion, like this hole-" I took the knife out from the table and let her take it while I was calmly saying these words:"-and this knife makes you understand. I will train the girl not for kindness, but because having someone looking at my own back is always useful, and because having her not trained would only be worse for me. So, if you want your daughter to be ready for the storm coming against her, I advise you to not insult the one who will train her." I ended with finality, while with an ample move of the hand I 'repaired' the table thanks to an generous of Alteration.

The mother in front of me stared at the knife in her hands for a moment before I let it fade into blue sparks, making her yelp while her hands were left with nothing.

Maybe I was a bit annoyed that she thought that I was under the control of some deity.

I stared at her, who looked at me in a strange way, and then I talked the same way I would talk about the weather, to completely destroy her defences and give her a bit of 'knowledge' about my own abilities:

"I was cursed by the gods to know everything about the bladed weapons I see and replicate them. Every drop of sweat it took to train with them, every tear of sadness they were witnesses to, every droplet of blood they took and every last breath of their owners, I know about. Every death, every triumph, every joy, every pain that those weapons brought I am witness to. Any abnormality they were witness to, from lightning coming from the serene sky to runes used to protect, I saw. I know everything about blades and weapons, and for that I know nothing about how should a child feel; I know everything about fight, and for that I know nothing about how should a son feel; I know everything about death, and will be able to know even more, and I will know much less about life. That's the heritage which was given by the god of the Smith to me."

This was the most credible lie I could come with.

After all my own abilities weren't the result of a god giving me his abilities, but this story was much more believable than the truth itself: that I was a trans migrant soul of an 'hero' from another dimension with a goddess in my head, who also wanted to die due to my own actions, at the same time caused by my own stupidity.

Who would believe that?

But a son of Hephaestus being able to replicate objects and know about their stories and change because of them was much more believable.

"… Could you take out the pendant? I want to be sure about you." asked the woman calm, her eyes never leaving mine and not showing any emotion.

I thought about it, weighting the advantages and disadvantages of taking off my own magical shield:

It would give me a bit more trust with the mother in front of me, but it could also give her information I didn't want to give, along with the menace of attracting any monster around, but it could also be the last time I will have the chance of gaining an ally who is physically adult, so able to easily give me some materials that normally are banned to me, even if it seemed like she had problem of her own.

I could always take them in other ways, but sneaking around wasn't something I excelled at, even more with this body.

But if some monster was able to find me when I was without the talisman, it could also spell the end of the Kajiya's family, and I couldn't even close my Circuits, because if I did that then the bounded field would go away immediately and I wouldn't be able to reactivate the talisman.

But then there was this sensation through the bond with the goddess, but it wasn't empathy or trust like you could think; not, it was indignation, like she was mad that I had forgotten about her.

I could almost imagine a woman nodding in the background.

I sighed, asking myself why did I always have to be bounded to childish individuals, and, while I could feel outrage coming through the bond, I touched the amulet and, letting a bit of Prana inside it, I whispered the Aria, with my eyes closed and my mind set into the objective:

"I whispered lies, I gave falsities and tailored deceptions.

Now I shout truths, I offer veracities and construct trust.

Now, the sword is bare for everyone to see."

I could feel the talisman deactivating itself after having said the deactivation Aria, while that bit of Prana was going towards the reversed mannaz in the middle.

Now I had to control myself much more to make sure that my own presence wasn't a beacon for every monster in the state.

Or worse, the gods.

At least there was the makeshift bounded field, and the goddess should be able to control my Scent a bit.

*Gasp!*

I didn't open my eyes, but that noise was something that I should have expected.

Probably the woman in front of me was able to 'see' thaumaturgical signatures like I was able to 'smell' them.

'You should activate the amulet as soon as possible. I don't like spectating a meal from the eaten side.' Came the voice of the goddess from the bond, her tone, while sarcastic, letting pass the hastiness of the situation.

Still with my eyes closed and my focus on not making too many ripples, which wasn't exactly simple, I declared emotionless:

"If you are done with the staring I will reactivate the amulet."

"…Yes." came the choked answer, like the mother in front of me was being strangled by a rope, along with some ruffling that I couldn't quite place.

But in that moment I didn't care and, following the same actions as before, I chanted the Aria:

"I shouted truths, I offered reality and constructed trust;

Now I whisper lies, I give falsities and tailor deceptions.

Finally, the sword is sheathed, invisible for anyone to see"

I could feel the amulet working again, while the reversed rune made sure that I was as similar to a mortal as possible.

Then, when my eyes opened, I found something strange in front of me.

The woman was…

"Oi, why are you laughing?"

…laughing.

She was laughing, and was using her hands to cover her laugh.

Oh, wait , she was crying too.

Had she snapped under the pressure? It wouldn't be that much strange, after all.

Then, just before I was preparing my circuits to start pumping Prana to my eyes, the woman was able to put herself together and then she apologised, a few tears still running down:

"I'm sorry, but this has been a long day, with someone being suddenly interested in my daughter; the fact that that someone was related to the mythological world, now you come and I can't even see your inner element," Inner element? Maybe she could see my Origin?"Then there is the fact that, even if you look like a child, you have a way to pose yourself that you seem more like a minor god connected with the Smith god who has morphed himself into a child; then you use magic that I have never heard of even from Penelope's father;" strange word use:"Then you use one of the most outstanding story that I have ever heard of to excuse your own abilities." The truth was even more insane, young girl.

"Then." this time the tone used changed, becoming more distant, like her gaze which was pointed somewhere behind me:"I saw your own inner self. A sword. What kind of self can be a sword? I have seen my daughter having the sea, I have seen other people having splendid lights and others," she waited a moment and gulped, like she had a knot in her throat:"having the darkest imaginable. But there was always some of their selves in it, if not all of it. And you have a sword. And that would mean that most of what you said was true."

She looked at me, a tired smile on her face and her eyes were wet from her mad tears, and said:

"I can't make you swear on the oath river, as much as I would like to, but I will say this: harm my daughter and I will make sure that Hell itself is a better place to be."

I only rose a brow at it and, with the driest tone I could use, while trying to hide that bit of admiration I could have felt, I commented:

"If that's your way of granting me your blessing on training your daughter, then thank you."

The mother looked at the table for some moments, or rather at the runes on it, her mind probably taken into something horrible for me, and the she murmured, maybe to herself:

"Could I be trained as well?"

…

…

Why, oh why, did everyone I encountered want to be taught by me, of all the people?

"The problem is that I will not be able now due to your daughter. For now, I want to make sure that the kid doesn't attract an invasion of monsters, and we will have to make sure that she doesn't discover her divine heritage at this moment and prepare her for when she will learn about it."

The woman looked contrite for a moment at my calm words, then her face returned neutral and she asked calmly, leaning on her chair:

"Then how can I help?'

It was said in such a way that it almost could pass as a normal question, like 'what time is it?' or 'how did you pass your holydays?', not 'how can I help to fight against monster of old, which are believed to be only legends, along with my daughter who I had from a god?'.

That kind of things.

But that was my chance:

"You could help by being our contact to the adult world. Sometime I will need materials to create some supplies, or to get resources, or to be my face when some time will be needed for your daughter to train, or to cover traces when your daughter will be at home." when I said the last words the mother flinched minutely and I could see her arms moving under the table, while her mouth had become a thin line and her pupils were wider than normal.

Then, yet again, she squashed that panic she was feeling and calmed herself, but I had already made the connections needed.

Damn, splendid. Really what I needed.

One time, my blades would have been growling salvation, my weapons would be screaming for justice and my swords would have been used for their end.

But now?

Now I was too broken to do something without remembering that damned ideal, too rusted to not understand that there was something else under this situation, too bended to charge in without any plan and risk even worse outcomes.

But there was something I could do.

"There is a problem about how I will have to get the money to help you, I don't have a good paying job." came the observation of the mother, who was sometimes looking at a bright blue watch.

I was taking a piece of paper from my bag while answering her doubt:

"There are some ways which we could get funds: by repairing mechanical objects, by constructing costume jewelry, by sabotaging slots, by-"

"I think it would be better if we did something actually legal. If we win too much at the slots, deadly curious will start to wander in, and I don't think it's something that you want. Nor do I want to be in a federal prison for having scammed some slot." came the dry snippet from the woman, who was observing my right hand while it was tracing in a blue light a line on the sheet of paper.

I snorted and said, faintly amused:"I am going to work for you when I am a nine years old child, I don't think that this is legal." before she could even groan, I continued, switching to a more serious tone, while I was finishing the line:"But we need funds, so we will simply do the most legal options and I will make sure that you will be able to find them. I think that you know at least some people who could need some repair done by the offspring of the Smith. Then I will give it back to you when I will accompany your daughter to your home. Easy and smooth." I ended my own discussion while I started the second of the three legs of the rune.

The base was awful, and I needed it to be durable, so it would have taken a lot of time to be finished.

"But why would you need resources this fast?" asked the mother, her tone both curious and suspicious while I was finishing the second leg.

"You know what day is today?"

"Hmm? Today is Friday."

"What I intended was the number."

"The twenty first of May."

"And what day will be in a month?"

The mother remained silent for a moment, then she swore quietly and said:

"Summer's solstice. Damn it." I nodded, my finger now on the last leg of the rune in front of me, and explained:

"The amulet I gave to your daughter was the best I could create at the moment, but it's not enough for her. I will try to train her in such a way that she will not become a beacon for gods and monsters, but with so many presences around which could destroy us I wouldn't want for her to be found." I would like to avoid that too:"But to forge a much more fitting amulet I need silver. More than we both can afford at the moment."

I was able to take it thanks to several travels to the dumps, searching for old electronics from where I would take the metal.

But it took almost a year for me, and in that time I was able to make some time thanks to the runes and the fact that I didn't have to train a child.

This time I didn't have this freedom.

"Exactly how much metal are we talking about?" asked the woman, rubbing her temple with one hand.

"Around six hundred and eighty grams of silver for a sphere of five centimetres of diameter, which would take me around four weeks to fabricate. With the holydays coming, it will take less I hope." I said mechanically, now a bit more focused at the ending of the rune.

Ok, now…

*flash*

The weak light flickered and then it stabilized in a weak azure, after which I sighed and controlled the rune.

It seemed like a reverse Y with a line in the middle, or a chicken footprint going towards you, but this little rune would alert me if it was ripped.

The downside of the effect was that the echo could have alerted the habitants of the Moonlit world, and that some minutes was a lot for such a simple alarm, but it was the best I could give at the moment.

"So…" talked the mother, a bit unsure:"around 24 ounces… right? And what is the price of silver?"

"The whole cost of the silver would be two hundred and thirty one dollars." I answered apathic.

The mother froze for a moment and then sighed, slumping.

"So little and yet so much…" murmured, casting her eyes down.

Hmmm… It seemed that the situation went even there, now we would have to be sure that not only the objects wouldn't be touched but also the funds themselves.

Then she took up the blue purse, and from it took out a wedding ring.

"I am not able to take a lot of money with me, and I am usually too controlled to be able to spend it without being noticed. But maybe this is enough."

She passed it to me and I Analysed it quietly:

"It's a twelve carats ring, so it's made of half gold. Around… fifty dollars? Maybe a bit more. Not enough."

"But I can use it as down payment, and then you can help me gain the rest."

"It could be suspicious if you return home without your ring." I warned to the determined mother after she had said that course of action with surety.

"More than the risk of my daughter being killed. I will go against the gods themselves if they try to harm her, and if some bruises are necessary for her to be safe, then so be it." she declared, her voice gaining strength while her eyes became colder.

I looked at the ring in my hand, then I quietly commented:

"If I could give you a copy, would it work as well?"

"What?"

I didn't answer at the question, and I simply analysed the ring more deeply this time.

"If something was forged, then it falls to my semen's donor dominion. If he was able to create something which made his mother want him back, then what is recreating a ring when I can make swords?"

After having made this act of theatrics I Traced a ring in my other hand, which was as similar as possible to its real counterpart.

I gave both of them to the mother, who was looking at the rings with something akin with wonder.

Then, after a moment or two of pondering, she commented:

"They are the same…"

"Almost. The false one will be gone in around two months' time if nothing extreme happens, and someone who is extremely sensible with anything from the Moonlit world would be able to sense it if passes besides you, but I don't think that it's a chance worth to even considerate and if it avoids some incidents than it's worth it."

The mother nodded and put the false ring inside the purse while she put the true one in her pocket.

I internally sighed and passed to her the rune I had just crafted, of which I explained the function at her puzzlement:

"This is a warning rune. If it happens something dangerous both mundane and not, rip it and I will be alerted."

Don't say the part about the dangers or she would never activate it, and probably die due to some dickhead, and for it making her daughter go berserk along with her Circuits.

I didn't want a Prana lamp for moth monsters unchecked, and I could at least contain the problem so that I wouldn't have monsters and gods alike searching in the city.

Or an earthquake. Or a tsunami. Both would be pretty dangerous for the child and the mundanes around.

"Thanks." was the curt response of the mother, who then put it inside the purse.

Now that this was done, I needed to know why did they li-

'Young Penelope is coming. Just after a quarter of hour of talking. I wonder what she did.' Came the warning of the goddess, which made me groan and, putting an hand on the runes of the bounded field and warn:

"Your daughter is coming now, so I will deactivate the runes. Make sure that this conversation is hidden: it would make some unpleasant questions come otherwise."

I needed her trust to train her, and I had already lucked out once. Twice, while knowing who her father was, and dragging her mother into this?

I was unlucky, not completely naïve.

The mother nodded and I deactivated the array, which became dull and then disappeared, and then my own Circuits, which left me cold even if it was the end of May.

Then an human missile crushed against the woman in front of me, who almost fell over when she hugged said human missile.

"Ohhlookmommythischocolateissuperupergood!"

I rose a brow at the black haired child who was jumping up and down in front of the mother, who was looking between the amused and the exasperated while smiling down at her child and patting her head.

"Sweetie, what did I say about sugar?" asked gently the woman, gone the hardness she had before.

"ThatIshouldn'tittoomuchbutthisischocolatenotsugar!" came the lighting fast answer, with the child's eyes being completely open while a bit of chocolate was on her lips.

The mother giggled at that and, taking a paper napkin, she started cleaning her daughter, who was trying to get away from the adult.

This was almost heart-warming even for me, as much cursed I was.

'You understand that that isn't going to last long, right?' said the goddess suddenly, but not unexpectedly.

'The only question is why: why would she choose to remain there if she is so concerned about her daughter life? She doesn't seem to be deeply traumatized, nor does she seem to have any love for that man if she wants to use the gold inside the nuptial ring.' My tone was analytical, and my brows knitted in front of this puzzle.

The woman in front of me was a mother. With this I meant that she would defend her daughter in every, every case without any fear or wavering whatsoever.

And yet she remained there.

What was I missing?

'Maybe the answer lays somewhere else. What did you find?' asked the goddess, even if I knew that she had heard the whole conversation.

'Other than what we already know? That the girl is surely a child of the Earthquaker, that the woman is able to mask her emotions admirably and that probably her Origin or Element let her look into others' Origin. Nothing more.' Was my curt report, which made me want to hit my head with the table while the mother was jokingly blaming the titular of the shop, who was sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, and the child was excitedly running around between the other few, amused customers.

'I'm not sure about it, but why would she not call the father of her daughter for a blessing? Why risk both their lives in such a way and remain with a lowlife?' was the question given by the goddess, which was one of those I couldn't find the answer for.

And that was a good question.

Along with the stench which covered both of them.

…

I didn't have enough pieces for this puzzle, but there was one thing I knew, all while looking at the two pure souls in front of me:

I couldn't let them live there.

I would risk my own objective.

Not only that, but because of my lack of ability now the girl was in a danger bigger than her, and along with her someone who would rather die than let her daughter die.

That, I couldn't let pass.

Three quarters of an hour later; Kajiya's house; The roof

*Wump*

"Oi…What…Did…I…Do…To…YOuuuu…"

"You did ask me to train you. Is this so strange?"

The girl now was on her back, gasping and wheezing, while I was not even slightly winded and had just drily said those words while rummaging in my bag.

This was just after some laps around the perimeter of the roof.

' 'Some' is something like five or six. Not 'rush for twelve minutes as much as you can'. She is still a child, you know?' The goddess's words were exasperated, but I could hear a bit of amusement in there.

'This was a Cooper's test, I have to know where she is so I can weight the amount of training needed. After having done the heating laps and the stretching, it's not that much.' I explained drily, getting back from the old and wise entity the sensation of a raspberry.

But I was more focused on how much the girl had run.

She had run twenty laps of the roof's perimeter. That would be the distance done by a good athlete.

Good, it would mean that I could push her as much as possible.

But for the moment I would have let her rest a bit, and instead, passing a water bottle that I had inside the bag, I asked meaningfully:

"Do you know how I create my swords?"

The girl was now openly glaring at me while inhaling half of the bottle, somehow not choking in this endeavour and her thaumaturgical presence becoming a bit stronger.

I rose a brow and commented:

"Tough crowd. Don't finish the bottle, it will be all you have for the day."

The girl stopped drinking and glared at me harder, but I could see an hint of fear in her.

"But whyyy!" she whined, waving her fists around like windmills:"It's good and it makes me feel much less tired!"

I could understand the reason for which she was stronger when being in contact with water, but I needed to know how much Prana she was able to produce without being to hindered by water.

And that was one reason.

A second reason was that I already would have to make her drink a bit of my Prana filled blood as a probe, while the goddess would be the instruments and the one able to find exactly how many Circuits the girl had and how much Prana she was able to produce, and I didn't want to repeat.

'Why do I sense a bit of mistrust in you?' asked the grumpy goddess, her tone more than a bit annoyed.

'Because I have never used this method to find how many Circuits a person has. Or even any other method, period. So I am a bit unsure.' I answered truthfully, knowing my limits at traditional Magecraft.

'It won't be that difficult: when the probe for the 'Chain activation by External Prana's influx' will make the circuits flow with Prana, you will be able to count how many and of what quality Circuits she has, while I will inspection her Element and Origin. Easy peasy.' I could almost feel the security with which she said those words, so much that I needed to rise a brow in the physical brow and say in the bond, :

'We will see. And it's butterfly effect.'

'Bah! Continue with the lesson, ye old soul.'

I shook my head and gave even another reason, said in such a way to be as serious as it could be.

"Because sometimes you will not have the luxury to be at your best in a fight. You could be tired, you could be injured, or you could even be emotionally depleted. Being a bit thirsty isn't very much, and if it could help you in surviving then so be it."

The girl was now staring at me with something akin with fear, and in that moment I gave my third reason with a smirk:

"Then because you could throw up if you drink too much when we will do your physical training."

Now she was looking at me with annoyance, and I could see a bit more red forming on her cheeks, now not because of only tiredness.

"But I didn't ask about why you shouldn't drink too much after having done exercise. I want to know how I create my swords." and to my question I added a Traced Xifos, which came with its double edged dulled (and I made sure three times it wasn't sharp) blade, which reassembled a willow's leaf, gleaming under the afternoon sun and it's t-guarded hilt remaining firmly in my hand, along with a comforting heat from my circuits.

I could feel the history of the ancient Greek weapon and, above all, the best way to use it flow into my mind, but I continued to look at the girl with a smirk.

The girl was still glaring at me, but now there was to add a 'are you stupid' background sound in her glare.

'You know, starting with a Traced weapon as an example is not your greatest idea.' Commented the goddess, and I could imagine a sweatdrop floating inside the bond.

'I'm not good with teaching Magecraft, you know. Being over-specialized does that. But I am open to suggestions.' Came my annoyed answer along with a twitching brow.

'Try with to compare it with the triangle of fire. After all it's similar to the process to produce a Mystery, isn't it?' was the truly helpful answer of the goddess, at which I nodded and mentally said grateful:

'The Prana as a fuel, the Aria to make yourself think to be able to do it and the knowledge of the end result. Thanks for the tip.'

'And do it while training her with the sword. It could help at making it less boring. Maybe. It certainly doesn't hurt to try.'

'Wouldn't it be too much for a young child? She doesn't have any training before this, and I don't want to overweight her too much with it.'

'You are going through stances. Stances. How much do you think will be boring?'

I inhaled deeply and exhaled equally explosively, remembering some of my selves' training with Taiga.

The first lessons of kendo with Taiga, when I firstly started to want to be an 'hero of justice'.

…How much boring it was.

Then she needed to do these things while fighting, so it would be useful for her to be able to be trained in multitasking.

'All right, I will do that.' Or at least I would try to do that.

'Pff. You would be lost without me.'

'Hnn. You know, I have several objections to that statement, but I will keep them to myself and just say 'Screw you'.' Was my own ending to the dialogue, and then I Traced a blunted Xiphos and a wooden Pelta, a round shield of fifty centimetres of diameter which had a strap for the forearm and an handle on the edge of the shield itself, both remaining floating in the air and I ordered to the girl in a calm tone, while summoning a Pelta for myself:

"Take them, the sword with your writing hand, the shield with the other, strap and try to imitate my own stance."

Then I put the shield, which was in my left hand, in front of me, slightly angled to not use too much energy when blocking my foe's attacks, and moved in front my left foot; I held the sword's blade near the edge of the shield, making sure that my sword arm was covered, and moved the right foot behind the other of around a shoulder of distance, making sure that it was angled, while bending my knees slightly to be like a coiled spring.

The girl immediately did it, and, even if there were some imperfection like the shield not being angled enough or her feet not being enough apart from each other, but those were pretty minor.

And she was able to do it only with visual mimicry. Impressive.

'Is it from her heritage?' I asked the goddess, curious and a bit awed, while I went to the child and corrected her mistakes with the stance.

'Possible. While we could see that your own abilities were a bit hindered by this universe Mana and your new Od production,' a bit? I had to scrap my own Magecraft from zero due to the Mana and Od overproduction, and I couldn't for some reason even summon my own Reality Marble, a reason which was more than mere overdose of energy and could be one of the problem I had with Tracing along with said overdose: 'a Demigod is instinctively prone to battle, from the body, which is much stronger than normal mortals and can be trained at high level even when they are children, while its injuries are cured by the use of the food of gods Itself, to the mind, which is already ready for battle and keen for details, other than being able to read ancient Greek, to their very souls, which are much heavier than mundanes, and of course with their mythical abilities, inherited by their divine 'parent'. So it's not that strange that Penelope is able to find her way with weapons, even more if those are Greeks weapons.' Was the explanation given by the goddess, whose tone was clear and collected.

'Naturally I barely have two thirds of them, and the remaining one third only gives me problems. Sometimes I really hate my luck.' I laughed sarcastically at how my luck was.

'You are an old soul, so it would be a bit difficult for your own experiences to be overwritten just by being born in another body. Then I think that having more power isn't a bad thing, is it?' came the answer of the goddess, which I could risk to call smug in the end.

'Bah! Let me return to train the child.' I grumbled, my tone gruff, after I was finally able to move the legs of the child to their best distance.

So the mental chatter ended, and, while I could hear something strangely similar to laughter in the background of my mind, now I was just observing if the child wasn't returning to her previous, wrong, stance.

I nodded when I noticed that there was nothing to warn about, and then I ordered:

"Rest."

The girl now was looking at me with a questioning stare and an head tilt, but she did as I asked and returned into a normal position.

I almost smirked, but I was able to restrain myself from showing it at the thought of what I was going to make her do.

Then I gave another order, and this time I smirked for her reaction:

"Now I want you to retake the same position as before again and again until you don't do even one mistake."

Oh, how I would have liked to have a camera!

After all this girl was, even if unknowingly and unwittingly, the reason of that whole situation (and I wanted to use another word so very much) happening and for me to risk not only my own life, about which I didn't care at all, but my own objective, along with reopening some wounds which I didn't want to be opened.

So seeing her eyes becoming wide, her mouth opening so very much, her arms slackening even more along with letting the two training weapons go, made not only my day, but also my week, and made me smirk at her.

But I wasn't so petty to laugh at her, and I, with my calmest and most serious tone despite my own smirk, repeated:

"Yes, you have understood what I asked, and you will do it."

*Grooooaan!*

The girl groaned and bowed her back, but she took up the two weapons and tried to put herself into the stance I instructed.

While she started her exercise, I grabbed the sword with my other hand and started pumping some Prana on my digit;

"Girl, you have to be bended, if not when an attack will impact on your shield you will just fall over."

"Riiiiight."

With the forefinger I started the run with a vertical line;

"The shield has to be slightly tilted so that you deflect the attacks. Deflecting an attack is much less tiring than blocking one."

"Suuure."

Then I added an oblique line on the right side of the line, then another one under that, so that the rune seemed to be a seven reflected on a mirror;

"I can understand that you find this exercise useless, but you have to be able to take that stance without thinking. It's better a bit of sweat and boredom than blood and tears."

"Okay... But this is boring!"

This was Ansuz. A rune with many meanings, but the one that I wanted was very simple.

Fire.

The girl was immediately in front of me, having discarded the two poor training weapons, and I could almost see stars in her eyes when she looked at the little fire now burning brightly on my hand fuelled by my Prana, even under the early summer sun.

I looked amused at the girl and asked, my tone entertained:

"I didn't know that you had finished your exercise. Or that I even said that you could stop."

The girl looked up at me and pouted, and with a grumpy tone she moaned:

"But it's boooriiiing! And you are now doing magic in front of me, and I want to do something other than remaining standing like a pole!"

I sighed at this reason but, with a nod at myself, I let her remain and asked:

"Do you know the triangle of fire? We didn't do it at school but if you know that it would make all this explanation much simpler."

The girl nodded, much to my surprise, and exclaimed brightly, a megawatt smile on her lips:

"Sure I know it!"

I didn't trust her, so I asked with a dry tone:

"Then could you explain it to me?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…If you don't know it, I can always explain it to you." I said a bit exasperated at the blank looking, still smiling girl, who nodded again and replied haughtily:

"I know about it, I have it on the tip of my tongue, but you can always repeat it for me!"

"*sigh* Okay. Sit down. I will explain it to you." then I started explaining, with the runic fire still on my hand, while the girl looked at it with raptured eyes:

"A fire is comprised of three elements: heat, oxygen and fuel. All of these three elements must be present if you want the fire, and if one isn't present, then there is no possibility for the fire to burn. The same is with magecraft: for a mystery, or 'magic' as you would call it, to work, you need three things as well: Prana as a fuel, an Aria to make attune yourself to the mystery you are going to make manifest and make yourself believe that you are able to do it and that's normal that it happens, and what you want to make manifest. Like a fire, if there isn't one of these things then there is no way for the mystery of being manifest-"

The girl nodded at the small pause I did, probably understanding some points of it, but I wasn't finished:

"-along with your life." I ended with finality, trying to make her understand the dangers, but at her questioning face I explained:

"Prana is a mixture of external energy, which you could call Mana, and internal, which is the Od, that is produced through the use of internal coils which I call Magic Circuits. If there is not enough Prana, then your own preparations are going to make you try to do it in any case, and without fuel, well… it depends on how much Prana you don't have, but it could go from an horrible pain to an horrible death. So pay attention to how much Prana you can produce."

"Sooo, if being too little 'Prana' is bad," commented the girl tentative:"Then being too much is also bad, right? 'Too much of a good thing is not a good thing', right?"

I smirked satisfied, and praised the girl while preparing to give a small practical example:

"Good. And do you know what happen when in a fire there is too much fuel?"

"…It goes boom?" asked the girl, now looking fearfully at the fire which was hovering on my hand threating, and backpedalled a few metres.

"It goes boom." I confirmed, and then I let a lot of Prana flow into the fire, while reinforcing my whole body and my clothes, and, after becoming bright as a small star, it exploded in a small fire's mushroom.

*WAAAH!*

The girl now had retreated to the other end of the roof, pointing at where the fire had been with a trembling hand while her eyes were darting from there to my unharmed hand to my still clean long sleeved shirt, and then, when it registered to her that I was perfectly fine, she pouted and shouted:

"Meanie! Bully! Dummy!"

"Yes, I am all of those things. Now can you come here so we can continue the introducing lesson?" I asked annoyed, the volume of my voice not changing in the slightest.

The girl continued to pout but she did as I asked, and after a moment of two she was sat before me again, still glancing at the hand which was carrying the fire.

I coughed into that hand, making her stop looking at it, and then, when I was restarting my lecture, the girl asked a bit fearfully and a lot confused:

"But, if it's so much dangerous… Why do you want me to learn this?"

… Do I want to be hard or light?

No. She needs to understand the truth of her situation before everything else

She deserves that much, if she can't at least get out from this world:

"You will need to at least have the basics down in the least time as possible. We could then slow down after you are able to recreate them exactly, but we don't have this luxury now." I explained vaguely, and then I added in a calm tone:"After all, how do you think that the one eyed monster was able to find you?"

The girl paled and trembled, and in that moment I ended my offence:

"Even if I gave to you the amulet, I don't want you to be over-reliant to it. So you need to be able to close and open your circuits at will. After all what do you think would happen if they are opened and the amulet fails?"

" Okay okay okay! I have understood, no knowing about my power is bad and if I don't learn it my mom and I will be eaten!" shouted the girl violently, after that her eyes wide and her breath laboured, while her whole face was red and her body was trembling with anger.

Then she huffed and added, her tone less angered and more annoyed:"And it seems cool too. I want to be able to fire some monsters. And other things."

From the smile she made it wasn't just things she was thinking about, but I let it run, feeling now a bit drained.

"Good." I said, my tone calm in front of her anger:"You understand the stakes, then. We don't have the luxury to wait or not train you about at least the basics with your situation."

I sat down myself, at that moment feeling so much tired.

So, so very tired.

I was going to drag an innocent there, after all.

I had to be tired.

With a soft tone I said:"I know that it's cruel to not let you make any decision about this, and if there was a way to not make you walk this path with you still alive, I would have made sure to take it. But we don't have it, and if I fail to teach you than not only you, but your mother, my family and possibly the entire block will be in danger, and that's not something that we can let pass."

And if the monsters came en masse, or even if a great Thaumaturgical signature came, then the gods would come, and they would investigate much more deeply.

Even if some of the runes on the roofs made sure that the building wasn't taken as Thaumaturgical in nature, a good investigation made by some gods would rat it out fairly quickly.

Better to not poke that wasps' nest.

But now we didn't have the time to sulk about our destiny, so I said, my tone now calm again:

"Today I will help you open your Circuits."

The girl was now listened to me attentive, even if I could see a bit of frustration in her eyes, when I continued:

"I have already said that Magical energy, or Prana, is produced inside the Circuits through the mixture of internal energy, the Od, which you could call your 'life energy', and the external energy, the Mana, which is produced by the world itself, and is used by the gods and the monsters to do their own magic, like the Mist, which covers the tracks of supernatural activity. But for this to happen, your Circuits need to be open. And, consequentially, if you want to avoid to produce Prana, then you need to know how to deactivate your Circuits. Is that clear?"

The girl nodded, and with that I continued:

"There are several ways to open your own circuits, but all are either too time expensive, like meditation, or to much cost expensive, like some rituals which needs hilariously expensive parts to work."

Or were too much intimate, like Soul diving, I added mentally.

Which was, in comparison, even more intimate than a tantric ritual, so something that I didn't want to do by principle.

Much more so with a child.

She didn't need to see my real own self, and I absolutely didn't need to feel like I was doing child abuse.

The girl was now looking at me confused, her head tilted and her brows furrowed, but she didn't make any question and remained silent.

I took it as a hint that I could continue:

"But there exists one way which meets both the criteria's and can be done now. You could call it 'the Butterfly effect'."

'It's one of the lamest names I've ever heard.' Quipped the goddess inside the bond, her tone both resigned and faintly amused, while I summoned a knife in my hand.

'Because you had such a better name.' I answered back sarcastically, while making sure that the Athame was summoned properly.

'I would like to say that 'Chain activation by External Prana's influx' is a good name.' Sulky, while I was controlling that the knife little boost with rituals was still there.

'Maybe for a first rate Magus who would like to vivisect me and the girl. But I am not one. But now we have other things to do, right?' Mildly irritated, even after I was sure that the knife was almost perfect.

'Yar yar yar, you are just jealous of the name.' Jokingly, while I prepared the knife on my forefinger.

'Now it's not the time. Prepare.' No longer only mildly irritated, while inhaling and preparing myself.

'I'm always ready!'Even more jokingly, if possible, and finally the bond was clouded, meaning that the goddess was preparing herself.

Good that I was already prepared.

I let the blade flow through my finger, without even an hiss of discomfort at the bite of the steel, uncaring of the surprised noise coming from the girl in front of me, and instead I focused in making my Prana flow in the warm blood, now trickling down from the half centimetre scratch.

This was just to better the chances of this ritual going in the way it should, even if it didn't have a dedicated Circle or any particular Aria.

The Perks of having an entity bonded with me, I guess.

If the hadn't been here, then I would have had to make the girl consume highly concentrated quantities of my Prana.

Which would have meant making her eat Prana filled jewels.

"Ohi! Are you mad?!" came the voice of the girl, now extremely concerned and alarmed by my actions, her eyes wide while she was dragging herself back.

I just sighed at the girl and explained, distractedly looking at how high the sun was after having gotten up:

"Prana can pass through individuals if there is an exchange of fluids between them. There are several variables in place in this kind of rituals, like the closeness between the two individuals."

When I heard no answer I looked down to the girl who was looking at me with a blank stare and a stupid smile, like she…

"You didn't understand a thing about what I said, right?"

The girl nodded slowly, her blank stare still in place, and I resisted the urge to rub my temples, wanting to avoid to make my white hair red and make some unwanted questions.

All right, it isn't needed for her to understand completely, but maybe:

"Prana can pass through blood if both the giver and the taker want."

The girl perked up and nodded quickly, now understanding what I was saying.

"Good. So, drink my blood." I ordered plainly, my still bloody finger continuing to let out my own vital essence.

The girl, after a few moments of confusion, gagged and, after she was able to recuperate herself, she pointed at me and shouted outraged:

"What should I do with your blood?!"

" It's not the blood itself which is needed, but the Prana which flows inside it, which will trigger a reaction with your dormant circuits and activate them. Drink it." I said in a calm voice, trying to not become too much annoyed.

I was bleeding here, bloody Root, and I didn't want to stain my clothes.

"But why does it have to be blood?!" screamed the girl utterly disgusted.

Instead of becoming more annoyed, I looked straight at her and asked calmly:

"Would you prefer that I kiss you?"

"Blood it is."

The answer was given so quickly and surely, like the previous disgust did never exist, and got up from where she was.

"Okay." she commented nervously, her eyes darting to the still open scratch while walking towards me:"What do I have to do?"

"Open your mouth." I ordered without an ounce of embarrassment.

"Wha-"

In that moment, when her mouth was open, I stuck my slightly injured finger in her mouth and Reinforced my whole hand, preparing for what would come to her and focusing on counting her Circuits and their qualities in the briefest time possible.

For a second, the girl looked at me enraged, her eyes squinted and her fists moving to strike me, then it came.

The amulet was promptly shattered, like a sand castle in front of the wave.

Her eyes became wide.

A surge of power, so much that it made the one that it was felt before like a pond in front of the ocean.

Her knees risked to fall, but she was able to remain on her feet.

The channels seemed to almost shake, so much was their own power inside each of them.

And then a voice surged through her throat, like I expected.

After all this was a painful process.

The number of the channels was so deafening that not even hundreds upon hundreds of hooves on the nude rock could silence it.

But it wasn't pain which came from it.

It was a pure and simple laugh, which only children could be source of.

"Itshs feesshhh good!" shouted the girl, my finger still inside her mouth, both too much surprised to notice, her for the exhilaration of the situation, myself for the surprise.

Not only for her happiness, but for the sheer power she was able to put off, enough to dwarf my own by ten times.

But this power would come at a cost, it always came.

The gods are fearful creature, after all, fearing for every scrap of power getting out of their control.

I had seen several of those scraps, and I had been sent to deal with several of them.

So it was normal that I looked at the girl, who now was flaring with energy from her two hundreds and twenty seven circuits, each able to produce a little less than four hundreds and eighty unit of Prana, with sadness.

'She is also an incarnation. And she has a double element. Origin Water, Elements Water and Earth. Fearsome.' Came the voice of the goddess, which made me want so much to openly swear.

But, for that moment, I buried that sadness and irritation and said, my tone emotionless while I let out my finger from her mouth, my analysis complete:

"Welcome to the Moonlit world. May you survive for the next years."

Two hours later, on the road towards the Jackson's house.

"Sweetie, what did you do that now you look like an old man?"

"…My everything hurts…"

Girl, you didn't stop for a moment after I activated your Circuits, and you needed training in every case.

I only got two birds with one stone.

Wait, make them three: I got your Circuits to finally close after you were tired out.

Now you were an hurting child, but at least we were closer to not become food for monsters or amusement for gods.

'I don't think that Penelope could understand that you were doing a favour by beating her into shape.' Quipped the goddess, her tone exuding piety for the girl.

'It's better for the child a lot of sweat and a little blood than a little sweat and buckets of blood, am I right?' I quipped myself, my tone dripping with cynicism.

'That's true, but look at her!' I did look at the wobbling girl, who was using her mother as a crutch while a newly Traced amulet was dangling around her neck.

'You know that I wasn't really hard on her, right? And do you remember that this will be a routine for the next month, and when we will be able she will be trained even more hardly?' I explained calmly, my eyes firm on the road, making sure to list any possible high points from where I could fire with my bow.

'Still I don't think that-' Grumbled the goddess for a moment but then she stopped when we came in front of a grey, decaying building, which fronts were covered with black sprayed letters and, in front of the building, bags upon bags of garbage were present, which, along with the smell of smoke, both machine and human produced, completed the description.

But it was the stench of rotten, something so utterly disgusting that almost made me retch for both its suddenness and its pervasiveness.

And it was magical by its origin.

'By the Root, what is this? A monster?' This was what I thought, and a muttered Trace On was what I did.

'I don't know what it should be, but it's not a monster.' Came the sure answer of the goddess, nonetheless said with a seriousness that confused me.

'Then what could it be? This stench is characteristic of monsters, not of humans. Of normal humans, at least.'

Images of the worm which was Zouken Matou came into my mind, its twisted grin only less wicked than its soul, but this stench was nothing compared to the sheer, disgusting wrongness which was the centuries old worm.

But this made me feel uneasy all the same.

Probably my reaction was seen by the mother because, when we entered the building through a squeaky door and came before an old, graffiti filled, lift, after having passed under the drunken and sleepy gaze of the old clerk, she said gently to the girl:

"Sweetie, could you please say goodbye to young Sheru," damnit:"And go up? I have something to take here and you know how the old elevator is with more than two people on it."

"But there is Smelly up!" came the answer of the girl, who looked both annoyed and irritated at her mother.

There was even a bit of fear in there, also.

"Then wait outside of the door, I will be done in a minute or so." was the calm reply of the mother, who was rubbing the scalp of her daughter.

The girl was hesitant but, under her mother ministrations, she nodded surely and, after throwing me a glare, she waved at me and said:

"See ya tomorrow, broody."

And then she went off wobbling, leaving her with a person who, for the girl, shouldn't know about her training.

"Maybe your training was too hard for her." was the comment of the mother, who now was looking at me emotionlessly, her affectionate persona a far echo.

"If you want her bloody and motionless on the ground rather than sweaty and walking then I can stop training her to survive for the summer's solstice." I answered with my most sarcastic tone, making her flinch, then, with a more emotionless tone, I asked:"Are you sure you want to talk about it here? It's not the best place to do it, after all."

"Old Eddie isn't able to even think after the six of the afternoon. Or the morning. So he will not even calculate us as present here."

I looked at her sceptical but nonetheless I asked, my tone not conveying both my irritation and my curiosity at the answer the mother would give me:

"Could you please tell me what is this disgusting presence in the building?"

The woman looked at me emotionless and simply said:

"It's the one who gave me that ring."

I just stared at her, internally raging about idiots, but externally questioning:

"And why would you stay with someone who gives that kind of presence?"

"Because I want to protect my daughter."

It was said in a tone so resolute, so determined that it almost made me want to beat her with a stick for her recklessness, but I resolved with my most exasperated tone:

"And how would be being with someone who could as well pass as a monster-" and probably behaved like one, I added mentally:"help protecting your daughter?"

"Does a dog eat another dog?" was the answer given by the woman, which made me stop and think.

'Maybe it's possible that only the presence of another monster. It would explain why monster of different species usually don't work together. But why would this happen? And why would a human have this kind of presence.' Theorized the goddess, her tone studious, but I wasn't so hopeful:

"But it would only put yourself in danger, wouldn't it?" I tried to make her understand that.

"I said it before, I don't care what happens to me, I only care about the wellbeing of my daughter."

I bit the side of my mouth and tried to not going to the nearest wall and hit it with my head for her stubbornness, but instead I calmly talked:

"I understand, just remember to use the rune I gave to you if something happens."

The mother nodded but before she could go away I asked calmly:

"Do you know if there is one of the mailboxes which isn't used by the people inside the building?"

The mother shook her head unsurely, probably wondering why I was asking that, but now I was in front of the sleeping clerk again, using Structural Analysis to look at the boxes and find the one used the less.

Then I found one, which wasn't used since eight ten months and didn't have anyone who was using it since that time, even if it still had a dusty name of it, of a certain 'Giustino DelMonte'.

Without thinking about it, I placed my hand on the locket of the mailbox and I tried to find inside the history of the mailbox its key.

From the time of its forging, to the time it was placed in there, to the first time it was used, to the last time it was closed.

Which I found in less than ten seconds, and in another three I Traced two copies of the keys of it, and in another one I Reinforced the box itself.

After that I engraved with the magic an underpowered Isa rune, which would only dissuade mundanes from looking at the mailbox, and, having done so I threw one of the key to the mother, who clumsily caught it, and I said:

"Use it to put the money and the objects I need to repair. I would prefer to not have objects findable by my family, and you can't have great quantities of money inside your home, so this will be where we will put everything we need to exchange. Is that good?"

"Yes. Now I have to go. Have a good day, son of the Smith." She answered, her tone strangely full of respect, and, without waiting for my answer, she departed on the lift.

I just looked there and sighed, thinking in what kind of mess now I am in.

At least now I know what I am going to do.

What is one month against seven years, after all?

And seven years to the eternity?

END CHAPTER

AN

YEAAAAHAHHAHA!

Now I leave you with the third to last chapter before the first book.

Because I've made a time table.

A rough one.

But now the chapter is ended, and I will say: Thanks to whoever wrote a review and complimented me.

Grazie a Ander warrior e a Hunter of memories, per ora gli unici italiani a scrivere un commento.

Muchas gracies a Castelmar, el espanol que escribe en los commentos (me excuso por el teribel espanol per yo voleo rengracierta en tu lengua).

Another thank to nobodyreallyimportant who has given me some insight about American schools. Please send PM to me if you can help.

Thanks to Paxloria, deathgrips099, DannyPhantom619, Ztassassin555, AmethystPone,Gashadokuro Amanojaku for their critics reviews.

And a little omake for Roxas902 (S is for Shirou and R is for Rin. This is just a little bit of a joke for Carnival, let me be a bit of a joker, after all "A carnevale ogni scherzo vale", and thanks for the comment).

S:"Tohsaka-san"

R:"I already said how you should call me, Shirou-kun."

S:"I understand what you mean, Tohsaka-san, but I find my situation to be a bit too…delicate to be overly familiar with you."

R:"Hmph! It's because you said that word that now you are stuck on the wall!"

S:"But Tohsaka-san, I only shouted when I saw that I had white hair!"

R:"You swore against the god of the Christians."

S:"… I didn't know you were religious, Tohsaka-san. I apologize."

R:"No, Shirou-kun, I do not care about religion. It's that you swore against a deity."

S:"… So you are politically correct?"

R:"…You are an idiot. What was the era before the age of the human?"

S:"…The age of gods?"

R:"And what was in the grail?"

S:"…Oh."

R:"Oh. That age isn't something missed by the magi, even if the Mana of the time would be greatly appreciated. Being the slave of some upstart bastard isn't something I would like, and if "

S:"Okay, then we don't insult the gods because…"

R:"The gods take power through worship, both good and bad, and, depending by the power of the worshipper, they gain more power. If they gain enough power, they could return into the mortal plane."

S:"So all the Magi don't worship the normal gods because they could summon them back. But there isn't the Church?"

R:"Would you say that Kirei is a worshipper?"

S:"Okay, you are right. But isn't it a bit…too much?"

R:"Would you like an Angra Mainyu in the world? If you have to swear, swear about the Root. It can't do anything, and if it appears because you swore…eheheh…"

S:"All right… Now could you please let me go?"

R:"No. I've had some…ideas which I would like to try…"

See you guys in the next chapter!

CIAAOOOOOO!