A human has limits.
There's times that we just can't do as we want to. We can't fly, gravity doesn't let us. (Planes and such don't count, I mean a human, not man-made things) We need sleep, else, your body tires down, and even the most mundane of tasks become a hassle. We need nourishment, else it can not only damage your body, but even reduce life-span if it's overly-restricted.
The limits of a human are tiring.
We have goals we all want to accomplish, even if we don't realize… but some goals are just too far out of reach, with the limits that we live upon. Not only the limits made by the human body, but the world they're on too… sorta.
See, my name is Minoru Kageno… or rather was.
Were you a kid, once? Did you ever dream of becoming something like a firefighter, a police officer, a doctor… or even, a hero? I know that you were a kid, that's a fact, but the other is completely dependent on you—in this case, me.
I didn't want to be a hero. Heroes, although Mighty and fame no other could get (in fairy tales, of course), it'd be a hassle if people knew of me and became dependent on me. If they know me, I'd become known as the 'Savior', 'Hero', or the 'Villain', and while that sounds fun, it can ruin my normal life, which is a no-go.
See, I never wanted to be a protagonist, nor a villain. It gathers too much attention, which can lead to bad results (Good too, but I'd rather hide those details). No, I don't want to be either of those. I want to control stuff behind the curtains. That's been my dream since childhood. People grow up and dreams like the one I have ceased to exist. After all, it's time to wake-up… it's time to accept reality… yet I couldn't, I didn't want to—I wouldn't.
I don't know where this… need came from. Anime? Manga? American superhero stories? (They got some wild ones, trust me). All I know is that it's rooted deep into my heart. I want what they have! I want that power, to control the action behind the curtains! Like a puppeteer! Sad thing is: back to my first sentences.
A human has limits.
No matter how hard I trained, be it in swordsmanship, boxing, karate… So much I did in my short life, yet it all failed. A truck hit me. (truck-kun strikes again! Damn this Isekai starter!). At my young age of 17, I couldn't survive a truck. It's not as if I wasn't strong..! Kinda. It's infuriating.
I had already come to terms with reality… especially after the events with Nishimura or whatever. I could be as trained as I want, but I'm still going to be injured.
Could I survive an army on my own? Of course not, especially if they have ranged weapons. I can take down a couple thieves, but if they have even the slightest of advantages, I'm cooked, and there's not much I can do.
And let's say hypothetically I did… What would I do if a nuke was used against me?
Yup, dead meat.
I couldn't become a puppeteer like that! I couldn't control things behind the curtains! I couldn't, as much as I wanted to, control what, where, and when things happen, because even after everything, I had no such power. I was limited to being me. I would've liked to be a shadow broker. With heaps of information, details, an army to lead… everything within my grasp, with people not knowing that it's me, Minoru.
When those lights quickened to me, a horn blasted full force, brakes were ringing, and I was naked (…yes.) in front of the truck… I knew I was a goner.
With! With and with all of that said!
Why am I seeing things—particles of dust… but they glowed faintly. Wait no, that doesn't matter, I am alive! I am currently alive-...
I'm so small.
I tried to raise my arms, but couldn't. I was covered by a white blanket, and… Yeah I can't tell anything apart from that. Heck, I couldn't even turn my head to the side! They tied me up as if I, a baby, was going to escape somethi—I'm a baby?
Oh I guess that makes sense.
What doesn't make sense is… why am I in the middle of the woods? Those trees are damn tall, I can assure you that much. The wind was slowly blowing my way, and I was just there. I couldn't move, I couldn't even blink properly… wait no, I'm blinking fine… just a lot slower compared to what I used to. Am I as strong? Nah, I mean I lost everything after that damn truck hit me.
…what now?
I mean I'm a baby. I can't even walk properly—damn this dust! I can't get it off me! Why would dust glow anyways? It's dust!
"Claire! Be careful honey!"
Wot? Words were said, me understanding them is another thing. I understood nothing but genuine gibberish. What is this language? I mean, I studied every language to the dot, Russian, Chinese, Spanish… even tried to imitate their accents! Failed miserably. Doesn't mean I didn't try, though.
This damn dust—waaaaaiiiiit a second! When I was in my 17 year old body, I tried to get magic. I mean, it's the only way for me to survive a nuclear explosion, no? I think that's reasonable. I mean it's the reason that damn truck—I'm getting side-tracked. I was meditating, concentrating every fiber of my being to try to feel the most miniscule of changes in my body back then… All I did was feel more relaxed, and while it worked in favor of relaxing my muscles and having better movement, I didn't feel an ounce of magic…
But, now… what if I try…
The dust seemingly entered my being… No, that's wrong. There was already dust inside me! (pause)... but I can sense them! Wait so it's magic… I feel it just relaxed, dormant, as if waiting to be of use… How, though? Can I control where I can flow the magic too?
"Claire?! Where did you go?!"
Gibberish and more gibberish! Whatever you humans are talking about, stay silent! Me, a mere baby is experimenting with magic! Continuing. I tried to force the dust—magic, it's called magic. I tried to control the magic and force it onto one of my (tied) arms.
I felt it… suddenly it got air. Wot? Wait, I can move it! It broke through the fabric that was tying it up. So it did grow stronger… or maybe I'm crazy? I didn't feel it? What if my arm was free all-along and I just didn't have the stre—nevermind I feel it… the magic feels so potent in my arm!
That's so cool—who is this child and why is she staring at me in such a manner? Raven haired, red eyes, small figure. A kid lost in the woods? I'm not the only one? Why does she look so interested in the mere fact that I'm there…
Well it's not normal to find a kid tied up and in the middle of the woods, so I guess it's fine…
Oop. I feel the magic dispersing—the kid noticed too. She's staring at my arm, which had the magic particle thingies. Wait I can use this moment to see how easy it is for me to feel the magic coursing through my body!
"Claire! Was that your magic?!"
Silence unnamed woman screaming absolute gibberish in the middle of the woods…! they're your parents aren't they? Did she understand me? Why did she tilt her head? Oh wait, it must be 'cus I'm trying to understand magic currently.
I mean it runs fine through my body, I can feel it coursing through and dispersing into thin air. I just need to learn how to hold it and condense it… because this kid can clearly sense it, and that's no-bueno.
"Aha! Claire! Finally—why is there a baby in the middle of the woods?"
I was grabbed, and I was met with a bald-man with barely any facial hair. Seemed like he had tried to grow a mustache or something and had failed miserably… same with the beard. Why are you wearing such a fancy suit and tie in the middle of the woods?
"You're right… that's not normal."
I was pulled by another pair of hands, a raven-haired woman with light gray eyes. Are you two rich? Why the clothing? Oh, and she was the one screaming. I noticed the moment she spoke, understanding, though, is different. "You know, his hair… his eyes… he looks awfully similar to me."
Yeah I understand.
"You're right honey." the bald-man spoke. "But my question is he here to begin with?"
Yeah I understand.
"That doesn't matter, if we can't find whoever let him here, can we adopt him?"
Yeah I understand.
"Why don't we immediately? He was let out here for a reason, was he not?"
Yeah I don't understand. These people are having a conversation and I feel the eyes of the red-eyed girl lasering me and my entire being. So I was Isekai'd, I can tell that much. Reincarnated, I assume? I wasn't summoned, right? I mean I did die. Transmigration? I mean I am but a baby!
How old am I anyways?
"How old is this little guy anyways?"
Yeah I don't understand. I mean, as a baby, I think it is safe to assume—shit.
"Oh, he's a baby alright!"
A did a stinkie.
"Yup! We're adopting him!"
Why are you raising me? Doesn't it smell bad?!
"He'll be your new brother, Claire! He'll be Peter Kagenou-no, Ty Kagenou-no, Cid Kagenou!"
Lower me darn it! "Guaaaaaah!"
"Hoho! What a hearty cry!"
Someone save me! "Guaaaaaah!"
"Repeat after me, Cid! Tha-"
"Tha-"
"-nk you."
"-nk you."
"Great! Now say it all at once! Thank you!"
"Tankue!"
Yup! Isekai'd! Reincarnated…! Into some sort of European styled Middle ages? And here was my five year old sister, Claire, trying to teach me, a normie, words outside of my understanding! (Not.) So, okay, when I was first grabbed in the forest, I was a few months old, as I could coherently have thoughts. So that was point one.
Second one was that a doctor came by, and gave me a quick yet thorough search, finding out that I was four months old. The date, exactly? Not known, but they decided on the day, and I not understanding a word of what was said back then, was totally on board with it.
How do I know this now? Well when I was able to get things within my grasp, I read the whole book on this new language and spent an all-nighter learning it, and even after, went back to the depths of my memory and translated every single thing that was said back then.
-Claire told me.
"You almost had it! Let's try again! Than-"
"Than-" she's been like this since I first arrived. She has been with me, on me or around me every chance she has! I want train magic on my own, darn it! Give me a break… It's a hyperbole, honestly. I've had a lot of time these past two years, since I was, you know, a baby. I took my sweet time 'learning' how to walk, just to continue playing with magic while laying low.
"-k you!"
"-k you!" I've been able to realize that the more you condense your magic, the more its capacity grows… although it feels dangerous, at times, since my body can't handle that much energy. Yet I continue doing so, trying to get as much of that sweet magic in my body.
"Now all at once! Thank you!"
"Thank ye!" She clapped, a beaming smile on her face. Why thank you.
"So close! One more! I'm sure of it!"
My magic reserves are… well compared to that of my sister, incredibly high, but compared to that of my dads, they're a bit below. My dad used to train to be a Dark Knight, but according to mom, his shining head was so bright, it caused more damage than good.
Though there's something that I've been wondering from the very start. Does… his baldness(hair loss) run in the blood? We aren't blood related, that's for certain, but if it isn't… What if he pushed himself so hard that his hair just ceased to exist? Does that mean I'm going to go bald too? I'm always pushing myself, always have been… I studied and verified that stress causes hair loss…
Am I going to be bald too?
That's... no... wait...
Nonono! Nee-san! Don't tilt your head like that upon seeing me shake my head! Imagine me, of all people, bald! I've used magic these last two years to grow my bones and muscles in such a way that it'd be way more beneficial for fighting! The strength, speed, agility and such! Now I'm going to use the magic to make damn sure that my head won't be shiny! I have to make sure of something first!
"Nee-san, when did dad go bald?"
She chuckled as she placed me in her lap, "Kaa-sama says that she met him at an early age, when he was training for the Dark Knights. Apparently he took it very seriously, so serious in fact that it started to make his hair fall."
HAAAAAAAAAA?! I'm just like him in that regard! My hair! No!
"Oop. Cid, why did you tense up?"
"Nothing Nee-san! What was his age back then?"
"Oh, around twenty—"
I'M GOING TO BE BALD?! I FINALLY GOT MAGIC AND THIS IS HOW YOU CURSE ME OTHER WORDLY DEITY LOOKING DOWN ON ME?!
"Cid are you okay? You seem to be shaking?"
Matter of fact, Nee-san, I am not okay. My dreams of becoming a puppeteer are being numbered by a mirror called my own damn head IN A MATTER OF YEARS!
"Yes, Nee-san, just… funny…" Fakest chuckle I've let out since, well, forever. Long conversations aren't usually my thing, so the fact that I have to act as a mere three-year-old when in reality I'm 17+3, is mega weird.
"Hahaha! I know, right?!" It's not funny! My future is in jeopardy, Nee-san! "But trust me, it'll only happen to him. You'll be fine as long as Nee-san is here with you, alright?"
I do not trust whatever you're spouting, because those eyes seemed way to close and way too dangerous. "Of course, Nee-san!" But I'm still a naive three-year-old, so I have no right to say everything that's going through my head.
"Let's get back to it! Repeat after me! Thank-"
"Thank-" We've been on this word for like five minutes. I can have full conversations but not say 'Thank you'? You know how illogical that sounds, Nee-san?
"-you!"
Showers aren't so bad.
This might be cold because Nee-san decided to use all the heated water by herself, on herself, but y'know, a cold one is cool. Even though I am not in any way, shape or form blood-related to this family, I am considered an heir alongside Nee-san, which is a no-go.
I need to make myself as bland as possible compared to that of my sister. I mean if I want to be a puppeteer and a shadow broker, I have to be the lamest in the public, and the greatest behind the curtains!
Now let me say, these last three years I've been trying to understand magic to the most minuscules of levels. There's a few things that stand-out:
As I had previously mentioned, the more you condense magic, the more your capacity grows… it does come with some nasty side-effects, though. So much magic in someone's body, especially on three-year-olds, causes a lot of damage. I feel the magic trying everything in its power to expand and just explode… I feel as if the magic will manifest into something else.
It feels as if it's going out of control and it hurts a decent amount. I call this "Magic Overload", because you have more magic than you can sustain, but if I don't do this, I can't grow my reserves… so I'm constantly condensing magic, and when the pain grows to a point I can't stand, I neutralize the magic. How? With magic. I use my magic to remove the amount of magic.
Hear me out: You can control how much power each magic particle has. The more condensed the magic, the more powerful it is. So if I were to shoot magic outside my body, the more condensed it is, the more damage it'd do… and the lower the chances of it dissipating into thin air.
It's like grabbing sand and throwing it, it'll go all over the place. But if you were to grab wet sand and make it a ball, sure you'd lose some pieces of sand upon throwing it, but there's less flailing; you lose less sand, the more sand is directed towards your aimed target. That's how I've envisioned it, and how it's worked thus far for me.
So I'm always trying to make the magic particles inside my body smaller, condense them more. I understand their magic flow, and it's never constant, so I'm always manipulating it to a level where I can feel it, but barely. That's how condense I want it to be, and it has to be for it to increase my magic capacity… But I repeat, it hurts like a bitch, and if you lose control and don't neutralize the magic in time, you're done for.
But it seems I've grown decently with this, because not even Nee-san can detect my magic anymore, saying that "it's as close as to having nothing", which is nearly impossible in this world. Almost every living being has magic, so if you're 'close' to none, you're either very suspicious or just lame.
And I just happen to be both.
There's something bothering me though. I've been training with Nee-san with wooden swords (I completely understand, a three year old and a five year old training with swords?), and she has been pouring magic onto her sword, as have I.
Let's grab some magic, and put it into percentage. So a hundred particles of magic, a hundred percent of magic. If I pour those hundred particles, only three percent of magic actually goes and is useful in the battle, whilst the other ninety-seven percent is lost, dissipated.
But doesn't this go against with what I just said? I poured condensed magic into the blade, why isn't it keeping all the magic? You're not condensing that magic anymore. If you use magic into thin air, sooner or later it'll dissipate, but since the attack will collide before the magic actually dissipates, it'll be fine. Same can't be said with Swords. The magic, doesn't matter if condensed, will be lost upon using a blade. It doesn't conduct magic well, and the wooden swords we were training with only use three percent of that hundred, which is mega-lame.
Using knives, forks and such around our house, I've noticed that metal such as iron only runs ten, of that hundred percent… and I haven't found anything better than, since then. I'll find something, though, that much I know.
Hm? I forgot that I was showering. I don't even feel the water cold anymore, growing used to it. Water isn't that good with magic either. Water only conducts about twenty percent of magic, which is better than iron funnily enough, but using it is a hassle. I've tried to make the water take the shape of stuff, such as knives, using my magic, but it's hard to retain it. Not impossible, thus far, but really damn hard.
Water drops landed in my palm, and I forced magic onto it, and it took the shape of a small dagger. Useful, yes, but…
Wobble~
You touch it once, and it wobbles all around, its shape fighting to stay, yet I had to be constantly pouring magic with precision for it to stay… It can't be like that forever... or could be but the magic you'd be pouring in would be constant, and a mere distraction could ruin the concentration, thus destroying the knife-shaped water.
I stopped pouring magic, and the dagger turned back to water and I let it go.
Sigh, until I find something that's actually worth it, with decent, if not good magic conductivity, I'll need to see if I can manifest magic into solid objects… or something. That's actually not that bad of an idea….
I focused on my magic and poured it into my palm. A purple flame appeared… which is cool. Purple means power, ambition, and this is totally my style. Now, I focused on the particles in my hand. They're quickly dissipating, but with the constant supply of magic, everything that's lost, is quickly recovered.
I'm trying to solidify it. How? I don't know yet, but… back in my old world, I studied this. Solid, gas, liquid and plasma, the four states of matter. Solid is the one I'm looking at, currently. Molecules or atoms are compressed and tightly connected thanks to chemical bonds; Covalent bonding. Mostly, liquid objects are formed by cooling and compressing… maybe I can force them to connect… somehow?
If I figure out a way to make the atoms bond with each other, compressed to such a point that it can solidify even something as magic, it'll be really beneficial! As for example—
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Ciiiid!" Mum? "Are you playing with magic again?"
Wha—oh my magic is flowing freely… at least portions of it. If it were my full extent of magic, she'd be more than paranoid. I went too deep into my magic, trying to further understand everything around me! I dissipated the magic in my hand, the purple flame vanishing and magic reeling back into my body. "No, Kaa-sama!" I began condensing the magic as much as I could, "It was an accident!" I desperately yelled. Can't have her entering, after all.
"Alright! Try to limit the amount of accidents there! Last time Claire entered thinking you exploded the bathroom!"
Gotta dry up and get out of here, then.
I grabbed my towel, dried myself up, used some of Kaa-sama's beauty products, and put some clothes on. After like twenty minutes, I was done. Opening the door, I was met with Nee-san wearing her pajamas, reaching for the door with one hand as she held a book close to her chest with another, a book which I've read around seven times. Huge fan, let me say.
"You sure took your sweet time, Cid! I was about to go in there by myself!"
"Sorry Nee-san. The cold water was comfortable after a while and I just dozed off."
"Cold water? What happened to the one Baldie and Kaa-sama heated up?"
"You used it all, Nee-san."
"Oh." an embarrassed grin appearing in her features, "It just felt comfortable."
"And that's why it took me a while for the cold one to be comfortable!"
"That doesn't matter! It's near your bed time!" She changed the topic quickly, raising the book she was holding with her other arm. "So let's go to your room, so I can read you your favorite book!"
A book I've read before, but, "Yay!" I am nothing but a three-year-old kid whose energy and love for fantasy is surpassed by no-one. I, as any normal three-year-old would in this situation, sprinted over to "my" room. She followed me, giggling the way through.
I landed on "my" bed.
"My" room was quite simple. I had a chair and a table in the left corner of the room. Right in front of the table, there was a window that showed the outside. The table itself had a candle and books. What about? Mostly magic… but yeah. That's all there is in my room, excluding the wooden closet where all my clothes were.
So you might be wondering, why is "My" in between quotation marks? The details I gave are from what my room is supposed to look like. My sister had decided that my room is more like OUR room! She had deemed my bedroom as her own, too. While she didn't have much either, she brought her bed sheets, some plushies and a butt-ton of shoes and clothes that were currently on my table.
Now, why does she have all of this? Ota-san is the head of the Baron Kagenou family, and as the head he (for whatever reason) always uses fancy shirts and suits… but he's a bit of an asshat. I mean he's raising us and that I can give Ota-san props for, but that's it. He sees Nee-san's potential, and is trying to get her to be the heir of the family, by any means necessary.
Apparently he too sees the potential within me, but I don't want that. I want to be not known. A side-character. So, to satisfy us so we push ourselves further into his goals, he satisfies our desires, and Nee-san being Nee-san, has wished for nothing but swords and clothes. I, on the other hand, just wanted books, mostly about studies done on the biology of humans and magic. Why those topics? If I can further expand my knowledge on how the human body interacts with science and the hidden details about magic, I can easily use magic in way more beneficial ways...
"Are you ready, Cid?" Nee-san sat next to where I was laying, her legs crossed, a beaming smile directed at me. I could only smile back and nod enthusiastically. "Perfect, then! Let's continue with the Myth: Diablos and the Three Heroes!"
I grabbed my plushy and brought it closer to me. The plushie's name is Frank, not that she knows. Anyways, this story, I've read it before, and it's a well put together, clever yet generic story, if I'm being honest.
The story, to simplify, goes as follows: Three heroes were chosen by the church. One was a human, one was an elf, and another was a therianthrope. They were chosen to defeat the evil that had infested the world, and devoured the souls of the innocent. The heroes defeated a being called Diablos, who cursed lands and its people.
The church themselves made this book, and sold it around the world, calling it a "Myth" people in the past used to believe.
Nee-san continued, before I shyly raised my hand, "Um, Nee-san?" She looked up from the book, a smile on her features, "Would… you like to become a hero, if possible?"
Her face shifted, a questioning look appearing on her face, as she placed a hand under her chin. She's a main character, in my eyes, so she has potential to be a hero… especially with that weird energy—that weird magic inside her.
I never said this, did I? Kaa-sama and Nee-san have this weird magic inside them, which I can only classify as "Magic Overload", but it's weird because it's still stable, almost as if waiting for the right time to strike. In Kaa-sama's case, it's stable, no, scratch that, it's dormant. It's not doing anything, staying completely still—completely neutral… Nee-san's though...
"Well, Cid, I think that if I were ever to become a hero, it wouldn't be as one in the books…" she muttered loud enough so I could hear her, "I'd work for the Dark Knights, saving people from the Kingdom… I think those actions prove if someone is a hero or not."
Not the answer I was looking for. Nee-san's "Magic Overload", while not dormant, it's still very inactive. There's sudden spikes of power which I take notes of and Nee-san obviously feels, but so far that's it… though last year and this year the spikes grew a bit in consistency, not that much, but still enough for Nee-san to feel them.
Kaa-sama's was neutral already, as if it didn't grow out of control, and went dormant, and seemed to be dormant for a while. Nee-san's is still active, compared to Kaa-sama's.
"Oh, that's fair…"
"What about you, Cid? You have potential to be one of these so-called heroes!"
"No… Nee-san, I'd like to live my life laid back.. The less trouble the better."
"That's no good, Cid!"
I understand that it's no good, especially for a three-year-old to be saying such things but… I really have no desire to be known publicly. She had a very serious frown on her face, before I forced out a yawn and stretched my hands…
"Hm.. hm… Nee-san, are you going to bed?"
She suddenly smiled, throwing the book towards my desk (and her pile of clothes) and it somehow landed next to my other books. "Of course!"
She went under the sheets the same time I did, "Then why is Nee-san here? Don't you have a bedroom?"
"Oh, I thought it'd be better for me to sleep here. It's a bit more comfortable."
"Is that so?" Nod, nod, gotcha, "Alright then, Nee-san, I'll sleep in your bedroo-" as I was trying to stand up, she pulled me to a hug.
"Nope~!"
"But Nee-san...!"
"Can't hear you~ sleeping~"
"Nee-san!"
As it turns out, she already had the upper hand.
"Hah!"
Back in my old world, I trained to minimize waste. If you take a step a bit too far, you're wasting energy. If a step could've been taken as a half-step, then it should be taken as a half-step. The less time you waste energy on unnecessary movement, the better it is for your long-term performance.
With magic at my disposal, I've learned that I can make these decisions at a faster rate. It's using what you have to your advantage… But even then. I've come to realize that most people in this world have no technique. They try to brute force their way into places… in this case, fights. Use more for an attack, the more the better, use more for defense, the more the better. That's all there is to it. They don't know how to save their energy, and continually waste everything, as proven by how…
If I just take a half-step back, I have an easy hit.
If I just quickly block and get a hold of the blade, easy hit.
I can deflect and outrun the attacker, getting an easy hit.
Too many openings. But, I am…
Deflect.
Before a roundhouse kick hit me directly in the stomach, and I was sent flying.
So many options, yet I decided to be hit…
"You should've reacted faster!" I heard a fuming voice. I was still mid-air. Looking down, I saw steam coming out of Nee-san's ears, as she stomped the ground in fury.
"Bweh!" I landed in a river. I floated upwards and whined, "Geez, Nee-san! You're too strong!"
"And you can be too, if you were more interested in fighting rather than human biology!"
She's been trying to get me to her level. For what reason?
"How are you going to skip two years if you stay behind?!"
"I'm nowhere near skipping two levels, Nee-san!"
Nee-san's magic has grown to become more out of control. Her magic flow is… odd. Her flesh, even, odd. Dark spots began appearing around her body, and it didn't matter how well she tried to hide it, I was able to notice…
She's currently twelve. I am ten.
Nee-san had told me that the Baron family had pumped out Dark Knights for generations, and everyone had high hopes…
For Nee-san. I've made myself a background character with pure intention.
"You have potential, hidden really deep within, but it's there nonetheless!"
"Haaah?! You're so rude Nee-san!"
"She's right, Cid."
Kaa-sama was walking in our direction, a smile on her features, her eyes closed though.. How can she see properly? "You have gotten better, but if you poured more time into training, you'd catch up with her in no-time!"
Kaa-sama has always been good with me. She knows Nee-san is the better one out of the two, but she still raises me as her own, and makes sure that I never feel let down or sad. Unlike Ota-san, who shows obvious favoritism for Nee-san, which I don't really mind.
"See! Even Kaa-sama recognizes it, Cid!"
I swam back to the River Bank and sighed, Nee-san sitting next to me as she placed a town around me, "You have to continue training, and I promise you, we'll be together in the same classroom!"
Kaa-sama walked close to us too, before I could see her tilting her head, "Neh, Claire. What's that black spot on your shoulder?"
Nee-san tensed up, before she chuckled, "Cid got a good hit on me, using all the magic he could…" I could hear her screaming at me to not say anything.
"And you couldn't block?"
"Nope~"
Liar! I didn't even hit her, that's the Magic Overload taking effect… I'm going to have to deal with that, won't I?
"Kids, the sun is setting. Why don't you take a shower and head to your rooms?"
"Yes! Kaa-sama!"
I stood up immediately followed by Nee-san who grabbed my hand and pulled me away. Kaa-san stayed behind, giggling to herself.
"Nee-san, are you going to shower first?"
"What? Of course not silly."
"Oh, then, I am going to?"
"What? Of course not silly."
Then? I looked at her as she dragged me through the mansion, her giving me a mischievous grin, "We're going to shower together!"
"Hah?"
"Yeah! Like when we did when we were children!"
"We were children!"
"No excuses! Come with me!"
She dragged me through the whole mansion, and quickly got to the bathroom, where she was undressing without a care in the world. "Nee-san! Your sibling is right here!"
"That doesn't matter! We're going to be married anyways!"
"HAH?!"
Nee-san has grown crazy the last seven years. Some would say she has grown obsessed with me. I can't pinpoint why, I don't understand enough myself to tell you, but she has grown obsessed to such a point, it's unexplainable… We've been trained on how to act as aristocrats and how to treat others the "right" way, as possible future heads of the family. And I can't say for certain, but I'm pretty sure that's—this is not how siblings act!
"Nee-san! We are brother and sister from the Kagenou family! We can't possibly marry!"
"That doesn't matter! We aren't blood related anyways!"
"Yes it does matter!"
I know for a matter of fact that this wasn't even accepted in my old world!
"No it doesn't! If I don't marry you, who will?!"
"That's the plan Nee-san! I want to be a lone wolf—stop undressing!"
"That won't do Cid! You too, undress! We have to share the hot water before Baldy and Kaa-sama steal it from us!"
"I am not undressing!"
She glared at me, and she pretty much teleported; appearing before me and...
I undressed—rather, forced to. She was as naked as she was when she was born and too, forced me to undress, and since I'm a weak, naive little boy, I couldn't go against my strong Nee-san.
"You know, I haven't been able to find more of these… Are they hiding from me or something?"
I'm talking about something which conducts magic really well! It's really good...!
The last couple of years, when I make sure that Nee-san is asleep, I go out on hunts. I've been experimenting with objects that can work for conducting magic… and I found about slimes. Completely weak beings, no thoughts behind them, completely vulnerable to anything.
But… these beings… they have 99% magic conductivity! I killed the being, crushing their core and leaving the slime itself behind. When I first poured magic onto it, I noticed how easy it was to manipulate. I noticed how easy it was for it to run the magic I poured and for it to completely go with my will!
This is mighty beneficial with what I found about creating weapons with magic! It took a lot of trial and error, but these last couple of years have been great for testing magic. I've been able to condense my magic to such a point, it's pretty much non-existent at this point! Anyways before I get distracted, slime. As I said, it runs ninety-nine percent of the magic. It's slime, so it's solid, but liquidy. When I experiment with water, it's constantly liquid, so it can take shape, but it's harder to control. Compared to that, slime, being a bit solid, is a bit more constant and it helps maintain the shape I desire for the slime. And since I can manipulate it, it can take the shape of whatever I want!
So as I was saying previously, I can now create weapons with magic! The magic itself is a gas, sort of. So if I cooled it down, it could turn into a liquid. How? Kinetic energy in gas is erratic, constantly moving, but upon cooling it down, it decreases, and the particles themselves attract to each other, forming a liquid. Gas particles are all over the place, and the more solid the matter, the more close together they are.
Using this knowledge, I focused on cooling down the gas. How do I do that, then? There's no easy way to change the laws of the universe, and there's no advanced technology as there was in my old world. Condensing the gas—in this case, magic, but not within my body… but outside.
It's incredibly hard, but it's do-able. This reduces the erratic movements of the particles and, although a bit odd, cools down the gas… compressing it and turning it to a liquid. It can take shape, but maintaining it is another thing.
Slime is incredibly beneficial because it's semi-solid and semi-liquid (or in scientific terms: a non-Newtonian liquid). It's interactions with the world around it depend on the force used behind the slime. If I were to just rest my hand on said slime, it'd be liquid, but if I apply pressure and tried to smack it, it'd be solid... but that won't do, I need it to be fluent yet good enough for it to be solid... so it's easier to control slime compared to magic itself. Magic can fluently move however I desire, but turning gas into liquid, then having it take shape and turn into a solid is a bit odd.
Now how do I turn it into a solid? There's a few ways but they're more-alike the same. Freezing or solidification. If I recall correctly, most liquids freeze and solidify at a certain temperature. Reducing the temperature makes the molecules and atoms get to a point that they have no choice but to form a solid! With all that said and done, I've done it previously, but it's a bit hard maintaining the shape of it after long usage.
My magic reserves have grown astronomically, to the point that Ota-san's magic reserves are like a drop of water in the Pacific Ocean! But it's not enough.
Anyways, my hunt. I got side-tracked when talking about magic. Tends to happen, forgive me [Author here: That's both Cid and I speaking there]. I've been hunting both bandits and slimes in my spare time. I've gone far and wide, hunting slimes to perfect my 'slime suit' which I've been working on ever since I found about slimes.
And where there was an abundance of slime, there were bandits, and I'm not one to say no to free money! I mean they stole it all, so why shouldn't I steal it back?
And where I stood where the last slimes from this place—a ghost town a bit further in front.
Men laughing was all I could hear. My slime suit was easy to move in, went with every move I did, and was super silent… no footsteps could be heard… oh and it's pretty strong on itself. Slimes were the weakest of creatures, but not because of the slime itself, but because they were small and fragile, not being able to harden themselves for a better chance of survival.
That, and with the help of magic, I've been able to give it a stupid amount of defense. I couldn't even stab myself, as much as I wanted to… though to be fair I have yet to meet someone with the same amount of magic reserves as I.
Anyways, the ghost town was where the current bandits were.
"Haha! More goods than we could handle!"
"Yeah! It's not every day we end up getting chests full of gold!"
"How many Zenin are there?"
"Easily over a million!"
A MILLION ZENIN?! That's mighty bueno! Good job unnamed bandit number one! I looked towards the chests and grinned, the gold shining beautifully in the night sky!
"Hahaha! Best merchants we've stolen from!"
"Yeah! Apparently they had a possessed one too! If we can somehow find a way to sell this being off to the church, we'd be swimming in Zenin!"
Demon Possession you say? I don't know what that entails, but I feel everyone's presence here. When someone enters my radar, it's pretty hard for me not to notice them… so I feel someone with "Magic Overload".
Everyone has essence. Everyone has magic that radiates, even as condensed as it can be. Even my overly condensed magic is noticeable, so… when there's Magic Overload… when there's a huge amount of magic concentrated on one body, I feel it immediately.
"Think the church will pay us well?"
"They're running experiments on those beings! It's the least they could do!"
Experiments? Church? That doesn't matter, if that being is even alive, I can easily save it, so let's get the riches babyyyyyy!
"Yahoooo! Business has been booming lately, hasn't it?!" I shrieked, getting them all alarmed. Cups were dropped, swords were raised, "Let's avoid the hassle, hand over the riches!"
They couldn't identify where my voice came from as I used magic and used the vibration that comes from my throat (mouth) and dispersed it through the air, all around them… making it sound as if I was everywhere yet nowhere at the same time.
"Who's there?!"
"Come out scumbag!"
"Oh, is that what you wish for?"
Suddenly, (I hope) they saw a mysterious figure walk out of the Shadows. I took my steps as quietly as possible as I approached them, menacingly. There's around ten people… so that allows me to try out my magic arsenal.
"I'd like to ask kindly, hand over the goods, and I'll be out of here—whoop." A throwing knife was thrown at me. I see how it is.
"Keep on talking! Boys! Get him!"
A grin appeared in my features as a purple flame appeared—a purple liquid appeared in my—a purple blade manifested in my hands. Compressing it in such a short amount of time is a bit bothersome, but it's mighty beneficial!
It's a long sword, but it's filled with magic and it has a constant supply coming from me! I can even change the length of it as I desire it to be!
"How did you do that kid—...!" and just like that, his head was chopped off.
"G-Get him! Now!"
Ah! A sudden wave of bandits came! Let's try something! I'm a tad nervous, because… I haven't tried this yet but… my long sword dissipated.
Can I manifest the magic wherever I want with proper control and form it into a solid to strike down my enemies?
Jump that guy, and then tilt to the left, avoiding the strike from another. Use my momentum to half-step, and manifest.
My magic left my body, and it quickly traveled through the air. A great amount of it, too. Fire, liquid, blade appeared where another man stood… and with a swift motion cut its head…
Sheesh. Sustaining it is hard though. Quite difficult to maintain and keep its form… after it was done, due to not being able to control something outside my body or not even within my reach, it just dissipated. It works, I just need to learn how to control it better.
Still cool though, anyways. Jump back, and use my slime suit to manifest a blade. A piece of my coat ripped and appeared in my grasp, another long sword manifesting.
"Aha! Take that!"
My sword curved and twirled all around, while still being packed with magic… Completely outrageous. "And that! And that!"
Why is it so silent? Where is everyone to begin with?
Why are there so many corpses? Why are they all either cut in half or decapitated?
"Who…who are you? You monster…"
Oh… I tend to get carried away. That's… my bad. But I know for sure it works…! At least in attacks, 'cus I already knew they worked properly, just didn't know how much damage they'd be able to do.
This guy's magic reserves are bigger, he must be the boss, right?
"Y-You little shit!" he screamed as he dashed towards me. I've tried two things tonight, let's go for a third! He tried to hit me with a diagonal slash, which I avoided with ease, then…
"I hope you do survive a bit longer. You're the boss, are you not? Prove your worth!"
Manifest! My slime appeared as tentacles behind me and they all shot forward towards the last guy! He managed to strike down two of the tentacles, but they were relentless, continuing to attack him no matter the circumstances!
"Man, I thought you were the boss of these men! Seems like I was wrong!"
He opened his mouth to speak, but "Bleh!" All that came out was blood. The tentacles buried deep within him. Soon he passed, pity. The gold though…
The chest is fine, but they have a cart here full of goodies!
Is what I would say, but most of these were paintings and such. Really, nothing I consider money worth… I can't trade it unless it's done by someone well known, and... I don't know who did this. Food? Don't need it... it's mostly bread, which is fine but eh... are there jewels? Anything else of worth? Wait.
The person with Magic Overload…
It was hidden behind a blanket of sorts. Hoh.
"Geez, disgusting."
A mound of rotting flesh… a blob whose magic energy was erratic, all over the place, no control… all wanting to be let out… "So this is what they meant with 'possessed'..."
But they're possessed with what? I mean, it just—hm?
It's weird. It feels as if there's something trying to control it, yet there's something forcing the Magic Overload… hmmm… So I would've turned out like this had I not figured out a way to control it huh. I mean I'm constantly experiencing Magic Overload, so at any point this could happen... I just have it more controlled than anyone else...
Wait so Nee-san can turn into this? Absolutely no-bueno, I'll heal her soon.
Hm, I should get going, hide this Zenin somewhere and put this… person(?) somewhere. I grabbed the cage with ease and placed it in a shack of sorts not that far from the ghost town. That'll do. Now this chest, you're going to my room! I don't know how I plan to hide you there, but it'll be a beginning.
"Okay, so… what to do with you."
It's the next night. I immediately went back towards where I placed the blob thingy.
I was staring at the blob as it wobbled and shot magic. I knew how to control Magic Overload, and this being was clearly alive… but I didn't know what would happen. Was the blob always like this? No, they're a possessed, whatever that entails… So let's just…
The magic inside this being is erratic, control it. I placed my hand on the blob which felt weird, and I injected some of my own magic onto it. It immediately started taking effect. The blob started wobbling—thinning too… before suddenly hair popped up, and the blob seemingly vanished. Where it once stood, appeared an… elf… never seen one before. Those ears…
Cool, an elf. Naked. A naked elf. Kinda cool.
"What… what happened…"
Not only is she beautiful, but even her voice is. Was she awake the whole time as a blob...? Does she remember anything of what I just did now or last night? She didn't see me last night, did she?
"Welcome back to the world of the living."
The elf girl blinked. She turned to me, as I sat on top of a wooden crate, cool style. Her eyes widened, before she looked down to her hands.
"Wha- how?!"
"Seems like you were 'Possessed'."
Her wide eyes turned back to me, a desperate look in them.
"Possessed?!"
"Seems so."
I think it's a good way for me to start as a puppeteer, no? If I make a convincing backstory as to why she was even like that, then, we have a stage set! What 'bout, tho.
"What-What do you mean?!"
"You must not worry. You're free. All danger caused by said curse has been cleared."
"No! I must know! Wait, curse?"
Shit, I said that by accident. Those bandits last night were saying something about the church paying them, right?
"You're free, you're safe. Are you sure you want to know?"
"Y-Yes…"
"Very well. It's a curse that the Diablos infected through the world–no that's wrong. Upon its defeat, the Diablos inflicted the Heroes with its curse… a curse strong enough that even the Heroes couldn't defy."
"W-What?"
"The curse ran through the blood, and their descendants were the ones inflicted by it the most."
"But-but isn't this just a myth?"
Yeah, I'm pretty sure it is. "I'd love to say it is, but evidence proves otherwise." But I can't having you calling me out on my lies now, can I? This story is as real as they come...! In my imagination, of course.
Her eyes widened, "The Church has been hiding evidence, and getting the possessed to run experiments on them."
"They scheme to resurrect the Demon; the Diablos itself…" I could continue rambling all night long. Spouting nonsense after nonsense is just…
"And the ones behind it all are…" She stared at me.
Her eyes were directly looking into my own, as a bead of sweat ran down my face.
"Cult of Diablos…"
She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists… I could feel the fury. Her controlled magic reserves are honestly quite impressive. Not on my level by any means, but it's still quite outstanding! Comparable to that of Ota-san's!
"Why… are they getting rid of the so-called possessed?"
Shit, I didn't think that far… um… um..! Got it!
"Those who come from the heroes carry not only the curse, but their whole bloodline. They have quite a huge amount of magic energy; magic reserves. If they were to join them, it'd be beneficial, but if they won't, it'd do nothing but damage to their organization."
"That's… why they dispose of…"
"Yes."
She closed her eyes.
"But you're free. You can go, live your life. I, on the other hand…" My magic erupted, my slime surrounded me and covered me. A was cloaked in darkness, my coat majestically floating behind me. "Will battle these evil-doers. I'll grant freedom to this world, whilst living in the Shadows…"
She looked up at me, in awe. I understand, I am awesome.
"I… I wish to join you!"
I blinked, as my magic reeled back to my body.
"I want to fight with you, by your side!"
"You do understand the dangers we might face?"
"No… But… I want to do what is right!"
I don't know what's right myself.
"Is that so?"
"Yes!"
"Then…" I stopped, gave her a glare, but not menacing. One with power and authority behind it. "We are to walk in the Shadows, live in the Shadows, and control from within the Shadows…" My beggining as a Shadow Broker is upon me!
She nodded as she too stood up, and I continued, "We are to free this world from those who have wronged the others…"
"What is your name?" She asked. I grinned.
"My name is Stylis—wait sorry." My grin deflated, that names sounds childish, and I've been using it all this time… ma bad, "My name is Shadow. He who lurks in the Shadows, to hunt down the Shadows…"
"Shadow…" That's freaking epic!
"Your name from now on is Alpha, is that understood?"
She nodded, a serious look on her face, "I understand…"
"If that's what you wish, then I'll devote my life to it. We'll walk this dangerous path to cleanse this world."
I nodded, as I began condensing my magic once more... my magic reserves feeling vast and never-ending...
"If we are going to rescue more possessed ones, we are to create an organization… and the name of said organization is going to be 'Shadow Garden', we lurk in the shadows to hunt down shadows…"
She nodded, before she stood up, "Are you ready?"
She nodded once more.
This is how I started my own stage! I mean after all…
"I'm going to start training you, Alpha. We have quite the opponent to face." I said as the slime disappeared and I was let as my normal self.
"True, Shadow. And we have to find other descendants of heroes, protect them as well."
"Yes." She already has goals and just begun! Mighty impressive!
"We have a long way to go... my magic is weak compared to yours..." She could feel my magic reserves? Better than even Ota-san, which is impressive on it's own.
"I'll teach you the ways. For you to grow stronger, don't depend on anything but your own will and power..."
"Of course! I'll do anything within my power to defeat the Cult of Diablos...!"
I nodded, as she continued, "This path we've chosen, not only for saving others, but to free the world..."
"I'll do anything-no... We'll do everything!"
I love your energy, Alpha... but...
It's all made up, no?
Beggining in the beggining and making it more obvious for our dense MC to notice what's around him! Plus, a bit more powerful... I mean he's op and the strongest in his universe by far, but I always wanted to have a bigger discrepancy... That's just me though, he'll be easily op, but I'll try to not drain the fun out of the story as it is because he's too op... that's no-bueno. 'Bout it, hope ya had fun.
[I do not own The Eminence in Shadow nor any of its characters]
CTN out~!