Chapter 2: A Dragon Scorned
After a few hours Tear's thoughts had cleared. He looked around for Circe's body to bury it but he couldn't find it anywhere. He looked for about half an hour before coming to a conclusion.
" I bet licht destroyed her body." He thought ragefully. He had gotten so mad his perception of the entire encounter had changed. Instead of him waking up to find circes body, Lichts attack killled her almost immediately. Her last words being the message that burned into the ground yet unseeable due to his magic emission.
Tear walked to the cabin which had been blown apart by Lichts whip the second time he used it. Tear had to eat something and he hoped that Kelbi meat was still around.
Tear had looked around the rubble and had managed to find the meat and even some apples and potatoes. Once Tear gathered it all up he immediately started eating; not even trying to cook the meat. He was too hungry and for some reason he felt like he'd be fine.
He had finished the food rather quickly and right after, he was on the move. He didn't say anything, he didn't do anything other than walk and he barely even thought anything. Tear was a shell of himself to say the least.
Tear kept walking down a path he found until he saw some houses. He didn't realize they had lived so close to a village. Circe never took him and he could only wonder why.
As he walked through the main part of the village he heard a bunch a gasps and screams. His eyes were still slits and while he hadn't noticed his long barbed tail, fangs, and sharp ears were all clear indicaters of a devil. "What are they screaming about?" Tear thought tiredly, which was the first coherent thought he'd had since he was at the cabin.
As Tear kept moving people started throwing things at him. He hadn't noticed due to being so out of it until a rock hit him upside the head. Tears eyes immediately focused in as he screamed "what the HELL?!!!"
"Get Out Of Here Devil!!" Some male villager shouted. "Yeah if you don't leave, we'll exorcise you!!" Another villager said, this time female.
Tear couldn't believe it. These idiots had managed to mistake him for a devil. After everything that had just happened he was this close to blowing the entire town apart in a storm of magic. That was until he heard a voice
"HEY!!" Someone called out. He had black curly hair and small features. Tear looked at him in confusion. "What do you want Heaven! We're dealing with a devil!". "You have a grimoire right Heaven? You can use it to drive it out!"
Heaven looked at them confused before looking at Tear. "can't you guys see that this is a child? Even if he is a devil can't you all at least be less cruel!" Heaven exclaimed. Tear still didn't understand why people kept calling him a devil but if this guy was gonna defend him he might as well roll with it.
"Nonsense!" Tear heard an old voice call. "Devils take the form of whatever they can to trick humans into trusting them. This one is no different! In fact, Look At Him! His eyes hold a devilish rage, his mouth holds devilish fangs, his body an unnatural tail and his head sharp and devilish ears!" The old man who had just walked up continued to yell.
"Come on Eenai.I know you don't genuinely believe that!" Heaven shouted back. Eenai looked at Heaven with a calmer look. "Listen Heaven, you are young and may not understand the evils of devils. ALL devils are evil and deserve far worse than death. This one is no different."
Tear couldn't believe his ears. This ancient man who was probably gonna croak soon was so extremely stupid. In fact, all of these villagers are. None of these villagers care about him or his problems or why he was alone. If anyone deserved far worse then death its that elderly bastard whose lived 1 day too long for his taste.
the rocks started being thrown at him again after the old man's speech. Heaven had backed up; while he didn't participate and looked extremely uncomfortable with the situation, he had decided to be a bystander. He was just as bad as the rest of them.
after a short while Tear had gotten angrier and angrier. The constant bombardment of stones were painful and annoying, but the curses these people spat at him hurt him more than anything else except for his mother's death.
Right when Tear was about to explode in a storm of mana that would've surely proved fatal, he remembered something."Listen Tear, people won't always treat you with the equal respect you deserve. People will call you names, threaten you and even assault you. But don't let your anger out on them. Its better for you to just walk away than to attack and accidentally kill someone."
Despite how livid Tear was; he couldn't bring himself to ignore his mother's advice. The moment he focused back in he sprinted. There were a bunch of shouts and he swore he heard the voice of that old guy, but he ignored it and kept running. He had to push through a bunch of people but eventually he was able to get out of the village and into a forest. It was different to the one he went into when with his mom.
"closer to the capital." He recognized.
Circe had once told him that the plateau that could be seen from even the forsaken realm was where the capital was. He never understood why there was so much empty space between common and especially forsaken realm from the capital. It just seemed harder to defend.
As he kept walking he heard a roar. He felt like he heard it before and it sounded way too large to be any regular animal. While he was still devastated his curiosity got the best of him and he went towards the sound.
once he got there he saw a large burly man with a white tank top, unkempt black hair, a stubble, and a black robe with yellow accents. He was wielding a weird looking sword and he saw the monster that made that roar. It was the same kind of monster that fought the blue lightning wolf, he had decided to call it wyvern... very creative he knows.
He decided to stay and watch the massacre. "That guys gonna get obliterated" Tear thought out loud. Wyverns were probably one of if not the strongest magic beast out there, there was absolutely no way that this random guy could do anyth-"What?!"
In the middle of Tears morbid thoughts, he saw the man pull out a black grimoire, his sword became wreathed in darknessas he called out a spell "Dark magic Dark Cloak: Lightless Slash!" The man swung his sword once and a dark projectile shot out and hit the monster. Cutting into its scales and knocking it out of the sky.
"WHAT THE!?" Tear shouted in utter shock. The man had just embarrassed a wyvern. The man didn't follow up the attack despite the clear opening though. "Is he stupid? Tear thought confused.
In the natural world there is no situation where you have the advantage and don't attack. To Tear this man was breaking a natural law and he couldn't understand why. "You have it on the ropes man! If you don't kill it now it'll be your head!" Tear thought nervously.
He didn't know why he was nervous. He didn't have very many interactions with people not his mom, in fact he's only had one. But that didn't exactly go very well. But this man seemed different. He seemed exiting and a goal post to annihilate one day.
To Tears shock, once the wyvern got up it cut it's losses and flew out of their after a stunning roar. This was only the second time he'd seen one but he thought that magic beasts would take more to drive off. He had always glorified them as these unrelenting monsters that would fight till their soul left their body. But that one had ran after it realized that this fight wasn't beneficial like any animal would. Tear had realized that these magic beasts were more like regular animals than he anticipated.
Yami was very confused. He had just gotten his magic knight squad approved and had to drive off a Rathalos that had came dangerously close to the capital as a final test. "I could've sworn I heard a kid scream when I hit that Rathalos." Yami thought. He focused on sensing mana and it didn't take long for him to find the kid. His mana amount was unreal. It had surpassed his own and was already approaching some of the royals.
"Alright Yami, we dont to scare the kid now." Yami thought. If he could get someone like that on his squad the money would come flying in. "HEY KID!!" Yami shouted. The bush he had sensed the kids mana from started rustling as a liter child walked out.
"What the!? I had expected at least a 13 year old but that brat looks no older then 6? And I thought I had hit the jackpot" Yami thought dejectedly, not noticing the kids wierd features. "Alright kid, wears your parents at. I gotta take you home." Yami said with his eyes closed, still not noticing Tears appearance past his age.
"I don't have any parents, my mom died and I nevef knew my dad." Yami heard a voice thag pretty high for a boy even at that age. "Damn kid, that sucks. Well you got a village I can take you to?" Yami said half interested while lighting a cigarette. Tear had shook his head no to that either as Yami had finally noticed his sharp ears, pupils and tail.
"You're a wierd looking kid you know that?" Yami hadn't ever seen anything like that before. But he chalked it up to his magic; or maybe he was born that way, to be honest he didn't really give a crap. "So you think i'm a devil too?" The boy shot with an angry glare.
"damn kid, if looks could kill i'd be pretty hurt right now. But no, other than the eyes you don't look all that evil." After a bit of time the kid's eyes widened like he wasn't expecting that response. What really got him though was when the kid started crying.
Like Crying crying.
Like Bawling his eyes out.
Like he had cried more tears in 3 minutes than Yami had his entire life.
"Hey kid you good?" Yami said slightly replacing some of that disinterest with worry. "Yeah I'm just fine!" the kid had shakenly exclaimed. Yami just admired the boy for a second. His skin was definitely beyond tanning. He had to have been born that way. His eyes were sharp and a bright gold color, his hair was in these large coils like a bunch of springs were on his head, back to his eyes he had these black marks on the inner corner that reminded him of birds of prey or large cats, he had a long barbed tail, and to round it off he had sharp ears he had never seen before. In short this kid was peculiar at best; downright wierd at worst.
"So what's your name kid?" The boy was somehow still crying rivers and he actually started crying a little harder as he managed to get out "Tear." Yami looked at him confused. "I said your name not what's coming out of your face." Yami said with a deadpan. "My Name IS Tear!" The bly jad doubled down. Yami had snickered trying not to laugh but ultimately failed as he did a full on belly laugh as he said "Your parents pranked you hard kid!!" Yami exclaimed while laughing. "IT'S NOT FUNNY!!" Tear had screamed. "You're right it's hilarious! HAHAHAHA!!" Yami continued to laugh barely getting the sentence out. By now Tear was done crying as he told Yami to tell him his name and see how he liked it. Yami had managed to stop laughing and told him "Alright kid. My names Yami Sukehiro captain of the Black Bulls" Tear looked at Yami confused. "What's a Black Bull?" Yami looked at him understandingly and told him it's a new Magic Knight Squad ge had started a few days ago. He just had one more job for it to be officialized.
Tear continued to look at him confused. "What's a magic knight squad and what was the job you had to do?" Yami wasn't completely shocked he didn't know what magic knight squad was. These were the outskirts of the common realm and the magic knights didn't have much influence here. "A magic knight squad is the most elite group of mages meant to defend the kingdom from powerful threats. The job I had to do was driving out that Rathalos."
"Rathalos? Oh you mean the wyvern!" Tear exclaimed with a look of realization. "Yeah, wyvern is what it's classified as but the actual monster is called a Rathalos." Yami informed him. "Wow! This magic knight sounds so Cool! I bet I can actually become the strongest if I became one!"
"What do you mean "become the strongest" kid." Yami questioned. "I mean I have to be the strongest. Because not only did I promise my mom before she died that I'd become stronger than any royal. But I promised myself to kill her murderer; Licht." Tear has said, a clear Rage in his eyes as they became red and slitted.
Yami ignored the change in his eyes and focused on Tear's anger. "You know kid, letting rage and revenge consume you isn't won't help you with your goals. Getting revenge is all good but if it's all you care about then you can kiss your life goodbye." Tear didn't give much of a visible reaction, but Yami could tell he was thinking.
"I think I understand." Tear had said after a bit. "I guess I'll try and let other things drive me." "Good." Yami said quickly. "Let's leave before that Rathalos comes back. It would be pretty annoying if all my hard work had gone to waste because of a grudge."
"where will we be going?" Tear questioned. "We'll be heading to my squad's headquarters." Yami told him. "What's your squad called?" Tear asked. "Actually I haven't thought too much about it, any ideas?" Yami said. "Heh? Well I think it should be the Black Dragons. Everyone would have to respect a name like that!" Tear said exitedly as his eyes turned back to gold.
Yami hummed as he in thought, then said "nah, too corny. Black is a nice color though." "Well I still think that the Black Dragons is the best name ever." Tear said haughtily. "Yeah whatever kid" Yami dismissed.
They kept walking as Yami had been thinking out loud to himself. "This squad won't be normal. A place for the rejects. Those who lost in life and are looking for a win. A place where chaotic people can be chaotic. I just need a name for it though."
Tear had been thinking as well. "What goes well with black? Black Sheep? No that's too soft. Black Crows? No that's too redundant. Maybe go back to that Black Sheep one. Yami said something about chaos and rejects. What would go well with that?" Tear kept thinking. He felt like he was close to perfection when all of sudden he figured it out
"Oh I Got One!" Tear exclaimed.
"How about the Black Bulls!"
"Listen ki- actually? That's not bad. You know what, yeah I think that's perfect, good job kid." Yami said.
A Few Hours Later
It took forever but they were finally home. The newly named Black Bulls Hideout was a tall building with large rooms creating this weird look where some of the wall was pushed out in places and others weren't. It was a lot bigger then the cottage he lived in. In fact, it was bigger than any house he'd ever seen before.
"Wow! I didn't even know they made buildings this big!" Tead said in wonder. "Yep, this building is perfect for the squad I'm trying to build" Yami said with a smile.
On the inside was a bar. A light brown wood used for almost everything except the concrete floor.
"Can I explore?!" Tear question excitedly. "I don't care do what you want." Yami said as Tear started running. "Just Don't Break Nothing!" Yami said at the last second as Tear just giggled a little in response. After a bit of running Tear had realized that he was lost. "I haven't been running for very long. So where the Hell am I and why is everything behind me different?"
Tear kept walking until he entered a corridor with one room at the end, for some reason the door was glowing. His curiosity getting the best of him, Tear walked into the room and found that the glow came from a candle right next to a bed. Tear looked over the entire room until he noticed something.
His mana was being drained.
"Is anyone in here!" Tear almost shouted. "Soorrry." Tear heard a smooth voice say."III diddn'tt meeaann tooo shooookk youu" the voice said slowly. Tear finally saw the body on the bed. He had light teal to possibly a cyan hair color, he was dressed in a white tunic and he had his lower body covered.
"Iiii Haaavve aaaa cuurrsse thhaaat sssteeels tthhee mmmaannaaa ouuut oof peeoooplle." The blue haired boy slowly explained. "Oh I understand." Tear said in realization. "Whhyyy aarre yooouu nnoott tiiireed?" He asked. "I have too much mana I guess. Why are you holed up in hear?"Tear asked.
He explained that because of his curse he couldn't interact with people and had to be holed up in this room. He didn't need to eat or drink as long as he had mana and since he had been alone for so long he didn't have enough energy also his name was Henry.
" That's horrible. So your parents really just left you here?" Tear said callously. Henry nodded yes. "Well I won't leave you!" Tear said with a thumbs up."if you ever need mana you know where to find me!" Tear exclaimed.
"So you already found Henry." Yami said suddenly as he walked in. "Huh? How long have you been there?" Tear said as he jumped in suprise. Yami laughed as he said "calm down woulda? I just got here." Tear relaxed at that.
"Welp, bye for now Henry. Oh Yeah! My names Tear by the way." Tear said happily. "Byyyee Teeeaar!" Henry said just as happily.
A Few Minutes Later
After Yami and Tear left Henry's room they got back to the bar. Yami had gotten a call from someone he called the Wizard King."What's a Wizard King?" Tear asked on the way to the capital. "Seriously kid? You dont even know the Wizard King? Are you sure you're even from clover?" Yami said shocked and amused.
"Mama only ever told me about the nobles and Royals. So the Wizard King is the ruler?" Tear asked indignantly. "Nope, the Wizard King is just the leader of the magic knights. Clover does have a king, but he's pathetic and nobody likes him." Yami said casually.
"So you're telling me the Wizard King is really strong?" Tear questioned expectantly.
"The strongest." Yami said confidently.
"Even stronger than you?" Tear continued to question.
"Not even a question." Yami said. Though this time he was completely serious.
"I can't wait to beat him then." Tear said with a wide smile. His eyes turned red and his tail flicked dangerously. "Please kid, there is no beating Julius." Yami still sounded confident while Tear could only smile further.
After another hour of walking they had finally made it to the capital. "Woah! I've be seen roads like this, and look at those people! I've never seen clothes like that either!" Tear said as said people gave him a weird look and quickly walked away.
"Alright calm down kid. Don't want you getting me in trouble." Tear nodded his head and they kept walking.
While Tear was too consumed with curiosity to notice; Yami was busy driving people off who were giving him disgusted looks. Yami knew that being wierd would garner hatred in this kingdom. He had experienced it himself and he was just a foreigner; Tear can look like an actual monster sometimes. It's honestly kinda sad when he thinks about it.
Luckily though nobody would cross a man of his stature unless they were trying to die. So they made it to the palace without anymore problems.
"This is even bigger than the hideout!" Tear said in childlike wonder. "This is the Royal palace, where the Wizard King resides." Yami informed him.
After they went inside Yami led them to a doorless room. Tear could see a desk and a huge window that let the sun light up the apparent office. What really got his attention though was blonde man with a blue star tattoo on his forehead. "Hello Yami." The regal man said. "Hey Julius." Yami replied. "I didn't know you had a kid Yami. And to think we've known each other for so long." Julius said with mock despair.
"This kid is some stray I picked up on the mission." Yami said with a blank face. "Well that explains the very different appearance. I've never seen someone so..." The Wizard King paused; looking for the right words. "Unique!" He settled.
"So, what's your magic attribute?" Julius asked with a childlike wonder and stars in his eyes. Tear was surprised by change in tone and struggled to get his answer out."I-I I'm not su-sure yet." He stuttered.
"your magic hasn't awakened yet?" Julius asked confused. "No, I just don't know what it is. I guess it would be better to show you." Tear concluded as the ominous black smoke surrounded a suddenly clawed hand.
Julius gained a look if confusion, then realization, and finally seriousness."You know what that is too; right Yami." Julius asked. Yami had an equal look of rare seriousness as he agreed. "of course."
"What is it? Am I in danger or something?" Tear asked, confused at what was going on. Julius answered first, "No, it's just that humans shouldn't be able to have that type of magic. Specifically, Dragon magic." Tear looked at him, still confused. "What's wrong with Dragon magic and why wouldn't I be able to have it?"
"Well, Dragon magic is a magic type weilded by only the strongest of magic beasts. I doubt you'd know this but magic beasts have classifications. Flying Wyverns, Bird Wyverns, Fanged Wyverns, Fanged Beasts, Snake Wyverns, Brute Wyverns, and the most powerful of them all, Monsters that don't belong in the natural order and don't fall into any group; Elder Dragons." Julius explained.
"Most, if not all Elders wield an element. Some use lightning, some use wind, some use fire, a few use powers that aren't any element. All of the Elders are in a class of their own when it comes to strength; but the strongest of them use an element so dangerous that it could even tear them apart. This Element takes the form of black smoke with red energy throughout. The element was never given a true name but since it was used by Dragons it was called the dragon element." Julius went on.
"ok, but why does that make humans incapable of wielding it?" Tear presses. "Well Magic beast magic doesn't work like ours. There's comes from a specific organ that they use to convert their mana into their element. Monsters of the dragon element's organ can't handle the power and leak it. Normally leading to the monsters going insane and usually dying to it's insides being eviscerated."
"Is That Gonna Happen To Me?!!" Tear exclaimed fearfully. " I'm not sure. Like I said humans don't have an organ and their mana runs through their veins. Either that means you'll decay a lot faster or you'll simply build a resistance to it." Julius said rather mindlessly.
"But I can't die! I have to become the strongest! I have to surpass every noble! Im not allowed to die until that happens!" Tear said, reasonably panicked. Julius consoled and reassured him. After Tear had calmed down(luckily before he started crying) Julius turned his attention to Yami.
"So I presume you managed to drive off the Rathalos?" Julius asked, though he seemed confident he already knew the answer. "Of course, oh and by the way I've got a name for my squad." Yami added in. Julius smiled "Great! What'll it be?"
"The Black Bulls." Yami said casually.
"I love it! I think it fits you perfectly!" Julius exclaimed. Yami was about to reply when he suddenly stopped as someone walked in. Tear had heard footsteps and had looked back. To say the least he was confused by what he saw.
Standing before him was a rather skinny man with a white button jacket that had a blue stripe in the middle and golden outlines as well as solid white pants and black boots that came just below his knees. He had a wierd, ugly mask that covered the top half of his face. It was yellow and had a red and white tuft on both sides and two white feathers in the back.
"hello Julius." The man said as he bowed. "You don't have to bow to me William. We're friends." Julius had protested. "Anyway I presume you were successful with your assignment?" Julius questioned. "Yes sir. The Zinogre has been dealt with as of late." William confirmed.
"Great. Then with the Wizard King as witness the 8th and 9th magic knight squads are official! The Black Bulls and The Golden Dawn! May both squads serve the kingdom well." Julius exclaimed happily yet with authority. "Well if that's all then I'm going back home. gotta take a dump." Yami said just as casual as normal.
"Before you go Yami I have one more thing to talk to you about." Julius said. Ahh man, I do not have time for this." Yami said exasperatedly. "Then I may take my leave then?" William questioned. "Yes you may." With that William left.
"Also I would like to speak to Yami alone." Julius said. Tear took the hint and went outside. "So what's so important Julius." Julius turned his attention back to Yami. "That boy you brought is amazing!" Julius said, the stars back in hus eyes. "He's the first ever human to be able to use Dragon! I bet that's why he has alk of those odd features now that I think about it!" Julius said.
Julius went serious right after that though. "I need you to keep am eye on him though. He's the first human with Dragon magic and it's extremely dangerous. You remember first hand how strong an organism with that attribute can be." Julius stated, the seriousness tone never dropping.
"Yeah, yeah I got it." Yami said dismissively. "Don't worry so much Julius. I won't let the kid out of my sight." Yami finished.
"Good, cause I know how you get Yami." Julius looked nostalgic for a second. "You're dismissed. Also what's the kid's name? I forgot to ask." Julius asked, a little nervous. "His name is Tear." Yami said grabbing a cigarette.
"thanks. Yami" Julius said. "Don't mention it." Yami replied as he walked out.
Yami linked back up with Tear. Tear was going to ask what happened but then he realized he didn't actually care. The walk home was silent, there were barely even thought processes that lasted longer than a minute. When they got home Tear had went and greeted Henry. After he decided to train with his magic and new limb for the first time since Licht.
Tear walked outside and tried swinging his tail around. It was a wierd thing to get used too to say the least. He kept knocking himself over due to weight. Eventually he was able to use it without knocking himself over. He had noticed that it could go from almost prehensile to rigid and straight. Maybe that would explain itself when he got his grimoire. On that note, Tear decided that it was time to train his magic.
"How do you even train magic?" Tear asked himself. He didn't want to bother Yami so he couldn't ask him. He didn't even know if Henry was a mage so he was out, and Tear didn't know anyone else. He was alone on this one; which admittedly isn't too bad. He knew his magic could have wierd effects on people and he didn't want to hurt his new friends.
So Tear decided to experiment. He surrounded his clawed hand in his magic and had just started using it. He would fire off plumes of smoke in succession. What he was trying to do was something like Lichts Light Swords of Conviction. Multiple independent projectiles or just multiple projectiles at once.
he tried to create multiple balls of the draconic smoke but the best he could get was one big one. Which while cool wasn't what he was looking for. After another long while of trying Teae finally gave up in a fit." What The Hell Am I Doing Wrong!" He shouted as he blasted the floor with his magic; creating a large crater.
"How can I kill Licht and avenge mama if I can't even master my magic! Much less become the strongest!" Tear started punching the ground in anger. Without his knowledge his magic was responding to his rage and desperation. The smoke that covered his clawed hand receded and the red energy took it's place. In a single strike a crater big enough to fit a Rathalos had formed.
Tear looked around confused. "What are you doing?" He heard Yami said with a patronizing confusion. "I'm training my magic." Tear answered. "Well you're doing it all wrong." Yami quickly replied. "And how so?" Tear asked, the lingering anger still there. "What you're trying to do is too complicated for a basic application of mana. Mages don't have grimoures for show, without them we'd be stuck at the basic magic blast and sensing." Yami explained.
"Well how the hell am I supposed to train then." Tear questioned impatiently. "What you're supposed to do is train mana control. Doing mana exercises instead of copying complex spells. There's also training by expulsing your magic. This really only works before your 15 since that's when you're magic matures." Yami said. "Ok. But what can I do to help with mana control." Tear continued to question. "With meditation. By focusing in on your mana you can learn hiw to better control it." Yami finished his explanation.
"Alright. I understand, thanks Yami." Tear said, the anger gone from him. "Don't mention it kid." Yami replied as he walked back inside.
Tear decided to focus on control. He had more than enough mana and he was still developing. So Tear sat down and focused in on his mana ways. When he looked he saw chaos. Mana ways going everywhere, some being short, etc. "I didn't know I was this messed up" Tear thought. He tried to calm his mana down but all it did was fuel the chaos as mana started combusting in his body.
Pain.
That was all Tear felt. It felt like his insides were being torn apart. It hurt so much that his mind started to stop working. All he could think about was his mom's dead body and floor and Licht looking at them cruelly and without emotion. Once he was on the brink of insanity due to the pain though, he remembered Julius. How he carried himself and the power he exuded. How that power forced him to stop and pay attention to him. How everything about him carried authority and confidence, that he was untouchable. He wanted to have that effect on people.
These thoughts had managed to clear his mind up a bit but he was still in pain. "Yami told me to focus on my mana. So Do It!" Tear exclaimed in pain. He took another look at his mana ways which were a blood red color. He concentrated as hard ad he could to fight through the pain. After a while he could feel it! A breakthrough just around the corner, all he had to do was keep going.
Unfortunately after what felt like eternity all he found was failure and disappointment. The corner was much farther along than he could've imagined. Yami had walked back up to explain that controlling your mana wasn't a one day thing; but Tear just couldn't except it! Circe had always told him he would do great things! That it was a guarantee! That she would be there every step of the way cheering for him!
But now she's dead! He's realized just how weak he really was; and now he's found out that he can't even control his magic in any substantial way! It was a punch in the gut, a reality check that he couldn't handle. Doubt crawled into his heart, fear took refuge in his chest, failure made its way into his mind.
Tear might as well have been on the other side of the planet, far away from any of his goals. He couldn't even control his magic much less kill Licht, much less surpass every royal!
So Tear did what he hadn't done since his mother's death.
He cried.
He cried for hours. A hopeless look on his face. Yami tried to console him in his wierd way but it wasn't working. Tear wouldn't listen, he Couldn't listen. His already damaged perception of himself had just shattered.
So he cried.
He kept crying until the sun came up. At that point he was too tired to cry, so he fell asleep; right there on the grass soaked in his own tears. When he woke up he found himself in a bed. Yami probably took him here while he was sleeping. Tear was just gonna lay there when a thought popped in his head. "Is that really it?". His conscious had told him. "What do you mean?" Tear thought back. "You failed once in controlling your magic and you're just gonna quit?" His disembodied voice questioned. "It wasn't just one failure! You know that. I completely messed up in protecting mama and now she's dead because of it." Tear shot. "So you're gonna quit? Leave our mother unavenged? Leave that bastard alive? Leave us weak?" His conscience continue to press.
"Maybe." Tear answered pitifully. "ARE YOU SERIOUS!!! ONE FAILURE AFTER YOUR PROMISE OF REVENGE AND YOUR DONE!! I Cant Believe I'm based off of you. We can't be the same person. I'd never lie down to something so trivial. I'd ne-" "SHUT UP!!" Tear interrupted, screaming out loud accidentally. "You're just a voice in my head! A figment of my imagination!" Tear continued to yell out loud."
"So pathetic. Mama didn't raise us to be like you. You're far worse than a quitter. You're a bitch." His conscience stopped talking with that. Tear waited for a while. A long while; just waiting for something. He didnt want to be left alone in his head again. He'd rather be insulted and furious than hopeless and alone.
But Tear had to face the facts. His conscience waa right. He Was pathetic. His mother Would be disappointed. And he wasn't deserving of the power given to him. "You know what? Screw it." Tear thought. The words his conscious had said had finally gotten to him. He couldn't give up so easily. It was embarrassing, it was disappointing, it was pathetic, but worst of all it was an insult to Circe's memory.
So after Tear collected himself he got back into a meditative position and started trying to control his mana pathways. After about 5 minutes he was able to see the bright red chaotic flow of mana. This time instead of trying to do it all at once he tried to fix things one by one. It was a wierd experience but he was able to lengthen one of the short paths by pushing his man to it specifically, while also shortening another one.
When he had successfully fixed both of them he was ecstatic! A success even if extremely minor was still a success. When he finally stopped meditating he noticed it was still dark. "That must not have taken as much time as I thought" Tear thought. Tear exited the room and after wandering around the ever changing hideout he found his way to the bar.
Tear looked around and saw Yami sitting on the couch. Tear walked over to thank him for his advice. "Hey Yami." Tear said. Yami turned his head, he had a cigarette in his mouth. "I'd like to say th-" "damn kid I knew you were exhausted and sad but it seriously took you three days to sleep it all off." Yami interrupted. "Three days?" Tear questioned. "Yeah. After I took you to one of the bedrooms I expected you to come out the next night. Than you didn't so I was gonna come in there. Than I heard you screaming at yourself and decided to leave you alone." Yami explained.
"I had woken up after the first day. But I had managed to give myself a pep talk and was even able to make some progress on fixing my mana pathways!" Tear said, still happy at his achievement.
"What do you mean "fixing your pathways" are you tryna tell me they're broken?" Yami asked confused. "Well yeah. Isn't everyone's pathways like that? Where you gotta take some exess mana from one overgrown one and take it to another one?" Tear asked.
"What? No kid. Your mana pathways are perfect from birth unless something happened to change them. But I've never heard of that before so it sounds like you're a first kid." Yami explained. "Than what was meditation supposed to do?" Tear asked confused. "I don't know. I read in a book once that meditation can help with it or something like that." Yami answered dismissively.
"... Well, I guess I can't be too mad since it did actually help me." Tear said, finding a silver lining. "Yep." Yami said at this point not even paying attention. "You're Not Even Listening To Me!" Tear shouted.
"Can you quiet down? I can't listen to you if blow my eardrums out with your screaming." Yami said annoyed. "Sorry Ya- wait;" Tear stopped mid sentence. "Why the hell am I apologizing? It's You who ignored me." Tear said. "If anything it's You who should be apolo-." "Don't push it kid." Yami interrupted.
Tear started pouting but didn't say anything else. Instead he decided to go back to his room and see of he could fix more of his pathways.
2 Years Later
Tear was now ten years old. A bunch of stuff had changed since then. Tear now stood at Yami's torso instead of his hips and he haf managed to get a quarter of his pathways fixed!
They had asked Julius about his pathways and he said it might've been from some kind of injury he got as a child. When Julius asked Tear about it though he denied everything. "If the wizard king knew about Licht he'd surely notify the magic knights to hunt him down. I can't let anyone steal my kill from me." Tear had thought at the time, and which he still does now.
In relation to the Black Bulls they had gotten three new members. The first was this wierd emo guy with a conductor uniform named Gordon Agrippa. He never talked loudly and always mumbled. Tear could hear him just about but for everyone else he was undescirnable.
The second person who joined was this gut named Finral Roulicase. He had this chesnut brown hair and green eyes. He talked a lot and was pretty much just used to get around with his spatial magic. Tear had heard he was from a noble family but he wasn't an offensive mage so he didn't challenge him.
The next was a pink haired woman named Vanessa. Apparently she was from a place called the witches forest and was trapped until Yami freed her. Honestly he kind of wish she'd stayed trapped. She was always drinking and in her underwear. Also when she first saw him she screamed enveloped him and called him adorable. She made him super uncomfortable.
They also hadn't called him a demon for his wierd features and actually said they looked really cool! Which was a huge plus in his book.
"Hey Yami!" Tear said. "What kid! This better be important. I was just about to go take a dump." Yami replied annoyed. "I want to go get my grimoire!" Tear said. "Don't you gotta be 15 for that?" Yami questioned lazily. "Nope! That's just when people get them because they're adults." Tear answered. "Then fine I don't care. Go get Finral to take you there." Yami said, trying to shorten the conversation.
"Great! Thanks captain!" Tear said as he ran off. "That kid is so annoying sometimes." Yami said as went off to do his business.
Tear ran up and slid in front of Finral who was laying on the couch. "Hey Tear. What brings you over here?" Finral asked. "I need you to take me to the Grimoire Tower so I can get my grimoire" Tear answered quickly and exitedly.
"Don't you gotta be 15 to get your grimoire?" Finral questioned. "Just take me there! We don't have all day!" Tear said quickly with an annoyed tone. "Fine! Fine. Just let me make a portal to the tower."
It took a few minutes due to the distance but once Finral was done Tear immediately bounded through it. Finral gave a suprised look before entering in himself.
There were a lot of people there, this was the one day of the year the grimoires became active and chose an owner. Tear walked up to the tower with a coat he had borrowed from Gordon so people wouldn't see his non human features.
After the old wizard made a speech that Tear didn't care about, grimoires started flying to their chosen. After about a minute Tear still didn't get his grimoire and he was starting to question if Yami and Finral were right.
After another 5 minutes and no grimoire Tear was heavily considering leaving before he embarrassed himself.
He stuck his hand out one last time and even used his mana to try and call for it somehow but it just wasn't meant to be. So Tear had decided to go home. "Hey Tear, don't be too down. There's always next time!" Finral tried to confort. "I'm fine Finral. I don't need a stupid grimoire anyway." Tear said, the salt in his voice as clear day.
Tear took one last look before leaving and had noticed something. There was a grimoire just floating not doing anything. It wasn't moving to anyone, it wasn't flying around, in fact it wasn't moving at all. Just floating.
"Hey wait up Finral. I've got to check something real quick." Tear said which Finral nodded too. Tear walked back to the middle of the room just under the grimoire. He couldn't see any details from where he was but he could see that it was black and red like his magic.
Tear tried reaching out with his mana again and the grimoire had actually come closer. Tear continued to try to reach out with his mana but since he only had a quarter under his perfect control it was proving difficult.
It took a another few minutes and when it had finally gotten close enough he snatched it. The grimoire was a three leaf. The main colors were black and red but it had many sharp purple lines running throughout it creating a shatter type of look.
"My grimoire looks so cool!" Tear exclaimed. As Tear was fawning over his new grimoire a blond boy with clothing that looked much better than the majority around had walked up to him. "What is a commoner like you so happy about?" He said in a snobbish tone. Like most nobles he couldn't stand seeing commoners celebrate over being average.
"commoner?... Oh you must be a noble!" Tear said. "This is great! I get to challenge my first noble and I just got my grimoire! God must be blessing me!" Tear thought. "Good job commonor. I am a noble." The guy said condescendingly. "Alright how do I challenge this guy to a fight without sounding crazy?" Tear questioned him. The noble kept rambling on about his superiority and honesty; Tear was tired of it. Which was the perfect excuse to fight him.
Tear wasted no time and immediately went for a punch to the face. Tear had to give credit where credit was due because the noble had actually dodged him. "I see you show your true colors commoner. All you can do is lash out when your inferiority is acknowledged." The noble continued. Pretentious and arrogance rooted deeply into his tone.
Just as Tear was about to follow up though Finral had decided to pop up and had stopped him. "I didn't bring you hear so you could start fights with nobles you know. Lets just go home." Finral said with a rare seriousness. Tear was gonna retort but he could tell Finral wasn't playing so he decided he'd just have too accept it. "You're lucky noble. I was gonna have so much fun with you too." Tear said. He let his eyes glow red the slightest bit and he had managed to spook off the noble.
Finral teleported them back to the base and Tear immediately went to the surrounding forest to try out his grimoire. It was pretty thick and the actual book was slightly above average in size. He tried to open his grimoire and it automatically flipped to the first page. He only had one spell which was expected. It was called "Dragon Creation Magic:Dragon Wings." Tear was a little confused but he decided to try it. "Dragon Creation Magic:Dragon Wings."
His grimoire glowed red and red light took form on his back. Tear looked back in shock as the red light solidified and formed dragon wings! The wings had black scales and a grey membrane. Their most defining characteristic though were the orbs in the middle of the second last wing finger.
Tear tried to flap them and he found out that he already had a basic intrinsic knowledge on how to fly. He was a little wobbly and he couldn't fly very fast but he could definitely fly. He decided to try and find Yami and flew into the hideout.
Finral was back on the couch and had did a double take when he saw Tear flying in on wings he definitely didn't have the last time he saw him. Tear explained that this was his first spell and went on his way. Vanessa was out on a mission with Gordon so he couldn't talk to them so he went straight to find Yami.
After a bit of searching he eventually found Yami stepping out of a restroom, stretching himself. Yami saw him and gave him s confused look gesturing to the wings. Tear gave him the same explanation as Finral.
"Well I guess you don't need a broom. Lucky you I guess." Yami said with his regular disinterest. Tear didn't have anything else to say and so he went back to his room. He had to completely fix his mana pathways if he ever wanted to be able to use his grimoire properly.
5 Years Later
The Black Buls had been thriving these last 5 years. They had gotten this big guy names Grey who didn't talk, some sis com criminal with mirror magic named Gauche. Tear thought he was pretty cool. There was this really tiny girl who could pass for a child but was actually older than Tear by a bit! Her name was charmy and really liked cooking so Tear really liked her. then they had gotten this weird guy named Magna who used fire magic. He was pretty funny and he actually enjoyed a challenge like Tear did so they got into a lot of dumb stuff together. The last to join was a lightning mage named Luck who was completely insane about fighting! Tear could definitely say he had the mkst fun fighting him all the time and that his progress with his magic really sped up because of it.
On the topic of Tear he had definitely changed a lot. His skin was about as dark as his mother's now and his eyes were almost always red unless his magic was drained. On the topic of magic he had an unrivaled amount of it, even more than Julius. He had managed to fix about 75% of his mana pathways and he'd probably be completely finished by next year. He had also gotten more spells in his grimoire which he discovered all relied on his wings. Basically he could use all these spells without his wings active but they were much stronger when they were on.
He had been allowed to do missions recently as he was old enough and was currently doing trying to dive a pukei-pukei away from a village.
Tear sniffed around for the green bird wyvern and had eventually locked onto it's scent. Pukei-Pukei ate a kind of fruit that they'd coat in their poison to defend themselves. He'd have to look out for that.
After a about 15 minutes of flying(which he had mastered by the way). Tear had come across the monster also flying. "Let's go! This is gonna be so easy!" Tear thought exitedly. Pukei-Pukei weren't good fighters and they were even worse at aerial combat. Catching it in the air was extremely lucky. Tear flew upwards just below the clouds while catching up.
"Dragon Magic:Dragon Cannon!" Tear called out as his wing orbs glowed. He flapped his wings hard and condensed black spheres of dragon shot out at the Pukei-Pukei. The attack had caught it off guard as one ball hit its's wings and the other its head knocking it out the sky.
Tear dived down after it not letting it recover as he took a deep breath. "Dragon Magic:Dragon Stream!" The wing orbs glowed again as mana gathered in front of his mouth. Tear through his head back and brought it forward releasing a fast beam of the black smoke. Tear kept firing until the Pukei-Pukei hit the ground and he had to pull up to avoid the same fate.
The monster was still alive and had a broken horn and it's legs were pretty torn up. If it was any of the high tier monsters it probably would've been enraged and really give him some trouble but luckily though it backed away and panic flew far away from its original nest.
Tear clapped his hands. "Another job well done." Tear had said. Flying back up to head to the capital. He had been out for a few weeks driving out low tier monsters and that Pukei- Pukei was the last one. He had heard that the Magic knight exam concluded a couple weeks ago and he really hoped to see some new faces.
Chapter End
AN: sorry for the slow update. School and sports really cut into my free time. I'll try my best to update as frequently as possible for all 5 of yall!!