Rewind

November 6th, Year 432. The City of Astral on the Human continent, Orgus.

My consciousness started to return, almost like a dying flame being rekindled from its smoldering ashes, and I could faintly feel my surroundings through my stiff an weary limbs. The light began to return to my eyes and my vision was blurry as a bright light filled my sight. "-bnormal! He is not crying My Lord, and he went to sleep almost as soon as he was born...He...He may be ill, My Lord..."

The worried voice of an old man filled my ears and I was able to barely turn my head in the voice's direction to see a frail and skinny old man with a full gray beard, long gray hair, bushy brows furrowed together in worry, and caring blue eyes filled with wisdom. The man wore a long white robe with a wooden staff in his left hand.

The staff wore a thick coat of mana and resonated with the mana in the atmosphere, drawing it in to replenish its master's constantly draining mana supply. 'Neat, although a little outdated and inefficient...' I thought as I moved my eyes to the man in front of the old guy. His back was turned to me, but he had shoulder-length white hair with a sturdy build and black plate armor on his body.

The sheath was made out of a familiar looking black wood, but it felt...different in some way. It reminded me of Amon's scythe. The man shook his head with a chuckle before turning around and looking at me with his bright green eyes and saying "Nonsense! He is already awake and in great condition. You are getting too old if you can't even see his mana source, Marco!"

Marco...?

"O-Oh...Oh my! T-This is! This is incredible My Lord!! A true prodigy indeed!!" Marco's eyes lit up as he smiled radiantly and began to congratulate the white-haired man. Suddenly, someone cleared their throat behind me, catching the attention of everyone. "Darling, I believe our little boy is hungry and needs another nap. Do you mind waiting just a little bit longer until you decide to put him through that hell you call training?"

The man laughed nervously as he scratched the back of his head and averted his eyes. "W-What are you talking about, my love? I was not going to make our newborn child train in the ways of sword and magic this early..." I looked back and saw a pale-faced woman with stunningly soft features, thin black eyebrows, radiant violet eyes, two long, thin, pointy ears, and long black hair styled into a bun atop her head.

She looked familiar, and the words "our child" and "newborn" were confusing me. I didn't see a child in the room, and it only made it even more awkward considering the woman was holding me in her arms like...a...child...?

I held my small, chubby hands up and furrowed my brows in confusion as I began to slowly feel around my small, chunky body. I had little control over my limbs at the moment, and it was hard to even move my hands up to my face as my stomach growled with hunger. My eyes began to droop as I began to feel weary.

"It looks like he is indeed ready to take another nap. I'll leave you two alone for a few hours, just call me whenever you need me, honey." The white-haired man walked up to me and held his hand out, and I saw a pretty expensive looking dimensional ring on his finger so, of course, I tried to grab it with my uncoordinated hands.

The man's smile grew even wider as he moved his hand to gently rub my head before turning on his heels and walking toward the door being held open by Marco. "Aalreth, dear, please go easy on our dear Asta when he wakes...I don't want him to be killed by this ridiculous ceremony of yours..." Now things were getting even more confusing. The first thing was Marco, the name of my father's Royal Wizard, and now Aalreth, my father's name.

Aalreth turned his head and nodded before saying "Don't worry my dear, I promise you that it will be nothing dangerous. Since he is my son, he has to go through the ritual to ensure his birthright to the Holy Sword Kronos. He will be fine, my love. Rest assured!" Aalreth walked through the door and Marco shut it silently, leaving me alone with someone who gave me chilling bouts of nostalgia.

The woman smiled with a motherly tenderness as she softly whispered to me, lulling me into a deep, comfortable sleep. I soon woke once again to the sounds of distant voices. "-is mana is unlike anything I have ever seen before, my love! He has more than even Marco at this point...to think that a mere newborn can be growing at such a rate...it is hard to conceive."

A soft laughter filled my ears and my eyes fluttered open, causing Aalreth to smile and pick me up from the woman's arms. "There's my boy! Look, Siora, he has the same eyes as me..." My eyes began to mist up as tears of joy replaced my momentary confusion and anxiety. 'This idiotic attitude...this caring demeanor...This...this has to be...my family...'

My father began to panic as tears flowed down my cheeks as a large smile bloomed across my face. He held me up to his neck tightly and I couldn't hold back anymore. I couldn't hold back all of the pain and regret I was feeling, but I now had a second chance at life...a second chance to save everyone.

He eventually told my mother goodbye and carried me out of the room as he talked to me in a soft, fatherly voice. After around five minutes of walking, we reached a door leading to the basement, a soft green glow emanating from the bottom of the stairway. We descended the stairs and a soft humming reached my ears.

We came across two massive doors with a multitude of locks and barriers surrounding them. The locks and barriers were designed to react to multiple elements at the same time, and only one person could unlock the doors, not multiple. My father lifted his left hand and the elements of Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Darkness, Ice, and Nature swirled around in the air before floating to their respective points on the doors.

The locks clicked and fell to the floor with a loud bang as the doors swung open, revealing a massive room with a large, floating green orb in the middle. We walked closer and the locks on the door behind us began to float back to their original positions before the door closed shut. The orb in front of us was filled with mana, overflowing actually, and I could feel my body getting stronger and stronger as we neared it.

My father noticed this and couldn't contain his beaming smile as Marco appeared through a black-blue portal next to the orb. "My Lord, the ritual has been prepared. Present Kronos to Amariel, if you may." Marco began to chant a spell with his hands floating over Amariel, the orb. I remember hearing that Amariel was a powerful Elven sorcery in his time, but he turned himself into an orb of pure mana after he died, preserving his knowledge and powers for his descendants.

Although I was a Half-Elf, I was compatible with Amariel's powers when I first did the ritual, but I wasn't strong enough to wield them at the time. Marco's voice got louder and louder and the room began to shake slightly as mana filled the air. The orb began to grow smaller before turning into the vague form of a Human.

A ghostly voice echoed around the room. "I feel...an immeasurable power...and I feel the blood of a descendant nearby. You, do you carry my blood?" The figure pointed its see-through hand at my father, and he shook his head before holding me out and saying "No, My Lord. This one, my son, has your blood flowing through him. He is, by all right, your successor..."

Amariel floated closer to me and cocked his featureless head to the side. "A...Half-Elf is my descendant? Never would I have thought that a Half-Elf would be the one to inherit my powers. No matter, I am sure that he has my blood just from the power radiating from his small form. I assume you brought Kronos?"

My father nodded his head once more and held his left hand out, drawing Kronos from his dimensional ring. Amariel took the blade and the atmosphere changed immediately. A burdening, heavy pressure filled the room as Amariel held two fingers out and pressed them against my forehead. "May thy soul be filled with the grandeur of the Light, and may thy soul be strengthened in the Fire of Amariel. I bind the Holy Blade, Kronos, to thy soul, and I pass on my strength to you."

A blinding light burnt my eyes as an unbearable pain assaulted my body. I clenched my hands and fought against the pain as a voice rang out in my head. "We meet again, Mortal. I come to warn you. I shall say this once, and once only. Beware the second..." Just like that, the familiar voice faded away along with the pain and the light.

My entire body was overflowing with strength as my mana practically tripled in size. The Holy Blade Kronos resting in my arms. By the time my eyes readjusted to the dark room, Amariel's ghastly figure had disappeared, the orb floating in its original position. Marco was pale and sweating profusely, however, his bright smile was only outdone by my father's.

"I knew my boy was capable! My son, you shall be a great King one day!!" My father was beaming with pride as he walked over to Marco and supplied him with some mana. We then walked over to the back wall and my father stood in front of a large square panel with a multitude of runes on its surface. His finger blurred across the surface as he input the combination to the secret door.

We walked up the flight of stairs revealed from the wall, and we found ourselves emerging outside into the dark of night. We appeared in the garden at the back of the castle, scaring my mother in the process. Her beauty was only enhanced by the moonlight, outmatching even the most beautiful women I have ever seen in my lifetime. For me, this was like seeing my parents for the first time all over again, for I couldn't remember much about them until now.

My father had a tender smile on his face as he walked up to my mother and pulled her in toward him by her waist. The two stood there, smiling gently at each other as my father told her about how Amariel had acknowledged me as his successor. My mother was so thrilled that tears of joy began to run down her face as she thanked the Gods hundreds of times in a row.

They began to talk about their hopes for me as the heir to the throne, filling me with pride and fear at the same time. I was proud that they had such faith in my abilities, but I was fearful that I wouldn't be able to live up to their expectations. They continued to talk as we made our way back to the castle and into the living quarters. They brought me into their shared room and I soon fell asleep in their soft embraces, and with my father whispering about the heroic tales of his early life.

The only thing I hoped for was for this moment to go on forever. I wanted to have more time to spend with them, however, I knew that I would have to begin training to adapt to my new body much sooner than I thought.