Chapter 15: The Son Of The Reaper

Sakido laid there. his body broken on the ground. A crater had formed around him, which had become more visible to the spectators as the dust settled.

"Sakido!" Korihime yelled as she ran towards him.

Within a moment's breath, Izumi had managed to go from where she stood, to directly parallel to Korihime, and put her hand in front of her to stop her from moving forward.

Izumi peered at her, the glint of her glasses partially obscuring her eyes. "No, don't heal him. I want to see how his body handles this, this will show me which direction to take this training."

"He'll die! I need to heal him, please!!!" Korihime pleaded to Izumi, tears flowing down her face over her fallen companion.

"Little girl, shut up, and watch, I know what I'm doing." For a moment, it seemed that Izumi's eye glowed an orange color, and then immediately died down.

Korihime, having no choice but to watch, turned her head to view the injured Sakido.

He lie there motionless, his blood streaming through the cracks in the ground. Soon, his body began to twitch slightly. His nerves began to act as his appendages moved centimeters at a time.

"He's moving! Please Sakido, get up!"

All that he heard was a cacophonous mixture of ringing, blurred shouting, and his own pounding heartbeat. He could feel the rush of his blood going to his brain, matching with each hammerfall of his heartbeat. A surmounting pain rose through him as he attempted to gather strength. He was overcome by a sort of paralysis, a warmth enveloped him as his blood rushed through every orifice of his body, trying to repair the significant damage done. Waves of pain were consuming his body, causing latent tears to fall and mix with the blood pooling on the ground. An indescribable wave of pain came with each roll of his heartbeat, his consciousness faded in and out, he was hardly able to wonder to himself if he was still alive.

Eventually, he was able to break the seal of blood over his eyes and rip his eyelids open. All that he could see was a translucent fog obscuring his vision. His eyes burned with the garnet blood that flowed into them. A current of stinging pain flooded his retinas. His eyes became bloodshot and he clenched his fists in pain.

His hearing seemed to now clear slightly.

"Sakido, get up, please!" He heard Korihime shout.

He thought to himself how incredibly weak he was, in just a single attack, he was on the verge of death. He thought of how much of a disappointment he must be, if his parents were to ever look down on him. The power they imbued him with, so grievously misused and underutilized. He thought of Ichika, how much he cared for her, yet still remained reluctant to embrace the power buried within him. What is it that he clinged to? What new burdens would come with the elicitation of his power?

"Get up, you goddamned coward. Stand up, unless you want to be eaten alive by your indolence."

As if by a supernatural force, he felt that voice in his ear, the same voice as was presented to him after being defeated by Hiru. His eyes opened wider as his fear was beginning to set in, he thought of that dark figure, how it reflected himself, he feared to become whatever it was. With this newfound resolve, he gritted his teeth as he attempted to stand.

He heard Korihime continue to yell for him, he continued to consider his life within his mind. The tape of events that led him to this moment flashes before him, he thought of his resolve to keep Ichika, Korihime, and all else safe from the destruction his lineage would bring.

Faintly, the two women could hear a grunting coming from Sakido. They could see his face changing, his brows lowering. He pressed his hand onto the ground, the palm facing downward. His muscles began to flex as he pushed himself.

Korhime's tears continued to flow as she watched the one she admired so, fight to stand.

Sakido had secured himself upwards with his right arm, next came the left. They heard a more painful grunt come from him as he lifted himself with his left arm. The blood flooded down his elbows and flowed into his arms, running down his hands and between his fingers. The boy was shaking laboriously, his arms were acting as branches of a grand tree in the currents of unforgiving wind.

He positioned himself upwards as he now determined to pull the rest of his body upwards. Blood ran down his scalp, pouring and staining his white hair, sealing it to his eyes as it continued down his lips and chin, gathering onto the ground before him. His right leg retracted inwards slowly as he gathered more of his resolve. The pain came in the most overpowering waves, pain like none he'd ever felt, the pain of his body producing far more energy that it could produce. The adrenaline was the only thing keeping him moving, and even that was giving out.

With a miraculous burst of passion, he retracted both legs and propped himself upwards.

Finally, he stood, hunched at first, then he found resolve to stand straight and look at the ceiling.

Izumi peered at him, and saw his eyes glowing with an expected blue hue. The Royal blue light cut into her soul as she saw true resolution in him, she could watch as he grew before her.

The boy stood tall, but shook and nearly fell multiple times, regardless though, he stood. He had gained most of his hearing back, and could now see before him, even though peering through his eyes caused immense pain, he looked on.

Izumi walked towards the boy, clapping. Korihime following faster than her. She reached Sakidonand immediately embraced him, almost causing him to fall.

"Sakido, I was so scared! I felt my own heartbeat slowing as yours did! I feared, I feared much!"

He weakly laid his hand on her back and took relish in her embrace. She let off of him and glanced at Izumi, who was continuing to slowly clap.

"Well, Sakido, congratulations, you passed your first test." Izumi said, pushing up her glasses with her index finger.

Sakido stared at her through the hair covering his bloodshot eyes. "What the hell kind of test was that?" He said, his voice shaking with weakness and a loss of life.

Izumi laughed at his question and answered with "Kinesthetic learning is the quickest way to see results. That's what I've gathered from my years of teaching."

"What the hell? ...You almost fucking killed me." He says as tears still pour from his eyes, pain still circulating through his body as radical hormones.

"Boy, you'll have to deal with much worse than that if you want to stand against another Ritter, and god forbid, against the Royal Queen." Izumi said, lecturing him in her usual fashion.

"I've defeated a Ritter before." Sakido said, giving her a look of malice. His eyes still glowing.

Izumi raises her eyebrow and asks. "Oh really, and who was this?"

"Kampori Shiko. Commander of the Answeisen Anschlag Geschwader (Answeisen Attack Squadron). The night of which I found Korihime waiting for me." He said, staring into her eyes with her determination on full display.

Izumi, taken back by this information, widens her eyes and gasps in genuine surprise. She started at Sakido, debating to herself if what she heard could even be considered as true.

"N-no, that's impossible...that's a commander! They're appointed by the queen herself. There's no way, Sakido."

Sakido continues to stare into her eyes. "How else do you explain my knowledge? Do you think I wanted to face him? During the fight, my the palm of my right hand was sliced completely open. It left this scar, look!"

The boy holds out his weak, defeated arm to show Izumi the scar. As she beholds the wound, he continues.

"I should have lost, Izumi. He made a killing blow on me, but somehow our places switched, I fooled him in an illusion, my power has something to do with it."

Izumi touched his hand and beheld it in hers. She peered at the wound in absolute surprise, and in a way, in horror...

"Well, you are the son of the king." She said, hardly speaking out her words.

"Is that the kind of power that my father held?" Sakido asked, peering at her intensely.

"...There is much we don't know about your father, Sakido. He's considered the strongest Ritter of his time. He was capable of uniting Answeisen after its loss to Freiheiten after the Sixth Great War of Vorne. He pieced the broken kingdom back together, and made it stronger than it ever was in history."

Sakido grit his teeth and asked her directly. "If he was so powerful and capable of these things, how come you or no one else knows what powers he had?"

Izumi let go of his hand and glanced at the ground under him. She watched as his blood still made it's way across the cracks in the ground.

"The reason we don't know...is because..." She sighed and blinked before continuing "Anyone who saw him fight...didn't live past that point. He didn't only win the war for Answeisen, he slaughtered...millions...of Freiheiten troops under the reign of the King. There are horror stories of what the battlefields looked like after he fought. He spared no one, no matter the gender, age, or status, if they stood for Freiheiten, they were killed."

For his brutality, his mercilessness, his loyalty to the Kingdom, he was given the name..."The Reaper Of Answeisen." Even uttering this name causes Izumi to shudder, she adjusted her glasses and took a long breath to calm herself.

Sakido began to speak and tell Izumi of the dream he had, of the visions of Ichika and the strange woman from a past age, but as he tried, his tongue failed to move, and no sound emitted from his lips.

Unknown to him, upon his tongue formed an ignited seal, the seal took the shape of a dragon that formed the shape of an hourglass.

Sakido's eyes widened as his tongue failed to move. He began to explain to Izumi this occurance, but the seal shut his mouth harder as he tried.

He began to panic quickly as he realized that he was under the effect of some magic. He thought quickly of what could possibly be happening, but he could fathom no idea.

"Are you okay, Sakido?" Izumi said, confused at his strange behavior.

"Yes, yes I'm okay." He panicked inside his head, his thoughts raced as he considered how to explain this to Izumi.

"Korihime, you may heal him now." Izumi gave clearance to Korihime.

Korihime held her hands out and the light blue beam came from her palms. The light first started as a small sphere, and then changed shape slowly into the beam. He stood there as the miraculous light fixed his body's ailments. He was finally able to stand straight, his shaking ceased, the blood stopped flowing, his wounds were all closed.

"Thank you, Korihime." He said to her, with a kind smile.

She smiled with a sweet smile back at him. "Of course, Sakido!"

"Alright, Sakido, it's time for what you came here for." Izumi began, finally ready to teach him.

Sakido now stood at attention, looking into her maroon red eyes.

"Your father and mother were Ritter, Sakido. The realm they came from, 'Vorne' is separate from ours. These are the only two realms that we know of. Ritter are born with something called 'Seishin', a Seishin is the embodiment of one's values, desires, and morality. The stronger your relation to your Seishin is, the stronger your power output is. Likewise, the stronger your will is, the bond with your Seishin will increase. This Seishin takes the shape of a weapon that you yourself form. The moment you awaken your Seishin, through a connection with them, the weapon is formed in your hands.

In order to use their power, however, you must use an incantation. This incantation is known once your weapon is formed. These weapons are known as 'Tekina'. They may take any shape, depending on the user. The shape is also a representation of the user.

You haven't used any incantation, have you, Sakido?"

The boy hesitates to speak and announces "I have not. My blade simply formed once Kampori's 'Tekina' sliced me."

Izumi puts her hand to her chin and thinks for a moment. "So...your Seishin...is...incomplete."

"Is this common?" He asks.

"Well, Sakido, to be honest, this has never happened before. Either one awakens it or not. I know not what could cause this. I've never heard of anything like this. Please, use your power for me."

With that command, Sakido's eyes glowed that royal blue light as the energy wrapped around his body. The flowing energy streamed down his arm and formed in his palm, thus causing the sword to be formed within his hand. He grasped the handle of the flaming blue sword and awaited for Mizumi's instruction.

"Now, attack me." Izumi commanded.

"Are you su-"

"Don't question me! Do what I say." Izumi demanded of him.

"If that's what you will." Sakido said with a sigh.

He approached Izumi and swung the blade at her torso. His eyes were able to see something stop his blade before it was stopped in real time, he just couldn't see what. Now that time had caught up with him, he saw Izumi's arm blocking the blade. On the part of her forearm the blade was making contact with, was a small orange mass of energy that had gathered. This small mass was blocking the sword from piercing her skin. Sakido let off the attack and then saw another attack coming towards him, he saw in a holographic blue vision, her fist approaching him, before it landed, he dodged and made his way to the left.

"Ah, just as I suspected, you have foresight, don't you?" Izumi questioned to him.

Sakido, impressed and similarly surprised, answered. "Yes, I do."

Izumi smiled and commented. "That's quite a useful skill. Ocular enhancements are foreign to my knowledge of modern Ritter. From my studies, Ritter with them have ceased to exist for millennia."

"What does that mean?" Sakido asked, clearly confused.

"Honestly man, I don't know." Izumi said.

The red haired woman then asked "So, you haven't seen anyone in your mind, your dreams?"

Sakido proceeded to attempt to explain what he saw in his visions yet again, only to face the same consequence. This time, however, he suddenly let out "No, no one."

Izumi, picking up on the strange reaction Sakido had, squinted her eyes slightly and stared at the boy.

"Sakido, I want this to be clear, I'm not here to teach you how to fight. I'm only here to tell you the information I haven't told you. Your Tekina situation is quite concerning. I want to help you get stronger. There are a few techniques I want to teach you. We'll see how far you can take this power." She said, her cadence tightening.

"Before we begin, Izumi, I want to ask a question." Sakido announced, giving her a stern look.

"What is it?" She asked, answering his gaze with a similar one.

"My mother, you mentioned she was a Ritter, what power did she have?"

Izumi again hesitated before talking, she seemed to want to erase everything she had said so far, in her mind, she feared what Sakido was to become.

"When I mentioned your father earlier, I forgot to mention that he was born in Freiheiten."

"What made him betray them?" Sakido asked, inquiring for anything he could receive.

"That much is not known in detail, to me at least. Perhaps when you venture into Vorne, you may find more answers, for now I have vowed to not step back into that realm. All that I can tell you is that the two opposing sides of that realm stand for very different ideals. Your father clearly took a liking to Answeisen's ideals. As for your mother...Sakido, there is another reason why I reacted in such a way when you told me of Kampori." Izumi pushed her hair back from her face and over her ear.

Sakido gasped and begged to Izumi "Tell me, what is special about her? I want to know, Izumi!" The boy nearly could speak with the latent anticipation in his voice seeping out more and more.

"I am quite interested as well." Korihime added, standing to the side of the two with her hands met at her pelvis. She stood keenly listening to the conversation between the two of them.

Before Izumi continued, she carefully observed her surroundings and scanned the gymnasium intimately.

"Your mother, unlike your father, was born in the Answeisen Kingdom, and not only the second hand of your father upon the throne. But, she was the commander of the Anschlag Geschwader as well. After her death, Kampori took her place. Her powers are not exactly known. The members of her Geschwader mentioned that her power was incomprehensible to them. She was known for her sadistic brutality. Like your father, she spared no one, but unlike him, she made them all suffer horrible, excruciating deaths, filled with anguish to the last minute of their life. They were the perfect duo for the throne, the commanding and austere King, and his weapon at his side, that wouldn't hesitate to commit the most heinous actions."

Sakido stood stunned, no words in his mouth to speak.

The boy nodded his head and spoke solemnly. "Izumi, I thank you dearly for this information. I-"

Before Sakido could finish his speech to Izumi, a burst of what seemed like sparks...or electricity, was sent through the gymnasium and the entire roof and two walls of the building were completely obliterated, they were reduced to pieces. The three looked up to see that on the horizon of the city, a mass of electricity was gathering. Buildings were being lifted and thrown, mass chaos was being ensued on a scale Tokyo had never seen. The damage almost looked...apocalyptic.

"Izumi, how good it is to see you." A strong voice echoed behind them.

They turned to find Toshiro standing before them in the midst of the falling rubble.

Before either Sakido or Korihime could speak, Izumi screamed to him. "Is this your doing, Toshiro?!"

Toshiro smiled, satisfied at the reaction he received, he pushed up his glasses and peered at her maliciously. "Oh no, don't mistake that for me. I wouldn't be so 'messy' with my work. Oh, don't make that face, Izumi, you look so much like your sister when you do that."

Izumi's countenance had changed to complete rage, a fire in her eyes began like Sakido had never seen in his life. Her eyes glowed a vibrant orange, her breathing was stertorus, a strange power began to emanate from her, a fiery orange aura ensued.

She turned quickly to the boy. "Sakido, I'll take care of him, go see what that lightning over there is!"

"Izumi...I-"

"You swore to face your reality, well here it is! Go Sakido!"