Preparation |A TBATE What-If?|

Chapter 4 - What Did They Do to You?

? Pov

After completing his training, I couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder at his progression. He had grown from a simple human boy to a wielder of asuran arts, though he is not nearly powerful enough to contend with one. Such pathetic restraints these humans have. But even with their apparent weakness, the reincarnates intrigue me. Though, neither of the two boys are quite as interesting as the potential third. 

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Arthur Leywin Pov

I had pushed my luck with the Dragon Lord when I awoke. Cursing him and berating him for putting Sylvie in such a situation, but they were all empty threats. Even with my newfound power, he could blink and I would simply cease to exist.

Besides, after calming down, it was obvious that Sylvie was never in any real danger in the first place. In fact, it hadn't even been Sylvie that I saved in the first place. A simple golem erected by Wren Kain—or some other titan I guess—the bastards.

My powers had progressed enough that a simple ruse such as making a lifelike golem shouldn't have caught me in the first place, but Indrath was tricky. Somehow, he'd hijacked my realmheart, or at least affected the way that I perceived mana in the first place, making the fake Sylvie's mana signature look no different than the real her.

I couldn't be sure if this was actually a power that the dragons' had, or if it was something else entirely, but such an ability wouldn't aid me. Thus to say I had little interest in the folly as a whole. I was simply glad that my bond was okay. And, I'd even gotten to spend the day with her after, which was a nice added bonus.

But when our time together had ended, I had started a brand new, improvised hellish program. You see, the third phase of Sylvia's beast-will breaks down my body, utilizing my own vitality as power. It allowed me to coerce aether to an extent and guide it around, but it would have been too dangerous to use in any real life-or-death scenario. With the emergence of Regis, however, who was able to guide said aether to my more internal wounds in a way I could not, well...you can see where I'm going with this.

It wasn't easy. While we were still learning, gathering Aether independently was a difficult and slow process for my wispy companion. But when the king of Asuras was your own personal tutor, lack of aether was hardly an issue.

Soon, months blended into years as I studied the powerful arts of the dragons, so primordial that I—who had lived two lives couldn't compare hope to compare. Virion, an aged elf who was ancient in his own right, was a mere child to them. I was no different.

By the time my 27th birthday had come, I'd already known that my time in Epheotus would be nearing its end. In fact, not even a week had passed since the occasion when Windsom had barged into my room with a fresh set of clothes and a letter from Lord Indrath.

The message contained nothing more than Kezess's usual cryptic babel, however, something had actually piqued my interest. He had mentioned Tessia Eralith, my old childhood friend.

Why had Kezess placed so much interest in me protecting her?

So much time had passed since I'd last seen her, that I wasn't even confident I could pick her out in a crowd anymore. It'd simply been too long. Her face had largely been cleared from my mind, taking her voice along with it.

It was a melancholic sentiment, to say the least. She, and so many others had been such a large part of my childhood and yet, here I was, only mildly excited to see them.

As much as I wanted to say that I was still the same man who had first stepped foot on this otherworldly continent...I'd be lying. It didn't really feel like my mind had aged much. Little social interaction and constant physical and mental pain tended to do that. But after so much time, change was bound to occur. Especially with such lousy company.