Chapter 18

One year ago.

I was sitting in the safe house that Marie’s agency had set up for us while we were out on the assigned mission. It was nothing major as I was still in training and still learning how to control my magic. I was recently told about manifestations and the range in which they come in. I was trying to guess what I would create and how powerful it would be. The mage trainer that the agency had me exercising with found out pretty quickly I was exceptional with fire magic, so I started wondering if I could have a weapon that involved fire. I asked her that too, but she quickly dismissed it stating that manifestations are all based around archaic style of weapons. The last few generations were mostly based on medieval weapons with older mages owning weapons from even further back. Ever since then, I have been trying to conjure my manifestation. It had already been several months since my trainer told me that, and I had yet to, well, manifest it. Last month she was starting to get concerned as she found it highly unusual that someone with so much latent magical talent could not conjure a manifestation. To be honest, it started to weigh down on me. I had begun to wonder if I was a defective mage as I showed signs of magical talent way later than any other recorded mage. I flopped down onto the bed and let out a sigh that was half boredom and half distress. Then the door to my bedroom opened.

“Are you alright? That sigh didn’t sound good.” Marie said, poking just her head in. “Would you like some tea?”

“Was my sigh that loud?” I said, sitting up. “Uhm, yea I could go for some tea.”

Then, Marie opened the door fully and walked in, having already been carrying two cups of tea. She handed me the mug and then sat down next to me and sipped hers. I could tell that this was yet another new blend just off the smell. Marie had always experimented with tea for the entire year I knew her. I was basically living with her as we moved across Europe on training missions, hunkering down in new safe houses each time. I never knew where she kept or got these tea leaves, but she always had them with her. And every time they were always delicious. I took a sip of the hot tea, and it was an oddly sweet yet bitter blend. I wasn’t knowledgeable enough to know what was in it, but I knew that I liked it. I took another mouthful, enjoying the taste.

“You’re worried that you’ll hold us back if you can’t conjure your manifestation.” Marie said as a statement rather than a question as she sipped her tea.

I choked on mine as the sudden statement came as a shock. I hadn’t ever mentioned my troubles or stress to Marie nor the fact that I did feel like I would be a detriment to the team and to her. She placed her mug on the nightstand and turned to look at me with her blank face and pale blue eyes.

“You are talented and strong enough even without it.”

“How did you know I felt like that?”

“We’ve lived together for a year.”

“That doesn’t explain anything.”

“I know your mannerisms; your quirks. You only sigh like you just did when you feel stressed. I also know that the teacher, Miss Morgan, has been worried about your inability to create a manifestation. I also know you have been sneaking into the training grounds late at night, practicing your magic and trying to bring out your manifestation. You then come home, bang your head on the door in frustration, and go to bed.”

“How do you know-”

“And from all of that, I can infer that you are stressed because of your current failures. And your failure is currently halting your progress which is halting us, which ultimately halts your goal of revenge on Yukino Kurosawa.”

I swallowed hard, clenched my jaw, and turned away from her. I knew Marie was always a fact-based person, but hearing her call me a failure hit hard and made me question if I should even continue going. If I should pursue taking out my revenge. I thought I could do it when I was being told how powerful I am, how much latent talent I wielded. But after a year, I felt like I had little to show for it.

“Yea, I know I’m a failure. I must be wasting your time and effort. You probably wish you weren’t stuck with me.”

“That is not true, Ryuki.” I felt her small, lithe hand rest on my thigh. “I did not call you a failure. You are the farthest thing from one. Your current goal has no success yet, but that doesn’t mean you haven’t had a plethora of accomplishments before this.”

I turned to her and clenched my teeth, trying to hide my quivering emotions. “It’s been 6 months. If that isn’t the sign of a failure, what is it?”

“Determination. Strong will. A sense of pride.” She looked directly into my eyes as she continued. “Miss Morgan has spoken to me about you. While it is true she is at an impasse with your current situation, she is astonished at how quickly you have grasped every other fundamental of magic.”

“But that doesn’t-”

“Let me finish. She is amazed that you are casting spells without incantations that even mages she’s trained when she was with the Secular couldn’t do with a chant. While you have an affinity for fire magic, she is astounded by how easily you pick up every other elemental school. She is floored by your ability to continually have magical enhancements on you and even apply a minor version to other people.”

“Stop using synonyms for amazed. I get it, I have been succeeding. It’s just... this feels like something I really need for us, for the agency, to actually start moving forward to taking on the Secular. I don’t want to hold you back, especially since I’m only here for petty revenge.”

“Ryuki. Can I tell you something?”

“Uhm. Well, yeah, of course. You’re always pretty open with me. I didn’t realize you were hiding something, though.”

“I’m also here for ‘petty revenge.’” Her eyes cast downward as she clasped her hands together. “We are pretty similar, you know. In our goals.”

“What do you mean?”

“8 years ago, when I was thirteen, my family was also killed by mages. I lived with my father and sister at the time. My mother had moved away years before then, leaving us behind. We lived in a small town, one that you could consider non-existent due to how small it was.” I then noticed that Marie’s usually expressionless face was, ever so slightly, saddened. “She showed up one day. Claiming that she could change everything for us; for my sister and me. She said she found a new partner, one with special abilities. He was a rogue mage who was wanted for using magic to commit fraud and money laundering. I didn’t and still don’t know the logistics of it, I never bothered to learn how magic can be used for that.”

“And then the Magi Officers came after him.” I said with my eyes on the floor.

“Correct. They came and hunted him down without any restraint. I watched from underneath the floorboards of our little house as they destroyed buildings, tore up the ground and injured innocent civilians just for being in the area. Then I saw them kill the man who stole my mom. But not before he killed her. I watched in horror as they went around to the injured, not bothering to heal them, and wiped their memories.”

“And your dad and sister?” I asked, immediately regretting it.

“By some miracle they didn’t find me. They then entered the rubble that was once my house and started to clean it up. I didn’t understand the language at the time and didn’t know what they were saying. I just inferred by their expressions. One of them said something, made a sound of disgust, and pulled something out of the rubble. It was my sister. What was left of her, anyway. Her body was carved in two, and the mage was just holding her corpse in the air, poking at it and laughing. The other mage pointed somewhere else, and I followed with my eyes to see my dad, impaled against the wall with multiple stakes made of earth. I watched in silent horror.”

I sat next to her in silence, unable to think of the words to comfort her or even acknowledge her pain. I slowly put my hand on her back, rubbing it softly. But then, she jumped at me, wrapped her arms around me and stuffed her face into my chest. She wasn’t crying, but she didn’t speak. Just gripped me tightly. I gently put my arm around her and rested a hand on her head, patting her lightly.

“I’m glad I’m stuck with you, Ryu.”