**Years ago**
Nash:
I was born into a loving family.
My mother was beautiful, and my father was a respectable man. The village I was born in loved them, and they loved it back. They would do anything for their people.
I was only ten years old when I vowed to be a man just like my father. And find a woman who was caring just like my mother. Because even without magic, they were still the greatest examples to me.
I come from a family of magicless mages. It was from my father's side; and though my mother had some Healing magic, no matter who married into the family from my father's side, the magic of the other would never pass down. There was only one hereditary magic ability that was inherited, and even then, the ones who had it were one in every hundred. No siblings, just a constant streak of only children. I was one of them, and my parents loved me regardless.
For a while, it seemed that I was born of no magic, I couldn't manifest, I couldn't become, I couldn't gather mana, I couldn't cast an incantation of any kind. It seemed that I would carry on this magicless torch on…
But one day…
***
I sat in the middle of a burning house. Frozen in shock as I held both my parents' hands under the heaping wood of the fallen beams, burning in front of me. I said and did nothing amidst it. Eyes wide open, tears running down my face, and the fire… the fire touching me, but I had refused to burn…
When the rescue mages came, they were in utter shock at the sight of me. The Child Who Did Not Burn… The Wonder Child… were names they had given me.
As they took me out to safety, I watched as our humble little home burned to the ground and my parents long gone with it.
For a while I did not speak.
I remained in shock for a few weeks, recovering in the Valley hospital. I was there for a while until they moved me to a foster home where I had seen better days outside of its walls.
"Careful, it's the kid that burned his parents to death!"
"They say he has no magic, but I bet he does! I bet his magic is Cursing!"
"Cursed Child! Cursed Child! Watch out! He's gonna curse us all!"
"Run! Here he comes!"
The others teased. But I got used to it.
My voice was the last to come back after being in a state of shock for so long. And when I finally spoke, it was, "Papa… Mama…"
When I first said it, the other foster children had been around. They laughed endlessly at me, and once again, I remembered the day like it was happening. I stayed still on my bed, eyes wide once more and unable to move. The other children had gotten bored of all their laughter at this point and had just seen me as some freak. Even the fosters were concerned about me, but not in the way I'd have hoped.
"We need to get him out of here as soon as possible…"
"But where? No one will adopt a child like that."
Even the adults did not want anything to do with me.
I stayed at the foster home longer than any other. I was sixteen now, and I had gotten used to my episodes. Though… every now and then they would occasionally come back. When I thought about it, however, I learned to cope with the sadness.
What had previously taken months to recover from now took only weeks—two, to be exact. Even so, no parent wanted to adopt a kid who needed two weeks away simply to recover from a trauma that happened to them years ago… so there in the foster home I remained.
I got used to the fosters, and they got used to me, but I knew deep down I was the bane of their existence. I was the kid told to go back to their room whenever there were new adoptive parents who came to visit. I was unwanted because of the way I had become. And for a while, I blamed myself.
Why am I so weird… I thought. How come I can't just be normal like the other kids? Why do I always freeze up? Why am I like this? … Why did I not burn?
The thoughts rang, and I was lost in them each and every time I had an episode.
Eventually, I had figured out that I was prone to this state every two weeks, as if it locked there and never reduced. I didn't know why, but it seemed my body had adjusted to the time like clockwork.
It wasn't long after that I had found out that I had magic abilities after all…
***
I had just turned twenty-one, and my time in the foster home had come to an end.
The fact that they kept me for so long, even though the fosters didn't quite like me because I was bad for business, made me grateful they had kept me for as long as they did.
"Thank you for your hospitality," I said as I bowed to them outside the entrance doors.
"Please don't cause any trouble out in the world…"
"I won't."
The foster clicked her tongue and turned around, going for the door. It was cold response, but I appreciated it anyway and smiled to myself. Perhaps my standards on love were that laughably low.
It was then I heard a man's voice, perhaps in his mid-thirties.
"Excuse me… I'm looking for the one they call The Wonder Child?"
The foster lady blinked.
"Err, sorry… um, he also goes by Na—"
"He's right here." She pointed at me. "He's twenty-one now so he is free to leave of his own accord. There will be no papers to sign and there is no cost; he is yours for the taking." No hesitation, no remorse. She just wanted me gone.
"I see! Well, thank you very much!" the male said.
The foster lady clicked her tongue once more and proceeded to the door, shutting it and leaving me with the odd man.
"Why is it you are looking for me? I am an adult now, and no longer need a guardian," I said to him. "Unless you've got labor you need taken care of, I'm happy to work for you at whatever cost you find suitable for me."
"Oh, I wasn't going to adopt you," the male said. "Nor do I have any kind of work for you… Though, I probably should have thought of that sooner—your physique is remarkable! I bet you could haul tons of boxes on your own to our new home!" The way he acted was odd, but there was a friendliness about it that I couldn't quite grasp. His hair was long, and he had a white-streaked bang that fell over his right eye. His uniform was like a black kimono, and he didn't seem to be alone…
"Is this the guy, stupid old man?" the male behind him asked. He seemed to come out of nowhere, entering through the fog of the trees… I didn't even sense his presence. Black messy hair, bangs that obscured his eye just barely, silver chiming cross earrings, a dark jacket with black fur on the hood, black pants, black boots, and hands in his pockets all the while.
"Can you be respectful for one goddamn minute, you damn brat!" the older male said while the younger one continued to disregard him.
"I don't mean to interject, but if it's not for adoption or for work what is it that you want from me?" I asked. The presence of these two was different than anyone I had ever met. And the younger one there seemed to be about my age, yet… not only did I not sense his presence, but I also didn't sense mana from him at all.
"I'll cut to the chase since the old man here likes to beat around the bush," the younger black-haired male said. "I'm here to fight you."
I blinked with a bland expression overtaking me.
"Me?" I dared to ask.
"Who do you think? You see anyone else around?" he said in such a nonchalant and disregarding tone.
We were just outside of the foster home I had lived in since I was ten. The place was surrounded by trees and was near the Forest Kingdom. It was still morning, and the fog rested on the lands ever so.
"Earlier you called me by one of my other names… The Wonder Child… I'm assuming you know of my past?" I asked the older male.
"Sort of… not really. I only know that name because that was the name used when you fought that Grade 2 beast on your own, and won… Err… Greed, what was that beast called again?" he replied, talking to the younger male with black hair.
"I don't know… it was like a Basilisk or something…" Greed replied.
"Ah, yes! That's it! A Basilisk! Good old overgrown chickensnake."
"Or 'snakecock'."
"Oh, ha-ha… you're hilarious, you stupid punk," the older male said to him. "Anyway, uh, you recall fighting that thing, right?" he asked me.
"Yeah," was all I said.
"That's not a small feat, young man! Even fighting Grade 3's solo is tough work for Guild mages."
"So, what are you trying to say?" I asked, another dare…
"I'm saying you should fight Greed, and depending on how you do, I'll let you join our Guild."
When he said that, I didn't know what to think.
Ever since I found out that I actually had a magic ability, a lot of unwanted attention had come my way that I could have quite frankly lived without… Ironically, even with it, nobody wanted me still. So why now?
Joining a Guild… I had never even considered it.
"And why should I trust you?" is what came out of my mouth.
The older male laughed and said, "You bring up a good point. Simply put… you can't!"
I went silent. I was half expecting him to sell himself, but he didn't. He just continued to wear that cheery eye-closed smile across his face.
I put down my bag and took off my coat. I wore only a white tank and brown pants, with brown boots. My hair was short, yellow-orange.
"Wow, I knew you were built, but I can't help but admire! See that, Greed! You two can hit it off; you both like working out!"
"Could you shut the fuck up, old man? That doesn't mean jack shit," Greed disrespectfully said.
"You're a real piece of work, you know that? You know what? I'm gonna root for the other guy there just 'cause you like to disrespect your elders all the fucking time!"
I readied myself and got into a fighting position. I didn't want to waste any time. Regardless of whether this Greed guy had no mana I could sense, it was precisely that reason that I was on guard with him the most.
"If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get—" I hardly finished my sentence.
When I witnessed Greed again, I felt my eyes quiver and my muscles tremble. What was this?
"Good. If there's one thing I hate, it's wasting time." He said. His presence alone sent shivers down my spine. How could one be like this with no aura? What was he? Who was he?
As he stepped forward, I felt my heart drop, and his face became a shadow to me, revealing only his eyes, if black could glow. In an instant, he dashed forward, and I barely caught sight of it… If it were magic, then I could—
When his punch made contact, my reflexes told me to block even though I had initially wanted just to take it so I could let my magic do its thing. But it didn't let me. It was as if my body was trying to tell me—scream to me—DON'T LET HIM HIT YOU.
I shot back with a force so strong that it sent me into the trees. My feet dragged on the ground as I forced myself to stop. And when I looked at my forearms where he had struck, a bruise formed…
My magic, why hasn't it—
"So far, you don't seem like that big of a deal." He said as he slowly walked toward me, throwing his hands in his pockets once more. I knew he was taunting me.
He dashed, and again he was in front of me with another strike, "Show me what the big deal is all about!" he said to me as he shot a kick right at me without removing his hands from their designated place, and I dodged, flipping backward multiple times and once in the air, yards away from him.
From where he had struck, the air rippled, and the trees swayed. The gust that flew past and below me while I was still mid-flip made contact with a tree from behind, and a loud blast echoed.
I looked back hesitantly and witnessed a tree in the distance that had shattered by the gust he caused.
That was from his kick? I thought. A trail of sweat ran down the side of my head.
"Good thing you dodged that. I doubt you would have been able to block that one," he taunted again.
He was right, though. I still had a bruise from his punch earlier, and I was still trying to figure out why… my magic… it was Adaptation, so why was it not working now? Why was I not able to adapt to his punches?
When I looked back, the guy met up across from me like he had just taken a mere stroll… "Seems you're still trying to figure out your ability," he observantly said. "The old man wouldn't tell me what kind of ability you had, but that's fine. With the way you are right now, this won't take very long."
My eyes and muscles still twitched, but I had agreed on this fight. I didn't know why, but this was a fight I absolutely wanted to win.
I thought of my mother and my father. Their faces as they burned… still held smiles. Smiles that not even death could take away from them. It was that moment that made me vow to be like them. If I were going to die here, it would be with the biggest smile. Like a real man, my father always used to say.
My aura burst. Greed had halted from where he was by a tree, hands still in his pockets as I roared and my aura bent the trees around us.
"That's what I came here to see," the older male said, sitting from atop a high branch nearby, hands in his black kimono sleeves.
Since my body would not adapt to his attacks, I will force myself to adapt to him. That thought rang in my head as I charged; muscles flexed, and head faced down to the ground, squatted. When I whipped my head up to face Greed, my face had the biggest smile from ear to ear and tears of joy fluttered upward from the remembrance of my mother and father. I swore I saw a smirk flash on his face at the sight of me.
When my aura had roared, my muscles were cut sharper, and my hair had shot straight up, held by my pure aura alone. I stepped once and cracked the ground. Greed had done the same, his hands still in his pockets. But his facial expression had changed from disregard to that of utter amusement.
"IS THIS WHAT YOU CAME TO SEE!?" I shouted. My heart was full of the smiles of my parents as the fire took them away from my mind like the burning of a page.
Finally, he took his hands out of his goddamn pockets and threw them flexed wide to his sides, "THAT'S MORE LIKE IT, YOU FUCKING TANK!" he yelled back. "COME ON!"
I dashed first, and he followed. Clashing endlessly with each other, I, the light in the fog, and he, the black wolf from it.
Our fists met one after another, blocking with our offense. Neither of us moved into defense. Fist after fist, the ground shook. Fist after fist, the ground cratered. Fist after fist the trees shattered. And I swore, even if it was a glimpse, I saw the ones from the foster watching far from the building in awe.
And then.
I threw a right hook, and so did he, aiming for other's faces.
Our fists met their mark. A perfectly landed strike to his cheek that made his face ripple upon impact. He took it like a champ. Like his neck had been supported by traps of steel. Though I didn't manage to move him, a trail of blood streamed from the side of his mouth. And that was all I needed to see before I was sent flying past multiple trees.
His strike had shattered my cheekbone, and it felt as if I had been shot half a mile through the forest. I crash-landed somewhere deep within. I breathed so heavily, and my bones in different places were definitely broken. Had that punch of his been of magic, my Adaptation would have activated and recovered me, but that… that was not magic… by the fucking Keeper, that was not magic. I'd probably be dead had I not forced an adaptation onto myself before all of that. And ironically that's when I figured out why I was not able to adapt…
Then I heard the applause of one man, followed by that same middle-aged voice, "Right on! I think that's enough for today. Keeper, Greed, you could have lightened up just a little…"
"No way." Greed said, "I saw fire in his eyes, and I wanted to meet him where he was. A person like that deserves my all."
His words gave me chills. Not the fear kind. No… the kind that made you want to follow someone.
The older male studied the look of Greed, who had seemed to be his pupil. He then looked at me and said, "Let me heal you up really quick, big guy!"
***
It was night, and the three of us sat by a large tree.
We camped there that night and ate game. The next day, we would start our travel back to the Valley Kingdom, where their Guild was stationed.
The older male, Asura, whom I came to know, had healed me with some kind of magic that wasn't of his own, but was at the same time… it was hard to explain, but the point was I was healed.
He had told me that he was building a Guild and was looking for members to fill, but not your typical members. Rather, members who were seen as misfits and wouldn't normally be chosen by any other Guild. Guess it made sense why they had come to me. Aside from them, there was the 1st Vice Captain, Code, the 1st Exec, whom they did not name… the 2nd Exec, Raeyn, her sister Ophelia, a guy named Havoc, and some chick named Star, their newest member. And that was it.
"So, what say you, uh… Nash was it?" Asura implied.
I nodded.
"Wanna join our Guild?" he asked informally.
"But I lost."
"My boy, the point wasn't to win. The point was to see what you were made of. You made Greed here bleed from the mouth. Not many people could make that happen. Plus…" he had an ominous and creepy look that brewed on his face, "I'm interested in your magic ability!"
All it took was a swift jab to the head by Greed, and just like that, the two of them were arguing again… I think I had seen them argue more times today alone than I had adoptive parents come to visit me… which was about zero, so that wasn't much of a comparison.
"On one condition," I said. They both stopped their arguing and paid attention to me. "I want a rematch."
Greed smiled eagerly and said, "Time and place. Name it, and I'm there."
"Now, now we just met. That fight was just a one-time thing to gauge strength. We need another heavy hitter in the crew after all." Asura leaned over to me. "Let me train you to use your ability to its max, and then you two can rematch all you like."
I was intrigued. This was the first encounter of any kind that I've had where people weren't scared, mocking, or judging me. In fact, though I lost that battle, it had excited me more than it discouraged. To fight someone so powerful who is the same age. I could tell with just one look from mine, his eyes told a story that most people could not even comprehend. I bet he had gone through much worse than I in my lifetime. Those were the eyes that had seen many battles and many deaths. I respected him immediately.
"Alright, fine." I tried to say as coolly as possible. Asura, though, was a lot sharper than most as he caught my hidden glee.
"Then it's settled! Welcome to the Black Wolves!"
"The Black Wolves? That's the name of the Guild?" I said. I couldn't help but laugh. The name was perfect. Like black sheep, but we were no longer the prey. It sparked my heart.
"Also," Asura added, "Adaptation is your magic ability, correct?"
"Aye."
"That's a rare ability. It only comes from a certain bloodline of magicless mages, once every starlight moon."
"Aye," I said again. "It's a hereditary ability that gets passed down to one out of every hundred child. And to make it worse, those who are born in the bloodline are never born with siblings. We are always only children. I actually didn't know I had this ability until my parents died, and I was the only one who survived due to the inability to be burned… well, I suppose I was burned, too, at first and perhaps died, but I was reborn with what I call Lives. I believe it awakened along with my trauma."
"I see," Asura replied, "Let me help you master that ability. I'm an expert in magical prowess. I even taught this guy how to fight, and he doesn't have a lick of magic!" he laughed.
Greed snapped at Asura after that, and I just sat there observing their chemistry. It was like this was their way of coping. It was ironically healthier than the other types of relationships I had seen in a long time… because it was honest.
We took turns talking, and I told them my life story; they listened eagerly. They let me talk the whole time as I explained my ability, how I can only adapt nine times, and because it was linked to my trauma, I had to recoup in a closed-off space for at least two weeks at a time, restarting my Nine Lives all over again.
"That's all?" Greed asked. "We got a guy that can't decide if he's tired or hyper, needs fourteen hours of sleep daily, and needs to shit at least six to seven times a day, and a chick who's basically a barbarian with a superiority complex and brings home large animals to beat up…"
"Don't forget her overtly sexual obsession with you, Greed." Asura commented.
"Keeper, why do you have to bring that up? Never let words like that leave your fucking mouth, you senescent dick groper."
"YOU IMPUDENT PUNK! DON'T YOU GET TIRED OF BEING SO RUDE!?"
Greed sighed and went on, "Anyway, you sure that's all? No other little quirks?" like what I had just told them was absolutely nothing at all.
"Well, there is one more thing…" I said. I might as well say it since we're on the topic… "I've always wanted to be a social media fitness influencer."
There was dead silence between the two of them. I couldn't tell if they were just soaking that in or had thought I was joking. Had I just topped the rest of the ridiculousness they had at home?
Right then, it started as a soft chuckle, and then it bled into hysterical laughter. I knew I shouldn't have shared that part. It sounded ridiculous anyway…
"I think that's great!" Asura said to my surprise. "You're the most normal out of the whole group!"
I looked at him with utter bewilderment. "Really? Even more normal than this Code fellow?" I asked after they had told me a little bit about him earlier.
"Code has fuckin OCD or some shit. Plus, he never says it out loud, but I swear the dude wants to be a famous chef at some high-end Valley restaurant one day. He's such a nerd with food. You're gonna be eating five-star courses once you get back to the Den with us!" Greed said next.
Even though it seemed like they were shit-talking their own friends, the light in their eyes glinted at the way they talked about them. I could tell that, underneath the surface, they truly cared for each other and considered each other family.
I couldn't help but laugh as we continued to share stories and talk about the other members. I had smiled today more than I could count during my time at the foster. I felt as though I had smiled as much as when my parents were both still alive. This joy, it was the same as theirs. These people… these people are who I wanted to be around always. And who they were… I wanted to be just like them.
***
**Present**
As Nash sat within the sand crater on the battlefield, he heard nothing but the crowds roaring. Rok! Rok! Rok! They all seemed to cheer. He tried desperately to search for the cheers of his comrades, but they were muffled by the sheer number of the colosseum.
Head down, hair a mess and fallen over his face, he debated to himself the best course of action to take: adapt now and risk losing, or play it smart and risk the chance of winning. He began to think thoughts like, If I lose, no one will see me differently… except myself. What was the point of winning? All these thoughts were from a lesser man.
Then, amidst the loud cheers of the crowd, he heard footsteps down one of the halls. He did not know why, but he homed in on that sound.
It was only when he saw him that he understood.
"There you are…" Nash seemed to say under his breath.
"Nash!" the male in the hallway shouted. The audience heard his voice from wherever they sat. It was like it silenced the noise with its presence alone, "You just gonna sit there and lose? Or do you want to win and rematch with me, like a real man!?"
Rok darted his eyes to the male. And so did the audience as they began to chatter.
As for Nash, when those words were spoken, it was like a jolt of electricity had shocked him back to life. His light blue eyes glowed from the shadows, and an aura emanated from him.
The sound of a large clock gonged behind him once more, and all the damage done to him was recovered.
"Five…" he said under his breath, head still down.
"What kind of morale boost was that?" Rok asked.
"Four," Nash said, following his last.
As he said this, his aura burst once again. The pressure from him was so dense that it could be seen rather than sensed. The color of light blue emitted like blue flames, and his hair shot up from the mere pressure of the aura alone. He blew away the sand with each step he took, and even Rok had shifted his stance backward from the distance he was.
There, once again, just like that time when they met, his face bore a proud smile. A smile that belonged only to those who knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that they would win. A smile that only belonged to champions.
Nash looked Rok in the eyes, replying finally to what he had asked and said,
"The kind meant for a real man."