The Franco-British Union: The Trials of Time

Chapter 10: Shattered Pride

A week later...

12th of April, 8:00

In the garden of the Royal Palace, Ellesmere, Quistadoria Empire

     Kimoto, the summoned hero of the Quistadoria Empire, was walking around in the garden of the Royal Palace, trying to figure out the extent of his magical powers. So far, other than the fact that he could cast spells by simply thinking, eliminating the need for spell casting, something he deemed very embarrassing, it seemed as if his powers were almost limitless...

     Like other Japanese teenagers around his age, Kimoto's life was nothing out of the ordinary. He was enjoying moderate college life in a college that wasn't very famous, yet, still reputable enough for him to secure a job and live the rest of his life out in a relatively peaceful and boring manner, all of which was overturned in the blink of an eye as a result of his summoning.

     However, what sets Kimoto apart from others was his childhood, he has a violent and troubled childhood under a domineering, alcoholic father. Like many children, he once naively believed that there are good and bad people in the world and that he and his family was obviously one of the good ones, only for his life to be turned upside down in a sudden turn of events...

     The year was 2007 and the Cold War had only ended for a decade, however, tensions were already rising between the FBU and the US as a result of the latter's intervention in what the media called the "Russian Civil War", named after the political instability and violence to the point of insurgencies that plagued Russia and the former Soviet Republics after the August Coup. However, it was only after the "Great Recession", the most severe economic and financial meltdown since the Great Depression, that the boot is on the other foot.

     Kimoto's father, a construction engineer, was once a kind and caring father who loved his family, however, the loss of his job and his family's house put a great deal of stress on him, which he directed towards his wife and Kimoto's older brother while Kimoto was only 2 years old at the time.

     By the time he was 7, Kimoto was often neglected compared to his older brother who was particularly harsh and even brutal to Kimoto. However, despite all of that, Kimoto still held some love for both his father and his brother although he was closer to his mother, one of the few who truly loved him.

     Unbeknownst to all of them, his treatment as a child resulted in a strong desire for attention and love, which ultimately turned into fear of not being valued as a person and unfortunately, resulting in his craving for more power as he increasingly valued power over all else, including family. He wanted to be strong, worthy, significant, dynamically expressive and received.

     Alaric Quistadoria IV was able to give him what his family couldn't. He was able to give him power, wealth, prestige and even women, all by doing nothing. For the first time in his entire life, he felt as if he was now finally important in the eyes of others and the fact that he was the one summoned further proved that he was worthy, even to the gods themselves.

     And so, he wasn't going to stop there, not before he became the greatest out of all summoned heroes... Such a thought amused the Emperor of the Quistadorians, Alaric Quistadoria IV, who was sitting with Igamaex in his own chamber, overlooking the gardens while both of them quietly observed Kimoto's actions.

Igamaex: [C] "Is it really a good idea to give that stranger that much power, Your Majesty?"

Alaric: [C] "We've already exploited his fears as a tool to keep him under our control for the time being. Now he's going to crave more and more power... And he couldn't do so without me."