TBATE: Art and Tess's Second Chance

Chapter 4: Whole Truths

Arthur Leywin's POV:

"First things first, my name is Arthur Leywin, the son of two wonderful mages, a soon to be doting brother, a doting father and I have only one question for you all. Do you three believe in other worlds?" I asked the royal family.

My statement left them all confused and looking at each other wondering if this was a joke or not. I look over at Tess to see she is fidgeting. She must be nervous for her family to learn everything. Hell if I told her everything when we were younger she probably would've thought I was using her for power and status. Luckily I told her after all the events we went through together, she knew at that point I only told her so she could truly understand me and my emotions.

"Please calm down your highnesses." I said to grab their attention again. "I'm going to tell you the story of a man whose name was Grey. Please pay attention and don't interrupt unless absolutely necessary. Most questions you could come up with should be answers by the end. If you're worried grab a pen and paper to write your questions for the end." I said hoping this would stop unnecessary interuptions before they might occur. When no one said anything or moved I decided to start, I just hope they don't hate me in the end.

"Grey was an orphan. He had no family to speak of and was tossed around until he ended up in an orphanage that would change his life forever. His empty life was had some meaning after entering that orphanage and that was thanks to two people. The Headmaster Olivia Wilbeck and another orphan named Nico Sever. Headmaster Wilbeck became a mother figure to Grey and Nico became his best friend. Over the years Grey and Nico would steal from rich houses and give the money that they made to the orphanage to help Headmaster Wilbeck. They lived a decent life, compared to others in that world it would probably be seen as a terrible life. For Grey though, it was the only thing that gave his life any meaning. One day the Headmaster brought a new orphane to the orphanage and her name was Cecilia. The Headmaster asked Grey and Nico to get along with Cecilia and help her adjust to the orphanage. They quickly realized that she was incredibly strong. This world had something similar to mana called ki. Ki however was not avaliable in the atmosphere and instead only resided within the body of ki wielders. The young of this world were taught to meditate to form their ki center or for simplicity a mana core. Once the ki center formed, it would only change a little throughout life and that's if you trained like hell. If you are born with a small ki center you will have access to very little ki and the same for a large one but reversed. Cecilia was special, she had an abnormally large ki center that would cause outbursts of ki from her body. Grey conversely, had a very small ki center but had excellent instincts and reflexes. Nico was a normal kid with an average ki center but his specialty lies with engineering or artifcating as you all know it. Over time these three would form a bond of friendship that would last for quite a while. One day because Cecilia's abnormaly large ki center was found, she was deemed 'the legacy' and was targeted by one of this world's Kings or country to be exact. Men came to kidnap her and use her for their own gain but what the men didn't expect was for her friends to save her. With a combination of Grey's abnormal skills and Nico's intellect, they managed to stop the men and they ran for the orphanage. Should be a happy ending right? When the kids got there the orphanage was on fire and the Headmaster was dead. Something in Grey died that day. He realized what the men said when they were fleeing: 'you don't have a home to go back to.' They killed a woman who showed Grey kindness for selfish reasons. Grey vowed that he would avenge Headmaster Wilbeck that day. However he didn't know the cost of that vow."

"Are you all still with me." I said to them to which they nodded so I knew I still had their undivided attention.

"Grey decided to enroll in the military academy instead of a normal school to gain the strength to avenge his mother figure. His two friends followed even though he didn't want them to. He might've even pursued the feelings he had for Cecilia even though Nico also shared feelings if not for Wilbeck's death. Instead Grey decided to focus on training and eventually Cecilia let her feelings for him go let new feelings for Nico blossom. Grey was actually happy for them, he hoped they'd leave for a regular school after getting together but they stayed by his side. The longer he trained the more he gre distant from them. It was certainly effective for getting stronger, not so much for being an actual human being. Eventually one day while Grey was doing his usual routine, he was kidnapped in the night hours. He was questioned about the lecacy which at the time he knew nothing about. When he didn't give his kidnappers any information they decided to make sure he didn't know anything through torture. I'll spare you the gory details but a substance called white phosphorus and fire were involved. He was saved by a woman who he came to know as Lady Vera. She took pity on Grey and decided to help him with his training using all of her resources. He became incredibly powerful for someone with a small ki center, but he also completely closed himself off from the rest of the world other than Vera. Grey was trained to be King under Vera, where if he fought and won in the Kings Crown Tournament he would get the chance to fight the previous King for the throne. Grey eventually made it to the tournament and on the day of his friend Nico visited him and told him Vera was not a good person and was using him to get Cecilia. Grey put all of his trust in Vera and decided to ignore Nico who pleaded with him to reconsider. Once Grey made it to the showdown he knew he would be facing Cecilia as Vera told him she was going to be his opponent. He thought he could win with his skills but once the match started it was clear that Cecilia could win at any point she wanted to. It was like a freshly awakened mage against a white core. Grey still fought with all of his heart but knew he was going to lose until...Cecilia threw herself onto his blade. Grey was still fighting hard since he couldn't even scratch her but she let him impale her. Her last words to him were 'It was the only way to protect Nico.' To add salt on the wound Nico was there and saw his best friend kill his fiancé."