Chapter 1: The Betrayal
𝙂𝙧𝙚𝙮
Cheers of all sorts filled the entire arena. Uplifting and demeaning, Encouraging and dishonoring cheers.
In front of me stood my childhood friend, the one and only friend I had since I could even remember. His dark eyes stared deep inside me, an awkward silence draped around us.
Accusations of my teacher continued to come out of his mouth. His words came to a halt as I yelled, disbelief filled inside me. I didn't want to believe it, I couldn't believe it.
But Nico continued saying that she had brainwashed me.
Here was my friend, with whom I spent my entire childhood. Even now the memories of us practicing swordsmanship while reading books from the library were still so vivid.
As friends, as fellow swordsmen, the two of us joined this competition. I took part in it to win it and become the king while he joined to save Cecilia, his fiancée and our friend.
Despite the difference of our intentions behind participating in this tournament, the two of us looked out for each other.
Suddenly, my name was called for the match. Hearing it Nico desperately started to beg for my help. At that moment I couldn't help but say, "Do you have that less of a trust in me that you aren't even trying to believe that I won't put our friend in harm's way."
Nico's eyes widened, he was saying something but his words fell on deaf ears. My full attention was on my opponent, the one who swore her love to my friend, our childhood friend.
My hands clasped, a ki sword conjured in my arms as I charged forward. Cecilia just swung her arm as a ki sword materialized instantly in her arms.
Our swords clashed, sparks flew while I was being pushed back. Spinning on my leg, I reflected the continuous barrage from Cecilia's sword. Every technique, every skill, every effort I have put into developing them all seem to go wasted.
I was being overpowered, unbelievably so.
Right now, it felt as if I was a man staring upon the sky, hoping to reach the moon. However, it was nothing but a delusion of mine.
Just as I was about to speak to her, disgusting words came out of her lips. Words that demeaned Nico, headmaster and denied our very childhood. Disbelief filled inside me at first, which soon bubbled to intense rage.
But I lacked the power to fight back. Ki coalesced in her hands, cacophonous booms soon followed. Dusts and debris rose due to the explosion caused by the ki blasts.
Utilizing ki outside of one's body, something that is taken to be nothing but a pipe dream, is being used so easily by her. I felt a bit jealous seeing it.
Soon four ki swords impaled both of my arms and legs, pinning me to the podium. Jumping out of the clouds of dust, Cecilia threw her sword which impaled me in my sternum.
A burning sensation seared through my chest. My breathing turned rushed due to the exhaustion catching up.
From the corner of my eyes I saw Nico running towards Cecilia after the official declared her win. These two, whom I had considered my dearest friends, now didn't even bother to look at me.
It felt as if it was just me drowning in my own delusions. My heart ached at the thought of it. My vision soon darkened as I felt a veil of overwhelming darkness take over my consciousness.
*****
Strapped to a stretcher in ice cold chains, my consciousness slowly but painfully returned to me. The voices—a garbled mess boomed in my ears.
"-He's pretty useless now-"
"-A disabled man can't help us in-"
After listening to the barely perceptible whispers I tried to move my limbs, being unable to believe their words.
Despite the mobility, a searing pain shook my entire being everytime I tried to move my limbs. My eyes closed in agony. I took a deep breath. It felt as if everything I have done until now didn't even matter anymore.
All my efforts, struggles and anguish to perfect my swordsmanship now became null as these debilitated arms of mine couldn't even hope to lift a sword properly again.
Suddenly a clap resounded the place, the place now turned dead silent, as if those whispers never existed in the beginning.
Opening my eyes I saw a guy, no older than 20, approaching me.
"So you are Grey, right? I heard a lot about you from Vera. And it seems her words didn't betray the sight in front of me," he said, his eyes scrutinizing every inch of my entire being. "And what were her words? The fact that I am a useless naive brat, is that is?" a sneer left my mouth.
"Oh no no, it was full of praises, and I must say. You are as undaunting as she said, your eyes are still as resolute as ever, even after losing control over your limbs," he spoke with a smile on his face.
"Besides," he continued. "What I need isn't your sword skills, anyone can get that. All I want from you is whether you have what it takes to carry out our will." Frowning I replied, "And why should I exactly help you all?"
"Do you not want to exact your revenge?" the man asked with calm eyes as he stared right in my eyes. "Hah," a scoff left my mouth. "Is that so? Then let me ask you one more thing. What is even there for a cripple like me to do?" I asked, the memories of Nico and Cecilia ignoring me and leaving me to my death resurfaced in my mind as I soon shook away those thoughts.
"Like I said Grey, what I want is not your skills as a swordsman, but your tenacity to not give up even in the face of death," his gaze was now full of sincerity, and a bit of hope.
I laughed in exasperation as I asked, "Really? Then what is your will?"
"To overthrow the current system and the future one out and create a new one for ourselves," he replied, his eyes filled with resolution. Yet I could see a gap in it, as if his true intentions were masked under a pretense of this situation.
The restraints around me loosened, my body writhed in the pain of my movement. After struggling for a really long while, I managed to get up.
Somehow I managed to stand up, my feet wobbled a bit but I withstood it. Our eyes met, he was grinning ear to ear while I had a grim expression on my face.
"If it is my power that you wish to have, then I'll give my very best to help you," I said, my arm moving towards him.
Still having that creepy grin on his face, Mordred responded by accepting my arm.
"I am really glad to hear that."
And my days of perpetual suffering started.
From the very next day I was tasked to learn how to properly walk with these broken legs of mine.
It felt cruel, at times it even felt inhumane. Yet I knew they were being serious, this was a test of my willpower. Whether I would give up on a task that would seem impossible to me, or will I still struggle till the end.
After that I was tasked to better my mannerisms to be presentable enough in front of the nobles. It was a rather easy one compared to the one given to me before. It almost felt like a joke to me. Even now while walking, my body wobbles everytime. The biggest problem of this task was that my ethics aren't that good since before coming here, I was nothing but a brute who did things without thinking.
Suddenly one day in the middle of my lessons, Mordred came in.
"So, how is it going?" he asked, his voice being as jolly as ever.
"Nothing, just glad that you didn't abandon me after all these months," I replied.
Chuckling slightly, he replied, "No need to worry about that. You are really needed for my motive."
"I really wonder what role it is necessary for me to fulfill in order to overthrow the current system," I replied, in an attempt to provoke him.
His expression turned dark as he replied, "Well, whatever it is, you don't have to bother yourself much with it since time will tell."
My body flinched in his sudden change of tone. Clearing his throat, Mordred continued, "Oh well, I was actually here for something else. I am pretty sure you want to know why we took someone like you in, right?"
In response, I nodded while he carried on and explained everything there is to know about ki.
Ki was the life force of living beings in this world. Ki exists in everything that has life, from the very start of their life all living beings have a set amount of ki in them, it never decreases nor does it increase. Humans had found out a way to utilize the ki that existed in their body by the concept of Ki pool, but a limit was put on them from birth.
"But there is an exception to this rule," Mordred said, "And that exception was the Legacy."
Cecilia wasn't the only Legacy to exist in history, Mordred looked back in history as he confirmed it, everytime the world was near a revolution, a Legacy was born.
King Arthur of Britain, Abe no Seimei of Japan, Great Magician Solomon of Israel, Heaven's Equal Sun Wukong. All of these great figures of history can be contacted as Legacies since all of them had taken a huge role in the past and contained great prowess. Of course it isn't a certainty, but the chances of them being true is high.
Legacies were also exempt from the limit on Ki put on us by birth. Their Ki pool is infused with Ki from nature everyday as it continues to increase day by day without any rest, as a result Cecilia used to get those seizures out of nowhere.
"And so today we are gonna talk about how to create a fake Legacy."
My eyes widened, I was bewildered beyond belief. If Legacies are to be taken as freaks of nature, then how am I supposed to become like them?
Shaking away those thoughts I took a good look at the one sitting in front of me as I considered whether he had gone mad or not. Noticing my stare Mordred chuckled as he continued, "Well I know it sounds like a madman's rambling but listen me out, we actually have a way to accomplish it."
Step after step, Mordred explained to me about the experiments and research he did and the results he got. Runes embedded on a person to give them power equivalent to a Legacy. These runes would draw in the Ki from nature, refining one's ki pool along with their use of ki.
But I wondered if I still had it in me to wield a sword. When I said that to Mordred, his eyes lit up as he said that I might even be able to influence ki outside of my body.
Something felt odd to me, as if everything was planned from the start.
"Well now that you have the basics down, let's get out for some member hunting," Mordred stood up while speaking.
"Go out…? And for what?" I asked while Mordred just smiled.
And here we were, in the middle of a slum, dressed up in normal dress. We were sitting on the ground.
"So, what did you want to do again?" I asked.
"Member hunting, our organization isn't that big so we would need to recruit more people," he replied.
"Then, why am I here?" I asked again.
"That's because a leader should be able to have basic skills to recruit people," he again replied magnanimously.
"Makes sense, but why are we in a slum?" I asked once again.
"That's because we found someone else that might be compatible with the runes in this place," Mordred replied, "Alright, we are near."
He then led me to a corner, light barely made its way here. An unbearable stench filled my nostrils. Squinting my eyes I was able to see the man sitting in front of me.
Disheveled white dusty hair with lifeless black eyes. His entire face screamed of wanting to die.
Raising his head he stared at us. It felt as if he had lost all desire to live.
Kneeling on one leg, I stared back at his eyes.
My eyes then fell to his right arm, or where it was supposed to be.
In such a miserable state, death would be the best mercy for him. But I couldn't let him die yet. Even If it is for my own selfish goals, he won't die today.
"Say, do you wish to die?" I asked.
The man weakly nodded in response.
"But do you wish to die like this? Dying in a place such as this without anyone even knowing that you existed, is this really how you wish to die?" I asked again, my emotions getting mixed in the questions.
"Does…does it really even matter?" he asked, his voice being weaker than it was.
"No, it doesn't," I replied, "No one cares whether you die gloriously or miserably. But what really matters is whether you died being satisfied at how you lived or being disappointed. So, let me ask again, do you wish to die being disappointed in your living like this?"
"No," his voice cracked, "Of course I don't."
"Then please, help me in my journey until your death arrives."
His eyes looked at me, filled with distrust and disbelief. Maybe this was how I looked when Mordred took me in.
Like that, the two of us visited several other places to get more people like him.
An orphan, a beggar on the verge of death lying beside the roads, a man left all alone betrayed by his wife and friend, a drunk man lying wasted in a bar. Seeing all of them made me realize, the condition of our country really was in a grand pickle.
And now, after taking dozens of tests and recruitment of the new members, it was finally the time for me to get my runes engraved on me.
Lying on a cold stretcher, my arms and legs were chained to it so that I wouldn't try to resist when the runes were inscribed on me.
Several pen-like machines hovered over me as they shone in an ominous gleam. "Grey, are you ready?" Mordred asked behind the glass panels. As soon as I nodded the machines vibrated and started their work.
The word painful would be an understatement to describe what I felt.
The tip of the machines continued to pierce my skin, blood oozed out of the wounds. A blood-curdling scream tore through my throat, not only were the needles infused with ki, they even moved while being inside my skin as they formed the outline of the runes, increasing the pain by a lot. My skin stretched and ripped apart while runes continued to stitch on my skin.
What felt like an eternity passed by in a few minutes, only one rune was etched on my arm. It felt all too surreal.
Ki danced around my arm, coiling and spreading continuously.
The surgeon asked whether I could go on or not. The feeling of just having one rune felt really painful, so much so that I wanted to give up now.
But, if I gave up now, would I really be able to challenge Cecilia again? I was powerless, no matter how much I trained, I couldn't possibly hope to defeat her in a one on one.
Nodding, I responded that I could carry on.
With my response, the operation continued. The feeling was indescribable, as if my whole body was being skinned and restitched over and over again.
Finally after several long hours, the engraving of the runes was finally finished.
Getting up from the stretcher I took a good look at my body. Runes were etched on my arms, my chest, my legs and even my back. A mirror was brought in front of me.
Looking at it I realized that runes were also etched on my face as well, strands of white hair were mixed in my usual dusty blond hair. My bones cracked at every movement of mine, my body felt so light that it almost felt foreign.
The struggle I used to face when walking was also gone. But what surprised me the most was my control on ki.
Ki flowed, dancing from one finger to another. With an intent of mine, a sword was abruptly conjured. But rather than wielding it, I let the ki dissipate and the sword disappeared.
An image formed in my mind, visualizing it I let my intent out. An orb of ki formed on my hand, after being released it soon dissipated without much happening.
"Well, I guess something is better than nothing," Mordred said, standing beside me.
"Wait, I can do something else as well," I interrupted him. It felt as if the ki was leading me to a certain thing.
Visualizing it, I realized the hidden speciality of ki.
Tendrils of lightning branched out, ki being present in them.
Mordred's eyes widened at what I did, but my attention was pulled by something else.
Using a spell like this took a herculean toll on me. Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm down the pain that radiated relentlessly in my whole being.
This would sure take a lot of time for me to get used to.
The other members of the organization including Mordred also got runes embedded on themselves, but no one could go any further than three or four runes on them.
Like that we spent over three months getting used to the runes and the powers they brought.
And here I was, on a seat watching the fight go between Cecilia and her opponent. The system of having the kings fight as the councils of the respective country sat together in a place. The fact that all of this was publicized made me think whether the fight was genuine or just for show.
The one thing that surprised me was the fact that our organization had enough influence to get me here in this place. The whole audience was either the nobles or people close to them.
This now rather made me doubt more about Mordred's origins and his true intentions.
My thoughts were interrupted as voices poured in my ear through my earbuds notifying me that the preparations were done.
Standing up, I made my way to the center of the stadium.
Cecilia's fight just ended, fatigue being almost non-existent on her face as if she didn't even go through any problem fighting.
Ki pulsed in my veins, kicking off the ground I landed right on the podium.
My abrupt appearance on the place caused an uproar amongst the nobles. Whispers filled the entire stadium as they echoed heavily.
Seeing me, Cecilia's head tilted in confusion due to my change in appearance. Soon her eyes widened in surprise when she recognized me.
This moment, standing in the middle of a stadium with people watching, the two of us standing in front of the other. It was all so similar that it felt as if it was all the doings of fate. A bitter feeling of nostalgia bubbled up inside me.
Wielding the staff that hung on my back tightly, I faced Cecilia, "Long time no see." A smirk rose on my face.
An orb of ki condensed on the tip of the staff, which launched towards Cecilia.
But as if she saw it coming long ago, she sidestepped and the orb brushed next to her.
Her mouth opened to say something, but she was interrupted as I continued to barrage orbs of ki one after another on her.
Brandishing her sword, Cecilia sprinted towards me. Lifting my staff, I pointed it at her.
Visualizing it, I released my spells. Spears made of ki were conjured as they levitated, bits of lightning sparking on the tip of the spears.
Ducking, she dodged some of the spears and fended off the last one with her sword.
Ki coalesced on the staff, infusing my intent in the ki, they soon turned to sparks of lightning which launched straight at Cecilia.
She tried to redirect the blow with her sword, but the lightning corroded the sword.
From her blind spot, I sprinted while ki formed on the palm of my hand. I released the spell which bombarded Cecilia straight in her gut.
From the recoil of the spell, Cecilia launched backwards hitting straight into the wall.
The whole stadium and audience were now silenced, no one here knew about me but they sure understood one thing now.
There is someone who is powerful enough to overpower their King.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
KaiAsukawa
KaiAsukawa Thanks for @TheChipMonk_ for helping me being my beta reader as always and thanks to @Reprobate_ for helping me in my first few chapters.
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