‘So basically my father was the archetype of a Japanese novel main character.’
He knew that the story couldn’t be that simple and that there were still many little things he wasn’t told but frankly it didn’t matter.
“Master, what do you think I should do?”
Yes this was the crux of the matter. When you don’t understand simply ask someone who understands to explain.
Sol always lived by this rule. Be it in this world or in the previous one.
Edea hearing his question simply smiled as she said,
“Sol, I was observing your conversation with the little Lilith and she was right about something. Your life is destined to be one full of pressure. You will most likely never be praised for your success since it will be expected from you and failure will make you a laughingstock even if it isn’t a great failure. This is your reality. This your truth. But…So what?”
As she said this, Sol could feel the deep feeling of disdain contained in her words,
“Sol, you aren’t Jupiter nor are you Mars. You are you. You are Sol. So what does it matter if the masses never praise you? As long as your loved one do so, it will be enough. So what does it matter if the world shuns you at the slightest failure? As long as you get up and continue to fight you will be alright.
“You will be destined to greatness, of that I have no doubt. Do not let common sense bound you. Being the king? Saving the world? This is good. Very good even. But what does it matter in the end? Riches and honor are nothing more than ephemeral clouds in front of the power of time. What really matters is how happy you are. And how can you obtain happiness?”
“By striving to become a little better every day.”
“Umu, this is my little boy. Do not compare yourself to anyone. Your goal shouldn’t be to become better than someone. This kind of goal is simply too sad. Power that can only be said to be strong when compared to someone else is meaningless. What you ought to strive for should be self improvement. Do everything in your power so that the you of today is better than the you of yesterday.”
As she said that she waved her hand and a book appeared in front of her. Like the door, the cover of the book was also illustrated by a snake eating its own tail.
“This book is old as me. It was gifted by my teacher a long time ago, I and my sisters went under apprenticeship. We began to be called the five directions as we were the five first witches.”
She said with a sad smile.
“Time, Space, Destruction and Creation. West, East, South and North.”
Four witches, four directions. But, Sol couldn’t help but frown. What about the fifth?
“Origin.”
As if answering his silent question she said.
“Origin. My teacher, the central direction. This is her power. Simply put. She is the one who developed the initial form of all the magic we knew. It isn’t all. All witches have a grimoire bound to them where their spells are automatically noted. All those grimoires are also bound to the grimoire of my teacher.”
“That-!!”
“Yes. My master’s power knows no limits. As long as the witches continue to grow stronger she will be the same. Sol. My master is a true monster, a being who defies all logic… Like your father. You may wonder why I spoke about all that. It’s simple. Your father isn’t the sole monster to have existed. Before him monsters defying all logic existed and even after him those beings will still exist.”
A teasing smile formed on her face as she said,
“Sol. Are you interested in becoming a monster like them?”
Sol simply smiled as well. Some words once said were only cheapened. Sometimes, silence was the best answer. He didn’t wish to live under the shadow of his family all his life. He wanted to be his own person and create his own future.
“Fufufu~! Now that the prep talk is finished let’s go back to the more pressing matters… Your awakening. Sol, do me a summary of what you know about the awakening.”
Sol stirred his tea with his spoon as he mulled over his thoughts before finally answering,
“Humans are the sole race unable to use mana from birth and also the sole race unable to use magic naturally. This situation can only be redeemed once they reach their fifteenth birthday and go through what is named as Awakening. From that moment they begin able to use mana. But only mana. Not magic.”
“What is the difference between mana and magic?”
“If I had to make a simple analogy, mana is a source of energy and magic is one of the result from the manipulation and transformation of this source of energy. Once humans awaken, they can only use mana in his raw form.”
“But…?”
“But, there’s a way to circumvent this situation. The contract. Also called the pledge. Once humans awaken, their talent is calculated based on two measures. Firstly the amount of mana they hold, and secondly their capacity.”
“Be more precise.”
“The capacity is simply the measure stick for how many contracts one can make. The higher the capacity the better. Humans can make a pledge with any being outside of another human and gain some of the abilities of the one they made the pledge with. If they are lucky, they can even get the ability to use the element of the one they contracted with.”
Edea nodded with a smile. It was the basis of the world. Contract. The only way for humans to gain true power. Of course it wasn’t impossible to become absurdly strong without contract but it was without a doubt way harder.
“How do you know how much capacity is needed for one contract?” she asked idly.
“Quality. If humans are judged by their mana and capacity. Then the other races are judged by their mana and their quality. The quality can go from E to S with the capacity required increasing greatly. One needs only a capacity of ten to contract with a E class but they need a capacity of 100 to contract with a S class.”
“What is the probability for one to be born with 10 points in capacity?”
“10%”
“What about being born with 100 points?”
“0,0001%”
Even as he said those words he couldn’t help but shudder at those words. Even the worst of the worst capacity could only be obtained by 1 out of 10 people. As for S class? Only 1 out of 1000000 could hope to be born with such capacity.
“Exactly. Sol, you must understand. This world is unfair. One’s hard work is without a doubt important. But the blessings one received at birth are even more so. Take me for example. I was born with a capacity of 5. Barely enough to make a contract with a E- class being. Then, why am I so powerful?”
“Because you are a witch.”
“What is a witch?”
“The witches are beings also known as the wives of Asmodeus. The divine beast of luxuria. Divine beasts and the godesses can make contracts irrelevant of the capacity. But between all the fifteen divine beasts. Only Asmodeus was given the right to contract with a large number of humans.”
“Continue”
“A contract with Asmodeus allows humans to use magic but they have to pay certain prices. The first being the curse of eternal youth. Even until their death. A normal witch will never look older than 10 or 12 years old. The second being the curse of love. All their relationships are doomed to fail one way or another. The third one… ”
He fidgeted a little. He knew that the first curse wasn’t really a curse as it didn’t bother most witches. The second one was a little harsh, but then again it was an acceptable price but the third one,
“Do not hesitate. Go on.”
“The third curse is the curse of infertility. A witch’s body is cursed to never be able to give birth.”
“Yes.” A sad smile formed on Edea’s face as she said so.
“Asmodeus is really a wicked being. Each of those curses when taken alone aren’t a big deal. But when taken together? It’s like saying, *since you wish for power. I will give it to you. But in exchange, I curse you to live an eternal miserable life of solitude. You will never be able to love and you will never be loved in return.*”
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