Moonlit Crusaders

Chapter 3: Xi

Thursday, five days have passed since Sebastian had his gates opened and unlocked his magic. He's been living off of the wild for days, in a wide forest, one hundred kilometres outside of Defilia. Luckily his father taught him from a young age how to survive in the wild. He sat on an old fallen tree, busy roasting a fish he caught in a river. Thoughts of Barthélemy haunted him nonstop as he looked at the now lifeless creature, slowly being fried. The fish was ready to be eaten when he took it off. He ate away as his mind started wandering off and he remembers the conversation he had with Barthélemy.

Five days and twelf hours ago, Barthélemy sat at his desk, letting out a sigh as he heard Sebastian's request.
"Listen, child. I understand that you wish to open your gates today, but unlocking your mana isn't just some random event that nobody cares about. It is the birth of a new mage and potentially a future elder," Barthélemy explained. Sebastian isn't fazed by his words in the slightest. On the contrary, Barthélemy's explanation merely angered him and made him even more impatient. He no longer has time for the excuses made by the old man before him. Sebastian grabbed Barthélemy by his chest and slammed him against the wall.
"I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THE CUSTOMS OF OUR CITY! I NEED TO FIND THE MAN WHO MURDERED MY FATHER TO PROVE THAT HE WAS NO COWARD AND NO SLAVE TO THE FEAR OF MANKIND!!" Sebastian yelled at Barthélemy.

The elder wizard simply scoffed at the young twit and pushed him all the way to the opposite side of the room by unleashing his mana. Smashed into the wall, Sebastian slides down the brick wall only to fall down. He lost his cool and as such was punished, but as soon as Barthélemy approached him, he felt mana escaping Sebastian's body. Confused, Barthélemy gazed at the body of the young farmboy. Sebastian's Gates are closed so he should not be able to produce any reactionary mana and yet his body lies there, radiating small amounts of magic energy. Barthélemy quickly came to realize the truth. Sebastian O'brien, you are nothing special. You're another statistic. The mana you're producing has nothing to do with talent or exceptional natural skill. This is all caused by something else. Your hatred and anger. Your negative emotions are driving your body into maximum and it will destroy you. I have only one choice left. Barthélemy thought to himself and then reached out for Sebastian. He grabbed the furious boy's shoulder and shot a ton of of his own mana into Sebastian.

A mysterious glow surrounded Sebastian's body, an aura of black and grey. Barthélemy stared at the young boy and let out a sigh as he fell to the ground just to slowly stand up again. Sebastian quickly helped him to stand up again. Once he got Barthélemy to sit down at his desk, he asked what in heaven's name did Barthélemy do to him.
"You're not like other people Sebastian. You're a descendant of a long line of ancient rogues who have thought to be extinct. I believe your father was one of them as well," said Barthélemy. Sebastian couldn't believe what he was hearing. His father would often tell him stories of rogues who committed heinous crimes and about his encounters with rogues on the battlefield. How can his father be a descendant of a long line of criminals when he has always been a soldier of the kingdom of Magnia. He told Barthélemy that he was simply lying to him and that he doesn't believe a word that he said. Barthélemy told Sebastian to look at his chest and as soon as the young man took off his shirt to clearly see his chest, he saw three lines tattooed onto his chest. He jumped as he got startled by this appearance, knowing that he has never gotten a tattoo in his life. Barthélemy revealed that when he filled Sebastian's body with his mana, it was to see what his future would hold. On his chest stood the capital Greek letter Xi. Three lines. Two long lines above and below and a small line in the middle.
"Xi?" Sebastian asked. Barthélemy simply nodded at him with a response.
"It seems your future will constantly be determined by three choices. A choice of vengeance, a choice of apathy and a choice of forgiveness," Barthélemy responded.

Soon his once blue robe turned black and the gold detailing turned dark grey. He fell out of his desk, onto his knees and started coughing. Barthélemy of Magnia Forest was also a Moonlit Crusader. His coughs start getting louder and louder. Confused and worried, Sebastian asked Barthélemy to tell him what's wrong. Apparently when Barthélemy shot his mana into Sebastian, his rage and list for power was so much that it ended up tainting Barthélemy's own mana, causing a spell to be broken. A spell that he casted upon himself to seal away his nature. He thought he was the last of his kind since he helped orchestrate the genocide of the Moonlit Crusaders. No one was to ever find out about his heritage. He still refused to open the boy's gates, but he came to the conclusion that if he doesn't do it then Sebastian will travel the kingdom to find someone who will, so Barthélemy stood up, reached out his hands and his cane appeared out of nowhere. He placed the cane on top of Sebastian and all of his inner gates opened, unleashing mana that cane be sensed throughout the entire city of Defilia. This has all put too much pressure on him and he was unable to seal away his traits for any longer. So he decided to fake his death. The two men heard Maisie knock against the door and call out for Barthélemy and quickly hid Sebastian away.