A New Child

Chapter 5: Island

When Shirou woke up, he saw Tiamat sitting beside his bed, reading a book entitled "Intro to Magecraft."

"Good morning, Mama," Shirou stretched as he woke up. He felt an energy surging through him that he hadn't had before. Was this his magic?

"Good morning, Shirou. I'm happy you slept well," Tiamat replied, looking up from the book. "A friend was gracious enough to give me some books to help you with your ma— magecraft."

"Really?" Shirou's eyes widened as he shot out of bed.

"Really," Tiamat closed the book and handed it to Shirou. The little boy almost squealed as he took the book. "Let's eat breakfast before you start reading, okay?"

"Okay!" Shirou chirped before running out of the room. If he had stayed longer, he would have noticed Tiamat's smile widen as she lifted herself from her chair.

~A New Child~

Tiamat sat on the couch next to Shirou and watched him read. Every now and then, he would put down the book and try something under the book's instructions. Tiamat let the boy experiment with his circuits. The book was very clear with its instructions and Shirou was a smart boy, so he was able to practice turning on his circuits without hurting himself. Even if he did, that's why Tiamat was there.

"Mama, look!" Shirou said. Tiamat turned to see a small egg in Shirou's hands.

"Oh, I'm so proud of you!" Tiamat exclaimed. As she moved to pull her son into a bone-crushing hug, the egg faded away into blue motes of light.

"Oh... it's gone..." Shirou muttered. He looked down with a sullen expression, but didn't protest when Tiamat pulled him closer to her.

"It's okay, Shirou. You did amazing for your first time," Tiamat cooked as she stroked the back of Shirou's head. As she did, she started to analyze the boy again. As she looked deeper, she saw something... something that shocked even her.

Tiamat knew of the humans of her time. From what she could tell, their magecraft was far stronger than the magic of the present. The air was less dense in mana and the familiars she saw the other day were much smaller and weaker than the ones she was used to seeing. Hopefully, Shirou could be the one to break the mold... especially with what he had resting inside him. She didn't want to go in for fear of vanishing in front of Shirou, but she resolved to find time to do it later.

"Here, let us study the book again," Tiamat said gently as the book started to float towards the two. Shirou plucked the book from the air and turned a few pages.

"Mama, it says here that my element and origin are important to my magecraft," Shirou pointed at the paragraph highlighting the subject.

"Yes it is," Tiamat lifted Shirou and placed him on her lap. She then wrapped her arms around him and rested her chin on his head. "Your origin is Creation and your element is... humans call it Imaginary Numbers. It's the same element as mine."

"Really?!" Shirou seemed to beam at the prospect of having something in common with his mother. Tiamat felt her heart swell with joy as she read Shirou's mind. "What's your origin?"

"I do not have an origin as humans understand it," Tiamat chose her next words carefully. "I am not human myself. Although if I was to have one myself, it would likely be something akin to motherhood."

"So that's why mama is mama," Shirou said. Tiamat smiled at his simple logic. She hoped his innocence would last forever. She would do anything to keep it intact, even if it meant destroying this city.

"Yes, you are correct. What a smart child I have," Tiamat ruffled Shirou's hair. The young boy giggled at the feeling before looking up at his mother.