It was a deep winter night, though not very cold, when in a large, luxurious palace room, two men in their forties, seated around a large round table, were discussing something very important. These were not just any men, but the highest-ranking military officers in the kingdom of Lifedis, or at least what remained of it: Generals Kain Bangers and Marcus Salis.
"I repeat, this agreement is extremely risky. We cannot trust that man so easily!"
General Kain complained in a deep, peremptory voice. It suited his image particularly well; he was a tall, strong man with a look that expressed hardness and inflexibility. In addition, his dark eyes, medium-length black hair and unkempt black beard gave his face a certain shadiness.
"We've already discussed this several times, General Bangers. This is a unique opportunity, and we must take advantage of it. We are in a very difficult position, so I believe that trusting that man is a risk worth taking."
Marcus replied, a man of medium height with blond hair and blue eyes. He was well-groomed and bright, and his appearance exuded a reassuring calm. He was very different from Kain.
Kain didn't like hearing those words, but he knew Marcus was right. The situation in Lifedis was very critical, and the offer they had received was definitely advantageous, except that it had been made by a stranger...
At that moment, the third person present at the meeting, the most important and whose authority could not be questioned, also intervened: the King of the Kingdom of Lifedis, Carl Romuart III.
He was a tall, thin man in his sixties. His face, with its sharp features, was covered by a well-groomed grey beard. The golden crown of the kingdom rested on his medium-length grey hair, its colour similar to that of his yellow eyes, which, however, were not as bright as the crown, but instead seemed dull and tired...
"xactly, it is a risk we must take. But rest assured, General; even if we accept this agreement, it does not mean that we will trust him blindly. We are not fools" said the King in a calm and determined voice.
Kain listened to those words with disappointment, but he could do nothing but accept the sovereign's will.
"If that is your decision, Your Majesty..."
The three suddenly stiffened and immediately stopped talking; the flow of mana in the room had changed, and the source of this was a precise point in mid-air, a few steps away from the table around which they were seated. A small rose-coloured flame appeared, which began to grow larger and larger until a human figure began to emerge from it.
The human figure was that of a man in his mid-thirties, tall and slender; he had peculiar magenta hair that reached his shoulders. His face was clear, beautiful and almost unreal in its harmony.
His eyes were a very mesmerising blue, and his gaze betrayed a strong self-confidence, almost mocking, characteristic of someone who knows he has few rivals at his level. His clothes were dark and not particularly well cared for, but the hilt of a sword could be seen at his waist; he was not exactly an ally.
This man, whose aura seemed to distort the space around him, had managed to slightly intimidate the three, who were by no means weak men, quite the contrary. They were the three most powerful Chosen of Lifedis, but they could not deny that the man before them was of a higher level.
"King Carl, Generals Bangers and Salis, I am pleased to see you again. Since you summoned me to the palace, I assume you have decided to accept my offer,"said Xavier after taking his place at the table.
"Yes, that's right, we have decided to accept your offer. After all, the information and artefacts you have provided us with over the last few months have been very useful." Replied King Carl.
"These are the five best cadets we have selected according to your instructions. You may choose one of them to become your disciple." Said Markus as he handed Xavier the documents containing information about the candidates.
Xavier read the papers carefully in silence and thought carefully about the characteristics written down before giving his answer.
"The five you have chosen seem to meet the conditions I set, but before I choose, I want to watch them train for a day."
Kain looked intently at Xavier.
"Do you really think we will allow a stranger to watch our cadets train? It is already a lot that we are allowing you to choose one to become your disciple."
"General, you forget that this offer is primarily to your advantage. Your talents are wasted within the walls of this city, and I am offering you the unique opportunity to have a powerful soldier in the future. So yes, you will allow me to observe the cadets' training, or else this agreement will not stand."
The air in the room had become heavy, Xavier's aura began to exert a strong pressure, to which Kain responded by manifesting his own. The general had no intention of being intimidated by a stranger inside the palace of his kingdom.
"That's enough. If you continue like this, you'll alarm the entire palace. We accept your condition, Irasflame, but first I want you to answer a question."
After hearing the king's words, Kain and Xavier suppressed their auras.
Kain was strongly opposed to this, but he could not oppose Carl's will.
"What question?" asked Xavier.
"Why do you want one of our cadets as your disciple?"
"I thought I already told you, I want a commoner as my disciple, but one who has already received decent training, so that I can train him further and get him into the Haxfard Academy as a spy. This is one of the few places on the continent where I can find someone with these characteristics."
"Yes, but you haven't told us why. Why are you interested in having an infiltrator inside the most important academy for Chosens on the continent?"
A strange, melancholic smile appeared on Xavier's face...
"Simple, to discover the truth..."
***
The following morning, Xavier was at the training barracks for Lifedis cadets. It was a large fortified building within the intermediate walls of the last city of the kingdom, Mericivis.
He was walking through the combat ring section; at that moment, the cadets who had not yet been chosen by the Gods were challenging each other.
He had already observed the five who had been selected, but they had not entirely convinced him, so he decided to take a look at those who had not yet been chosen, even though they did not meet the conditions he had set for selecting his disciple.
'Maybe there's someone among them who's worth waiting for'.
He was not alone; accompanying him was a beautiful woman, tall, slender, with green eyes, olive skin and hair that reached her shoulders. She was Sarah, General Markus' personal assistant. She had selected the five cadets, but now her task was to guide the distinguished guest.
Xavier knew full well that she was there mainly to observe him and not just to guide him, but that didn't bother him. At that moment, he was genuinely interested only in finding someone talented enough to become his disciple.
He watched several duels, but one in particular caught his attention. There was a crowd gathered around one of the fighting platforms. Above it stood a young cadet with black hair, facing not one but three opponents.
'Interesting'
Xavier turned to Sarah and said,
"Who is that boy facing those three?"
The woman looked at the four who were about to face each other, watched for a moment and then said:
"That's Ayman, one of our most promising cadets."
She didn't seem surprised by the scene.
After hearing the answer, Xavier decided to get closer to get a better look at the fight. He began to hear various shouts of encouragement from the crowd, but they were not for the young man preparing to face an obviously unequal fight, but for his three challengers.
"Come on, beat that bastard!"
"You can do it!"
"We believe in you!"
Listening to the cadets, it almost seemed as if Ayman's opponents were at a disadvantage...
The young man, on the other hand, did not seem very concerned; on the contrary, he seemed very confident. His grey eyes conveyed great determination as he carefully analysed the trio, which consisted of a boy who was much taller and more muscular for his age, positioned in the centre; on the right, a shorter, stockier cadet; and on the left, a blond boy of similar build to Ayman, who was of average height and well-proportioned.
All four were armed with wooden training swords; they were very focused and waiting for the instructor's signal to start the fight.
"You may begin."
Immediately after the instructor gave the signal, Ayman lunged forward at his opponent in the centre, attacking him with a powerful and precise thrust to the chest. Taken by surprise, his opponent barely managed to parry the blow and ended up off balance and falling backwards. The other two, albeit a moment later, reacted by attacking Ayman from the sides with quick slashes; the blond cadet got to him first, but Ayman managed to dodge his attack with agility and skilfully circled around him, sending him into the short boy, who found himself blocked by his partner. At that point, taking advantage of the situation, he lunged at the two with a series of quick and precise slashes, which were very difficult to parry; in a few seconds, Ayman, like a dancer, moved with agility and elegance between the two, striking with precision the open spaces they had left. In a few moments, the two found themselves totally defeated, without having put their opponent in any difficulty at all.
Only one opponent remained standing, who, after regaining his position, did not intervene to help his companions so as not to hinder them. But after seeing how they were defeated, he immediately realised that it was a fatal mistake.
Ayman was watching him with cold, determined eyes, like those of a predator facing prey with no way of escape. The cadet realised he had no chance of victory, but he did not back down and lunged at Ayman with all his strength and speed. Ayman dodged the attack sideways and struck his opponent's exposed side with a quick, powerful horizontal slash. The cadet knelt down in pain; if the sword had been real, it would probably have been the end for him, but despite this, he turned and launched a side attack, which was promptly parried by Ayman. Ayman immediately counterattacked with a strong elbow strike to his kneeling and pained opponent. He ended up on the ground with a wooden sword pointed at his neck. This fight also lasted only a few moments, and the winner was Ayman, who had completely defeated his opponents.
"There you go, I knew it."
"Sooner or later you'll lose, bastard!"
"Even the three of you can't beat him, you're pathetic!"
The crowd, clearly disappointed, quickly dispersed. It was too nerve-wracking for them to see that bastard victorious again!
Xavier, on the other hand, was absolutely stunned by what he had seen.
'Speed, agility, strength, precision and, above all, fighting intelligence...'
"Sarah, how old is that boy?"
"He's thirteen, he'll be fourteen on the twenty-third day of winter," replied the woman.
'Perfect!'
"Could you prepare a full report on that boy for me? I want to know everything about him."
Then, after taking one last look at the boy who had so amazed him, he walked away from the fighting area.
'If you are chosen, I will pave the way for you to become the monster who will change this continent...'