I had trouble bringing Ramos back to the village, I was lucky that Malik managed to get out and bring in soldiers to carry us. While they were carrying us back I passed out. Apparently my family was worried because I slept for 4 days. Somehow when I woke up I wasn't feeling hungry at all, all I wanted was to know what they did to Ramos's body. Since he didn't have any other family, I feared the worst but luckily Malik offered to be the one to bury him. When I learned this I wanted to run to his grave but my parents refused to let me go until they were sure I was well rested and fed. I was eating in complete silence, my parents had this weird look on me as if I was some kind of weird beast, my dad sat in front of me and took a deep breath.

  " Son, we heard what went down, Malik told us you encountered a Liéchi. I should be scolding you for going despite our warnings but instead I'm more curious to how you made it alive. The blacksmith died so you were the one who killed that spirit weren't you? "

  " What if I did? "

  " Richard, I need you to be honest with me here, DID you kill this Liéchi or NOT? "

  I didn't get why it was such a big deal, I mean sure it was strong but it wasn't impossible to kill.

  " Yes I did kill it, after it killed Ramos I just ... did some things that even I can't explain."

  My dad then started praying and my mom came to comfort him. My dad was shaking his head in disbelief.

  " Honey I hoped this day would never come, I truly prayed each day that nothing would ever manifest. "

  " We have to tell him, he deserves to know now."

  I was completely lost .

  " Wait, what do I need to know? What are you hiding from me? Did you know that I could do these things? "

  My parents were staring at me in silence. My mom then moved behind me and kneeled down to remove a plank of the floor, she took out what looked like a small wooden chest. She placed it on the table in front of me.

  " Open it. "

  I opened the box and inside found a red cloth with the king's emblem on it. It smelled good, somehow it smelled like something I knew.

  " What is this, why do you have cloth that seems to belong to the king himself? "

  " Seventeen years ago, we heard a baby crying in the forest, wrapped in this cloth, it was you Richard. ". She took a deep breath, trying to hold back her tears. " The queen was awaiting her fourth prince, we never knew what became of it as the custom is to kill it or abandon him. When we found you in the forest, we knew who you were but we raised you and loved you as our own son. "

  I couldn't believe what I was hearing, me? A prince? All my life I thought I was crazy for thinking I could achieve more than being a farmer.

  " That still doesn't explain the fact that I can do magic as a male.. "

  " It does, you know our kingdom hates magic users. The 4th child is a bad omen because there is a possibility of it being a magic user. So the kingdom adopted this custom of always discarding the child. "

  " So what would happen to me if I ever walked into the king's hall and presented myself as their child and a magic user? "

  " You would be killed on the spot! " My father had never been so scared. " Or you would be tortured until you gave us up. "

  It was a lot of information to take in, I didn't want my parents to be scared for me at all times. But I had to tell them what I had planned.

  " I know you will find this stupid and even more now that I know what I know, but I want to join the army. I want to be the greatest fighter the king has ever seen, and then after he acknowledges me as a great man I will reveal to him what I can do and who I am. He doesn't need to welcome me with open arms but maybe, just maybe he will stop seeing magic users as spawn of the devil. Maybe he will stop causing pain to people that he doesn't even know."

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  My mom and dad weren't so pleased but understood my decision.

  " I don't want to put you all in danger, I will be gone by the end of the week, I love you for giving me a chance at life. "

  I hugged my parents. I spent the next few days packing my belongings and saying goodbye to people from the village. I wanted to dodge having to say goodbye to Malik, I couldn't do that to him. I knew that if I did, he would have tried to convince me to stay, and honestly I was just sprinting towards this goal but I knew the slightest bump on the road could knock me down. The day had come, I hugged my family and headed towards the cemetery. On the way towards the exit of the village, Malik was waiting for me.

  " You really thought you could leave without saying anything to me? "

  Obviously he seemed angry, but disappointed..

  " Listen Malik, just let me go through, I simply want to pay my respect to Ramos and then I'll be gone for good. "

  I tried walking by him but he blocked me and pushed me away.

  " Nah you don't get to leave like this, nothing is holding you here anymore so it's easy for you to simply leave. But have you thought about me? You selfish asshole! Everyday I have to look at Emerk and Ezek's father straight in the eyes while working! Do you know what I see in his eyes? Fucking disgust and hatred! His eyes are saying " Why does this brat get to live while MY kids died this way? " They literally buried empty caskets, they prayed to fucking empty boxes!! "

  His anger wasn't towards me but towards himself, he was beating himself over being powerless.

  " Malik, listen, you did what you could, there was nothing more you could have done. Just let me pass. "

  " Fuck no! You ain't going nowhere! Raise your fists! "

  " Malik, come on! I don't want to fight you right now. "

  He then jabbed me straight in the face.

  " How about now huh!? You weren't such a coward in the swamp! What happened huh?! "

  " It's different Malik for fuck sake! "

  " I don't give a shit! I'll beat you up so you won't be able to leave! "

  He wasn't listening to me, he tried punching me again. I caught his fist and pulled him in for a hug instead. He kept punching me in the ribs a few times after that.

  " Let me go you asshole! Just fucking fight! I said fight! "

  Progressively his will to fight diminished, he started crying on me.

  " You are like my brother Malik, Ramos was like a dad to me and I don't want you to suffer either, I care about you and you know this. "

  " I know that idiot, I just wished you talked to me about your decision. Do you know how shitty it is to learn from someone else that your best friend decides to leave forever and to possibly get killed? "

  Now that he was calmer, it was fine to let go of him.

  " You will be fine. "

  I started walking into the cemetery and I managed to find Ramos's grave.

  " Hmmm, hey Ramos ... I learned a lot of things during my life, most were thanks to you. You helped me become the man I am today and for this I'm grateful. Seven years ago you told me I had no enemies and I needed to use my talents to protect other people. I recently realised that to achieve this paradise that I'm thinking about, I will have to become the devil for a while. I'm going to join the army but I want to get closer to the king. He is apparently .. my father. Can you believe that? Me a prince, this little runt that you took in that knew fuck all. I will make you proud of me and I will do everything in my power to stop father's from burying their own sons that they lost to the war. I hope that when we meet again we can fight again. Till then rest in peace and hug Salim. "

  I started walking away from the village, I then heard someone running after. I turned around and saw malik hunched over, hands on his knees, breathing painfully.

  " Pfiou! You sure walk fast oh my lord! I'm gonna need a minute! "

  " Why did you come here Malik? "

  Malik stood up straight and readjusted the sword at his belt and the bag he was carrying.

  " Isn't it a brother's role to protect their sibling? "

  " I thought you hated the idea of war or me getting myself killed? "

  " Yeah that's why I'm coming with you! You have more chances to stay alive if I keep an eye on you! "

  " But aren't you scared? "

  " Of course I am! Look at this face? I'm way too handsome to die! But I heard women loved battle scars! "

  He was his usual stupid self and I knew I could not make him change his mind. I turned towards the sun that was starting to show up.

  " Should we go now, super soldier? "

  " Yeah I was waiting on you can't you tell? "

  " Yeah sure! "

  We started walking, not sure of how things would go from now on. And Malik still had some questions.

  " By the way, how did you kill that Liéchi? "

  " Magic. "

  " Ahah super funny but seriously how? "

  " Told you, magic. "

  Malik stopped walking. He knew I wasn't joking. He ran to catch up to me as we were going towards what would be now our life in the military.

  " You aint bullshitting? Tell me everything! You can fly? You can shoot flames? Can you teleport? Can you make me float? How about ... "

  The trip was the longest in my whole life.