A Blessing that Changes Everything.

[Location: East Main Road - Kingdom of Tevell]

[A week and 3 days have passed]

It had already been 2 days since we left the town of Navia, My Lord continued in his state of sleep, I deviated from the road a few times to rest, eat something and train a little.

"I must stay in shape, if something were to happen, I must be ready to protect My Lord.

On the way I also came across some checkpoints but knowing that there was still no arrest warrant for My Lord, I didn't worry, the guards asked me when they saw My Lord asleep inside the cart, I always answered that only I was exhausted from working, I was beginning to worry, My Lord had not woken up for 3 days since that incident, it was already beginning to get dark and I decided to stop and spend the night near the forest.

-Celes: Here we go, please My Lord. wake up soon.

I took My Lord out of the wagon and settled him near where I was going to camp, many of the things that Theobald and Liz left us in the wagon were camp sets, a first aid kit, potions and antidotes among other things.

-Celes: This should be enough, I'm not a good cook but at least it will help me to satisfy my hunger and keep me warm.

After preparing a bonfire, among the components that were in the cart was a cooking set, a metal pot and cookware, I cooked some things that I bought in town and I prepared a meat broth, it was not delicious but I could eat it .

-Celes: This is horrible....maybe I should have learned more things besides using the sword hehe...

While I ate I looked at the night sky reviewing what happened that day with My Lord and that mysterious event that led to his current state.

-Celes: That strange glow, what would it have been? I had never seen anything like it, it wasn't magic that's for sure, it didn't seem like any enhancement ability either, so what could it be?

I thought for several minutes that it could be that strange silver-blue glow that emanates from my lord, also that purple glow in the irises of his eyes. I turned around the subject many times trying to find an explanation for this phenomenon, but nothing that was taught to me or that had been mentioned to me before, fit with that until I remembered the story that My Lord told me that night in the barn.

"Could it be.....the blessing he told me about?"

He had mentioned to me that when he was summoned to this world, the chancellor told him about a blessing that had been given to him but neither the people of the castle nor My Lord knew what it was or how it worked and after having discarded everything else the Blessing was the only thing that could explain what happened that day.

" I had been told before about the blessings, strange and incredible powers granted by Divinity itself"

According to what I knew about these blessings is that they gave their bearer incredible abilities that any normal person would not believe until they saw them, the best known was the Blessing that the first Hero had who saved the world almost 300 years ago, his Blessing gave him an incredible magical power and the ability to use any existing magic at that time, including light and dark magic, I also remembered about the Blessing of King of the Forest that Ernis told us that day and that it increased his size and strength even though he was a breeding.

"If My Lord also possesses a similar blessing, that would explain that incredible power that he unleashed and if that is true then, he is more powerful than we both thought"

So what I felt that day we met was not just a presentiment, he really had the power to achieve great things and also to change many lives, I would just have to wait for him to wake up.

-Celes: Tonight will also be quiet, My Lord, rest assured that your faithful Knight Celes will take care of you and protect you until you awake.

[The Story continues with "Zyrus"]

-????: Zyrus?....Zyrus!

The last thing I remembered was hearing a scream, after that everything became blurry, I don't know how much time has passed since then, I felt like my mind was lost in nothingness, at first I only saw a blurry white but then all I saw It was darkness, I couldn't move my body, I didn't feel anything.

-????: Wake up man.

The only thing that was going through my mind was if I would be dead, if Celes had managed to save herself, I wouldn't blame her if she had run away but I would have liked to at least apologize to her for the trouble I put her in, if only I had been stronger.

-????: Ugh...let's see, Masato Ryugo wake up at once!

I could hear someone calling me by my real name, was it my mom? I couldn't be sure, I couldn't open my eyes but I had to, maybe everything I've lived up to now was just a dream, maybe when my eyes open I'll be in my bed in my room and I'll see my mom trying to wake me up again.

-????: Hello? Masato? are you in there?

I wanted to open my eyes, I tried as much as I could to do so and slowly a white light began to dispel all this darkness until I finally managed to open my eyes, I was standing, looking at the floor, a dense fog covered the entire floor and I couldn't see clearly my feet, I slowly looked up observing everything around me, it seemed I was in a cave, a white light came from a hole in the sky that illuminated most of the cave.

-????: Oh! you finally opened your eyes.

-Zyrus: Huh?

I could recognize that voice that spoke to me from somewhere, but from where? I looked up and in front of me was a young man in a white tunic that reached his knees and wore a hood from which only his mouth could be seen, he was sitting on a stone throne in the middle of nowhere, with one leg his right hand resting on his left and resting heis head on his left hand while smiling at me.

-Mysterious Young: I was already worrying that you wouldn't wake up, I've been calling you for a while.

-Zyrus: I....your voice...is...familiar.

-Mysterious Young: Well, it should, it's not the first time we've talked.

In that I remembered, the voice that spoke to me that day after falling down the hill when the King of the Forest was chasing me and also that night when we arrived at the town of Navia, now I remembered, that voice was him, the same young man who was in front of me now

-Zyrus: It's...you...the voice...in...in my mind.

-Mysterious Young: Oh! I see that you finally remember me, exactly, I was the one who spoke to you in your mind, just as I do now.

-Zyrus: huh? what... what do you mean...

-Mysterious Young: You just have to see yourself to understand what I'm saying.

I looked at my hands and my body but I couldn't believe my eyes, my whole body was transparent, I could see through it as if it were a ghost or a hologram.

-Zyrus: What...what is this!? Why do I look like that? Did I...did I really die?

-Mysterious Young: Don't worry, you're not dead yet, just that your body and mind was separated in a...temporary way to put it that way.

-Zyrus: Separated?...what do you mean? Ah!, what happened to Celes? is she...is she alright?

-Mysterious Young: Don't worry, she's fine, in fact they're both fine, after you took care of those ruffians, she's been taking care of you until now.

-Zyrus: What?...I...I don't understand, taking care of me?

-Mysterious Young: Let me explain what happened.

The boy in white explained to me everything that happened after I lost consciousness, I couldn't believe what happened, but i was calmer knowing that Celes was fine and that she had taken care of everything. she had completely shown how trustworthy and loyal she was to me, I almost felt like crying about it.

-Zyrus: I'm glad, Celes...thank you.

-Mysterious Young: Now I think you'll want to know what happened to you and why you're here.

-Zyrus: It had to do with that burst of light that came out of my body, right?

-Mysterious Young: Exactly, that was your Blessing or well, only a fraction of it, when you felt trapped in that scene, subconsciously that triggered something else inside of you and this released a fraction of the power of your Blessing.

I remembered it, that strong moment, something I never thought I would see with my own eyes but there was something else, I could see a blurry image, from a memory that did not belong to me.

- Mysterious Young: But even so, your body, not being prepared to withstand all that energy that was released, your mind felt overwhelmed, which left you unconscious, so your soul with an unbreakable will took control of your body and fought until that all the threats that surrounded you disappeared.

-Zyrus: My soul?

-Mysterious Young: Yeah, it was kind of like your never-give-up spirit, that allowed your body to keep fighting even when you weren't aware of them, it's like you went into automatic mode.

I had no idea that I possessed such power, I always felt like someone ordinary but this made me see things in a totally different way

-Zyrus: Is there a way to control this power?

-Mysterious Young: Well, I would mainly tell you to train your body, you need your body to be more resistant to support all that power.

"I should have imagined it, if I want to use this power, I must be able to endure it"

-Mysterious Young: Oh! but do not think that all this stays like this, since you were finally able to trigger your Blessing, a little of that power has already been impregnated in your body, let's say that you released Level 1 of your Blessing.

-Zyrus: And what does that mean? what happened to my body?

-Mysterious Young: I'll say it in a way that you understand, your strength and agility have increased as well as your swordplay, you're still not as strong as Celes, but it's already a start.

I wasn't sure if what he was saying was true, nor did I know who he was or what his real objective was when he paid so much attention to me, but for now he's the only one who has given me clear answers.

-Zyrus: Just one more thing? who are you? are you a God?

-Mysterious Young: A God!? I wish, if I were a God, this world would be rotting from the inside, no, I'm more of a spectator of this world forced to be in the shadows.

He wasn't telling me the truth but I feel like he wasn't lying to me either, whoever he was, he must have a reason for all this.

-Mysterious Young: Just to make you feel calmer, I'm not your enemy but think of me as... a fan who supports you from behind the scenes.

-Zyrus: A fan...right....

-Mysterious Young: Hey, don't look at me like that, I'm on your side, but anyway, I think it's time for you to return to your body, Celes has been worried about you for a long time.

-Zyrus: Right, I don't want to keep worrying her more than I should, but... how do I get back?

-Mysterious Young: Just close your eyes and take a deep breath while you think about wanting to return to your body, oh, but first...one question before you leave Masato.

-Zyrus: Huh? sure, what is it about?

-Mysterious Young: When you decided to change your name to hide your identity, why did you choose the name Zyrus Corvus?

-Zyrus: Why? Now that I think about it... that name suddenly appeared in my mind and I said it without thinking, but it sounded familiar, even now I'm not sure where I heard it, why do you ask?

-Mysterious Young: Huh? oh, it's for nothing, I was just curious, well it's time for you to return, I don't think we'll talk again in a while so take care.

I did not know why he had asked me that but I did not want to give it more importance, I nodded and closed my eyes and as he mentioned I took a deep breath and concentrated on returning to my body, little by little I felt how my senses dissipated until I began I felt something on my face, it was a cold wind, I slowly began to open my eyes again and a bright light hit my face, it was the light of dawn, I slowly began to move my arms and legs.

"Well, it seems that everything is in order but...."

I could feel that something was on my left shoulder, when I turned to see what it was I saw Celes sleeping with her head resting on my shoulder and her armor still on, we were covered with some blankets and under a tree in the forest. I looked around me, in front of me there was a extinguished bonfire and a metal pot, a little further on I saw a covered wagon and a horse grazing.

"I think I missed a lot while I was unconscious"

I raised my hand and poked Celes' cheek with my finger to wake her up.

-Zyrus: Wake up Celes, it's already dawned and your armor weighs me down a bit.

-Celes: (sleeping) uhh...just a little more, I don't want to go out to train yet Father....

"And this already got awkward"

I tugged lightly on the same cheek to try to wake her up.

-Celes: Aaaahhhh!! what happen!? are we under attack!?

She quickly got to her feet, grabbed her sword, and looked around her nervously.

-Zyrus: Just from your dreams of not wanting to train so early hehe.

-Celes: ...Huh!?

She turned to look at me as she lowered her sword with a surprised expression as her eyelids trembled and her eyes filled with tears.

-Celes: My... My... Lord?

-Zyrus: Good morning, Celes.

She wiped away her tears and nodded with a smile almost holding back crying.

-Celes: (Sobbing) Good...morning...My Lord.

As I stood up she dropped her sword and came running to give me a hug from which I was surprised and blushed a little, but I hugged her back anyway.

-Celes: (Sobbing): I...I was very worried about you!

-Zyrus: Forgive me for worrying you so much.

She moved away from me a bit while she finished wiping away her tears, she kept looking at me as if she still wasn't convinced that I was awake.

-Celes: Are you... are you alright? do you feel any pain?

-Zyrus: I'm fine, actually...(stretching) I feel better than before.

-Celes: I'm glad to hear that.

After she calmed down we got ready for breakfast, luckily she had a cooking set and food that she brought in the wagon, I lit the bonfire and while she was preparing to eat she updated me on everything that happened after I fainted In the woods.

-Zyrus: Wow, this is certainly very revealing, poor Myrna, losing such precious friends like that.

-Celes: Yes, for Miss Liz the loss of someone she loved was also very strong.

-Zyrus: I wish I had been awake so I could thank them for everything, especially Theobald and Liz for that wagon.

-Celes: Oh! That reminds me, Miss Liz asked me to give you something when you woke up.

-Zyrus: What?

Immediately afterwards, Celes got up and went to the wagon and took something out of the interior and when she returned, she handed me a sword.

-Zyrus: And this sword?

-Celes: It was a sword that Miss Liz made for Shawn but since he's no longer with us, she asked me to give it to you and since your other sword was broken, a better one would come in handy.

Hearing that, I unsheathed the sword, it had a beautiful shine and was light, I got up to practice a bit with it and I didn't feel any discomfort.

-Celes: What do you think?

-Zyrus: I like it, Liz must have worked very hard on this sword, I'll take good care of her.

-Celes: She told me that she named her "Argentum" which means "Silver Glow"

-Zyrus: Argentum huh? I like that name.

I kept looking at the sword and remembered what that boy in white told me about the effect that triggering my Blessing had, I wasn't sure if it was true, so there was only one way to be sure

-Zyrus: Celes, could we practice now?

-Celes: Well I have no problem, but we lost the wooden swords during the incident in the forest.

-Zyrus: No problem, let's use our swords, I need to check something.

-Celes: Are you sure? Isn't it too soon for that?

-Zyrus: Don't worry, I'll be fine, as I already told you, I need to check something.

She nodded and as we got ready to practice I began to think about my Blessing, what it really does and how it will affect my body in the future.

-Celes: Very well My Lord, remember that this is just a practice, do not try more than you can.

-Zyrus: Understood, well, let's begin.

-Celes: Start whenever you want.

I held Argentum tightly and launched myself into the attack against Celes, for some reason my body felt lighter and Argentum didn't give me any extra weight.

-Celes: It's fast!

A few seconds later I was in front of Celes who was surprised how quickly I turned and in a second our swords collided and we pushed for control of the terrain.

-Celes: Impressive.

-Zyrus: And you haven't seen anything yet.

I backed away and she launched her attack, blocking, dodging and attacking, we continued like this for a while, it was the first time I could keep up with Celes during a practice match, normally she always easily found a squeeze and with the wooden sword she hit me very strongly but now it was different.

-Celes: Not bad, you are completely different from the person I trained a few days ago, but you still have a long way to go!

Celes began to increase the intensity of her attacks, apparently the level she used before was no longer enough against me, her attacks became faster and stronger and it was hard for me to dodge and block them, but I wasn't going to be left behind.

-Zyrus: Aaaghhh...as expected, you've been holding back before.

I began to see her movements, not only my agility and strength improved but also my ability to analyze, I expected a moment of opening in the midst of the flurry of fierce attacks from her.

-Zyrus: There!

-Celes: Huh!?

Right in the middle of her attacks there was a small opening for a few seconds between her arms and the moment I saw it, I launched my counterattack.

-Zyrus: Got you!

-Celes: Big mistake!

-Zyrus: Aahh!

Just as I launched my attack into her opening she stepped back leaving my attack up in the air and me exposed. She took advantage of that to attack and with one blow she disarmed me and I fell to the ground and just when I realized she had the tip of her sword pointing at me.

-Celes: It seems that I won, My Lord.

-Zyrus: Aaahhh...and I thought that this time I would beat you.

She withdrew and sheathed her sword before taking my hand and getting up, I picked up my sword from the ground and I returned it to its scabbard.

-Celes: I was hoping you'd find that opening.

-Zyrus: Did you set me up?

-Celes: That's right, but mainly I wanted to see if you had improved enough to see that opening, the fact that you saw it said a lot.

-Zyrus: Well, what do you think?

-Celes: I must admit that you had an incredible improvement, your attack power, your movements, your reactions even your swordplay increased impressively, although... unlike the time you fought against Boldor, you are not as strong as on that occasion.

-Zyrus: I figured, I guess this is as strong as the Blessing allows me to be without losing consciousness.

-Celes: The blessing? So what happened that time...?

-Zyrus: Yes, that was my Blessing unleashing or at least a fraction of it.

-Celes: A fraction!?

-Zyrus: Let's go back to the camp, I'll tell you everything there is.

When I returned to the camp, I began to tell Celes what happened to me and about that boy in white, about my Blessing, but I omitted about that blurred image that I saw before fainting.

-Celes: A young man in white, in a cave, sitting on a stone throne, had never heard of such a thing before.

-Zyrus: He knew a lot about me, who knows how long he's been watching me.

-Celes: But he mentioned that he is not your enemy, but an observed, all this is very strange.

-Zyrus: For now it's better not to think too much about it and let's focus on the next town.

-Celes: You are right, I have finished preparing the wagon my Lord, the next town on the map is the Town of Valestián, if we leave now we will arrive before nightfall.

-Zyrus: Go then but let me drive the wagon to me.

-Celes: Sure, I'll teach you how to do it first.

We got on the wagon and started the trip to the next town to the east, I felt stronger, I would not be left behind when facing the dangers and it was an incredible feeling.