The Daggers

"Would you believe me if I told you I found the daggers that once belonged to the hid of youth" he asked

"That's a pretty big claim. Those are Evergreen Family Heirlooms if I'm not mistaken. Can you describe them to me.?" Asked Mack. A little skeptical

"They were white, had blue mana crystals in the hilt and an engraving of a lamb on the blade"

"You sure they weren't replicas, theirs been many who have claimed to have seen or held them"

"I'm definitely sure, I wouldn't look like this if they were fakes. Anyway, I was in the stables one day when a cat spooked a horse and the horse knocked me into the wall. Well I noticed a loose stone and I managed to wiggle it out thinking someone hid treasures their and that I was going to rich but the only thing that was in their was the daggers. They were a bit dirty so I cleaned them up. They shined like a new coin. But the whole time it felt like they didn't want to be with me. I kept them with me anyway. That night I had a strange dream of this little boy. He told me that I was unworthy of wielding its power. That my heart and mind was corrupted by lustful thoughts. I was saddened by this of course. He then told me to hand the daggers over to the chosen one or suffer the consequences. I thought it was just a dream so I laughed. Boy was that a mistake. He told me that i would be cursed to rapidly regress to early childhood and that the chosen one would need the rest of my life essence. Again I didn't believe it. The next morning I checked myself in the mirror and noticed that everything was fine. I still looked like me. Later on that day I was in the barn doing my job and one of the instructors came to me and ask me if I could show them a bit of my talent. So I took out the daggers and started to preform the steps to a spell. Thats when I felt a pull in my Soul and felt something leaving me. Little did I know that I was in fact putting on a show. I started to run back to the house. I could feel the draining all the way back to the house. I could feel my clothes becoming looser and looser I ran into the house and hid the daggers in a special spot knowbody would even think to check. Ran back into the living room but tripped over my huge pants and fell to the ground. I was so exhausted I felt myself shrink into my clothes and felt my bladder release followed immediately by the other but I was so tired I didn't care. I dreamed again and the bad boy told me that my mind would continue to regress until it caught up with my body and that my fate was in the hands of the chosen ones. When I woke up I was in the arms of the headmaster. I guess the instructor thought I was trying to curse him but I wasn't"

"That definitely sounds like them, I've read some of my ancestors memoirs and all of them talk about dreaming of a boy who threatened them telling them they were unworthy. Eventually they locked them in the vault saying that they were cursed. Of course, that didn't stop people from trying to steal them. All this time they've been in the stables" said Mack shaking his head. "Where are they now"

"In the spot I hid them" he said. "And I'm planning to keep them their"

"Do you really want to anger the god of youth further after you laughed at him. He may decide to make you a newborn this time"

"Why should I care how young he makes me at this point. I'm not going to remember anything past my fourth birthday. Completely starting over from scratch wouldn't be any different"

"I guess that's true but they belong to my family" said Mack

"Have you not been listening to me. Those things are dangerous Mack. They turned me, a 45 year old man in to a diaper wearing toddler"

"What if I'm the chosen one and it was fate that I chose to come out here instead of staying at the castle and your denying me my destiny"

"I hate to be a rain cloud Mack but theirs one problem with your theory" he said "how can you be the chosen one or whatever if you have no mana core. It's a miracle your body hasn't started breaking down yet honestly"

They were silent for awhile. Mack was deep in thought about what Tony had said. The thought of being the chosen one was just the tall imagination of a kid. Deep down he new that Tony was right. Even he was surprised that he hadn't been feeling sick yet. He was on borrowed time an he knew it. But that still didn't stop his overactive imagination from creating scenarios where he was a powerful god. He tried to get the thoughts of the daggers out of his mind but they just kept circling back to them.

"Hey Mack"

"Yeah buddy" responded Mack as he subconsciously patted the boys bottom

"Can I…..sleep with you tonight" he asked in his most sweetest voice ever

"But you have a room" said Mack

"I know but it's really really dark in their" he said

"Oh so it's like that. Are you afraid of the dark Tony" asked Mack. To which Tony nodded

"I…..feel safe with you" he yawned "you sure you don't want to be my papa, I don't care if your a kid still"

Mack smiled while holding the half asleep kid. "Let's head to bed bubba I'm starting to feel very tired." He said. But the lump on his lap didn't move. "Bubba" he looked down only to see the kid fast asleep while sucking his thumb "well crap" he thought "guess we're sleeping here tonight" he slid down to a laying position and reached up to grab the blanket from the back of the couch and covered both of them.

He layed their awake, unable to sleep due to all the thoughts in his head. Like how his brother was doing. How much time does he have left? Will he die alone? Then his thoughts turned to the daggers again. Wondering where they are and if he could find them without Tony. Eventually he did end up falling asleep with his arms wrapped around Tony like he was his teddy bear.

****************

Mack opened his eyes only to be assaulted by blinding white everywhere. He was seated in front a smiling kid about the same age as him. "Did I die" Mack asked the boy with a sad tone

"Not yet" said the boy "but you will in 6 days if things don't…..happen soon"

"I'll be dead in less then a week….." Mack's eyes about bulged out. "I…..I don't want to die"

"You might not….its all up to fate now"

"What's that supposed to mean"

"Hhhhh I can't reveal that information right now. I've told my Disciple to help you out but he's young and a bit dim to be honest. so theirs a chance he might not get here in time. Your clock is ticking child. You may live for six more days but their will come a point where even I won't be able to help you. Your body is going to start to deteriorate rapidly. If my disciple has not arrived by tomorrow find my daggers they will help you till he gets here"

"I feel fine though." Mack stated

"You feel ok now because your not awake and aware of what's happening to your body. Just be prepared for when you do wake up."

"Is it going to be that bad"

"It's not going to be terrible but you'll definitely be under the weather"

"That sounds great" he said sarcastically

"I guess you should wake up now. that new boy is awake and is trying to wake you up."

And just like that Mack's vision went blank

*************

"Hey" said a voice that Mack recognized as belonging to Tony. "Please wake up" he begged

"I'm awake" he said. Mack felt like he hadn't slept at all. Not an ounce of energy was present in his body. But he had to get up and get moving. He had animals to take care of.

"You don't look to good" said Tony

"I don't feel so good" Mack responded as he held the boy "what's that smell" he said sniffing the air

"Ummm….that might be me" responded Tony as he popped his thumb back into his mouth

"Ok, let's go up and get you ready then"

When Mack stood up he felt light headed and a bit nauseous and he tried to ignore it as best he could "not that bad my butt" he thought to himself. He followed slowly behind Tony until the reached his room. Mack stripped him down to his diaper and had him lay on his bed. Once the deed was completed he dressed the boy in a pair of shorts. "It's going to be warm today so I'm not going to put a shirt on you. Ok"

"K" he said as though he did mind what so ever.

Mack raised an eyebrow "hmmmm that response was a bit to childish for someone who's supposed to have the mind of an adult. I wonder...."he thought "hey Tony I'm thinking of just letting you run around in nothing but your diaper today" he said testing a theory to which Tony just shrugged. This concerned him a bit. It ment that Tony's mind regressed a bit further over night making him not care about wearing diapers anymore. Turning the boy to face him "Hey Tony, it seems your mind may have regressed a bit, what all do you remember"

"I don't think I forgot anything….." he said as he Concentrated real hard. "Maybe your brain's turning to mush already" he giggled

"What's your sons name"

"Max" he responded "he's a big boy like i used to be"

"I thought max was your big brother"

"Not yet silly we talked about this already"

"Ok I was just checking bubba.Maybe you should tell me wear those daggers are before you forget" said Mack. Tony had a look of terror on his face

"Those daggers are really scary. They hurt me Mack. Why do you need them so bad" he asked while trembling at the thought

"Because I can't afford to wait until the god of youths disciple gets here to help me"

"That…doesn't make any sense to me" he said in confusion "unless your his chosen one why would he care"

"I don't know, he wouldn't tell me" responded Mack "so what do you say will you go get them for me. I don't have the energy to tare this house apart looking for them."

"I'm not touching them or looking at them"

"And I'm not asking you too. All you have to do is show me wear they are"

Tony was so scared that his whole body was shaking. Mack reached down and held the small child's hand to reassure him that everything would be ok. Once they reached the kitchen Tony lead Mack to the pantry and opened the door he pointed to the floor where a big bag of rice was laying. "Their in the bag of rice" he asked to which Tony shook his head "under the bag of rice" this received a nod from the boy "your going to have to help me" reluctantly Tony grabbed one side of the bag and pulled with all his might. What was revealed was a loose board. Mack removed the board and the straw. Laying their with nothing protecting them was two identical blades of pure white with blue crystals in the hilt. He reached his hand into the hole and pulled them out causing Tony to completely loose it and start bawling he then ran out of the kitchen to who knows where but Mack could still hear him crying so he was at least still in the house.

Mack looked at the blades themselves and saw the engraving of the lamb on each one. He then held one in each hand and got into a fight pose acting like he was fighting a foe. Suddenly he felt a tingling in his hands that traveled up his arms and into his shoulders up his neck and into his head. Then a transparent screen appeared in his vision.

[would host like to merge with the the god of youths disciple system.

WARNING: host will have to sacrifice one years worth of life essence to merge with system]

Does that mean I'll get younger physically if I do this?

[if host wants to live then he has no choice. It's cruel because host already can't age but the system will be able to unlock so much more. Once host gets strong enough he will be able to get back any life essence he had to sacrifice.]

"Why does this have to happen to me" he thought to himself "how long will it take me to get that back. I'm going to be that much further behind my brother" he started to cry "I'm already little" he cried for a solid 30 minutes until he was able to pull himself together. "I…don't want to die system"

[the host knows what he must do]

"Do it" said Mack in the most pitiful voice

[very well]

Mack felt a draining sensation and could feel himself getting smaller, his clothes got a bit bigger almost to big. Their was a slight pain in his head but it vanished just as quickly.

[congratulations host the god of youths disciple system has successfully fused with host. Scaning hosts body.....

Scan complete

A mana core could not be detected. In order to insure hosts survival a mana core must be created. In order to do this life essence is needed. Since host doesn't have a life essence reserve he must sacrifice 3 years worth in order to create the mana core

Creat mana core?

Yes or no]

"What...I have to sacrifice more. Do you promise I'll be able to get this life essence back." He asked

[most definitely and eventually once host gains a life essence reserve this kind of stuff won't happen offten unless you use a skill to become younger]

"Do it" he said in defeat

[very well]

He felt himself shrink even more. He felt his pants and underwear fall off and his shirt bottom cover his knees being more like a gown then a shirt. Then he felt a pain in his belly worse then anything he has ever felt. He fell to his knees and groaned in pain. It last for what felt like hours but was only 20 minutes in reality.

Tony heard the groan and ran back into the kitchen only to stop dead in his tracks. "Oh no….i told you they were dangerous….now what are we going to do?" He screamed

Mack looked up at the boy and stood up. The first thing he noticed was that he was only 4 inches taller then him now.

"Your my size now" Tony said in surprise

"Hhhhh it was worth it Tony" he smiled

"How could this be worth it" he asked with his eyebrows raised

"I had to sacrifice 4 years worth of my life essence Tony, but I have a mana core now. It's empty still but I have one" he cried in joy