The sharp crack of fingers against his cheek didn’t stop the tears from flowing. If anything, it made him cry more profusely. His mother followed up the slap with a tight hug, scolding him while she cried as well, “Alister you idiot! You could have died! We told you no! Damn it, child… Do you have any idea how worried I was when I heard your father was taking Salvator out to find you??”

“I’m sorry mother…” Alister hiccuped in response, holding a hand against his throbbing cheek. There was nothing he could say that would make this situation better. He knew he needed to stay quiet.

“And you! Odelline! You are supposed to be his tutor, a good role model! I don’t appreciate you pulling some fae tricksy shenanigans and allowing him to leave to the forest. Yes, we said to watch him and make sure he was okay. That should include avoiding a dragon’s territory, I would think!” she snapped, her attention moving to Ode, who was standing beside Alister with her head hung in embarrassment and shame as well. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I apologize, my lady,” Ode mumbled like a chastised child. How old was she, anyway? Alister numbly considered the thought. She acted young. Perhaps she actually was young.

“You may have white hair. You may have the support of the king. That does not mean you can afford us disrespect, Fiera Odelline. Do you understand me?” mother continued, her red curls furiously bouncing as she paced.

Ode could do nothing but nod. “Good!” she continued with her rant, “The Severins may be kinder to common folk than most nobles, but understand that if that tendency happens to bring us disrespect and strife, I can very easily act like my fellow nobles instead. Alister!”

“Y-yes mother?” he sniffled, resisting the childish urge to rub his snot on his sleeves.

His mother softened slightly, “Are you alright?”

“I got healed, mother… so… yes. I’m okay.”

“I don’t mean that. Not just that, anyhow,” she crouched in front of him in her brownish-red dress that matched her hair, looking into his eyes, “I am so furious with you, but I am ever more glad that you are alright. I understand you are frustrated… and you want your system to be unlocked. I can only imagine how you are feeling after all of that effort failed. So… I want to know if you feel alright.”

Alister shyly looked away from her gaze, “I’m ok…” His sniffling betrayed him, so he weakly continued, “I want… I just want my system… I don’t wanna be weak… a-and I don’t wanna have to rely on others… I was a-an Archmage! I was so strong and didn’t have to get h-help from anyone! And… and I wanna know if the knights are okay or not…”

The fury that was still on Alliana’s face dissipated as she kissed his forehead, “You are meant to rely on us. That’s what we’re here for. We want you to rely on us. You’re still our little boy… With your past or not you’re our child. I know it’s a big adjustment. I can only imagine. It’s a big adjustment for us too. Just trust us, we have your best interests in mind, Alister. As for the system… and the knights… your father wants to speak with you about that. It is more his place than mine. Know, however, that we will ensure you can unlock your system - in a safe way, this time.” She gave him a tight hug and sent him off, turning her full attention to poor Ode.

Alister left the room feeling like crap. His cheek stung. He couldn’t stop crying. His little body was shaking with exhaustion. When was the last time he got scolded like that? He hated it, but in the back of his head, he knew he needed to be told off. He deserved it. He deserved more than that simple scolding! They were too kind! He had killed a pegasus, might have killed a knight! He… damn it he was crying more.

His father was waiting for him outside the sitting room. He was leaning against the wall with his arms folded, looking tired, but far less disheveled than Alister. His straight black hair was down around his shoulders now, and he had changed back into casual wear, though the simple pants and short sleeved shirt were still clearly made of fine materials. He looked down at Alister with a small sigh, “Go get changed. I need to have a talk with you, and I think people would talk even more than they already will if they saw your clothes bloodied like that.”

Alister nodded and went off to change, his father following after him. From the doorway of his bedroom, he continued talking, “The knight that fell will be alright. The pegasus died… and the knight will be recovering for a while… but he’s not dead at least. The horse bore the brunt of the attack.”

“I’m sorry,” Alister breathed quietly in response.

“Loss of any life is painful, but you’re here to learn from it. We should have been better about talking with you and listening to your concerns and problems,” the Duke slid down the door frame into a seated position elbows on his knees and knuckles on his forehead, “You’re so different.”

“I’m sorry…” he muttered again. Guilt wracked him. He felt so conflicted. He had essentially taken away their child but was at the same time a child himself, still needed their help. He wasn’t the SAME in either case.

Blas was quiet for a long moment as Alister finished dressing. He stayed staring at the wall until the movement beside him made him look up at his boy, “Don’t be sorry for being yourself.”

“Why not?”

“Because it won’t get us anywhere,” his voice groaned as he stood, patting wrinkles out of his shirt, “I’ve come to realize I can neither treat you like the child your age would belie nor a true adult. I was so worried about losing your affections as a parent that I didn’t know what to do.”

Alister bit his lip, following his father out the door and then out of the house, the two heading to the stables, “It’s ok. I don’t know how you could know any different… even I don’t know what’s going on with me.”

“And therein lies the rub,” Blas sighed, “I need to know more about your past life. I’ve tried respecting your privacy but… son… you summoned a twin-headed basilisk. That’s not normal. I won’t know how to help you or teach you or… anything… until I know at least the bare bones of your past.”

Alister grimaced at the sound of it but nodded. He was right, and he was too tired to argue with his father. They went inside the stable where Marble the coeurl was laying in a large stall, sprawled out and half asleep. Blas sat on a nearby bench and motioned for Alister to join him. He sat across from his father and began fiddling awkwardly with his fingertips.

“First, what do you think of Miss Odelline?”

He raised his eyes at the question, “Huh? I… um… I like her well enough, I guess? She’s harsh but… I can tell she cares?”

“Do you want her to stay?” He nodded and Blas continued, “Then she will stay. She is more brash than I had imagined, but she is a capable mage, and she clearly is not lacking courage. I may have to ask my knights to instill some discipline in her, however.”

“Okay…,” he mumbled, still demoralized.

“So, that summoning stone. It was rather crude. It’s meant to summon the highest level creature around based on your mana pool. At your age, having so much that it can summon a beast such as that…”

Alister interjected, “N-no.”

“No?”

“I mean. It’s not the highest. It was just the highest in… a radius from here. Like… 200 kilometers, I’d guess by how rough it looked? My mana pool is… erm… vast…”

Blas stared at his son like he was speaking a different language, clearly trying his hardest to grasp and believe what was being said but struggling, “Alister that… You… Right. How… what stage was your core at before you died?”

He shuffled uncomfortably, looking at some faraway object to avoid eye contact. This conversation felt far more awkward than it did in the past. Before, he could back up his words, but now, he was so weak it felt like a joke to speak of, “Transcendent silver…”

His father’s mouth was agape, and it took a few moments of sputtering syllables before he formed it into words, “A… transcendent… and what is it now??”

“White…”

“Oh gods, good…” he huffed, hand covering his face, “Not, good but… I think you’d be a danger to yourself and others if your core was… well… that.”

“My core has been leaking mana since I unlocked it,” he explained, eyes shifting down to his lap, “I’ve been trying to fix it so I can use magic without it hurting me.”

“Why haven’t you told us!? We can help. We’d want to help. Alister, you are my only child. No matter who you used to be, I’d give the world for you,” he sighed, “If you are in pain tell us. You seem so afraid to tell us anything now. I need to understand. We need to understand. Not just for security, but because we’re your parents. To think that…,” a moment of silence passed, “This explains a lot… it doesn’t excuse your attitude of the consequences, but I can only imagine what that change must be like. Please, tell me more.”

Alister paused, “I am afraid. I was a… conflicting figure, and I don’t want to bring anyone into my problems. I don’t want to be why more people get hurt.”

“It’s my choice to be a part of your problems. Tell me your past. I won’t share it with anyone else. I promise,” said the duke, his tone clearly trying to be calm… but the panic of a father who just wanted to help with a problem they didn’t understand was underneath.

Alister sighed and nodded slowly, meeting his father’s gaze again, “…I’ll do my best, father. It’s a long story.” He hoped he wouldn’t regret this, but, if anyone, his father deserved to know.