Timeless (Satoru Gojo x TBATE)

Chapter 3 | Inheritance

I wake up finding myself looking up the same old familiar ceiling. It is hardly a ceiling, though. It was more like a clump of pointed rocks hanging at the top.

The familiar scent of flowing water entered my nose and the usual crickets playing the same old symphony entered my ears.

I got up from my makeshift bed, looking forward to the same routine I've done for months now.

It's been an awfully long time since I first met Sylvia.

The time spent was worth it though. Sylvia offered me guidance in training and techniques in manipulating the ambient mana that I never thought possible.

Thanks to the mana rotation concept that she taught me, my progress has significantly improved. Practicing and mastering the mana rotation technique meant I could fight proficiently while maintaining a steady inward flow of mana.

In times where she and I had nothing to do, we would just chat away. Eventually, hours turned to days; days to weeks; and weeks to months.

While she didn't speak of her own life, I got an idea of what kind of being she was. She was the living embodiment of the phrase "don't judge a book by its cover." Contrary to the traumatizing appearance, what she really was is a kind, gentle, passionate person.

She reminded me of my mother. Kind and gentle, but firmly strict whenever I did something wrong.

I just remembered the bandits. While my family and the Twin Horns survived, there's no telling if the bandits survived either. That's why, if any of them did...

A dark glow enveloped my ocean-blue eyes unbeknownst to me. I tried my best to hide my animosity, but I still got flicked in the forehead. A killing intent that radiated out of me would surely get noticed by Sylvia.

An audible thud resounded as I fell on my ass. "Hey, what was that for!?" I yelled begrudgingly.

"Art. Perhaps you are not in the wrong in that those bandits deserve death," she began lecturing me. "I chose not to save the sorcerer you fell with for the same reason."

I get what she means. Suguru did the same. "But letting your heart cloud with hatred and vengeance like this will only cause harm to yourself." Ah, how nostalgic.

I formed a smile, a gentle one this time. Although their words were different, both Sylvia and Suguru acted as a moral compass for me.

Pathetic, I deemed myself as such. Experiencing and embracing emotions—it certainly is a good thing. But at times, it can backfire. It can be overwhelming.

I've cast aside my status as the strongest. Right now, I am nothing more than the soul of Satoru Gojo. I am Arthur Leywin. I don't need to be hung up in misguided notions about strength.

I can simply proudly move forward. I cannot let grief and rage corrode my mind. Only then will I truly be victorious.

"I'm good now, Sylvia. Thanks."

The signature tattoo-like azure veins disappeared on my face. They're almost like glowing blue cracks in my face and only appear whenever I use my powers.

They always glow blue, a sign that my mana's being distributed to different parts of my body. My mana core is at the light orange stage now after months of training.

Sylvia's words struck me deep, but the fact that I was lectured on morals by a figure that looked like the epitome of evil struck deeper.

"Here, eat this." Sylvia handed me a fruit. It was my dinner for the day."