A new alert resounded within Fate’s panic stricken mind, however, a change was occurring that swayed his attention from it…

 

Prior to the message appearing and subsequently following his heinous oath, a substance which appeared to be blood as black as obsidian, began to leak from three spots in his left hand. The blood seemed to desire to dig back under Jacob’s skin, forming black tendrils which tore into his flesh and swelled beneath its surface.

 

-W-wha...the f*ck...is that supposed to be?!?

 

Fate could feel Liza shivering in fear just as he was, as well as her tightening her already vice-like grip around him. Both of the children cowered at the malicious aura, which flowed unabated from his wounds.

 

It felt as if the waves of the divine energy they had borne witness to only but a few moments ago, were slowly being drowned out by a haze of darkened fog…

 

The blood continued to writhe and struggle beneath his skin, causing the swelling to become more intense. The swollen mass of skin began to harden and darken, along with the entirety of his hand, transforming it into a thin, dark claw…

 

Jacob let out a deep breath, lowering his stance and extending his now claw-like hand towards one of the walls. Fate felt a small gust of wind, just in time for one of Jacob’s fingers to create a slash so fast that it blurred, nearly becoming invisible as it did so…

 

However, once Jacob resumed his normal posture, nothing appeared out of place or damaged...This seemingly immaculate room was not to remain as such, however, now revealing a long, incredibly thin series of gashes that trail around the room!

 

-Holy f*ck!!!

 

Fate turned his head, throwing off Liza’s terrified embrace to peer behind himself, where he found a disturbing mark at around the height of his head on the wall, which looked almost like a target. Fate immediately understood that this was a warning and quite the disturbing one at that, merely a display by Jacob that showed that he could kill him anytime he desired to do so…

 

-...C-craz-z...y...bast...tard!!!

 

He was given no time to resolve his fears before Jacob’s hand appeared in front of him. His hand had been a distance away and he had been obscured by the surge of blackened aura, but Fate was now able to fully discern the features of Jacob’s claw. 

 

The skin covering the claw had indeed hardened, creating a surface that was more like a jagged stone’s than a human’s, but it also appeared to be plagued by small cracks, which stained his claw with small amounts of blackened blood. The claws appeared to be dull as well, certainly not matching up to the state of a pristine blade. However, both of these flaws were trumped by a thin marking of a skull with cracks in both its eye sockets, which seemed to have been where the transformation had first occurred and exuded a bone-chilling, deathly grim feeling…

 

Jacob: “This is the central focus of the 『Grim-Claw Combat Arts』that I am a practitioner of and assuming that you accept my offer, what I will endeavor to instruct you in using.”

 

His words were overshadowed by the aura of his claw, but Fate still made sure to catch the name of the fighting style...if it even was one. However, Fate still couldn’t stop himself from nervously eyeing the various imperfections on the claw’s surface, at which Jacob gave a depressed and somewhat nostalgic smile.

 

Jacob: “Though, as you already seem to have noticed, my form is no longer what it once was, hence why I require a successor since...though I would rather not admit it, I’ve lost my touch. Take the markings on the wall for example, in my prime I would’ve been able to able to make them nearly invisible and several times deeper than I was able to just now...”

 

Jacob gave Fate a questioning look, making Fate extremely nervous.

 

Jacob: “Young master, are you able to venture a guess as to why my skill is declining so?”

 

The question sounded extremely simple since Jacob seemed to be quite on in years, however, Fate, who had somewhat sorted out his thoughts now, suspected that there was more to it than that.

 

-He’s...definitely older than his prime, but if it’s a skill then it shouldn’t matter how old he gets...I think? Gotta think...there are cracks...blood...degraded skull...requires resolve and a fear of…!

 

While rambling inwardly with a serious face, much to Jacob’s amusement, Fate seemed to have abruptly stumbled upon an answer. He quickly faced Jacob and with the same serious face, delivered his response.

 

Fate: “It’s because you’ve aged…”

 

Jacob seemed disappointed and began to let out a sigh, but stopped after seeing the look in Fate’s eyes…

 

Fate: “It isn’t only that though, the real reason is that you’ve lived long enough to the point where death is still a nagging fear, but isn’t necessarily something you reject either. Essentially, you’re slowly accepting your own demise, right?”

 

Jacob’s eyes shone with excitement.

 

Jacob: “Young master, are you sure that you’re really just a child? You speak of things like the detriments of aging and accepting one’s own death, but though I’m sure the Lady must have taught you about certain subjects to a degree, this was most certainly not one of them…”

 

Fate started to become nervous again, especially since Jacob was seemingly attempting to dig towards the truth of his identity. 

 

Jacob: “But that’s just one of the things that motivates me to make you my pupil! Regardless, the truly important thing is that you’ve met both requirements, and so I will ask you once more...Will you accept my tutelage? Know that if you accept, depending on how successful you are, you may just be able to find a way to escape your suffering…”

 

『Jacob Alvizain wishes to become your master, do you accept? Know that there will be no turning back once you accept.』

 

If he accepted, he could gain a chance to escape his life of suffering and neglect, but in doing so leave Liza behind, forsaking her friendship. Or, if he did not accept, he might spend his entire life trapped within these walls like a prisoner, never knowing anything of the outside world.

 

-Take a gamble on being free or stay trapped in the manor with one friend...who I’ve already hurt so much that it wouldn’t be strange if they hated me...Not to mention Mother and Atlas...and lord forbid, Jacob if rejecting him would piss him off...

Fate at this point, had resolved himself. He had fearfully and repeatedly asked himself the same question over and over again, weighing the benefits and attempting to figure out Jacob’s motives, but now it was time to make a decision.

With his desired path determined, Liza and Jacob anxiously waiting, and his future uncertain depending on what he chose here and now, Fate made the decision which would change his life from this point on...

 

Fate: “...I accept.”

...