TF Chapter 38 Taking Up The Sword

"So...what did you want us to learn? Despair?" Danny asked cheekily.

"Heh...precisely. But it looks like your trio has powerful minds, coupled with intelligence." Celeste gave a pointed look in Bora's direction. 

"Before I get down to the real lessons and the changes that the council has decided to implement, I have a few questions. How did this artifact come to be?" She pointed at the sword.

"Is it special in any way? The one guy who came after our near demise ignored the blade. He seemed to not care." I spoke up. 

So far, information hadn't yet trickled to us apprentices about what the forgers had faced wherever they had been these past few months. Only vague insubstantial rumors were flying around. I wanted to use this chance to try and pry something from her lips.

"The guy was probably an oddball. This sword is very very valuable. Now that the forgers have returned, some might to try to vie for it, so it would be better if you hide it away." 

"...with how powerful it is, none of us has even managed to touch it for more than a second...moving it?" I shook my head. Though, I hadn't placed any part of my skin on it. I had only inspected it with my spirit. I couldn't admit that I was scared, right? Plus, she had just revealed that it was very valuable. What if I was hunted after managing to acquire it?

"Regale me with the tale of how it appeared here in the first place." 

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A few hours passed as we recounted everything, with her asking targeted questions. Most of her questions were technical in nature, and she didn't even care about Danny's exaggerations.

"Fascinating! I am going to throw out a theory. Remember, this is only my conjecture... I do believe that this whole continent has something like a spirit. Every forger has suspected as much. What if the visions you are having are somehow connected to it? It could have even been the one that temporarily took possession of your body." 

With every word, my heart pounded in my chest at an increasing pace. Could it be that I wasn't special, only that something had taken an interest in me? 

Should I feel betrayed? Unhappy? Angry? No, I Nathaniel Bosingwa had long learned a lesson that everything was about give and take, or in other words, benefits.

If this entity was showing me these visions, then that meant that it was also somehow benefitting from this arrangement as much as I, so there was no need for me to get angry or uneasy.

It had probably taken possession of my body to save me from being killed, since I was valuable in its eyes. But, here comes the question, how was I benefitting it? Let's be realistic here. There is absolutely nothing special about me, so why?

"Don't ask me. Even I have no idea." 

Celeste's intuition was really strong as she managed to guess what I was about to ask.

"Now, this blade has its own spiritual powers, something even those at the third stage of the forger path haven't been able to craft. Someone is most definitely going to covet it. I don't know why you haven't touched it, but Nathaniel, are you really that much of a coward?"

(Badump!)

A powerful heartbeat caused a pain in my chest. Her question caused my blood to seethe and my mind to open up as if previously, it had been closed or blocked.

Right!!!

What had I been thinking?! My thoughts were making me spiral into the pits of weakness! Why did I have to fear the sword, but also want to possess it at the same time? Wasn't I being a hypocrite to myself? 

Ahhhh...how embarrassing! Danny and Bora must have already judged me a hypocrite! For Danny, there's a fifty fifty chance, but there is no way Bora would have failed to judge me like that!

"Celeste, thank you." That's all I said before taking long strides and appearing in front of the blade.

I looked it up and down before taking a very big breath of resolve and then circling my palm on its hilt. Surprisingly, it was warm to the touch...I know that the temperature here is hot, but this warmth was different. It was as if it was welcoming my hand. Even the spiritual powers being released by the blade pulsed, as if jubilating my decision.

"Wow!"

There was no appropriate word I could think of except for that. I even had a feeling that I could easily pull it out of the rocky floor.

I decided to act on that feeling, causing the sword to easily slip out of the crevice.

Shing!!!

A hum resounded within the room as I raised it from its prison, setting it free.

"...its like...a part of me." My entire attention was on the sword, admiring the workmanship and its beauty.

My raised hand was brought down with the force of a back hand slash, only stopping once it reached the side of my body. The harmony between my body and the sword was something even I couldn't describe if someone asked me the question. The closest I could consider it would be, like a mother and her baby. There was this instinctual feeling, that the sword would move any way I wanted it to.

"Try attacking me."

"What!? Why?!" She was a forger, a superhuman, but I felt that if I attacked, there was a possibility that she would die! This was the feeling I was getting from wielding this blade.

"There is no need to panic. It will be very hard for you to even touch my clothes, let alone injure me." The confidence in that tone made me feel as if my pride, my ego, was being stomped on, so I furrowed my brows, taking a stance with the sword horizontally in front of me, with the edge facing her.

"Let's dance!" 

That was all the signal needed for us to rush towards each other, a grin on her face, with I spotting a serious expression, trying to mask the faint simmering anger at her earlier words.