Dark. Very dark and quiet. This is the first thing I thought about when I woke up. The latest events of that day came to my mind. Rokhshar beat the crap out of me. I couldn't attack him. Not a single blow of mine hit him. It would be strange if I succeeded. Who am I and who is he? Between us there is heaven and earth; I cannot compare with his experience and talent. However, everything is not so bad. My ability has awakened. Well, or something similar to this. I remembered the devil, here she is. My closed eyes began to see. I was lying on a soft bed in the master’s apartment. He himself is in the kitchen and makes coffee. Still, this ability is not so useless. It's time to get up.

I stood up, traces of blows and pain remained all over my body. I'm in a sad situation. I don’t know what Rokhshar will say about what happened, but he certainly has no reason to praise me. Entering the kitchen, I see him drinking coffee at the table. There is also a mug on the table for me. He doesn't look in my direction. But he clearly heard me come in. I dont know what to say. So many thoughts, but nothing comes out of my mouth. I only had enough strength for one thing. "Sorry." I haven't achieved anything this month. What little knowledge of using swords is useless in a battle with a magician.

  I can't tell what he's thinking. It's hard to tell from his face whether he's angry or not. However, he put the mug away. And I was ready for how disappointed I was. “Don't apologize, you've passed.” These words came as a surprise to me. I showed myself disgustingly, and ended up passing out from my own ability. “But I performed terribly.” To this, Rokhshar just shrugged.

“You always have to start somewhere. You have proven yourself worthy, you lack many qualities. But you can learn this at the academy. And now. Congratulations, future student.” He claps his hands. These claps are not sarcastic. He clearly looks pleased with me.

But I'm not satisfied. This area worries me. Despite my gift, I don't feel like my magic is getting any stronger. I received a gift from Astoria, the chosen one of the deity Artoros. God of weapons and wars. The master hoped that training with swords would improve my magic. He thought so, but no. There is progress in my sword skills, but my aura level does not change. Or am I the only one who can’t see the difference. I feel like I'm stuck in a swamp, and I can move through it. But I can’t get out of it. Father, I know that you have been strong since childhood. You were born with a blessing, from birth you were the strongest. I don't want to admit that you deserve your power. Or anyway. You are worthy of your strength.

"Tenma. Don't push yourself. You are clearly weaker than you should be. And it's probably because of the curse. Time will give its way, but for now, train. As long as you continue this, you will become stronger. And now you should rest. It's going to get dark soon, so it would be nice if you drink your coffee and run home. Sera doesn't have to worry about you anymore."

"Of course. I won't disappoint you."

Pov Sera

Disgusting. These were my feelings when I got to know Mustang well. A pervert and a rapist taking advantage of his position. The elite of society knows about his sins, but ignores it. I'm disgusted by this. The emperor himself knows about this but does nothing. And all because of his gift received from birth. This gift makes him one of the strongest in the empire. But this is not what makes it unique. If the emperor had the desire, he would have killed him like an ant. But he refuses, like the others. The only ones who fight back are his relatives. Even so, they are limited in this.

But this is not the most unpleasant thing. It's that I can't stop him. I'm useless. My wind abilities were too weak. And that's why my damn family gave me up for him. I had no choice, but now everything can change. My dear Tenma, you are my saving ticket. I place all my future hopes on you. Torfin did not justify himself, and Thomas was taken from me. You are the only one that can change everything here. I was afraid of the possibility of the emperor's intervention. But the fact that Tenma was left alone changes everything. All the noble families will not leave this alone. The fact that Tenma, as a slave and unofficial daughter in the Reimen family, was not done anything angered them. But they can do little against the emperor.

Mustang himself can't do anything against this either. At first he looked calm, hoping that Tenma would be executed. But the emperor himself did not come. Instead of him came the most important arch-mage in the entire empire. And if he didn't do anything to Tenma. You can count on the emperor himself having nothing against her either.

However, she is still in danger. The Academy is well protected from external threats. But she could easily get hurt by someone inside. Therefore, I hope that Rokshar’s training will help her. My God Sharlig. Please help me. Protect her soul from darkness and sins. Because my sins can affect her. Protecting her is my last opportunity to atone for my sins.

But first. Mary. I go into a place that is already usual for us, a living room. No one comes here often. And lately, Mustang either goes somewhere to drink, or sits in his office all day. Which is quite convenient for me. We didn't have to wait long here. Mary came into the room. She looked pleasing to the eye as always. Although I’m not going to deny the fact that she will soon grow old. She is already a contented adult woman. Although the memory of how we spent our childhood carefree together has not left me. And since then, she's the one I trust the most. And because I love her, I have to do this.

"Mary, we need to talk." I didn’t want to, I delayed this as long as possible. But I can't risk it because of my selfishness. When Tenma had not yet received the gift. I expected to leave Mary here with me. If it weren't for her, I would go crazy here. But now, she must leave here. The Mustang has been looking more and more aggressive lately. And he almost raped her. Luckily I intervened. But I know that it won’t be possible to come to an agreement with him now. And therefore, the longer she is here, the more dangerous it is for her to be here. He already threatened me that he would harm her. Therefore it must be so.

"Mary, I don’t want you here." I saw her reaction. She is unhappy, but it is necessary for herself. "Again. Sera, how many times do I have to say this, I'm not going to leave you here alone!" We've already had a conversation about this. But then I wasn't sure. Now, I am absolutely sure of what will happen. "Mary. This house has always been hell for me. And you have always been a ray of light in it, along with Tenma. But now. It will be better if you leave. Mustang now does not control himself, and it is unlikely that he will stay in the near future. So take this money, and go..."

“I don’t need money! I’m not going to leave you!” Mary, my dear. It’s because of your straight forward person that I fell in love with you. But now is not the right time. "Mary, dear. Please do this. It’s dangerous here now. I don’t feel safe here. And I don’t want to leave you because of this. Please wait for me, and we’ll be together. Just like before." I come closer to her. and hug her tightly. "Will you do this for me?" Please say you will.

I hear her tears, she is silent. But the silence did not last long. She hugs me and nods her head. She agrees to leave here, and I'm delighted. I was ready to take you here with me, knowing the risk I was exposing you to. Not caring about you, but about my selfishness. But only one of my minor sins that I was able to correct. "I love you." I kiss her on the lips. She could find anyone. Someone who would love her more than me. But she still chose me. And I'm glad you exist. Mary.

I gave her the envelope with the money. And said goodbye to her. Unfortunately or fortunately, Tenma was not at home. They couldn't say goodbye. But she didn't want to waste time waiting for her. Although she asked me to tell everyone about it. And I'm going to tell her when I see her. But now, I'm sitting on the couch and smoking a cigar. My husband and I already live separately, but now he doesn’t even care about me. The feeling that he controls me has disappeared, but she will return soon. Now, I'm betting my future on his brothers and sister. If they win at least some of his influence and can kill him. My life will go along the path of heaven. Even if something happens to Mustang, my family will want to intervene. And therefore I can only rely on them. Tenma is no exception. She influenced the alignment of this family in a completely unexpected way. Let's wait and see what happens.

"Sera, we need to talk." The sudden voice startled me. This voice belonged to the one I least expected. My youngest son, Thomas. He never spoke to me before. What made him do this now? "Son, you don’t have to call me by name." Although I’ll assume that he did it on purpose. "Mom, we need to talk."

From his look I could tell that our dialogue would be long. I motioned for him to sit in front of me. And I remembered all my dislike for him. The way he stands, sits, walks, talks. This whole thing reminds me of the Mustang. It affected him so much that he ignored me the whole time. Every time I wanted to tell him something, I had to convey it through Torfin. But now he is sitting in front of me. I hope he won't say some kind of bullshit.

“I’m sorry that I ignored you. But it’s important to let you know what will happen next.” Son, I’m listening to you. I wonder what you have to tell me. "I knew that my father didn’t love me the way others do. But I don’t care shaft. He told me about how great I would become and that I should follow in his footsteps. I did as he wanted. Because then I respected him. "It's quite disgusting to listen to this. But I won't interrupt him. By the way he was leading the conversation, he probably realized how wrong he was. " Mustang, my father. He's terrible. His actions are terrible. And his views on the world too. But. I wanted his attention and respect. I thought that he was more important than others, and getting pride from him was my goal. But I clearly disappointed him. Because I couldn't control it. " He finished speaking. But from his tone, he doesn't look like he's asking for my forgiveness. Or...

"I'm going to kill Tenma." What? I didn't hear what he said? For a second I was blinded by rage. But I have to hold back. For myself, for Tenma and Mary. "What did you say?" Thomas just looked into my eyes, the same look as my shitty husband. "I came to ask forgiveness for this. The gifts of the gods are a special thing. Each god gives them in different ways and reasons. They can be useful. Or they can destroy you. But what is the same in them is what happens to the dead. If the chosen one with the gift dies the deity decides what to do next. Transfer the gift to a relative of the deceased, or to the one who killed the chosen one, considering him worthy. "I see. His desire to kill her is associated with a gift. Hah, you bastard are no different from him. "Where does such confidence come from?" I knew the answer, but I still asked him calmly. "Tenma is disappointed. Despite the fact that she was chosen by Astorius. Most likely there was a mistake. She does not show good results. And after she dies, I will receive a gift. And therefore I apologize for what will happen in the future." With these words, he stood up and left the room.

As soon as I was alone, I threw a chair at the wall. "I’ll kill him, how dare you say that bitch. I’ll kill you myself, bastard!" I beat everything that came to hand. I couldn't control myself. I was in a blind rage. How dare he say such a thing. I hate him. Mustang your son is worthy of you. Fuck, fuck, fuck! The worst thing is that he will go to the Academy with her. It would be much better if they were separated. What to do. We'll have to accept this scenario.

I glanced at the window. Or rather, on the full moon. She shines as beautifully as always. Having calmed my thoughts, I came to the only solution. I need to tell about this. Jack please save her.