Chapter Text
Every Story has a Beginning.
Every Hero has his first Battle.
My Story just happens to be a little different than that of the others.
But where to start?
Hmmm...
I guess, perhaps it would be best to start at the beginning, as the best stories do.
The Day of my Rebirth.
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20 Years Ago...
Unknown Location...
As I came to, I didn't really feel much. Apart from the grass on my back (Itchy), the sun's warmth on my face (Too bright), and a soft breeze blowing against my body (Too cold). But slowly, more feeling entered my body. I felt more. The clothes on my body, my own heartbeat, and the unbearable, indescribable, need to pee.
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"Aahhhhhhhhhh. Yeah. That's nice." I sighed in relief as I relieved myself. As I finished up, I zipped my pants back up, and stretched with a yawn. Scratching my belly I looked around for a moment, taking in all I could see. The large landmass that I stood on, the green tree's, and the fluffy white sea.
Wait...
"WHY IS THE SEA MADE OF CLOUDS?!"
"AROO"
"WHY ARE THERE GIANT MONKE'S!?!?!"
"BWOOOOOOO"
"WHAT THE FUCK!? DID THE ISLAND JUST TALK!??!"
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After calming down a little, I just sat down and tried to make sense of my current situation.
From what little I could gather, I was now on a giant living... thing, surrounded by clouds, where everything was larger and more deadly than back home...
'Okay. Maybe not more deadly. But they are definitely larger on average than back home in Australia.'
Oddly, this all seemed rather familiar...
Sea of clouds...
Giant living landmass...
Everything is a monster...
"Oh fucking hell. I'm in Xenoblade 2 aren't I?!" I shouted in realisation, throwing my hands up into the sky in a mixture between exasperation, excitement and panic. "It doesn't really matter if the average animal danger rating is the same. At least there's an antidote to most venoms! Getting squished like a bug doesn't have an antidote!"
In case it wasn't obvious, I was panicking.
"BWOOOOOGGGGAAAHHHHH!!!!"
The Roar of Gormott, for that was the titan that I stood upon, shook me back to reality. And as I blinked I felt a strange sense of calm wash over me. I'd practically been training for this after all, with how many Isekai stories I wrote but never published, and how many Isekai stories I'd read or watched.
More importantly, out of all the realm's I could get Reincarnated into, Xenoblade was without doubt top 3. Dxd was number one, primarily because I knew exactly how to manipulate its universe and power system, and I could become insanely strong. The Waifu's were an added bonus. Xenoblade was probably no.2, it had amazing Waifu's, incredible powers, and some easily exploitable methods of immortality. Plus, if you knew what to do, you could easily breeze through the entire storyline.
'Probably shouldn't do that tho. It wouldn't solve anything.'
Logically, I knew that the best thing to do would be to become a bystander. A side character. Someone who never interfered with anyone from the main plot. And especially not the Aegis Team.
It was imperative that the main storyline remained intact. Obviously The easiest way to ensure this was to do nothing at all. Problem with that was that it was the opposite of what I wanted to do.
I wanted to meet them. All of them. I wanted to meet Pyra, Mythra, Rex, I wanted to meet Vandham.
More than that, I wanted to save Vandham. I didn't want him to die. I wanted him to live. The biggest problem with that, was that by saving him, I could delay the awakening of Mythra. Something that was imperative to the survival of this world, and those within it.
And now, I was one of those guy's within it.
'What do I do?'
Looking up at the world tree in the distance, and where the Architect lived, I came to a decision.
"That will be a problem for future me. Who will curse present and past me for leaving it up to him." With a satisfied nod, I stood up, checked the position of the sun, and looked in the direction of Torigoth.
"Should only take me a couple of minutes, or an hour at most, to get to civilization. Time to march. And with luck I'll be there by lunch"
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12 Hours later...
"Fuck this shit." I cursed as I huddled up under a tree log.
'Should've paid closer attention to the Hunger Games. Maybe I'd have a fire right now if I did.'
As it turned out, the video game incarnations of the titans were stupidly underestimated. Gormott, in person, was hundreds of times larger, so large that it would've dwarfed any city of my old world. Canonically speaking, maybe it wasn't larger than it was in the lore. But it was definitely larger than it was during gameplay.
Currently, the moon was on its way up into the sky, and the sun was dipping lower and lower. I'd set up camp under a giant tree stump, which was near a freshwater lake. From which I had drunk. Sadly I hadn't gotten anything to eat, but this was primarily because I didn't know what was safe to eat, and I didn't know if I could take on anything nearby. That Bunnit I walked by earlier could've been a level 60 that probably would've served me my ass on a silver platter. At the same time it could've been a level 1 that I could have easily beaten. Or it could've been neither and level's didn't exist here.
I was leaning towards the third option, most likely it was ether capacity or something similar to that which determined how powerful something was. That and experience, and physical strength, the usual. I wasn't going to risk it however, not until I knew for certain that I could kill something here.
As for presumed abilities/powers. I had so far come up completely blank. I did not appear to have any kind of gamer ability, or system, nor did I have other abilities. I did not have regeneration of any sort either, (I had already cut myself to test.)
My distinct lack of abilities was certainly problematic, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was a world where people could get fast enough to outpace most other shonen protagonists, including Goku. Some of the powers here were even more bullshit than the ones in Bleach, One Piece, or Naruto combined.
Actually, maybe not Bleach. The Almighty was probably the most bullshit ability of all time.
Digressing...
My first goal, for now, would be discerning where I am in the timeline. If I was years before the event's of Xc2, then I would need to find a Blade and become a Blade Eater. If Canon had already started then I needed to find strong blades, and the Aegis team, fast. If I was slightly before Canon, then I could take this time to train, get stronger, and be relevant for the entire storyline.
Worst-case scenario, the battle between Jin and the Aegis Team in the world tree had just begun, and I was going to be completely useless for everything except for Xc3. And even then, it basically got an ending equal to 'It was all a dream'.
"AWWWWOOOOO!!"
Flinching, I looked around in mild fear as I heard a sound eerily familiar to a wolf's howl, except it sounded like a Kaiju variation.
Here and now wasn't the time for panicking, it wasn't the time for thinking, it was the time for survival and extreme caution. I refused to die before I found my way to power and fame, I refused to die before I found happiness, Infact, I refused to die at all.
Although... right now... sleep sounded really good...
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Arrival at Gormott...
3 days later...
'Food...'
Stumbling through the gates of Gormott, my stomach was rebelling against life, the universe and everything.
'I need food...'
Slowly making my way to the nearest food store, I barely registered the shocked expressions of the people around me. And I didn't understand the whispers either. All my focus was on the food in front of me. "Do you take IOU's?" I asked, mouth dry. The store clerk blinked several times, looked at me, and said, "You look like you're about to starve. Here, take this. On the house."
The benevolent store clerk handed me a large cooked steak, and I didn't even bother to nod before I began to tear into it with the vigour only a starving man would understand. Each bite tasted like heaven.
As I continued to scarf my food, I caught the eye's of numerous other people, each one of them looking at me in varying degrees of interest, disgust, and amusement.
Huh...
As I finished my meal, I took a moment to really look at the surrounding people and how... different they really were.
The majority of the populace were Gormotti, which is to say, humans with cat features, primarily their hair, canine's, and heightened senses. Aside from that, and a Welsh accent, there was absolutely no difference between them, and every other individual of my old world.
I... wasn't sure if it was a good thing that I was already thinking about earth as my 'old world' maybe that was just my ADHD talking, but...
"Meh-Meh? Tora did not mean to insult biggie-pon! Tora just said that Biggy-Pon should let up on the food!"
No fucking way!
Turning around at top speed, I saw a large part's shop, which I was rather certain was a local Odd's and Ends shop. The same one that the Aegis Team bought the pieces to finish Poppi.
If Tora was here, then that meant that the canon story hadn't begun yet, which, by extension, meant that I could get strength, and power, and be relevant!
First though, Maybe I should save Tora's life.
Quickly making my way over to Tora, and the Gormotti man who was currently holding the poor Nopon up and getting ready to punch him, I shouted, "OI! Mate!" My voice made the Gormotti man flinch, turn around and look at me with a shocked expression. "Who the bloody hell are you?" He asked, the Welsh accent strong and present. As I walked up to the Gormotti, I began to look... down at him.
'This guy barely reaches my chin. How short are these guys?'
Still, despite my height advantage, the difference in weight class was obvious, the Gormotti man I was looking down at, would've easily been twice my weight, and not just in fatness. Eating nothing except for a single small fish for nearly 4 day's was extremely taxing on someone like me, with a metabolism that made it impossible for me to even gain any weight, or muscular definition at all.
"I'm the guy who's gonna introduce my foot to your ass if you don't let the Nopon go." I said, the Gormotti man raised an eyebrow, "Really. You? The starving bag of bones and rags? Come off it, you're mad if you think I'm scared of you." The Gormotti went to keep punching Tora, but seeing the way that Tora flinched away from the man, sent a deep resentment and anger off within me, adding that to how hungry and tired I was, I didn't have a fuse, I had a countdown, and with it reaching zero I decided to be a bit more... violent.
Lashing out, I punched the Gormotti right in the side of the jaw, kicked him right between his fat cheek's and up his ass, and before he could recover, I reached out grabbing his cat ears, and pulled him to the ground.
I would like to say this was all fluidly done in less than 4 seconds, but it wasn't, it was rather sloppy, and certainly not done in less than 10 seconds. Still the result was the same, one fat Gormotti on the ground, and me sitting on top of him. "I warned you. Foot up your ass. And now your face has met the ground."
It just occurred to me, I should get a catchphrase. But what? 'Your ass is grass and I'm the lawnmower'? Nah, they don't have lawnmowers. Infact, I didn't even know if they still had lawns.
"Meh-Meh? Hero saved Tora?" Hearing Tora's voice come from beside me shook me back to reality, and I looked over at him. Much to my surprise, he almost looked identical to his canon equivalent. With a few differences. He was lacking the large goggles on top of his head, and he didn't have the bag on his right side, aside from that, little changes made up his attire.
Like all Nopon he was rather short, less than half my height. Meaning less than 3'0 tall. He had the general shape of a large egg, mostly oval shaped, short stubby legs, and arms just as small, although he also had two large wing-like limbs that could also work as arms. He was also covered in light brown fur, and had a very large mohawk. His clothes consisted of a pair of overalls, a light brown shirt, with a black undershirt, and dark brown shoes.
He didn't look that much younger than he did in the game, but then again, he wasn't animated anymore. I could distantly see each strand of hair in his mohawk, every single piece of fur, all of it. He looked much like a realistic version of himself. And above all, there was just something... different in seeing him as a living being before me. Far different than what it felt like to see him in a video game, or in fanart. Something indescribable.
'His eyes are also giant. And I wonder what pair of arms he uses to... actually maybe not everything needs an answer...'
"Hello. I'm guessing your name is Tora?" I greeted with a smile on my face, as I lightly whacked the back of the head of the Gormotti I had just absolutely owned, keeping him down and silent. Tora meanwhile, looked absolutely shocked, and was staring at me like the second coming of the architect himself. "How did Hero-Pon know Tora's name?" Tora asked. I raised an eyebrow, "I've found that Nopons often refer to themselves in the third-person." I answered. Tora meanwhile, was still clueless. "You told me." I said flatly after a moment of silence. Tora's mouth widened, but before he could say anything, the sound of heavy footsteps quickly began to approach.
A firm gloved hand landed on my shoulder, and I was roughly pulled off of the Gormotti and spun around to face a trio of Ardanian Soldiers. Unlike in the game, each one was a differing height, however, none of them were taller than me. "What is going on here?" The First Ardanian Soldier asked, with a distinctly male voice. "Now See Here, it's obvious this ruffian was attacking the poor Gormotti." The Second Ardanian added, the third scoffed, "I have a hard time believing that. Look at him, he's a bag of bones. Scrawny, underfed, and he looks to be a stray." The second scoffed, "Then what? The Gormotti just layed down and let the kid sit on him?" The Third shook their head, "No, clearly this Nopon attacked the Gormotti, and threatened this poor boy to sit on him and take the blame." The first and second Soldiers groaned at this, "We've had enough of your racism Jeff, if you aren't going to add anything meaningful to this conversation, don't talk at all." The Now Named Jeff growled, "Nopon are no good scum. If you can't see that you're the idiot" Soldier One looked at Tora, "Apologises good sir. But could you tell me what happened here?" Tora blinked, "Meh-Meh? Well, Biggie-Pon was attacking Tora. Then Hero-Pon came over and told Biggie-Pon off. Then Hero-Pon saved Tora from Biggie-Pon! Then soldier's appeared."
Hearing Nopon's talk in person was weird. I don't think I've quite registered the fact that Tora is another species yet. Actually, I haven't had a mental breakdown either. How strange...
Soldier One looked at me, and seemed to be re-evaluating his opinion of me. "Is this true?" He asked. Nodding, I properly recounted the story, "I had just arrived in town, and-" Taking a short break, I put my thought's in order, and apologised, "Sorry, I stutter sometimes." The soldier's looked understanding, and Jeff even had a suggestion. "Saying a word whenever you stutter can help." I nodded absentmindedly, but continued my recounting regardless. "As I was saying, I had just arrived in town. I'd been lost in the wilds beforehand, so I was really hungry. A local meat shop gave me some food, a steak, and as I ate it, I heard a commotion. This-" I gestured at the Fat Gormotti, "-Gormotti man had been yelling at this Nopon, Tora, for a miscommunication on Tora's part. Admittedly, Tora had insulted the Gormotti, but he did so accidentally. Regardless of this, the Gormotti was threatening Tora and was even preparing to assault him, when I intervened. I began by warning the Gormotti man to back off, when he did not and went to resume his assault, I defended Tora, knocking out the Gormotti. Then you guys showed up."
Soldier one nodded, "That checks out. That's Rhys' on the floor. He's a grumpy old bastard." Relieved that the Soldiers were convinced of my story, I took a step back as two of them, Soldier Two and Jeff, picked up Rhys' and dragged him off to... somewhere. Soldier one, after watching them go, turned around and looked at me, "Say. Do you have anywhere to stay?" The question in his voice was obvious, and I shook my head. "Sorry, I'm new in town. And I don't have any coin to pay for a night in the inn with." The Soldier looked between Tora and me for a moment, before saying, "I guess I could give-" "Hero-Pon can stay with Tora!"
"Excuse me?"
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30 Minutes later...
"And this is Tora's home!" Tora proclaimed happily as I stared, dumbfounded, at his house. I did NOT plan for this.
'Living with a Main Character might not be the best idea. It could change the future-
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Colony 9
Achoo!
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-Although the only thing I really need to worry about is making sure we save Rex when he shows up, and going with Rex when he leaves. Not much else really matters... This might actually be to my advantage.'
"Thanks for this Tora. But, again, why are you letting me live with you? I'm a stranger, sure I saved you from getting your face punched in, and that makes me a good samaritan, but surely there's another reason for this?" I asked.
I had already gotten my answer to why Tora was letting me live with him, as thanks for helping him, until I could stand on my own two feet. But I had a hard time believing that saving him alone was a good enough reason for this, after all, Poppi was meant to be a secret. He must have an ulterior motive.
Tora's smile turned sheepish... I think... "Meh-Meh. Hero-Pon correct. Tora did have ulterior motive for bringing Hero-Pon here." 'I knew it!' "So. If me saving you wasn't enough, why am I here Tora?" I asked. Tora looked at me, took a deep breath, and spoke, "Tora isn't good in fight. And Tora have big dream! To build something never before seen in world! But Tora is too poor to buy many of the parts, so Tora must scavenge for them. Tora was hoping that Hero-Pon could help protect Tora! So Tora could build Tora's Dream!"
I blinked... That... actually made sense. Tora wasn't a good fighter, he didn't have any kind of training (That I was aware of), and he certainly didn't appear to have a builder's physique. Since Blacksmithing and Engineering were two vastly different things, requiring two different fields of work, Tora wouldn't have built up a Blacksmith's physical strength either. I had displayed a physical prowess and skill far above his (Probably) when I had saved him, and I had done it with good intentions.
"So... in exchange for staying at your place, you want me to act as a bodyguard?" I asked, just to confirm. Tora nodded, "Meh-Meh! Hero-Pon right on money!" I shrugged, and grinned, "Okay, Sure Mate. I'll act as your bodyguard. But before that, do you have any more food? I'm starving!"
And with that, I had a place to live, and my first friend in this new world.
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A Week Later...
"TORA I SWEAR TO GOD!" I roared as I swept up yet another one of his messes. Let me tell you, the little Nopon was messier than a Monkey, or was it a Gonzalez? Anyway, he was messy as all hell. He never cleaned up after himself, left his clothes all over the floor (I swear the ones in the corner had been fermenting), the stains on his kitchen top were probably older than me, and when he ate he left at least a whole other serving on the FLOOR. I had lived in this filth for around two days before my mother's training kicked in and I began to clean the place like a man possessed. It had taken me a whole day of cleaning to do the job, and after putting the fear of God in the little Nopon I had managed to get him to stop making such a mess.
I guess the old saying was true, Never meet your Idols, otherwise you'll end up cleaning their 2 year old Pizza Crusts off the ground with a hammer and chisel. Suffice to say, I had lost any and all idolization of Tora, not that there was much to begin with.
As I ripped the curtain to its side, I got ready to sweep the crumbs away, but instead I was met with a... strange yet familiar sight. The room in front of me was... clean! Well actually, not really, but there was no food, no clothes, no trash, nothing! What there was, was tons of metal, strange devices, and other things all around. It looked like a small hurricane had come in, and absolutely ripped through what was Tora's Workshop.
But what drew my eye the most, was the figure in front of me.
Poppi Alpha.
The Artificial Blade looked almost complete, with the exception of the framing on her right forearm, those spikes that come out of her head, and the sheet metal on her left leg. Poppi was complete. As I walked closer to her, I noted that she would've stood barely above my waist. She was the height of a child, which I guessed made sense, since each of her forms represented the three primary stages of a human's life. Childhood, Teenager, and Adulthood. If I had to guess, I would put Poppi Alpha's age at around 10.
Now, I stood right in front of the Artificial Blade. And as I looked at her face, a thought occurred to me. That soon, this very blade, who, for now was a lifeless statue, would battle against demigod's, and be instrumental in the fate of this world. It was so hard to imagine that this little, unassuming girl, and the small Nopon Tora, would one day team up to save the world. It was even harder to picture Tora as the genius that built Origin in Xenoblade 3.
I was living with a legend, a hero beyond anything that my world had ever seen, or would ever see, with one exception, and he didn't even reach my waist. In fact, if everything went to plan, I would journey with over ten heroes, each of similar stature. How could I measure up to them? Could I even measure up to them?
I had told Tora that I wished to become a Driver, so that I could help others, Save others. But was that all? I wanted Power, Fame, Strength, and so much more. I wanted the earth to crumble beneath my power, I wanted the might that the mythological gods were said to have. Did that make me a terrible person? A Thirst to stand at the top? To prove myself as the Alpha Predator, the One Above All? To fight every Monster in my way, like a savage, until I stood at the pinnacle of all races?
Perhaps it didn't matter, maybe my desire to save others, to make people happy was enough. But, I wasn't like Rex, I wasn't the Main Protagonist, I couldn't be belittled by the people and still fight for them. If Rex was called a Monster, he would still fight for everyone, but if I was called a Monster, If the world called me a villain, then I would stop fighting.
"Meh-Meh?! What is Hero-Pon doing?!"
Jumping, I turned around and saw a shocked Tora staring at me, his little wing's flapping around erratically. "Uh... Shit... Hi Tora. How you doing?" I asked awkwardly, as Tora just stared at me. "Why did Hero-Pon move curtain? Tora asked Hero-Pon not to do that!" Tora said. Inhaling through an awkward smile, I moved forward, and out of Tora's workshop. "Sorry Tora, I just... Forgot. I was cleaning and I didn't realise until it was too late." Tora sighed, moving forwards he entered his workshop and looked at Poppi. "Might I ask. What is it?" I asked. As, while I already knew precisely what Poppi was, Tora didn't know that I knew. He didn't know who, and what I was.
Tora sighed, "It is dream of Tora." He answered. "Your... Dream?" I asked slowly. Tora nodded, before speaking in a slow, almost wishful tone "Meh-Meh. It is Tora's Dream to create world's first artificial blade. Artifical Blade is Tora's dream. Something Tora, Tora's daddy-pon, and grampy-pon all share. But... Tora is not always sure it is possible." My eyes widened at Tora's words. I already knew a good chunk of what Tora had said, but his doubt was something new, or at least, his doubt at Poppi working.
"Tora. I know I might not know a lot about engineering. But I can tell you this." I said, as I walked forwards, crouching down and putting my hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eye. "I have absolute faith that this Artifical Blade will work. Your dream is possible. And if it isn't? Just make it possible. What's impossible today, is tomorrow's preschool lesson. That is the truth of the world." Tora looked at me, and smiled, "Hero-Pon might not show it. But Hero-Pon is smart."
I pulled back in mock hurt, holding my hand over my heart, "You doubt my intelligence Tora? You wound me!" Tora chuckled, and as I stood up, I made to move to the kitchen and fix up some dinner (Pro-Tip, Do NOT eat Nopon Pasta.) when a blue glow stopped me. Slowly, I turned around and my eyes widened immensely when I saw what was in Tora's outstretched paws.
A Core Crystal.
Just like in the game, the Core Crystal was glowing a bright blue, it had a unique shape, unlike any traditional object, eight major sides each shaped like a triangle, and four smaller sides, each shaped like a square. It had ridges, lines in some places, breaking up the otherwise smooth surface. It had an ethereal presence, one that was unlike anything I had ever felt before.
I almost felt like... I could sense its presence. Almost like a dull ringing at the base of my skull, I couldn't quite process what I was seeing.
"Tora... did you...?" I asked, slowly approaching Tora and the core Crystal. Tora nodded, a bright smile across his face. "Tora saved up for friend Hero-Pon." I blinked, and carefully took the Core Crystal from Tora's paws. "Do you know..." I trailed off, enraptured by the Core Crystal's beauty. Tora shook his head, "Tora bought Rare Crystal. 2,500 Gold. Friend Hero-Pon said he wanted to be Driver. So Tora saved up. Tora does not know who friend Hero-Pon will summon. But Tora knows that Friend Hero-Pon can summon a blade."
As I slowly lifted up the core crystal, a thought occurred to me. "Tora. How exactly do I... awaken a blade?" Sue me if the game never taught me anything about the actual awakening other than touching the core crystal and bringing it to your chest. Clearly, just touching it wasn't enough. Tora frowned, "Tora admits that Tora does not know how to awaken Blade. Tora guess, go with gut?" I nodded, and brought my other hand up to the Core Crystal. Closing my eyes, I focused, imagining myself bonding with the core crystal. After a moment, I imagined a bond forming between us, a link, of Ether, of Emotion. A connection of life.
Nothing Happened.
Opening an eye, I looked at Tora, "Is this supposed to happen... or...?" Tora blinked, frowned, and said. "Maybe friend do it wrong?" Slowly a dread began to creep into my blood, a horrible feeling. I tried many stances, everything from the Kamehameha to Link getting a new item, I tried pouring my heart into it, I tried holding it to my literal chest, but nothing worked. I even licked the damn thing to see if that did anything, but nothing worked.
"Tora... why can't I summon a blade?" I asked hollowly, staring blankly at the core crystal that I couldn't awaken.
I knew it. I wasn't cut out for being a hero. I couldn't fight alongside Rex and the Aegis Team. I couldn't be some legend. I was only human. I wasn't meant to be here, never was. I was lucky to be here at all, who was I kidding by thinking that I could be someone important? Someone worth Rex's time. Someone worth anyone's time? I wasn't supposed to be here, I didn't belong here. I didn't belong anywhere. I was destined to be alone.
"Tora doesn't understand. Friend Hero-Pon should be able to summon Blade! Hero-Pon checked all boxes!" Even Tora was concerned now, his voice hinting at a hidden fear and horror. "Tora, why can't I summon a Blade? Do I have no aptitude? Am I not Good enough?" I asked fearfully, I didn't move, all I did was stare at the Core Crystal in my hand, as my future, my dreams all came crashing down around me. Tora shook his head violently, "Tora's Friend definitely have aptitude! And even if not. Hero-Pon should show reaction!"
As Tora continued to talk, to mutter and theorise, all I could do was stare, as tears slowly began to form in my eyes, and my throat began to ache, my Chest constrict, and my arms shake.
Because I wasn't good enough. I couldn't summon a blade.
I had failed.
I was powerless. As I always was.