Prologue - Reborn and Abandoned

POV - ??? (3rd Person)

Suddenly, two cloaked figures appeared at the bottom of a mountain trail. The rain that had been dropping in the area around them was pushed away by an invisible and silent shockwave. While their identities were hidden by their cloaks, their genders were not.

The taller of the two was obviously a male and while his physique was slender and somewhat frail-looking, he exuded an invisible pressure. His face was obscured by the hood he had up and his hands were covered by the leather gloves he was wearing but it was easy to see his skin was quite pale by the way the sparse bare skin he showed contrasted so sharply with the black cloak and gloves he was wearing.

The shorter one, however, seemed to be the actual powerhouse of the two. The rain actually curved away from her like her very existence was repulsive to the falling rain, and unlike the man who seemed to be exerting himself to stopping the rain and the wind, the woman seemed to be doing it subconsciously without even trying.

Instead, her attention was focused at the small child she had wrapped up in a similar cloak to her own. It wasn't clear because of her hooded cloak but she was currently frowning as she looked down at the bright green eyes of the child she'd given birth to. Her maternal instincts begged her to not do what she was about to do but all it took was one look at the child's face and her rational mind squashed any complaints her instincts as a mother had.

A markless child. A child who couldn't perform their magic. What need could such a child have in their family? Even if the child could use Mana he could be kept around as a servant or she could at least use his semblance of usefulness in the negotiation to keep him. Given he had enough talent.

But no. The child didn't even have that. He was a cripple who couldn't retain Mana. It seeped out of his body like his body was not a container but instead a sieve.

And to make matters worse, he had no talent in any type of magic. Even the types that can be cast without an internal mana supply. Such a talentless person was born to the only family that cared about Magic talent more than anything. Fate is a cruel mistress and destiny's a bitch...but that's how life plays out sometimes.

The woman, the mother who was about to abandon her child, looked at her child with eyes that were slowly dulling. This hadn't been her choice. She didn't want it. She hated it. She felt like a piece of her was dying. And in a way, it was.

But the child in her arms only looked up at her. His green eyes were so...sharp. Just meeting eyes with the child hurt her emotionally and mentally. But most of all it made her feel an immeasurable guilt.

The child didn't cry. It didn't scream it's lungs out at the betrayal it could no doubt sense was coming. No. It just looked at her.

The man walked forward and the woman, hoping for a distraction away from the child looking at her with judgment beyond his physical age, she followed the leading man. They walked and they walked up the mountain steps until they finally arrived at the flat peak of the mountain. The air was incredibly thin here and the woman could hear the child struggling to breathe...but she carried on carrying the child toward the compound she could see.

Here, her child could live peacefully. These Monks are renowned for staying out of conflicts and their strength is decently strong enough to repel most Supernatural creatures.

Looking down at the child, despite the breathing problems, he was still just looking at her with his sharp green eyes. Her gaze snapped away from his as if she'd touched a red hot branding iron by looking at him and she continued walking.

When the two cloaked figures arrived in front of the gates, the woman took a step forward and placed the child on the ground in front of the gates before turning away and speaking for the first time since they'd arrived on the mountains, "...Give him a name and knock the gate doors. I'll be leaving first," she said, her voice unimaginably hollow and without any energy in it.

Then she disappeared with another invisible and silent shockwave that threw the surrounding rain and wind into chaos.

The slender man left alone smirked before waving his hand and a piece of wood appeared in his hand, "Giving trash a name? What petty sentiment my sister has...Though as your uncle, I should show a bit of care, right?" the man fiddled with his hood and brought it back just enough for his unnaturally pale face and dull black eyes to be seen. What could also be seen were two lines going down his cheeks and starting from his bottom eyelids and ending once they reached his jawline.

The man lifted his finger and flicked it about a few times above the wood in his other hand before turning it around and showing the child who looked curiously at the man.

The wooden sign showed the characters for the word 'Ban' and pretty much meant 'Barbarian' when those certain characters were used in Japanese, "This should be fitting enough for a human who can't use magic, right? Only barbarians rely on hitting things with their fists," the man sneered before placing the wood next to the child and standing up, "...Though before I leave, I should leave you with a gift from your uncle, no?" the man tilted his head and his dull black eyes gained a sadistic and manic light to them.

He lifted his foot and placed it above where the child's head was, "I'll make sure to heal enough of the damage that you won't die...so don't worry too much, nephew," he said this, hoping to gain some form of reaction as he directed his harsh intent at the child. Most children would've already been crying...but this green-eyed child just stared at him.

This pissed the pale man off and he was about to slam his foot down when he heard a voice, "Oh? There's a poor child out here all alone?" the voice was booming and deep and the pale man looked toward the gate only to see a giant of a man now standing there.

The pale man instantly flashed away and magic circles appeared all around him. Why? His instincts were screaming that the person in front of him could kill him.

The man, like mentioned before, was a giant and covered in thick muscle. Despite obviously being of old age, the monk had remarkably less wrinkles than someone his age and his snow white beard was very indicative of his age. And despite this advanced age, he still gave off a very vigorous aura. A very strong aura, as well.

The man also seemed to be blind, given by the blacked out glasses he wore but that didn't stop him from walking through the rain and toward the child and bending down to pick it up.

All while ignoring the pale man's existence.

"We've brought a piece of trash for you to take care of. It's the only thing you monks are good--" the pale man tried to speak but it all fell on deaf ears. Not literally, no, the giant monk had very keen hearing:

He just ignored the pale man and reached out to pick up the child. His hand brushed against the wood as he picked the child up and supporting the child with one arm - his forearm was big enough to support the child easily - he picked up the piece of wood before tracing the characters with his thumb, "...Ban? As in Barbarian?" the giant monk mused to himself before smiling wide and letting out a booming laugh, "Bwahahahahaha! You better grow up strong to have such a manly name!"

The pale man was growing tired of being ignored and the giant monks seemed to sense this and looked up until he was looking directly at the man. Despite the monk's obvious blindness, the man felt like he was being stared at by some sort of wild beast, "...I'll take care of this kid, so get lost. You marked Magicians piss me off," he said before he turned around and entering the gate and closing it.

The pale man was left gritting his teeth at what the old monk had said but he knew there was nothing he could do:

The monks and their mountains are neutral ground and if he were to attack them out of something as simple as an insult...there's no telling how much he'd have to pay for such a mistake. No matter how good it would make him feel to wipe that monk off the face of the Earth, it would be short term enjoyment. The rest of his life, however, would be hell.

And so, the man turned away from the compound and waved his hand, the magical circles surrounding him disappearing and another coming into existence beneath his feet. He wasn't as talented as his sister and couldn't teleport near-instantly like her...but this was good enough.

With another invisible and silent shockwave, the pale man was gone.