Because crushing hopes and dreams gives meaning to my life here's more sadz :)

I haz slightly broken through my blockage...unfortunately its the last day of my free days so...ain't that a kick in the ballz.

ALSO: Keep in mind his mental age...30+ (and his physical appearance (10yrs old))

ALSO#2: Happiness and Rainbows will follow...just stay strong for a while longer *snifflz*

Chapter Thirty One - The Great Made Low

*** Almighty Narrator ***

“My lady! My lady!” a panicked maidservant rushed through the manor entering the room where the princess was currently in a meeting with the first prince Bastion and some nobles from varying countries.

“Calm yourself maid!” a man stood, he was a noble from a small country. “What is the meaning of this outburst!”

“My apologize my lords and lady,” the maid huffed trembling as she bowed respectfully. “My lady, my prince, your son...he’s here.”

“Is he now?” Bastion raised a brow confused, it was well known that the relationship between the family and the second prince Leo had deteriorated, but his visit did not warrant such...a display.

“He...he is unwell,” the maid announced.

“Unwell? How?” Princess Gianna’s eyes grew wide. “Where is my son?”

“He’s being brought in on a litter,” the maid replied. “Head butler Gerald is having him moved to the infirmary. The little one known as Sophia is with him as well as princess Eleanor and a host of Teacher Mages from the academy.”

The First prince and First princess left the room and rushed towards the infirmary after apologizing to the noble lords present. Ulrick, Bastion’s right hand man, remained behind to quell the anger of the lords and promise them a better date for the continuation of their discussion regarding some trade and other political matters.

Princess Gianna was the first to enter the room where her boy had been moved to, the first thing she noticed was that Eleanor was there holding her son’s hand. The little still loved him. On his other side was the girl she knew nothing about, a secret her son had kept from her. One of thousands of secrets, but seeing her here reminded her that she knew next to nothing about her own son.

Her eyes shifted away from the girls towards her baby boy. There he was, finally within reach after so many months apart.

The first thing she noticed was his black hair, it was sprinkled with white tendrils here and there giving him a look like his hair was burning black and white. The second thing she noticed was his lack of overwhelming presence, even in his sleep he always emanated a strong and indomitable presence, yet now she could feel none of it.

Bastion, who had no real relationship with his son, was only surprised to find the change in his appearance.

“What is wrong with him?” Princess Gianna asked the host of Teacher Mages.

A pudgy woman with rosy cheeks, pale skin, and long dark blonde hair responded, she was the Teacher Mage Norma. “We were in the lower tunnels, in a chamber recently discovered. We had just examined some ancient runes in a vast chamber, your son was called to help as we were made aware that he has a vast knowledge of runic magic. When he was done helping us he remained while the rest of us headed up to the surface. A few hours later the elf child came to us asking for help. We found prince Leo unconscious and changed like he is now.”

“Sophia what happened to Leo,” the mother princess turned towards the young frightened child.

“He...he was touching the seal of light and darkness,” the little girl responded tears welling in her eyes. “The seal trapped him and no matter what he did he couldn’t pull free. He told me to go, he was going to destroy it...bu...but he...it didn’t do anything to it. The seal swallowed him then threw him out. He...he’s got no mana!”

The girl began to cry earnestly.

“How can you be sure?” Princess Gianna comforted the girl. “Maybe...maybe he’s just exhausted most of his power...it will come back.”

The little girl turned towards the mother of the boy she held most dear in her heart and lifted the hand decorated with five powerful rings.

“I am an elemental earth user,” a ring with the symbol of earth lit. The usually panicked little elf was gone, in its place was one with resolve and mental fortitude, she had to be strong now to protect the one most dear to her. “These are gifts from Papi, the Lunar Rings, each controls one element at its elemental height. I am not a multiple elemental user, Papi is a quintuple elemental user, to use the other rings I draw his elemental nature into them.”

Sophia poured mana causing a visible ripple as it fed the fire ring, it remained dull.

“He cannot give me what he does not have,” she said solemnly.

“Maybe…,maybe it’s broken,” Eleanor suggested.

Sophia took one of Leo’s hand to remove the fire ring as he was the only one who could do so and motioned for the girl to take it.

Eleanor reached over and placed it over her finger, instantly the ring activated covering her body in bright elemental flame, it did not heat the room nor scorch the floor.

Sophia took another ring off and offered it to Princess Gianna, her affinity was light, this was something Leo had told her long ago while explaining affinities. As soon as the First Princess placed the ring on her pinky finger, the only finger on which the ring would fit, life magic began to bleed and penetrate everything around her.

Sophia took the rings back and then gave them both rings that they had no affinity with, the rings remained dull no matter the amount of mana they poured into them.

There was no denying it now, the greatest magical titan born in the world was reduced to a mere mortal. Stripped of his power, he was at risk of being stripped of his standing in the government of Boraia. His many actions have caused dissent among the lords of the motherland, should they ever learn of his weakness, surely they would exploit it.

A week would pass by before Leo would wake again.

--- ---

Having been stripped of his might Leo had fallen into a hollowed stupor.

In his old world he had sometimes drowned his loneliness in the numbness of a drunkard, he had lived an awkward social life. He was never good with people though he was always surrounded by family and family friends, but he had been close to no one. His last friend, he did not count superficial friends only those who would stick with you thick and thin, had moved away to attend a good college. He had encouraged that friend to go, no point in wasting away your life if you were willing to do something with it.

He had been barely twenty then and it had left him in deep solitude, as soon as he turned twenty one he barely knew a week without getting drunk once or twice.

That malicious habit crawled over to this world now, he desired escape not from loneliness but from weakness.

The wine cellars were stocked with good wine and while he was powerless, being a ghost was a natural gift. He would steal away several bottles and hide himself away to wallow in his oblivion.

He would hide himself away from even Sophia.

He could not bear the blows his ego might take knowing that the one he took care of most was now magnitudes more powerful than he. It hurt his pride to know that he was reduced to less than the bugs he had stomped so long ago to save little Sophia.

Dark thoughts entered his mind as he wished for oblivion.

The world was always cruel to him, now it was outright bastardous.

He thought his luck had changed in this world, in his old world he had been nothing, here since the very beginning he had been someone since birth. No, the world had been simply giving him a taste of what it was to be at the top before thrusting him down to the lowest of the low.

When he wasn’t drunk or drinking he found himself trying to bury himself in his work as he would attempt to think only of what he once considered important.

Only his work kept him from going over the edge.