Chapter 14: The Black Flame
Aurelius watched Meliodas vomit onto the stone floor yet again, calmly lifting his teacup as a faint chuckle escaped him.
Young ones are always so impatient, he thought as he took a slow sip.
With a brief, effortless thought, he summoned his familiar. The ash-cloaked presence emerged silently, drifting forward to clean the mess with practiced ease. Another thought, and it dispersed just as quietly.
Aurelius studied Meliodas more closely now. He could see it clearly the irritation building beneath the boy’s exhaustion, a faint smile formed at the corner of his lips.
He turned his attention back to his book, resuming his light reading as he thought that nothing was amiss. By tomorrow, he’ll stop passing out from the sensation, Aurelius mused. Two days, perhaps three, and his recovery should be complete.
He lifted his teacup again.
Then paused.
Something tickled against his senses.
Aurelius lowered the cup slowly, his expression sharpening as his gaze snapped back to Meliodas, a faint sensation rippled through the room, it was wrong and unmistakable.
“No…” he murmured under his breath. “He wouldn’t.”
But the signs were already there.
Meliodas’ aura began to collapse inward, thinning rapidly as his body started to shake violently. His presence grew fainter by the second, even as his skin began to glow with that dreadful, familiar ice-blue light.
Aurelius didn’t hesitate.
He surged forward, his weakened body protesting violently at the sudden movement. His knees nearly gave in, pain flashing through him, but he forced himself onward.
“Damn it, child…”
Aurelius placed a hand against the boy’s back and focused.
His aura manifested at once, an ashen gray haze, particles drifting around him like weightless cinders. The ash did not burn, nor did it glow; it simply existed, moving in slow, deliberate currents.
He guided it forward carefully, pushing his aura into Meliodas’ core space.
Aurelius felt it immediately, the student’s core was beginning to unstabilize, Straum leaving his core and body far too fast. Gritting his teeth, he adjusted the flow, gathering the escaping energy as best he could, redirecting it back toward Meliodas, not forcing it, merely guiding it.
That was all it took, Meliodas reacted instinctively.
His core shuddered, then began to pull itself together, fragments knitting back into place under its own will.
Aurelius withdrew sharply.
His eyes snapped open as pain tore through him, sweat breaking across his skin. His body trembled, agony surging through him, especially in his lower abdomen. Aurelius staggered, catching himself beside the student, then slowly lowered himself into a seated position.
Breathing hard, he closed his eyes and began to meditate, focusing inward, stabilizing his own Straum.
“I’m sorry, Meliodas,” he murmured quietly. “I can’t help you any further.”
The world around him fell silent as minutes passed.
When Aurelius finally opened his eyes again, he was exhausted, but stable.
Meliodas lay motionless on the floor. Aurelius felt it then .Fear and creeping dread.
Slowly, he reached out and placed two fingers against the student’s neck.
A heartbeat, faint but steady.
Relief crashed over him all at once, flooding his entire body, easing the pain he had been holding back. His shoulders sagged as he let out a long, shaky breath.
Alive.
Aurelius pushed himself upright with a quiet groan, stretching slowly as lingering pain protested through his body. Once steady, he extended his senses again, carefully this time.
He froze, there was something there.
An odd presence, faint but unmistakable, drifting around the student where nothing should have been. It wasn’t ambient Straum, nor was it Aurelius’ own. It moved… independently.
Aurelius turned his gaze back to Meliodas, shock forming across his face as understanding began to settle.
“No way,” he said aloud.
Meliodas pushed himself upright and glanced around the room.
He froze. The familiar pain that usually greeted him when he woke was gone.
He felt exhausted, so drained he could probably sleep for days, but there was no pain. None at all.
Slowly, he stood and scanned the laboratory. It was empty.
Weird, he thought. Where did the professor go?
He shook his head and made his way to a nearby couch, lowering himself onto it with a tired sigh. For a moment, he just sat there, staring ahead as everything that had happened began to sink in.
He had nearly died.
The memory of the cold, the blur, the way his senses had faded crept back into his mind. His heart began to race, sweat forming along his brow.
Meliodas clenched his fists and shook his head sharply.
“No,” he muttered. “Not thinking about that again.”
After all, he was still alive.
His thoughts drifted back to the dream he just had. It had felt too real, the calm, the black flame… and then the pain.
a moment passed his thoughts lingering. After a bit more thought he exhaled softly.
“Good thing it was only a dream,” he muttered.
Meliodas didn’t bother standing. Instead, he shifted on the couch, crossing his legs and slowing his breathing. Almost immediately, his core space formed.
Clear. Vivid.
He scanned it, then his eyes snapped open.
“No way,” he whispered. “That can’t be real.”He closed his eyes again.
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The image returned unchanged.
He opened them once more, heart starting to race. “I must still be dreaming,” he said quietly. “Yeah… that has to be it.”
“I’m afraid you are not, Student Meliodas.”
The voice made him flinch.
Meliodas turned sharply and saw Professor Aurelius stepping back into the room from what Meliodas assumed was the laboratory’s bathing area. The professor calmly wiped his hands with a handkerchief, his expression unreadable.
the professor sat down in front of meliodas
Meliodas gulped as the professor’s expression shifted, any trace of ease vanishing. Aurelius became utterly serious.
“Do you have any idea what just happened, Student Meliodas?”
“No, Professor,” Meliodas replied honestly. “But… Thank you. For saving my life.”
Aurelius sighed, the sound heavy, as if he no longer had the strength for a proper scolding.
“What you just did,” he said tiredly, “was extremely dangerous, as you might already be aware, considering you nearly died.”
He fixed Meliodas with a sharp look.
“I distinctly recall instructing you to slowly absorb the ambient Straum lingering within you. Not to expel it. Not to force it out. Or am I mistaken?”
“No, Professor. You’re correct,” Meliodas said quickly. “I just thought-”
“No,” Aurelius cut in sharply. “No buts, Student. No excuses.”He straightened slightly, his voice low but absolute.
“What you attempted was beyond foolish. Expelling ambient Straum from your body when it was the only energy keeping you alive is not bravery, it is stupidity.”
His eyes narrowed.
“As you should already know, nothing and I mean nothing can survive without energy. For us, and for most intelligent races, that energy is Straum. Remove it completely, and death is inevitable.”
Meliodas opened his mouth to respond. Aurelius raised a finger, he wasn’t finished.
“I also clearly remember telling you,” Aurelius continued, his voice still controlled but edged with irritation, “that your body was in shambles. You were not producing any Straum of your own. The ambient Straum you absorbed was distorting your regeneration entirely.”
His pale eyes hardened.
“If it weren’t for your instincts, and if I may add, an absurd, ridiculous amount of luck you would be dead.”
A brief pause.
“I barely managed to stabilize your nexus. What kept you alive after that was not skill. It was chance.”
Meliodas stared at him, confusion spreading across his face.
The professor held his gaze, his eyes showing that he was growing angier.
His voice rose slightly not in volume, but in pressure.
“Was I not clear enough?” Aurelius asked. “Or what, exactly, is confusing you, Student Meliodas?”
Meliodas shook his head quickly.
“No, Professor. You were very clear.” He hesitated, then continued.
“The problem is… if you didn’t help me beyond stabilizing my nexus then who did?”
Aurelius’ expression flickered.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Meliodas added quickly. “I felt your aura. I know you guided me, and I’m grateful for that. But something else was there.”
His voice lowered. “Something was pushing fire Straum into me.”
The professor studied Meliodas in silence for a long moment.
Then, slowly, Aurelius sighed.
He pressed two fingers to the bridge of his nose before finally speaking.
“Well… it doesn’t surprise me that you don’t understand what happened,” Aurelius said slowly. “Tell me, Student Meliodas, was there something new in your core space when you analyzed it ?”
He paused, eyes narrowing slightly.
“Something small. An orb, perhaps. Orbiting your nexus.”
Meliodas stiffened, startled by the precision of the question.
He didn’t answer. Aurelius let out a quiet breath.
“I’ll take your silence as confirmation.”
Meliodas swallowed.
“What happened,” Aurelius continued, “is that when you expelled the ambient Straum from your body, you also forced out impurities that bounded to it as it left your body.”
The black, glue-like substance, Meliodas realized.
Aurelius’ gaze hardened.
“Let me be perfectly clear,” he said. “That process should have killed you. Under normal circumstances, it would not have mattered what was expelled from your body since it should have collapsed regardless.”
He straightened slightly.
“But since you survived,” Aurelius continued, “you accomplished something that should not be possible at your current stage. The purification of impurities is not even attempted until the third stage. Many even delay it until the fourth.”
He looked directly at Meliodas now.
“You only purged minor impurities,” he added. “But even so… that will benefit your future growth considerably.”
Meliodas nodded slowly, still processing it all.
The professor continued, his tone now measured.
“That phenomenon itself was… expected,” he said. “What should not have happened is that those impurities then coalesced into a familiar. Frankly-” he paused, exhaling through his nose, “-it is ridiculous.”
Meliodas stared at him, stunned.
Silence stretched between them as Aurelius clearly thought through the implications. Then Meliodas spoke, voice barely above a whisper.
“I… have a familiar?”
“Yes,” Aurelius replied without hesitation. “That appears to be the case.”
He turned slightly, recalling the moment.
“While you were unconscious, your aura suddenly manifested. But instead of your usual orange flame, it became a chaotic blend of black and orange fire. Then it vanished entirely.”
His eyes narrowed as they returned to Meliodas.
“That was when I understood what had saved you, and once the conclusion became clear…” he shook his head faintly. “I will admit, student, you gave me quite a shock.”
Meliodas sat there, still trying to process everything. He looked back at the professor, disbelief clear on his face.
“Are you sure, Professor?” he asked. “I can’t have a familiar. Aren’t they supposed to be rare? Don’t you usually need a summoning ritual and very specific conditions? It’s just… not probable.”
Aurelius nodded faintly.
“I’m glad you still possess some common sense, student,” he said. “Yes, you are correct. Familiars are rare craetures; even attempting a summoning ritual requires precise conditions, preparation, and aptitude, and even then, the chances of success are low.”
He paused, eyes narrowing slightly as he considered Meliodas more carefully.
“What makes your case even more absurd,” he continued, “is that most familiars obtained through ritual are what we call summoned familiars. They can be called at will once the contract is established, but if the familiar is destroyed, the ritual must be performed again.”
Aurelius leaned back slightly.
“There is, however, a second category. Far rarer.”
Meliodas held his breath.
“Bound familiars,” Aurelius said. “Like my own.”
He gestured vaguely, as if the familiar might appear at any moment.
“These do not come from rituals. They manifest under extremely specific and poorly understood circumstances, this familiares are not summoned.” Aurelius's expression hardened.
“No one truly knows how or why bound familiars form. There are theories, of course,” he scoffed quietly. “But in my opinion, most of them are nonsense.”
Meliodas sat there, struggling to process all the information the professor had just laid on him. After a moment, he looked up.
“What makes bound familiars so special, Professor?” he asked, his curiosity edged with caution.
“Bound familiars exist within their host,” Aurelius replied calmly. “They form a bond, symbiotic in nature. You support them, and they support you.”
He paused, then added more bluntly,
“They cannot truly die. Their true existence is anchored inside you, only if you die will the familiar cease to exist.”
Meliodas stared at him, confused.
“In simpler terms,” Aurelius continued, “your familiar is now a permanent part of you. That is why its nexus exists within your core space.”
Meliodas nodded slowly, absorbing the explanation. Then he asked,
“And… how do I call it, Professor?”
Aurelius’ lips curved faintly.
“Simple. Focus on the familiar’s nexus and call to it,” he said. “Think of it as waking a sleeping pet.”
“May I try it, Professor?” Meliodas asked.
Aurelius’ expression softened, his posture relaxing slightly.
“Now you ask for permission,” he said, a hint of amusement in his voice. “Yes. Go ahead. To be honest, I am quite curious about your familiar’s nature.”
“Well then,” Meliodas said aloud, exhaling slowly. “Here goes nothing.”
He focused inward once more.
His core space unfolded before him, clear and vivid. With a quick glance, he found the strange presence he had noticed before. A small black orb drifted near his nexus, faintly glowing, black flame curling around it.
Meliodas directed his Straum toward it.
He inhaled sharply. The damage was healed, but his reserves were nearly empty. Even so, when his Straum reached for the orb, it reacted instantly, its glow deepening.
Meliodas opened his eyes.
He had expected to see the professor.
Instead, hovering before him, was the black flame from his dream, no longer imagined, no longer distant, but fully manifested in reality. It flickered and danced through the air, circling him with unmistakable excitement, as if thrilled simply to exist.
“Fascinating,” the professor said. “It is rare to see a familiar in an incomplete state.”
Meliodas glanced at him, confusion returning as the black flame hovered near his shoulder.
“Incomplete?” he asked. “What do you mean, Professor?”
“What I mean,” Aurelius replied calmly, “is that while you have formed the bond, you have not yet imprinted yourself upon it. The connection exists, yes, but it has not been finalized.”
The professor paused, considering the flame carefully.
Meliodas spoke next. “So… what do I need to do to complete it?”
“That part is simple,” Aurelius said. “You must actively use your Straum on the familiar. And,” he added after a short pause, “I would strongly suggest naming it too.”
He studied the flame again, clearly intrigued.
“Truly fascinating.” Aurelius spoke in a low voice
Meliodas didn’t respond.
The black flame drifted closer, hovering in front of him. Meliodas slowly raised a finger.
“Are you sure you want me as a partner, little buddy?” he asked quietly. “You still have a chance to back out.”
The flame reacted instantly, darting around in excited loops before drifting toward his hand. From its side, a small arm of dark fire formed and gently touched his fingertip.
Meliodas instinctively released a thread of Straum.
The moment it made contact, the familiar flared brilliantly. Light flooded the room, forcing Meliodas to shield his eyes. The air vibrated softly..
When the glow finally faded, Meliodas lowered his hand and looked at the construct hovering before him, a grin slowly spreading across his face.
“I think,” he said, “I’ll name you—”
Owen.
