An Unwelcome Hero - shadow slave

*What kind of technique does Elbaf even use? Our abilities are so similar, yet I can barely even understand what this tome says, and that doesn't even have anything to do with my illiteracy... Mostly? Maybe it does. Why couldn't I have taken something with pictures or like simpler words from him! Or broken his limbs off and brought him along? I ascended months ago and still haven't made any progress. Am I just dumb or something?

Nah, it must be Elbaf's fake technique. How could I have stolen only a fake method! Maybe I should focus on muscle gain, my fire power isn't becoming stronger any time soon, better to focus on recovery a bit more and just eat and train my body... Should I ingest poison? I bet I can get some kind of cool immunity boost if I eat a lot of poisons! But where CAN I get poison? Maybe I can poison shifty eyes and get her to poison me. That's an idea! Hehe, then when I'm done immunization myself, I can unravel her scheme and get her in trouble! As they say, one bird, two stones!*

Chiron stretched his limbs a bit and stood up to look at his cell. He had eaten a lot over his last 2 days of training and hadn't let the night guards rest until dawn. The poor men and women couldn't even refuse his request or use the standard practice 'convincing' tactics to make him quiet down, as he was technically a war hero and his name had been heavily used in propaganda by the upper echelons of Analand to motivate others.

Many admired Chiron and didn't have the will to refuse or go against him simply because of that and Chiron made sure to get as much from them as possible when he noticed his requests weren't being refused. Luckily for the guards, *come morning and come shifty eyes!*

The ascended Chiron met previously had come back. She had dark circles under her eyes, as she had spent the entire time having to contact and arrange a proper hearing for Chiron. She was more than willing to, but the standard practice rules held her back.

By the laws of Analand, at least one major noble was required to attend any judicial hearing of any and all awakened and official corp members, as only the ruling class had the authority, and the ability to withstand the backlash, to punish individuals with awakened powers. And not all nobles are willing to forgo their sleep... Well, none were willing to, as she spent the entire four days looking and arguing to be given audience and she was denied said audience each time.

She was a rather calm natured woman, with a mild temper and didn't wish to cause problems for the poor civilians given the task to 'guard' the nobles and she could do nothing but leave after setting up the appointment time. Luckily for her, one of the nobles woke up several hours beforehand and the hearing could take place sooner than expected.

Thanks to her hard work, Within the hour, 3 generals had gathered, along with 9 commanders and the temporary district count, who were to oversee Chiron's questioning and make a decision on his fate.

Chiron sat in the court room, as everyone watched him and the count opened up the conversation "I believe none of us here wish to see this war hero be in chains a second longer than necessary, so I suggest we quickly hear his story and pronounce him innocent and welcome him back with a grand feast. I have heard you have even ascended, so I'd like to congratulate you, ascended Chiron of Assai!"

He did a light bow as a show of respect and sat down next to the Generals, while the guards stood behind the 4 very important people and looked at Chiron with nothing but respect, as the tale of how he saved the citizens of Assai had become a legend amongst the entirety of Analand proper!

Chiron sighed, his eyes heavy and much more strained, and said "It isn't a tale of dashing bravery, cunning victory or heroic sacrifice, it is a tale of human viciousness! I had fought with all I could, all of my energy and strength to fight those worms off for an entire bmonth! And I did! Over 5 months of constant fighting, I have killed thousands of those weaklings! But I barely managed to survive. During the first month of the battle, an ascended of Aranai, Elbaf the cowardly, came with his cohort and I never stood a chance! Within a couple seconds, I was down on the ground, waiting for Elbaf's hammer to crush my heart and his hammer struck true."

"He smashed my skull in and I was barely conscious at the time, my heart was torn up, but whole enough! I used my ability to forcefully mend it and that's when it happened! I don't know why, but that one moment was enough to help me awaken once again. My power exploded and I moved at speed beyond my comprehension! My heart beat ever fast, as I killed his gremlin of a rogue and then I ambushed the fire woman and killer her as well. Then our fight evolved into a brawl between me and Elbaf himself! The other two awakened couldn't do anything and I managed to catch their archer off guard by overusing my ability and killed him as well!"

"It was supposed to be a glorious victory, but the coward known as Elbaf ordered his men to attack and he retreated like the turtle he is! I fought his men for months and when they thought I had finally died of exhaustion, I made my escape! I spent the rest of the time recovering, training my ability and went back for revenge, killing some of his men, before I heard word of Analand's plight and rushed back from my righteous crusade! *Plus, I wanted a break to recover, my muscles and dead and my skeleton is f*cked!*"

The generals nodded in acknowledgment as the commanders all unanimously raised their right hands to signal not guilty. This was all just a formality, nothing more, as not a single one of them could claim even a a small percentage of Chiron's achievements. Killing thousands of enemy soldiers and civilians, their high tier combat power and even several awakened. If Chiron couldn't be trusted by Analand, then every citizen could basically be classified as a spy.

They all raised their hands, 2 of the generals and the count, who had tears in his eyes as he listened to the story. But one woman with sharp eyes stood up and the entire room stared at her, not understanding what was going on.

"Chiron, I want to ask some questions regarding your story. You see, I have a special ability, that allows me to see a person's true self and you are not a clean man, so forgive me for not trusting you completely. Now, would you kindly answer some of my questions?"

Chiron nodded with a frown "*Can she tell lies from truth?! What a great ability! With her Analand will forever be safe from those intending to harm her!* Ask away. I have nothing to hide from such a respectable gallery."