"W-Wait! You guys…" A young boy with ruffled black hair called out while panting heavily.
"You're too slow, Yuno! You too, Asta! Hahaha…" The dark-skinned boy ahead with an afro laughed audibly.
"You are pushing! That's cheating, Kojo!" Asta screamed as he tried to catch up, but Kojo just laughed louder in response.
"W-Wait—"
Suddenly, there was a resounding thud at the back. Yuno had missed a step and fell flat on his face.
Seeing this, Asta and Kojo stopped and ran back to help.
"Yuno! Are you okay?!" Asta screamed.
The calm young boy raised his head, trying his best to keep the tears already forming in the corners of his eyes from pouring.
"Come on, Yuno…" Asta said as he stretched his hand out.
'Asta…' Yuno thought, then smiled lightly and took Asta's hand.
After Asta helped him up, Kojo walked forward and dusted the dirt off Yuno's trousers and shirt.
"Why do you always fall so easily?" Kojo voiced with a smirk.
And seeing Yuno clean his eyes, Asta added, "Sheesh. You're such a crybaby sometimes, Yuno."
"I know…" Yuno tearfully concurred.
"Asta, don't say that. Yuno is quite strong too," Kojo said and put an arm over Yuno's shoulders.
"Hmm, okay." Asta smiled and continued, "But don't worry, Yuno. You're going to be okay. You know we'll always have your back, right?"
Yuno cleaned his tears and nodded. "Yeah."
"Okay guys, let's get going then," Kojo said and quickly ran ahead, giving himself a head start.
"Hey! You're cheating again! You didn't wait for us," Asta screamed and grabbed Yuno's hand. "Come on, Yuno. Everyone's waiting at the top!"
Holding Asta's hand, Yuno wore a bright smile as they ran up the hill.
…
Sometime later, the sounds of creaking crickets and ruffling leaves filled the area while the gentle breeze carried flowers and white pollen into the air.
Asta, Yuno, and Kojo sat with Sister Lily and Recca under a massive tree, basking in the shade. Sister Lily held the new infant, Nash. Meanwhile, Recca rested her back on the tree and was fast asleep.
"This bread is yummy, but…" Yuno said in a muffled voice, and swallowed before adding, "...it's a bit hard."
"I wonder if it was made to be eaten or used as a brick," Kojo said and bit hard into the bread. He felt as though his teeth couldn't handle it and would crack, but he managed to chomp off a bite and eat it.
"Amazing, Sister Lily," Asta praised as he struggled to bite into the bread. "You're the best cook and greatest baker ever!"
"Oh boy, here we go again…" Kojo whispered.
Asta turned to Sister Lily and voiced, "When I grow up, will you marry me and cook for me?"
Sister Lily looked at him smugly and replied, "Actually, Father's the one who baked those. Would you like to marry him?"
"Pfft~" Kojo stifled a laugh while Asta's expression fell.
"No! He's gross!" Asta screamed, throwing a fit. "I want to marry you, Sister! Not some old man! Marry! Marry! Marry! Me! Marry! Marry! Marry! Me!"
Sister Lily just raised her grimoire with her free right hand and Asta immediately behaved himself.
"Very good, Asta," she said.
Yuno finished his bread, sat with his arms folded above his knees, and said, "I'm telling you, Asta. It'll never work. She can't marry. Sister is, um… a woman of the cloth."
Kojo chuckled and laid back on the grass, having finished his loaf.
"Don't listen to Yuno, Asta. You'll never know. Don't let something like Sister's principles stop you from marrying her," he sarcastically said and laughed again.
Asta turned to Yuno and Kojo, screaming, "Exactly! I'm not giving up! I'll keep asking her till I'm old and gray, no matter what! She'll say yes eventually."
Kojo laughed audibly while Yuno just sighed and said, "Well, good luck."
Suddenly, however, Kojo froze mid-laugh and quickly sat up, looking about the area in an alert manner.
'...We can catch the gay…' A stark memory surfaced in his head, brought about by Asta's words as they rhymed. He loved saying that phrase before.
"Kojo, what's wrong?" Sister Lily worriedly asked while Asta and Yuno looked at him with similar expressions.
"I remember… mom and dad…" Kojo muttered and raised his hand to look at it, utterly shocked that he was really alive.
'I-I can't remember their faces… I can't remember their faces! And… And I died…'
He felt a liquid drop on his shirt and realized that he was already crying heavily.
Asta quickly went over to him and patted him on the back. "Woah, I can't remember my mom or dad, but you can. That's a good thing! But don't worry, Kojo. You'll be fine. Father, Sister, Yuno, Recca, Nash, and me… we're your family now, right, Yuno?"
Yuno fiercely nodded. "Yeah."
Kojo heard them, nodded too, and cleaned his tears.
'I don't know how it happened, but I'm now in Black Clover,' he thought, reminiscing on the things that had happened so far. He realized he just attained true consciousness. Previously, he had glimpses of his past life (which actually made him a bit brighter than Asta and Yuno in regards to their age), but he never thought much of it until now.
"I think this is the first time I've seen you cry, Kojo," Yuno said.
And Asta agreed, "It's true!"
Sister Lily just looked at the three boys and smiled.
"Asta… Yuno…" Kojo voiced in melancholy, consciously realizing that his heroes were right beside him. But then, something weird happened.
"Um… do you guys see that?" he asked, wearing a confused expression and pointing at the sky.
Asta, Yuno, and Sister Lily looked up to where he pointed, but there was nothing there.
"What's up there, Kojo?" Asta asked.
"I just see the sky," Yuno said.
"What is it, Kojo?" Sister Lily asked.
However, Kojo stared dumbfoundedly at the three large floating cards before him. The first one was a plain white card covered in mist, the second was a red card with intricate black markings on its back, and the third was a black card that looked like the air surrounding it was boiling.
The first card floated down to his face. To the others, Kojo looked dazed, staring blankly ahead.
He extended his hand out, but before he could touch it, it condensed into a white ball of light and entered his forehead!
"Kojo, what's wrong?" Asta worriedly asked, but Kojo suddenly stood up.
"I-I see it now," he said and went over to Sister Lily.
"Kojo?" Sister Lily called out but he simply touched her shoulder and tightened his fist.
He stretched his hand forward and opened his palm. Lo and behold, with a swoosh sound, tiny droplets of water appeared out of thin air and condensed into each other repeatedly, forming a growing and spinning ball of water!
Sister Lily's eyes were wide agape, same with Yuno, while Asta had a wide smile creeping up his face.
Phew… Poof!
Kojo shot the small water ball forward and it traveled a short distance before exploding!
"How did you do that?" Sister Lily asked, still shocked.
"Woah! Kojo! Your magic! That's so cool!" Asta screamed joyously and went to Kojo's side.
Yuno was already standing, looking at Kojo expectantly. "You copy other people's magic?"
Kojo looked at his hand and wore a proud grin. "I'm amazing," he simply said.
"Woah! I can't wait to get my magic! Let's see who's cooler!" Asta screamed.
'Asta doesn't have magic,' Kojo remembered, but folded his arms and smugly said, "I'll always be cooler than you, Asta."
Just then, Kojo looked at where the other two floating cards were, but they were gone.
…
"And so, a deep, cold, and seemingly endless darkness covered the world. It was on the brink of being destroyed by a ruthless demon…" Sister Lily narrated and flipped to the next page of the book she held.
"That demon's a jerk! He's not gonna get away with that," Asta screamed.
"...But then, one brave mage stepped forward. The brave mage fought the demon to bring dawn back to the world…"
Yuno had his ears covered, looking away with tears at the corners of his eyes already. While Kojo, on the other hand, sat upside down beside Sister Lily, with his legs on the top of the pew and his head hanging down.
"...Finally, he defeated the foul creature. And when he was finished, the world was a brighter place than it had ever been before. The long, long night had ended at last, because the mage had brought dawn to the world…"
Asta sprung up and screamed, "Hurray! Ahahaha… Mm?"
Asta was surprised to see Yuno suddenly stop crying and wear an expectant look, staring hopefully at the book in Sister Lily's hands.
Kojo had his hands propping his head up, but he raised an eyebrow at Yuno's reaction.
Sister Lily flipped over to the next page and continued, "...The triumphant mage was hailed as the Wizard King, and his story became a legend…"
Asta and Yuno both recited in awe, "Wow, the Wizard King," while Kojo just glanced at them, not really caring about that.
"...And they lived happily ever after," Sister Lily said and closed the book.