《Phantasmic Light》


 Chapter 0: Prologue

    What happens when the government that promised to protect you oppresses you instead? The king who forces death onto his own people. The officials that represent the people use them as tools instead. I¡¯m here to tell you that there is no other solution other than to purge that kind of government. There is no hope for reform once corruption has enveloped the core of what made the country strong.


    Welcome to the Kingdom of Justitia. A land where a benevolent king once ruled over his subjects, and a place that it¡¯s populace could safely call home. People were kind and enjoyed their lives. Not a trace of that place remains in this cold desolate country where the citizens are treated as either beggars or soldiers, there¡¯s not much in between. The largest military power in the world was Justitia, and that was because at the age of 13 children would form a contract with a mythical beast that chose to bestow itself and its power upon that child. Nobody really knows exactly why 13 is the age that contracts are bestowed, its simply the way it has been. The real reason was lost to time.


    The contract would be formed with a beast from the spirit realm, a place where all the beasts lived in with relative ease. There was little fighting and therefore little room for growth outside their original strength. If the child¡¯s contract was deemed worthless, they would be forced into poverty, otherwise they were sent off for military training. The stronger the contracted beast the higher that child would go.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Other countries did have the contracted beasts, but the soldiers of Justitia were conditioned to live to fight. Even if it was for their homeland, soldiers would be easily be overwhelmed by those who disregard their lives and only survive on bloodshed.


    A country that was once great and kind has been degraded by time. Now the only thing valued by this country is power and money. The greed of nobles and royalty knows no bound. I have nothing but disgust for these types of people.


    The way Justitia controlled the masses was through religion and strength. The government preached the power of the royal family, who were blessed by the gods with the power of light. Whether the gods actually condoned this kind of behavior with the treatment of the citizens that are suppose to be protected is beyond my comprehension. I don¡¯t care about the gods if they support this way of life. I, Noctis Lucifer, will destroy the fabrics of this world to bring about a new era. If an army stands in my way, I will cut them down. If the king stands in my way I will kill the king. If the gods stand in my way, I will bring about the fall of heaven.

 Chapter 1: Boy

    I woke up to the sound of a raven calling out to it¡¯s kin. Today, March 20th, I turned 13, which means that I was either going to be a soldier or I was going to be a slave for the rest of my unfortunate life. I get up from my makeshift straw bed, which is extremely uncomfortable, and get dressed and ready for the contracting ceremony.


    I make sure that I look presentable as to not be an embarrassment to my master who will no doubt take it out on me if he¡¯s shamed in public because of me. I look in the mirror to find the same bitter reminders that my parents aren¡¯t around anymore. My silver hair from my mom and my arctic blue eyes from my dad. Neither of which were common features around this hellish country. And my skin is more tan than most of the residents here, but that¡¯s because I spend most of my days outside doing manual labor and has nothing to do with my heritage. I look mature for my age, being that I¡¯m around 3 to 4 inches taller than the average adult male. Although my childish face hasn¡¯t quite yet disappeared. Basically I¡¯m a tall kid with weird hair and eyes.


    ¡°Boy, if we¡¯re late because of you, I¡¯ll beat you within an inch of your life!¡± The harsh voice echoed from outside. It belonged to my master, who had an extremely short temper. Today was very important to him as well as me. If I had a contract that was decent, he could sell me to the military for a pretty penny.


    I walk out of the slave quarters and look at my hand, where a brutish symbol was burned onto my skin. It looked like a giant X With AL ontop of it, which signalled I belonged to my master, Aaron Levy.


    ¡°Boy, you¡¯d best hurry up unless you want me to whip you again.¡± He impatiently snarled at me, to which I replied quickly ¡°I¡¯m here.¡±


    After that he smacked my across the face and then started to head toward the ceremony. I didn¡¯t do anything wrong, but I¡¯m not surprised anymore. It didn¡¯t hurt, and it didn¡¯t leave a mark either.


    As we walk, I feel disgusted at everything I see. Poverty was a plague in Justitia. Those who weren¡¯t soldiers or nobles were afflicted by it. Children are begging for money so they have something to eat. Women who were assaulted crying where there was little light. Corpses that have been there for days collected flies and maggots. There was no justice in this place, there was nothing that assured the people they were safe. Only the stench of death and sound of sorrow was here.


    We soon arrived at the ceremony which was held at the Holy Church of the Light. I had never been here before, but I could tell that from the commotion my birthday was shared with someone who was important in the country. As I was about to enter, my master grabbed my by the back of my shirt, hit me in the back of the head and then forced me onto my right knee.


    That¡¯s when I noticed that I was kneeling in front of Royalty. Because I had never seen anyone from the royal family I didn¡¯t quite recognize her right away. But there was only one person it could be, the King¡¯s youngest child and only daughter, Lux Justitia. To put it simply, she was beautiful. Her raven black hair and crimson eyes were stunning. She had snow white skin that wasn¡¯t blemished in the slightest way. The most amazing part though was the fact that when I looked into her eyes, there was no malice or judgement emitting from them, like there was from every other noble in this city.


    As she passed by me and went into the church, she was closely followed by 4 knights, who I could only assume were her personal guards. There were countless other guards already stationed within the church. The church was a great power and therefore each church was protected just as much as any government building. My master didn¡¯t dare breathe in front of her let alone try to beat me. As her silhouette disappeared into the church I got up along with everyone else who was present and walked into the church. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    It was a grand structure teeming with gold and silver decorations everywhere. The most noticeable thing however, was the crystal ball in the middle of the room that was glistening with every color imaginable. The princess approached it with stern steps, and an air of confidence around her.


    From what I was told by my father when I was little, the orb had 3 types of reactions. If one placed their hand on it while under the age of 13, it wouldn¡¯t react at all. If someone 13 or over made contact with it, they would be sought out by a beast that thinks it¡¯s worthy of their power. If one touched the orb while already having a contract, they would suffer immense backlash and would be rendered immobile from the pain for a few days.


    The princess was directly in front of the orb and the center of everyone¡¯s attention. She placed her delicate hand onto the orb, and the color began to circulate rapidly and gather around where her hand was. This lasted for around 10 minutes, as I assume it takes time for a beast to notice that there¡¯s a contracter and time for the contract to be made. During those 10 minutes, nobody''s eyes left her small body. Then she suddenly pulled her hand away and the clothing on her arms was stripped away. The sound of flesh searing echoed throughout the church, but not a single person moved to help her.


    The marking on their body showed that they were contracted to a beast. Generally the marking wouldn¡¯t even be that large, in most cases no bigger than the mark I have on my hand to show I¡¯m a slave. But this one was drastically larger which could only mean that the princess was being contracted to a seriously powerful beast. On her left arm a majestic eagle flying covered it entirely. A powerful lioness was stalking her prey over the entirety of the previously unblemished arm.


    She had to endure the pain of the marking for 15 minutes before it was finished. Then she let out a single word ¡°Salus¡± before fainting. Before she fell onto the ground one of the four guards commissioned to protect her caught her and carried her in his arms.


    ¡°A griffin!¡± The priest who was overlooking the ceremony exclaimed with excitement.


    The griffin was the symbol of the church. It was said that the griffins were the messengers of the gods and that they represented a pure and holy soul. Since the princess had contracted a griffin, she would probably be the heir to her father¡¯s throne, since power dictated almost everything here, even royalty.


    I was the only other one here for the ceremony at this time. I had a bad feeling about the nature of my contract though, since today was the Vernal Equinox, a day where both Light and Darkness were the same. If she got a symbol of light, then what was I going to get? I shed my fear and being making my way to the orb. Even if nobody said anything, I knew that I was going to be unrestricted from approaching the orb, since this was a ritual as old as our roots.


    I felt the entire room stare at me with disdain. As if to say How could a dirty peasant like you share the same birthday as the princess? Although I wanted to lash out at them, there was nothing I could do. No matter how much they looked down on me and no matter how much I hated them, I had no choice but to be a slave to fate. This country is where the strong rule and the weak are nothing.


    I was directly in front of the orb before I knew what was going on. And almost as if it was against my will, I placed my hand onto it without thinking. But the orb had a much different reaction from last time. The color from the orb faded and began turning into an ominous black. And then the next moment a deep, calm voice whispered into my ear.


    ¡°Boy, do you want the power to turn over this corrupt world?¡±

 Chapter 2: Despair

    All of the light present in the church was stolen away by the boy. The only thing that the people present could focus on was him, as he was surrounded by a blood red hue. Little did they know that the blackness surrounding them was also the same aura.


    The previously fainted princess was awoken by the commotion, rather she was awoken by her contracted beast, Salus. Salus, the griffin, knew that her natural enemy was being summoned to the world through this contract. A dragon. And by this reaction of the church being almost swallowed by the void, it was no ordinary dragon. Dragons in general could not be considered a normal beast to be able to contract, but this was a monster on a completely different level. She woke the princess and spoke to her through the contract, so only the person contracted to the beast could hear them.


    ¡°You must never approach that boy, Lux.¡± The voice was gentle and angelic, Lux instinctively knew that it Salus.


    The princess had a puzzled look on her face for a second and then was about to ask the obvious ¡®Why?¡¯ but was stopped by something. That something being the baleful energy that was emitting from the boy she had never seen before today.


    ¡°What is he?¡± She mentally asked Salus. Although she was trying to be brave, her emotions couldn¡¯t be hidden from the Griffin no matter how hard she tried.


    ¡°Something far more dangerous than what we can handle in this present state. Maybe only your father, the king will be able to take on something like that. And that¡¯s before he grows accustomed to his beast companion.¡± Her voice was solemn, with a tint of regret.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    A contracted beast was able to share memories with the contractor, so the griffin knew just how strong the king was. That¡¯s what she thought, although the princess had never actually seen the king¡¯s full strength.


    ¡°Lux, cannot stay here.¡± The urgency in Salus¡¯ voice was transferred along with the raw emotion known as fear. She was scared of whatever that boy was contracting and binding to this world.


    As princess Lux was about to get out of the knight¡¯s grasp, she realized she couldn¡¯t move, and neither could this knight. The pressure being emitted from the boy was too much for anyone to handle. She never would have thought the tall, cute boy with the breathtaking blue eyes would be someone who she would fear just a short half hour later.


    She sent a mental message in distress to Salus. ¡°I-I can¡¯t move... am...I going to die?¡±


    Salus bathed her in a holy light and gave her enough strength to break from the knights grasp and scramble behind some sort of cover. She couldn¡¯t leave the church, the pressure from the aura given off from the boy made sure that every step that was taken either towards or away from him was 10 times harder to take. Even with the power from Salus it wasn¡¯t enough to be able to leave the church. The feeling of terror was in the hearts of everyone watching. They knew that there was nothing that could be done for them. They couldn¡¯t move, they could barely breathe as the world¡¯s most terrifying presence was about to be contracted to a 13 year old boy. They could do nothing but despair as they felt death breathe down the back of their necks.

 Chapter 3: Contract

    ¡°Boy, do you want the power to turn over this corrupt world?¡±


    Never would I have imagined that my consciousness would be taken to another world where nothing but a starless night awaited me. The voice was calm and clear of arrogance.


    ¡°What are you?¡± I asked almost instinctively.


    ¡°Me? I¡¯m known as many things, but not by many people.¡± His voice resounded throughout the quiet world. ¡°If you have the will to purify this world then I have the power you seek. If you plan on being just another tool to be used like your father then leave this place and never speak a word of what¡¯s happened.¡±


    My father had a rather poor quality beast contracted, so we lived our lives in poverty. But the fact that we were poor never made me sad, as long as I had my mother and father we were happy. However when a noble took a liking to my mother, my father was forced into the military and died on the frontlines a couple weeks later. I was sold into slavery and my mother was taken by that noble scum. Just thinking about it made my blood boil. My family was ripped apart on a whim because my mother was beautiful and unique with her silver hair.


    ¡°Shut up! You never knew my father! He was a lot stronger than me, but not even he could stand up to those tyrants!¡± I feel anger begin to bubble out. It¡¯s been quite some time since I lost my temper like that.


    ¡°Boy will you change this world or not?¡± He asked for what I figured was the last time.


    I don¡¯t want to fall victim to this unfair world. I don¡¯t want to leave my fate to the kingdom. I will create a world where strength isn¡¯t law. Where people can live in peace. I will usher a new era by destroying the old. ¡°I will purge the corruption from this place.¡±With those words, a gateway to a new life waited for me.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    The voice resounded once more. ¡°The contract has been made. I, Exidium, swear fealty to Noctis Lucifer, as long as the contract holds, my power is yours.¡±


    The words came into my head as I said without thinking, ¡°And I, Noctis Lucifer, Acknowledge this contract and will swear to use your power to change this world.¡±


    Once these words were spoken the voice revealed itself to be a menacing black dragon. He was a colossus. There¡¯s no other way of putting it. The dragon was completely covered in jet black scales. His wingspan was probably around 1,000 feet all together. The scarlet eyes stuck out as they stared into my soul. Every other part of his body matched his wingspan. To say he was a monster, wouldn¡¯t allow people to know the true extent of how awesome he was. If he wanted to he could squash me like an ant and not even know if I was dead or not.


    He raised an arm and touched my forehead with a single claw. Pain resounded throughout my body as I could feel the mark of the contract being tattooed onto my back, arms and legs. It wasn¡¯t only that, but the very essence of my body was being reborn. Cell by cell, my entire body was reconstructed to be able to withstand the might of the dragon.


    ¡°The mark is unique to only me. The wings are on your back while the head of the dragon is only your neck. The arms and legs scale each one of your limbs respectively.¡± His voice boomed throughout the quiet world. Even though I wasn¡¯t capable of much thought, I still perceived what he was trying to say with ease.


    My skin was crawling from the power of the dragon. The slave symbol on my hand melted away and was replaced with the dragon¡¯s claw. It felt as if my nerves were about to be fried by the overwhelming sensation of agony that was igniting every part of my body. I appeared back in the church once the pain had ended. I got up and shook my head around, trying to determine whether this was a dream or not. Then everything went black and I was back in the dragon¡¯s world.

 Chapter 4: Power

    Lux thought her life was over as the boy began to scream in agony. His shirt melted off his body and his flesh began to physically boil. Any fat that was on him was being replaced with muscle as he began to lose his child like appearance. Before she knew it the body transformation was over and he was doubled over on the ground and his skin began to melt once more. This time a dragon was being etched into him. It was not only a marking much bigger than anyone¡¯s normal contact, it was much bigger than hers! And she received a contract from a holy beast! Just how strong was this dreadful creature!? What was even more shocking was while he was being marked, the pressure increased, and everyone present was barely able to breathe, nevermind move.


    The wings of the dragon had finished, spanning from his shoulder blades to his hips. The front arms of the dragon now began to form, scaling their way down his arms, and on the back of his hand, the claws were present. Everyone could tell the same thing was happening to his legs but his pants weren¡¯t destroyed in this process.


    ¡°This child will bring about the end of the current order if he isn¡¯t killed now.¡± Salus whispered into Lux¡¯s mind.


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t want to kill anyone..¡± Truly innocent, she couldn¡¯t yet deal with the thought of taking someone else¡¯s life.


    ¡°My dear Lux, we don¡¯t possess enough power to harm a single hair on that boy¡¯s head, forget about killing him. In a few years we might be able to face him, but that chance is rather slim.¡± Salus simply couldn¡¯t fathom what kind of fate the world had now. This boy had the monstrous dragon as his contract. The eldest dragon that was in existence. Exidium, the Dragon of Wrath.


    ¡°Would Father be able to deal with him?¡± She asked innocently.


    ¡°I am uncertain. He may be able to simply because he doesn¡¯t yet know how to control the overwhelming power that he¡¯s being granted right now.¡±


    The screaming stopped and it was replaced by a groan. The boy got up and shook his head as if trying to wake up again. The pressure was released and the guards began to swarm around him as if they were trying to put him to death on the spot. Soon she could no longer see him as the guards numbered many to his one.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°My dear Lux, it would be best if you look away.¡± She obediently closed her eyes. That boy isn¡¯t the one controlling his body. She could only think to herself as the slaughter was about to commence.


    ¡°Broken Stars¡± It was the boy¡¯s voice, but the kind of power that was being wielded no doubt was the work of the old demon. A light condensed in his hand and then he crushed it, causing the energy to go haywire. When he opened his fist, the energy was forced out in all directions in a black wave of malice. The guards who were the closest didn¡¯t even have a corpse to leave behind and then those slightly farther away either died from shock or from being split clean in half. The wave collapsed as it was about to touch the princess it faded from existence.


    ¡°For the sake of change one must become the devil.¡± The old dragon¡¯s voice replaced the boys as he walked closer and closer to the princess who was hiding in the corner. ¡°But he seems unwilling to hurt you for now, so I won¡¯t force him to. He is the boss after all.¡±


    Lux opened her eyes to see the gentle face of the boy, only now his eyes were a deep purple. And the expression on his face wasn¡¯t one a 13 year old boy would be able to make. It was one of sorrow and regret. Something that only a being that has experienced countless years would be able to make. His hand was warm as he placed it on her face and then instilled some energy into her and made her pass out temporarily.


    Lux was barely conscious when the boy walked out the door then disappeared from her sight altogether. The next thing she knew she was in her bed in the castle. Was it a dream?


    ¡°My dear Lux, I assure you it was real. That demon is loose in the world now. He didn¡¯t even use a fraction of his power to slaughter your elite guard and everyone else present.¡± Salus¡¯ voice was a wakeup call and assured her that she didn¡¯t dream that up.


    ¡°Why did I survive?¡± She was confused as to why he didn¡¯t kill her as well.


    ¡°That boy saved you from the old monster.¡±


    The boy known as Noctis Lucifer is now the country''s most wanted criminal, responsible for the infamous Red Equinox. The only survivor was the princess of the country, while several high ranking officials and countless knights died with only a thought from the boy.

 Chapter 5: Control

    I was alone in the dark world, but at the same time I saw everything that was going on. Exidium was using magic to kill everyone that was present. As soon as he said Broken Stars information flooded my brain. It used magic to form a small star above my hand, then he crushed it, causing a mini supernova, killing everything it came in contact with. The scariest part was the star could grow at least a thousand times bigger, which means the supernova could be that many times more destructive. It could level the entire city by itself. That being said I couldn¡¯t let that happen. Too many innocents would die.


    As soon as the shockwave was about to come in contact with the princess, I blurted out something unnecessary, ¡°Leave her, she isn¡¯t like the rest of them.¡± With those words the energy died on the spot, and she was fine.


    Exidium then walked up to her, whispered something into her ear, which I couldn¡¯t quite understand. He then imbued some magic into her body to cause her consciousness to be overloaded and made her pass out.


    He made his way towards the exit, and once he made it there, he moved faster than I could comprehend. Before I realized what was happening wings came out of my back, which hurt a lot even though I wasn¡¯t in control of my body. He then flew us away from the city. No doubt it was to escape from the country¡¯s entire army after the commotion that was raised by me. After an hour or so we came upon a mountain range that I had never come across before in my life. It wasn¡¯t that surprising though, considering I never really left the city in the first place.


    This mountain range was known as the Lost Mountains, according to Exidium. No human has come here in a very long time. I would be safe from the kingdom here. However, it was crawling with mythical beasts. Some beasts would never bow their head to a human and would rather live in the wild than in the realm of spirits. Both weak and strong beasts were in this range.


    We landed and I left the black world, and was once again in control of my own body. I felt tired and sore all over. And barely made it to a nearby cave that Exidium told me was empty before collapsing from exhaustion.


    When I awoke, I felt energized, and better than I ever had before. Actually I was extremely hungry. I went outside of the cave and was about to collect something to eat before I was told ¡°It¡¯s time to learn how to use your magic by hunting.¡±This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit much?¡± I was convinced that if I had used the magic to hunt, that I wouldn¡¯t even have prey to eat.


    ¡°Boy, if you learn how to control my magic, then you could gauge how much strength you need to use, effectively killing only what you want to kill. No matter how much power you have it¡¯s meaningless if you cannot control it. You¡¯re more likely to hurt yourself rather than others.¡±


    And so my training under the dragon began by hunting. He wasn¡¯t going to teach me how to use his magic, only how to control it without killing myself. I would have to come up with the spells on my own and how to use them effectively. The first spell I came up with for hunting was Dark Flame. I tried to use it on a deer beast. Let¡¯s just say it didn¡¯t work out to well and I had to move to a different part of the mountain, and went hungry that day.


    Next I tried to condense the magic further and created Dark Spine. This spell took a small amount of magic and condensed it into a needle shape. I first tried to shoot it at a tree. It went straight through it¡¯s trunk but didn¡¯t cause a fire. I found a rabbit beast and shot Dark Spine through it¡¯s heart. Or at least I tried because I missed miserably.


    I then tried to hunt another deer beast. I didn¡¯t miss the heart this time as the deer collapsed on the spot. A painless death. I dragged it back to the new cave and then made the preparations to eat it.


    Once the day had passed I fell into a deep sleep, with a stomach full of food. Instead of having a dream, I appeared once again in the starless world. There a man clad in black armor and with dragon wings that spanned around 10 feet stood there in silence. The crimson eyes peered out from his helmet and I knew that this was Exidium. The black armor was imposing to say the least. There were spines that stuck out of the arms and legs, and the helmet had a slight dragonic feeling to it.


    ¡°From now on you will not know the luxury of sleep. You will still wake up feeling rested, but instead of sleeping, you will come here and learn how to fight as well as control the dragon blood that is now running through you. During the day you will strengthen your body and control your magic and during the night you will be here.¡± The calm deep voice that could only belong to him told me, but I didn¡¯t have any room to complain, since this is the path that I chose and I wanted to become stronger for the sake of the new world. And with that my 4 years of hellish training began.

 Chapter 6: Training

    For the first two years I learned nothing but form from Exidium. During the day I had toned my body so there wasn¡¯t an ounce of body fat on my body. Due to the instruction of Exidium, not a single bit of the muscle was wasted, it was all there with purpose. As for my magic training I refined it to where I could use Dark Flame without burning the forest down. But thanks to that incident, none of the mythical beasts, no matter how strong they were, even attempted to get close to me.


    I also created a number of new spells, including Dark Pulse which was like a smaller version of Broken Stars except it wasn¡¯t nearly as powerful and could only be used to paralyze. I also created Dark Domain a spell where everyone else¡¯s strength was reduced by half and mine was doubled. I could move through it was ease and even faster while others would find that they were trying to resist a tide of water that never ended. Night vision was also a key factor in using this, but that wasn¡¯t magic, it was due to the dragon¡¯s blood that was in my body.


    Being 15 without anybody but the dragon around, I talked to him a lot about everything. He was the only friend that I had as well as my teacher. He told me stories about his first and only other contractor. The original King of Justitia, from thousands of years ago. He didn¡¯t have to go through this much training, he also wasn¡¯t a criminal who slaughtered a lot of people. From what he told me it seems that Exidium is much more powerful now than when the original king contracted with him.


    ¡°When the king died, I wasn¡¯t sent back to the spirit realm. I was taken to the dark realm. My once grand snow white scales were covered by blackness and after countless years of fighting I turned into a monster. I conquered the dark realm alone and then returned to the spirit realm and was looking forward to a long time of peace. When I returned, the gods shunned me for being corrupt and I had no choice but to display my power in order to get the rest of the realm to leave me in peace. Originally my name wasn¡¯t Exidium, it was Justitia. That¡¯s the real reason behind the name of your kingdom. I went from being the Holy Dragon of Justice to the Malevolent Dragon of Wrath. I wasn¡¯t interested in anything outside of resting until I sensed your presence, boy. Your hate for this current world sent ripples throughout the spirit realm and I saw the same look in your eyes as I did the king¡¯s.¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡° I knew that I had to make a contract with you. You hate this world, but you don¡¯t have a spec of evil in your soul. You disdain the way this world is, but you refuse to take the lives of the innocent as collateral. You despise everything that this world has to offer you, but you forge your own path onward.¡±


    After this story was told I felt another flame ignite inside myself that drove myself even further than before. I trained harder and harder for the benefit of myself and for the world. During the second two years I learned real combat and was beaten severely by Exidium a lot. I was taught various types of martial arts. They all focused around control of the body and some were swordplay based while others were bare handed. But thanks to those beating and a lack of lingering soreness from them, I learned efficient combat quickly. Also I was taught how to condense the armor that he was wearing. Because I refined my physique over the 4 years it didn¡¯t burden my body like it would have. I estimate altogether the armor weighed about a thousand pounds.


    While it was day I continued to refine my magic use, and every once in awhile I would conjure my wings and fly around. Every now and again I would fly with the armor on just to get used to the extra weight.


    During the last few months of training I could fight on par with Exidium and would push him back every now and then. I still lost to him all the time, just not as badly. In terms of magic I learned how to use Broken Stars, but it was recommended I don¡¯t use it unless it was for an emergency due to the high magic consumption rate. I also doubled the efficiency of the rest Dark Domain and increased my control and accuracy of the rest of my spells, including new ones. I still didn¡¯t have anywhere near as much control over my magic as Exidium did, which is understandable. He¡¯s been using it for millennia while I¡¯ve barely scraped the surface with 4 years.


    One night without warning, I wasn¡¯t dragged into the starless world. I dreamed of a time where I was still with my parents. The innocent memory warmed my heart. I dreamed of a day when I was 5. It was a simple walk through town while holding both of my parents¡¯ hands. Even if it didn¡¯t seem significant, it was a time where I was carefree and ignorant to the world was priceless. I woke up with tears in my eyes, they didn¡¯t sting and I didn¡¯t try to wipe them away.


    ¡°Boy,¡± The voice resounded throughout my soul, ¡°We¡¯re leaving the mountains today, to search for a weapon worthy of you.¡±

 Chapter 7: Scars

    What the boy did that day shook the kingdom to its core. Never before that day had the knights been one sidedly killed like livestock. They were ashamed that a 13 year old child bested over 50 trained knights. As a result the training became much more rigorous over the past 4 years. They had to work twice as much and were punished twice as severely if something went wrong otherwise.


    The people had more hope. The knights that oppressed them and the nobles who used them finally had something to fear. The Red Equinox became a symbol of the grim reaper for those with power and a saving grace for those without it.


    After the loss of many knights, a new captain was appointed to the castle, and with him, he brought a new attendant for the princess. The attendant had silver hair, and was without a doubt one of the most beautiful women Lux had ever seen. ¡°This is your new maid, Almitas.¡±


    She was a woman in her mid 30s who looked like she had lost her spirit. The color from her green eyes was faded as if she was ready to die. The attendant would do the cooking and cleaning for Lux, who lived in an isolated part of the castle. Unknown to Lux it was to shelter her from the vile things that were going on in her home.


    The princess had been training herself as well. She was probably the only one who was truly haunted by the events of that day. Everyone only knew of what others told them, while she was the sole survivor. Now that she was 17, she was of average height for a woman and she had a gentle demeanor that charmed those around her. Her long midnight black hair was unbound as it reached her waist. Her crimson eyes were covered in a layer of worry. She seemed detached from reality, only living to get stronger. Strong enough to protect her country from something beyond anyone¡¯s imagination.


    She inherited the magic of Salus, the griffin, and could likewise cover her whole body in armor and spread wings. Her armor, however, was white and gold, and emitted a feeling of holiness. Over the 4 years she became more determined and stronger than her 3 good for nothing brothers who only lived to please themselves. She was only second to the king in terms of strength overall. She realized she couldn¡¯t quite yet fathom how strong her father was, she didn¡¯t even know what kind of contract he had.


    Nevertheless for some reason she knew that the boy was getting stronger and stronger. The expression on his face just before she passed out that day was engraved in her mind. The sorrow that was in his violet eyes. Even though she knew that he was evil and supposed to be the bane of the kingdom, she couldn¡¯t help but feel sad for him. The distinct silver hair and the blue eyes are what she remembered to be the gentle boy who looked a bit childish. The monster with violet eyes is what terrified her.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    Over the years the attendant slowly became more friendly with Lux. Almitas stayed in the isolated portion of the castle with her. She was like a mother figure to Lux, since her mother died after giving birth. After 3 or so years Lux asked her if she had any family. To which she responded, ¡°I don¡¯t know anymore.¡±


    The silver hair never left her thought as she mindlessly asked, ¡°Is Noctis your son?¡± The answer didn¡¯t come with words. The tears that ran down her cheek were enough to satisfy her curiosity. Lux simply responded by hugging Almitas. She burrowed her head into the shoulder of the princess and began to cry uncontrollably. After 15 or so minutes she began to calm down and then told Lux stories about the little boy that meant the world to her.


    ¡°You would never believe that the boy who made the kingdom feel this much fear was once a little boy who was shy and would cry if I left him alone for more than 10 minutes at a time. Noctis was a kind child who loved to help me around our small house. His father would work doing manual labor somewhere in the city from dawn to dusk 6 days a week. We would always take Noctis out on Victus¡¯ day off. He was amazed by the smallest things, even if it was only a ball made of rags, he would happily receive it and would smile. That smile kept me and my husband going every week.¡±


    ¡°Around Noctis¡¯ eighth birthday, a noble saw me and liked me for my unique appearance. He arranged for my husband¡¯s death and then collected me and sent my only remaining family to be a slave. I was treated as a concubine for 5 years, until news got out that Noctis, my son, was the monster who contracted an ancient monster. The noble didn¡¯t dare kill me in fear or Noctis¡¯ retribution and at the same time didn¡¯t want me anywhere near him. He sent me away to the castle where I started to take care of you. After these years I would even consider you to be my own daughter. Please, if you ever encounter Noctis again, remember that he¡¯s my only son in the world.¡±


    After a long silence, Lux asked in a voice filled with emotion, ¡°Can I call you mother?¡± Growing up without a mother figure in her life was hard. It was something that all the other maids and attendants couldn¡¯t do for her. Almitas was different though. After the initial month or so of being miserable because she was forced to do something for the country that she despised, she began to warm up to Lux. They talked more and more but Lux never talked about the Red Equinox and never asked about her past, that was until today.


    Almitas responded by taking the unsteady princess and gently embracing her, with Lux¡¯s head against her chest. ¡°Of course.¡± With those words the princess who had done nothing but train for the past 3 years, without displaying her sadness or worries broke down into a fit of tears.


    A year later, she set off on a journey of her own with permission from the king. She was going to subjugate bandits that were loose all over the country. Along with any other creature she deemed dangerous to the country. It was a test to prove her strength to her father.

 Chapter 8: Adventure

    ¡°Boy,¡± The voice resounded throughout my soul, ¡°We¡¯re leaving the mountains today, to search for a weapon worthy of you.¡±


    ¡°And where would that be?¡± I truly had no idea what kind of weapon I would be looking for.


    ¡°To my knowledge there should be a sword in a labyrinth that is extremely overbearing and can only be wielded by someone who it deems worthy, otherwise it could kill you from the backlash.¡±


    ¡°Labyrinth? Possible chance of death after conquering it? My favorite.¡±


    It had to be known that even the most powerful contractors would steer clear Labyrinths. It was crawling with daemons. The natural enemies of mythical beasts. They would grow in Labyrinths at an alarming rate and would get more and more powerful as time went on. Daemons were particularly nasty beasts. Every once in awhile they would leave the labyrinths and attack nearby towns. Slaughtering the people, razing the buildings, and even dragging some unfortunate girls back into the darkness.


    These heartless creatures are what Exidium fought for countless years, and eventually made all of the dark realm submit to him. Might makes right with daemons. Much like the way things are in the kingdom. Exidium was deemed the strongest in the dark realm after killing many, many daemons. He had no intention of becoming the strongest, only to survive.


    ¡°For now, use your wings without the armor to get out of the mountain range. Start by heading northwest of here, I estimate it¡¯s around a few hundred miles away.¡± I made my wings appear as instructed. They were black dragon wings that gave off the feeling of superiority. I then headed in the appointed direction at an alarming speed. Without my armor on my speed while flying is at least 100 mph. Almost twice what I can go with my armor. Of course I couldn¡¯t sustain that speed. Most of the time was spent around 70 mph.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    The sights I saw were breathtaking. The world was calm. The mountains were imposing and the rivers running uninhibited. The forests were peaceful and the animals unhindered by human civilization. It almost made me forget that this same world was being eaten away at by corruption by humans.


    It was a few hours before I came across a small town. It¡¯s population was at most a couple hundred, whereas the capital city numbered in the hundred thousands, and was probably closer to the millions. As I closed the distance between me and the town, I noticed that some of the structures were on fire.


    There was something happening to the town, and it wasn¡¯t good. I increased my speed to hopefully minimize the damage to the town. I then smelled blood. They were being raided by bandits. The closest labyrinth was still too far away for there to be a raid from daemons. Other humans would be the only other answer.


    When I was a couple hundred feet away from the village, I saw a man, bruised and bloodied beyond compare, standing in the way of 3 bandits. Behind him was his wife and young daughter. She couldn¡¯t be more than 8 or 9. Out here there were no contracted beasts because there was no church to create a link to the spirit world. The people were naturally weaker, and if some soldiers defected and became bandits, they could effortlessly kill common villagers.


    As one of the bandits was about to stab the man and then take his loved ones, a white figure flashed by, and all 3 bandits were beheaded. I had no idea what did it but I still tried to make it there in a timely fashion just in case it wasn¡¯t friendly. I didn¡¯t want to see another family broken apart like mine was. The three bodies fell in a bloody mess before I could take another breath.


    The man collapsed before I got there, but the white figure reappeared and knelt next to the man and placed its hands on his chest, and then the wounds began to disappear. I began to recognize who this figure was as the black hair was fluttering in the wind behind her pure white wings and armor. It was princess Lux.

 Chapter 9: Encounter

    ¡°They¡¯re here.¡±


    The princess had been staying in this small village without being noticed for the past few days. She knew that there would be an attack here soon. No guards were stationed anywhere close to here. It¡¯s been a few months since she had set off on her journey. Lux had already executed a couple hundred bandits by this time. Her fear of killing was long gone as she massacred those who terrorized the innocent. Although, nothing could have prepared her for what was going to happen today.


    She didn¡¯t realize in time so as a result the village was damaged already and many were injured and some of the villagers even died. She started to clean up as she killed bandits left and right. After about an hour she had slain over 100 bandits. The last few bandits were cornering a man and his family. He stood bravely against them and ended up being severely injured. In an instant she decapitated the 3 bandits and went to heal the man. She then began to use her magic to heal him so that he wouldn¡¯t face the threat of death.


    Salus on the other hand, noticed a viscous presence heading towards the village at an alarming speed.


    ¡°Lux...RUN!¡±


    Unfortunately, her words were falling upon deaf ears, as Lux was fully concentrated on healing the man in front of her. No matter what, she wouldn¡¯t leave this man to die. It was her fault for not dealing with the bandits premtively and therefore the blame rested on her shoulders for the injuries and deaths among the villagers.


    The presence was around 100 feet away before it stopped cold in it¡¯s tracks. Even so Lux continued to heal him until he was able to stand. His daughter and wife rushed to him and then Lux spoke to them in a hush voice. ¡°Leave the area for now. Something¡¯s come up and I don¡¯t want to put you in any more danger.¡±


    All three of them held back tears as they all said the same thing simultaneously. ¡°Thank you Princess.¡± The couple took their daughter away from what was left of the village and it became quiet again. Only the fire that was consuming the village was audible.


    Only after the family had disappeared from her sight did she look behind her to discover that the menacing presence was a man. The man was standing there, without a shirt, with wings protruding from his back. He had long unkempt silver hair, which reached his shoulders. His eyes were icy blue as he stared at Lux unintentionally. His whole body looked like it was built for combat. His muscles were toned in the perfect way to match his entire physique. There was no extra fat on his body at all. With his arms crossed, his contract marks were clear exposed, or so she thought as she realized she was only looking at part of it. They were on the back of his arms and held a familiarity to them. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    ¡°So it was him. That boy sure has grown.¡± Salus recognized him immediately, while it took at second for Lux to put two and two together.


    ¡°That¡¯s Noctis?¡± The boy she saw that day had a resemblance to the man standing in front of her. Only the man had a much more imposing demeanor, and an air of strength radiated around him.


    ¡°For the sake of this world, he must die here.¡± Salus urged.


    With a hint of sorrow, Lux knew this to be true. She willed her helmet to appear and drew the holy sword Excalibur. She had received it as a gift from her father before she went on her travels.


    Without warning she charged at Noctis. Completely unaware of what was happening, Noctis was still staring at Lux until Exedium woke him up from his daze. He summoned his black armor and also charged in.


    The two forces collided against each other and generated a shockwave large enough to make some of the building topple. When the smoke cleared it was apparent that neither side had an advantage. Lux was striking Excalibur as hard as she could against Noctis¡¯ arm. The spine protruding from his armor intercepted the blade and dispersed most of the energy from strike. He chose not to counterattack and instead opted to use the remaining force from her strike gain some distance from his attacker.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to fight you.¡± Valiant word, but they were not taken well as Lux once again prepared to strike. Noctis figured he would try it once more. ¡°I don¡¯t want to fight you.¡± This time his voice was much more stern and his cold stare pierced her eyes.


    The shock she received from a single stare was enough to temporarily offset her attack but then she once again prepared to charge at him.


    ¡°Dark Domain,¡± As those words left his mouth an overwhelming pressure was being emitted from his body. It was the very same pressure that prevented her from moving that day. An enormous weight was preventing her from easily moving.


    ¡°Shield of Light¡± This time around Lux was prepared for this type of pressure. Shield of Light prevented any magic from hindering her movement. After casting the spell she propelled herself forward at Noctis. But this time Dark Domain was still active and her sword was easily dodged and he caught her arm, preventing her from escaping.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to fight you.¡± He once again reiterated this statement in hopes of getting the message across. To which she responded with, ¡°But you¡¯re suppose to be the demon to bring about the end of this world, if I don¡¯t kill you, isn¡¯t that the same as dooming the world?¡± Her voice was heavy and she was on the verge of tears as she proclaimed the boy would be the one to destroy everything she cared about.

 Chapter 10: Misinterpretation

    It figures. The first person I interact with in 4 years, attacks me. I should have seen it coming from a mile away, in fact I did but chose to get closer anyway. After dispersing her will to fight me she then accuses me of being the one to destroy the world. In a way I don¡¯t think I can deny that, I will end the current order, and destroy everything she knows.


    I was still holding her arm, Dark Domain increased my strength by around 8 times, so no matter how much she struggled she wouldn¡¯t be able to break my grip. After a minute or so she realized that she wouldn¡¯t be able to liberate herself. She unequipped her armor and I let go. Once I let go she put her sword in its sheathe by her side and then looked me in the eye and said, ¡°Kill me.¡±


    I must have looked dumbfounded. Kill her? Me? There must be something that she knows about me that I clearly don¡¯t.


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re probably portrayed as the most evil creature to ever have existed in this realm. Now if you think for a bit, you¡¯ll realize that she knows she can¡¯t win against you, so the only thing she thinks is left for her is torment and death.¡±


    Right, I¡¯m supposedly evil. ¡°I¡¯m sure that you¡¯re misunderstanding something here. I have no interest in taking your life or taking you hostage.¡± My voice wasn¡¯t harsh or forced. I said it in a calm and comforting way in an attempt to get her to believe in me.


    ¡°You really are your mother¡¯s son.¡± When she spoke those words, I felt something come over me. Her words were soft spoken but they hit me hard the realization washed over me.


    ¡°How do you know my mother? Where is she? Is she okay? Does she remember me? Was I forgotten?¡± I flooded her with questions almost unconsciously. I hadn¡¯t heard from or seen my mother in 9 years. More than half my life was spent without her. At this point, I almost couldn¡¯t remember her face or voice. When the princess had mentioned her I was a bit overwhelmed, even though the words wouldn¡¯t have seemed to have much of an impact on anyone else.


    Under the sudden barrage of questions, she had no idea how to respond. Maybe it was because I was imposing, but she was shying away from me. ¡°Uh... Well...¡± She started to blush, mainly because I had closed the distance by a lot between us without realizing it.


    ¡°Oh sorry.¡± I took a few steps back. ¡°Let¡¯s try this one at a time.¡± I then sat down on the ground and pointed at a spot nearby that was across from me. She obediently sat down, and we talked about my mother who I hadn¡¯t seen for a majority of my life. We talked for at least an hour, ignoring the inferno that was burning around us since the villagers had evacuated the area after being instructed by the man the princess had saved. We merrily chatted while exchanging stories and laughter.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    I picked up a few things from my conversation with Lux. One, my mother was okay and still knew I existed and even thought about me. Two, the princess has a good relationship with my mother and has been treated well for the past 4 years, as for before that neither of us really know. Three, and most importantly, I wasn¡¯t alone. I had never really been alone, but at the same time I had never really had friends either. Exidium was someone who was bound to me and more like a teacher and father rather than a friend.


    This was the first time I was talking to someone the same age as me in such a casual manner. Maybe it was the same for her, since she was a princess. Everyone her age would barely interact with her and if they did they would treat her as a superior. As for me I spent most of my time with my parents when I was young. Only the wealthy could attend school, so I spent most of my time helping my mother around the house. After that I was a slave who did almost nothing but work. As for the past 4 years, I was isolated from the world.


    A friend. Someone to talk to that wasn¡¯t a dragon. She didn¡¯t have to be the princess in front of me. It was clear that she wasn¡¯t like any other member of royalty. They wouldn¡¯t risk their lives or use their time to save common people from bandits. ¡°You know,¡± Lux had a smile on her face. I liked when she smiled, she was a truly beautiful girl. ¡°Maybe Salus was wrong. As far as I can tell, you¡¯re actually pretty nice. I¡¯m sorry that I attacked you.¡±


    So it was Salus that had her attack me. There was a problem though. I had no idea who Salus was, until Exidium enlightened me a few moments later. ¡°Salus, huh? How nostalgic. This girl managed to be contracted to the same beast as the king¡¯s bride. One of the few remaining griffins in the spirit realm. When the queen died, she returned directly to the spirit realm, unlike me. When I emerged from the Dark realm, she rejected what I had become, not because she didn¡¯t trust me, it was because it was her duty as a messenger from the heavens to do so. Boy take her to my realm, I wish to speak with them both.¡±


    ¡°And how do I do that?¡± I had always been there while asleep so I had no idea how to enter there directly.


    ¡°Well, you have to establish a connection to her soul to safely transport her there. The easiest way to do that is to kiss her.¡±


    It took me a second to process what he had said. ¡°What? Are you sure.¡±


    ¡°Boy, have I ever steered you wrong.¡± He sounded offended that I would question him.


    ¡°Yes, actually you have.¡± I didn¡¯t even really have to think about it.


    ¡°Just listen to me and do it.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright.¡± I gave up since I didn¡¯t see another way to do it. So I stood up, grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. Before she had a grasp on what was going on I grabbed her by the shoulders and placed my lips on her.

 Chapter 11: Doubt

    Lux was being kissed. She didn¡¯t know how it happened, but the boy she was so terrified of an hour or so ago was now kissing her. When his lips met hers, she closed her eyes. He pulled away and then she opened her eyes to see something that she could have never imagined was possible. She was pulled into another realm. It was dark, but she could see everything perfectly. She looked up in wonder. There wasn¡¯t a single star nor cloud in the sky.


    Salus had appeared by her side and paid no attention to her or the boy that just kissed her. Salus was focused on the being that brought them here. A massive dragon was in front of her, she could only guess that it was who noctis was contracted to. He had a grand appearance with the feeling of true nobility around him. The black scales almost blended in perfectly with the surrounding world. His scarlet eyes seemed to be filled with intelligence as he looked down on her and Salus.


    In contrast, Salus, had the appearance of a majestic griffin. Although her size couldn¡¯t begin to compare to that of the dragon, she was still at least 4 times the size of a human. The pure white feathers on her head and wings shined brilliantly through the darkness. While her golden fur was like a beacon in the night. The eyes of a griffin held sharp sight as the fierce blue eyes were taking in information from their surroundings. Lux had naturally seen this appearance many times before, but it appeared much more stunning in the absence of light.


    Lux was still lost in thought when Salus called out to the dragon. ¡°A kiss? Really? We both know that it could have been done just as easily if he was touching her in any way.¡± If looks could kill, that old dragon would have been turned to ashes by the boy whose face was slightly red, and was intensely staring at him with arctic blue eyes were giving off killing intent. After remembering she had just been kissed, her white face turned a rosy color that resembled her eyes.


    ¡°Yes, but he wouldn¡¯t have made a move otherwise. Who knows how long it will be before he gets this close to another pretty girl like this one.¡± The two beasts talked casually as if they had been old friends for all their lives.


    ¡°I recall a similar trick being used many years ago, but nevermind that. Why have you brought us here, Exidium?¡± Salus sighed in defeat in response to the direct honesty, then her tone turned serious.


    ¡°We both know why I brought you here, to talk.¡± Exidium was still acting rather casual with the griffin, who was losing patience. ¡°This boy and I, we¡¯re going to destroy the kingdom. Regis would be disgusted with the way things are now. And in turn I am as well.¡±Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°Destroy the kingdom?¡± Lux could only look distraught as she came to the realization of what that meant.


    ¡°I¡¯m aware that it¡¯s state may not be the best. However, the heavens still support the kingdom, so I have no right to interfere.¡± Salus knew that he was right, however there was nothing she could do.


    ¡°Nay, as a contracted beast, your duty is first and foremost to your contractor. If the contractor opposes heaven, you will as well.¡± In order to form a contract, mythical beasts have to swear fealty to their contractor. This was to prevent the beasts from taking control of their human body and running haywire.


    ¡°Even still, you¡¯re asking a princess to help bring about the downfall of her own country? Isn¡¯t that a little much?¡±


    ¡°I never said you had to help. If you want to I¡¯m more than willing to accept it, but first and foremost please do not get in our way. Neither of us wish to cut this girl down, but we will if we have to. Before you decline our offer little girl, I would first ask you to look at the current state of your country. Go around your capital city and ask yourself if your people are happy. After that if you still doubt the two of us, feel free to never seek us out again. Whether you help us or not, the fall of your country is inevitable.¡±


    Lux tried to make words but couldn¡¯t find the courage to do so. She had always lived a sheltered life. Never leaving the castle for extended periods of time. Never straying from the parts of the city that nobles kept clean. Never doubting for a moment that what her country was doing was righteous and just. Even was Altimas told her what had happened, she thought that was the only occurrence of power being abused.


    Lux made her choice. ¡°Let me leave this place, I will go to the capital and see for myself.¡± Her voice was filled with a resolve, but was wavering since she was about to challenge everything she ever knew. She was only a 17 year old girl. Right now she was confused and needed time to think about her revelation. She glanced at the boy who was casually sitting on the claw of the dragon. However, his eyes were full of conviction. Lux could tell that he never doubted himself for even a second, as if he knew what he was doing was the correct path to take.


    When the boy looked into her eyes, all he could see was sadness. Confusion and sadness were all that could be said about her current state of mind. The kingdom that had taken care of her was dismissed as disgusting and corrupt by him and an old monster. If anyone was in this situation how could they know what to do? The answer was simple. Only by experiencing both worlds could one come to an understanding. Devotion to one¡¯s country was a feeling that many people had. While resentment and hatred towards those who oppress them was an equally strong emotion to have. The world was cruel and the weak were preyed upon by the strong. It was all a matter of perspective.

 Chapter 12: Departure

    As the starless word faded as well as our contracted beasts, we were sent back to our realm. Awkwardly enough, as if we were in an illusion, we both came to while still kissing. We both pulled away after a few seconds, taking time to realize that we were kissing again. I¡¯m astounded that I fell for that trick, but it¡¯s not as if I hated it.


    The atmosphere between us was a bit uncomfortable. Neither of us knew what to talk about and the fact that I kissed her out of nowhere didn¡¯t quite help. On top of that I didn¡¯t know what to say to her, because asking her to go against everything she knew was a bit much. I had my reasons to fight against the kingdom whether I was alone or not, and she had her own reasons for wanting to stop that from happening.


    A place to call home. She had that, and was probably willing to defend it, while my home was swept away 9 years ago.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to return to the capital, I need time to think.¡± Without giving me a chance to respond, she summoned her wings and departed. I could have sworn I saw her crying as she looked back at me one last time before disappearing into the distance.


    I willed my armor to disappear and then saw something that I hadn¡¯t realized. I have not bathed, had a shirt, or changed my pants in 4 years.


    I collected some gold from the bandits and made my way to another town that was about 10 miles north. These bandits were rather successful at what they were doing until they crossed paths with the princess. Altogether they had around 15 gold coins. One hundred copper coins was equal to 1 silver coin, and 100 silver coins was equal to a single gold coin. To put this in perspective, one silver was enough to last a small family for about a year or so.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    These towns that were far away from the capital were almost completely separate from the country. They were self sustaining and because they had nothing to offer the country they were left alone for the most part. This also meant that they didn¡¯t receive protection from the military in any way shape or form. If anything the military appearing in one of these towns was a sign of impending tragedy.


    After about 20 minutes or so I arrived outside the town and put my wings away so I wouldn¡¯t scare anyone. I found a tailor shop and fitted myself with some new clothes. Nothing particularly fancy, but it was nice having a shirt on for once. I also had the tailor begin to make a bag for me, it would probably take until tomorrow for him to finish so I stayed at a nearby inn. I took a bath for the first time since my 13th birthday and cleaned all of the muck off of me that built up over the years. It took almost an hour to do so.


    It was dusk by the time I got out of the bath and changed back into my clothes. I hoped that every day wouldn¡¯t be as eventful as this one as I laid down on a bed for the first time in many years. It was so comfortable that I was out before my head even touched the pillow.


    The next morning I picked up the bag that I had ordered and went to the general store for some provisions. I needed food and water since I was about to explore a labyrinth and I was willing to bet that the daemons weren¡¯t edible. After stocking up on about a month''s worth of preserved food and water, I left the town, and headed for the labyrinth.

 Chapter 13: Labyrinth I

    I stood in front of what looked like a cave. The surrounding area had little greenery or wildlife. It was around midday but the sun refused to spare any light for this place. Human remains and bleached bones were scattered everywhere. The atmosphere around it wasn¡¯t the same kind of darkness that I possessed. It was much denser, more malefic, as if to steer anything that was alive away from this place.


    I summon my armor without any hesitation and being walking to the cave. I could have sworn I heard the breeze whisper into my ear, Turn back. Unphased by my hallucination I ventured forth into the world of daemons.


    Exidium made sure to tell me that this was test. Something to show how much I¡¯ve grown over the past 4 years, since I haven¡¯t encountered any danger. I had no interest in dying here, so I didn¡¯t dare underestimate any enemy, no matter how weak they looked.


    Everything was dark, but since I had night vision I had no issue navigating through the maze, that was until I got lost.


    I came across a fork in the path, and took a wrong turn and came across a dead end. There were goblins waiting behind me as I turned to go back. Man were they ugly. Short with ugly features. Noses that were probably broken multiple times, teeth protruding from their mouths. Worst of all was how badly they smelled. I had a helmet on and was about 30 feet away and could smell them as if they were leaving me with no personal space.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    There were 4 of them standing in a formation, ready to attack as a group. The first one charged at me while the rest aimed to surround me.


    My strategy here was to deal with them one by one as they tried to trap me. I met the one who was charging at me with a kick to it¡¯s leg, breaking it instantly. I proceeded to throw a punch at it¡¯s stomach, launching it into the air. I then used a spine on my left leg to pierce its heart with a roundhouse kick as it was falling.


    The other three stopped in their tracks as their vanguard had been taken out in less than 3 seconds. Capitalizing on their surprisement, I dealt with the next one by punching it in the throat, shattering his windpipe and trachea. As the two remaining realized they had no chance to kill me, they began to run.


    Of course, I couldn¡¯t let them live. Showing mercy to evil is the same as being ruthless to the innocent. I chased after them and kicked one in the back, immediately breaking its spinal cord, and sent him flying into the wall, killing him instantly. I picked up the last one and slammed him into the ground, effectively breaking every bone in his body.


    With my attackers dealt with I went back to the fork and headed in the other direction. More goblins got in my way and I put them down in a similar fashion. Quick and efficient. I continued to wander through. I managed to stumble into almost every dead end there was. With each one more goblins appeared behind me, trying to ambush me.


    After a couple hours of frustrating exploration, I came across a path that led downward. It was a spiral that led down to another floor of the labyrinth. There was seemingly no difference here, so I began to explore. It wasn¡¯t long before I discovered that it was much different than before.

 Chapter 14: Labyrinth II

    A horde of monsters lazing around was what awaited me. Fortunately I hadn¡¯t been spotted and swarmed on the spot. I hid around the corner and peeked at them from where I was sure they wouldn¡¯t spot me. There were much more than just goblins down here. In fact I don¡¯t think I saw more than 5 or so out of the hundreds of daemons. With that many there I couldn¡¯t be sure if my armor would hold out or not. I wasn¡¯t risking my life to find out either.


    There were quite a few that I didn¡¯t recognize at all, but there were also some that stuck out like sore thumbs. Such as the single minotaur that seemed to be the boss. Like legends say, he the body of a man, and the head of a bull. Only he was about 3 times my size, and carried an axe about equal his height. It¡¯s blade had plenty of blood rusted onto its surface.


    Although I couldn¡¯t fight them all in hand to hand combat, I still had my magic. I condensed a black flame in my hand. ¡°Dark flame.¡± It landed on a goblin and quickly began to spread from daemon to daemon. There were about 10 or so that couldn¡¯t be bothered by the flame, while the rest were running around in chaos. Eventually they were reduced to cinders, and the 10 who weren¡¯t afflicted were waiting for me since they knew I was here. The minotaur being one.


    The others seemed to have an affinity with fire, so naturally wouldn¡¯t be scared of the flame. Even if dark flame wasn¡¯t true fire, it seemed they weren¡¯t bothered by it in the slightest. In order to do so I shot several dark spines out, killing a few of them off instantly. So my magic was effective on them, just not the fire based one.


    I picked off the rest and then then shot one at the minotaur. It shattered on impact, doing nothing more than tickle him. Since magic clearly wasn¡¯t going to work, I decided to confront him directly. I came out from around the corner with the intent of surprising him, but he was just too far away for that to happen.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    He saw me and gave me a look of disgust. He probably wasn¡¯t too worried about the daemons I killed, rather he was annoyed that I was in his home. He brandished his axe and began to walk toward me.


    I charged forward and activated dark domain in an attempt to overpower him. I punched him with full strength in the core and he was only sent back a couple feet. He coughed up some blood and then gave me a look as if to say ¡®Was that all?¡¯ It was if the thousand pounds of force behind my punch meant nothing to him.


    The pressure didn¡¯t seem to be much to him as he continued to walk toward me and then slashed his axe at me. I avoided it but the ground where I was standing was destroyed, the axe was embedded into it and the earth around it was shattered. If that hit me I wasn¡¯t sure if I¡¯d still be in one piece or not.


    I wasn¡¯t quick enough and was expecting him to take a little more time to attack me again with his axe. Instead he kicked me in the chest and sent me flying. It was painful to say the least, I probably broke a rib or three, and shuddered after thinking what might have happened if I wasn¡¯t wearing this armor.


    I had to end this quickly before the adrenaline wore off and these broken ribs would start to hurt a lot more. I came up with a plan, and charged at him once again and punched him in the same place. It looked like he felt it that time, and didn¡¯t have time time to counterattack before I retreated.


    He vomited out a bit more blood and I charged back in and once again punched him in the same place, only this time, my hand stuck straight into his body. I then activated broken stars. No matter how resilient his body was, if I detonated a mini supernova inside his body, there was almost zero percent chance of him surviving.


    As the energy gathered above my hand, inside his body, he dropped his axe and was paralyzed by the pain. When I closed my palm to release the shockwave, his body disintegrated, along with the corpses that were left from earlier.


    After using that much magic, my consciousness began to fail me as I walked toward one of the walls and leaned against it. I had my armor come off and then was asleep before I knew what was going on.

 Chapter 15: Labyrinth III

    I¡¯m going to start by saying that breaking couple ribs is awful. Every time I took a breath there was a sharp pain. It was as if my ribs were like little doors, and every time I would breathe in, it would open a little, and when I exhaled, it slammed shut. I got some bandages I brought with me and wrapped my core up to reduce the amount that my ribs moved. I could have really gone for some healing from Lux.


    Because my body was in the middle of mending itself, I decided not to put on my armor right away to reduce the burden. I took out some of my rations and water and ate just enough to stop the pangs of hunger.


    I got up and stumbled forward, wheezing as I went along. This area was much different from the last one. There were no weird turns, no dead ends, and nothing waiting to ambush me. I continued until I came across another path that lead downward.


    When I reached the end of that path, I came across a four-way intersection. Fun. Once again I picked the wrong path, and it was about an hour before I realized that it was the wrong one. There was no ambush, though. It didn¡¯t sound like there was a single daemon around.


    At the end of the path, I decided to take a rest before heading back to the intersection. I leaned up against the wall once again and my vision faded to black.


    I got up in a slow manner, trying not to irritate my ribs. Seeing as there was no danger around, I once again walked forward until I came back across the intersection.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    It turned out that I ended up taking literally every wrong path before finding the right one. Five days. I walked around for five days without direction. At least over these five days my ribs mostly recovered, however I didn¡¯t want to put too much stress on them just yet. So I kept my armor off for now.


    A feeling of relief came across me as soon I found the next entrance. I was so mind numbingly bored from wandering around the labyrinth. Finally something different. As I descended to the next area noticed that there was a single long corridor that led to a big room. I wearily walked to the room, expecting to be assaulted at any time. I reached the next room without a single problem.


    In the middle of the room there was a single object the held a baleful aura, as if this weapon had killed more people than I¡¯ve ever seen. It was being held in a pedestal, with about half of its 4 foot long blade stuck into it. There was a bleached white skull where the guard met the grip. The rest of the sword was entirely black, and was shaped abnormally. It was indented on both sides just above the guard, and was slightly curved at the point.


    ¡°This is the weapon, boy.¡± Exidium assured me that this is what I came for. I walked up to it and reached for it, then was repulsed back around 5 feet where I landed on my back. The pain in my ribs flared up a bit as I struggled back to my feet.


    I wasn¡¯t ready for what came next. A reaper was walking toward me. It had a black robe on and had the bone hands as well as fleshless skull underneath its hood. I couldn¡¯t move a muscle, I was too scared to. It approached me and then it¡¯s hand phased through my chest without leaving a mark, almost as if it was a ghost. It then grabbed onto my heart and squeezed.

 Chapter 16: Home I

    Lux didn¡¯t know what to think. She had fled from Noctis, not because she was scared of him, but because she was scared that everything she knew was just a child¡¯s dream. Now she had to wake up and face reality. She had to grow up and look at the truth. Her home was built on the suffering of others.


    Lux was proud to be the princess of her kingdom, but now she wasn¡¯t sure how to face anyone she knew. If what the dragon said was true, then her country was not a good place for anyone to live. The people despair at the sight of anybody who holds power. Is that something to be proud of? No. It¡¯s something to be ashamed of.


    After a couple of days of traveling without her wings she arrived at the kingdom. If she flew in she would be spotted by someone and they would know she was returning to the kingdom. She wanted to remain unnoticed so that she could have a chance to look at the kingdom¡¯s people.


    Lux picked up a cloak on the way back to the kingdom, to disguise herself. She kept a long sleeve shirt on, to hide her contract marks, and pulled the cloak''s hood on to cover her hair and facial features.


    When she arrived she went into the slums, just to see the lives of the common people. After about 15 minutes of walking through, she felt sick to her stomach. There were people sick, injured, famished, dead, or dying. Their eyes were blank, no light was being reflected, almost if they didn¡¯t want to look at this kind of world.


    Before she realized, Lux was already crying. She hated the fact that she didn¡¯t know this was happening, and now she hated the fact that she knew there was nothing she could do at this moment to help them improve their lives. Lux decided to use her magic, without unveiling herself, to help those who were injured. Unfortunately she didn¡¯t have the magic to cure the sick, for that type of magic didn¡¯t exist. It was up to their own bodies to fight off the infection.


    After healing as many people as she could, the people looked like they had seen an angel. She was thanked by everyone from the bottom of their hearts. They appreciated that she would go out of her way for people she¡¯s never seen before. These people are used to being ignored by those who have the capability to help them.


    Lux was smiling for the first time since she had been with Noctis. She felt joy from the bottom of her heart that she could be of some sort of help to these unfortunate people. On her way here all she could think is that something was wrong. She was torn between her family and her ideals.


    She thought back to the look Noctis had in his eyes. There was an unwavering conviction that told the world that he was unwilling to back down from his cause. She wanted to have that kind of decisiveness, but she was unable to come to a decision immediately. After all, she spent her entire life here! That wasn¡¯t something she could just give up on a whim.


    Soon after she made her way to an inn, to rest for the night. When the innkeeper saw the noble air Lux had around her, he couldn¡¯t help but question her. The innkeeper was a good man known to help out those who didn¡¯t have a home or food to eat. He looked to be around 30 years old, but some of his hair was already starting to turn white, likely due to stress.


    ¡°Are you here on business? If so I suggest that you conclude it as soon as possible and leave the city.¡±


    When she heard someone suggest she leave quickly, she decided to have a chat with the innkeeper to listen to what has been happening. She had seen what the result of neglect and corruption was, but she still had no idea what the root cause was.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, why would that be?¡± She used an extremely polite tone, which shocked him.


    ¡°The soldiers here do whatever they want to people, whether they¡¯re locals or travelers. The nobles are even worse. They do it in a roundabout way so it can¡¯t be traced back to them supposedly, but everyone here knows who is responsible for what.¡±


    ¡°Just last week, my own daughter was assaulted by a soldier, and several of her bones were broken.¡± She could sense the bitterness in his voice, as tears began to show in his eyes. ¡°She¡¯s the only family I have. Just a few years ago, my wife was abducted and killed by a noble.¡±


    ¡°Take me to her. I can help alleviate the physical pain at least.¡± Lux didn¡¯t think twice before offering aid.


    He clasped his hands around hers. ¡°Thank you.¡± Simple but powerful words. But words alone couldn¡¯t express his gratitude for her offering to help.


    He led her to a room behind his counter. There on a bed was a wounded girl, who was probably only around 7 at the most. She was sleeping with a pained look on her face. What little skin was showing was covered in bruises.


    ¡°She was playing with a ball and it bumped into a soldier, so he beat her until she couldn¡¯t move anymore.¡± There were tears running down his face, but it wasn¡¯t due to sadness. She survived so he couldn¡¯t have fallen into despair. It was frustration. He was frustrated that his daughter suffered and he wasn¡¯t there to help her or stop her from being hurt. One of the people who he regularly helped found his daughter bruised and bloodied and carried her back to the inn.


    Lux walked over with soft steps. ¡°Would you mind bringing over a chair?¡± He left the room for a bit and came back with a wooden chair and placed it next to the bed. Lux sat down and willed her magic to cover her hands, and then she placed her hand on the girl''s head.


    She had developed this healing magic herself. She thought of it after recalling Noctis instilling magic into her to knock her out. Instead of using it wildly to disrupt the flow of the nervous system temporarily, she used it in a much more complex way. When she put magic into someone else¡¯s system, it¡¯s with a specific instruction to ¡°Repair any damage.¡±


    Since her magic was of the light attribute, it was naturally more docile and could be more malleable. Unlike Noctis¡¯ brutish use of magic which was automatically filled with the instruction to ¡°Destroy.¡± The most eccentric way he used magic was to set down his dark domain where he released a plethora of magic. This magic was fundamentally different from the rest of his spells. It was filled with the instruction of ¡°Optimize user. Oppress anything else.¡±


    Lux spent her time studying magic, with spells already learned from the griffin directly. With guidance from Salus, she learned that there were so many more ways to use magic than she could have imagined. Her magic also wasn¡¯t as overbearing as his so, in turn, he spent the entire time trying to control his power. So she naturally had better manipulation of her magic. It wasn¡¯t to say that he couldn¡¯t, it¡¯s simply that Lux was more talented than him. There was also the fact that in nature, dark magic is almost exclusively used for combat. While light magic can be used in many more ways.


    Before long all the injuries had faded and she was sleeping with a calm face. The innkeeper thought she would just use magic to ease the pain for a bit. Never would he have imagined she used magic to heal her. He was about to express his gratitude when he noticed that the mysterious girl had fallen asleep while holding his daughter''s hand.


    While she was asleep in the chair, he figured the least he could do was place her in the bed next to his daughter. As he picked her up with ease, her sleeves came down and he hood came off, revealing her contract marks and beautiful long black hair. He immediately recognized her as the princess of this kingdom. He didn¡¯t have any particular feelings toward the royal family, but if anything it was resentment.


    However, she had just done him something that nobody else could do. His daughter meant the world to him. She clearly was here in disguise, with the intent of not wanting to be recognized. He smiled and put her in the bed next to his daughter and covered her in sheets. Afterwards he closed the inn for the night and went to bed himself.

 Chapter 17: Home II

    Lux woke up to a pair of curious hazel eyes staring at her. She got startled and ended up falling out of the bed. When she picked herself off the ground, there was a little girl giggling cheerfully. It was the one she had healed last night.


    ¡°My name¡¯s Linn, what¡¯s yours miss?¡± She was a cute little girl with brown hair that reached her shoulders. If Lux hadn¡¯t seen her earlier, she would never have believed that this bright little bundle of energy was laying here heavily injured just last night.


    She contemplated telling her name to the little girl, then decided that it was proper to tell Linn her name after she introduced herself. ¡°I¡¯m Lux.¡±


    ¡°Wow! That¡¯s a pretty name! You¡¯re really pretty too!¡± She hopped off the bed and gave Lux a big hug while she was still sitting on the floor. ¡°Thank you for helping me!¡± She had known that Lux was the one that healed her, so she decided the best way to show that she was thankful, was a hug. Lux returned the hug and lightly stroked Linn¡¯s hair, who had resumed giggling. She couldn¡¯t help but think to herself ¡®Did I ever have this much energy?¡¯


    The innkeeper then walked into the room and closed the door. He got on his right knee and put his head down. ¡°Princess, I thank you for helping my daughter.¡±


    Lux, who had been groggy after just waking up, had completely forgot she was hiding that she was royalty. She began to panic when he continued talking. ¡°Princess, please don¡¯t worry. I have no intention of letting anyone know you¡¯re here. I¡¯m indebted to you.¡±


    With those words she let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Thank you.¡± After that, the innkeeper went to take care of his inn and Lux kept Linn company for a couple hours.


    ¡°Hey Lux! Do you have a boyfriend?¡± Lux, who was drinking a glass of water at that point, spit out her water and started to cough violently. She then looked up at the little girl and said ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Heheh. Lux has a boyfriend! Lux has a Boyfriend~!.¡± Linn began to sing merrily to herself which caused Lux to start blushing. ¡°You really do have one! Who is he? Why isn¡¯t he with you now?¡±


    At this point Lux was overwhelmed and couldn¡¯t bring herself to say something embarrassing, so she told the truth. ¡°It¡¯s complicated.¡±


    After dodging that bullet, they resumed talking about other things, and Lux made sure to steer clear from that topic. But she herself couldn¡¯t help but wonder why a boy who she had only met twice in her entire life left such an impression. Then she thought about the kiss and began to glow like a red beacon.


    After some time Lux realized that she had better go. She wanted to go home and see her mother for the first time in months. Even though Almitas wasn¡¯t her real mother, she was the closest figure to it she¡¯s ever had. She was eager to tell her about her tales and wanted to see the expression on her face when she told her that her son is alive and well.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    She put her cloak on and got ready to depart when Linn went up to her and hugged her. ¡°Promise you¡¯ll come back?¡± She looked at Lux with innocent eyes and it was impossible to deny her. ¡°I promise. Here take this to your father.¡± She placed a bag filled with silver coins to Linn. Although Lux thought about giving them gold, it would probably cause more problems than it was worth. She figured with this much poverty it would raise suspicions by others if gold appeared. However, it wasn¡¯t unheard of for some silver to appear here, especially with the amount of booze the soldiers went through. If the innkeeper used it sparingly, he and his daughter can live a comfortable life without worrying about money.


    Since he was occupied with other things, Lux left. She began to navigate her way out of the slums. Because she was unfamiliar with the area she ended up getting lost. Just as she was about to give up and just fly to the castle, a pair of hands emerged from a dark alley and grabbed her.


    Whoever grabbed her started by taking the cloak off of her, but then they stopped. She looked up to see two men, who were clearly wealthier than the general populace in this area, looking at her with fear.


    They immediately bowed, knowing that she held the power to execute them on the spot for what they¡¯ve done. ¡°We¡¯re sorry princess, we didn¡¯t realize it was you.¡±


    Lux wasn¡¯t mad about the fact that they grabbed her, but what stuck out, was the fact that they said ¡®We didn¡¯t realize it was you.¡¯


    ¡°Does that mean you were prepared to grab a woman and rape her in this alley?¡± The tone in her voice sent a shudder down their spines. They didn¡¯t dare lie to her. Defying the crown was asking for death. So they hoped for some sort of leniency from the princess who was famed for her kindness to others. ¡°Yes.¡± they said simultaneously.


    Unable to suppress the anger that was welling up within her, along with the frustration that had been pent up due to the events of the few days, she decided on what to do. The emotion that was clearly visible in her eyes before, as she was a girl going home to see her mother, disappeared. ¡°Scum.¡± She said that single word and drew excalibur from its sheathe. With a firm hand, she delivered justice to the two nobles, no, rapists. With a single swing, their heads fell onto the ground. It happened so quickly that they didn¡¯t start bleeding before she had already returned Excalibur to its scabbard.


    She felt no joy in killing others, but after seeing what they were about to do she couldn¡¯t help it. This was retribution for playing with the lives of others. Lux summoned her wings and disappeared before either of the corpses had fallen over. They were still bowing without their heads.


    She flew to her home, the imperial castle and had a guard notify everyone that she had returned. Her father, the king, wouldn¡¯t bother to meet her. He was a busy man and the amount of times that he¡¯s seen him in person could be counted on her two hands. She returned to her part of the castle without bothering with the rest.


    There awaited her home. It was cleaned perfectly and Almitas had already been waiting for her to walk through the door. At the sight of her, she was unable to hold back her tears and let out all the pent up emotion that she kept sealed for the past few days. She hugged her mother and began to cry uncontrollably until she fell asleep. Even though she had only woken up from a deep sleep a few hours ago, there was a feeling of comfort and safety in Almitas arms that couldn¡¯t be replaced.

 Chapter 18: Blood

    In the next instant, after having my heart grabbed, I was in a white room with decorations everywhere. It was something I would imagine to be the the imperial castle of the kingdom. A person was looking through the window. But I had no idea what he was looking at. It seemed like outside the windows was just a vast nothingness.


    From what I could tell, the man was about my height with a sturdy build, and had black hair. I wasn¡¯t prepared from what I saw next. He turned around and revealed his familiar face and blue eyes that could chill someone¡¯s soul. It was my father who died 9 years ago.


    ¡°Hello, my son.¡± His voice carried a deep longing.


    ¡°But...you¡¯re supposed to be dead.¡± I was scared, first a reaper grabs onto my heart and now my dead father appears before me. I came to a simple conclusion, ¡°Am I dead, too?¡± White room, lack of pain, and my deceased father- the pieces fit together quite nicely for me to be dead.


    ¡°Neither of us are dead, Noctis.¡± He was serious; if he wasn¡¯t his face didn¡¯t give away any sign of lying.


    ¡°Where are we then?¡±


    ¡°My home. I used the sword¡¯s spirit to pull your consciousness here.¡±


    ¡°I assure you, my father didn¡¯t have that any kind of power like that. He died because he was weak and placed in the army.¡± I was sure that there was someone who was impersonating my father, or I was hallucinating.


    ¡°Noctis, you are my son. The son of Victus Lucifer, more formally known as just Lucifer, the most powerful of Seven Sovereigns of Hell.¡± He was claiming to be a power that could rival the gods, and that I was his son. It¡¯s not something I could just believe because he looks like my father.


    ¡°You carry my blood, boy. Why else do you think that dragon bothered with you? If it was just raw emotion he would have lifted his head, thought about it for a second, then went back to sleep. What really caught his attention was your blood. The blood of a half daemon. You¡¯re a rare existence, and while there are quite a few like you in your realm, none of them could even stand in your shadow in terms of power.¡±


    I didn¡¯t understand. I couldn¡¯t understand. I didn¡¯t want to understand.


    ¡°So you¡¯re strong? So what? It¡¯s a laughable strength if you left Mother and I if nothing but sadness and hardships. I¡¯d rather be the son of a weak man who tried to protect his family, rather than someone who has ¡®strength¡¯ and can¡¯t even take care of his own. If you¡¯re really my father then do me a favor and return me to my realm. Seeing you makes me sick, you¡¯re mocking my old man.¡± I lashed out in response. I was confused, scared and tired.


    He gave me a solemn look and said with sincerity, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Noctis. I have no excuse good enough for abandoning you and your mother for all these years.¡± He walked toward me and placed his hand on my shoulder. I clenched my jaw and held my eyes closed shut in a failed attempt to hold back my tears. ¡°You¡¯ve grown strong.¡±


    I looked up and wiped away my tears, trying not to show any more weakness than I already had. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I left you all alone.¡± He hugged me for a few seconds before sitting me down on a chair and sat across from me.


    The longer I looked at him the more details about him I noticed. He was nice clothing, since he was a big shot here. Every other feature was identical to how he looked 9 years ago. The pitch black hair without a single gray hair sight. A neatly trimmed five 0¡¯clock shadow covered most of his face. And his eyes held a sadness in them that could be shown after losing what was important to him.


    He began to tell me the story of what events had unfolded after he was forced into the military. ¡°After completing the basic training, I was assigned to a regiment that was informally known as the suicide regiment. It was filled with people who the military was willing to sacrifice. After a few days we were assigned to assault the country of Ignis, which borders the kingdom on the east.¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Ignis was a country whose size was compared to the kingdom. Their culture was vastly different and from what I¡¯ve heard it was a much happier place to be. That¡¯s all I know since the kingdom preaches that all other countries are far worse than it. Talk of otherwise is considered a crime and punishable by death.


    ¡°As we approached the border, since I had no interest in fighting that country''s war, I killed the entire regiment myself and then disappeared. I would have come home, but after killing in such a fashion the ¡®gods¡¯ were unhappy and told me to return back to hell. The human realm is the only one that is linked to every other realm. While other realms could be linked together, it was nothing to the scale of the human one. Whoever control it has immense power of the rest of the realms and the heavens feared that I was aiming to take over. If I didn¡¯t leave they would have launched a full scale war against me and would have killed you and your mother. In order to protect you from that fate, I left. I can¡¯t return any time soon either. As long as your mother is within the kingdom, they can kill her faster than I can get there to protect her.¡±


    With a snap of his finger, a necklace appeared. It was not anything spectacular, but it was still beautiful. It was crafted with a steel chain and a small black gemstone was clasped onto it.


    ¡°Bring this to your mother. While she¡¯s wearing it I can teleport to her instantly even if it¡¯s across dimensions. However you mustn''t tell her that it¡¯s from me. I cannot give you anything of the sort for yourself. I don¡¯t want to have a wastrel for a son who relies on the power of his father, not even once. Your mother is different. While you have strength, she doesn¡¯t. Your mother has a pure soul, much like that girl you¡¯ve been flirting around with. The only difference is that she is completely incapable of hurting others.¡±


    He also told me the story of how he met my mother, but that was too long and drawn out. It was the typical ¡®I came here to destroy this world,¡¯ type thing until he saw my mom who had a pure soul, blah blah blah.


    ¡°As for you, since you¡¯re both human and daemon, you have the power to use your bloodline and a contract. Contracts only form with humans, since mythical beasts are completely unwilling to submit to daemons. My ¡®contract¡¯ was fake and I simply used magic that I already had at a minimum in order to not stand out.¡±


    ¡°How do I use my bloodline then?¡±


    ¡°Oh simple, through countless years of bloodshed and killing.¡±


    Please, please be a joke. It¡¯s not a joke is it. ¡°I already came up with a plan for you to awaken it. My consciousness controls the labyrinth. After I saw you enter I shifted the labyrinth around and had you pass through with relative ease. The rest of the monsters are in the hundreds of floors underneath you right now. Originally the sword was down on the bottom, but since it¡¯s my legacy I figured I¡¯d give it to you before placing you at the bottom floor.¡±


    Wait a second. Is this man really my father. Is there a parent in the world who claims to love their son one moment and then plunges him into a deathtrap the next? I THINK NOT!


    ¡°You¡¯re forbidden from using your contract during this time, as I disabled it temporarily. You¡¯re not even allowed to summon your armor or wings. Forge your way back from the depths of the labyrinth with nothing but that sword and your own strength. And if you¡¯re worried about food and water, don¡¯t be. As your daemon bloodline wakes up, the blood of your enemies will nourish you!¡± He was laughing as he said that last sentence. And as a test I tried to will my armor and wings to appear, but nothing happened. I couldn¡¯t feel Exidium¡¯s presence either.


    ¡°One last thing. Before you give your mother that necklace, don¡¯t even think about using your bloodline in the outside world. You¡¯ll become a monster that the heavens will stop at nothing to kill or hurt you especially while you¡¯re weak and still growing. That includes killing your mother without a second thought. If you do so, I will personally teleport to where you are and execute you on the spot for disobeying me.¡±


    Heartless! Evil! This man is Evil! Then I thought about it for a second. He is a Sovereign of Hell. But thanks to the warning, I could prevent my mother from dying a meaningless death.


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll return your consciousness back to your body, claim your sword when you¡¯re ready. You¡¯ll be transported to the bottom floor once you remove it from the pedestal. Don¡¯t bother trying to escape either, I sealed the way back. I wish you the best of luck, my son. Walk with pride, but don¡¯t let it be your downfall.¡±


    With that I took one last look at the man before me as my vision faded away he was smiling at me. When I came to I was standing upright. The reaper was nowhere to be seen, but the ominous air around the sword didn¡¯t fade a bit.


    I walked up to the sword and as soon as I touched it, I knew the name of the sword.


    ¡°Oblivion.¡± As I said that, I pulled the sword out of the pedestal and prepared for the hardest trial I¡¯ve ever had to face.

 Chapter 19: Rise I

    I was in a different area before I realized it. There, a minotaur waited for me and aimed to strike me before I had the chance to react. Fortunately I had Oblivion in my hand and aimed to parry the blow. There was a huge difference in force, so I was pushed back, the bones in my arm creaking under the pressure.


    I paid no mind to the pain as there was a 15 foot daemon in front me, eyeing me as if I was a snack. I dodged out of the way of his next strike and went to counter attack. I was aiming for there to be a delay between attacks, but his axe was faster than the last minotaur I faced. I once again intercepted the axe with my blade, hoping to disperse the force. Instead of it working as I planned, the sword was forced against me, creating a nasty gash diagonally across my chest. My shirt was now cut apart and covered in blood.


    The good news was that I didn¡¯t die. The bad news was that my ribs and sternum were in several pieces respectively. It hurt a lot, but it was fun. I was having fun fighting something that was much stronger than me. I rolled out of the way of another heavy attack. I was unwilling to clash head on with him again.


    After the next attack, I rolled in range of my sword, and cut the achilles tendon. Strangely enough, when I cut, there was no resistance. After limiting the movement of the minotaur I circled around slowly, looking for an opening to attack. I moved in range to provoke him, and he took the bait. He swung wildly, angry after being wounded, and I jumped back. I rushed in and cut at the hand of the minotaur, severing it.


    I weakened its attacking power, but I was unsure of how hard it could hit. So I still stayed back. The minotaur¡¯s eyes turned red with anger. I¡¯m sure it was because he didn¡¯t consider me a threat and was just going to quickly kill me before returning back to whatever he was doing beforehand. But now because he was careless not only had his tendon been severed, but he also lost a hand.


    Aiming to finish the fight, he swung at me again with all his force. I charged in and feinted right. As soon as he changed the direction of the attack, I launched my real attack by spinning towards my left and bisecting him.


    With that last swing, I won my very first fight on the bottom floor. Thankfully the minotaur was the only one in the area, because I had trouble staying awake. I fell face first into the dirt and passed out cold.


    I dreamed of something nice. It was a life where I didn¡¯t have to fight. Where my family wasn¡¯t torn apart. The kingdom was a nice place to live, where the citizens were happy, and we weren¡¯t constantly at war. I could go to school and make friends. The guards were a sign of safety rather than terror. I could freely choose my place in the kingdom, rather than be the one to tear it out by the roots.


    A normal life, I yearned for a normal life. People think that being a major player in the world is awesome and cool. They¡¯re wrong, if I could sacrifice every ounce of my power for a normal life without the isolation, without the violence, without the hatred, I would have in a heartbeat. That was the last time I thought that. From then on my love for blood and violence began to surge.


    When I rose from my literal dirt nap, my wounds had been scabbed over and the bleeding stopped. The pain hadn¡¯t yet left as every part of my body was aching, but all my bones seemed to be intact. They also felt stronger and the blood running through my body was boiling, urging me to fight something, anything.


    I brandished my sword and walked onward. It wasn¡¯t long before I came upon 50 or so goblins, each one held onto a small dagger that looked to be about 3 inches long. This number was much more than I had ever faced at one time. I should have felt scared, but I was delighted.


    Was it the daemon blood? No, it shouldn¡¯t be awakening now. But what else could have caused me to find happiness in slaughter? Why was I happy? Didn¡¯t I want to be normal? Isn¡¯t this kind of life a burden? Even if it was, I wouldn¡¯t be able to kill things anymore. No! I can¡¯t think like that spreading violence and bloodshed is exactly what I don¡¯t want to do! ...but who said that I would spread it? Maybe I could use power to stop others from fighting. Maybe, but what happens if I become a monster that I don¡¯t want to become? Who will stop me? I don¡¯t care who stops me anymore I just want blood!If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    I was fighting a losing a battle to stay righteous as my taste for killing had just started to be acquired. My guess was that the contract had been keeping the daemon blood dormant through magic, and after I killed for the first time without it, it started to awaken, and afflicted my mind.


    I charged toward them, unhindered by fear. They were extremely confused for a number of reasons. One, I was alone and charging a lot of them. Two, I came from the bottom floor when most humans were to come from above. Three, I was smiling while facing possible death.


    I continued forward and then suddenly stopped about 20 feet away from the goblins. I readied a defensive stance. I was hungry for battle, but not death. Against this many opponents even if they¡¯re weak, they could still overwhelm me with numbers.


    As the first few approached I cut them down instantly, scaring the rest of goblins and showing my strength. After the initial ¡°assault¡± by them they surrounded me completely. 6 of them charged at the same time. I kicked one back into the group and then swung my sword in a wide arc, killing 3 instantly, their throats cut. I then proceeded to take the heads of the other two as the last one disappeared into the group. This time 10 of them came at the same time.


    Instead of waiting for them all to come at me, I charged toward 3 of them and cut them apart. I was careless and got stabbed in the back 3 times. Fortunately they missed my spinal cord so I wasn''t paralyzed. Unfortunately, there was extreme pain. Instead of falling over and dying like most people would after being stabbed 3 times, I only got angry. As I got angry, there was a red light shining in the skull on Oblivion.


    As the light began to shine more and more brightly, it released a baleful aura that shook the goblins to the core. After that aura was released they all froze in fear. After cutting down the 3 who stabbed they came back to their senses. And the sensible thing for them to do was run. They scattered away and it was impossible for me to catch them after just getting stabbed. At that time I didn¡¯t know that the light shining was the daemon beginning the process of waking up for real.


    For the next month I didn¡¯t do anything but fight onwards. I didn¡¯t stop to rest at all. Even if I was wounded I kept fighting, only to find out that a scar was where my injury was about an hour ago. Over the month I only encountered goblins and minotaurs and killed them all. It wasn¡¯t until I encountered an orc that I had a real challenge again.


    It looked like a giant pig headed goblin, and it smelled worse. It was larger than a minotaur and would probably kill me if I even got hit by it more than once with the brutish weapon it was holding. It looked to be a simple club, about 6 feet long, that was made for smashing things. Except this one had a spike through it. The spike was probably about 3 feet long and as thick as my leg around the base and extremely sharp at the end. Where it found this weapon was beyond me, but I wasn¡¯t interested either way.


    I cruel smile was etched onto my face as I was aiming to kill the orc instantly. I jumped up aiming to plunge my sword into it¡¯s throat, when the orc slammed the club against me. The spike pierced right through my left arm. It was imbedded through my upper arm, and my humerus was probably shattered into a million pieces.


    Without hesitation I took oblivion and separated my arm from my body, just above where the spike was. Instead of crying out in pain I bit down on my lip and continued my assault on the orc.


    I was overconfident in my abilities, and because of that my left arm is gone. Luckily, Oblivion was a sword that could be wielded with one arm, though I wouldn¡¯t have as much power behind my strikes, I would have to learn to adapt.


    I ran toward the orc and incited an attack then leapt out of the way, landing on the weapon. I ran up the orcs arm and slashed at it¡¯s eyes and then retreated. It was now blind so the fight was going to go easier. I was losing a massive amount of blood after forcefully amputating my arm so I had a sense of urgency when finishing off the orc.


    I found a fist sized rock on the ground and quietly picked it up, while placing down Oblivion. I hurled the rock across the room and picked up my sword in the next instant. The sound of the rock smashing against something drew the orc to go in the other direction. In that instant I ran up behind the orc and stabbed Oblivion into the spine of the daemon. Unable to do anything else, it fell to the ground with a cry. I swiftly plunged my sword into the back of the orc one more time, this time I pierced its heart, ending it¡¯s life.


    I had won. It had died and I lived. Life and death battles are the true way to make one¡¯s combat potential grow. I felt myself improve, even though it resulted in the loss of an arm. One moment I was looking at the corpse of the orc, and the next I was looking at the ceiling and for the first time in a month I slept.

 Chapter 20: Rise II

    After losing my arm, I never underestimated my opponent again. No matter the number, no matter the size, I cut them all down as equals. Over this past year I¡¯ve ascended more than 200 floors and it shows no sign of stopping any time soon. My hair is down past my shoulders but I can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s red or silver anymore. My body is covered in scars from my neck down. Strangely enough, wounds left on my face don¡¯t leave a mark after being healed.


    The necklace around my neck that was suppose to be given to my mother showed me that I still had family to protect. I wore it to remember my family was still alive. Every time I would lose myself to bloodshed and violence, I would look down at the necklace and it would drag me back to reality. That I was trying to fight for a purpose. It was only temporary as I slipped back to living for battle after just a few fights. This state would last for weeks to months at a time, and whenever I did it left a blank spot in my memory. If I was to try to remember all that would come up would be a red image of something dying.


    The daemon¡¯s blood was awakening more and more and I noticed that my wounds would begin to close faster and faster, but my arm never once started to regenerate. It seemed that lost limbs aren¡¯t simple wounds.


    I was fighting countless daemons, but I was also fighting with myself. Constantly trying to regain control over myself, trying not to be locked up by the need to fight.


    I don¡¯t want to fight anymore. I need to fight. But I want to rest. But rest would mean I wouldn¡¯t be able to kill during that time.


    I could feel the daemon blood eating away at my human half. My morals, my memories, my soul. I had no control over how I felt or acted. I didn¡¯t want to think about anything but fighting, and killing. But I was tired, really tired. I wanted to go home, even though my home was long gone. I wanted a place to call my own and I didn¡¯t want to be alone anymore.


    Death and destruction are my friends and family now. I thought that for a while, wherever I went the lives of the daemons around me were extinguished, whether the fight was easy or difficult, they died and I didn¡¯t. I guess I was thankful for that much.


    Every once in awhile, when I had brief control over my own thoughts, I would think of Lux. Was she okay? Was she struggling? I had sincerely hoped that she would never have to see me in a state like this. I was bruised, bloodied, scarred, and worst of all, insane. I couldn¡¯t keep track of my own thoughts and I had a hard time controlling myself. I wouldn¡¯t want her anywhere near me the way I am now. I feared that I would hurt her.


    I almost didn¡¯t want to leave the labyrinth because I was becoming something that belonged here. But I had to, for the sake of the only people I cared about, and for those who are facing meaningless hardships because of others. I had to get stronger and leave this hellhole. Forged by countless life or death battles I became strong. Eventually, another year passed and I rose above the rest of the daemons. For the last 20 or so floors, nothing dared attack me because of the thick killing intent that seeped through my pores. I didn¡¯t bother killing them, if I engaged them and slaughtered them one sidedly it wasn¡¯t any fun. So I wasn¡¯t interested unless they would put up a fight.


    Around the last few floors there was another orc who didn¡¯t think much of me, so he attacked with a club similar to the one that made me lose my arm. I parried his attack with ease, and then sliced off his arm, from the elbow down. After, I rushed in and pierced his throat, and ended his life.


    Boring, it was all too boring. Nothing in here had the potential to entertain me anymore. Even so, I continued to walk on. When I got to the last floor before the entrance, there was something waiting for me. It was a daemon that I had never seen before.


    It¡¯s hair was a distinct silver color, it was covered in various scars like it had been through quite a few battles. There was a five 0¡¯clock shadow that was messy and when he looked at me, there were shining blue eyes. The most alarming thing that I saw, was that he was missing his left arm. The final boss was myself I was fighting a perfect copy of me.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°While I¡¯m not technically a daemon, or you, I¡¯m still both. I¡¯m a manifestation of your daemon blood. If you can defeat me you¡¯ll have control over your bloodline completely. Don¡¯t get cocky just because you¡¯re able to cut down some low class daemons with ease.¡± It¡¯s voice was an exact copy of mine as well.


    ¡°Will I be able to control this bloodlust too? What about my thoughts? Will they continue to be scrambled and dominated by my need for battle?¡± It was a good time for him to appear, I could ask questions while I was in control of my mind for a bit.


    ¡°Sorry kid, that comes with being a daemon. You¡¯ll have to learn how to control that on your own,¡± He drew a copy of oblivion and began walking towards me, ¡°For now you should worry about me and not what comes after.¡±


    My blood began to boil and I knew that this was going to be the hardest fight I¡¯ve had to far. We clashed swords, neither one of us gaining an advantage over the other. We swung and parried each other constantly. Dodging and locking swords. I tried to stab at him, he parried my blade and went to stab me and I was forced to dodge. He slashed at me and I dodged out of the way and went to limit his movement by landing a strike on his leg and he immediately repositioned his sword to meet mine.


    No matter what one of us tried to do we both had an answer and a counter. This went on for several days. It was so much fun. A constant state of life and death was placed before me for an entire day.


    The stalemate eventually broke and it was because of a single mistake. Up until that point both of us had been fighting perfectly, not giving a single opening to the other. Perhaps it was because of impatience or fatigue, but he swung his sword a bit too far, and I immediately capitalized on it. I charged in during the half second he was unsteady and stabbed right through his heart. Until this, neither one of us had sustained an injury due to the other.


    ¡°Congratulations kid, you now have complete authority over your bloodline. Remember though, if you use it, your old man will kill you with a single thought. He¡¯s an existence that the current you cannot fathom. However your growth might never stop, and maybe one day you¡¯ll be able to stand as an equal with him, possibly even stronger.¡± With a smile he began to fade away, ¡°Good luck.¡±


    With that I had conquered the labyrinth. There was no other beast in this place that could harm me. The red light from Oblivion enveloped me in a warm light that made me feel comfortable. It¡¯d been so long since I saw natural light that all I wanted to do was get out of here. Little did I know that the warm glowing light had set off a chain of reactions that caused the heavens to go mad.


    I walked out and surveyed the area around the labyrinth entrance. Everything was still dead and I wanted to get to the sunlight as soon as possible. After spending more than 2 years in the dark all I wanted was the warm light against my skin. As I was rushing to leave this area, a sudden pain started to take over my body. The contract was once again usable and agony began to flair out. The daemon¡¯s blood was clashing with the dragon¡¯s blood that was suppressed until now. I was awake long enough to see two human silhouettes begin to approach me when the feeling of being torn apart by the separate bloodlines caused me to pass out.


    I awoke in the starless world. It was the first time in a long time that I was here. ¡°Long time no see, Noctis. What a sorry state you¡¯ve ended up in without me.¡± I had no way to answer him, because he was right. I was going mad, I lost a limb, and I was covered in battle scars.


    ¡°Your body is currently being destroyed, Noctis. Your father didn¡¯t anticipate such a violent reaction when the blood from the contract and the blood of the daemon met up inside your body. The way I see it, you have about a 10% chance of living as it is now. And even if you do live, there will be permanent damage that will be debilitating.¡± His words were like that of a doctor, telling the patient that they have a year before they die. The only difference was that I had about 30 minutes to an hour.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry that I was unable to help you when you were stuck down there, when you needed someone to make you stop.¡± His voice was filled with regret. Regret that he couldn¡¯t protect someone who he had come to care for like his own child.


    I was dying. There was nothing I could do to stop it either. All I could do was wait here and hope for the best. I was used to death and prepared for it a long time ago. That¡¯s what it means to take someone¡¯s life. If you¡¯re willing to kill, then you¡¯d best be willing to die as well.


    Is what a normal person would have thought. But I wasn¡¯t in the right mind at that time so my thinking was much more drastic. As the two bloodlines were struggling to break free from my body, repulsed by the other I did something that I probably shouldn¡¯t have. I fused them together inside my body and then my consciousness couldn¡¯t even be found by Exidium after that.

 Chapter 21: Subterfuge

    Lux didn¡¯t know how it came to this. Why was this happening again? In front of her was another monster. The darkness was circulating around it, like a vortex. Why had her father sent her to the labyrinth in the first place?


    Over the past couple years she had secretly spent a lot of her time among the common people. She visited the small inn often and helped out whoever she could. Whenever she wasn¡¯t doing that, she was training herself, in both close quarters combat and magic. At this point, she was unrivaled throughout the kingdom in both. Nobody could match her in swords, and nobody could rival her in terms of magic. Yet, she was still striving to improve. The one person she didn¡¯t know whose strength she could match was her father''s. But she absolutely knew that if she were to try to fight Noctis again, there was no way that she could last through a single exchange, just like last time. A casual blow from him matched her full strength.


    Little by little she began to clean up the kingdom. If she saw soldiers attacking citizens, they¡¯d be dragged off to prison, if she saw nobles using their influence to abuse the citizens, they would die. It couldn¡¯t be helped, if they were imprisoned, they would use their power to get out and begin to do the same things. These nasty people were better off dead anyway.


    The king on the other hand, was not a fan of his daughter¡¯s actions. She was a growing thorn in his side, as more and more nobles complained and more and more soldiers would refuse orders from their superiors. The reason for this was all because of Lux. She was a symbol of hope for the citizens, so the soldiers became more rebellious than they ever had before. In addition the nobles were scared of her, and they couldn¡¯t do anything to her because she was the princess, and at the same time stronger than any assassin they could hire.


    The king made a choice. Between his daughter that showed signs of being more defiant, and his control over the kingdom, he chose the latter. If she were to die, then their hope would be extinguished and they would be much more docile. Even though he loved his daughter, she was disposable to him. He could always have another daughter and train that one properly.


    He came up with a plan to have her killed that wouldn¡¯t cause a revolt. He would send her to the labyrinth for an investigation, since there have been no monsters coming out for the past two years, and then as she went in he would have his personal guard surround the entrance and wait to ambush her. He could then easily claim that she died in the labyrinth.


    He sent out the order that Lux and Almitas were to investigate the labyrinth that had been inactive for 2 years. When Lux received this order, she had no idea why Almitas was involved. She had no way of fighting and couldn¡¯t be of any use on the journey. But she knew better than to try to disobey a direct order from her father.


    So the two began their journey to the labyrinth. It was mostly smooth sailing. Almitas had the provisions in a bag, and was carried by Lux who flew there with her wings. Every now and then Lux would spot somebody in trouble and rush to help them. For example there were some bandits that were surrounding a merchant caravan. She landed and dropped off Almitas at a safe distance. She proceeded to annihilate the bandits, and went back to pick her up before resuming their journey.


    When they found the entrance to the labyrinth they were stunned. Something was coming out of the labyrinth when it suddenly collapsed, and then the darkness began to surge out from its body. She instinctively that whatever it was, was dangerous. The feeling of death being close to her was again there. In the past the only one to give her this sense of dread was Noctis, who was more powerful than her by a wide margin both times they met.


    After the vortex was formed, the darkness converged on whatever came out at the sa0me time, and then it disappeared. Leaving whoever came out of the labyrinth unconscious. When they approached, neither of them could speak a single word. It was Noctis once again.


    Only this time his body was much whiter, and riddled with scars. More noticeable was that his left arm was missing. His right arm had a deathgrip on a ominous sword that was had a skull that was slightly red. He was wearing a necklace with a pitch black gem that was shining even in the low light.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    When they recovered from their shocked state, they took him into the Labyrinth in order to shelter him and begin treatment. They struggled to move him, as he was like a lump of dead weight. His skin was cold to the touch and he was barely breathing at that time. Lux used a spell called Scan which made it so that she could use magic to check the internal condition of whoever she used it on.


    She found out what was wrong, and then turned to tell Almitas, when she saw that the strong woman she knew was crying like a baby. She couldn¡¯t help but cry and cry as she saw her child in such a long time, and it had to be in this state. She walked over to her son slowly, knelt beside him, and put his head on her lap and began to gently stroke his hair.


    It¡¯s probably better not to tell her. Two fierce dark energies were fusing inside him, overloading the entirety of his body. The only way that she could help him while he was like this was to create an outlet for the excess energy so that it wouldn¡¯t destroy his body. She placed her hand over his heart and let the energy begin to flood into her. The first thing she did was cry out because of the intensity of the energy, but she didn¡¯t remove her hand.


    The energy was extremely violent, and tried to destroy her from the inside out. She reacted quickly and instructed her magic to subdue the violent energy by balancing light with dark. That way she could at least survive the torrent of energy. Even though she was attempting to minimize the damage to herself, it was impossible for her to not be damaged. She began coughing up blood which alarmed Almitas.


    ¡°Maybe you should take a break honey. If you push yourself too hard then both of you will die.¡± Her words had good intentions behind them, but she didn¡¯t realize the current situation.


    ¡°If I stop now he¡¯ll die.¡± As she said that a look of shock came across her face. Then Almitas reached to help when Lux reflexively yelled, ¡°NO!¡±


    Almitas flinched at the sound of Lux raising her voice. ¡°If you try to help, the energy that¡¯s rushing out will kill you instantly. You have no protection against it like I do.¡±


    She nodded in understanding and went back to petting Noctis¡¯ hair. After about an hour his condition stabilized and hers got worse. He was sleeping soundly in his mother¡¯s lap as his breathing and heart rate stabilized.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to get some fresh air.¡± Lux was exhausted and wanted to give Almitas some time alone with her son, even if he was unconscious. Her words fell onto deaf ears as she was too preoccupied with her son. It was the first time in 11 years that she had seen her son, so naturally she wanted nothing more than to spend some time with him.


    Lux exited and began to cough up some more blood. It wasn¡¯t dangerous, but she certainly wasn¡¯t in any condition to push herself any further. Just then a 9 or so people surrounded her with frightening speed. They were wearing the armor of her kingdom¡¯s knights and had an emblem showing that they were the king¡¯s guard.


    Why...? Before she could finish that thought one of the guards approached her and placed a punch square on her stomach. Forcing her to cough up more blood. He then picked her up by the neck. ¡°Hey boys, let¡¯s have some fun before we kill her. It¡¯s not like anybody will find out.¡±


    All she could force out was a quiet, ¡°Help me.¡± but she never thought it would get her anywhere. She was about to be violated and killed right here. She never would have imagined that her words reached someone. A dark blur passed by the man who was holding her and then she was dropped.


    The guard was standing there was a look of hear in his eyes as he fell apart. The man fell apart. The dark blur made another passing and the rest of the guard were killed without being able to utter a noise. Lux had no idea what the dark blur was but could only assume it was a daemon that had ventured out from the labyrinth and killed them all. She thought she was next when she saw the figure with one arm, silver hair, and arctic blue eyes that looked like they had just been reignited with a passion.


    In front of her was the one who she had just saved. Noctis was awake already, and she was about pass out. He looked radiant as he was the only thing she could see as he approached her. He picked her up with his arm and was walking back to the cave. Just before she closed her eyes and lost awareness she heard him say something.


    ¡°I¡¯ve finally found my real reason for fighting.¡±

 Chapter 22: Synthesis

    ¡°Help me.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t sure who said those words, or why I heard them, but my eyes shot open after they were registered. Strangely enough I hadn¡¯t died. I wasn¡¯t sure why I was alive, or why I was laying on my mother¡¯s lap. Before she realized I woke up, I grabbed Oblivion and headed for the direction where the voice had traveled from. I would have to save my reunion with her for later.


    I reached a point where I could see what was going on clearly. Lux was there, and she was the one who had called for help. She was being attacked by her own country''s knights. The sight before me brought upon a calm wrath that seeked to envelope me. I let it. All I wanted in this moment was for that wrath to engulf everything around me. The voice in my head that usually cried for battle wasn¡¯t there. That was because at this moment I was okay with killing them. Even though I had never killed another human before, these people were less than the daemons I had slain for the past 2 years. The sight of one of them laying their hands on Lux set off a fury inside me.


    I covered my body with my magic and a dark aura covered my entire body from head to toe. It didn¡¯t release an overwhelming presence, but rather simply enhanced my body¡¯s movements. Ever since I woke up, I felt an overwhelming change in power and I hadn¡¯t bothered to look into it quite yet. I moved toward them, and then everything unfolded in slow motion. As I walked toward the knight who was holding onto Lux, he didn¡¯t notice me at all. The entire world was frozen as I calmly approached.


    I first sent a cut to sever the arm that was hoisting her up, and it didn¡¯t fall off right away. I then slashed 6 more times, cutting his body into pieces. After laying his filthy hands on her, and betraying his own, he didn¡¯t deserve a complete corpse. As for the others I approached them and almost nothing had changed. The one who I had cut up was slowly starting to fall apart and Lux was dropping to the ground.


    I killed the rest of them in a similar fashion, I cut from their right shoulder to the left side of their hip, bisecting them. I couldn¡¯t tell if their death was painless or not, but at that moment I didn¡¯t care in the slightest. I walked toward Lux who was in a daze and removed the aura from around my body. I figured out that I could summon and unsummon my word much like my armor, so I put it away and went to pick her up.


    It wasn¡¯t the easiest thing I¡¯ve had to do but I got her off the ground with a single arm and thought to myself that this was the first time in a very long time that I had a calm clear mind while killing. The voice and thoughts that usually were there, crying out for blood weren¡¯t there. I began to walk back towards the labyrinth where my mother was and I gazed down at Lux. She was starting to faint I couldn¡¯t help but think she looked beautiful. Her shining red eyes were staring into mine as I felt an overwhelming urge to protect and monopolize her.


    ¡°I¡¯ve finally found my real reason for fighting.¡± I whispered those words to myself in delight. What I was missing the entire time in the labyrinth was the will to fight for someone else. Even though I wanted to deliver the necklace to my mother, I had almost lost that reason, due to the fact that I couldn¡¯t remember what she looked, or even sounded like. I feel bad for saying it but a majority of my life was spent without her. I couldn¡¯t blame her either.


    I wanted to change the kingdom, that was my original purpose for fighting. Somewhere along the way in the labyrinth I lost that. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was really Exidium who¡¯s wish was the overturning of the country or my own. I was sure that I wanted to destroy the current regime of the kingdom, but was that reason enough for me to slay each and every daemon who wanted to fight me in the labyrinth? Was that reason enough for me to be able to kill like it was a second nature to me? Those kinds of questions were raised while I was in the labyrinth without anyone to talk to. That daemon blood inside me used that uneasiness and began to cause me to love fighting. In truth, I didn¡¯t like fighting before all this, now it¡¯s a stain on me that will never fade away.


    After seeing the kingdom¡¯s knights attacking Lux, a hatred began to burn inside me. I would personally kill all who were involved in this scheme. The daemon inside me was repurposed. I wouldn¡¯t lose my joy in fighting when I did, but the constant thirst for blood wasn¡¯t there anymore. All I wanted was to make sure I would never have to see Lux get hurt again.


    When I reached where my mother was, she had a strange look on her face. It looked to be happy, but at the same time there were some tears running down her face. I laid her down onto the ground and the second I did, I was hugged.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    ¡°Noctis. My Noctis.¡± Her voice was filled with a strange sadness. It was mixed with happiness. She was happy that she could see me again, but she was sad that she missed so many years of my life. I returned the hug and before I knew it, I was crying as well. All the emotions that were welled up inside me for the past 11 years without her were released in a torrent of tears.


    ¡°I missed you.¡± That¡¯s all I said for the longest time. I think that¡¯s all she wanted to hear at that moment. That I hadn¡¯t forgotten that she was my mother the entire time she was gone. That she could still be a part of my life.


    After the waterworks finished, I took off the necklace and placed it around her neck. I was unsure of what to say about it though. Your husband isn¡¯t really dead and I got this from him while I was being assaulted by a spirit that he summoned, didn¡¯t really sound like a convincing explanation. Instead I said something that could be easily understood without lying to her.


    ¡°I found this while adventuring around. I think it suites you much better than it would me.¡± As it went around her neck, a lustrous shine was emitted from the black jewel. In the next instant my father appeared.


    ¡°Already? Are you that impatient?¡± I was flabbergasted. I wasn¡¯t expecting that the second I put it around her neck he would appear. Looks like my crappy excuse went to waste.


    ¡°Tch. You try spending 11 years away from your wife.¡± He sounded slightly annoyed that I questioned him. I could see his point, but seriously? After embracing my confused mother, he walked over to me and placed his hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eye.


    ¡°Thank you Noctis. You¡¯ve done well.¡± The words of approval surprised me. I knew and loved my father but I wasn¡¯t expecting him to say something like that all of the sudden. I guess I was distracted by the fact that he¡¯s a Sovereign of Hell, and forgot that first and foremost he was my Dad. ¡°If you ever want a break from this world and all the violence you can spend some time in my realm with your mother and I using this.¡± He placed a ring in my hand and closed it.


    Right. They were leaving. I knew that he had no other choice than to do this to protect her, but at the same time I wanted to lash out like a child having a temper tantrum. For the first time in a very long time my family was reunited and now I was going to be without them again. I was close to 20 years old and I was about to act like a child. I thought about it and then let it go. Even if they were back in my life, I didn¡¯t have the luxury of being protected by them. The time for that has passed and I had to face the world as an adult.


    ¡°I see. If I have time and need rest I¡¯ll be sure to do that. I¡¯m going to miss you both.¡± I said that as I walked to them and they both hugged me. My confused mother got the gist of the situation, but was still confused. I was going to leave it to my father to explain it to her later. I stepped back and they both disappeared without a trace, leaving me alone in the labyrinth with an unconscious princess.


    I sat beside her and placed my hand on her neck to make sure that her pulse was steady. As I did I felt traces of my dark magic inside of her. I drew it out and her breathing and pulse became more steady. I wasn¡¯t quite sure how my body was still functioning since I fused two extremely different powers together inside me but before I knew it I fell back into a deep sleep right beside her.


    When I woke up she was still beside me, the only difference was that she was now awake and slightly blushing as my arm had found it¡¯s way around her. I got up and apologized to her.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Almitas?¡± I guess she realized that she was missing.


    ¡°My father brought her to hell.¡± I instantly regretted trying to explain it that way and then retold her the events that led up to my mother and father ending up in hell.


    ¡°....oh.¡± She was quiet for a while before muttering in response. It seemed that she was attached to my mother and was sad to see her leave. I guess in a way that was the same as me. We sat there in silence for about 10 minutes. I noticed there were some tears in her eyes but I had no idea how to respond.


    ¡°I...think I can fix your arm.¡± She broke the silence in a rather extreme fashion. My arm that¡¯d been missing for two years could possibly be restored. I was all for it.


    She placed her hand on the stump and instructed me to concentrate my magic where she was touching. I followed her orders and then a warm light radiated from her hand and guided the magic out of my body. The magic took a visible form as it flooded out taking the shape of my arm. After about 20 minutes, the magic had stabilized and had a physical form. It was my arm. My arm was restored. Only most of it was pitch black, with strands of light intertwined throughout the entire thing, seemingly holding it together.


    ¡°This might hurt a bit.¡± She infused a bit more magic into me and it jolted my system, shocking me a bit. Then I could move my arm again, fingers and all. ¡°Sorry I had to reconnect your nerves. That why-¡± Before she could finish I cut her off. I was so happy I kissed her.

 Chapter 23: Gap

    Lux used magic in another way that the world would have thought impossible. She used her own light magic to make a mold in the shape of Noctis¡¯ left arm. She used the physique of his right arm as a reference for the size and shape. The mold was extremely complex, as it included the muscle tissue and nerves to allow him to actually use it. After she made the mold, she had him flood it with his magic. Once the container was filled, she began to use her magic to stitch his magic into a stable form. By weaving her magic around his, it bound it to where his arm had been cut off. After removing the mold and attaching the nerves to it, he was able to once again use his arm.


    She knew he would happy that his arm was returned to him, but what she wasn¡¯t expecting was for him to kiss her suddenly. They stayed exactly like that for about 10 seconds. Still in a daze, she hadn¡¯t realized that she was once again in the starless world with Salus and Exidium.


    Exidium figured that now was a good time as any to pull them into this world. He did so in order to confirm whether or not Lux was with them. Last time she had been unsure about the cause to bring about a revolution to the kingdom. After being assaulted and almost killed by troops that were loyal to her father alone, he thought there was a chance for her response to be different from before. ¡°Salus, have you and the girl made up your minds yet?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s up to her. We haven¡¯t yet discussed anything.¡± Her grim tone seemed reluctant to go against the kingdom, and consequently, the heavens. In truth she didn¡¯t know what to think about it anymore. They seriously planned on killing Lux, but at the same time, she wasn¡¯t sure if either of these two had the power to face heaven itself.


    Lux was still in a state of shock when she realized that she had been called out to. She tried to remember what had been said and then gave up. She sent a message mentally to Salus in distress, and then was told about the current situation.


    Before she could say anything someone else responded. Noctis sounding just as confused and out of place as Lux, turned to Exidium and asked, ¡°Wait, why are we here?¡± It was that moment the two mythical beasts realized that now was not the best time for them to talk about something this serious. But it was too late for that now. Noctis was notified by Exidium what was going on.


    ¡°Oh yea, are you still unsure whether or not you¡¯re going help overturn the kingdom?¡± His question that was suppose to be serious was asked in an extremely nonchalant way.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s still my home. There are people there that I care for. I still belong to the royal family after all.¡± Even though she was almost killed by her own kingdom she was still unsure. This made Noctis slightly irritated.


    ¡°Those people are no good. You say that you care about them, but do they care for you? Your family doesn¡¯t have to define who you are. All those nobles are disgusting humans. Yet you¡¯re different from them all. You¡¯re nice and care for others, while they only care for themselves. You did something that they didn¡¯t like, so they had you come to the labyrinth to die.¡± Noctis didn¡¯t realize how sharp his words were when he said them. They pierced through Lux, striking a nerve.


    ¡°Even though I know they¡¯re not the best of people, I still refuse to believe that they wanted me dead!¡± She knew the truth. The emblems that represented the king¡¯s guard were near impossible to replicate. She was still in denial though, she didn¡¯t want to believe that her own father intended to kill her.


    ¡°So what do you plan on doing? Going back to the kingdom where you¡¯ll either be executed on public order, or get sent out again to be quietly killed by someone else?¡± Noctis wasn¡¯t saying it to be harsh or mean. He was trying to wake her up from her delusions. She should have known better than anyone that the knights were really from her own country and really were about to kill her. And just because they failed once, doesn¡¯t mean anything. They could always try again, especially if she walked right back into the heart of the problem.


    She knew he was right, but she wanted him to be wrong. It wasn¡¯t fair to him, but she couldn¡¯t help but to be unreasonable and then lashed out. ¡°I know that you¡¯ve never had a real place to belong, but that doesn¡¯t mean none of us do! How would you know what it¡¯s like to have that turned over all at once!?¡±


    She immediately regretted those words as soon as they were said. He had been alone for the past 6 years without a place to call home or a family. She said such mean words to him even though she knew that he once did have a family and that it was pulled apart by a noble who fancied his mother. Even though she knew she still lashed out and hurt him. She started to cry at the thought of him leaving her here because of the words that she had just said. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    Noctis just stood there and smiled. He wasn¡¯t hurt by her words. She was still here after all. She could technically leave the starless world anytime she wanted. If she didn¡¯t want to be here she didn¡¯t have to be. If she truly wanted to leave him behind she would have already. He walked over and embraced the crying girl. ¡°No, I found my place, right here beside you. That¡¯s why I can¡¯t let you go back.¡± The starless world faded away and this time she was being held close to him. Being held against his bare chest, she could feel the slow, rhythmic booming of his heart. She was scared, she was uncertain, she was tired, and she had been betrayed by her own father. She let it all out. Ironically the person who caused her fear and anxiety before was now comforting her.


    After about an hour they left the labyrinth and headed for a nearby village. Since Noctis¡¯ sense of direction was subpar, Lux led the way as they both flew onward. When they arrived at town, they both went to buy some clothes. Noctis because he was lacking a clean change, and Lux because he current attai stuck out too much and was also covered in dirt and blood. Once that was squared away, they used a few gold to purchase about a hundred acres of land, and used another few to have a house constructed on short notice. They would stay in an inn until it was finished.


    They agreed that the needed a quiet area to train. Noctis agreed to help Lux improve her sword skills and she offered to help him gain further control of his magic. They started by helping Lux. They traveled to a nearby forest to gain some seclusion. They didn¡¯t want to scare the locals when it came time for Noctis to use his magic, or reveal the identity of Lux, who was currently supposed to be dead.


    When Lux asked what sword style he trained in, he realized he had never bothered to learn the name from Exidium, who showed him the basics of the style he used. When he asked, there was short and simple response. ¡°Rising Calamity.¡±


    Rising Calamity fit the sword style well. It was mainly used to find gaps in someone¡¯s defense. Once the gap was found or made, it was exploited with cruel efficiency. It excelled in how unpredictable it was. Noctis had almost perfected it unknowingly during his time in the labyrinth. Although he had to approach it differently than what he was taught. Having only one arm caused a number of problems for a style that was developed for people who had both arms.


    The style that Lux had been using was the Royal Sword. A sword style that was passed on from generation to generation by the royal family as the name suggests. When she used it, it resembled Rising Calamity, but it seemed that there were slight differences in some of the basic forms.


    ¡°That style is derived from Rising Calamity,¡± Exidium¡¯s voice appeared in his head. ¡°It seems that his descendents were incapable of even copying it down correctly. Yes boy, it looks familiar because it was based on my Rising Calamity. I only taught it to two people, The original king of Justitia, and you.¡± It began to make sense to Noctis as he had an idea. He would correct her Royal Sword back into Rising Calamity.


    They began to spar with swords. Noctis was confident enough to not wear his armor, but made Lux wear hers. The first time was a complete blowout. She charged in at Noctis and he deflected her sword off target with his new left arm and then pointed his sword at her throat.


    The second time, she tried to close the distance between them before attacking. As she approached, he met her halfway, and put 5 shallow cuts across her armor in a single sword stroke. He was careful not to actually injure her and put close to no force within his strikes. ¡°Each one of those cuts represents the number of times I could have killed you in that time frame.¡±


    The third try was a bit different. She charged in like the first time, but feinted a stab instead of actually going to stab. She then switched from the feint to a slash across his body. Noctis was caught off guard and used his sword to intercept the strike and extinguish the force behind it. When Oblivion clashed with Excalibur, a brilliant spark was released.


    They were exactly the same age, and she had been considered the best swordsman in the kingdom, but in front of Noctis she was no more than a child randomly swinging around a sword. He was reluctant to tell her that it was because all he did for the past two years, day and night, was fight. When they clashed a little over 2 years ago, he had to use magic in order to deal with her. But this time, there was just too much of a disparity in experience.


    When it came time for Noctis to learn how to gain a better control over his magic, he first had to find out just how much it had grown after the fusion. He aimed at a nearby tree that was about a meter in thickness, and sent out a Dark Spine. When it made contact with the tree, the area around the point of contact disappeared along with the initial hole that was made. The tree was barely still standing. ¡°That¡¯s new.¡±


    Lux evaluated just what she was working with and stated, ¡°You have no control over your magic whatsoever.¡±


    As a demonstration, she created a ball of light and bounced it around for a bit. She then threw it at the tree that he had just mutilated. When it touched the tree, it stuck and then slowly disappeared as the tree began to regenerate what had just been destroyed.


    Feeling dejected, he tried to come up with an excuse, ¡°Well I have a lot more magic after the fusion, so it¡¯s natural that I don¡¯t know how to control it.¡±


    And so their quiet life of training began.

 Announcement! (And Bonus chapter!)

    *Boom* Noctis fell over after being hit by someone suddenly. When he turned around to see who it was, he saw a large man who claimed to be the strongest in the village of Notting. He was taller than Noctis, who was actually already quite tall, and extremely muscular. He had short brown hair and face wasn¡¯t bad. However it paled in comparison to the unique silver hair and blue eyes that Noctis sported.


    His name was Caesarius and he made trouble for Noctis whenever he bothered to show up in the village, and that was because he fancied Lux, who was always with Noctis. This has been happening for the past couple months, he¡¯d normally get tripped or pushed around. He did his best to ignore it, but today was different. Not only had he just gotten this set of clothes today, but Lux had also gotten hers, and fell down with Noctis at the same time.


    They had just gotten their new attire, for Noctis it was a black coat with one sleeve on his left arm that extended down past his wrist, along with a white glove. His right arm was bare, showing off his toned arm. He was wearing a pair of dark pants to match with his coat. It didn¡¯t matter if any of it got dirty because it was unlikely to show up anyway. Lux on the other hand, wore almost all white clothing. She got new clothes without fear of being discovered, since none of the villages residents have ever ventured to the capital. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    She wore a white shirt embroidered with a blue pattern, and a skirt to match. Luckily, it hadn¡¯t rained in a few days so the ground was dry and when she fell there was no marks left on her clothing. Even if there was, she could just use her magic later to remove the impurities from the clothing when they returned home.


    Noctis was annoyed though. The non-stop harassment was now affecting her. Now that it was like that, he had no interest in letting it go. ¡°Noct, don¡¯t kill him please.¡± Lux didn''t want him to get in trouble for killing him. It wouldn''t be terrible, but she liked the village and wasn''t in a hurry to leave.


    ¡°Got it.¡± As soon as he responded, he turned around and slammed his right hand into Caesarius¡¯ liver, stunning him. As he bent over in pain Noctis raised his knee to meet up with his chin and knocked him out cold along with a few teeth. ¡°Tch. No fun.¡± He turned around and helped Lux up before returning home. Nobody dared breathe until Noctis was out of sight. He was terrifying, that¡¯s all there was to it. The village¡¯s strongest man was taken out within a second.

 Chapter 24: Quiet

    After about a month, their house was ready. It was a simple one story house with two bedrooms. I thought it was rather nice. It was about the same size as the one that I grew up in. This one was a little bit nicer though. There was very little furniture besides the beds. We didn¡¯t use it to do much besides to sleep. Even dinner was just hunted and cooked at a fire outside, unless it was raining. It was fall and winter was looming around the corner, so we would start eating inside more often. For now there was no need.


    I was used to eating outside due to my 4 years in the mountains, but I wasn¡¯t sure about Lux. She wasn¡¯t sure about it at first, since she had been brought up to eat at a dinner table with proper manners and the whole nine yards. She grew into it as time went on, since it was always nice outside.


    Naturally we were busy, whether we went to town to get some supplies here and there, or training. It was mostly training though. From morning to early afternoon we focused on swordplay, and from then until evening we worked with magic. Lunch would be simple rations from town. After we were done training for the day, we would split up and hunt for something to eat. Whoever didn¡¯t catch the meal was in charge of cooking for the night.


    We soon realized that neither of us would be recognized by the townspeople. It was extremely unlikely that any of them would have ventured to the capital and caught a glimpse of what Lux looked like. Quite frankly, I don¡¯t think that they even cared about the royal family out here. As long as we paid for our goods, and didn¡¯t cause much trouble, they didn¡¯t mind us too much.


    Eventually I had to get a haircut. There was just way too much and it was a hassle. Before I cut it, it was down past my shoulders, and impossible to keep up with. I¡¯m not sure how Lux takes care of her hair, when it¡¯s all the way down her back. I made her cut it for me since I couldn¡¯t do it myself without making myself look dumb. When she was done I was impressed. It looked and felt much better now that my hair was only down slightly past my ears.


    We usually spent what little free time we had with idle talk. While we weren¡¯t technically together, we were beginning to rely on eachother more and more. Whether it was for me to kill an insect, because almost all women hates bugs and refuse to kill them if there¡¯s somebody else who can near them. Usually they instead opt to scream, because screaming solves everything. Or her waking me up in the morning, because I was not, am not, and will never be a morning person. It goes without saying that each of us was crucial for the other¡¯s development in combat where they lacked.


    What I enjoyed most was having another person who was my age to talk to daily. It wasn¡¯t as if I stopped talking to Exidium, but he was usually sleeping. Also we already know almost everything about one another, so there isn¡¯t much to talk about, especially since he can go through my memories so telling stories to him isn¡¯t effective. I imagine that Lux is in the same situation with Salus.


    When I did talk with Lux they were usually about little things. For example:


    ¡°Have I told you about the time I burnt down half the forest in the Lost Mountains?¡± Things like that. Or, ¡°I remember the first time I went to a little in and met a girl named Linn.¡± Actually when she told that story she seemed to remember something that happened between them and started blushing.


    Our trips to town were usually uneventful, but things did happen here and there. Every now and then we would take a day off and just enjoy ourselves. We weren¡¯t in a rush to get anything done. There wasn¡¯t a place we needed to be anytime soon. Even if we were to go against the kingdom, if we try to rush in without enough strength, the only thing waiting for us is death. It was almost like we were living a normal life.


    Months past and winter was already here. I myself didn¡¯t mind the cold, so I continued wearing my black coat that could be worn year round. Lux changed into heavy clothing. She looked stunning in it. The white clothing over the entirety of her body contrasted her black hair and glowing red eyes perfectly.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Training was progressing well. Her use of Rising Calamity was improving at a steady rate as I taught her the stances. One of the times we were sparring, she accidentally cut my shoulder because I wasn¡¯t exactly paying attention to the match. Even in winter I usually sparred without my shirt out of habit, and thus my clothes were saved from ruin. Thankfully she hadn¡¯t cut too deeply and the wound gone within the day thanks to my daemon blood. Even though it was clearly healed, she still bandaged me up and made me wear them just in case. I thought that part was a little strange since, well, she has healing magic.


    I eventually got back to the level of control I had before the fusion. No matter what I tried, I couldn¡¯t recast that enhancement magic that altered the flow of time. I remember using it, but I don¡¯t remember how I did. Besides that I also created a few more spells. Dark Lightning was a spell that used the dark magic to send a torrent of energy into a target, mimicking real lightning, but was far more sinister.


    Void was the only defensive spell that I created. It creates a mini black hole and absorbs all the magic around it. Unfortunately there is a limit to how much it can absorb and will disappear after taking too much. If a dangerous spell, like Broken Stars was used, it would at best block about 40% of the magic overall.


    I could also enhance my sword with my dark magic. Since it had such a strong affinity with Oblivion there were no problems with the magic harming the blade like it would a normal one. I could use the magic to increase the sharpness as well as cause wounds to become more severe, like the magic was a poison that I laced over oblivion. Lux of course had her own enhancements for her sword, Excalibur. If I was asked what they were, I would have no response. (These enhancements did in fact cause harm to local forest animals. I apologize.)


    As for Broken Stars I could cast it freely without any problems. I just chose not to often, since it was the spell that left Lux scarred for so many years. I don¡¯t know if she thought it was a big deal at all, but I didn¡¯t want to risk bringing up poor memories.


    Eventually she asked the question after sparring one day. We were sitting down, resting after the spar had ended when she said, ¡°When we met that day, I didn¡¯t even know you could use a sword. Now you¡¯re even better than me. How come you improved so much over the course of two short years?¡±


    ¡°Those two years were anything but short.¡± I didn¡¯t mean for it to, but a slight coldness seeped into my voice as I remembered. ¡°I gained oblivion then met with my father. Who sent me through a test of sorts.¡± I was still reluctant to tell her that my father was a daemon. Not just any daemon, but a Sovereign of Hell. Although I told her that he brought my mother to hell, I wasn¡¯t sure if she thought I was serious. Maybe she thought that my dad was just someone who was extremely powerful and could sweep my mother away without a trace within this realm.


    ¡°The test was to awaken my daemon blood. My father is the Sovereign of Hell, Lucifer. The reason I was dying that day wasn¡¯t because a random item I found in the labyrinth fused with my contract¡¯s magic, it was because my inherit daemon blood was fusing with the contract. During those two years, I did nothing but fight and kill. Death and destruction followed me in my wake as I ascended the floors.¡± My voice was heavy as I recollected the events.


    I was looking down without realizing it, and when I looked up I was expecting a look of disgust to come from her eyes. Instead what I found was a look of sympathy. She was feeling sympathetic for a half-daemon like me. ¡°I always thought it was strange that you recovered unnaturally quickly. So you really weren¡¯t kidding when you told me that Moth-Almitas was brought to hell.¡±


    I felt a wave of relief wash over me as I realized she didn¡¯t think I was disgusting or evil. She got up and knelt down beside me, and pressed her forehead against mine. ¡°I can never think of you anything but good Noct. Even though our first meeting was less than great, and I was actually terrified of your existence, after our second encounter I knew you weren¡¯t the person who I thought you were. You¡¯re kind, calm, and patient, especially with someone like me who''s never been without someone to aid her. And on that day we saved each other, I knew that you were going to be important to me forever. Your lineage, your past, and your power can¡¯t change that.¡±


    She lightly kissed my forehead before pulling me off the ground to once again spar. I wasn¡¯t exactly thinking straight the entire time, but managed to barely escape injury. I would describe it as daydreaming while fighting. I know it¡¯s not the time or place, but I was happy that I was truly accepted by someone besides my parents. Exidium is like a parent so he doesn¡¯t count. By the time we finished sword training, it looked to me that the day got a bit brighter.

 Chapter 25: Dusk

    The Shadow Corps was a division of the military that only contained the best of the best. There were about 250 of them that acted as a single unit. Each one of them could kill 10 regular soldiers without a problem. They were a secretive branch that specialized in assassinations and quiet destruction. The members were disguised as everyday people, including the inn keeper.


    Because he was diligent with his work, he was allowed to own an inn, and even have a family. However, he was never allowed to reveal that he was powerful, or apart of the corps, otherwise he would be killed by the other members. Although the guard who assaulted his daughter was never found again, and the noble who killed his wife was found guilty of treason and executed.


    Whenever there was a job, he would disappear from the inn for a few days. He¡¯d leave a friend to take care of his daughter while he was away on business. If he were to die on one of the missions, Linn would be treated as a part of the royal family. The king would go as far as to claim her as his illegitimate child. He wouldn¡¯t hurt her either, even if the entire corps was annihilated.


    The innkeeper was one of few the king would do this for. His strength and achievements within the corps were nothing short of astounding. He was among the strongest in the corps, and usually leads the missions whenever they¡¯re sent out, which usually isn¡¯t often. The king simply respects him.


    The Shadow Corps was shrouded in mystery to the rest of the world. Only a select few truly knew of who they were. There were two types of responses when a person heard ¡°Shadow Corps¡±. They either had no idea what it was, or they shuddered in fear. The former was far more common than the latter.


    They were known as a brotherhood to all those involved. They shared all their experiences together. They know each other as brothers and are willing to die together. Most of the guests at the inn are members of the shadow corps.


    Even if their methods were brutal, it was about efficiency. They weren¡¯t sadists who enjoyed the pain of those they slew. Most of these men in the corps weren¡¯t mindless soldiers. They were everyday people who had another side to them. Although they knew the country was corrupt, it was too late for them to turn back. When they join the corps, they¡¯re branded with a seal that prevents them from acting against the country. If they were to try, they would die in an extremely painful manner.


    The real reason the kingdom was a powerhouse when it came to war, wasn¡¯t because of it¡¯s troops. It was because high priority targets who kept the opposing country¡¯s army organized, were killed by the Shadow Corps. If they were to be wiped out during a mission, it would take several years for the corps to be restored, and the kingdom would have to be more docile.


    The corps had a perfect record when it came to their marks, up until the Red Equinox. They were mobilized to kill a 13 year old boy known as Noctis Lucifer. He was contracted to a beast that could potentially bring about the end of the kingdom. The only proof that was needed for that was the fact that he killed 50 or more knights as well as a few nobles instantly, and escaped a few moments later. After they were assigned the task, he disappeared from the world, and has yet to be seen again.


    7 years to the day after the Red Equinox, they received a new mark. After the king¡¯s guard was found dead when they were sent to kill the princess, the king sent scouts out across the country. It was found that she was still alive and residing with someone within a small town. The king then ordered the Shadow Corps to kill her out of fear of a coup d¡¯¨¦tat. He didn¡¯t think that his guard would fail to kill her, and when the scout reported that she was staying with someone, he became paranoid.


    Normally, one or two people weren¡¯t enough for the corps to be mobilized. They were usually sent out to kill multiple high priority targets at once. This time, however, it was to suppress the possibility of a rebellion. The king became scared that she would return to dethrone him.


    Hence the entirety of the Shadow Corps was mobilized to kill their country¡¯s princess and whoever she was with. The innkeeper was reluctant to do so at first, after all, she had saved his daughter a lot of pain. Even so, he had no choice but to do so. He would kill her in an instant to prevent her from suffering at all.


    They traveled to the little town within a few hours. The corps had little trouble with transportation and could all travel at a breakneck speed to complete their task in the shortest time possible. They wouldn¡¯t kill the residents of the town, because although they were assassins, they had no wish to do so. If they didn¡¯t need to kill, they wouldn¡¯t. Little did they know that they were discovered long before they even arrived at the town.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    They went to the residence where the princess was seen, and found that it was empty. There were traces of people living there, and recently. The corps spread out and traveled to the nearby forest where they were likely taking refuge. They were focused on their mark, and didn¡¯t notice two armored silhouettes with wings, simply floating in the air.


    Today was Noctis¡¯ and Lux¡¯s birthday. They didn¡¯t really do anything to celebrate. They both turned 20 but treated it like any other day. Training, talking, eating, training and then going to sleep.


    Tonight, Noctis felt that something was off before he went to sleep. He could feel that there was something dangerous going on. His daemon blood began to itch due to him picking up a hint of killing intent. Sure enough, when he went to survey the area because of his own paranoia, he found people who gave off the slightest bit of killing intent running towards his home. He rushed back and took Lux out of the house before she went to bed. Then they departed from the house and watched as 250 men searched around their property.


    They couldn¡¯t be sure of their strength, and they were vastly outnumbered. They had no choice but to flee. There was nothing binding them to the house, except for memories. Their possessions were limited since all they really needed was the clothes on their back. The kingdom knew where they were after just a short year.


    Lux, who was the smarter one of the duo, suggested that they flee to the country of Phoenix. Phoenix was a country that bordered the kingdom and was renowned for their adventurer system. The more powerful the adventurer the more famous they could become. Because of this, they didn¡¯t require a large country owned military, and only relied on them for law enforcement. Most wars could be fought with adventurers. They would be offered rewards to fight and then in turn, their performance in battle was usually better than someone who was dying for no reason on foreign soil.


    She suggested it so that they could improve their battle strength and make allies at the same time. They were short on people who they could trust, and both of them knew that just the two of them would not be enough to bring the end of an era that''s lasted for over a thousand years.


    They immediately vanished into the night sky. The Shadow Corps continued to search, only to find nothing. No trace of them ever leaving could be found. If they even left the slightest hint behind, they could have tracked them down. However, no matter how much they looked, they couldn¡¯t figure out where they vanished to. Hence, Lux became the second mark ever missed.


    By daybreak the two made it to the border. They crossed without a hitch because they simply flew over. However they were lacking funds, they left most of it at the house and only had a few silvers left because they had it on them. Eventually they came across a small city. When they entered they were in a state of culture shock. People filled the streets. There were stalls selling goods left and right. The people looked happy and clean.


    Compared to the capital, where the people hid where the could, trying to escape the eyes of anyone who had authority. This was much different, people were everywhere and talked to amongst themselves at a high volume. The adventurers could be picked out from easily by Noctis and Lux, who¡¯ve never seen them before. They were clad in armor without helmets and carried weapons around with them. They were seen socializing with the populace and with each other.


    At this point, Noctis and Lux were in their everyday clothes. Noctis was wearing his black jacket that covered his left arm, and kept his right arm sleeveless, along with a pair of black pants. While Lux wore her white blouse, with a white and blue skirt that reached just above her knees.


    After asking a few people, they made their way to the adventurer¡¯s guild, so they could register. When they arrived, nobody noticed. There were new people coming into the guild all the time. They were no exception. The atmosphere around the place was suffocating to the duo. They weren¡¯t used to so many people being in the same place and shouting the way that they were. They went to see the receptionist, who was an old man who had his eyes closed.


    There, they learned about the system that was in place. Whoever first signed up would be at an F rank. After completing a certain amount of tasks at that level, they could be promoted to an E and repeat the process up until A rank. After an adventure reaches A rank, they would have to complete a single task of S rank to be promoted to that level.


    ¡°So where are you two from? You¡¯re clearly not from around here.¡± The old man noticed that the way they were acting was strange, and because they didn¡¯t know such common knowledge, he concluded that they were foreigners.


    ¡°I¡¯d rather not say.¡± Before Lux could find something to say, Noctis answered without hesitation.


    ¡°Heh, well, that¡¯s okay. I won¡¯t pry any further then. The cost for your registration is one silver each. I just need your names so I can make a badge for you both.¡± He chuckled while explaining the process to them.


    ¡°Lu-¡± before she could finish, Noctis, the less intelligent of the two, gave her a light tap to the forehead, stopping her from finishing her answer.


    She was about to raise an objection before realizing that she shouldn¡¯t say her real name for safety reasons. After thinking about it for a few seconds she came up with something. ¡°Dawn.¡±


    ¡°What about you, young man?¡±


    ¡°Dusk.¡±

 Chapter 26: Missions

    The old man smiled at us and then disappeared into a room behind the desk. After a few minutes he came back with 2 wooden badges. They both had our ¡°names¡± printed on them, along with an F.


    ¡°With these you can accept F ranked missions. I¡¯d recommend you start with something simple, like goblin subjugation.¡± There was another labyrinth in this country as well. The only difference was that this one was well maintained by the guild. Adventurers would often go in and kill the daemons within as jobs. Goblins could be found in the area around the labyrinth as well as the first couple floors.


    Unlike the one that was controlled by my father, this labyrinth was far more dangerous. However, since the daemons were regularly killed, the danger of daemons raiding nearby villages was much smaller. Even if they were attacked, adventurers would rush to the scene in order to minimize the damage. Most of these adventurers were taken care of by these villages and treat them as a second home. When they¡¯re attacked, whether it was by daemons or soldiers, adventurers would risk their lives to protect them.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± We both thanked him simultaneously, and went to check the mission board. The mission board was a board that listed every mission there was. It wide, and each rank had their own section. We walked toward the empty looking F section. Most of the adventurers were of around D or E rank.


    We looked at the list and decided to take on the goblin subjugation like he had suggested. I took the mission page to the old man to confirm which mission we were taking, as Lux waited nearby.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be doing this mission.¡± I handed him the paper that read ¡®Subjugate 10 goblins.¡¯ ¡°Alright. You simply need to collect the right ear of the goblin once you kill it as proof of death. Good luck and be safe.¡± He accepted it and gave me a reminder that we needed to be careful. Not that 10 goblins would ever pose a real threat to either of us.


    When I turned back I saw a few adventurers clustered around where Lux had been standing a few moments ago. She was quite beautiful, and attracted the eyes of many when we walked in. Most female adventurers were already with another party and weren¡¯t interested in joining others. It seemed that in my short absence they decided to make a move. I started to walk over, but stopped when I heard their conversation.


    ¡°Come on Babe, we¡¯re C ranked. Ditch that loser and we can get you promoted quick.¡± The leader of the 5 adventurers was the closest to her. I wasn¡¯t exactly mad, per say. But it didn¡¯t feel nice to watch them hit on her the second I walked away.


    In response she simply laughed. She laughed for a couple minutes before calming down and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go with any of you can hurt him in the slightest.¡± They turned around and looked at me.


    ¡°Heh heh. That¡¯s easy.¡± As they turned to run at me a voice shook the guild. ¡°No fighting! If you¡¯re to do something then take it outside.¡± It was the old man. They walked outside, and were going to wait for me come out. It was clear that they intended to do more than just ¡®hurt me slightly.¡¯


    Lux cheerfully walked up to me and whispered into my ear. ¡°Make an example out of them.¡± She was nice and kind to others, but apparently had a zero tolerance policy when someone tried to belittle me.


    The last time she was hit on by someone, she didn¡¯t mind at all and simply ignored them. That was because they said nothing about me. This time they went as far as to make fun of someone who she thought was important. That¡¯s the type of person she is. Sometimes I think she cares about me more than herself.


    I sighed and pet her head as a response. She simply smiled and followed me a few steps behind as I went to the door. The second I stepped out, there was a punch flying at me. In response I caught the fist and threw him into one of the others.


    I took a look around to assess the situation. There were 2 to my right, 3 to my left, including the one I tossed over. The leader was one of the ones on the right. Apparently what I did pissed them off more. I wasn¡¯t going to kill them just because they¡¯re arrogant. But that doesn¡¯t mean they would escape unscaved. Before I knew it there was a smile coming across my face. It had been a while since I fought someone besides Lux. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°KILL HIM!¡± The leader shouted. Yea, I pissed them off. This time all 5 of them rushed at me at the same time, armed with their weapons. To blatantly try to kill me in the middle of the street in broad daylight was quite audacious.


    With their speed, it was unlikely that I needed to draw Oblivion. I was going to teach them a lesson. That¡¯s right, it was teaching. When they were within a few feet of me, I sent out a kick towards one, landing it on his chest, then dodged out of the way of the rest of them. The one I kicked was just lying there in pain. He wasn¡¯t going to move for a couple weeks.


    I rushed toward one of the others, and grabbed onto his arm, and into a nearby wall. The other 3 were shocked, but quickly regained their composure and attacked me seriously. The first one to reach me was met with a punch to the gut. He spit up some blood and then crumpled to the ground. The leader closed in next. I sent a kick to his leg, shattering his femur. He fell on the ground, grabbing his leg. The last one of the bunch tried to run away. I caught up to him and grabbed him by the neck, and slammed him onto the street. I heard some cracking, but wasn¡¯t sure what bones had been broken. He didn¡¯t die at least. The C ranked adventurers were quite disappointing for the amount of talk they did.


    Lux skipped over, and hugged my arm. We left the injured party on the ground for others to clean up and made our way to this country¡¯s labyrinth. It was located about an hour north of the city. An hour by foot that is. Once we were out of the city and out of sight, we brandished our wings and departed at a rapid pace. It took about 5 minutes for us to get there.


    The area outside of the labyrinth looked almost the same as the one in Justitia. There was a cave, and an area around the cave that was void of any type of life. No plants, trees, animals, or people could be seen around it. That was until a group of 4 adventurers walked out. There were two guys and two girls. The guys were mostly covered in a lustrous armor. One of them was about my height and the other was slightly shorter. The taller one had a shining blonde hair and green eyes. The shorter one had auburn hair, and hazel eyes. Both of them had fair features.


    While the girls were both wearing lighter armor and had two daggers each strapped to their waist. They both had the same red hair, the same violet eyes, and were the same height. Moreover, they looked exactly the same in every other respect.


    They paid no attention to us as they walked by. Lux and I just waltzed into the labyrinth and quickly found some goblins. They were slain before they knew what they had encountered. Both of us were a force to be reckoned with. Her control over her magic was amazing to say the least. I had the advantage when it came to swordplay, and raw magic power. But when she used magic, she manipulated it in ways I would have never thought possible.


    She killed 5 instantly by just creating a ball of light that seeked out the goblins and tore through their bodies. We needed the corpses to take the ears off, so we couldn¡¯t make them disintegrate.


    After collecting the 10 ears, we left the labyrinth. We lazed around to kill some time. There was no way they would believe us if we showed up after 15 minutes with the ears, when it took an hour alone to walk there. After a couple hours we returned to the guild and turned in the ears. We were given 50 copper coins as commission. ¡°So you¡¯re back safe and sound, eh? That¡¯s a relief. I¡¯m sorry that those punks gave you two some trouble. But it seems that they¡¯re going to need anywhere from several weeks to several months to recover.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I left it at that. There was no reason for me brag about how I beat up some people that were far below me. I turned away and took Lux back to the mission list.


    We repeated the process a number of times, and it turns out that none of the other adventurers went out of their way to bother us. After about a week of mindlessly doing simple missions, we were promoted to E rank adventures. We were given new badges that were iron instead of wood. Mine read ¡°Dusk: Rank E.¡±


    The E ranked missions posed no more of a threat than the F ranked ones. The only major difference was that the commission was now 1 silver per mission instead of 50 copper. So we once again did nothing but these mind numbing quests for about a week before we got our promotion to Rank D adventurers. This time the badge was a copper color, but read the same text, except for the Rank.


    Lux and I were bored out of our minds. So we started to train while we were killing time in between missions. Every other mission we would switch between swordplay and magic. After another week had passed by, we were discovered. We usually trained in a forest outside the labyrinth, were very few people traveled through.


    However, this time we got lazy and decided that it would be a great idea to just train outside the labyrinth. It was late at night and the stars had long since been shining. That night was sword night. As we were sparring a group came out of the labyrinth. Since we were both engrossed with the spar, we didn¡¯t notice they were coming. They witnessed the exquisite light that the swords gave when they collided. It was the group that we passed when we first went into the labyrinth.

 Chapter 27: Friends

    Maximus,Virgil, Ruby, and Amethyst made up an A ranked party. They grew up together in this city. The city of Vandalia. Ruby and Amethyst were identical twins, and their parents named them after gems, because they were the most precious things to them. There was no physical difference between the two, but they acted differently which made it easy to tell them apart whenever they spoke. Maximus and Virgil were best friends. They were met when they were 4 and were attached to each other ever since.


    Their contracts weren¡¯t ordinary either. Maximus, contracted a Nemean Lion, which was noted for it¡¯s impenetrable defense. In turn, most of his magic was based around enhancing his body and defense. Virgil contracted with a Hydra. A being that was not only hard to kill, but also had a number of tools to destroy everything within it¡¯s reach. The hydra¡¯s magic was based on regeneration as well as a number of different elements, including fire, water, and lightning.


    The twins had similar summons to each other. Ruby summoned a coveted Phoenix, while Amethyst summoned a Cryophoenix. The two had opposite summons and both had extremely good control over their respective element.


    They met in school, which taught magic and survival, as well as basic academics. There the four grew up to be astounding talents. They were strong on their own and could work as a team perfectly. Their coordination when it came down to taking down an enemy was frighteningly good. Maximus and Virgil served as the vanguards, the ones who were at the lead of the fight. While the two vanguards took the initial attacks, the twins would stay back and cast magic from a distance. If something happened to get close they would use their daggers skillfully, and create distance.


    They entered the guild at the age of 16, and kept getting stronger ever since. 4 years later they¡¯re already A ranked. This kind of speed with ranking up was almost unheard of. Usually some parties would be stuck at D and C for several years, and sometimes even B rank for the rest of their lives.


    This talented and powerful group almost made it to the top in about 4 years. They were a little arrogant, but they had the power to back it up. They were well known and respected. S rank was within their reach, if only they could figure out how to do the quest. ¡°Clear the Labyrinth.¡± There were hundreds of floors and to clear it, they would have to make it all the way to the bottom.


    The group wasn¡¯t in a rush and usually took it a day at a time. When they had passed Noctis and Lux, they didn¡¯t even bother to memorize how they looked. Those two were just two more people that wanted to become great adventurers. People like that were a dime a dozen. However they didn¡¯t imagine that a short few months later, they would see such an amazing spectacle.


    The two had wings and were fighting. They had clashed swords. The girl¡¯s sword gave off a brilliant white light, while the boy¡¯s emitted a dark light that made the dead of night even darker. As soon as the light faded away. A strong gust of wind dispersed from the duo¡¯s collision, almost knocking the group over.


    They quickly realized that they were seen, and looked at each other with eyes of regret. The two didn¡¯t bother trying to escape, because they had already been seen. It wasn¡¯t as if they were being hunted anyway.


    They descended and retracted their wings, which vanished without a trace. They approached the group with heavy steps. It didn¡¯t seem like they were angry, but more that they were disappointed in themselves. The boy was the first one to talk.


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m N-Dusk. This is Dawn. I hope you can do us a favor by not mentioning this to anyone.¡± He had a strained smile on his face.


    ¡°Dusk and Dawn huh,¡± Maximus, looked at them both with his bright green eyes and smiled, ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, I¡¯m Maximus. I like to say that I¡¯m the leader of this party.¡± He quickly introduced himself. He was frightened by them at first, but after seeing that these two had no intention of hurting him or his team, he became friendly. It was more than likely that the duo had more than enough strength to wipe them clean off this realm, but didn¡¯t.


    ¡°This is Virgil. He¡¯s a bit more on the quiet side. These two are the twins, Ruby and Amethyst. You can tell them apart because Ruby is more eloquent, and Amethyst is a lot more... loudmouthed.¡± He regretted saying that last word less than a second later, when his arm was met with a punch. Not that it hurts, since his skin was stronger than steel, it was the thought that counts.¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Amethyst began to mutter to herself, inaudible to anyone else. It was likely cursing Maximus for making a comment in front of people they¡¯ve never met before.


    Virgil was the first one to break the silence after that awkward scene between the two. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t tell anyone.¡± Not one to mince words, he got straight to the point. The other 3 nodded in agreement. A noticeable wave of relief washed over Noctis and Lux, as some tension had dissipated.


    Virgil reached his hand out. Noctis looked at it confused before realizing that it was a gesture. After an awkward beat, they shook hands. Maximus made a suggestion to the two. ¡°Why don¡¯t we walk back to the city together? You two clearly aren¡¯t from around here. We can show you around tomorrow, how about that?¡±


    Noctis had a confused look on his face and asked, ¡°Someone else said that, too. Do we really not look like we belong here?¡±


    Ruby giggled a little bit and answered, ¡°It¡¯s not that you don¡¯t look like you don¡¯t belong. It¡¯s just that people with strength around here don¡¯t try to hide it. By intentionally trying to conceal your power, it¡¯s easy to tell that you aren¡¯t from this area. Although, I¡¯m not sure where you come from based on your looks at all, since you both look vastly different.¡±


    Her explanation was on point with what the others had been thinking. Adventurers weren¡¯t the type of people to pretend to be weak. If they had strength they would display it one way or another. Meanwhile Noctis and Lux were trying to lay low. It would be strange if they didn¡¯t stick out.


    They accepted the proposal and then journeyed with them. They separated into two groups naturally. The three in the front consisted of Noctis, Virgil, and Maximus. While a few feet back Lux, Amethyst, and Ruby were chatting away. This was a new experience for the both of them. Neither of them really interacted with people of the same gender and age.


    The guys were sharing stories of their adventures with Noctis. They recollected the time where they faced off against an Orc. It almost killed all of them, and with enough, it¡¯s injuries eventually added up and then it died. It was far off from what Noctis usually did, but it was still an interesting story to listen to. Maximus did most of the telling, and every now and then Virgil gave a tid bit of information that would otherwise be missed.


    Meanwhile, Lux had slightly different versions of the same story. Amethyst did most of the telling, and then Ruby would stop her from getting sidetracked, like she usually did. For example, she would be talking about how they were fighting the orc, then that would somehow transition to how she got her name. As to how she got there was a mystery in and of itself.


    None of them really tried to pressure the two to tell them anything. Seeing as they were keeping their power a secret, there was probably also a number of things that they had no interest in sharing with people they just met.


    There was however one thing that the twins couldn¡¯t help but ask Lux. Unsurprisingly, Amethyst was the one to ask the question. ¡°What exactly is your relationship with Dusk? It doesn¡¯t look like you¡¯re siblings, but your names are related.¡±


    She had the right idea, but the wrong reasoning. Ruby then whispered in her ear, ¡°Their names are likely aliases, their real names probably aren¡¯t Dusk and Dawn..¡± It wouldn¡¯t be farfetched to think that people who hold many secrets aren¡¯t willing to give out their real names.


    Lux started to blush. She didn¡¯t know what to say to that. She wasn¡¯t exactly sure what her relationship was with him. She was sure that they cared about each other, but didn¡¯t know what to say. Since she had no idea how to answer, and didn¡¯t want to, she simply looked down to hide her blushing face.


    Although they weren¡¯t expecting that reaction they decided not to press on the matter for the time being. Instead they began to talk about what they liked to do in their free time. Ruby enjoyed knitting quietly whenever she had a chance. While Amethyst liked to practice cooking. They turned to ask Lux what she liked to do whenever she had free time, she simply responded with, ¡°I usually just train.¡±


    That response wasn¡¯t what they were expecting. Lux had a very delicate appearance and looked like someone who wouldn¡¯t do much physical activity. She was like a flower that couldn¡¯t be imagined fighting. However they both saw the monstrous strength she possessed when she was facing off with Noctis. In response to their look of shock she said something that she probably shouldn¡¯t have in a fluster. ¡°I¡¯m not really that strong. I can¡¯t even begin to compare to Noct.¡±


    ¡°Whose Noct?¡± That question left their mouths simultaneously. The realization of what she said passed over her face. And then promptly smacked her palm against her head.

 Chapter 28: Contentment

    I twitched a little bit. Just a little. Not because anything was physically wrong with me, but because there was something that I heard escape from Lux¡¯s mouth. Something that definitely should not have been said. Not yet. While I don¡¯t mistrust these people I think it¡¯s a little early to reveal that we¡¯re technically fugitives. While I realized that they were extremely nice to us, and that it wasn¡¯t fair to keep so many secrets from them, while they share a lot about themselves, it couldn¡¯t be helped.


    Noct. That¡¯s what I heard, and I¡¯m pretty sure she said it loud enough for everyone to hear. She could have tried to play it off. That¡¯s not what happened though. When I looked behind me, I saw her frozen in place, with her palm implanted into her forehead.


    I don¡¯t know how, I don¡¯t know why. I don¡¯t even really want to know, but somehow, she gave it away. IMMEDIATELY. I wish I knew that she was this bad at keeping secrets. I mean I knew that we were both relatively new to social situations. But how did she manage to give that away already? We had only met them around an HOUR ago.


    Exidium was surprised as well. ¡°To think that she contracted Salus, and can barely keep herself composed in front of people who are acting so casually.¡± I¡¯m not sure what the standards were for being contracted with Salus, but apparently they were high.


    ¡°Boy, be careful. If your name becomes well known around here, it will only bring disaster to the both of you, as well as the people of this country.¡± His words were like an arrow that stuck into me.


    My name was pretty unique, and was on most wanted list in the Kingdom. It could create a problem if it were to spread around that Noctis Lucifer, the demon who slaughtered his way out of the city after just being contracted with a beast, suddenly appeared in a neighboring country. I wasn¡¯t exactly sure how publicized my name had become. Maybe it was only within the Kingdom¡¯s borders. But there was always the chance it quickly spread to every other country around.


    Best case scenario was that they wouldn¡¯t be able to put two and two together. Hopefully ¡®Noct¡¯ wasn¡¯t enough for them to immediately think of Noctis. If only she would have shaped up. But no, she stayed there frozen in place. And then they all knew something was wrong.


    ¡°Hey, Dusk, what does she mean by Noct?¡± Maximus had looked at me with a hint of curiosity in his eyes. I really didn¡¯t want to say anything. I didn¡¯t know how I was supposed to get out of this situation. If I just awkwardly change the subject, then it will come back up. If I tell them now, they might just run away from us.


    ¡°No idea,¡± I made a choice, ¡°Hey, where do you guys want to meet us tomorrow?¡± They saw me brush past the subject and didn¡¯t make a big deal out of it at that moment. I guess they had realized something was wrong with what she had said, and that it wasn¡¯t meant to be said. So they swept it under the rug and acted like nothing had happened at all, which I was thankful for.


    ¡°We can just meet you at the guild.¡± Virgil was the first and only one to respond. The atmosphere after that was suffocating. It was too uncomfortable for any of us to talk, since they¡¯d just ask questions they know we can¡¯t give the answers to.


    ¡°We¡¯ll go on ahead. We¡¯ve been out for a while and would like to rest soon.¡± Lux declared as she took my hand and ran ahead. She signaled me and then summoned her wings, and I did the same. We then took off leaving the first people our own age we ever interacted with behind in the dust.


    It was only about another 5 minutes before we were in the city. I suggested we hand the quest in tomorrow morning instead of tonight. We then returned to the room we had been renting for the past couple weeks. It was a cozy place that had two separate bedrooms. When got into the room and shut the door, Lux attempted to explain herself. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°I have no idea why I said that.¡± And to that, I couldn¡¯t find anything to say. ¡°I got flustered because I thought for the first time I had friends, and when they started to look at me strangely, I said something out of the blue. And that somehow included your real name.¡±


    ¡°I get that you¡¯re nervous around people, but please try to keep matters about our past to yourself. Eventually, if we keep interacting with them, we¡¯ll have to tell them about our matters, but until that time, just give vague responses and memories. We can¡¯t be too careful with our identities.¡± Although I wanted to scold her more, I couldn¡¯t bring myself to do it.


    Instead I retired for the night. Meeting new people is exhausting, even if it wasn¡¯t for that long. That night I had a nightmare. It was more like a terror. I¡¯ve never felt so powerless in my life. I thought everything that was happening was real, and it was because my name was leaked and I was thought to be in the area.


    The kingdom caught us here, and there was nothing I could do. All I could do was watch as Lux was executed in front of me, and I was next before long. I was watching her die, because my name came up. I could do nothing but blame myself as her corpse was covered in blood. My greatest fear came to light. I couldn¡¯t bear to think about losing her, when she¡¯s so precious to me. Most of my life I relied on myself and Exidium. Now that there was someone by my side, I wasn¡¯t willing to give her up. I loved her with all my heart.


    By the time I woke up there were tears in my eyes. I wiped them away and I saw Lux looking down at me, with a face full of worry. I reached up and hugged her, and told myself it was just a dream, that she was still right there. Lux was confused as of what was happening but simply returned my hug, and began to stroke my hair.


    Her jet black hair smelled like the forest we used to live in. Although she wasn¡¯t that strong, her embrace began to calm me down. After about a minute we separated and she left my room as I was getting dressed. As I left my room. She was just standing there.


    ¡°Hey, Noct? What would you say our relationship is?¡±


    Well, I didn¡¯t see that one coming, I can say that much. So I did what anyone would do in this situation, I stuttered like an idiot. ¡°W-Well....Uhh...¡±


    ¡°Sorry for asking a weird question. I was just thinking about it after Ruby and Amethyst asked. And then I realized, I didn¡¯t really know how to define our relationship. I know it sounds weird but I have this feeling that I can¡¯t put to words, but it¡¯s overwhelming. When I think of people trying to make you feel inferior I get angry, when you look at someone else I get jealous, when you¡¯re hurt my heart breaks. I want to tell you that I love you, but I can¡¯t figure out how to express it.¡±


    She was listing off a number of things but they faded into the background as soon as three words came out of her mouth. Being the intelligent and sophisticated person I am, I stood there without saying a word. Lux realized what she had said and turned a shade of red that I thought only belonged to fire. She then began to mutter gibberish to herself, trying to calm down.


    I could kill without blinking, but now I¡¯m faced with a girl who just told me she loved me and I have no idea what I¡¯m supposed to do. Different things require different amount of courage I guess. Killing and women are completely different things. Understanding killing is like catching a fish. Trying to understand women is like trying to catch the Leviathan. No matter how much time you spend trying to catch it, you¡¯ll only know it¡¯s there at most.


    My mind went through a million different things before I blurted out a response that I hadn¡¯t thought of yet. ¡°I love you, too. You¡¯re more important to me than you¡¯ll ever know.¡± Where that came from, I¡¯ll never know. But the important thing is that I said it. Or is it the fact that she heard and understood it? Oh well, either way it worked out exactly how I planned it.


    She didn¡¯t have to say anything to respond. She simply looked up from her stammering and smiled. Tears began to flow as her face began to become less and less flushed. She walked over to me and wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me. Time stood still and I had no idea how long we were standing there, but it felt like an eternity.


    I knew that we couldn¡¯t be this way forever. The easy life would have to eventually come to a stop. But for that moment, I was completely contented with days without too much hardship and someone to spend them with. To think that a poor boy with nothing in his possession but his own name, would be making out with the princess of his country was like something out of a fairy tale. Like the ones that my mother used to tell me when I spent all my time with her.


    Eventually we had to part from each other, in order to catch our breath. It was a reluctant departure, but it wasn¡¯t going to be forever. I had almost completely forgot that we were supposed to go see the rest of the city with Maximus and the others. So this time, when we headed towards to guild to meet them, we did so while holding hands.

 Chapter 29: Disparity

    By the time we made it to the guild, everyone was already waiting for us. And because we were holding hands, the girls were giggling and Lux started to blush once again. She tried to hide behind me to escape the embarrassment.


    They were all dressed in casual clothing, compared to the usual armor that we had saw them in previously. The guys were wearing pants and short sleeve shirts, while the girls matched in grey tops and blue shirts.


    ¡°You two finally ready to go?¡± Maximus asked us, and the giggling started to die down.


    ¡°Finally? How long were you waiting?¡±


    ¡°Around 20 minutes. It can¡¯t be helped I guess, we never set a definite time to get here anyway.¡±


    ¡°Let me just finish this quest and we¡¯ll be off.¡± I went to talk to the old man. He was just sitting there like always. The mission this time was to hunt down a few minotaurs. I handed him the horns of the minotaurs and he smiled and accepted it. After a second, he said something extremely casually. ¡°Congratulations on becoming C ranked adventurers.¡±


    I looked over at the puzzled group that was about to show us around. Ruby was the first to say something. ¡°Hey, uh, how long have you been adventurers?¡±


    ¡°A few weeks give or take. Why?¡± I didn¡¯t understand why there was an issue. Until a gloomy look came across their face, I thought that there was nothing really wrong to begin with.


    ¡°So in a few weeks, you¡¯ve already become C ranked adventurers.¡± It was as if Maximus was going to die of humiliation right there. ¡°It took us almost 2 years to get that far. The rate of which you¡¯re ranking up is actually scary. Then again seeing as you have combat experience already I guess it¡¯s only natural.¡±


    Oh, that¡¯s right. I guess people only start to begin their real combat experience when they first become adventurers. It would make sense that killing 10 goblins would be difficult to them when they¡¯re walking around basically blind in the forever dark labyrinth, with little knowledge of their surroundings. It could take a few days just to locate the number they needed if they were being careful not to get ambushed.


    Lux and I on the other hand, simply walked through and destroyed the targets that needed to be killed and that was that. We could maybe do 2 tasks per day, and we thought we were avoiding suspicion. It was only natural that we completed a single task a day. For most people, I guess, they would take a few days to a few weeks per task. If I were in the same position I guess I would find it hard to believe as well.


    ¡°Well, I guess we¡¯d better get going.¡± We headed out into the city. The streets were full of people who were generally happy to be there. Minus the screaming child here and there, along with the annoyed parents, most of the citizens had smiles on their faces. It was something that I wasn¡¯t used to.


    It seems that there was almost no poverty, and all the shops had a good amount of customers. They showed us around the shops that generally were used a lot. Such as blacksmiths for armor and weapons, a general store for basic goods, and a bunch of places to eat.


    Although neither of us would ever need a new weapon, or set of armor, the general store and restaurants were rather good things to have knowledge of. We wouldn¡¯t be telling them that our armors were forever bound to us, and self regenerating(slowly.) Also that our weapons are extremely special, and incredibly powerful.


    The day went on as they showed us little things about the city, and things about themselves. They grew up here, so naturally they knew every street like the back of their hands. Where they went to school, where they lived, where they hung out. They showed us everything. By the time we were well acquainted with the city, it was in the afternoon.


    We were walking back to the guild, when Maximus asked something of me and Lux. ¡°Would you two mind having a mock fight with us?¡± A mock fight? I would assume that it was something like group sparring. In that case it would be a good opportunity to see their group dynamic.


    ¡°Sure.¡± I¡¯m not the one who answers that quickly, it¡¯s Lux. I guess I didn¡¯t have a choice to begin with, I¡¯m just glad that this time it¡¯s something we agree on.


    They all smiled, and then Maximus told us the details. ¡°We¡¯ll meet back at the guild in an hour, after we¡¯ve finished getting ready. I¡¯d like to ask that you both come prepared as well. We plan on fighting with you as if our lives depended on it. Naturally there won¡¯t be any lethal force involved. I hope you don¡¯t pull your punches when you fight us.¡± After that we split. Lux and I just hung around town for an hour, looking at different things to buy.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    We came across a stall that sold some jewelry. It wasn¡¯t extremely expensive and we could afford it with the amount of money we¡¯ve made from doing a bunch of missions. Lux¡¯s eyes wandered around the stall and fell upon a pretty necklace. It had a black gemstone that shined red whenever the sunlight hit it, strung around a white chain. Seeing that her eyes lit up the second it came into her sight, I decided to buy it for her.


    She gave me a kiss on the cheek and I put it on for her. It contrasted well with her hair and eyes and defined her beauty even more. We then headed towards the guild, and Lux was sporting a look of joy as we made our way there.


    When we got there, we saw the group dressed up in the armor with weapons that we previously saw. They were prepared for a fight, while we looked the same. However they weren¡¯t the slightest bit surprised by our appearance. Instead Virgil simply led the group out and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    We followed them out of the city and to a nearby field that was void of people. It was quite peaceful. There were trees here and there, and the green grass covered every inch of land. The sun was starting to leave us as we stood across from each other, moments before the clash began. All of us just stood there silently, waiting for someone to make a move. Virgil was wielding a short spear and a shield, while Maximus brandished a broadsword that was about almost his height. The width was about the size of his forearm.


    Maximus and Virgil were the first to charge, while Ruby and Amethyst fell back. I summoned Oblivion and intercepted both of them, as Lux maneuvered around them, drawing Excalibur and making her way towards the twins. Virgil looked to stop her from getting there when I repositioned myself in between them and her, making sure that they couldn¡¯t get to her.


    Maximus swung towards me and I saw Virgil out of the corner of my eye moving to attack me from the side once I block the swing. Instead of blocking I move towards Virgil and away from the slash, catching him off guard. I swung Oblivion with my right arm, forcing him to take it with his shield, and then immediately followed up by punching him in the stomach with my left arm. There was a small opening because he had to move his shield to his left side, since my sword was coming in from that direction. I left him with no time to react and sent him flying.


    Maximus was already close to me, because I wasn¡¯t focused on him he managed to sneak up on me and punch me in the side. It hurt, but there wasn¡¯t enough force to move me. I went to sweep his legs and once my leg made contact with his, it was like I hit a brick wall. After failing, he kicked me away.


    I had two options and losing wasn¡¯t one of them. I could either reveal my magic, or my armor. I looked to what Lux was doing, and she had already been using her magic, since it¡¯s her strongest offensive tool.


    I guess I could as well, but since most of my magic was meant for killing I could only use Dark Domain or Dark Pulse. I wasn¡¯t sure which one to use but I didn¡¯t have enough time to ponder. Maximus was already in range to hit me again, and Virgil was moving towards Lux, in order to help the twins.


    Dark Domain.


    Everyone stopped for a moment, including Lux. Dark Domain was simply too overbearing to be ignored altogether. Trying to get refocused on the battle, they returned to their fighting and Virgil still went towards Lux, who was in the middle of manhandling the twins.


    The daemon blood inside me was beginning to stir. I was enjoying the fight. My speed was increased by a vast amount in the domain. I got up and was in front of Virgil before I knew it, leaving both him and Maximus, who was about to deliver another kick, dumbfounded. I didn¡¯t need to swing my sword, instead I picked him up by the neck, and threw him at Maximus. Maximus, didn¡¯t dodge, as he was too shocked to move. While Virgil was only a little bit shorter than us, by no means should I have been able to toss him like a ragdoll.


    The two collided and fell to the ground. Meanwhile Lux was in the middle of a magic battle with the twins. They were using fire and ice spells to try and attack her. She was using her light magic to block their spells, and started to restrain their movements more and more.


    Seeing that they weren¡¯t going to get up any time soon I closed the distance between Ruby and I before they had time to think. Lux readied her sword and closed the distance between her and Amethyst as well. Within a few seconds, we both had our sword points at their throats.


    And that concluded the mock battle. Lux healed any injuries that they had sustained. ¡°Where did you learn this magic?¡± Healing magic didn¡¯t exist except for her own.


    ¡°I created it.¡± She said those words nonchalantly, and made their jaws drop. Creating a whole new type of magic, that hadn¡¯t previously existed at all, was no small feat. I guess even Phoenix didn¡¯t have any direct healing spells within their country.


    After everyone was all healed up, they gathered and thanked us.


    ¡°Man your magic is just too scary Dusk. Everything got darker and it was really hard to move around at all.¡± Maximus didn¡¯t know what to think of the Dark Domain.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the first time I encountered it I was suppressed by it and his extra strength so badly that I had no choice but to give up.¡± Lux chimed in, in an attempt to make him feel better.


    ¡°And when was this?¡±


    ¡°Around 3 years ago.¡±


    They all suddenly got even more depressed. ¡°We were still D ranked then..¡± After sighing one last time, they gave up on trying to compare to us. Instead they understood the disparity between us and then came up with a possible solution.


    ¡°Would you help us get stronger?¡±

 Chapter 30: Potential I

    ¡°Boy¡± Exidium¡¯s voice boomed, but only I could hear him. ¡°Their contracts are incomplete. If they were complete, their power would increase by a large margin.¡±


    Incomplete contracts? How did such a thing come about? All I had to do to respond to him was to think.


    ¡°They haven¡¯t been fully accepted by the contracted beast, and can¡¯t communicate with their beasts like you or Lux can.¡±


    Is there a way to fix that? I must¡¯ve looked strange, as I haven¡¯t answered their plea, and simply remained there thinking to myself.


    ¡°If you bring them into the Starless World, I¡¯ll be able to take care of everything from there. Don¡¯t worry, a simple touch will do.¡± He still insisted on teasing me, after making me believe that I had to kiss Lux in order to bring her to the Starless World.


    ¡°Come here.¡± Confused, they simply gathered around me.


    One at a time or all at once?


    ¡°One at a time works.¡±


    I stuck my arm out and placed my hand on Maximus¡¯s shoulder. In the next instant we were both in a different realm, surrounded by a faint darkness. ¡°Welcome to the Starless World.¡± Exidium welcomed the confused man, who hadn¡¯t realized that there was a Lion next to him. The lion had fierce golden eyes that were taking in it¡¯s surroundings. It¡¯s golden fur shined through the darkness and was like a beacon of light.


    The lion recognized Exidium as soon as he saw him, and immediately sat down and lowered his head, as sign of respect towards the dragon. ¡°Justitia. I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re still alive.¡±


    ¡°Old friend, I¡¯m not known as Justitia any longer. I¡¯m now Exidium. When I returned to from the Dark Realm all those years ago, I couldn¡¯t bear to let you see me the way I was. I created some havoc and disappeared from the sight of others.¡±


    ¡°So it was you that injured the two divine birds.¡±


    ¡°Two divine birds?¡± I interjected into their reunion.


    ¡°The Phoenix and the Cryophoenix. They¡¯re known as the two divine bird sisters. They¡¯re as old as time itself, and that old dragon over there somehow put them into a rather sorry state.¡± The Lion explained to me, and the confused Maximus continued to just watch.


    ¡°They mistook me for a daemon who made his way into the spirit realm, and I exercised a bit of power to make them stay away. That¡¯s in the past. Validus, will you do me a favor and entrust your power to that boy?¡±


    ¡°No. I won¡¯t. Not even for you. If he wants my magic and power, he¡¯ll have to complete a trial on his own. Teamwork is valuable, but having your own strength is just as important. If he wants my power he¡¯ll have to pass a test that I¡¯ll impose on him.¡± The lion wasn¡¯t about to give out his power for no reason.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take on whatever challenge you have to throw at me.¡± Maximus answered without a moment to hesitate. There was no fear within his eyes, and he was going to face whatever he had to. ¡°I need more power to protect my friends. I was shown that there is too much of a difference between myself and a true elite.¡±


    ¡°True elite?¡± Exidium chuckled, ¡°Kid, you simply shouldn¡¯t compare yourself to such a freak. This boy isn¡¯t something that Validus¡¯ power can help you catch up to.¡±


    ¡°Freak? That¡¯s pretty mean.¡± I pretended to be offended but I knew what he said was true. I¡¯m far off from normal, between my excessively strong contract and daemon blood from a Sovereign of Hell. There was no way that even Lux could compare to my full strength, what¡¯s to say about these people with incomplete contracts.


    In truth Maximus probably couldn¡¯t fathom my true strength. Even I didn¡¯t really know my limits right now, because of the fact that nothing since the Labyrinth a few years back has been able to challenge me. The 250 people who came looking for us a while back, I would have fought them if Lux wasn¡¯t there, but since I couldn¡¯t be assured of her safety I opted to flee instead.


    After a few minutes of them catching up with one another, they said their goodbyes and the world began to fade back to the original one. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    ¡°How much time has passed?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? Not more than a few seconds.¡± Amethyst replied, not knowing what was going on with me. I continued to drag them one by one into the starless world, and there were some different reactions to them seeing Exidium.


    Apparently, The twins had been contracted to the Divine Birds, and they were both petrified at the sight of the mighty black dragon. They remembered clearly what had happened to them, and were still slightly resentful of what had happened. The Phoenix¡¯s reaction was much more... Violent than that of the Cryophoenix.


    She had attempted to shoot some flames at him, to which had no effect.


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">This was his realm. He was basically omnipotent here.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">A little flame wouldn¡¯t be able to hurt him in the first place, since she didn¡¯t use all her power.</li>


    </ol>


    After failing, she became much more docile, and then listened to what Exidium had to say. All three of their responses, including the hydra were the same. The hydra was about the same size as Exidium, but recognized him immediately, and referred to him as his own brother. It seems the two had known each other like him and the lion.


    No matter what, each of the 4 wanted to know what their power was alone. They wanted to know that they could be trusted with their power, and they wouldn¡¯t just rely on their teammates all the time. My appearance furthered that thought process. A team is only strong as their weakest link, but if they¡¯re all weak, it doesn¡¯t matter if they¡¯re in a team or not.


    I don¡¯t know why, but Exidium trusted me with all his power off the bat. Maybe he saw something in me that I couldn¡¯t. Even if he didn¡¯t, I would still have showed him my strength in my two years in hell.


    Lux might have been the same, but I wasn¡¯t sure how her relationship with the griffin, Salus, was. Maybe she also got immediate access to her full power, maybe she had to earn it like these guys had to.


    By the time I had finished bringing them to Exidium, all of them knew their task. They all had the same one, but would have to work on it by themselves. Each one of them would have to rely on their own power to kill an orc. No magic was allowed to be used.


    ¡°How are we supposed to do that?¡± The twins were at a disadvantage when it came to close quarters combat, and would have a lot of trouble dealing with an orc without the help of Maximus or Virgil.


    Not just the girls, I don¡¯t think any of the four of them were in condition to be able to take down an orc alone. They would need a lot of training, in both body and technique. An orc was one of the higher tier monsters within the labyrinth. The minotaur could be considered to be a medium class monster, and goblin was a low tier. This would be a difficult task for them. Especially since they were used to working in a team.


    ¡°I¡¯ll help you.¡± Lux and I both said at the same time.


    To make it easier, I was going to train the two guys, and she would take the two girls. It was simpler that way. My training methods were better suited for them, while Lux knew how to make the girls stronger. They would need to put a lot of effort in if they wanted to make it through my painful training. I wasn¡¯t sure how much of a burden Lux would put on the Twins, but I knew she wasn¡¯t about to go easy on them.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we make it a little interesting,¡± A smirk found it¡¯s way onto my face, ¡°How about we have a little challenge every couple weeks until they¡¯re ready. Boys will spar against the girls. 1 on 1 of course, because teamwork holds no value in the upcoming challenge for you all.¡±


    It gave them an alternative incentive to get stronger, rather than trying to best an orc, which was way too far out of their league, they would get stronger in increments, making it an easier time for them. It was also a way for me and Lux to have a ¡°friendly¡± competition to see who could train their pair better.


    ¡°That¡¯s a pretty good idea. Just don¡¯t complain too much when your boys loose. ¡®Kay Dusk?¡±


    ¡°Who said that they¡¯re going to lose? Your girls aren¡¯t going to be too much of a problem. There shouldn¡¯t be any problem since you¡¯re a strong girl, right Dawn?¡± A friendly rivalry. It must¡¯ve caused quite the stir to our new pupils, because a flame lit in their eyes and they looked to be ready for war.


    My training regiment was anything but nice. It was kind of like the training I went through during the four years I spent isolated in the mountains. Physical strength and sparring. I made one of them spar with me, and the other improve his physique by running, lifting something heavy, or both at the same time. For the sparring, I went rather easy on them, but wouldn¡¯t let them hit me. Their movements were sloppy at first on their own, and wouldn¡¯t know what to do after being repelled by me again and again.


    They would switch every hour, and would have a break once a day for an hour or two while Lux and I went out to complete some missions. Their break lasted as long as we were gone, so they might¡¯ve prayed we took on a mission that was a bit more difficult some days.


    Their movement improved over the first couple weeks, and showed signs of increasing their control over their techniques as we continued to spar. My attacks and methods of defense shifted every time we sparred and wouldn¡¯t let them get comfortable with any style of fighting. They had to think on their feet rather than devise strategies ahead of time.


    When the competition came around, I was ready for them to win with ease. The result after each one of them encountered one of the twins? Both of them were crushed. They were beaten mercilessly. Why? I had no idea and when I asked Lux what kind of training these two went through, she gave me a pretty smile and said, ¡°It¡¯s a secret~¡±

 Chapter 31: Potential II

    I racked my brain to think of how they lost. I wasn¡¯t paying enough attention because I was assured of their victory, but the next thing I knew was that they were lying on the ground. Maybe I¡¯m just a crappy teacher. Nah, that can¡¯t be it.


    ¡°You¡¯re a crappy teacher.¡± Exidium interrupted my train of thought. ¡°First of all, your training methods are quite subpar. Second, neither of them are using the weapon that they should be. They should switch to something different immediately, to something that better suites the fighting style that they¡¯ll have once they can tap into the full power of their contract.¡±


    Well then. What do you suppose I do about the weapons and the training?


    ¡°First, Lion Boy should be using a gauntlet of some sort. Hand to hand combat would suite him much better than that of the sword, do to the overbearing nature of the Nemean Lion. If he can punch and pick more efficiently, he can throw his power around easier than if he relies on the sword.¡±


    ¡°Hydra boy should use a two handed weapon, something that has more reach than a short spear. If he has the magic of the hydra, then he doesn¡¯t even need the shield. A scythe could be used better. His main point of strength comes from the unpredictableness of the hydra¡¯s movements, which can be brought out better by the scythe.¡±


    ¡°As far as your training goes, you shouldn¡¯t only just spar and make them do the same type of physical training, over and over again. You of all people should know the importance of life and death combat. Sparring lacks an element of urgency. Even though they know they can¡¯t hurt you, they hold back subconsciously because they think of you as their friend and can¡¯t seriously attack you. It¡¯s different from when I trained you in the Starless world, because you knew that no matter how hard you tried, you would never be able to hurt me. They CAN hurt you if you get careless.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d suggest bringing them into the labyrinth, so they can get real combat experience. Even if it¡¯s an orc, all you have to do is cut in once the situation gets hairy.¡±


    I had to admit, Exidium knew what he was talking about. I wasn¡¯t exactly sure how, because he¡¯s a dragon and spent a lot of his life outside this realm. But once I conceded to his ways of training them, I dragged the two who were still on the ground back to the field that we were training at.


    ¡°How much money do you two have on you?¡± I asked them as soon as they were coherent again.


    ¡°A few gold, why?¡± Maximus looked at me with a perplexed expression.


    ¡°Go to town and buy some new weapons. Maximus get a pair of gauntlets, and Virgil grab a Scythe. Starting tomorrow, those are the weapons you¡¯re going to use. After a few rounds of sparring tomorrow, we¡¯ll go to the labyrinth so you can practice getting used to those weapons.¡±


    ¡°But we¡¯ve been using these for years!¡± Maximus was unwilling to change when he had invested a lot into becoming somewhat skilled with the sword.


    ¡°And it¡¯s been a waste of time. If you can¡¯t hit anything with your sword, it doesn¡¯t matter how much power you have with it. If you get gauntlets and practice hand to hand combat, your speed will improve and it will be easier to lock down opponents. Virgil do you have any questions?


    ¡°No. I trust your judgment.¡± He trusted me fully, but the bitter Maximus still had a sad look on his face.


    I went back to the guild by myself. They had the rest of the day to themselves other than going to buy their new weapons. If they tried them out, like they probably would, it would have to be because they wanted to.


    If I said I wasn¡¯t bitter that they lost, I would be lying. It wasn¡¯t because of their incompetence, it was mine. I had completely wasted two of their weeks, while Lux had brought the twins to another level.


    ¡°Bitter. Bitter. Bitter.¡±


    I instinctively knew I was being mocked. With a sour look on my face I look to see Lux, who had come up next to me. Her smile lit up the room. She was happy that she was able to best me this time. I¡¯ll show her!


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so upset, it¡¯s just a friendly competition, after all.¡± She gave me a peck on the cheek and I couldn¡¯t help but be happier. Maybe that¡¯s okay for now!


    ¡°Come on, we have to get to B rank, so maybe we can just hand in a few quests today.¡± It didn¡¯t matter how fast or slow we showed up. The old man who ran the reception couldn¡¯t care less either way. He simply said the same thing every time. ¡®Good, you¡¯re safe.¡¯This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    There were different people in the guild every time we left and came back anyway, nobody would just wait around. The labyrinth here was quite vast, so it was possible for us to not run into anyone, other than on the paths that led down. But even then, the likelihood of them coming back during the time frame that we did was slim to none.


    This time I grabbed a mission to kill 10 hellhounds. Hell hounds were giant wolf-like creatures that were on fire. They weren¡¯t as strong as a minotaur alone, but usually they were in packs of 4 or 5. But even 4 or 5 of them would get slaughtered if they encountered an orc.


    We flew there and then went to the 6th floor. When the hellhounds appeared, they were in a group of 7. Dark Lightning. Before any of them could move to attack us, they were all dead. The Dark Lightning shot out in whatever direction I wanted it to. A single shock was enough kill them by frying their brain. After collecting their front right paws, we left to look for more. Even if we left the corpses here, they would just be cleaned up by other monsters. They weren¡¯t too picky when it came to food.


    We encountered another 4 more. This time Lux just cut them apart with Excalibur. We were done with the mission within 20 minutes, and were almost on our way back to the guild. When we got back, we handed in the mission in without a problem and took another. With the rate of efficiency that we currently had. We were already B ranked within the end of the day.


    The next day, I met with Maximus and Virgil, who were currently both holding new weapons, with no sign of their old ones. Virgil¡¯s scythe was taller than him, and the shaft was thin so that one hand would have no trouble fitting two of it around. Even though it was that thin, it seemed strangely sturdy. The blade was long and curved, it looked like the sharpness was incomparable to regular steel, and could split it in half like butter.


    Maximus was already wearing his gauntlet¡¯s that appeared to be made out of top quality material. As for what that material was, I truly had no idea. I had little knowledge of anything outside of fighting. It¡¯s metallic color had a slight green tint to it. They had had been specialized for fighting, so there were minor features that differed them from normal gauntlets. These were slightly bigger than normal, in order to give room for some impact control, since they were used for punching. They also had some small spikes on the knuckles. The spikes were blunt instead of sharp, so they were meant to hurt not to pierce.


    When I got closer, I ordered them to fight one another. They looked at me with a blank stare before realizing what I had said. It took them a moment to get ready and begin to spar. Maximus charged in faster than he had ever been before to try to close the distance between him and Virgil. Virgil on the other hand, stayed back and used the range to his advantage. Whenever Maximus came into range, he would simply hit him with the blunt part of the scythe to stop his advance. It went on like this for 10 minutes, there was no way for him to close the distance, because his movements were easy for Virgil to predict.


    After being thrashed around because he couldn¡¯t even get close, Maximus was frustrated with the change that he was forced to make. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t trust me. But it looked that he was quite attached to the way he fought with his sword. His movements were faster, but they lacked something important. He still acted like he was fighting with the large, clunky sword and wouldn¡¯t completely use his body to move in the ways he now could.


    As a demonstration I spar with Virgil and make Maximus watch. I try to use the same amount of speed that Maximus used to show him what he was capable of. I ran at him and when he went to push me away to keep distance, I continued to move forward and twisted my torso in a way that would be impossible with a giant sword. I keep advancing and stop my fist as soon as it¡¯s directly in front of Virgil¡¯s face.


    Once I proved my point I took them to the labyrinth with me, so that they could train themselves with the daemons. I had no experience with how to wield a scythe so Virgil would have to rely on himself, but I tried to give Maximus what few pointers that I could about hand to hand combat.


    They continued to kill daemons while trying to make their movements with their new weapons more natural over the next two weeks. Nothing dangerous really happened, they didn¡¯t need help so I didn¡¯t bother chaperoning them around. If they were in any real danger they could activate their magic and would have each other. Lux and I completed around 40 B ranked tasks over those 2 weeks and were almost A ranked like the groups.


    When it came time for the 1 on 1s, I thought for sure this time my boys would have it. First was Ruby and Virgil. Ruby brandished her two daggers and moved in. She aimed to end it quickly, but was shocked to see Virgil holding a scythe. When she came into his range he simple hit her with the blunt parts of the scythe, denying her engage. It was the same way he dealt with Maximus, but this time it was much more refined. Whenever she got barely into his range, she was met with a blow to the arm, leg, stomach, or shoulder. It was an overwhelming victory since she just couldn¡¯t land a hit on him.


    Maximus and Amethyst were now up. She was wondering where the sword was, when she looked at his shiny new greenish gauntlets. She also wielded her daggers, and was in a stance that was ready for combat. When she took that ready stance, Maximus moved to close the distance. She welcomed him and went to slash at him once he was in range, but missed somehow. Maximus had pivoted to the left and sent a single punch to her gut, making her drop her daggers. That was the end of the second round of duels.


    After the group was sent home for the day, I met up with Lux at home. ¡°Don¡¯t look so grim, it¡¯s just a friendly competition.¡± I said that was a large grin on my face. Lux, who was not in a good mood, simply had a frown on her face. I gave her a kiss on the cheek and her face brightened up.

 Chapter 32: Test

    It had been a few months since the boys won over the first time. Over the past few months each side got a few wins over the other, pushing themselves further and further. Their power had increased by a lot. They were able to take out minotaurs by themselves, in under 5 seconds. Whether they were able to take on an orc by themselves was another matter. In the meantime, Lux and Noctis had already broken into the A rank. In around 5 short months, they went from F rank adventurers to A rank. That was an unbelievable time table. Normally it was impossible for someone to become an A rank within 4 years.


    The group wasn¡¯t even surprised anymore, what they cared about was proving themselves to their contracted beast. Whenever one of them went on their trial, they would be escorted by either Noctis or Lux. Their purpose was to attempt to defeat the orc, not get killed by it. Even if they couldn¡¯t succeed the first time, they could always try again.


    First was Virgil. He was taken by Noctis to the Labyrinth and would hunt for an orc on his own. It didn¡¯t take long for them to encounter an orc. The 10 foot tall pig headed creature was alone about 40 feet away. Virgil approached in a calm manner, with his scythe ready.


    He closed the gap between them and provoked it. All he had to do for that was yell. ¡°HEY!¡± hearing him, the ugly beast looked at him and was already ready to swing a giant lump of something that looked like a club. Virgil nimbly dodged the club by stepping to the side, and then lodged the curved blade into the elbow of the orc. After another smooth motion, the arm holding the club fell to the ground, along with a lot of blood.


    It began to scream in agony, but it didn¡¯t last long. The scythe found it¡¯s way into the neck of the orc, cutting the scream short. It wasn¡¯t there for long, before it passed through like a ghost, taking it¡¯s throat and jugular with it.


    Moments later the orc fell over dead. A smile crossed Noctis¡¯ face in light of his pupil¡¯s success. Virgil was also smiling, but that didn¡¯t last long at all. He fell to the ground in agony, as the contract mark on his right shoulder began to burn. The burning pain wouldn¡¯t leave him any time soon, so Noctis picked him up and took him out of the labyrinth.


    The contract mark, was no longer the size of a coin, like most of them were. Virgil¡¯s arms, shoulders, and around the base of his neck were now all covered in scale-like marks. Scattered around the scales, there were 7 sets of eyes. It was the sign that he had grown stronger. It was nowhere near the scale of Noctis¡¯ full body tattoo that resembled the entirety of the might of the dragon, but it was also slightly more than what Lux had. However, if he were to fight Lux at full strength, he still wouldn¡¯t be able to do as much as to catch her shadow. It was a matter of her being in almost full control of close to the entirety of her power, which was still growing.


    Ruby was actually undergoing the trial at the same time with Lux. When they encountered the orc, there was little time for it to react. In 3 swift movements, she cut behind both the knees, and made the shoulder of the arm that was holding it¡¯s weapon useless. Immobilized and unable to fight back, she stabbed it in the jugular, ending it¡¯s life before it had a chance to do anything.


    She fainted in a similar fashion, with the contract mark that was on her back was burning like a hellfire. It turned into something much more beautiful though. It was a set of red wings, perfectly imprinted onto her back. They were almost like real flames, seeming to flicker.


    The other two also passed their tests. Maximus had beaten the orc to death with the gauntlets. Easily shattering it¡¯s bones and ultimately crushed it¡¯s throat, making it die a painful slow death of suffocation. Amethyst took out the orc in almost the exact same way that Ruby did, only she opted to cut it¡¯s throat rather than stab it in the jugular.


    Maximus manifested the full contract along the entirety of his chest, a lion with it¡¯s mane was depicted. The lion was roaring, baring it¡¯s teeth to whoever or whatever tried to oppose it. Amethyst had icy blue wings on her back, exactly like Ruby. Only her was mesmerizing, due to their crystal-like appearance. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    None of them woke up until the next day. While they were passed out, they were each meeting with the beast that they had contracted. None of them had their own realm, like Exidium did, but they could still communicate with them whenever they wanted. They each learned of their newfound powers.


    The twins could summon wings, and had the amount of magic they could control, was increased by a monumental amount. They were also both now technically immortal. Of course, they would still die of old age, but never to wounds. That wasn¡¯t any reason they would throw themselves at enemies recklessly, because pain sucked. If Ruby took a fatal amount of damage, and had enough magic left, she could turn herself into ashes and be reborn from them. While Amethyst would be able to freeze her entire body, and then the ice would be able to close any type of wound. This took about a quarter of their magic, so doing it multiple times would be extremely strenuous.


    Maximus could summon a suite of completely golden armor at will. The Nemean Lion lived up to it¡¯s name and even Noctis had a hard time damaging the armor. That¡¯s not to say he couldn¡¯t, but it¡¯s defensive strength was far above the armor that Noctis or Lux summoned.


    Last, Virgil got the most unfair power out of any of them. As long as he was left with at least a single cell, he could regenerate back to full strength. He inherited the full vitality of the Hydra, as well as a newfound flexibility, that would allow him to wield his scythe to a terrifying degree.


    Noctis, however, found it strange that they would gain bigger contract marks than Lux, when she was levels of power above them. Control wasn¡¯t all that caused the gap of power. The light magic that she used was something that had domain over many other types of magic. How could a beast of light be less powerful than anything else? He decided to ask someone who always had the answer, Exidium.


    Does Lux have an incomplete contract as well? Within seconds, Exidium responded. ¡°Yes, I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d catch on so ¡®quickly¡¯.¡± He was mocking Noctis. After all, Lux had been this way since he saw her contract the griffin. Salus was a being that could almost rival Exidium in power, it would be strange if there was such a large difference in the size of the contract mark. ¡°Salus has her reasons for not giving Lux all her power, what that reason is, only she knows.¡±


    Is there anything we can do? Noctis wanted to help her if it was possible. ¡°Pull her into the Starless World, and we¡¯ll see.¡±


    Noctis went to try and find Lux, who was in her room in the middle of thought about the exact same question. She felt it more and more as she got stronger. That Salus was holding something back from her, that there was something missing from her contract. A hand reached out and touched her shoulder, startling her. But when she turned around, there was nothing there. Only darkness, and she recognized where she had been taken.


    She looked around and saw a dragon that still scared her. On top of one of his claws that were firmly planted on the ground, was Noctis. A figure with the body of a lion, and wings and head of an eagle descended next to her. Salus was there with an aura of holiness around her.


    ¡°Why have you called me back here Exidium?¡± Impatience was saturated in her voice. It was clear that she had no interest in being here with them.


    ¡°I guess we¡¯ll skip pleasantries. Why are you limiting the amount of power you¡¯re giving to Lux.¡± Exidium¡¯s voice didn¡¯t expose anything. It was completely neutral, close to lacking emotion.


    ¡°I have a few reasons, one being that I wasn¡¯t sure at first how much power she could handle or control. As well as if she would ever use my power to harm innocents. If she did that there was no way I could ever give her my full strength. But the biggest issue is that if I do, there¡¯s a large chance that it could kill her.¡±


    Noctis¡¯ heart sunk. He didn¡¯t want her doing anything that had a high chance of death, but he instinctively knew that Lux wasn¡¯t the type of person to turn away from danger, if it meant bettering the world.


    Lux was scared, but she knew that she had to accept that risk. There was no easy way to obtain power. If she had to risk her life, then so be it. But she did want to know why there could be a danger to her life, when the rest of the group, and Noctis, didn¡¯t have any issues with the full contract.


    But before she could raise the question herself, the dragon spoke. ¡°What is the risk?¡± It was no longer the empty voice, it was one of worry. Exidium cared for Noctis, and in turn cared for Lux. It was the type of familiarity one would have with a daughter-in-law.


    ¡°If I give her my full power, there¡¯s a large chance it could awaken the blood of the Archangel that sleeps in her. If that happens there would be the same reaction that the boy went through.¡±

 Chapter 33: Shock

    I didn¡¯t want her to do it. I was scared, and I was afraid of being alone again. A large possibility of death didn¡¯t sound too promising either. From what I know I only survived because of her. If it¡¯s the same state I was in after the fusion, then I don¡¯t know if I could help do the same thing that she did for me.


    I knew for a fact that if she died, I would lose any motivation I had before. Without any will to suppress my daemon¡¯s blood that was always ready to wreak havoc, it would control me and make me destroy everything around me before I could regain control of myself.


    ¡°I¡¯m against you trying it.¡± I was quick to protest against the idea.


    ¡°I think she needs to try. Nothing in this world comes for free. Eventually there will be a point where training will no longer help. My thinking is that the more and more her body gets accustomed to Salus¡¯ magic, the more likely the blood of an Archangel will be rejected.¡±


    ¡°Why do we need more power? Isn¡¯t it enough already?¡± I tried any reason I could to not have her go through with it.


    ¡°Boy, there are things far scarier than that kingdom, and it¡¯s king. You won¡¯t understand right now, but in time you¡¯ll realize that a storm is coming. You¡¯ll need a lot more power to keep yourselves from getting swept away.¡±


    ¡°But how are we survive a storm, if she dies before it even gets here.¡±


    ¡°Like I said, there¡¯s no reward without taking risks. The greater the risk, the greater the reward. If she faces death as a risk then so be it, she¡¯ll become that much more powerful. She might even be able to rival you for the first time.¡±


    Lux knew I wanted her safety first, but she also didn¡¯t want to be a burden, so in the end she was going to do it. ¡°I¡¯ll accept the risk if it means that I have the power to protect people that I need to.¡± Her resolve flooded the empty space. She wasn¡¯t going to back down no matter what.


    Salus let out a deep sigh, there was nothing that she could do to protest. She was completely willing to face death, and already proved herself to the griffin. All she could do was agree and then prepare for the worst.


    ¡°We¡¯ll attempt it first thing tomorrow morning.¡±


    ¡°But-¡± Before I could get another word in, Exidium released the two of them from the Starless world. It was just Exidium and I. There was no wind in this world, but there was something else that was causing a chill to be gripping my spine. Something didn¡¯t seem right with the whole situation.


    ¡°Why are you encouraging putting her in danger?¡± Some anger slips into my voice as I grow louder.


    ¡°If you do nothing but try to protect her, then she¡¯ll grow weak, and that¡¯s exactly what she doesn¡¯t want to happen. You want to protect her, but she wants to protect everyone else. It¡¯s her will, stop acting like a child and accept the fact that she¡¯s ready face death. I admit I didn¡¯t see this coming, but that doesn¡¯t mean you have the right to deny her the chance to grow powerful just because it¡¯s dangerous. Do you think that she would have let you go to the labyrinth that day if she knew that you were going to do nothing but fight for two years, and even lose your arm? Don¡¯t think you¡¯re the only one who can take risks, boy.¡±


    I knew that I was acting spoiled already, but I really didn¡¯t want her to die. She was the most important person to me. If she was gone, then I wouldn¡¯t find anyone that could even come close to her. But even still, I had to let her do what she wanted to do.


    I was returned from the Starless World, and saw that I was still holding Lux¡¯s shoulder. I guess there was no time lapse, even though she returned first. I didn¡¯t understand how that whole time flow difference worked, and I don¡¯t think Exidium did either.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    I could feel her trembling as I was holding onto her. The suffocating sound of her sniffling and attempting to hold back her tears was all that could be heard. This was an almost entirely different person from who was just in the Starless World with me.


    ¡°I¡¯m scared Noct.¡± she turned around and buried her head into my chest, and I wrapped my arms around her instinctively. Scared. I was too, but it was a different type of scared. I feel powerless because there¡¯s nothing I can do to help her in this situation. I can do nothing to comfort the girl trembling and crying in my arms. She¡¯s facing danger and I can only watch. Watching is even worse than not knowing. Because I know that even if she dies, then I can do nothing but keep watching.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to die.¡± Words that anyone could relate to. Death was the end, even those who claim to welcome death, will tremble at the edge of a blade. The blade that was held against her neck, wasn¡¯t one that could be dodged, because she refused to move. All she could do is hope to survive. She was leaving her life to fate.


    ¡°I want to live. I want to have a life without all the fighting. I just want live in peace with you.¡±


    I knew that she hated fighting, but she did because she had no choice but to fight. But it simply wasn¡¯t possible for her to avoid it as long as she was with me. I was like a magnet that attracted all types of trouble.


    ¡°I know.¡± is all I could say as I lightly stroked her soft black hair in an attempt to calm her down. She kept crying and mumbling things to herself, things that weren¡¯t meant to be heard by me. But I heard almost all of them. Things like, ¡®I wanted to have kids,¡¯ ¡®I wanted to live a quiet life,¡¯ and ¡®Who will take care of you when I die?¡¯


    I gave her a light kiss on the forehead and a few minutes later she was fast asleep in my arms. Soon after, I laid down, and fell asleep as well.


    By the time I rose out of her bed, she was long gone. I went into a panic and left the house, almost fast enough to leave a storm in my wake. She just left, she didn¡¯t want me there. But I chased after her anyway.


    ¡°Tread lightly, if you find her and disturb her while she¡¯s attempting to fuse them in a more calm manner than you did, she could lose her concentration and die instantly.¡± Exidium sent me a warning to stop me from being too rash.


    I went to the field that we had used to train the group. There I found her sitting down with her legs crossed. By the time I got there she was already in the middle of the process of awakening the full power of the griffin, but not the fusion just yet. I let out a sigh of relief. She wasn¡¯t in any danger yet. I couldn¡¯t tell whether she would succeed or not, but I was hoping that she would be able to live on with me.


    After another 10 minutes the contract marks that were originally on her arm began to glow, and her back was almost literally on fire. It seared her clothes away, revealing her beautiful figure. The more important part, was that a pair of glowing white-gold wings was now etched into the entirety of her back. I covered her with my coat, leaving me with only my bare chest, exposing my pitch black arm that was laced with light. I sat her up against a tree, because it seemed to be more comfortable than face in the dirt.


    She didn¡¯t wake up though. Instead an intense light was radiating off of her. It caused my daemon blood to boil, and not in the ¡®I¡¯m fired up and ready to kill anything that moves,¡¯ kind of way. It was the physical boiling of my blood. Angels were the beings that opposed daemon most directly. Especially since I had the blood of a Sovereign of Hell, the reaction to an angel appearing was that much stronger.


    I went to help her, to try and take the excess magic out, like she had done for me. But before I could get too close my blood began to boil more and more.


    ¡°Boy, if you try to take the slightest bit of that magic into your body, it¡¯ll act like acid to your system, and erode everything within you.¡±


    ¡°How come she could take the daemon magic into her?¡± I didn¡¯t understand anything.


    ¡°Her Archangel blood was dormant, and didn¡¯t have a reaction to the daemon blood. If you try to mix those two directly into your system, you¡¯ll die. There is nothing else that could happen other than death.¡±


    His words brought me back to reality. I really couldn¡¯t help her. If I tried, then I wouldn¡¯t be there for her after she succeeded. So I could do nothing but watch on. The feeling of powerlessness was something that I was no longer used to, because over the past 7 years I gained an insurmountable level of power. But now, I, who was oh so powerful, could do nothing but watch as the person I loved was going through the most difficult challenge of her life.


    As she was going through this process, there was a sudden shock that caused the earth to reverberate. The earth began to crack apart and it was close to impossible to stand up.Her eyes flew open. They were the same red color, only they showed no signs of life. Lux had died.

 Chapter 34: Awe

    Noctis had just enough self control left to pick up her body, and close her eyes. He brought it over to a spot underneath a large tree, where she would remain until he got back. If Exidium was saying anything, his words were falling upon deaf ears. Noctis¡¯ bloodlust covered the entirety of the realm. Nobody was able to escape the feeling of his rage, no matter how far away they were.


    The group had felt it, and sensed the familiarity. Chills went up their spines as they thought of the possible situations that could have triggered Noctis¡¯ temper, when they had always seen him as calm, cool, and collected. They agreed that it had something to do with Lux, but they didn¡¯t know that she was dead.


    Noctis had long since fallen into a state of depravity. He left Lux behind and would come back for her later. His figure wasn¡¯t able to be seen by almost anyone. He was a blur and was moving towards the position of the epicenter of the shock. It was definitely man made, and Noctis would kill whoever caused it.


    He didn¡¯t know that the kingdom was in the middle of attacking the city. They had launched a large scale attack, and all used their magic to fire at the city walls. The shock was caused by the city walls falling down. 10,000 soldiers were flooding into the city killing anyone in their way. They had set the time to attack when the adventurers were usually out of the city, so their main force of defense wasn¡¯t there.


    Noctis sensed the large force of soldiers and headed right for them. He didn¡¯t bother putting on his armor, because if possible he didn¡¯t want to survive the fight. He could just use magic to kill them all instantly, but that would be painless. He wanted them all to experience true terror, helplessness, and the amount of pain he was feeling right now.


    His icy blue eyes were putting everyone in his sight to death. He landed in front of them all in nothing but a pair of pants and shoes. The soldiers were going to laugh in his face, but they sensed that the bloodlust that was released earlier was coming right from the boy that had just dropped from the sky. His muscles were twitching in anticipation. The left arm was holding Oblivion, because that¡¯s the only thing that Lux had physically given him.


    Noctis currently lacked any and all self control. He charged into the large group of people and let his daemon blood indulge itself in battle. At first the soldiers thought of it as no big deal, there were a lot of them and one of him. Then the first line encountered him. When they moved in to attack, with a flash, a majority of them had died or been injured.


    A black aura was seeping through his pores, soon to blot out the sun. Noctis was smiling, but at the same time, he was crying. Crying tears of blood. With every stroke of his sword, there were more soldiers dead on the ground. No matter how skilled he was, he wasn¡¯t taking care of himself. Soon enough any soldier he didn¡¯t kill right away left a mark on his body.


    Covered in cuts and blood, he kept fighting. After about an hour he had already put two thousand soldiers to death. The group had long since arrived to try and defend the city, only to find a daemon in human flesh, killing a mountain of soldiers with each step that he took. Paying no heed to his injuries, he continued to kill. If they were to join and defend with him, they were unsure if he was going to recognize them as the same side.


    They had an idea of who it was, but couldn¡¯t truly believe that Noctis was this frightening. After the initial hour, he was already covered in blood. Whether it was his own blood or theirs, was unknown.


    Noctis¡¯ wounds began closing. The daemon blood was thriving off the ensuing slaughter, and could heal him at a rapid pace. He was like a deity, walking through the enemy, each step bringing slaughter. Driven by pure madness and hatred, he called upon Oblivion to provide him with more power. The black sword was dyed crimson and soon absorbed all the blood.


    Humanity meant nothing to him while he was in the state of madness. Revenge was the only thing on his mind, as his beloved was killed by them. Anger and regret. He was becoming less and less human as Oblivion was absorbing more and more blood. More and more power was flowing into him, as the ground under his feet began to crack under the pressure he was emitting.


    The soldiers soon realized that there was nothing that they were going to be able to do to this man, no, this daemon who had already annihilated half their forces in 3 short hours. The general began to signal for retreat. Before he could do anything, Noctis appeared before him and found it funny that they thought they had the chance to leave.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    ¡°Die.¡± The voice almost didn¡¯t belong to Noctis. It was laced heavily with bloodlust. All he cared for was gone, leaving an empty shell behind that only cared for killing. Without the general, the soldiers formations began to collapse.


    For the first time he was going to invoke a spell that solely belonged to the daemon blood. He slammed his right fist into the ground and the earth around him began to bend and twist. Nobody who was around the 1 mile radius of the shockwave was left standing. Hell¡¯s Might. It was a spell that increased his own physical prowess by 10 fold, and caused the sight of him to call upon the deepest fears within someone¡¯s heart. Death was the most common of these fears, and it was about to come true for all of them.


    For the sake of letting nobody escape, he also casted Dark Domain and Dark Pulse. None of the soldiers that were trapped within had a hope of escape. They all were fated to die by that blade. The shining black sword, had almost become one with the black limb. Killing them almost one sidedly now. There was no hope for them to resist.


    After 10 minutes of killing them one sidedly, he grew bored. If they don¡¯t put up a fight then there¡¯s no point to fighting. He wanted to end it. Broken Stars. This one was twice the size of the one Exidium had used all those years ago. The mini star was bright, shining through the dark miasma that had been produced by Noctis. He slammed both his hands on the light, crushing it. A shockwave was reverberating through the air, and then he opened his hands. The end of their lives came without a second warning. There was a wave of black light that passed through all the remaining soldiers, and then they all died a meaningless death. Incinerated, left without any remains.


    Each of these soldiers were someone¡¯s brother, someone¡¯s father, someone¡¯s husband. None of them were going to go back home to provide for them. They were destroyed one sidedly by a single person. Not that he could be considered much of a person anymore. None of this mattered to Noctis. He felt empty inside, now that all those who caused the death of Lux were now dead. He served his justice, and then disappeared from sight.


    All who watched were staring in disbelief. The force that was about to destroy their home, was put to death without much resistance, by one person. That person was gone the moment the fight ended, leaving nothing but blood behind. The misama released the second he faded from their sight, and the sky was dyed red with blood. They would forget about his viscous methods, and only remember him as their savior.


    Noctis appeared next to the body of Lux. Even though it happened hours ago, her body was still warm. He was tired. Whenever the daemon blood was in control for a long period of time, his body was put under a lot of stress. He put her in his arms and then wanted nothing more than to rest.


    When he opened his eyes again he was in the Starless World. He stared at Exidium with eyes of despair, and hatred. He hadn¡¯t bothered to notice the body of Lux was also brought to the Starless World.


    ¡°Look what you¡¯ve gone and done boy. There¡¯s barely any human left to you.¡± Noctis looked at himself. His muscles had grown by a lot, and he was taller. Not only that, but his magic power felt much stronger. But in doing so, he forsook most of his humanity, leaving the contract weak.


    ¡°Why did you make her do it?¡± Normal tears were flowing as he picked up her body and started to cradle it.


    ¡°Boy. Listen to me. This is my fault, so I plan on taking responsibility for it. Because the contract is so weak, I can forcibly break it and then use my life force to revive her and facilitate the fusion. But in doing so I will die.¡±


    Noctis¡¯ eyes shot open and in his mind he didn¡¯t know what he wanted. Exidium was like his real father, and had been there for him for the most part over the past 7 years. But on the other hand, he loved Lux more than anything in the world. He was stuck.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have a choice in this matter. This old dragon has experienced countless lifetimes.¡± Noctis kept on crying, but for a different reason. ¡°You¡¯ll keep the power that was granted from the contract. It¡¯s fused into your daemon magic, and cannot be easily removed. You¡¯re also going to inherit this world.¡± He touched the tip of his claw to Noctis¡¯ forehead, and the world was now his to command. ¡°Walk tall, my son.¡±


    He touched his claw into the middle of Lux¡¯s collar bone, and disappeared from existence. The marks on Noctis¡¯ back faded away, and a new mark was found were the claw touched. It was a dragon. Small, but the scales weren¡¯t black like Exidium¡¯s. They were a shimmering white, that had belonged to him a long time ago.


    After a few moments, Lux¡¯s eyes shot open once again, and she was gasping for air.

 Chapter 35: Heart

    The moment the giant claw lightly touched my forehead, my mind exploded with different memories and experiences. I inherited the knowledge and past of Exidium. There wasn¡¯t much I could do with a lot of it, but it was his legacy that he left for me. I inherited all his happiness, his confusion, and his sorrow.


    The first memories that are really coherent are around when he contracted to the first king. Zayne Vandran was the first and only other human that the dragon had contracted with. His name wasn¡¯t Exidium at that point, it was Justitia. He was originally born into slavery. When he was given a chance to contract, Exidium saw that his heart was free of hatred, or any negative emotion at that point. He didn¡¯t even mind too much that he was a slave, because he could still spend time with his family, who were also slaves.


    The divine dragon contracted with the boy, and he broke free from his shackles as a slave because of that. As I went through the memories I found something funny; he was almost the exact opposite of me. His violet eyes and black hair were full of innocence, he disdained fighting, and was a beacon of light for others to follow. They went on all sorts of adventures around the realm, and Zayne made a name for himself. He established the country of Justitia, naming it after his cherished partner that made it possible.


    During one of his adventures he found someone that he would love forever, and could compete with him in terms of strength like nobody else could. This was the original contractor of Salus. Scarlett Shade was a woman of his age, who could hold her own against anything someone, or something, threw at her. She had enchanting blonde hair and fierce red eyes.


    Her personality could be described as adventuress and fearless. She dreamed of exploring the world, and filling her life with all different types of experiences. Their encounter was in a labyrinth. Zayne was in the middle of subjugating a group of hellhounds, when an orc had been sent flying into the pack.


    Zayne looked at her with astonishment. It wasn¡¯t easy to throw an orc that far, and then he knew that he found someone who was special. After their initial encounter, they were inseparable.


    They would go on to travel the realm together for years, until they settled down and Zayne created a kingdom. They lived happily for years and had a few kids. Around when Zayne turned 50, he was killed. The memories don¡¯t allow me to see what he was killed by, but whatever it was, is the reason behind sending Justitia to the dark realm.


    This point was weird, since the books that I used to read with my mother when I was young, mentioned that the first king lived until he was 70. Something was up with the history of the kingdom, and I didn¡¯t realize that this was only the tip of the iceberg.


    The memories he had of the dark realm were blurry. It was dark, and mostly Exidium in pain and on the run. Either that or he was in the middle of killing something. Fear, misery, and anger. Those were the only emotions that he was feeding off of all those years in a foreign realm.


    Eventually he was stronger than anything there, and spent the rest of his time finding a way back to the spirit realm. When he did return he secluded himself after being attacked by a group thinking of him as a daemon. The rest of the memories are the ones familiar to me.


    ¡°Walk tall, my son.¡± Those were his last words to me, as he ended his own life to save Lux. Pain filled my body, but I didn¡¯t respond to it at all. It was the pain of the contract breaking. The marks were fading from my body and his life force was draining rapidly. He faded from existence and the there was a mark left behind on Lux, where the collarbone meets the sternum. It was a white dragon, that was curled up. A single dot in the sky appeared as he left his life behind him.


    I recognized it to be Justitia, not Exidium. He left his darkness behind in me, and then joined with the one that he had a bloodline tie to. Lux is Zayne¡¯s descendent, and he would naturally do everything he could to ensure her survival. Exidium held a fatherly love towards me, from what I saw in my memories, but the love that he held towards Lux was different. It was a familial love. He coveted her as his own descendent. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    I wasn¡¯t sure what the mark meant. Maybe she was now contracted to both Justitia and Salus now. Or maybe the mark was just him keeping equilibrium. Either way, tears were rolling down my eyes, as I just lost someone who had stuck with me for the past 7 years, whether he could actually talk to me or not, he was still there, always watching.


    I was still covered in blood, as I stood there in the Starless World crying. There was a deep silence that reminded me that this place was now mine, that there wouldn¡¯t be anyone waiting for me when I suddenly come here. There wouldn¡¯t be anyone to talk to when I¡¯m most alone.


    Just then I heard someone gasp for breath. Lux was really alive. I ran over and hugged her close to me, being careful not to break or suffocate her. She had no idea what was happening but I didn¡¯t bother to explain. It was too painful to try to explain at that moment. Salus reappeared in the Starless World, and looked directly at me.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Those words were enough to set off another chain reaction of emotion. He was really gone. ¡°He used his soul to piece hers back together, and the rest of his magic to fuse mine with that of the Archangel. Her soul isn¡¯t just human anymore, but she¡¯s still herself.¡±


    Lux was still in shock from being dead, and couldn¡¯t really move because of that as well as the vice grip I had on her. She simply stayed where she was, as I mourned my best friend as well as father.


    I released the Starless World, and went back to the human realm. It passed like real time, because I wasn¡¯t proficient in manipulating it. There, 4 sets of eyes were looking at me as I was still holding Lux from before I took her into the Starless World. Maximus and the others figured that we would be here, but were in shock to find Lux had died, just to mysteriously come back to life a few minutes later.


    ¡°Your skin started to smoke, too. The contract marks that were on your body... They disappeared before our eyes.¡± Ruby didn¡¯t know what to make of the situation as the events happened one by one that made almost no sense to them at all.


    I carried Lux as I stood up, and continued to hold her. It was too soon for her to walk. After being dead for a few hours, bodily functions aren¡¯t the same for a bit. My coat was still covering her and Maximus gave me a weird look.


    ¡°Did...you get taller?¡± We used to be the same height, now I was a few inches taller than him. Lux was dead, now she¡¯s alive, I just broke my contract, and he was worried about my height.


    We made a camp for the night and I decided it was time for them to know who we were. We were around a fire, and I set Lux beside me. I was the first one to make an announcement. ¡°We¡¯ll start from the beginning. First, you might have already figured, but my name isn¡¯t Dusk. It¡¯s Noctis Lucifer.¡±


    When my name left my mouth, their eyes turned wide. They knew that name. Anyone who had access to a small amount of global information knew that name. Apparently, my name was a symbol for fear. I was talked about non-stop for the first year or so after the Red Equinox. The boy who mercilessly killed dozens of men, leaving only the princess behind.


    ¡°This is Lux Justitia, princess of the Kingdom of Justitia.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be dead?¡± Amethyst thoughtless said that before getting punched in the shoulder by Virgil. At first, I don¡¯t think she knew what she said wrong. After a few seconds it dawned on her, she was dead a couple hours ago. ¡°That wasn¡¯t what I meant. You were supposedly found dead in your country¡¯s labyrinth a while back.¡±


    ¡°Found...dead?¡± To the world, she was pronounced killed while investigating the labyrinth. Lux figured as much would happen, but to think that she was thought to be dead by the people she cherished still broke her heart.


    From there, Lux explained the situation regarding her Archangel blood and I had to fill in the gaps, because she was dead. I was reluctant to tell them one thing though. I wasn¡¯t just a half-breed anymore. Exidium made that much clear before he passed. He told me there was barely any human left in me. I conceded my humanity to the daemon blood, and I changed because of it. If I had to guess, I was probably now 90% Daemon. Only my heart is that of a human.


    ¡°I guess I should tell you one more thing. While I was fighting the army, I went beserk, I wasn¡¯t thinking straight. There was a lapse in control, and I lost most of my humanity to my blood.¡±


    ¡°You mean you¡¯re not human?¡± Virgil gave me a strange look.


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m saying. I used to be a half-human half-daemon. Now I¡¯m mostly daemon. And my bloodline belongs to that of a Sovereign of Hell.¡±


    There was a silence after that, and nobody was willing to break it.

 Chapter 36: Limitless

    The suffocation only went away after Maximus spoke. ¡°You¡¯re our friend, no matter what you are, and what you think of yourself.¡± The others nodded in agreement and then the feeling of relief washed over me.


    ¡°In reality if you were evil and wanted us dead, we would have died long ago.¡± Virgil chimed in.


    ¡°Watching you fight was scary, but that doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re a scary person!¡± Amethyst was yelling, even though we were only several feet apart, not miles.


    ¡°We¡¯ve all seen the way you care for Lux, even if you are a daemon by blood, at heart you¡¯ll always be 100% human.¡± As Ruby spoke I felt some tears running down my face. I hadn¡¯t been rejected by my friends.


    ¡°I know one thing for sure, I¡¯m never going to piss you off.¡± As Virgil talked with some light hearted words, the rest of them were in agreement. That I was not someone to make angry, for obvious reasons.


    ¡°Noct, I¡¯m cold.¡± Lux spoke up as we were talking. For the record, Lux was never one to complain, no matter what the condition was. I felt her forehead, and it was burning up. She had a fever. I wasn¡¯t sure why, but I would guess it had something to do with the fusion. Her body might not be able to cope with the amount of power that¡¯s running through her body.


    Before my fusion, I had tempered my body to become accustomed to daemon blood for 2 years. She had no prior encounter with her archangel¡¯s blood. It would make sense if her body started to become stressed under that sort of instantaneous change. As for how to help with this kind of stress, I was at a loss. I hadn¡¯t fully gone through Exidium¡¯s memories, and now he wasn¡¯t here to tell me what I needed to do.


    I had no idea what to do. I didn¡¯t really get sick, ever. Maybe once or twice when I was young, but not since then. Lux was the same way, she never really got sick, so I never had to deal with a situation like this one. I was starting to panic when the twins came over and took Lux from me and began to help her.


    She was still wrapped in my coat, when they brought out a blanket and covered her up. I guess they camp here often so provisions like a blanket were something that they needed. I never think to bring one, since weather doesn¡¯t really affect me anymore.


    Amethyst created some ice and wrapped it up in a cloth and applied it to her head, and Ruby began to make a fire. Lux was already out cold by the time the girls had finished taking care of her.


    ¡°She was such a harsh teacher that I forgot she¡¯s still only around our age.¡± Amethyst had the chills, which transferred to Ruby as they thought back to the training they were subjected to. I could only imagine what they were forced to do.


    Maximus and Virgil looked at each other. ¡°Ours wasn¡¯t that bad. He just made us to physical work outs most of the time and then switched our weapons and threw us into the labyrinth.¡± Well that was a rather crude way of putting it. I did a lot more than just that.


    ¡°Hey I sparred with you, too.¡±


    ¡°And beat us senseless. Thanks.¡±


    ¡°I gave you some pointers here and there.¡±


    ¡°And then you beat us to the point where we either couldn¡¯t move or so badly that the pointers were forced out of our thought process.¡±


    I guess I did go a little far sometimes.


    ¡°Hey Du-, er, what should we call you?¡±


    ¡°Noctis is fine.¡±


    ¡°Alright, Noctis. Tell us how you and Lux met!¡± The twins looked at me with eyes that were full of curiosity. ¡°We could never get it out of her, so now that you owe us for saving her, I figure that it¡¯s the least that you could do for us.¡±


    Girls are scary. I wasn¡¯t given much of a choice in this situation. I mean I could just scare them off, but I do want to repay them for helping her when I clearly had no idea what to do.


    ¡°Fine, fine. It started on our 13th birthday...¡± I went on to tell them the events of the Red Equinox from my point of view and how we met up again and again over several years. I didn¡¯t tell them about how I got stuck in a labyrinth for 2 years, and lost my arm. Although they didn¡¯t really know what to think of the arm that was as dark as the void, with a thread of light holding it together. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    By the time I got through with talking, it was well into the night. And we went to sleep for the night. The next thing I knew, I was woken up by a poke to the cheek. When I opened my eyes I saw Lux, who looked even more angelic than she did before. All her beautiful features were more vibrant than before. Her complexion, her smile, her eyes, and everything else in between.


    She was still wearing my jacket, so I was going to go another day without wearing anything but some pants. Oh well, it was just the way it had to be.


    After a few moments of staring, she tilted her head and gave me a confused look. Almost as if she had no idea why I was staring.


    ¡°Good morning.¡± she then showed me a radiant smile and I turned away.


    ¡°No such thing.¡± I promptly buried my head in a blanket that was provided for me. Morning people. They¡¯re true anomalies. She shook me again and again until I finally budged and got up. She gave me a kiss and then I fell back onto the ground.


    As I tried to return back to sleep something strange happened.


    Come. A voice whispered into my ear. It wanted me to go somewhere. I knew where it wanted me to go. The bottom of the labyrinth. I was already up and heading out toward the direction of the labyrinth before I knew I had started to move. The others were looking at me strangely, as if I was crazy, which, wasn¡¯t that unlikely.


    I didn¡¯t know what was waiting for me, but I wanted to do this alone. ¡°Don¡¯t come.¡± I said these words and moved faster than they could comprehend. My speed increased by a large margin since I lost most of my humanity.


    Before long, I was already at the labyrinth, which lacked any adventurers, due to the commotion of yesterday. As soon as I set foot inside the labyrinth I noticed something was odd again. The ring I kept from my father began to heat up, and then I fell. Not the, oops I fell, silly me. No, it was more of the floor opened up and swallowed me and was sent hurling down a bottomless pit.


    Before I hit the ground, I was brought into my father¡¯s realm. I remember it from last time I was here a little over a year ago. There my father was, with my mother. They were sitting in on a comfortable looking couch. They were both dressed nicely. My mother in a green dress that went well with her eyes, and my father in some sort of formal wear that was all pitch black.


    ¡°Heaven knows that you exist boy.¡±


    ¡°So, after nearly killing me again, there was no ¡®Hello.¡¯ ¡®How have you been doing?¡¯ or ¡®Sorry for almost killing you again?¡¯¡± I wasn¡¯t mad, it was mostly sarcasm. I knew that my father was probably stripped for time, being that he¡¯s a sovereign of hell.


    ¡°Yea, yea. Thanks to your little stunt, they now know you¡¯re not normal, and will likely do anything they can to kill you. You may ask yourself, ¡®Why?¡¯ The answer is simple. Something that will become scary must die now. Make sense now? Good. Now the reason why you¡¯re here is because I know your contract is gone, and will give you another as a gift for returning your mother to me.¡±


    ¡°What? How do you plan on doing that?¡± I was pretty sure that only the church and Heaven could make things like contracts.


    ¡°You really think that only Heaven has access to the Spirit Realm? Well you¡¯re right. What I have isn¡¯t a full fledged spirit who''s been alive for centuries and has knowledge and magic.¡± I didn¡¯t really know how to deal with this man.


    ¡°This is something that I came across when I used to go around the realms looking for something to do, back when I didn¡¯t have responsibilities.¡± With a snap of his fingers a kitten of some sort appeared and looked around. It was black, with white stripes on it, and was so small it could probably fit into the palm of my hand.


    ¡°A baby spirit isn¡¯t something that¡¯s easy to come by, or usually even possible to make a contract with. As this little guy grows, your power does tremendously as well, and because he¡¯s impressionable, he¡¯ll likely give you all his power no matter what. His potential as a spirit, in my professional opinion, is that he is truly without a limit. He''ll grow to be far more powerful than that dragon, but only because of you. Take good care of him.¡±


    The kitten ran towards me and phased through my body, going right into my heart. The contract was formed and I didn¡¯t notice too much of a difference, besides the small mark that was burned into the middle of my back. I didn¡¯t notice it then, but it was a completely white stripe.


    ¡°You only have this opportunity because your heart is still human, please try to keep it that way.¡±


    ¡°A human heart. So that means the rest of my body is truly daemon? Not just my blood anymore?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m saying you dimwit. I don¡¯t know how else to convey it. Literally only your heart remains human.¡±


    After hearing him talk down to me like that, Mother slapped him in the back of the head lightly, telling him to reflect on his actions, without actually telling him.


    ¡°Noctis, what your father is trying to say, is that you need to cherish the part of you that remains human, because it¡¯s all that you have left of mine.¡± What a scary woman. I never would have thought that anyone would smack him of all people so casually.


    ¡°You have work to do. Only by fighting will that baby spirit grow.¡± Wait. Not this again. ¡°Yes you guessed it!¡± Not like this ¡°Good luck! Don¡¯t die!¡±


    ¡°Stay safe, my dear Noctis. And take care of Lux when you get a chance.¡±


    I was once again thrown into hell by my parents.

 New chapter 1: Resonance

    The smell of dirt was the only thing the boy awoke to, followed by the sound of his joints creaking as he struggled to get his body off the cold ground. After he opened his blue eyes he went through his morning routine, checking for the couple of coins he had to his name, and the small knife his father had made for him shortly before his death.


    He dusted himself off, touching his bruised and bloody face that would otherwise be quite good looking. He was just another orphan on the side of the street that nobody would take a second look at. Fighting for food and a few coins was commonplace among street rats. Today was special though, since it was his 13th birthday. The significance being today was the day he could finally make a contract with a spirit beast.


    What mattered more than anything was power in the Kingdom of Justitia. If he managed to contract a powerful beast, he wouldn¡¯t have to live another day on the streets wondering if it would be starvation, or the cold would get him first. He would be sent to school and provided food and the materials to become stronger.


    Noctis pulled his coat that was riddled with holes closer in an attempt to warm himself as he went from the alley he called his home to the busy street. March couldn¡¯t be considered the coldest time of the year, but that didn¡¯t make it any more pleasant to stay outside. He found a cart that sold bread in no time at all, since they littered the street among other food parlors and peddlers.


    He threw his last two copper coins at the man running the stand and was given a roll, but not a second glance. It didn¡¯t matter who bought the bread as long as it was paid for. He then headed to the church while wolfing down the bread, as it was the first thing he¡¯s had to eat in a couple days. No matter the condition around the churches that were spread around the capitol, they always looked the same, pristine. They were always in top condition with guards posted at every entrance. Prayer was only allowed after a certain time of day, since mornings were always reserved for forging spirit contracts.


    Noctis approached the church and noticed the guard in full plate armor, with nothing but his eyes showing, glaring at him with killing intent. No matter who it was, be it a noble or commoner, was allowed to desecrate the church.


    ¡°Halt. State your business.¡± The cold voice stopped Noctis in his tracks.


    ¡°It...It¡¯s my 13th birthday today.¡± He managed to stammer the words out under the threatening gaze of the guard.


    ¡°Very well, this way.¡± He moved aside and gestured towards the entrance with his hand. There was no reason to discriminate against a kid without a contract, in fact it could be quite troubling if they turned out to be powerful afterwards. If the boy was lying to the guard, he would be discovered easily and executed shortly after. There was no good reason to lie. ¡°I will warn you kid, the princess is at this very church, so be on your best behavior.¡±


    Hearing these words, his heart skipped a beat. ¡®Why is the princess in a church in the slums?¡¯ Royalty and nobles were completely different, if you offended a noble, there would be consequences in the dark later. However, if someone was to offend the royal family, their execution could happen on the spot, no questions asked. Noctis began to rack his brain, ¡®since when is there a princess that is the same age as me, having the exact same birthday?¡¯ Being born to a poor family, he wasn¡¯t privy to a lot of information, but the birthday of a princess should be well known to all. Usually the birthday of royalty would be someone celebrated around the capitol. ¡®Maybe it¡¯s related to the fact that she¡¯s in the slums, but oh well, it¡¯s not something I have to worry about.¡¯The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Noctis was in wonder as soon as he passed through the doorway. He had never been in the church to pray, since he was too busy fighting to stay alive on a daily basis. He was in awe of everything, from the murals of angels, to the statues of spirit beasts..


    The ceremony to create a spiritual contract was fairly simple, there was an orb like device in front of the benches meant for mass. One would simply have to touch the device with their hand, and a connection with the spirit world would be made. The connection would stay until a creature made a contract with a beast was made. Usually the longer it took for one to make a contract the weaker the contracted beast would be, as the stronger ones had no interest, but first priority.


    Noctis only saw a few other people in the church. A Priest, a girl in a plain purple dress, and 2 guards on either side of her. The guards were covered from head to toe in plate armor in perfect formation. The priest simply looked at the girl, who must have been the princess, with a warm smile, waiting for her connection to the spirit realm to end. The girl who was touching the orb had pale white skin, like she rarely went outside, and pitch black hair, much like his own, that went just above her shoulders. Noctis couldn¡¯t see her face since she was facing away from him. He walked up and took a seat in one of the benches on the right side of the church, being careful not to get too close.


    The room went dark instantly, and the only light remaining with the pure white emanating from the device. The next thing that was heard was a mix of an eagle screech, and the screams of the girl.


    Once a contract was forged, a tattoo was created on the body of the contractor. The larger the tattoo, the more powerful the beast was. The sound of searing flesh was heard once the screaming died down, the tattoo still being created. She fell to her knees, clutching her right arm. The original long sleeve of the dress was being burnt up as well, revealing the tattoo. It depicted a snow white griffin. It was on top of a mountain surrounded by the sky, giving the feeling that it was looking down on the world.


    ¡°Simply marvelous princess! The overlord of light, The Griffin has chosen you!¡± The priest was ecstatic that the princess had been able to make a contract in his church with the griffin.


    The princess said nothing, and neither did the guards. After taking a minute to collect herself, she rose and turned around. Her eyes met with the poor orphan. Noctis felt her gaze piercing through him, as if she knew everything about him already. At the same time he thought the pretty face of hers showed nothing but indifference. It wasn¡¯t as if she was looking down on him, he knew that gaze all too well, but she just truly didn¡¯t care about him or anything that was happening around her. As soon as she went to leave, one of the guards said something.


    ¡°Princess, let¡¯s not be rude. It¡¯s proper to stay until everyone gets their contract, you share the same birthday after all.¡± There was respect in his voice, but the guard clearly wasn¡¯t afraid of backlash from the pretty young princess. She simply nodded and took a seat in the front row.


    ¡°Young man, you¡¯re free to walk up now, thank you for being patient¡± he smiled at Noctis, beckoning him to come to the device.


    ¡°O-Okay.¡± he walked over keeping his head down, making sure not to trip over his own two feet. When he arrived at the device and placed his hand on it, he felt his heart start to race. After about five seconds it began to turn red, more and more brightly, until it abruptly stopped, losing all color. The room remained silent, but he felt their gazes burrowing into his back. Another 10 seconds passed and the room lost all light, but instead of the clear orb shining a white light, it turned pitch black.


    A guttural voice sounded in his head, ¡°Boy, you¡¯ve gained my interest. Tell me what is it you desire?¡±

 Chapter 2: Attunement

    What do I want? I want to be warm, I want to have food, I want to be¡­


    ¡°I want power, I want power to be myself and provide for myself without having to worry if I¡¯ll die a stray dog¡¯s death the next day.¡± Noctis said this while clenching his left hand, the right being glued to the black device. As the sunlight found its way back into the room, it revealed the black orb.


    What¡¯s going on? The priest had never seen anything like this. Never before has the device gone dark. It would glow a multitude of colors, but black was never something anyone had witnessed before.


    ¡°Very well, I will grant you my power, but first you must survive.¡± the voice chuckled in his head. ¡°I hope you¡¯re prepared, boy. It¡¯d be a shame for the first human in ages to interest me to just die.¡±


    Survive? SURVIVE? This was never supposed to be a dangerous process! Noctis had never heard of someone dying during the contract creation, but the voice just confirmed that he very well could die.


    A sudden pain in his right hand snapped him back to reality. At first it felt like something was gnawing at it, but then it quickly escalated. It felt like his hand was starting to break down, and just as he was about to pull his hand away, the pain started to move up his arm. It traveled slowly but only as a pulse. It wasn¡¯t enveloping his arm. The feeling of his arm being pulled apart by thousands of ants was enough to make him cry already, but he bit down on his lip and placed his left arm on wherever the pain was located and squeezed.


    As he felt his arm the scars, cuts, and bruises all faded away as the pain passed by. Once it reached his shoulder it ramped up again, and spread to his back. Just when he was getting used to the pain spreading across his back, another pulse began at his hand, and when the second pulse reached his elbow, another pulse began. By the time the third pulse began, Noctis was screaming in agony.


    The others looked on, horrified by the sight of someone¡¯s skin coming to life and writhing around like there was worms underneath. Yet they could do nothing but watch. The princess looked on for 30 seconds before forcing herself to look away. Then a voice in her head commanded that she once again looked on. ¡°You must continue to witness the birth of this demon, for all of us. If he loses consciousness you must do everything you can to wake him back up. Otherwise, at the very least, your life and everyone within a 100 mile radius will perish.¡±


    The pulses became more and more frequent, and were spreading throughout his entire body. Noctis had already collapsed from the pain, trying to make himself as small as possible in hopes of minimizing what he felt. After about 5 minutes the pain began to subside and the pulses died down. ¡° No! He must remain vigilant!¡± At the sight of him beginning to relax, the voice in the princess¡¯s head began to scream.


    After panicking for a few seconds she was finally able to force some words out ¡°It-It¡¯s not over!¡±Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    After hearing that he began to tense back up, readying himself for the next round. But what came next was far beyond his expectations. The black energy seemed like it was leaking out from the device and into his hand, turning it completely black. The pain was ten times worse than what he experienced when it got to his shoulder. The other noticeable change was that it was no longer a pulse, but continuous pain that was filling his body, little by little.


    Once it reached his back, the sound of searing flesh was all that could be heard other than the screaming of the poor boy. Noctis was reaching his limit on how much more he could take, and his mind began to fade due to shock.


    ¡°Girl you must balance the energy in his body, now. It¡¯s being filled with pure darkness, only your light can save him, and you. The destruction that will follow will wipe the capitol off the map.¡± The words of the griffin were cryptic and the princess didn¡¯t know what to do, so she just stood there in shock for a few more seconds. ¡°Why do you remain idle? Do you want to die? I said NOW!¡±


    With that she finally got the nerve to move towards the boy. She broke out into a sprint and before the guards realized what was going on she was already within arms reach of both him and the device.


    ¡°Put both your hands on top of his right and and concentrate. Visualize the light inside your body and try to let it flow into your hands and then into his hand.¡± Carefully following the instructions she was able to let some light energy into his body.


    The effects were seen almost immediately, while the pain was only slightly dulled, Noctis was able to keep his consciousness intact. It was almost like his skin was boiling, and it was still spreading like a wildfire across his body. But he was able to hold on, because for the first time since his father died, he didn¡¯t feel alone.


    His entire body including his head was covered in the darkness. Rather than being unable to spread to the princess, it almost seemed as if it wasn¡¯t interested in doing so. After about 30 seconds of being completely covered, the blackness began to recede. After uncovering his head, it seemed to take the pigment of his hair with it, leaving it completely white. Any previous injury or marks that were on his body were now gone. He was still scrawny from being unable to eat on a regular basis, but all his muscles were now tighter and more chiseled.


    The princess had just forged her contract and was using it almost immediately, while it wasn¡¯t unusual, it would leave the body strained for a while, since a new type of energy was rampaging through her body. She had no way of fine tuning how much she should have been using, so it was akin to her being able to direct a river, but letting it flood everything in that area. She was simply exhausted and in pain.


    Seeing the situation starting to stabilize the voice in the princess¡¯s mind began to speak once again, ¡°Well done child, you may stop now.¡± the blackness was finally only in his arm again, but it revealed the image of a dragon that was the same color as what was on his arm, with red eyes. The tattoo covered the entirety of his back. ¡°It¡¯s exactly what I thought it was. Child you must do your best to either become this boy¡¯s friend, or stay far, far away from him.¡±


    ¡°What is this spirit beast? I¡¯ve never seen it before, and why are you so scared of it?¡± she asked through the mental connection that was established by the contract.


    ¡°You humans haven¡¯t the pleasure of officially meeting this spirit beast, because he¡¯s caused a disaster every other time he went to forge a contract with one. We spirit beasts on the other hand know him all too well.¡± her voice got heavy as she continued on. ¡°That boy is now contracted with the Sovereign of Midnight.¡±

 Chapter 3: Understanding

    The sound of ragged breaths filled the church between the princess trying to collect herself, and the boy trying to scrape himself off the ground. By the time he accomplished getting to his feet, the princess and her guards were gone. The shirt and coat he had been wearing were reduced to ashes. He thought he would be cold, but instead felt no difference.


    ¡°Truly interesting.¡± The voice snickered. ¡°Originally I thought you might have ended up like the rest, but it seems there was a griffin there to save you.¡±


    ¡°The rest? You mean dying? There was a large chance I would die?¡± Noctis was dazed from the pain and the news didn¡¯t help anything.


    ¡°Oh, not just die. You¡¯d turn into an empty vessel void of anything but thoughts of slaughter. Your body would last about an hour before imploding and taking everything you didn¡¯t already manage to kill within around ¡­ let''s say 100 miles, with you. Now then, we don¡¯t need to speculate on all the ¡®what ifs¡¯. Because you managed to survive the reshaping of your body you can now hold approximately .5 percent of my power.¡± There wasn¡¯t a hint of guilt in the voice, it was actually quite excited.


    ¡°You mean you would¡¯ve sent me to my death if not for her highness contracting the griffin?¡± Noctis was in disbelief


    ¡°Precisely.¡±


    ¡°What is wrong with -¡±


    ¡°We have to get something straight here,¡± The voice became harsh. ¡°You asked for power and I granted it, whether or not it was too much for you to handle was never a part of the agreement. Am I a selfish being who did it out of pure boredom? Yes, and there¡¯s nothing you can do about it. You¡¯re now dependent on me, being angry at me for allowing your body to host my power at a risk is something you can¡¯t afford to do. Did you expect to become powerful without a price? Resent me all you want, boy, but in all the spirit realm, I am the most powerful being.¡±


    After being harshly reprimanded for the first time in years, he simply looked down in embarrassment. ¡°There¡¯s good news and bad news. We¡¯ll start with the bad news, you¡¯ll go through a similar process again and again whenever you¡¯re able to properly control the amount of power you¡¯re given. The good news is that the risk of dying is zero now that your body contains the power of darkness.¡±


    He began to shiver at the thought of going through that pain again. He quickly collected himself and asked a question through the mental connection. ¡°Why me?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no particular reason outside curiosity. You¡¯re a poor orphan with no particular traits that could be considered above average in anything. You¡¯re physically weak. You¡¯re a small petty person, and incredibly selfish. Despite all that you¡¯re not a bad person, just incredibly human. I¡¯ve longed to see how such a person will be changed by power. Will you turn into a hero who fights for justice? Will you turn into a demon who kills everything in his path? Maybe you¡¯ll do neither,¡± he felt the voice smiling, even though he had no idea what he was even contracted with, ¡° or maybe you¡¯ll do both.¡±Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    The old priest looked on with shock. The boy not only had white hair now, but he had physically grown. He had been around 5¡¯4 before, but now he stood at least 3 to 4 inches taller than before. Such events are unprecedented, usually a person simply has to endure getting a tattoo to symbolize the contract, not have their body restructured. And what was that darkness. It¡¯s unnatural and... frightening.


    There were 5 types of elements that one would be contracted with. Fire, water, earth, wind, and light. There were some that could be derived from the four main elements, such as Ice from water, and lightning from wind as well. The only element that was proven stronger than any other was light. It had no obvious weakness to any other element, but it also allowed for healing. Never before had the old priest seen in any records a smudge of information about a sixth element. There¡¯s no doubt that if this is discovered he would fall prey to the curiosity of others, and be experimented on non-stop.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name child?¡± The old priest stared at the dragon that encompassed his back. ¡°I¡¯m Father Julius.¡±


    ¡°Noctis¡±


    ¡°Noctis,¡± The old priest looked at him ¡°You may never allow anyone to know about the power you have just received. Otherwise you¡¯ll spend your days as nothing more than a lab rat. We¡¯ll have to hope that the princess won¡¯t reveal what happened today to anyone. If she were to tell those guards to keep quiet, only the king would be allowed to know what happened. Though that¡¯s unlikely since the king rarely cares about anything these days. I will sponsor your acceptance to the academy if you promise to keep quiet.¡±


    The Academy wouldn¡¯t be accepting students until the end of summer, so it looked like he would have to lay low on the streets until then. ¡°Thank you.¡± he turned and began to walk out of the church, back to his alley when the old priest called out to him.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you stay here until the academy starts?¡± he spun around and looked at the old priest in disbelief. ¡°I¡¯m in need of someone to help keep the place clean, and when nobody is around and my daily responsibilities are over, I can teach you about various things that you need to know.¡±


    Noctis simply nodded, unsure of what to feel. He didn''t know if the priest was doing it out of kindness, or so he could use him later due to his power. Either way he accepted because he truly didn''t want to go back to living on the street for almost another half year.


    The old priest sat him down and began talking about how contractors would be separated into lesser, mid, and greater users. These separations were based on the power of the contracted beast. A greater user would always be able to overpower a lesser user. A mid could go either way based on how well the contractor was able to use their power.


    Contractors were then split into tiers based on how much power they had access to. A tier 1 would have between 1 to 10% of the spirit beast¡¯s power, while a tier 2 would have access to between 11-20% and so on up to tier 10. Tiers weren¡¯t an absolute in power, unlike the disparity between greater and less users.. For example a hellhound using 50% of its power would never be able to hold a candle to 1% of Cerberus¡¯s true might. Those who held truly powerful beasts would become the most protected asset of the country. Noctis clearly had something more powerful than Father Julius had ever seen with a greater user, like the princess.


    ¡°That¡¯s all you need to know for the day. Go get some rest, I¡¯ll show you a spare room, that will be yours until you leave.¡±


    He was guided down a corridor behind the altar that held the device and into a room. It was a simple room with little more than a bed and a desk. But it was more than Noctis had since his father died.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back with some clean clothes for you.¡± The old priest made his way down the hall. Noctis walked to the bed and sat down. How long had it been since he had a safe place to stay? He fell over and as soon as his head hit the pillow he fell sound asleep.

 Chapter 4: Learning

    Heavy. Everything was heavy. Noctis could barely pick himself off the murky ground. Wasn¡¯t I on a bed? Why is it so dark? All of the sudden he froze under the gaze of a predator. Two scarlet red eyes were beaming at him through the darkness. He found it hard to breathe with the eyes fixated on him.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to finally meet you, boy.¡± the guttural voice wasn¡¯t in his head anymore, it passed through his ears this time. ¡°I am known in the spirit realm as the Sovereign of Midnight. You will know me by a different name though. You may call me Tyrant, the one who seizes power.¡± as he spoke, his form was revealed. Four sturdy legs the size of houses carried a robust body, completely covered in pitch black scales. It¡¯s long tail rested on the ground as it sat up. Two jagged wings unfurled and spread wide, making the beast seem even larger. The two bright eyes never removed him from the center of it¡¯s attention.


    Its a dragon, I¡¯m contracted with a real dragon. Noctis thought to himself in disbelief.


    ¡°Not just any dragon, boy. You¡¯ve managed to make a contract with the oldest and strongest dragon in the spirit realm.¡± Coming from anyone else it might have been seen as boasting, but after looking at the dragon, he felt suffocated from the amount of power he was emitting.


    ¡°This dear boy, is your soul. I will teach you how to control my power and make it your own while you sleep. It seems as though it will bring you trouble quite quickly if you were to reveal it. Human greed remains their biggest vice after all.¡± the tip of a razor sharp claw made its way to Noctis¡¯s chest, just outside where his heart was located.


    ¡°In your heart there¡¯s great inner turmoil. It will lead to an interesting outcome. Darkness is the essence of destruction. Whether you¡¯re able to bend it to your will or become its slave is a matter of how well you can maintain control of yourself and your desires.¡± The claw moved up and now it was coming in contact with his forehead. ¡°Here is where all your inner conflict will occur, but that¡¯s besides the point. This is where all contractors and spirit beasts visualize all their magic to stem from. You, however, have no need for such a silly process. Darkness is ever present in you now.¡± The hand of the dragon was taken back then lifted into the air, palm facing up. ¡°All you must do is simply think of a form for it to take.¡± Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    A ball of energy void of any light appeared above his hand. ¡°With very few exceptions, including your own body, it will destroy anything it touches as long as enough energy is provided. For example.¡±


    A stone wall as tall as the dragon appeared behind it. He turned around, and slammed the ball of energy into the wall. Seconds later the entire wall began to shake as spiderweb cracks began to form all over it. After 10 seconds, the entire structure had shattered like glass.


    ¡°Your turn now, boy.¡± he turned around and found that a fully grown oak tree had appeared behind him. ¡°Don¡¯t expect it to turn out like what you just witnessed. You don¡¯t have nearly enough energy for that to happen just yet.¡±


    Noctis began to concentrate, and held his palm out with his fingers curled inwards. He imagined the darkness turning into a ball over and over but to no avail. It looked like the blood vessels on the side of his head were about to burst from thinking too hard.


    ¡°You¡¯re trying to visualize the darkness becoming the ball. All you really have to do is imagine the end product and if you¡¯re able, it will take form.¡±


    Taking the advice, he imagined a black ball the size of a tennis ball appearing in his hand, and black tendrils made from pure energy emerged from his palm, all feeding into the same point, as the energy was emmassed. Exactly what he had imagined had appeared in his hand, and the tendrils burrowed back into his hand. He then looked to the tree and slapped it hard. When the ball made contact with the tree, the energy exploded, and he could feel the energy tearing into the tree, ripping everything it came in contact with apart. He pulled his hand away revealing a whole had burrowed into the center of the tree.


    ¡°Alright boy, that¡¯s enough for the day. Just so you¡¯re aware this is the most brutish way you could approach this magic. But it was the easiest way to introduce it to you. Enjoy what¡¯s left of your rest for the night.¡±


    Noctis blinked and realized he was now sideways. The sunlight entered the room through the window and went directly into his eyes. He checked his surroundings and saw he was now under the covers of the bed. There was a set of clothes neatly folded on top of the desk with a note on top. He put the clothes on and wandered the halls until he ran into the old priest.


    ¡°Good morning Noctis, why aren¡¯t you getting your breakfast? Didn¡¯t you see the note I left?¡± He spoke gently with a smile on his face.


    Noctis looked down, embarrassed. ¡°I...can¡¯t read.¡±

 Chapter 5: Applications

    The next few months for Noctis was not only time for learning but growing. He was able to start filling out his frame due to the consistent meals he was provided. The old priest wasn¡¯t rich by any means, but he had no problem feeding one teenager, even if his appetite was simply monstrous.


    When there were people inside the church he was cleaning up, but when nobody was around, Father Julius would teach him how to read and write along with some basic arithmetic. He also learned a few things by observing contract ceremonies. Most would end rather quickly, the tattoo branding only lasting a few seconds without destroying any clothing or bringing a large amount of pain. Another difference he noticed was that the size of the tattoo would be similar to his palm. Large ones like his and the princess¡¯s hadn¡¯t appeared in front of him. His guess would be everyone in this area was likely only mid or lesser users.


    During the night, he would doze off and appear in his soul. Tyrant would teach him various ways to control and use his power. The second time he went there he was able to condense the darkness into needles he could throw. On the fifth night he was able to cover his knuckles in a thin layer to make his punches deadly. On the second week he was able to control the limit of what his body could hold.


    He went through the painful restructure process at least 3 times in these few months, but now he was able to use up to 5% of what the dragon to offer. After every restructure he was able to access new abilities and manipulate the darkness more. It also increased his physique as well as his appetite. Noctis now stood 5¡¯8 with lean muscles everywhere and not an ounce of excess fat could be seen anywhere.


    One morning, after the most recent restructure he got up just like any other.I wonder what the old priest made for breakfast this time. He hopped off his bed and went to the door, still groggy. He turned the door handle and pushed. Confused, he pushed a little harder and the doorframe gave way. The sound of wood splitting filled the room as the door "opened." What he was holding got a little heavier as he began to realize what just happened. He pushed door through the frame when all he needed to do was pull a little bit. The old priest rushed to the scene to find Noctis holding the door in his hand, completely detatched from the wall. Needless to say the task for that day was to fix his door.


    His physical strength wasn¡¯t the only thing that would be out of his control temporarily. He wasn¡¯t able to control the new influx of magic power, leading to poor manipulation skills at first. After a couple hours of practice he would regain his proficiency. He was currently working on something other than projecting the energy. He was aiming to enhance a weapon with it. He held the knife his father gave him with both his hands.


    No matter how he tried to visualize the darkness being attached to the edge of the knife it would always slide off then condense into a ball. What if it had something to act as an adhesive? He took the knife and slit his left thumb, letting the blood stick to the edge. This time when he tried to visualize the darkness bonding to the edge of the knife, the blood began to bubble then turn black. The familiar oak tree that was used as a test dummy appeared behind him. He turned around and made a sloppy cut across the bark. He completed the swing and thought he somehow missed, but upon further inspection he realized that the tree had in fact been cut deep.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°Nothing like the creativity of a human!¡± Tyrant gave out a small chuckle, ¡°I would have never have thought to use blood as a bonding agent.¡± Noctis continued to practice throughout the night, trying to minimize the amount of blood he needed to use while maximizing the amount of energy he could attach to the blade.


    Father Julius began to care for Noctis more and more. It brought him back to the days where he would take care of and teach his son.Ever since Noctis appeared, it was like the void in his heart had finally begun to fill in. He was genuinely smiling for the first time in years, unlike what he had to do on a daily basis in order to keep appearances. Whenever they were together it was like a caring dad teaching his craft to his curious son. Noctis was a fast learner, having picked up reading without any prior experience with the written language in a matter of weeks. He still struggled with some words here and there but the overall progress was something he could be proud of. He never complained about the work that the old priest had him do, and every lesson was ended by a genuine smile and a heartfelt thank you.


    Despite all this, he was painfully aware of just how dangerous Noctis was. Even without knowing what his magic did, the raw strength that the boy had was frightening by any standard. The door incident wasn¡¯t the only one like it. Just the other day he had seen him get frustrated by trying to read on his own, and smash a hole into a stone wall.


    That wasn¡¯t the only problem the old priest had come across while dealing with Noctis for these past few months. Every so often while being taught about nobility and their standards, there would be a murderous aura that escaped from his body, even if just barely. The old priest was sensitive to it after years of war, otherwise it was too subtle for most people to pick up on. There was something hiding inside that kind exterior. Something that he didn¡¯t know if Noctis was even aware of. Something evil and full of hatred.


    The time slipped by and it was finally time for Noctis to leave for the academy. It was early in the morning but the heat had already grown intense. Standing outside the entrance to the church, beads of sweat started to form as he talked with the old priest. ¡°Remember, hand this letter to whoever is proctoring the entrance exam, and only use your physical strength. You musn¡¯t use your magic.¡±


    Noctis was able to feel that Father Julius truly cared about him. He was aware he couldn¡¯t use his magic no matter how badly he wanted to show off. He was still limited to 5% of what Tyrant had to offer. ¡®Without any actual combat experience, this is your limit¡¯ the dragons words echoed through his mind. ¡°Goodbye Father, thank you for everything you¡¯ve done for me until now. I¡¯ll find a way to repay your kindness one day.¡± Tears started to form in his eyes, the old priest had become somewhat of a family member to him, and saying goodbye was painful.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry child, it¡¯s the job of the older generation to give to the new. If you truly want to repay me, then all you have to do is live on.¡± Hints of pain were escaping his voice. ¡°Your life will be filled with many challenges and conflicts, but above all, please just come back alive.¡±

 Chapter 6: Encounter

    The academy was a plain building that looked similar to a barraks. It was far outside the capitol to prevent nobles from attempting to pressure students or teachers there. The royalty didn¡¯t feel like losing capable soldiers to their pettiness. Students wouldn¡¯t be allowed to return home during the term under any circumstances, nor were they allowed to send or receive letters. While they were in the academy, the only thing that they could do was study battle tactics and train themselves. There was no split into different semesters or trimesters there. The term would begin in August and end in June of next year. All for the sake of keeping information within the walls skin tight and away from the prying eyes of the nobles.


    Applicants were flooding in from all over, but nobody was talking. They walked in eerie silence towards the academy. Soldiers only speak when they¡¯re told to. A slight mistake could lead to not being able to enter the academy. Noctis continued in the same direction as everyone else, and then a commotion broke out about 20 feet in front of him.


    ¡°How dare you!¡± A boy in nice looking clothes was glaring at a girl in what could only be described as a collection of rags. ¡°You filthy commoner, look what you did to my shoes. I¡¯ll-¡± before he could finish his sentence a figure had appeared between him and the girl. It grabbed him by the face and lifted him into the air.


    ¡°Ugh, you¡¯re making me work so early in the morning? Why can¡¯t you just be obedient?¡± a woman¡¯s voice escaped the figure. It was filled with charm but lacked any enthusiasm. She was a strawberry blonde woman in her mid 20s with an alluring body, and her eyes burned with an ice cold hatred. She wore a standard uniform with sleeves rolled up and a few buttons were undone, adding to her charm. Despite the fact that she was very attractive, not a single person dared to stare for too long.


    ¡°If you haven¡¯t noticed, this is an area run by the military, not your backyard. All these applicants are property of the state. I implore you, please let me know. What were you going to say? What were you going to do with your measly strength?¡± Her grip strengthened and the boy began to scream. ¡°Where¡¯s all your attitude now?¡±


    ¡°Proctor Alicia, please put the applicant down.¡± A rough voice sounded out.


    ¡°Tch.¡± She let him go and walked over to the girl, comforting her while asking her a few questions about what happened.


    Another figure appeared in front of the noble boy. It was a tall man who was at least 50 years old, judging by the gray hair and wrinkles. He wore a tank top, which exposed his still powerful muscles and some of the scars that riddled his upper body. On his right arm, his tattoo that symbolizes his contract depicted a golden lion roaring alone in a wide field. It started at his shoulder and stretched all the way to his elbow. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    ¡°Thank-¡± he was cut off right away.


    ¡°Leave. I¡¯ve no use for someone who can¡¯t control their outbursts due to their supposed superiority. If your father has any questions tell him he can find Lieutenant General Gaius Zeno. Proctor Alicia, let¡¯s go.¡± He turned around and left without giving him a second glance. Alicia finished talking with the girl, gave her a light pat on the head and followed behind Gaius.


    Anger and disbelief surfaced on the boys face, but he wasn¡¯t dumb enough to object. He simply got up and left with his head hung. With the very brief commotion ended, the process of dividing the students resumed. Fear and respect were instantly ingrained in all of the bystanders.


    There were 6 lines forming, each with a proctor at the head. After talking with a proctor the applicants would be sent to one of the areas that were numbered 1 - 10. Each area was around 300 square feet and there was a barrier that prevented him from seeing inside any of them. Noctis had noticed that very few people were sent to area 2, and not a single person was sent to area 1. As the number went up, the amount of people who were sent there went up.


    When it was finally time for Noctis to get distributed to an area. In front of him was Lieutenant General Gaius. He was at least a full head taller than Noctis, and up close there was a fearsome, intimidating aura around him. ¡°I guess magic can be used this way, too.¡± Tyrants voice rang out in his head. ¡°That old coot is contracted with the Nemean Lion, and is using some of his magic to emit its presence.¡±


    ¡°Name and beast.¡± He could feel Gaius¡¯s hazel eyes staring through him inquisitively.


    ¡°Noctis.¡± he didn¡¯t finish his sentence and instead handed him the letter than the old priest had given him. Noctis wasn¡¯t sure what was written in it, but the seal on it looked important.


    Gaius took the letter and began to read. When he finally looked up, from the letter, a hint of shock was present on his face. ¡°So you¡¯re a pup that old general Benett took in? You¡¯re quite lucky, aren''t you? Very well, go to area 1.¡±


    Area 1? But nobody else went to area 1. He questioned the result but still headed there nevertheless. As he walked toward area 1, more and more people looked at him. He could feel the weight of all the eyes on him. If looks could kill, there would have been many attempts on his life right then. The scornful glares, however, were outnumbered by those that were of awe and sheer curiosity.


    When he got there he realized it wasn¡¯t completely empty. There was a girl standing there in pure white armor that covered her completely from the neck down. It contrasted perfectly with the shoulder length black hair and pale skin. Her facial features were immature but still close to perfection. Noctis was mesmerized by the beautiful sight but snapped back to reality when her ruby red eyes shot open. It wasn¡¯t just some random beautiful girl. It was one of the only other people that knew his secret. He was currently alone in Area 1 with the princess of the kingdom.

 Chapter 7: Friendly Reunion

    The princess was supposed to be alone in area 1, because it was reserved for royalty like herself, and people who directly served the king. When she got there she didn¡¯t have anything else to do for a while, so she sat on the floor with her legs together and enjoyed the alone time. When she heard someone approaching, she was surprised. Her eyes opened and she looked at the tall boy with white hair. He wore simple clothes which weren¡¯t too pricey, but they were better than rags. The first thing she noticed was that his face was a little flush and he was staring right at her, admiring even.


    After a few seconds something changed, the admiration was gone and it was replaced by a look of shock. I know him. The familiarity was bothering her. Where had she seen someone like this? Why can¡¯t I figure out why I know him? All of the sudden she had a flashback to her birthday. The scene of a boy writhing in agony was imprinted in her mind. But shouldn¡¯t he have black hair? Her memory was hazy due to the exhaustion of her magical power right after forging the contract. The only thing she could remember after the end of his ceremony was the fierceness of the dragon tattoo, and the fear her contracted beast felt.


    ¡°It really is him.¡± The griffin confirmed. ¡°My dear Lux, you should take this opportunity to get on his good side. It¡¯s likely that at the moment he¡¯s being restricted by his secret, and is very paranoid. What a perfect opportunity for you!¡±


    ¡°What secret, Salus? Why would he be paranoid about it?¡± Lux didn¡¯t understand why being contracted so such a powerful beast could be seen as a negative.


    ¡°My dear, I¡¯ve lived a long time and have made many contracts, the consensus was always the same whenever there was a hint of darkness magic left after a failed ceremony. It¡¯s¡­ unnatural, and unstable. There¡¯s a high chance for the king to order his execution if he ever found out.¡± Salus¡¯s words carried pity. Instead of fearing the boy, she felt bad for him.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t he a threat to everyone? Why wouldn¡¯t we want him dead if he could end the kingdom?¡± Lux couldn¡¯t wrap her mind around wanting to keep such a dangerous existence around. But the more she thought about it the more it made sense. He doesn¡¯t seem to be evil, or capable of slaughtering everyone like a demon. Did I just say he should die because of something that was out of his control?


    A mix of shame and regret left a complicated expression on her face. After a few seconds she looked right at the boy and said ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your secret is safe with me. I am Lux Justitia, 5th princess of the Kingdom, pleased to be re-acquainted with you.¡±


    A look of relief washed over his face. He immediately got down on one knee before speaking. ¡°I am Noctis. I appreciate your highness¡¯s consideration about this matter. And I thank you for saving my life that day.¡± She began to walk towards him as he spoke.


    ¡°Please stand, you¡¯re embarrassing me.¡± She offered her hand to him and continued, ¡°Since you¡¯re in area 1 you¡¯re guaranteed to enter the academy. We¡¯ll be classmates in the future, so I would like you to address me as such. No more of this ¡®your highness¡¯ stuff while we¡¯re at the academy. Simply call me Lux.¡± I wasn¡¯t treated like royalty for most of my life anyway.


    He accepted her hand and stood up. He continued to hold her hand afterwards, causing her to blush. ¡°... Could you let go now?¡±


    Noctis quickly retracted his hand. ¡°Ah! I¡¯m so sorry, your high-¡± She started to glare at him. It¡¯s always your highness or princess. Am I a person, or only a title holder? Is my name only for show?  ¡°S-sorry¡­ Lux.¡± When she finally heard her own name come out of someone else¡¯s mouth she smiled. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Another set of footsteps entered the area, drawing the attention of both teens. It was the proctor that lifted the boy by the face earlier, Alicia. ¡°Little Lux it looks like it¡¯s just you and -¡± She stopped in her tracks as soon as her eyes fell on Noctis ¡°I guess not.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t look so sad, Alicia, this is Noctis, he¡¯s¡­ a friend.¡±


    ¡°Why did you hesitate? Is he threatening you? No, such a weak looking kid won¡¯t be able to do anything to you. Hey, you, why are you so close to her? It¡¯s a little improper to stand that close to the princess, don¡¯t you think?¡± She continued to bombard him with question after question while approaching slowly.


    She¡¯s in complete mother bear mode. Lux was horrified, just when she was finally able to talk to someone her age and convince them not to call her princess or your highness, here came Alicia to scare him away. She stepped in between her and Noctis. ¡°Alicia, he¡¯s really not threatening me. He¡¯s really my friend it just felt weird to say. Alright?¡± She turned around to Noctis. ¡°This is Alicia, she¡¯s been teaching me how to fight for the past couple years. She¡¯s also going to be our proctor for the test we automatically pass.¡±


    Alicia didn¡¯t move anymore, but didn¡¯t stop glaring at him. ¡°Proctor Alicia, it-it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you. I watched what you did to that noble bra-kid earlier. I thought it was cool.¡±


    ¡°Save it kid, flattery won¡¯t get you anywhere, especially since you¡¯re already here.¡± Noctis would have died yet another death if looks could kill. It was clear she didn¡¯t like him all that much for taking her time with the princess away. ¡°Well, since this seems to be all that¡¯s going to be in this area, we might as well start the test. Since your entrance is guaranteed, this is just to measure where your current power is. First I¡¯ll get someone to generate two earth dummies, and then after that¡­¡± Her eyes rolled back, trying to think of something that could entertain her for a bit. ¡°You two will spar.¡±


    ¡°What? Spar? What if I hurt her?¡± Noctis didn¡¯t want to be executed if something went wrong. Alicia promptly responded by bursting into a fit of laughter.


    ¡°Hah, phew, it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve laughed that hard. Oh boy. Listen kid, if you¡¯re able to touch a singular hair on her head, let alone land a hit, I¡¯ll ask Lieutenant General Gaius to personally oversee your one on one combat training.¡± She wiped the tears from her eyes and turned around to leave. ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a minute. Don¡¯t run away now.¡±


    After she exited Lux looked right at Noctis. ¡°I know you can¡¯t use your magic in front of anyone, but I can¡¯t let my teacher down by holding back. I hope you understand.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Oh right. Yea. Uh, are you really that strong princ- Lux?¡± He couldn¡¯t believe the girl who was over a head shorter than him was about to kick his ass. ¡°Don¡¯t feel bad, my body is pretty strong after all.¡±


    After a few moments, Alicia returned with a masked soldier. ¡°Alright, do it.¡± She gave the order, and the soldier slammed both hands on the ground. The earth started to shake a little, and 10 feet in front of him two pillars of rock started to rise up. They started to form into a shape that resembled a person.


    ¡°That will be all.¡± The soldier saluted and left. ¡°Lux, you¡¯re up first. Do your worst.¡± She pointed at the dummy on the left.


    ¡°Okay!¡± She slammed her hands together and parted them slowly, between her hands a rod of light was starting to form. When her hands were about three feet apart, a spear of light was revealed. She lifted it into the air and then let go. It was just floating there, until she pointed at the dummy. It shot out at a breakneck speed and stopped just as it was about to penetrate it. Lux spun her hand around, causing the spear to rotate around the target, leaving multiple copies of the spear around it. Finally she clenched her fist, and all the spears pierced it.


    ¡°Fatal damage. Nice job. You¡¯re up next kid.¡±


    Noctis walked up to the dummy. He¡¯d have to physically hit it since his magic was off limits. He stood in front of it and put his hands in front of his face, ready to fight. Jab. Nothing happened. Jab. Nothing happened. Right hook.

 Chapter 8: Sparring

    As soon as the fist made contact with the dummy, it promptly exploded. The two onlookers had their jaws drop at the spectacle. When the dust settled, the upper portion of the dummy was missing. Noctis was just standing there, blood dripping from the torn skin on his knuckles. What caught their attention was that the wound was closing at a visible rate.


    ¡°That¡¯s definitely fatal damage. Looks like I underestimated you a little bit, kid. It¡¯s still far from enough for you to be able to deal with our little princess here.¡± She walked over and put her hands on Lux¡¯s shoulders.


    Lux didn¡¯t realize just how much power Noctis was able to generate. ¡°If he didn¡¯t have such a powerful body, he¡¯d implode.¡± Salus chimed in from the mental connection.


    ¡°Implode? Why?¡±


    ¡°It needs to be able to contain an energy that¡¯s able to destroy almost everything it comes in contact with. In addition to being a very powerful, it is also very volatile. I¡¯ve witnessed one of the sovereigns fights in the spirit realm before. All he did was infuse a portion of his energy into his opponent, and they started to decay from the inside. Truly a horrible way to die.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s time to spar.¡± Lux snapped back to reality at those words. ¡°Alright, stand about¡­ 20 feet apart from each other, and don¡¯t move until I tell you to.¡± Alicia let go of Lux and gave her a slight push, before turning around and heading for the edge of the barrier. If that kid hits me accidentally it could break more than a few bones.


    They did as they were instructed, and were facing each other. Noctis was having a hard time standing still, unable to stop his leg from bouncing. It wasn¡¯t as if he hadn¡¯t fought anyone before; scuffles would break out all the time over some leftover food and loose change. It was just that he was scared, but excited to fight the princess. He was a little frightened by her display earlier, thinking back to the dummy being impaled gave him chills.


    ¡°Rules are simple, you two keep fighting until I decide a winner. Remember kid, if you land anything I¡¯ll do my best to get you a good teacher. You two ready?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Lux shouted, while Noctis simply nodded.


    ¡°Begin!¡±


    Lux opened up with a spear of light while Noctis tried to begin to close the distance, running straight at her. The spear came right at him at a speed he couldn¡¯t react to, but stopped right in front of his chest, before multiplying and surrounding him. They followed him around no matter how fast he ran, but also stayed exactly the same distance away.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    The same trick again? He kept his eyes on Lux¡¯s hand that was directing them, and as soon as she clenched her fist, the spears began to move and he jumped 10 feet in the air. All the spears drove into the ground then dissipated, while Noctis used his jump offensively, aiming to drop down and land a punch. She was just standing there, not having moved since the start of the fight. Noctis threw a punch accurately at her face. As soon as he made contact, or thought to have made contact, she disappeared and he slammed into the ground, causing cracks to form where his fist landed.


    He looked around to find that she was 20 feet behind him, creating more spears. She began to throw them one after another, this time they didn¡¯t just stop like he was expecting. The first one grazed his face, while the next pierced into his left leg. As soon as it pierced the skin, it started to dissolve, so it didn¡¯t make it all the way through his leg. Lux looked at him with a dumbfounded expression, but didn¡¯t relent.


    He wasn¡¯t able to run quite as fast, but it was still nothing to laugh at. He dodged the next few spears, and caught the last one to throw right back at her. Lux simply put her hand up and erected a barrier of light, which the spear was absorbed into. She felt fairly confident in the barrier so she wanted to see whether or not he would be able to break through it. The answer came seconds later when it shattered.


    He aimed a punch at her gut, hoping to end it, but Lux dodged to his right and landed a shot perfectly on his liver. He was stunned for a moment, and during that short period of time she punched him in the stomach, kidney, and chin. She went in for one more shot to the temple to put him out, but he caught her fist in his left and pulled her into a punch to the chest. The blow caused spiderweb cracks to form on the white armor, and Lux to spit out a little blood.


    She knew things would be messy if she over extended herself again, so she retreated and invited him to attack. Noctis being the simple minded fighter he was, came in with a punch aimed at her mouth. She narrowly avoided it, and in the same moment caught his arm. She used his force against him to flip him over her shoulder. The impact forced all the air out of his lungs, leaving him gasping for air. Without wasting a moment she drove her knee into his chest grabbed his throat with her left and was ready to punch him one last time.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough. Convinced that the little princess could whoop your ass yet? Ah, well I guess you did manage to get a hit in, a deal is a deal.¡±


    Lux rolled off his chest and started breathing heavily. It wasn¡¯t easy to move around in the armor at all, and with it being hot out, sweat was pouring out of her face, The tips of her black hair were drenched.


    Alicia walked over, forming a block of ice in each hand. She handed one to Lux and dropped the other on Noctis¡¯s forehead. It was a saving grace for both of them in the summer heat.


    The only thing Noctis knew he felt for sure was embarrassment while he was still struggling to draw air in. He thought he could do something with his superior speed and strength, but got destroyed on a technical level. It didn¡¯t help that the only thing happening through the mental connection with Tyrant, was him laughing so hard he started to cough.

 Chapter 9: Welcoming

    Two hours after his fight with Lux ended, all the applicants had finally been filtered out, and all those who would be students had been selected. During those two hours, he asked for rematch after rematch, all ending in the same way. His face in the dirt and not another scratch on Lux. Once everyone had been selected, they were ushered into a group so they could listen to a speech before a banquet would happen. All 323 new students stayed silent from start to finish.


    They were all in front of a small wooden platform, elevated just enough so that whoever was standing on it would be seen by everyone. A scrawny old man, who could disappear with a strong gust of wind, made his way onto it, albeit slowly. He was bald but had a well kept beard, making him look like a wise old sage that could give advice on anything and everything. After coughing a few times, or clearing his throat, he began his speech.


    ¡°Dear new students, I am pleased to once again greet you as the director of the Academy. By getting this far you¡¯ve done well. However for the next three years I can only describe your time here as torture, for most of you anyway. The weak will be culled, and the strong will be polished. Your limits will be tested as you¡¯re put through a regiment of learning battle tactics, magic, and competition.


    By this time next year, I believe only 60% of you will be coming back. By the time two years have come and gone, only 20% of you will be left. Those who graduate will only number in the teens. Of course there are merits even if you fail to graduate. Those who survive the first year will be able to apply to be an officer, Those who survive two will be able to directly become an officer. For those who graduate, you will be promoted directly to Major. I hope that you will take your studies seriously, and outlast the statistics. The kingdom is always in need of talent. Those who serve the crown well, will be rewarded just as well. The banquet that celebrates you coming this far, will be held in 15 minutes, feel free to socialize among yourselves until then.¡±


    The chatter had begun almost immediately. Noctis looked around for any familiar faces but found none. Lux was nowhere to be seen, but she was the last person he wanted to see right now. He was afraid he might die of embarrassment if he were to face her after getting stomped somewhere between 15-20 times in a row. Whatever, it¡¯s not like the princess of the kingdom would be interested in hanging out with a stubborn street rat anyway.


    The banquet was filled with delicacies from all over. The commoner students were stuffing their faces, while the nobility didn¡¯t see it as anything special. Groups had already begun to form, leaving him as an outcast. He got placed in Area 1, which made him an outsider in the eyes of the commoners, and even if he could find a place among the nobility, he¡¯d rather be alone. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Nothing eventful, outside of eating his fill of the best food he¡¯s ever had the pleasure of tasting, happened. The rest of the day consisted of them being broken down into groups of 30, and being shown around the campus. They learned where all the classrooms, training areas, cafeteria, and dorms were located by the time the evening had rolled around.


    Once the tours ended, they all headed to the cafeteria for dinner. Noctis hadn¡¯t spoken a word to anyone, and decided he was better off eating dinner alone. At least I¡¯m able to eat properly now. Small steps Noc, small steps. Friends will come in due time. After eating, he headed to his room.


    It was a simple set up that resembled the one had at the church. A single twin sized bed, with a desk and chair. The only addition was a dresser that came with his uniform and sleepwear. After changing he fell to his bed before calling out to Tyrant through mental connection; ¡°I¡¯m exhausted, I don¡¯t really want to practice tonight.¡±


    ¡°I suppose one day won¡¯t do any harm. Not any more than getting tossed around by a girl half your size.¡± Tyrant chuckled as he remembered the countless times Noctis got his ass handed to him. ¡°You really should work on improving your combat prowess. What I watched earlier wasn¡¯t a fight, it was an idiot flailing around while destroying everything but his opponent.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah. If I¡¯m lucky the Lieutenant general will personally see to it that I don¡¯t end up doing that again.¡±


    They continued to chat about his day until he fell asleep. Noctis opened his eyes to an unfamiliar, yet familiar environment. Everything around him was red. The walls, the floor and-


    ¡°...Avenge¡­ me¡­¡± A man covered in blood, with hollow eyes reached out to his son. Another hand reached out to him, trying to comfort him in his final moments, but just as they met, Noctis woke up.


    He was covered in sweat even though the room was dark and cold. That dream again. Tears were forming in his eyes. When will I let go? No matter how many times he reached for his father¡¯s hand, he was never able to reach, never able to comfort his last family member. No matter how far forward he walked in his life, his dreams would always pull him back to a time where he was powerless to do nothing as his father slowly died in front of him.


    His self pity was interrupted by knocking on the door. ¡°Noctis?¡± A feminine voice that was full of energy sounded through the room. He scrambled to put on his uniform before hurrying to the door. Once it opened he saw the one person he never thought he¡¯d talk to again. ¡°Princess?¡±