(You know Seventeen? That was pretty badass back there)
"You think? That guy was annoying and besides.....", Seventeen looked at Nyx and smiled, "I needed the blood."
(Oooooooh, Sadistic)
"I believe I got that from you Prime. In your memories, I see you become a killing machine when the battle gets intense and there are instances where you even laughed." Seventeen recalled as he reached a small cliff with a forest below it.
(Well I'm one of those guys who don't do battle often but if I do I enjoy it. But anyway. Why did you pay 2 gold for the counter? You could've easily fixed it with magia.)
Money in this world is simple. 100 bronze is 1 silver, 1000 silver is 1 gold, and 10000 gold is 1 crystal. There was already some money for Seventeen in the Awakening chamber. Currently, he has 5 crystals, 18 gold, and 20 silver.
"I felt like I should pay. And besides, I would've given myself away if I did a Creation Code or a Time Code."
(Ah. That was a wise decision. I didn't think about it.)
"I should get going. According to the info you gave me, your parallel version, the Arthur Night of this universe will be enrolling at the academy in the capital of Crystalia."
Arken is divided into five nations: Raveria in the north, Elveria in the south, Lunaria in the west, Solaria in the east, and Crystalia in the center of the continent.
Their capital cities are surrounded by towns and villages and each nation is governed by an Arken Family.
The Arken Families are the most powerful and influential on the continent. They are the descendants of the 14 individuals who accompanied the founder of Arken when he discovered the continent 4000 years ago.
Every 7 years, five Families are chosen to govern the five nations. The governing Families are tasked to oversee the nation they are assigned to. The whole of Arken is governed by the Council of Seventy. They are the ones who choose the five governing Families out of the 14 Arken Families.
Apart from the Arken Families, there are also nobles but they don't hold the same power as the Families.
There is a saying in this world, "All Arken Families are nobles but not all nobles are Arken Families."
"That... is an interesting system of governance", Seventeen remarked. "So is your parallel version in an Arken Family?"
(Yeah he is. Arthur Night is the youngest of three siblings. This is a difference since I was the eldest child in my family. There are many similarities but also differences in both of our lives. It's like he 'deviates' from the path set for him. Hmmm. I think I'm gonna call him the first deviation)
"Again, your way of naming things is pathetic."
(Cut me some slack will ya?)
Suddenly Seventeen sensed a fast-moving object behind him. He tilted his head to the left. An arrow whizzed past his head and flew into the forest below him. "The aim is good", he remarked.
He heard a familiar laugh behind him, "See boys? This guy is fast." Seventeen turned around, 'Oh. It's the annoying guy.', he thought.
It was Rudy Allion and he wasn't alone. Behind him are at least twenty men with their own weapons and he looked pretty smug about it.
"I told you I'll remember, boy. That sword of yours is interesting. I have never seen one like it before. So I will be taking it after my boys are done with you"
Seventeen held up Nyx, "Very well. Let's see what you guys can do."
"Get him!", Rudy yelled. The men rushed with their weapons held high at Seventeen. The first one, a brawny man with a tattoo on his arm swung his huge sword at Seventeen and yelled, "Your pretty head is mine!"
Seventeen dodged it and made a swift cut on the man's bicep.
He weaved between the men, making precise cuts on the arms, legs, and faces. Soon he reached the end of the group and faced a shocked Rudy. "I believe I'm done", he said.
The brawny man looked back and laughed, "What do you mean you're done? You just ran between us and giving us these small cuts and scratches. Do you seriously think these will bring us down? Hahahaha!"
The other men laughed too and even Rudy smiled wickedly. But after a few seconds, the laughter turned into screams of pain as Nyx's enchantment kicked in. Rudy was horrified to find his men on the ground, writhing in pain.
"What did you do?", he asked in horror.
"What I am going do to you now", Seventeen said and attacked. Thanks to his experience in battle, Rudy was able to barely dodge it. He felt the air getting cut by the blade.
'That blade is bad news.', he thought as he jumped backward, {Space Code: Teleport}, he teleported a few feet away from Seventeen.
Rudy took out his new battleax and charged at his opponent. Seventeen stood there with his sword lowered. With a roar, Rudy swung the ax with all his might at Seventeen's head.
With a smooth slicing sound, the battleax was cut in half and Rudy found himself looking at the black blade for the second time.
"I told you my blade was thirsty.", Seventeen said and made a small cut on his cheek. The blade was so cold it stung. A few seconds later, Rudy's body exploded in pain.
He screamed in agony as it felt like molten metal coursing through his body. He felt himself burning from the inside out. He fell backward screaming.
The pain increased by the minute and in this pain, he heard the voice of the purple-eyed man, who he now sees as a terrifying demon, "Thank you for the blood.", he whispered.
Rudy didn't understand what he meant. Soon his vision turned blurry as he fell unconscious due to pain. But even unconscious, he felt pain.
Seventeen stood over the unconscious and twitching form of Rudy and looked at Nyx, "Prime. I think Nyx is too dangerous for humans. Is it possible to put a limiter on the sword?"
(Yeah it is possible. But you need a good crafter to do it since Nyx is a unique sword. You can do that once you are in the city. How about you envelop the sword with magia to weaken the enchantment for now?)
"That's a good idea", Seventeen focused a stream of magia and enveloped the blade with it. The magia glowed faintly before becoming transparent. he retracted Nyx into the gloves and looked at the woods where the previous arrow flew in.
He was sure he heard a faint wailing in the woods. He jumped off the cliff and landed on the forest floor and followed the wailing. He came to a huge tree and found the source of the noise.
The arrow had actually knocked down a falcon's nest off the huge tree. It struck the adult mother and brought the nest down along with a week-old baby falcon. Seventeen saw that the adult had a silver beak and beautiful silver feathers.
(That's a Moon Falcon. They are truly majestic birds. Their feathers shine in the light of the full moon which also increases their magia. They are one of the fastest birds in this world and are highly intelligent. Legends say they have the ability to converse telepathically. It's sad to see such a beautiful bird brought down by an arrow)
Seventeen went over to the adult to heal it but it was too late. It was already dead. The baby falcon toddled towards its mother and pecked at the silver feathers as if trying to wake her.
Seventeen held out his arm to the chick. It toddled towards him and pecked at his fingers curiously.
"I'm sorry. If I hadn't dodged that arrow, it wouldn't have killed your mother.", he said sadly. A week-old Moon falcon cannot survive on its own.
"That's it. I'm going to take care of you from now on.", he decided. The chick blinked as if it understood and continued to peck his fingers.
Seventeen is now able to feel emotions because of his new and developing soul. This was the first time he felt sadness and now he knows why it hurts to be sad. He felt a strange heaviness in his chest.
He buried the mother at the base of the huge tree and then scooped up the baby falcon in his hands. It looked back at its mother's grave as if saying a final goodbye and tucked in snugly in Seventeen's hands.
"Alright little guy. We're going to fly to Crystalia so buckle up", he said.
(Little guy? My dear Seventeen, that baby falcon is a female)
"How did you figure that out?", Seventeen said in surprise and glanced at the falcon chick again.
(I am extremely versed in bird anatomy. This universe is pretty similar to mine. So there would some similarities between birds here and birds on earth)
"Whoa. But still, with only a glance you guessed it was female. That is kind of impressive seeing that you are already dead."
(I mainly see with your eyes. But I can have a birds-eye view if I expend some magia but it's a lot of work.)
"You're one lazy creator."
Seventeen soon reached a clearing. "This is a good spot", {Fire Code: Wings of the Pheonix}, huge wings of red and orange flames materialized on his back. With a mighty flap, he rose over the trees and flew towards Crystalia at a breathtaking speed. The baby falcon curled up in his hand.
(Hey Seventeen. Why are you going to Crystalia right now? According to my info, Arthur Night won't be reaching there in a month. He's in Lunaria right now.)
"I know Prime. I just have something to do in the capital city before I meet him", Seventeen said as he flew towards the capital of Crystalia, Crystalis City.