She was the Queen. The one Rainey explicitly cautioned him not to alert. Jered didn't need a verbal confirmation to know that it was her. That power eclipsed anyone he had ever met—Rainey included. The ambient mana churned in her presence, rolling around her in beautiful, crimson arches. If he was still a normal human, he would have thought she was a Goddess.
Jered seriously believed, for a moment, that that was it. The end. He was going to die.
Then her question dawned on him.
"I'm afraid I don't, ma'am," he replied, each word articulated with the utmost politeness.
She wrinkled her forehead, "How odd," she circled around him, eyeing him up and down, "Why do I feel like I know you? Hmm, but your name doesn't ring any bells. And you're way too young."
Truth be told, Jered couldn't wrap his head around it either. There was something about her that called out to him. Like a scent that brought back memories. But he had no memories of her. He'd certainly remember someone as striking as her. The Queen was so confused that she pinched his cheeks and pulled them up and down, as if kneading his face into the answer she was hung up on.
"..."
Jered stared at her expressionlessly, his complaints dying down in his throat. Might as well let her do as she saw fit. He didn't want to stir her wrath and be obliterated for such a stupid reason.
After she was done playing with his face, she pulled back, tapping her chin in thought, "You're not... fully human, are you?"
It was not surprising that she noticed.
He shook his head, "No."
She met his stare evenly, "A hybrid, huh?" her expression denoted that she was slowly puzzling the clues together and coming up with an answer.
"..."
"What are you, exactly?"
Her mana coiled around him, like bloody tendrils, probing and dissecting his mana. Jered didn't know what she was looking for, but that was going too far. He instinctively tried to wrestle his way out of her grasp. And that didn't sit well with the Queen. With an irked tilt of her eyebrow, she tore her mouth wide open, so impossibly open, in fact, that it could easily fit his whole body inside it. Her perfect, pearly whites turned yellow, sharp, and covered every inch of her gums. Threads of saliva trickled down the dozens of tongues squirming in her maw, like tentacles.
Jered wanted to 'Shadowport', but the pressure of her magic density was anchoring him down.
The Queen made to him gobble him up when a hand touched her shoulder.
"Come on, now. You don't do that to family."
She froze, and so did Jered.
A man, well-dressed and gorgeous, appeared out of thin air. His hair was neatly combed to the side, his chiseled face stretched into a relaxed smile. The aura of confidence and power made it seem like he was someone extremely strong, but not an ounce of mana could be felt from him.
"Father?" Jered blinked in silent shock. The last conversation he had with him was under strenuous circumstances, and he could barely remember it. He didn't think he'd be seeing him so soon.
The Queen's mouth shrunk back to normal as she turned around, "John?" then she snapped her head towards Jered, "Wait! Father?"
"Lucy, it's so nice to see you again after all these years," John pulled his hand back and tucked it into the pocket of his pants, "I apologize for losing contact with you, but I was forced into hiding."
"W-What happened to you? Why can't I feel you?"
"I'm dead, Lucy."
She gawked, "You, dead? Surely, you must be joking!" she chuckled, but when he didn't answer, her expression shattered, "H-How did you die?"
"The Anti-Pandemonium Alliance, led by the World Spirit, managed to stab my heart with Castus, The Holy Spear. After that, it was only a matter of time before I lost my powers and died."
Regret and acceptance flickered in his eyes. And the reality of the situation all of a sudden stabbed her. No time to digest it. No sugar-coating it. She couldn't recall the last time her heart throbbed so painfully.
Lucy bit her bottom lip, closed the distance between them, and rested her head against his chest, "You fool... why...?"
As powerful as she was, she wasn't omnipotent. She couldn't revive him.
"You know why."
"..."
"Lucy..."
"..."
She was unresponsive as she struggled to not let her feelings overwhelm her, "Father is dead, you're dead. Everyone is gone."
John patted her back, "Not everyone," he whispered.
Lucy looked up at him with her bright, wet crimson eyes.
He pointed at a frowning Jered, and chuckled, "You still have him, your nephew. He's like us, Lucy, an inheritor of the Shadows."
"My nephew?"
John nodded, "He's my son."
"So that's why..." she whispered, more to herself than anyone else, "That's why I was so curious about him."
"And you were about to eat him."
Lucy slapped his arm playfully, "I was not. I was just going to scare him a little bit," she faced Jered, "You can call me auntie from now on."
"..."
John laughed harder, "Yes, I agree with your silence, son. This is a rather awkward family reunion. But it's better than the alternative, right? If you were not related to her, you would have died."
"No, I think the only reason she won't kill me is that you're here..."
Lucy rolled her eyes, "I wasn't going to eat you!" she repeated, a bit more heated this time.
"I can't stay here for long," John explained, looking around the Third Circle with fond reminiscence, "I'm anchored to you, Jered. And I'm borrowing your mana so I can be heard and seen. But that comes with a consequence. It's not healthy for you, and the more I do this, the faster I'll permanently disappear."
"We can find a new vessel for you, John," Lucy offered helpfully, her tone melancholy but not willing to give up, "I can help you."
"Let's not lie to each other. Where would you find a vessel strong enough to host my soul?"
Lucy pressed on, "A homunculi, brother. If we create one..."
"Not enough time," he interrupted her with a dismissive wave of his hand, "I'm a fragment of what I used to be, and even that is slowly fading. No need to delay the inevitable."
She lapsed into a mournful silence, a spark of fury swirling in her eyes.
"Father," Jered started, his face tightened into a serious frown, "Who is the Anti-Pandemonium Alliance?"
John would have been a fool not to notice the flames of revenge in his son's steady gaze, "You want to avenge me?"
A nod.
"And I'm going to help him," Lucy cut in, "He's not ready yet."
"He's indeed not ready," John agreed, staring at Jered, "I'm proud of you, son. But you have yet to scrape the surface of the power within you, and until then, you shouldn't even think of getting into a war you're not prepared for. Don't forget that your death would leave Jasmine defenseless, and Jane... she would change if she lost you."
"I'm doing the best I can, father. I'm preparing myself, every day."
"I know you are. I've been watching over you."
"You have?"
That would make some of his more intimate moments appear awkward—especially what Jasmine did.
"Just because you can't see me, it doesn't mean I can't see you," John continued in a more morbid tone, "I have to admit that your love life is quite messed up, son. Definitely worse than mine when I was your age."
Jered sighed, "Jasmine..."
"Haha, indeed. But don't blame her. As a superior being, it's totally normal for women—and some men—to be attracted to you. Family included. The more power you wield, the more you unlock your heritage, the more your soul evolves, the less they'll be able to resist you. There's no brainwashing involved, it's all human nature. Women seek the best man as their mate. Even if they're blood-related. Naturally, this is a taboo even in magical societies, but a Shadow usually doesn't care about small details such as those."
"Ahem," Lucy cleared her throat, hoping her brother would switch back to more important topics.
"What?" John waved her off, "I'm giving my son some love advice."
"It's not time for that," she chided.
As much as Jered appreciated his father's straightforwardness, Lucy wasn't wrong, "Soo... what do we do now?" his eyes trailed towards his aunt, wondering if she was angry that he absorbed all of those souls.
John shrugged, "You can train here for another couple of months. Why don't you help him, Lucy? I'd gladly offer him my knowledge, but that'll have to wait until he reaches the Royal-Tier."
She groaned, her wings fluttering in frustration, "You want me to babysit him now?"
"Only for three more months. You just woke up, don't be a lazy bum, and do something productive. Do it for your brother."
"I can't even cash back the favor since you're dead!"
"There there. He's your nephew. Don't you want to bond with him? He's the sole family you have right now."
"Fine," Lucy conceded, "On the condition that he stops eating my souls. Seriously, the last thing we need is for the Nine Constellation Army to notice the sudden drop of souls in the River of Life, and bust us."
Jered was cool with that. 'Soul Eater' was losing efficiency anyway; the souls were simply too weak compared to him. Besides, he'd be willing to trade anything to get tutelage from someone as powerful as Lucy. Surely, three months were not long enough for him to grow by leaps and bounds, but he was a fast learner, "What about Demi though? She needs souls to evolve," he pointed his thumb towards Demi, who was cowering in the cave next to Cerberus.
"We'll figure something out for her," Lucy said with an irritated sigh, "What a pain in the ass, and not the good kind either."
"Awesome!" John exclaimed with a bright smile, "Since everything is settled, it's time for me to go."
Lucy was a bit sentimental as she stared at her dead brother, about to disappear for who knew how long. Frankly, she never thought she'd see the day where someone bested John. And in some arrogant, conceited compartment of her mind, she even believed they were invincible. Both of them. Together, there was nothing they couldn't accomplish. But now he was dead, with only a son as his last legacy.
She wondered if things would have been different if only she didn't go into hibernation for so long. Maybe he would have survived. Maybe their family name would have rung out louder across Archiland. With the addition of someone as talented as Jered, in due time, the whole world would have been theirs to conquer and rule. So much was lost because she had been reckless, careless.
"Brother..." Lucy clenched her teeth, hands balling into fists, and if not for fear of hurting him, her mana would have torn the whole circle asunder, "... those who dared to oppose us will pay. The Throne of Shadows will see its new Sovereign soon."
"I'm glad to hear that, Lulu. It's a relief to know that you'll be there for my son. He won't disappoint you, that I promise."
"..."
She nodded firmly.
"Akashka will prove to be an immensely powerful ally to you, Jered. I don't know Rainey personally, but I've heard of her back in my prime. She's got talent that could rival yours, and the determination to burn the world. She's rebellious, but she genuinely cares about your growth," John began to shimmer out of existence. He stared at his fading hands, and then back at Jered, "We'll see each other again, maybe sooner than you expect."
Jered blinked.
And John wasn't there anymore.