The sun was shining brightly over the forest of the elves as Drac and his squad approached the kingdom. They were accompanied by a team of forest Elds, and the King had arranged an envoy to ensure that their arrival would not cause any distress. He had informed the council about the dragon's race on their planet and the events of the previous day.
Meanwhile, Queen Safira had been playing with the children of the kingdom, while Fenris was keeping her company. The S squad had gone out to train and hone their nature laws, and Kiron decided to stay close to Queen Safira in case she got upset again.
Once Drac had settled down and made sure the children were occupied with tasks, he set out to find Safira to talk with her.
As he entered the garden, he could hear the sounds of children laughing and screaming as Safira chased after them, playfully shouting, "I'm gonna catch all of you because you can't run from me, the scary dragon! Here I come, get ready!"
Drac watched as Safira caught Princess Aeryn and threw her over her shoulder, chasing the other two children around. They were giggling and having so much fun.
Drac couldn't help but smile at the sight, thankful that Safira had calmed down. He didn't want to go through another War of the Gods, having already lost one family he loved.
Drac cleared his throat and said, "Ahem, greetings King Aerin and Queen Estel. It's good to see you again. I must say, you both look well, and the kingdom is flourishing."
As Drac approached the group, Queen Safira greeted him with a roll of her eyes. "What, don't I get a greeting? It was just one temper tantrum, and Kiron handled it well, thank goodness."
Drac frowned and scratched his head, thinking to himself that sometimes he didn't know what to do with Safira.
King Aerin quickly spoke up, "Drac, it's good to see you too. You're looking older, has Safira been working you hard?"
Drac chuckled, "Haha, you have no idea. She's got me training the young ones in combat and giving orders. She thinks I'm going to do something stupid again. One to talk, right?" he said, making a funny face and pointing at Safira.
Safira, with her arms still full of children, retorted, "I'm standing right here, you know. Just because I have my arms full doesn't mean I can't whip my tail on your old asses."
Drac raised his hands in a surrendering position, "I concede then, sorry."
Queen Estel hugged and kissed Drac, saying, "Drac, don't listen to them. You look great."
"Wow, Estel, you are a true beauty of the Forest Elf race. Is that new golden jewellery and emeralds I see shining? Has your husband been spoiling you?" Drac asked.
Queen Estel smiled, "You bet he has. No way he could keep a beauty like me with just his looks."
Drac couldn't help but think that jokes aside, King Aerin was insanely handsome. He had blond hair with blue streaks that reached mid-back, captivating blue eyes, and blue runes and markings on his face that represented his main power.
"Your Majesty, may we speak?" Drac requested, his deep voice echoing.
Queen Safira nodded, a hint of sadness etched on her face. "If we must, I suppose you deserve an explanation."
With a gentle kiss on her children's foreheads, Queen Safira bid them farewell, promising to return soon. Young Damian clung to her leg, unwilling to let go, but she gently pried him off and entrusted him to the care of Fenris.
King Aerin joined Drac and Queen Safira in their meeting, while Queen Estel stayed behind with the children.
...
In King Aerin's grand office, they took their seats at the table and sipped on steaming cups of tea as Queen Safira shared the reason for her outburst.
Drac listened in disbelief, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He immediately requested to see the evidence for himself.
King Aerin plugged in a drive and a holographic screen materialized in front of them, showcasing the ridiculous information.
Name: Damian.?.?.
Birth Year: 100,465,514
Age: 1453 Error current body age 5 (Age Hex)
Race:???? Error !!!!!!!!
Ranked: Powered
Powers: Rapid Healing and Super Strong
Skills: None
Combat: None
Weapon Mastery: None
Equipment: Locket of memories
Physically: Supreme Ultimate Love Hex(Causes blood to Stagnate, Heart not work), Scares
Negative Effects: Power halved, Pain Hex(Pain 1 million times usual), Mind Shattered (Loss of memory when bad trauma occurs)
Spiritual: Supreme Ultimate Love Hex(Soul Lock, Hidden and Never feel true love)
Weakness: None
Drac's gaze remained fixed on the information displayed before him, his eyes unable to blink as he processed the unbelievable information.
Though not overly intelligent, Drac had a basic understanding of the world and what he was seeing simply defied all logic.
"The machine is 100% accurate, right? No problems?" Drac finally asked, breaking the silence.
King Aerin nodded. "It works every time on Elfs coming-of-age ceremonies and newborns. I've heard of some machines being faulty, but we tested this twice. There's always a first for everything."
"I'm sure it's correct, I'm just as puzzled as you are," Drac admitted, still staring at the screen.
"I've used this machine before, as has Safira, and it could easily read even the attributes of an Ancient God Beast. This is just confusing."
"That's why it was designed this way," King Aerin explained. "Due to the massive expansion of races, no one knew who was on whose side or what their true intentions were. Dark attributes often used underhanded methods, so each race was tested and added to the system for clarity."
Drac's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Then why is his name Damian.?.?. What's with that, Queen Safira or King Aerin? Can one of you explain?"
King Aerin sighed. "My grandfather once told me that it's a title error. The machine may have tried to give him a title, just like 'Safira, Queen of Dragons' or even weapons like 'Fists of Fury'. It's possible that he either had a title before or lost one."
Drac nodded in understanding. "Shame. No wonder that child never smiles. Imagine all his cuts are 1 million times more painful than usual pain scale." Queen Safira's anger flared at Drac's words, but she quickly regained her composure.
Queen Safira stood up in the room, her eyebrows furrowed in deep thought. "You are correct, but after my outburst, he started giggling and even smiled as well. That's what calmed me down from my rage a lot. I had never seen him smile or giggle before, so what might have changed?"
They both raised their hands in confusion. "I don't know," they replied in unison.
Drac stepped forward, his eyes filled with concern. "I've never seen anything like that. I've seen a hex or curse put on someone for torture. There's even a formation that increases the pain by a maximum of 50%. And they only last a day at least, so how's that possible?"
Queen Safira shook her head. "Either Damian is a Dark Demi-god's child and that monster used him as a test base, or a new young hex god is at play. There is no way the ancient gods would do this, and even the dark beasts wouldn't harm a child." She thought of the Demi-god with eyes that stood out so much.
How could she not know? The problem was that there were so many Demi-gods, and the gods were not very faithful. They didn't treat women or men nicely.
Drac continued, "He's powered, but you said his healing and strength are off the charts for a powered. Even divine existence doesn't come close. Maybe the parent or parents got jealous and cursed the child because they couldn't stand it."
King Aerin and Queen Safira nodded their heads in agreement. That was a possibility. But Queen Safira still had her doubts. "Still then, one would also have the same healing, which doesn't make sense since that's impossible."
Drac sighed. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I've never seen a hex like this as well, even after I ended that dark tribe of creatures that used hexes. Only the God of Hexes might be able to answer you." He paused and looked at the Queen once more. "But we'll find a way to unravel this mystery. Together."
"Even this age hex!" exclaimed Drac. "How could it be possible? With this hex, one could turn a mortal into an immortal. Damian might not age like an Emmortal or lower race, but I'm not certain. He might still be able to die, but his body will remain as a 5-year-old's."
Queen Safira, "I think he's stuck in a 5-year-old's body, but he can still die. He's currently 1453 years old, and that soul lock will prevent him from progressing in soul power. I could give him a pill to jump to Emmortal rank, but it won't work."
King Aerin suggested, "It won't hurt to try, Safira. And I can get a replacement machine in 11 days. I've already ordered it and requested a rush order."
Drac chimed in, "We'll test him before we leave, giving him more time. When we return in 5 years, we'll have answers, at least I hope."
Drac then discussed their next steps. "King Aerin, maybe you should make sure no one harms Damian. We don't know what pain he feels, but we should protect him from any potential harm. And we should also hide his healing factor from everyone."
Queen Safira freaks a little thinking she hurt him so much, he must have been in utter pain and suffering.
Drac pulled out two bracelets, one used for torture against certain creatures and one that saps strength. "I suggest putting these on Damian to protect him from any potential harm from jealous dark ones."
Queen Safira showed an angry face but ultimately agreed with Drac's suggestion. "What if he punches a kid and breaks his neck out of anger? We can't attract attention to him," he said. And with that, they put the bracelets on Damian to protect him.
The library door slammed open as the princess stormed in, tears streaming down her face. King Aerin was taken aback and immediately embraced her, "What's wrong, dear?"
"Daddy, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt him," Princess Aeryn sniffled.
Just then, Queen Estel, Fenris carrying Damian, and Prince Logon entered the room. Queen Estel explained the situation, "They were playing tag in the gardens. The boys were too fast for Princess Aeryn, and she got frustrated chasing after Damian. In her anger, she used her silent knife arts and accidentally hit his leg with a twig, causing a stab wound."
Prince Logon, being a protective big brother, quickly defended his sister, "Aunt Safira, it wasn't her fault. We were teasing her. Please don't punish her."
Queen Safira simply smiled, "Children, accidents happen, especially with powers. The most important thing is to learn from it. Fenris, is Damian okay?"
"Yes, Safira," Fenris answered. "We pulled out the twig and he healed after 20 minutes, just as you instructed."
Drac couldn't believe what he was hearing. An Immortal ghoul's speed of healing was 50 minutes at the fastest, and even that was considered slow.
Queen Safira took Damian into her arms and comforted him, "I'm sorry about this little one, but your powers are highly sought after. Dark forces would try to refine your blood for even just 0.01% of it." She then turned to Drac and nodded, indicating it was time to put on the bracelets.
The bracelets were made of adimite metal and had a black crystal in the centre. Drac placed them on Damian's right arm and activated them with a secret phrase, The bracelets adjusted to Damian's size automatically.
Drac wanted to make sure the bracelets were working properly, so he asked Queen Safira if he could perform a simple test. She agreed. Drac made a small cut on his arm with his claws and they waited for 30 minutes, but the cut was still bleeding. They sighed and applied a bandage to his left arm.
Queen Safira then asked about testing the strength of the bracelets. Drac made a bad joke, "Guess we'll know when we find a dead bully." But everyone glared at him. He quickly corrected himself, "I don't think we can. Prince Logon and Princess Aeryn, did Damian's taps seem hard when you were playing tag?"
Queen Safira and King Aerin stood in front of Drac, both shaking their heads in disagreement.
"You see," Drac began, "if we ask him to try to break or punch something, I don't think he'll be able to do it. He only used his strength in fear like a berserker power. I can test it, but you're not going to like my method."
Queen Safira shot Drac a deathly stare. "What do you want to do?"
"Well, umm...I'll give him a beating," Drac stammered, "but it's just a suggestion. Don't."
At that comment, Safira balled her fist, ready to punch Drac.
King Aerin intervened, "Why don't we try breaking something first or punching something?"
Safira agreed and they all headed to the training room. It took them about three minutes to get there, with Safira still holding Damian. They arrived in a massive open area surrounded by nature, including a little pond for walking through.
Drac stared in amazement. "I said gym, not an indoor greenhouse."
"We are forest Elfs," King Aerin explained, "What did you expect? Buildings to punch? We have to train to move around a forest and shoot bows from trees, swim in the water quietly, and walk without making a sound by moving in a plantation environment."
Drac laughed, "Hahaha, my bad. I forgot. We use combat arenas and buildings as punching bags."
King Aerin asked, "Do you think we can get him to punch a tree? Otherwise, what else could we do?"
"This is what I'm talking about," Drac started, "We can't test it. The only way..." but he stopped mid-sentence as Safira glared at him again.
King Aerin has an idea, "Let's try and ask him to crush a stone. Safira, can you demonstrate this for him? He seems to respond to you a lot."
Queen Safira agreed and handed Damian over to Fenris. She walked to a big boulder covered in moss and with one swift swipe of her finger, sliced through it like slime. She picked up a piece, broke it into smaller pieces, and turned to Damian.
"Damian, can you copy me?" she asked, holding a head-size rock between her hands and compressing it into a super fine dust.
Safira walked over to Damian and placed a fist-sized rock in his hands. "You can do it," she said, pointing at the rock.
Damian looked at the rock, then back at Queen Safira, and then handed it back to her. She shook her head and pointed back at him.
Damian looked at the rock again, thought for a moment, and tried to do what Safira did. He went nearly blue in the face, causing everyone to laugh and giggle. After a minute of watching, Safira stopped him.
"Well, any thoughts?" she asked Drac.
"As I said, Safira, I can't be certain it's working fully," Drac replied. "He could only go like a berserker in a fear state or anger."
King Aerin suggested, "Then deactivate the device and try again. If he doesn't crush it, then we know some things off."
With determination in his eyes, Damian tries again. And just like that, with a resounding 'Poof', the fist-sized rock crumbles to dust just like Safira's.
A smile spreads across Damian's face and he applauds along with Safira, who then plants a long, passionate kiss on his head.
"That's the proof we needed," Drac says with a sigh of relief. "I don't have to be beaten black and blue." He reactivates the bracelet.
Safira's fists clench, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Wanna test that theory?"
Drac pales at the suggestion. "Please no."
King Aerin and Queen Estel intervene, "It's getting late, let's go have dinner. Drac must be tired from his travels, and we can discuss Damian more then."