It was night, and Nyxʼs adoptive mother; Dona stayed silent in the living room patching up on old attire. It had sentimental value.
"Hahah! I win!"
The abrupt uproar of a young Nyx Besimios shook her. The tone of his voice dictated he was eight years old at most.
Slowly, Dona looked up where she saw her husband Draefis and the pride of her life Nyx playing a game of cards. Her face appeared dull, usually the house was much more livelier, but today, she felt a little under the weather.
"You cheated!" Draefis uttered, "Did not!" Nyx sharply responded. This led to Draefis claiming Nyx was using the card reading trick, which enabled him knowledge of every cardʼs whereabouts.
The young boy simply shrugged, "That's definitely not true father, how could a child possibly pick up something so appalling..?" a rhetoric question.
Draefis didn't have a proper answer, as a result he scratched his head continually "Drats! Best three out of five?" he hadn't won a single game of the two rounds they'd played.
"Negative. We agreed on best two out of three, stick to your words father, what would mother think.." Nyx spoke with a formal voice. He was fond of speaking in a much more mature sense than he should.
"B-B-But! Y-You kn--" he didn't have a logical response, "Alright. You win, I guess you get the best piece of meat today.." Draefis sighed.
Nodding twice, Nyx wore a smug countenance "Which is unfortunate, because mother's making her famous pot roast.." he had to rub it in Draefis' face.
"Whaaaaat! That's totally unfair!" Draefis emphatically uttered. He chased after Nyx.
The young lad ran down the spiral stairs with expressions of mirth. His happiness, warmth and emotion was so palpable you could cut it with a butter knife.
"Card reading is cheating Nyxie!" Draefis cried out before he resumed his chase.
"But you said pursue victory by any means necessary! And I did!" he stuck out his tongue to make a silly expression as he ran.
The back and forth pursuit stopped the moment Draefis caught Nyx and wrapped him tightly around his arms. "I've got you!" he exclaimed, before proceeding to make monster noises. Nyx couldn't help but hysterically laugh.
It was a much enjoyed scene of father and son.
While they played, Dona yawned, as she was a bit tired. Her eyes seemed a bit on the dull end and her skin didn't have that radiance it would when she's hale and hearty.
Nyx quickly noticed this, "Mother? Are you okay? You're not getting sick are you?" he watched her as as she adjusted her wheelchair. He could notice her pale skin and lips, the lethargic manner with which she moved.
"No, it's fine, your mother's just a bit tired.." she told him using a third person referral. Her own mild yet playful manner of communicating with him and keeping his mind at ease.
Still, he wanted to help however way he could "Why don't you head inside, I'll help Stera make you some hot chicken soup... like the ones you make when I'm sick." Stera was their maid or professionally speaking, personal attendant.
Seated on her wheelchair, she leaned in to her small statured son and radiantly smiled, "Is that so? Then I can't wait to see what you have in store.."
"Alright!" he excitedly uttered.
In between time, Draefis watched them and he could only smile. For him, scenes like this softened his heart.
"But... I hope you'll join me to take the soup." a soft feminine voice, she was indeed tired. Her manner of articulation said it all.
This motivated Nyx even more, "Sure! I'd love to have chicken soup with you, nothing would make me happier!" he grinned moments after.
"Hey, what about good olʼ dad?" Draefis uttered prior to spreading his arms in request that his son embrace him.
Yet, Nyx averted his eyes, folded his arms and pouted "Hm! It's just me and mother alright dad?! You're going to have to do something else, like maybe help Stera clean the house.."
Dona watched her two boys with nothing but a curved up lip to express happiness. Nyx was always the center of her joy, even when she wholeheartedly believed she wouldn't get to enjoy that privilege.
"Alright, alright... you guys have your fun! But don't come crawling to me when you feel like playing cards again.." Draefis replied.
To which Nyx retorted "Not with that attitude I won't.."
"Thank you so much Nyxie.." she mentioned in a monotonous voice.
Her son turned to face her closely, "You're welcome... But why wouldn't I, you're my mother.." he gladly said.
"Nyxie...?"
"Yeah?" he answered her call.
"I love you..." she said. The bond between a mother and son, nothing remotely as precious.
...
• Off Nedveded Region
• Black Wyvern Mountains
As these memories came flooding back it immediately enabled Nyx immediately broke out of the magical chrysalis he was enclosed inside of. His cobalt blue eyes ran to and fro trying to make sense of where he was.
Until he recalled he was meant to be dead. "Scentia, what's going on?" he asked her.
[>> Unimportant, temporarily overriding physical and mental control: Successful. Creating other-half, desired name: "Aether" as functional conduit for the propagtion of evolutionary stage. <<]
He didn't understand any of what the [Oracle Engine] was stating. However, he did take note of a significant change in his physical appearance.
To his surprise, his garments had vanished, rendering him completely unclothed. He now possessed lengthy, ebony hair and striking, celestial red eyes, which symbolize immense mana, aura, and power.
His mere presence caused the entire mountain range to tremble, prompting the local fauna to flee the area.
Nyx's bodily functions were no longer under his control, as Aether had taken over.
The [Oracle Engine] had determined that Nyx was incapable of managing the upcoming actions, particularly the evolutionary process. Therefore, it was necessary to create an artificial entity, namely Aether, to handle the task.
Aether is, in essence, the other half of Nyx.
Hermoine and Gallus were also enclosed in their respective cocoons, which were connected to the one Nyx was initially in.
The three cocoons were translucent, making it easy to distinguish who was in each one. However, the most notable feature of these cocoons was the spirit particles that surrounded them, as well as the dense magicube that immersed Hermoine and Gallus.
An Additional Skill belonging to Aether, known as [Ultraspeed Chrysalis], a medical skill that could heal individuals to the point of regeneration. Unfortunately, Nyx had no control over this skill yet.
Aether presented a cold and somber countenance as he stood unclothed, yet unperturbed by his state of undress. His black long her touched his knees, surprisingly long for only just three days of healing.
Despite lacking a specific gender, Aether was compelled to conform to the gender of his host, namely Nyx.
It was deemed preferable that Gallus and Hermoine remain unaware of the events that had transpired with Greerheart. As a protective measure, Aether utilized his Additional Skill, [Thought Breaching], to erase their memories.
Given that Gallus and Hermoine were already within the confines of his magical field, the Chrysalis, Aether was able to manipulate their minds with ease.
Still, they were left to recuperate until after the transmogrification.
[>> Successful, deactivating artificial personality function and reverting back to default mode, reinstating original personality as core conduit <<]
This occurrence reinstated Nyx's full and complete control over his body. While he was somewhat bothered by his inability to prevent the [Oracle Engine] from making further decisions on his behalf, it appeared that there was more to be taken into consideration.
It was time for the next phase to commence.
[>> Attention, we are currently verifying the status to confirm whether the required number of magicubes to awaken the demon lord element has been attained. We have successfully verified that all conditions have been met. The transmogrification process will commence momentarily. <<]
Demon Lord? That certainly wasn't expected.
"What's this? Scentia cease action!" he ordered.
But she paid no heed to his words. Informing him that once the transmogrification has begun there was no stopping it.