A/N: The chapter ahead is raw, which means not been proofread yet nor edited.1****
"I couldn't find the boy,"
The Ki'zaar palmed his throbbing forehead.
"Da?" Prince Valerian brushed his hand filled with saliva on his father's hand, "Da!"
"Are you hungry, my little Ki'zaar? Do you like smearing your saliva on me?"
Prince Valerian giggled, "Dabu!"
It made the Ki'zaar feel better from his failure and incompetence. He tried and tried but he couldn't find Prince Maximilien. Even with Blood Magic, the Prince's location remained unknown. Maybe because the Prince is not with flesh but a soul. A spirit, transparent like water, intangible like air.
He fed the Prince with his pure magic. The tip of his finger pressing gently against the Prince's tongue. His son is of many races, and he hasn't taken his dragon form yet. He can't just shove meat in the Prince's mouth and expect him to eat it wholly. Dragons don't drink milk during infancy. They only know how to eat.
When the Prince was full, he grew in the size of a toddler.
"Daddy! I'm big again!"
"Wow~ My son is amazing~!" The Ki'zaar clapped his hands and tickled the Prince. The entrance of the gasping Watts Xirquit cut their melodious moment. His helm is up, so the Ki'zaar and the Prince could see he horrified expression on his face.
A bad news.
"V-Valor..." The moment he heard his brother's name, his smile faded,
"Valor is hurt!"
Aloisia and Calamity laid Aviana and Colt on the bed. Priedo, who prioritized his rest than the feast, was the only functioning Archmage that survived the attack. That's why it's important to focus only on one goal. one It saved him.
Priedo was taken aback from the mark he saw on Aviana Lavender's chest when Aloisia undressed her to get her changed. When she saw the strange mark, she immediately looked at Priedo. The look on his face said it all,
"What is it? What is this mark, Priedo!?"
Voltage Xirquit saw the same mark on Colt Forest's chest, too.
Priedo gulped and ignored her question, "Their lives comes first. I will do what I can do. I must."
.
.
.
Prince Valor fell to the sands of their kingdom. After entrusting Aviana Lavender and Colt Forest to Watts, he went out to hold out the legion of Veils to prevent them from invading their kingdom, only for him and Duke Paris to fall back. They hated that they had to retreat and acknowledge defeat. They're not in their best shape to begin with. But it still frustrates them, especially him. A dragon. A weak, failure dragon.
"B-Brother..."
His lips pursed when he saw the figure towering over him. His eyes squeezed out the tears he's been holding back.
"Brother, they hurt me. I'm hurt. I'm...so scared. I want to be useful to you. I'm strong. But I'm useless. I'm so ashamed. They hurt me. I'm scared," he sobbed pitifully. His body has been paralyzed. The spread of infection is slowly reaching his face. And he's scared. He's going to be a Veil, and he's very, very scared.
The Ki'zaar's face transformed into a terrifying visage as he turned to the legion of Veils coming their way. His once calm and regal features now twisted with unbridled wrath. His eyes, burned with an intense, almost inhuman fury—glowing with a predatory fire that seemed to pierce the souls, if they have, of those who dared to meet his glares. His lips curled into a menacing snarl, exposing clenched teeth, while his expression grew dark and foreboding, exuding an aura of lethal intent.
He sent Duke Paris in the same planet where he kept his subjects and before he sent the Prince too, he heard the Ki'zaar say,
"These lowlives never learn. Fine. I'll do it again."
Lord Feryzen put his hand in front of King Liorei when he felt the Ki'zaar's aura while they're still miles away.
"My little Ki'zaar," he said as he squeezed the Prince's chubby cheeks between his fingers, "Bear witness of my power, for what I can, you soon will, too. We are the most blessed that ever graced the world; we own anything the darkness could touch. Our patron Deity created us to inherit space where it all began."
He casted a protective barrier on the Prince and island. His aura is getting stronger and darker. The legion did not stop, but one did. The dragon-ancient that were running after Prince Valor and called the others were seen cowering behind the pack when he felt the presence of him.
The memory was etched in his bones. Even after he was turned, he could never forget. Even as a Veil, the memory of that day still haunts him while both asleep and awake.
He's not mistaken. It is him.
The Wrathful Void. HIM. The dragon who spewed dark flames, the first dragon and only thing to set the waters on fire, burned cities down and civilizations that are now forgotten, and burned even innocent children ruthlessly.
In his mind's eye, he recalled the overwhelming size of the Wrathful Void; the span of its colossal wings is as long as half the height of the Oracle Tree that stretches past the skies. He could never forget how it went dark in the middle of the day when he came over their heads. The dragon is so big that the span of his wing fills the sight of his pupils.
Now, he felt the Wrathful Void's presence again. He was gripped by a terror so profound that it froze him in place. Trembling, wishing that a God would come down to give him the mercy of death. He'd rather die by the hands of a merciful God than die by the cruel fires of the Wrathful Void.
"M... Mo... Mother..." The Veil dragon-ancient prayed when the Ki'zaar raised his hand in a position for a snap, pointing to them.
"Star Blast."
A cataclysmic burst of power erupted from him, sending shockwaves through the very fabric of reality. The air itself seemed to ignite as an incandescent sphere of energy exploded outward his fingertips, expanding with blinding speed and consuming everything in its path. The sheer force of the blast was overwhelming—a fusion of light, heat, and raw destructive energy that outshone the sun and turned the sky into a canvas of searing white.
The intensity of the blast bent the horizon, warping space itself as the Ki'zaar's power tore through the physical and metaphysical alike.
The Ki'zaar turned his back around when it was done, but the Prince will never forget what was left of the ocean; obliterated, charred, and scarred. The ocean waters are falling down the massive fissure, and now the Prince knew that there is nothing but liquid fire in the deepest depths of their world, and that it had layers.
Azarese stood by as a witness from the windows of his chambers.
"My little Ki'zaar, you smell so nice~ You know, when your Uncle Valor was still little, he smelled like pee---"
Prince Valerian giggled. For sure, his Uncle will be very embarrassed now that his father is telling stories about his youngling years again. It makes him happy to know that they share what he and his Kuya Zoddy shares with each other, a very loving relationship.
When the Prince fell asleep, the Ki'zaar didn't let him go. He kept his son in his arms, watching him sleep, memorizing his features. The Prince looks just like him but more adorable and amazing. He never knew that all joy and delight alike can take up into a form of a child. It puts his heart at ease and serenity. For the Prince, he would do anything.
"We will live forever. I will live forever, so that the responsibility of the throne won't burden you. I will fill this seat forevermore so you can enjoy more of your youth, do nice things, and live life. My Prinsiaze, I won't let the throne block the paths to your endless possibilities. You deserve more than a chair," he promised like a vow, unconditional like an oath.
While rubbing the Prince's cheek, he smiled. The comfort of his father's body felt nice. He feel as secure and protecte like when he's in his mother's arms. The safest places, his comfort.
"Ki'zaar, we have returned," Lord Feryzen made known as they walk down the aisle before his presence.
"My brother is severely injured, but he's safe now. I saw something interesting. A dragon-ancient descent, turned into a Veil,"
The Lord made conclusions in his mind and understood what must've happened.
"He cried,"
The Ki'zaar smiled faintly, "He did. He was so scared. It made me very angry. Nobody hurts my brother like that. I lost control."
Lord Feryzen sighed, but he couldn't shake what he saw outside off his mind. How terrifying. Their current Ki'zaar knew what he could do and is not afraid to set examples unlike the previous ones. All of them yearned for peace and even while before wars, the previous Ki'zaars would falter.
But Valtyremius Lavyreian Zin Draji Teivel do not. He stands on business. And once he's on business, he finishes what was started. He's aware of his capabilities and trained himself to master and tame all of it. He could take over the world if he wanted to, conquer Vanrahim and Dragunovv if he wanted to.
[Translation: Vanrahim - Heaven; Dragunovv - previous name of their world.]
"Is it normal to be this adorable? I wonder how he looked like as an egg. The thought makes me excited. Was was his shell's colors?"
Lord Feryzen stole a glance at King Liorei. In his arms were Daro, unconscious. He can't tell if the Ki'zaar is ignoring him or he's just doting on his son.
"Ki'zaar, King Liorei...and Daro are here."
The Ki'zaar stopped from pinching the Prince's chubby cheek. Suddenly, the air around the Ki'zaar became cold. When he lifted his head to give them a look, it was the same. He even looked uninterested.
A grudge. Against Daro, the Knight of the Gods.
"I see that his wandering cost him his arm and legs. I will see him later. Tell Priedo to see him."
Lord Feryzen bit his lips, snorting, holding his self back from smiling. The Ki'zaar... He certainly is not trying to be funny, but he finds it so.
"Y-Yes, my Ki'zaar---Pfft."
When the King gave him a glare, he looked away and swallowed the laugh that was probing him to let go.
Daro opened his eye and met the intimidating gaze of the Ki'zaar at him. Lord Feryzen led the way to one of the Palace's receiving chambers and called for Priedo who's doing all the work.
The Prince jolted from the nightmare he's having. A nightmare about not being able to shift into a dragon and unfurl his wings. A nightmare about not being able to breathe fire, and because he's a failure, the Ki'zaar abandoned him for another baby.
"Hnngh... Daddy... I'm a great dragon... I'm your...baby dragon."
The Ki'zaar brought his son close to his face and kissed the Prince's cheek to turn his nightmare into a good dream. One where they both were flying.
"My sweet, sweet, sweet little dragon. Don't grow up so quickly, my boy. I want more of your youngling years. I hope you never grow up."
.
.
.
Ohms shook his daggers once to his sides to remove the blood staining it. He's standing over the dead bodies of Veils while the Ancients glimmer as they return to the heavens.
When he thought that it was over, another wave came in. He scoffed in disbelief. It's like they're pushing back so he wouldn't make it in the Empire.
But he did. He made it, and is now standing before the Imperial Knights gathered before the Palace Gates.
"We demand you drop your weapons and surrender!"
The audacity made Ohms scoff. He placed his hand on his waist and looked at their numbers. He guessed that they're all that's left to protect the Palace. He couldn't recognize the Empire on his way there. It became the home for Veils and Veilions. The citizens got turned, and those who were still barely alive were getting chased by the entities. An apocalypse much worse than what became of Earth.
"No. You do. I'm not very nice, but I will give you a chance to." He asserted, but the knights knew better. They would rather die at the mercy of his hands than betray the Emperor and the Empress.
But in this world, nothing is worth living for anymore. How many times did throwing themselves to the pool of Veils crossed their minds? A million times. But they couldn't, because there's a lingering hope and faith throbbing in their hearts. The time where they will see the light again, to forgive and forget, and live what remains in their life for everyone they lost.
"I am from the Other Side," he told them, "If you let me pass, I will bring you there. A complete opposite of this place. I just want to see what's inside and know what happened. And kill the fucking bitch that pissed me off."
His statement made the knights falter. From the Other Side? But...which one?
Which 'Other Side' is the man talking about?