It had been three days since I was reincarnated and there was one thing I never took into account, in my thirst for revenge.
And that was that being reborn, involved being a baby. And unfortunately, even in the Demon Realm, babies start out useless.
At least, that was what should have been. Luckily for me though, I retained all of my memories. Which made sense considering this whole deal was made for my own self-satisfaction. So there was no point in lamenting the handicapped start. I had more than enough to work with.
I struggled hard, successfully managing to flip over onto my stomach, and observed my surroundings.
It was a dark room. Not quite in a depressing way, but with the shiny gold accents, it brought a modern sort of seriousness, that was far unbecoming of a new child's room.
I thought it was perfect to be honest. It suited my hatred and I felt quite at home in it.
Directly across my gilded cradle, (it seems I was born with a diamond spoon), stood two towering ebony doors. Or at least, to my baby self, they seemed towering.
Just then, they were shoved open, and a small girl with red skin came into the room.
Upon her arrival at my cradle, I noticed she wasn't a girl, she was a woman. A woman with a very sharp tail swinging out from her dress, and two very delicate looking horns protruding from the sides of her head, above her ears.
Her golden eyes glittered in wide crescents as she cooed to me.
"My sweet little prince must be so smart!" She turned to face one of the ladies who had entered the room silently behind her.
"Rebecca tell me my little Henri isn't the most beautiful and talented little demon princling? He's only 3 days old and just look how he's already turned over! And he's so alert already!" The cherry colored woman brought her face close to mine and peppered it with kisses.
She seemed to be my mother.
Agatha Regias, the Third Sitting Queen of the Regalia period, and one of 6 wives of the Great Demon King Donovon Regias.
So I'm a prince. And not only a prince, I'm the son of the Demon King. My own target. Heh, God you sly bastard.
Focusing back at hand, I craned my ears to pick up any sort of information I could.
Interestingly enough, it seemed that becoming a demon had increased my capacity for hearing. I could hear so much. So much that my head felt like it would explode.
I quickly narrowed the radius, and breathed a sigh of relief as the noise lessened.
I allowed myself to be assaulted [read: loved upon] by my mother, when I suddenly felt a deep sense of forboding, as a violent chill shot down my small body.
What is this fear? I'm scared?!
I gripped onto my mother as I heard her gasp.
My mother quickly dropped down to her knee, gripping onto my body tighter.
"Greetings to my Lord, it's an honor to see you. Have you come to greet the little prince?" My mother spoke, her crystal clear voice ringing like a bell throughout the room.
So soon? My prey was presenting himself to me so early on? I cast a weary glance upwards at the man towering over me.
I had to admit, my parents were beautiful people.
Whereas my mother seemed bright and warm, my father was one word: Power.
He had deep blue skin, almost like the night sky, and his silver hair flowed freely down his waist, With a sharp jawline, and thick, burly eyebrows, his whole face exuded a serious nature.
He motioned for my mother and her maidservents to rise, and soon, I was brought to face my father.
He swept his onxy eyes over me, and I felt the vague feeling that he wasn't looking just AT me.
After a moment, my father flicked his eyes to my mother, and spoke.
"What have you named the child?" He asked her, his voice displaying a smidge of warmth as he regarded her intensely.
My mother seemed to flush pink as she smiled modestly in reply, "Henri, my Lord. Henri Regias."
My father took another moment to study me before he spoke.
"Henri Regias, 5th Demon Prince of the Regalia Period; I, Donovon Regias, the 17th Demon Lord, do hereby declare you of the Draken Source."
Draken Source? I'd have to remember that.
My mother beamed at my father's words, and if I wasn't seeing incorrectly, there was also a bit of smug pride.
And with that, my father nodded his head to my mother, and promptly left the room.
As soon as the door closed, I could feel that my mother was trembling. Was she worried for my safety against a tyrant?
I didn't have to think long before I was thrown into the air by mother as she giggled.
She caught me and planted more kisses on my face, as I fought to keep my brain right side up. Who told you to throw an infant?!
"I just KNEW my little princling could do it! Draken Source, how wonderful!"
What was this draken source?
Answer: Draken Source. One of the three major sources of power in the Second Plane.
I blinked in shock as a little voice answered my timidly.
I didn't have time to think more upon it, much less be surprised, before my mother handed me off to the older lady who had been tending to me for the past three days.
She busied herself in what seemed to be my closet, as my body was wiped down and my diaper changed.
While I was being manhandled [Read: Changed] I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, and once again thought that the genes in my family were superb.
Deep golden eyes with black stars danced back at my in the mirror, framed by silver white curls. My skin was a dark red, much deeper than my mothers, but with the same shimmer as my father's. Two onyx horns protruded from my forehead.
I was absolutely adorable.
My thoughts were cut short when I was placed into a carriage and pushed out of the room, into a wide and lavishly decorated hallway.
It seemed I lived in my own palace. I wondered how far from the main palace it was.
It's approximately 480 feet from the entrance of the Violet Palace, in which you stay, and Glory Palace, the Demon Kingdom's main palace. The same little voice answered my question.
Uh… Thanks? Who… are you ?
I curiously asked the voice that seemed to be in my head.
I'm Lokien. I'm a consciousness that was split off in the creation of your Draken core. I guess you could say… I'm an accumulation of the opposite power source, that happened to gain sentience.
…. What?
The voice huffed in what was apparent frustration.
Are all newborns as stupid as you ? I'm your familiar. When you grow up and become more powerful, you 'll be able to give me a form, and eventually powers.
I was annoyed at the way it was speaking to me, but it seemed to have a lot of information about this world. And if I was going to defeat the Demon King, I was going to need information first and foremost.
Ok… Then could you tell me what you mean by Draken Source?
The Draken Source is one of this world's three Sources of Magic.
The first, Draken Source, is the magic inherited by mixing demon blood. It's the only source of magic that can be mixed. It's said that the Demon King bloodline is the only bloodline that can sire pure Draken Sourced heirs.
The next Source is Miraculous Source.
This is power sourced from a miracle. When one thinks of miracles they normally think of Heavenly magic, but, Demon-kind are naturally weak to heavenly magic.
The Miraculous source is magic power born from an intense emotion. It's normally found in those demons who died in vain, or were killed with regrets or strong desires. Your mother, is a Miraculous Source demon.
The last Source is True Source. Only one individual has ever been shown to have True Source in the demon kingdom, Junia Lucifer Regias, nearly 200 million years ago. Today she is known as, The Devil, to mortals. But to the demon clan, she has been a revered diety in many households for many generations.
I stayed silent as I absorbed the information that was just thrown at me.
After a moment I asked another question.
So if I have powers, then what are mine? Do you know?
The… Well…
The voice sounded strangely nervous, making me highly suspicious.
What's wrong? Why are you acting so weird?
Well… Because I am formed by your core, I know you 're not originally from this world. So right now, I… I'm supposed to just answer questions, and help guide you … I'm not authorized to do more than that… per…
The voice cleared it's voice as it continued.
Per her majesty Junius Lucifer Regias… I'm under strict orders okay?
At least he sounded annoyed. That helped a little bit.
Okay, okay I get it. We're going to grow up together I am assuming, so no use getting into fights already.
I sighed. So asking about my potential powers is out of the picture, what else can you tell me?
You are the 5th prince of the Regalia Period, under the sire of Donovon Regias. Your mother is the third sitting queen. You have 12 siblings. You are the youngest, with the oldest being 17 this year.
As my mother wheeled me through the palace, I took note of how many workers stopped to pay their warm respects. It seemed like my mother was well liked throughout the Violet Palace.
For thousands of years, the Regias Family has adopted the ruling of the strongest takes all. Donovon Regias killed his siblings one by one, and eventually his father, thus securing his present reign.
So… My goal was also my 12 siblings goals as well huh?
Precisely.
Just as I was about to ask about my siblings, I heard a loud shriek happen in front of me. Turning my head, I watched as a snow white hand came down to smack the face of my mother's maidservant.
My mother's beautiful face instantly contorted as she gripped the bar of my stroller.
"Priscella Regias, what on fuck's sake, do you think you 're doing to my ladies."
I was shocked at the angry woman who was supposedly my mother. Her gentle golden eyes were swarming with fire, and looking closely, her hair seemed to be flowing and snapping, almost like a mass of vipers.
"Ha! That's right Agatha, let your ill-bred snake-like origins show. A lowly country slut like yourself is only good for seducing men, I can't believe the bastard you bore is actually believed to be His Highnesses."
My mother's eyes widened before I saw the blaze within them begin to smolder. She was shaking steadily as she readied her voice.
I wasn't sure why, but that lady insulting this mother of mine, wasn't sitting well with me;
"Well Priscilla, I'll have you know, his majesty has declared him Draken Sourced, and coming from His Majesty, I wouldn't be surprised if the color of his core is already red. Unlike your child, amiright? The one with the black core?" My mother shot back, light ridicule lacing her tone.
Priscilla narrowed deep violet eyes at my mother, venom dripping in her voice as she turned on her heel.
"Mark my words Agatha, that little whelp of yours won't make it to his 3rd birthday, let alone his 5th. He'll be dead by the 3rd month I reckon."
She strolled away with a stream of laughter following behind her.
My mother took a deep breath, and looked like she was about to scream, but instead, she bit her lip, and gazed down at me.
Her eyes melted back to the warm auburn I knew, and she cooed at me. "I'll keep you safe my baby. I promise." She stroked my head, and continued to stroll.
After all the commotion, the rays of the sun through the gilded windows really started to get to me.
I soon fell sound asleep.