A Deal With The Reaper

"Sleep" spoke Nocturne and everyone on the table fell down. Even the servants fell down. All except one; Lord Ling.

"B-Basara! What is the meaning of this?!"

"My lord." Spoke Nocturne, in an unholy voice, "You must have guessed the identity of that being" he said

"It is one of them… but what are you?" said the lord with a slight tone of worry on his face.

"So you took notice…"

The lord raised his brow before saying,

"I knew something was off the moment you managed to subdue the flames within my daughter, the way you speak the way you move and even the way you used magic. That is not something a kid of 14 years old can do, but I decided to remain quiet, I think that the kid is oblivious of your presence right?"

"Yes, he knows not I exist with him,"

I don't know why Nocturne lied to the Lord but it seems that he did so for a reason.

"So you must be the reason behind his breakthroughs, am I right?"

"No, he did that on his own, he truly is talented… but let's go back and focus on the main thing, I only have but moments left…" said Nocturne

"Yes, yes, I will be needing to get these two from the Selidor family into custody. To dare bring such abomination to my house is a crime…" said the lord almost seething with rage.

"You should not bother with trivia, these two were being manipulated, it is the reason why this abomination managed to infiltrate this deep. This one must be gifted in illusion and mind magic. Easing his way into the city… you need to first figure out who wants you dead, and why…" said Nocturne…

"Indeed, it must be mind manipulation… he would have used that on the guards to make them think he already passed the blood orbs… As for who wants me dead… I can't keep count, Being righteous is becoming more of a liability than a good trait…" the lord even snorted at that statement before saying "but I will do my investigation… The problem is how am I going to explain this…"

"I would rather that my existence remains a secret… the rest I will take care off" said Nocturne as he summoned a black flame from his hand…"

"The flame of creation…" said Lord Ling while his face expressed worry, he still looked excited…

He knows about it…

"Interesting…" said Nocturne, he then swung his hand and the fire took over the blood stains and ended up with eating the corps of that being, not even ash remained.

Nocturne placed his hand over the head of the closest one to him, who was Lady Akari.

"What are you doing?!" asked Lord Ling, with a voice filled with seriousness… he even stood up, both his arms turned to a roaring flame, it was his daughter after all.

"Calm down… We do not want them remembering what just happened, it is traumatizing enough for your daughter to have witnessed this, consider this an act of mercy…"

"You will wipe her memory?" asked the lord while lessening the scorching heat coming from his arms.

"Alter it. wiping memories only make gaps in one's mind, it will turn problematic later on, I will just erase the presence of that thing from their minds so that none would know what happened."

"Carry on with it then…" he said fully expunging his flames

"You don't trust me?" said Nocturne…

"I don't," replied the lord

"Good, and you should not, but I am all that you have now…"

Lord Ling gritted his teeth and waited for Nocturne to finish his job.

"It is done, the banquet will resume like nothing happened, do act the way and don't let it show. And one last thing, make sure you teach this boy how to manipulate fire, for once he is ready, the flame of creation shall be his"

"I was never one to tolerate commands, only the king would be given that luxury… still you seem rather compelling... anyway, I won't trust anyone besides a god with that flame, what makes you sure that I will not just outright kill him for it? I know many would do the same if they know he has it"

"First, because I know you are a just Lord and will not kill anyone so that you may have their possession. Second, this boy will never use this for anything he deems unnecessary, and lastly because I know you love your daughter so much, that this boy shall never be harmd…" said nocturne in an eerie voice

"You dare threaten me?" shouted the Lord

Nocturne could only smile while the white of his eyes turned darker than night.

"I don't threaten, I deliver. For now let us remain allies, you should keep this child under your care, and I will promise that nothing shall ever bother your daughter, you know now that you are hated by many, and your daughter might be seen as an easy way to get to you, so I will be the one to protect her… consider it a job offer where lives are at stake"

"You really thought this through didn't you," said the Lord in a defeated tone.

"It is what it is…" said Nocturne and raised his hand, the people that fell down rose back up like puppets being led by invisible strings.

Nocturne took his place behind Lady Akari and said

"You are left to remember what happened not because I trust you, but because I know that you should remember that you now owe your life to this child, treat him well…"

Then he snapped his finger

Like if the world that was once frozen resumed, the people that were hanged by the invisible thread woke back up.

The Moment felt awkward, like when everyone in a room suddenly quieted down.

"So tell me Lady Sumia, what are your parents doing? I see you brought your uncles with you."

"Ah, pardon me, I was distracted for a moment. Well, my parents went on a task by his majesty, they were tasked with being ambassadors to the Zangh kingdom"

"Oh, well I assume the treaty is going rather well for that the king of Zangh is actually accepting ambassadors right now"

"Yes, even more, the will be sending students to study at Visania this year, I assume they will be the elites," she said with a smile that never left her face

"We can't be too sure about their intentions, they might be spies for all we know…" said Fernand.

"We shouldn't label them as spies before we see them, it is of bad character, we must first understand the reason behind their call for collaboration. The threat of those beings is looming over all of our heads… in these times cooperation is what will get us through difficulties" said Lady Akari.

For a girl her age, she truly does understand what is at stake, we should not bother with killing each other off, the true enemy is those beings… if she could have known how close she was at dying she would have truly felt the weight of her own words…

'Nocturne…' I said

'Yes, master?'

'It has been said that those beings don't die that easy. It should have been an impossibility for anyone to kill them in one blow, normally they would reattach themselves and would rise back, but only one cut from you, and the thing died not even registering what happened… how did you do that?'

'That weapon of mine cuts not only flesh… it severs the soul from its host, nothing no matter what it is as long that it is sentient, will fall down the moment the blade cuts through them…'

'That is a rather horrifying weapon…'

'A weapon worthy of the followers of the god of death don't you think? Kekekeke' said Nocturne as he laughed eerily