Banquet Invitation

Theos watched the majestic figure of his father. A man of six feet, neither too fat nor too thin, but undoubtedly an imposing figure.

Fortunately, they were about the same height, so it was not necessary to raise one's head or lower one's gaze to look directly into his eyes.

"What did you call him for?" asked Theos coldly as he approached. "Sit down first," Matheo replied in a neutral voice, showing no emotion. Even he could hear some warmth in his voice as he spoke to his son.

"Mmm," Theos said and nodded. He sat down on one of the many chairs in the room.

*boom*

Theos' back door slammed shut, not even letting any sunlight into the room.

'Everything's dark, damn it' Theos observed, looking around the room, where all the windows were covered with luxurious black semi-transparent curtains that barely let any light in.

As if that wasn't enough, Matheo was wearing a pure white suit, the only thing that wasn't completely white was his black tie.

"Are you comfortable?" asked Matheo, taking a seat in the main chair that separated father and son at a large wooden table.

The numerous documents, papers, and computers scattered here and there on the table didn't bother Matheo in the least, who watched his son with his silver eyes.

"Yes, thank you, I'm perfectly comfortable," clarified the black-haired man, looking at Matheo in the same way.

"Ahem," Matheo cleared his throat, breaking eye contact by closing his eyes and leaning back in the chair.

"Theo, I called you because there is an important meeting of a family of counts tonight," Matheo explained, pausing briefly to take a sip of coffee.

Instead, Theos' ears pricked up. 'Count's meeting, you say? It's the same... It's just like the beginning of a novel' Theos reminded himself. He was talking about the beginning of a novel, a meeting, or rather a celebration of a count.

Theos' expression turned serious.

Fortunately, Matheo saw Theos' expression as normal, since he had never called him to a meeting, let alone one as low as that of a count.

But he had his reasons.

"You see, this meeting is the birthday of Count Rasforh's eldest son. The reason I want you to go is that the entire younger generation, yours, will be present, for, as you may know, Count Rasforh's wife is one of the sisters of the current king of this kingdom," he paused and continued.

"Even the king will be there, so several nobles will be there to try to curry his favor."

"And the reason I should go?" Theos raised an eyebrow, curious to know the reason.

Matheo smiled slightly. "That's what I meant, son. I want you to go to the meeting for two reasons. The main one is so you can see the youngsters of your generation, since your 18th birthday is coming up, you're going to the Academy soon, and now is the time to measure your strength against others of your age.

As for the second reason... To meet your fiancée, after all, you're engaged, and you haven't spoken to each other for ten years," Matheo replied, looking at Theo's curiously and calmly.

On the contrary, Theos now had an indifferent expression on his face, thinking about the possibilities.

'In the original plot, Theos didn't go, but now I'm invited, which means he didn't want to go himself.? Maybe I won't go so as not to upset the plot, but that's not my style' Theos said as a smile appeared on his face, hidden from his father's eyes.

'If I follow the plot, I will die. So changing it as much as possible is not a problem, is it?' the black-haired man thought after making a decision and getting up from his seat.

"Do I have the right to choose whether to go or not?" he asked.

"Sure, it's not that important after all," Matheo replied, about to sigh.

But just before he gave up and continued his work...

"I'll go, I have no problem with that," Theos replied matter-of-factly.

'Why not? Besides, the meeting won't be that easy' Theos thought silently, ready to leave.

"Stop," but before he had a chance to walk away, Matheo quickly called out to him. "I didn't want to bring it up earlier to discuss the topic of the meeting, I appreciate you going, but... What's that Crimson Eye of yours?" asked Matheo, his sharp eyes looking at Theos.

Theos' expression was unchanged; he had already expected someone to discover his new eye or his new appearance. He was a little hurt that Alice hadn't noticed.

"Today, for some strange reason, I woke up with this eye and I also gained much more strength," Theos replied lightly, without giving it much importance.

Matheo nodded without looking into the matter too much.

"By the way, Father, at least you shouldn't mess up this office every time you come," Theos commented with his obsession for cleanliness before he went out the door.

It is well known that the Fallen Family and Theos live in two different places, although close to each other, but Theos' apartment must always have an office for the head of the family in case of an emergency.

'Tsk, tsk. Even though he only stays for a few hours when he comes, he always messes up the whole place' Theos thought as he left the room.

Instead, Matheo remained seated and took a sip of coffee.

A more observant person would have noticed that the hand holding the cup trembled slightly. Meanwhile, his eyes showed a hint of deep fear and wonder.

"That eye... It's the same eye as the ancestral curse of oblivion, isn't it, Lucifer?" asked Matheo to no one in particular, but the extreme respect could be heard in the tone of his voice.

In the shadows, a humanoid figure slowly emerged, a shadow of pure darkness with its large clawed hands and nearly ten-foot stature.

Its long black hair covered its horrible face, but Matheo could still feel it staring at him.

"The eye is gone, Matheo... It is gone," Lucifer said slowly, revealing his black, twisted wings to the world.

His words contained no emotion but made every being, living or not, tremble with fear, and Matheo was no exception.

"Matheo... Your son's life has been protected for thousands of years... But something changed. "Lucifer's smile spread across his terrifying face.

"And today, just today, I felt his presence disappear, never to return, even when he returns from this place, he is Theos, but something has changed in him. The process of the vessel has begun."

The two figures, one of which was one of the most powerful beings in all of Zeifer, and the other... They were some of the most powerful and evil beings in the history of the Divine and Mortal Realms.

The full background of the original Theos was never told in the novel, nor was the mystery of his family and ancestors...

~