Chapter 4: An eternal companion.

Two days passed by pretty quickly, on the night before his birthday and awakening Emrys did nothing but stand outside at his balcony gazing at the night sky and the three moons. His eyes held a gaze of longing, though he still held great worries about what would unfold tomorrow there was still one thing that made it a day to look towards. It would be the day army's of the great Emperors would be returning from their conquest, the order had already been sent about a month ago to prepare for that day, it was much too great of an event for all not to be present and that means after two years he would finally be seeing his mother.

"What are you doing"

The sudden voice from above startled him out of his thoughts and he looked up to see Rachel flying upside down with her arms crossed and golden hair inherited from her mother swaying wildly in the strong breeze of the night, she set herself to a normal position and placed a hand on his head as she flashed him a warm smile while giving his head a gentle rub.

"I guess you can't sleep huh, understandable considering what is to come tomorrow, I was the same also".

She sighed "but you really should sleep Emrys, awakening is a very exhausting process and could sometimes unfortunately leave one unconscious for days so a full energy bar is quite useful ya know".

"I know".

Rachel stared at him for a bit "oh, how about I just put you to sleep myself".

Before he could object Emrys was taken high up into the sky and flown directly to Rachel's side of the palace, with her room windows wide open she flew right in with him and placed him down onto her four seater couch. He took a moment to get his bearings right as everything had happened much too quickly for his liking, when staring into Rachel's eyes and seeing the look of triumph he knew he had been had from the very beginning.

'Somebody.... somebody please save me from this crazy person'.

She sat on the couch and motioned for him to come closer, Emrys accepting that he was fully within her grasp complied and came forward. Rachel rest his head down on her lap and gently begun stroking his head "I know aunt Maeve is to return tomorrow" her voice in this moment was soft but clear and soothing to his ears.

"I can guess you're really quite excited huh" she smiled softly seeing him nod his head.

"I am the same also, though aunty can be quite scary sometimes she somehow shines even brighter than mother when you see her having fun though that too was extremely rare".

Emrys made no outward gestures but his heart was in silent agreement with her words.

"That was until you arrived at least" he turned his head a bit to look at her as he was confused as to what she meant.

"Heh, your earliest experience is way different from ours so that's probably why you're confused".

"Thank you Emrys, for coming into our family and making it feel truly whole".

He looked on at her for a few seconds and then smiled, his body began entering a state of relaxation and his eyelids grew heavier with the desire to close shut, soon enough he would have no will left to hold on longer and his mind gradually slipped into the land of darkness, he heard his sister whisper something at the end but it was already too late as he was fully gone.

Rachel kept stroking his head for a few minutes more, her mind lost in a world of it's own and her eyes seemed to have an expectant look. She suddenly paused her hand movements and smiled, around her brother's body was a dim crimson field with what seemed to be stars imbued in them.

"Finally" she whispered.

This was an effect that occurred to his body whenever he slept and it was discovered by everyone in her family pretty early on, it was always especially stronger at night than in the day time and no one knew what it meant even til this date. But it seemed to be something that wasn't meant to harm him, her mother guessed it to be some type of protection and there was also the fact whatever this effect was is not something caused by mana but by a seemingly different power.

Rachel gently tapped the field around him and it rippled, she sighed in satisfaction and rest her head back to rest, though she could stay awake for however long she wanted if she wished sleep was still quite a beautiful thing to experience so she surrendered herself to it's embrace in no time.

The blessed day had finally arrived, the moment he awoke Emrys could already feel the mood around the entire kingdom and the palace itself, at some point he had been moved from the couch to her bed and Rachel was no longer present also. For some reason his body was feeling quite different than usual, it was like something had turned his senses up to a 1,000 and every little sound or movement was as loud as an explosion going off directly in his eardrums.

He closed his eyes tightly shut and hissed in discomfort, fortunately the anomaly only lasted for a few seconds before everything had returned back to being normal, Emrys groaned and opened his eyes then looked around. His attention was drawn to his hands, more specifically his nails. They hand grown to about 3 inches long, pointier and much much sharper.

'Claws?'

When he tried closing his hands the claws retracted and when he released it they returned, he curiously tried to lightly touch the tip of one claw with his hands but retracted it almost immediately when he felt it pierce his flesh and draw blood.

"How interesting" he whispered.

But more surprises were to come when the blood that one specific claw had drawn was absorbed directly into it, the claw turned blood red and glowed with a very deadly lustre.

"Very interesting".

He spent the next few seconds introducing the remaining nine claws to a drop of his blood and they all achieved the same state as the first and almost like something clicked in his mind he got the idea to will the claws to recede and surprisingly they did, he tried it again and thwy protruded.

He climbed off the bed and walked towards the mirror in Rachel's room then opened his mouth, lo and behold there they were, fangs.

"Am I a vampire?".

"That can't be, I have had no innate craving for blood since birth and neither do I feel threatened by anything divine".

"With claws and fangs manifesting before my awakening it's even more improbable that I am a vampire"

He paced back and forth with all sorts of thoughts swirling around in his head but eventually he put aside this issue for now and walked out of Rachel's room, he met a few maids and guards along the way and they politely exchanged greetings with him then returned to their tasks though he noticed the former seemed to be in a much greater rush than usual.

But upon stepping into the hall of memories he saw his aunt alone in there and looking solemnly at one statue in particular, she also took note of his presence shortly after and smiled as she wrapped some mana around him, lifting him up and pulling him towards her.

She took his hands to examine it "hmm, never knew you were interested in this as a hobby" she mused.

Emrys was confused for a moment but got it nearly a second later and shook his head "no no, this isn't me... well, I caused it somehow but i had no idea this would be the result".

"Hoh? What do you mean" she looked him in the eyes with gaze of gentle curiosity.

Emrys narrated the events to her with barely any details left out, she didn't seem to show the slightest surprise at what he just said and instead just continued examining his nails.

"Can you release them for me"

He complied and willed his claws to come out, Hestia touched the tip and to her surprise it actually nicked her which was quite something, she watched her golden blood get absorbed into the singular claw and once it was done the tip had turned gold and a thin singular line running from the middle downwards.

"That's a nice touch".

"Mhm".

He agreed absentmindedly, she repeated the process just like he did with all the other nine and they all showed the same gold tip, once done Hestia smiled "well, I have sone ideas but I'll confirm it later".

"Retract them for now and go prepare as we'll be leaving soon, your day of awakening is here Emrys".

"Happy birthday".

She smiled and placed a gentle kiss onto his forehead, a warmth spread over his entire body and reaching the very depths of his soul, a marking appeared on his head and faded away seconds later, she smiled and looked him in the eyes.

"One day the gift I've given unto you shall manifest, until then you'll have to be a little patient".

"Ah, I'll be going now, today is going to be quite a busy one and I have so much to do still".

She gave his head one last gentle rub then turned around and walked away, as he watched her retreating form he suddenly called –

"Aunty".

She halted and turned towards him.

"Thank you".

Hestia smiled and then continued on her way, he touched his forehead still feeling a strong burning sensation on it, remembering what his aunt had said Emrys continued his walk until he got to his side of the palace and stepped into his room to prepare.

Not long after a couple of maidservants were at his door, he allowed them entrance and they did. One held his attire which had been selected by the empress in her hands and the other two were empty-handed, she set his clothes down nicely on the bed and came forward to undress him, two of them led him into the bath while the third one stayed to take his clothes away.

Everyone in his royal family only used holy water to bathe, it was a golden transparent liquid with an unrivalled level of purification abilities and was also one of the most expensive and sacred things to access as most of it all was in the hands of the church itself which stood as the near untouchable middle ground between all four great empires and other minor ones.

The purest and most potent form of Holy water was made by a divine artifact called Igram, but the lesser forms of it were a bit easier to make, all that was needed was a body of water and the tossing in of any random divine artifact then it was done. Of course this omits the small step of one having to be really super wealthy, powerful or important enough in order to get a divine artifact in the first place as they were so finite and beyond precious.

After leaving his body down below in the pool of holy water they stepped out and stood watch at the edge as the process began, while at the bottom he watched the peaceful ripples and strands of divine power curl around his body cleansing every last bit of him, but as always when it got to his bones they somehow couldn't seep through it like they could with the rest of his body and instead opting to wrap around it.

The view whenever he stays like this always reminded him of his immeasurably long time spent in that seemingly endless and bottomless sea of blood that was the origin of him. It always seemed to him like if he closed his eyes right now he would fall back into it which always gave him conflicting thoughts, on one hand he would despise being trapped in there once more hence why at some point he developed some sorta dislike for the sight of blood, but the other side is what makes him so confused.

Somehow he also liked it and it was this side that saw blood in an entirely different way to the point where it was almost reverence even, mixed with some sort of twisted possessiveness of which he could not explain with words no matter how hard he tried. He sighed and raised his hand up as if reaching for something above then suddenly dropped it down again, somehow he knew that someday he would be back there again eitherway too many missing puzzle pieces in his head and his instincts were telling him his answers lied right in his place of origin.

"It's time your highness ".

Their voices said, a full 30 minutes had passed and the process of purification was complete so he got up and walked over to the stairs at the edge and climbed out the bath. His body was steaming and without the need to dry himself off the Holy water evaporated in seconds, he went into his walk-in closet inside his room and picked out his underwears and once he was done he came out and stood before his two maids who began dressing him up.

His clothes took on a gaseous form and was made to be accurately worn on his body before turning fully normal once more, for the jewelleries they put them on manually. The first were the gold cylindrical bracelets which they wore on each of his arms, they were marked by runes and had gems engraved into them both, the second was his gold necklace with with a piece shaped just like an arrowhead, then his earrings and lastly were the thin gold cylinders which they clipped around his singular long braid and at the end his hair got a bit of a touch up in some places and then it was done.

A perfect water mirror was manifested before him and the maids stood behind on both sides to give him space to admire, one little thing he had discovered coincidentally one day was the fact he was quite a bit vain, it came as no huge shock but it did catch him off guard when he came to that realisation but he also just as quickly accepted it.

One of the most notable things about his physical appearance other than his supremely attractive face and eyes was his height, he was much taller than those his age on average, already as tall as a 6 year old if not a bit taller than they too were on average. But the one thing he still couldn't get used to even after a year was his hair, formerly pitch black void as was his eyes and now violet, his eyes were a lighter shade of purple and looked to be full of stars just like the night sky.

Though thanks to this he had adopted the fashion sense of purple and this is what his current wear was from head to toe while lined with some gold designs in some places, though in actuality they were just beautifully designed royal artifacts doing justice to his status as a prince while also serving their original purpose of protection perfectly well.

Feeling quite satisfied with his look he asked for the mirror to be dispersed and they complied, then with a final bow they stepped out of the room as their tasks were done. Emrys walked over to his bedside drawer and took out a small black box, he opened it and picked up the ring Leah had crafted for him then wore it on his hands. With all his preparations finally complete he walked out his room and head towards the library but made a stop on the way there for some snacks.

"Hello Mrs DuBois".

The middle aged looking woman with auburn hair raised her head up off the table and looked down, she smiled upon seeing whom it was "hello again your highness, what will it be this time".

"Claws imbued with innate attributes".

She raised a brow "hoh? Coming right up then".

The moment she got up the absurdity of her height was made to be in full display, DuBois was a giantess standing at a height of 10 feet and 6 inches, being of the flamingo race though of a minor bloodline she still exuded grace and charm which came naturally in every little thing she did.

"Here you go".

He took the book from her hands and thanked her then walked out of the library as he head back towards his room but on the way he met both Leah and Rachel having what seemed to be a small argument, so with immediate haste he chose the possible course of action to take and tapped his earring one time to activate it's effect which was invisibility at one of the highest levels.

Now feeling more safe and confident he chose to march on forward while making the least possible sound with his steps, but something that was said between them caused hin to halt in his steps anr listen.

"You don't know that!"

"You're right Leah, I don't. I'm just admitting the fact nothing is set in stone and you shouldn't be too sure".

"I've met and fought against enough people whom were geniuses in mind just like our brother and with a strong body too".

"But spirit, potential, race, fortune and resources failed to measure up thereby making their growth paths extremely short and limited".

Leah scoffed and shook her head in disbelief "I can't believe that out of us both I'm the one with more faith in our brother and not you the one literally obsessed with him".

Rachel's eyes narrowed "I am Not obsessed".

"Haha" she laughed.

"Sure, I cannot be sure if you act this way because you see 'him' in our brother and this is your_

" Don't. You. Dare".

"Don't you dare pervert my intentions into something it's not, do not allow yourself become a target of my burning hatred towards that person".

Both said nothing else to each other for nearly a full minute after that, then Rachel sighed and palmed her face "I know full well just how much you're itching for him to forever shut the mouths of those old fools around mother and most others in the palace as well".

"It's just never that simple Leah, believe you me I wish it was but the uncertainty is nearly crippling for me too because I can't stop thinking about how support for him from our people would drop even further".

"And I can't go on a killing spree of our own subjects for the heinous things they've said about him, so belive you me I want the positive outcome but the uncertainty is crippling for me".

"It is the reason why I cannot understand mother's thought process in planning such an event on this day".

Leah hugged her and Rachel replicated the gesture as she rest her face down on her sister's head.

"Heh, so you're just a big scaredy cat huh".

"Hush".

They both laughed heartily to their hearts content , meanwhile Emrys was already at his room and getting ready to browse through the book in his hands, if one were to ask what he thought about what happened then his answer would be that he was in absolute support of Rachel's line of reasoning, she was saying exactly what he would have wanted to tell Leah if he was brave enough to.

"Deary me, it surprises me that I also have such little faith in myself when considering my abnormal origins".

"Guess I've been lying to myself a little huh".

He scoffed at the irony and turned to the next page of his book, but still after so many flips he couldn't find claws that were like his and what race it belonged too and there so many types in here. There were poisonous claws with different types of effects and so many other types but none that absorbed blood as that usually typically occurred with either fangs, spells or bloodline effects.

Emrys sighed and rolled over on his bed with a hand over his face, suddenly the doors to his room burst open and he could feel himself dying a little inside already because he could not for the life of him understand what was with these people and the inability to open a door normally.

"We're leaving now, mother is finished with her preparations".

He sat up on the bed and looked at Leah and Rachel whom were both standing just outside his room, without giving him any more time to formulate a response Leah had rushed into his room and dragged him off the bed and out of his room in an instant. Her face was plastered with a wide grin and he could feel the palpable excitement oozing off her, afraid that she might possibly burst if he waited any longer he complied and went with them to meet his aunt standing outside and giving a set of instructions to some servants with a 15 meter red wyvern resting readily beside her.

Almost immediately his eyes and heart was drawn to the majestic beast, she waved the servants to return after spotting the kids had come and smiled at him seeing the look of awe in his eyes "It seems you already like her very much".

He nod absentmindedly and she couldn't help but laugh "well that's good then, because she's yours".

That statement immediately brought him out of his state of awe and tossed him directly into a state of shock, even Leah and Rachel were the same as neither knew their mother had planned on giving such an outrageous gift like a wyvern to him. Hestia reached her hand out towards him "come, you'll have to establish a soul link with her now".

"Wyverns only bond with one rider for life and if you're born with it you might get to know it's voice and true name".

A worried look appeared on Rachel's face "but a soul link is a very delicate process" .

"I know, but she's a gentle soul and with me here to help there'll be no problems".

He walked towards her and she led the wyvern to bring her head downwards allowing him to touch it, she smiled looking at him and feeling the beating excitement of his heart.

"Be calm, you're about to experience something quite amazing".

He followed her instructions the best he could, his eyes were drawn to that of the wyvern's and it was like he could not break off contact or focus on anything else other than them. Then suddenly he felt something being pulled out of his chest area, it was like a thread and it was also being pulled out of the same area of the wyvern's. It felt warm, a little painful but mostly warm and soothing, then they both touched and he gasped and felt his spirit being pulled somewhere.

Upon opening his eyes he found himself in an endless space of white with what seemed to be an endless stream of water beneath him.

"Hello, Emrys".

He turned around to meet the source of that voice and it was like the moment he laid eyes on her he immediately knew what to call her.

"Irmir".

Though there were no visible indications on her face he could somehow feel that right now she was smiling at him, he attributed this to the soul link.

"You're a very special boy you know"

He nod his head and she bellowed "During the process I felt my soul almost getting devoured by something inside yours".

His eyes widened in surprise "why would I try to devour you, no how would that even be possible considering the difference between us as you're a Dragon".

"Wyvern, we barely carry the blood of true dragons".

"There's no doubt that if it was a Dragon then by pure instinct it would have burnt your soul out of existence the moment this happened".

"But I understand what you meant, we just take pride in defending the glory of a true dragon instinctually".

"Eitherway luckily the laws of a soul link stopped the process and made us both true equals in here".

"I see.....my apologies".

She sent him the mental equivalent of a shrug, he began looking around the space a bit more.

"What is this place".

"It's basically a meeting ground for our souls, time here also flows vastly different to the outside".

"How so".

"Well years could be spent here and it would only amount to a few minutes on the outside".

"I see, is this space accessible at anytime".

"Yes, just will it and you can come in or get out at any moment you wish".

"A soul link does a lot of amazing things but I'll tell you another time, for now we should return to the outside".

Emrys complied and willed himself out of the space, he blinked and looked around him to see the expectant gazes of his family "It is done".

"That's not what we want to know"

"Eh?".

"Her voice, can you hear it".

"Ahh" he could feel their growing anticipation , even his aunt was no different and though he could not understand the reason why they all they all desired for it so eagerly he would not hesitate to satisfy their curiosities, but just when he was about to confess he stopped.

'Emrys'

Irmir called mentally, he was pulled into the space once again and he questioned the reason for her call.

"Be careful when speaking of the fact you're able to hear the voice of dragons and wyverns, you have no idea how coveted of an ability it is and just how so few little posses it let alone to the level you do now".

"I see, thank you Irmir".

The wyvern sent a mental nod and they left the space, back to the outside again he smiled "I did".

"And how clearly".

"At the same level of a normal conversation".

The way their eyes lit up in pure joy especially Hestia's was an amazing sight to behold, once he returned from this event he would make sure to study why this ability is deemed so special.

"Okay, we must leave now" Hestia levitated him onto the back of the wyvern and instructed that he sat down, the moment he did so it was like he had become one with her senses and felt an invisible force wrapping around him ever so warmly, instinctively he was getting the feeling of knowing how to fly her.

Hestia smiled seeing this, it was a state that she had seen before and it was sign of being gifted as a natural rider, they called it <Resonance >.

"Come on, you'll have to keep up with us in the direction we fly".

He nod his head and Hestia's turned to her daughters, their majestic wings of fire were unleashed and by the goddess did they all look so glorious.

They began lifting themselves of the ground and Emrys got himself ready at the same time, a rope of mana was suddenly suspended before him and he grabbed onto it then took in a deep breath. With a slight tug Irmir unfurled her wings and began flapping them, then she lifted herself on her two hind legs then with a sonic boom she was high into the skies.

They moment they got right above the clouds she relaxed herself and they began falling vertically downwards and fast, very fast even yet in all this the pressure felt like nothing but a simple breeze on his body, his face plastered with the most joyous smile possible.

Once their descent had reached it's peak he took control again and Irmir flapped her wings then curled them back as she took them both for a spin until they were close to the palace before she stopped and flapped her wings for balance as she perched down right at the very top of it.

The three of them flew up to meet them and all had big smiles on their faces "How do you like flying Emrys".

"Oh it's wonderful aunty, so wonderful and free".

"Hehe, come on then, the experience isn't over yet".

She began levitating higher and higher as did her daughters, then in a boom they were gone. In that instant though unknown to him his pupil had taken on a vertical form and it was like everything around him had slowed down tremendously. With a little tug Irmir logged off the building and with a boom she was gone, appearing right at the heels of the flying three before him who looked back and smiled before suddenly booming in another direction altogether but once again he was right on the tail.

They dipped in out of the clouds and spiraled but he never failed to keep up with their actions, multiple trails of joyous laughter filled the skies on this day and for the few whom were able to catch it should count themselves blessed. They continued on their path for nearly half an hour until they scaled the entirety of the Irretrean continent and beyond it's borders, the moment they crossed it Emrys felt like he had just passed through something invisible and had to look back in wonder of what it was.

"Did you feel it" Hestia asked.

He faced forward again and nod his head "what is that".

"A barrier, it goes around the entire continent and it is alive".

"Alive? How is that possible".

"I do not know either, it has existed long before me and no mage that is alive today knows how it came to be or had a hand in it's creation".

"All four major continents possess this same barrier around them and though it's a barrier they've never stopped nor trapped anything".

"Then what is it's real purpose if not to protect or imprison".

"That too is unknown, whatever or whomever made it should have the answers but–

"Status is unknown".

"Mhm".

He looked back again but they had travelled so far away that it could no longer be seen by him, he faced forward and focused on the flight for the next four minutes until he laid his eyes upon it. A tall pitch black tower that was a high as the sky itself and emanated mana so strong and pure that it warped warped space and time around it, the Tower of Magic. Thousands of magic circles were constantly spinning around it from top to bottom and at the very moment they entered it's vicinity a doorway had opened before them, Hestia led everyone in and it closed behind them.

They were now fully within the towers boundaries and as protected guests a ring appeared on each of their fingers except for Irmir whom had two rings placed around around her horns, the inner of the towers domain was a beauty to behold.

"Haizz, It's already my third time coming here but I haven't gotten used to it" Rachel looked around the place with excitement and awe, her mana heart had an especially great level of resonance with it.

"I also, once once I am qualified to I would definitely come and learn here" Leah professed with determination and Rachel nod in agreement, Hestia smiled and rub the heads of both her daughters.

"I have no doubts you both can do it, and you too someday Emrys".

He smiled "thank you aunty".

She led them to the area that was reserved for them, their flight was far slower than it was before but before long they reached their destination. It was something of a mini tower and beside it were three others, something caught his eyes,what seemed to be altar of sorts with stairs leading to it was built about nearly a hundred meters away.

"Well this is different".

Leah looked up at her mother hoping for answers..

"Well, today is quite literally meant to be the biggest publicity stunt of all time to put it nicely".

"What is to be happen shall be seen by every last being on the planet, the tower can do that much easily".

"The greatest power struggle is to commence at the end of this day, so many things shall change and–

"And?" Both questioned simultaneously but Hestia just smiled.

"Well, you'll see".

"But I will let you in on a little detail , in the midst of the unholy turbulence of chaos that is to unfold, we will never drown".

"This I swear to you".

EnD.