Chapter 1

ARTHUR LEYWIN

I stacked up my firewood and ignited my fire for the night. I sighed and looked up at the stars. What happened yesterday was still stuck in my mind. I told them, I told everyone everything. Alice and Reynolds looked at me with bloodshot eyes. The DC looked at me in fear. Gramps gave me the cold shoulder. Elijah pretended I didn't exist. The twin horns treated me like a stranger.

Who hurt me the most was Tess. She looked at me with pure hatred. I still remember the last thing she said to me. "Were you just pretending this whole time? Were my feelings just a game to you? I can't believe you kept this from me. From everyone. Leave. Leave and never show yourself to me again"

After that I hired someone to cancel the bond between me and Sylvie. I then left Sylvie with Tess. Hopefully Tess will keep Sylvie safe and happy. No, I suppose I should call her Tessia now.

The only person that still loved me was Ellie. She tried to convince everyone I was still the Arthur they knew and loved. Ellie's cries fell on deaf ears and no one would even give me a second to look in my direction. After she failed to get anyone to acknowledge her, she herself broke down in tears. I didn't even have the guts to say goodbye to her. I just left a note on Ellies bed that said "I love you. Keep Alive and Reynold safe. Make sure to give Sylvie all the meat she asks for. Goodbye Ellie."

Feyfey also didn't see me in a new light. Instead he started to study politics so that he could compete with me even more ever since he learned I was a king. I'll miss that crazy elf.

After I left the note on Ellie's bed I ran to the beast glands. I didn't have a direction, I just followed the wind. After a while I ran across an unidentified teleport gate. What was strange was that it was activated. I ran through on a whim. One the other side was a not so densely packed forest. There were mana beast's I've never seen before so I assumed I was someplace far away from Xyrus. Once I went through the portal it closed, trapping me here.

I had spent the entire morning crying. Once the afternoon hit I started to get ready for night. I had caught some fish in a nearby stream and I was now grilling them over the fire. My tent consisted of big heavy leaves and the roots of a giant old tree. It was rain and windproof while also offering a decent amount of comfort. The fish started to smell nice so I took them off the fire and bit into one of them.

Who would've thought fish cooked in such a simple way could taste so good. "Can I have some?"

I jumped at the sudden voice right next to my head. I turned to see a girl about my age standing right behind me. She had navy-blue hair and scarlet-red eyes. Her features were quite sharp, highlighting her unparalleled beauty. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, it's just I haven't eaten in two days so I'm starving." she said while waving her hands in front of her face.

I couldn't do anything but laugh as I handed her a fish. "Fhank you."She said as she sat down next to me.

"Pardon?" I asked to clarify. "Thank you, this is greatly appreciated." she replied after swallowing her bite of fish.

"You're welcome. Since you took my fish I believe I at least earned the right to know your name." I said with a slight laugh. Her eyes went wide and she turned red from embarrassment.

"My name is Caera Denoir, and yours?" she replied after composing herself.

"My name is Arthur Leywin. Nice to meet you Caera, now mind telling me why such a young lady like yourself is in this forest. You don't have to answer, I'm just curious." I replied, fanning the fire.

"My mentor told me I have to survive in this forest for two weeks to train. If I fail, she said I'm going to get extra training for the next 3 months." Caera sighed. "Why are you here?"

"I got lost after running from my friends and family. I told them a secret of mine and they looked at me like I was a monster. I don't even know if I can call myself Arthur Leywin anymore." I admitted. I don't know why but I feel some sort of connection to her. Like I can tell her anything.

Caera's eyes went wide upon hearing my story. "I'm sorry to hear that. I'm not going to ask what the secret is because we just met and I'd be rude. But, if you don't want to go by Arthur anymore, why not change your name?" Caera suggested.

"Oh I know, what about Grey! It's short and I feel like it fits you perfectly!" Caera said with sparkles in her eyes. I shook at the mention of my old name but since Caera looked like she came up with it on the spot I didn't pay mind.

"Sure, from now on I'm known as Grey." I said enthusiastically. "Using my old name as my new name, how humorous."

"Once we get back to town we need to get you a makeover too! How does wheat colored hair and golden eyes sound?" asked Caera as she joined in.

We both realized what we were doing and just started to laugh. "I feel like I can be myself around her. That or I'm just hungry for someone to treat me as me again." I thought as we composed ourselves. She seems mature yet childish, honestly it's cute.

Caera yawned before stretching out her arms." I'm getting tired. Do you know of anywhere I could sleep?" she asked as got up.

"I made a tent over there that can fit 3 people but I only have 1 bedroll. You can use it if you want," I said as I pulled my bedroll out of my dimensional ring.

"Thank the Vritra. Sleeping on the floor sucks. I've barely been able to sleep peacefully. The only thing I was given was a sword for practice. Once again thanks for everything." Caera said as she grabbed the bedroll excitingly.

"You're welcome," I chuckled as we approached the old tree I commissioned into a tent. I pulled out an extra blanket and covered myself with it.

"Why did you bring an extra blanket?" asked Caera as she lied down next to me. "Just in case something happened to my bedroll. For example, if a lost girl who can't take care of herself needs some help." I teased, causing her to turn red.

"Well I'm sorry. I was never taught to live outside and my mentor just dropped me in the middle of a forest without warning." Caera said in an over exaggerated tone.

I then noticed that Caera was shivering. "Hey, Caera, give me your hand." I said, earning a weird look from her. "Quickly realizing what I had said I clarified. "Just hold my hand, I can warm us up."

Caera complied and grabbed my hand. I then spread fire mana around the both of us, using mana rotation to refuel my mana. "Wow, this is a handy spell form. Never getting cold." Caera said as she stopped shivering.

"Spell form? It's probably a different name some people from a remote location like this place use for spells." I thought but I didn't say anything.

"Hey, Grey. Can we be friends? You're so easy to talk to, I feel like I can be myself around you. My family sees me as a weapon and every guy wanted my body so I never had any real friends." Caera said as looked up at the ceiling of the tent.

The sudden request surprised me. I was about to say no because I didn't want a repeat of what just happened, but something about this girl was different. "Maybe, here I can restart. Make new friends, new allies. A new lover." I thought. Realizing I hadn't answered, "Sure, that is if you can handle me," I said with a smirk.

Caera responded with what I can only describe as a smile of pure joy. "Thank you Grey."

CAERA DENOIR

I woke up to cold water on my face. I shot up to see Arthur, or Grey as he changed his name to standing over me with an evil smile on his face. "Good morning Lady Caera, I hope you had a good night's rest. This humble servant found no other way to wake you up." he said with an over exaggerated tone.

"Screw you," I replied, punching him in the arm. "Why am I surrounded by violent women?" Grey said before stopping in his tracks. "Oh yeah, he said he had a secret that made everyone he loves hate him. I wonder what it is? He probably won't ever tell me, but what kind of secret can make people do that?" I pondered.

I walked up to Grey and grabbed his arm, "come on, let's go grab some fish for breakfast." I said in an attempt to comfort him. Fortunately it worked and his face returned to the happy one I saw when I first met him.

"I wonder what runes Grey has, I'll have to ask him later." I thought as we approached a creak. Grey took his shirt off to reveal his back and his… lack of runes. "G-Grey, h-how can you use magic without runes?" I asked as I stepped away. "Only people from Dicathen can use magic without a rune."

Grey turned to me with a stupefied look on his face. "I'm from Dicathen, aren't you?"

"N-No, I'm from Alacyra," I responded unsure of what was happening.

"The other continent? If you're from there, why are you in Dicathen?" Grey questioned as I felt his eyes burn holes into my skull.

"Grey I'm not sure how to say this, but we're in Alacyra." I replied. Grey froze. "We are?!" he yelled with nothing but confusion in his voice.

I facepalmed. "How did you not know that? You'd think it would be pretty obvious when you went to another continent."

Grey looked away embarrassed. "I ran through a random teleport gate not knowing where it might take me," he said as she scratched his cheek.

"Are you an idiot? That is possibly the stupidest thing you could've done." I replied with a condescending gaze. "It may have just occurred to me that I may be an idiot." Grey said before grabbing a fish with little effort.

"Oh yeah Caera, you said you have a sword right? Let's spar. "

***

I layed down on the ground exhausted. So it turns out Grey's a master at swordsman ship. I couldn't even land one hit on him. It was now lunch as we had spent the entire morning training. Well, I was training and Grey was teaching.

"H-How are you so good at swords?" I said through my exhausted breath. "That's a secret," Grey said as he stared down at me. His auburn hair and blue eyes only helped highlight his handsome face.

I got up and took a bite of the fruit that Grey had found. It was really good. It reminded me of the high end fruit Seris would have for lunch. "Is it good?"

"Yeah," I replied, taking a huge bite. Grey looked at me before laughing. "What's so funny?" I asked.

"You have a huge amount of fruit juice on your face." Grey replied, covering his mouth.

I turned red from embarrassment and quickly wiped the juice off my face. "You know, we never had anything like this back in Dicathen. Things seem to be much different here. Mind telling me?" Grey asked, giving me a toothy grin.

"Sure!" I replied. We then spent the rest of the afternoon talking about our homes. I loved learning about Dicathen culture and how they worked. Grey seemed to be the same about our culture. The differences between our homes were abundant. Grey never talked about his past so I never pushed it. I didn't want my first friend to leave me because I wanted to know about his secret.

I also learned that Grey is a quadra elemental with two deviants. That surprised me because I thought that was impossible. Grey held so many secrets and things about him. Then again, it's secrets that made people hate him."Then today I'll vow this to myself. Regardless of what secret Grey might have, I won't treat him differently. Friends help each other out right?"

***

It's been a week and a half since I met Grey. Seris is supposed to come tomorrow. He's been suffering ever since we met. I refused to leave him alone, whenever he did something except bathe I would help him. I knew that Grey was the type of person to hurt himself if left alone. I didn't know how I knew that, it was instinctual, like I knew him for years.

Thanks to Grey my swordsmanship has gotten much better. He would give me tips and spar whenever I asked. While even Seris had good fighting skills I could tell the Grey trumped her in ability and skill.

"Hey Grey, where will you go once I return?" I asked. I didn't want to never see him again. He was the only person that I could be myself around. Even though I didn't tell him I'm a high ranking person here in Alacrya I don't feel like Grey is someone who cares about that.

"Well, I hadn't really thought that far yet. My original plan was to just find a remote village and stay there but since I would probably get found out as a Dicathen I might just stay here in the forest." he admitted.

"Why don't you come and stay with me? I can probably convince my mentor to convince my family to let you stay with me. They'll probably agree since you're a quadra elemental and a master in swordsmanship," I replied before thinking.

Grey looked at me in surprise before answering. "I accept the offer but why would you need to have your mentor convince your family to let me stay with you?" he questioned as he started a fire for the night.

"Well my family isn't very… What's the word? Accepting. My mentor also has a high standing so if she recognizes your abilities she might let you train with me!" I said enthusiastically.

"Well, if this country bumpkin can impress Lady Caera's mentor, I would be most honored." Grey replied sarcastically before I punched him in the gut.

After eating dinner and being taught mana manipulation by Grey we went to bed. I still used the bedroll he brought and he used a blanket. Every night Grey would use fire mana to warm us both up. I never told him but it felt like he was hugging me whenever he did it. It wasn't a bad thing per say… Just new.

Soon sleep over took me and I closed my eyes holding onto Grey's hand.

***

I woke up to ice water on my face again. "Do you have to wake me up like that every morning?" I asked Grey who was laughing at my misery. "You don't get up when I do anything else," he replied after calming down.

"Anyways, my mentor is coming to pick me up today. You best be on your best behavior." I said as I packed up everything Grey had brought since I had nothing.

"Sure, you don't need to worry about me." he replied nonchalantly.

SERIS

I flew down to meet Caera after leaving her in a forest for two weeks. There was nothing too dangerous in the forest so as long as she had some food she'd survive pretty easily. As I approached I felt an extra mana signal near her. I thought it was a mana beast but no. Instead I saw a young boy about Caera's age. The two were sparing with two swords.

I watched Caera and I noticed that her swordsmanship has greatly improved. This should be impossible for it to grow at such a fast rate. I then looked at the boy. He dodged and weaved around Caera attacking her. It now made sense, Caera improved to this degree because of that boy.

I suppressed my mana then I hid behind a nearby tree and listened to their conversation.

"You're getting better Caera!" The boy shouted as he parried a heavy attack from Caera with ease.

"I still can't compete with you Grey!" yelled Caera as she unleashed a barrage of powerful strikes. I watched the duel for a few more minutes before the boy known as Grey ended the duel by bringing his blade to Caera's throat.

Caera sighed and fell to the ground using her hands to support her. "It's no fair, quadra elemental from Dicathen, a monster with a sword and a crazy amount of battle experience. How are you so lucky?" Caera asked, exhausted.

"I'm just built differently." Grey replied, sheathing his sword.

"He's from Dicathen? How did he get here and why is he with Caera? At least it looks like he's helping her get stronger. And being a quadra elemental? Caera seems close to him since I never saw this side of her. " I thought as I revealed myself.

Grey immediately jumped and ran at me, his sword in hand. I was impressed, to attack me even though he didn't know who I was. I knew he could tell I was strong. "Caera run, I'll hold her off!" Grey said as he brought his sword down on me, I caught it with my hand only for Grey to roundhouse kick me in the head. I blocked his leg with my other hand and he retaliated by creating an ice sword and going for my abdomen.

Before his makeshift sword hit me, Caera called out. "Grey stop, that's my mentor!" Grey stopped his attack and I let go of his sword, returning it to him. "Please forgive me, I attacked without thinking." Grey replied in a polite tone, but I could feel bloodlust from him.

"No it's ok, it only makes sense," I replied. "He attacked with the intent to let Caera run away when he could have left her here. He's a good person and a good fighter. Why the bloodlust though? " I thought.

"So you're from Dicathen? I assume that means you have nowhere to go?" I asked with a light chuckle. "Yeah, Caera suggested I stay with her." he replied with a sheepish grin.

I turned to Caera, "How bold of you Caera, inviting him to live with you only 2 weeks after meeting him." I teased.

"I-Its not like that!" she said bright red.

"Ms…"

"Seris, call me Seris," I replied to Grey who questioned my name.

"May I please speak to you in private?" he asked. I agreed and we left Caera at the camp.

"What are you? You have horns similar to the one who killed Sylvia. Are you connected?" Grey asked and released all his bloodlust. I was surprised, "How does this boy know Sylvia? I thought she was killed by Cadell."

"How do you know who Sylvia is?" I questioned releasing my bloodlust, although not all of it. He withstood it and instead of answering my question his eyes turned purple and his hair grew long and white. Golden runes covered his arms and face. "This is how I know Sylvia, how do you know her?"

I took a deep breath and started my explanation.

A.N. I also post on Wattpad, there are more chapters there than here