Apollyon - Darkness Incarnate

I walked out of my castle, kingdom to be more specific, to take a stretch and look around for anything I might've missed. Or for anything that can advance my kingdom further. But there's no luck, despite being in a dense forest the treasures prove to be quite scarce.

Suddenly, I notice a dark figure wearing a black cloak stumbling towards my kingdom's entrance. It looks injured, or maybe it can't walk right. I can't tell. But nether the less, it could be some kind of enemy trying to invade my kingdom.

Quickly, I pounce on top of the figure and hold it down using my sharp claws. It doesn't have much weight to it, it felt like I tackled a piece of airborne paper. Something was strange about it's body though, it didn't feel organic. It felt more like some kind of mist.

As my purple eyes glared into its red orbs that it uses as eyes, it began to cough and slipped out of my grasp as its body turned into a mist. It rebuilt itself back to a humanoid form after escaping my grip.

"So, you're who I was looking for!" The figure chuckles as he attempts to get closer. But I growl and take a step back. "I didn't know Shadow Dragons even existed until now."

He keeps on trying to get close to me, trying to examine my body to see what it was made of or something. I wasn't entirely certain what he was doing. But one thing's for sure, I was incredibly uncomfortable.

<ENOUGH!!> I roar using telepathy, I could feel the connection tearing through a few barriers before entering the mind of the being standing before me. <Tell me the reason for your visit, otherwise I wont be so merciful.>

"Oh, calm down will you?" The figure's cracked smile faded as it looks at me. "I just got intel that there was an actual living Shadow Dragon. So I came to check it out, no biggie!"

<Okay, you've found me. Now leave, before I kill you.> I demand the misty figure. But he doesn't budge at all. In fact, he grows a small smile once again.

"Aggressive much?" The figure laughs as he speaks. "I've already told you the reason for my visit. I also want to meet the lizardmen. We have a... long history after all."

<...Fine,> Hesitantly, I agreed to the figure's request. However, I'll be keeping an eye on him. <But, the second I see you do anything that even LOOKS like a threat towards me... I'll kill you. Got that?>

The figure nods his head repeatedly, so fast that I can barely see it!

"I'll promise to be good!" The figure reaches his hand out. "Here! To confirm it, shake my hand to seal the deal! If I make 1 mistake, I'll kill myself with my own magic!"

He can't be serious, can he?

Deciding to play along with his little 'game', I shake his hand which makes his smile grow even larger. From what I've seen from media back from my old world, shaking the hand of a devil may end up with you loosing your soul.

That rule doesn't apply in this world, does it?

[---]

"Alaric, a word." Alaric turns his head to the white-haired man and sighs before complying with the man.

"Make it quick, Lux." Alaric rubs his temples as he stood before the towering light-magic user. "I've got a pretty busy schedule today, ruling several kingdoms isn't easy you know."

"Trust me, I know how that feels," Lux stated in empathy as he scratches the back of his head. "However, I need to gather some important info about this new setting. Just where exactly am I."

"Well, right now we're standing in the castle of Frisouth. This kingdom specialises in high-ability magic users." Alaric explains, "Those with large amounts of money, and good honing skills on their magic usually stay here. But that doesn't mean we're not open to anyone living here."

"How do you measure the potential of someone's magic?" Lux questions.

"Potential of someone's magic?" Alaric tilts his head. "Magic doesn't have a potential. Recent studies have shown that magic in any being can grow indefinitely as long as they have the determination to rise past their limits."

"Then why do we think of dragons as such highly creatures if we're able to stand up to them with strength?" Lux questions with a monotonous expression. "From what I've seen, most humans can't rise past a certain level. I'm the very definition of potential, I've risen to the highest I possibly can."

"Dragons are so highly as they possess the capacity to learn every type of magic, and master it beyond what any being can comprehend." Alaric explains. "Trust me, if we could rise up to the on the same levels of dragons, they would've all been wiped out already." Suddenly, Alaric's expression turns serious as he glares at Lux. "Anyways, what's this about you being the definition of potential?"

"Back in my time, we gauged each other's magic skill based on how much their body can hold. Through this system, we've managed to accurately display how much magic a human's body can hold. Mine being the highest." Lux explains. "Some humans had a wider range of magic than others, allowing them to be able to contain more within them. The magic that isn't able to be contained is released out into the air as a substance known as 'Aura'."

"Aura? I've never seen that before." Alaric scratches his head in confusion as Lux continues talking.

"Whenever you use your magic, you can see a glow around the area that is using the magic. Or, if you're using a projectile the glow is displayed around the projectile. That's the aura. Every being contains an aura, but it doesn't really mean anything. It's just excess magic." Lux sighs as he uses his magic to generate a small burst of light. "For example, Light Magic is literally made up of excess aura. It's the only magic type known to freely be able to manipulate the aura around it."

"Is that all you've come to say, Lux?" Alaric questions Lux as he looks around. "I've really got to get back to my job. However, I want to spar you sometime later. If you're the definition of 'Potential', I want to see if I've rose past your 'potential'."