Canine Divinity

Fayden's hair grew longer and darker, the matte black making it hard to distinguish between his strands. His eyes were like moons in a starless sky, runes of the same colour adorned his body, crawling down his torso to his fingertips.

Nacht exploded from his body, painting the entire dungeon in black. Blades of all sizes jutted out of the blackness, each holding a different constellation.

Void Edge melted into the shadows; its golden interior spreading across, building stars in the system of black void. The temperature of the room fluctuated between planet devouring hot and all freezing cold.

Beelzebub lost his footing as gravity went haywire, the very air itself seemed suffocating in this domain.

The ceiling cracked, the very foundation of the dungeon quaking under the sheer power released by 'Canine Divinity' proving to be too much for the dungeon to handle.

It was like an extension of Fayden's arm, it needed no mental commands, it was almost autonomous. Ezekiel retreated into his own shadow, his instincts overcoming his need to protect his bond. He wasn't dead, that much he could feel.

"What the hell are you?" Beelzebub wheezed out, his sword lay forgotten.

The elf boy looked up, "The heir."

"Heir of what?!"

"Heir to the lost throne. Breaker of fate."

"Wha-?!" Beelzebub was never able to finish his sentence.

'I didn't even see him move…'

He wheezed up blood, looking down at Fayden's arm, elbow deep in his chest.

'I didn't want to use this.'

His pupils dilated, his eyes a pristine white, closely resembling Fayden's own. Mana flowed to him like a funnel as he yanked his body away, the hole in his chest already healing itself.

He did not have much time in this form, and he knew it. He had to finish it as soon as he coul-

His thought process came to an abrupt end when Fayden void stepped to him, a lance of pure nacht in hand.

"Lanza del relampago."

Beelzebub barely saw a flash coming his way, before he impacted with the force of pure destruction.

The explosion that occurred vaporised rock and stone alike, the upper floors of the dungeon caved in and a rain of rock buffeted the already half molten Beelzebub. Limbs shattered and flesh tore away from bone; his vocal cords had long ruptured.

Fayden stumbled back, his palm pressed over the hole in his chest. Black flames began weaving his flesh and bone together as a similar dark flame ate away at Beelzebub's body.

The ashen-haired warrior wheezed, forcing his body to stand up, missing half of his torso and both of his arms; he practically looked like a walking corpse. Yet, the mana had already begun trying to heal him.

He glared at his opponent as he healed the hole in his chest, an inhuman screech tearing itself free from his ruined throat.

Fayden stopped, Tartarean Vitality dissipating and his focus returned to his opponent. He tilted his head sideways.

Without warning, a blade shot out from under Beelzebub's feet, piercing through his heart, stopping the healing. A second blade followed, and a third and a fourth. Dozens of blades lodged themselves into what remained of Beelzebub's body.

Beelzebub's body disappeared, his flesh and bone disintegrating into ash that was blown away by an ethereal wind. The only thing that remained was a grey-red orb, floating right where his chest used to be. Fayden Void Stepped forward, grabbing hold of it as his dimension ring sucked it in, an orange glow catching his attention, it seemed Beelzebub's blade survived the attack; naturally he pocketed that too.

And as the hole in Fayden's chest closed, the blackness that blanketed the entire dungeon bled out, his hair shortened and silver dominated black. His eyes returned to their usual mix of turquoise and red, and the runes disappeared from his body.

Fayden finally woke up.

Stumbling to his knees, Fayden regained control. The memories of the fight assaulted his mind, the collapsing dungeon around him giving him little respite.

"Well, that's a bit concerning."

Forcing himself up, Fayden swayed on his feet.

'Father!' Ezekiel emerged from his shadow, right as Fayden lost his balance. With his bond at his back, Ezekiel Void Stepped out of the dungeon.

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Fayden awoke to a familiar sight, white marble and jadestone ornamented walls, a chandelier of vines hung from the ceiling, small motes of light swirled around inside it. He was home.

'Dad, you're awake!'

Groaning, Fayden sat up, 'Yeah, how long was I out?'

'It's been a day since you beat Beelzebub.'

'Huh, not as bad as I expected.'

Before he could get on his feet, the door to his room burst open.

"Brother!"

"Oof!" The air was knocked out of his lungs as his sister shot towards him.

"I kinda need to breathe Tess," he wheezed out, feeling his ribs strain under her arms.

"How're you feeling brat?" Virion walked up with a cheeky grin.

"Suffocated, I can see the light-Okay I really can't breathe now." Fayden struggled to inhale, his wheezing intensifying.

Thankfully, Tessia loosened her grip before Fayden could reincarnate a second time.

"So, I heard you got a hole blasted through your chest."

"Now who told you that?" Fayden asked innocently, sending a quick glare at Zeke's direction.

"Apparently your bond can speak." It was Alduin who spoke this time.

Fayden grumbled under his breath, "Ah well, it's all good now. I'm alive aren't I?"

"No it's not! You almost died!" Tessia suddenly yelled, "What if you hadn't recovered…"

A warm hand fell on her head, "Relax, I won't die that easy. Besides it wasn't all bad, I finally broke through."

Virion widened his eyes, "Are you saying…"

Fayden grinned, "I'm a white core mage now."

"WHAT?!" Alduin stumbled in surprise. "How is it even possible to reach it without the artifact…"

"We were always capable of reaching it on our own, the artifact merely boosts us to that point. The downside is that it prevents any further progress."

"You believe there's a stage beyond white core?"

Fayden shrugged, finally freeing himself from Tessia's vice-like grip, "I don't see any reason not to."

Virion laughed, "Hahahaha, you might be the first to actually prove that. A white core mage at only age 18, that's unheard of."

Fayden smirked, "What can I say, I'm just built different."

Pouting, Tessia pinched his sides, causing him to yelp in pain.

"Rude," he commented, before looking around. "Where's Mom?"

"She was by your side the entire time you were asleep, we only just got her to catch some sleep."

"Ah…" Fayden felt guilty for causing so much trouble for his family.

"Moving on," Alduin changed the topic, "we've managed to enroll you as a sixth year student in Xyrus Academy."

"Wait what? I don't consent to this!"

"You need some education, Fayden," he persisted.

"Yeah, the royal library and my private tutors made sure of that, thank you very much."

"You never finished the entire course." Virion pointed out. "Besides, Tessia is going to the same school, are you sure you want to leave her alone for young boys to ogle-"

"When does class start?" Fayden cut him off, his brotherly instincts kicking in.

"I'm not some damsel in distress." Tessia protested, hitting the back of Fayden's head.

Fayden chuckled, "Sure, Ms. Kidnapped-by-slave-traders."

"I was five! Cut me some slack." Tessia pulled on Fayden's ear in retort.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Let me go! Jeez. Violent woman."

Virion chuckled, things were as normal as ever.

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Fifteen-year-old Arthur Leywin found it difficult to procure a seat in the gallery. The sheer number of new students in Xyrus was absurd. His companion, Elijah Knight, was too busy staring at the female students to notice where he was walking, inevitably bumping into someone.

"Oof, sorry about tha-" He froze as his gaze fell on the boy he had bumped into. "P-p-prince Fayden?"

Fayden scrunched his brows, "Do I know you?"

Arthur's ears perked up upon hearing the name of his longtime sparring partner, "Say what now?"

"Arthur?" Fayden raised an eyebrow, recognizing the auburn haired boy. "Hey, it's been a while."

Elijah wildly snapped his neck between them, "You know each other?"

"Of course I do, I helped him train for three years, give or take a few months."

"Y-you stayed with the royal family for three years?!"

"Hehe." Arthur rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I fell into the Forests of Elshire as a baby."

Elijah's jaw hit the floor, "Fell into the-HOW ARE YOU EVEN ALIVE?!"

Fayden chuckled, "Let's find a seat before we exchange stories, shall we?"

"Y-yeah, of course."

It took them a while, but eventually they found three empty seats. Yet before Arthur could delve into a half fabricated half true story of his childhood, the director's magic set in. The voices of the thousands of students died in their throats.

"Excuse me for my rudeness, but I do hate speaking up. Not good for my throat, no it is not." A pleasant voice that, while soft, was heard perfectly clear even from the back row, spoke up.

"I welcome everyone here, the future leaders, scholars and powerhouses of Dicathen to this humble academy. I am Cynthia Goodsky, please call me Director Goodsky and do not be afraid to say hello when I walk around campus. I am no good with speeches, so I stand here before you mages today to say hello and introduce to you the Student Council that represents this Academy and take part in making important decisions along with me. Please give them a warm welcome." She waved her hand, signalling the members of the Student Council to walk up on stage.

"Look look! There's Lilia! We need to cheer!" Elijah stood up and shouted at the top of his lungs, Arthur followed.

Fayden deduced she was someone they both were familiar with.

'Very impressive deduction skills.' Zeke deadpanned at him.

'Shush.'

Fayden was genuinely surprised to see his sister at the end of the line, it would seem she had forgotten to mention that tiny detail.

"My name is Tessia Eralith and I am honored to stand here as this Academy's Student Council President."

Fayden did a double take, the what now?

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After surviving through the lecture, and almost killing Elijah for his comments about falling for his sister, Fayden finally made it out of the auditorium.

"So, how was your adventuring?" He yawned walking beside Arthur.

"Nothing much, only fought an Elderwood Guardian and watched most of my party die."

"Meh, that's why I prefer going solo."

"What about you, how did your adventuring go?"

"Rather eventless, I cleared the Pit of Heresy and fought its boss which claimed to be a biblical demon. Got a hole blasted through my chest, went berserk in my Integrate Stage and destroyed the dungeon's framework. Good times."

Arthur glanced at him, "You look pretty alive to me."

"I got better."

Elijah gawked at them, how could they talk about such topics with a straight face?

"Wanna spar sometime soon?" Fayden casually suggested, noticing a red-haired girl waving at him. She looked older than the rest.

"You got yourself a deal."

"See ya then, Arthur." Bidding farewell, he walked up to the girl.

"Hey there, you're Prince Fayden right?"

"Just Fayden is fine, and you are?"

She puffed up her chest, "Claire Bladeheart, fellow sixth year battle mage student."

Fayden raised an eyebrow, "Oh? And I suppose the director asked you to show me around?"

"Precisely."

He shrugged, "Why not?"

"That's the spirit!"

And so began a long friendship between the two teenagers, lasting decades into the making.