Family

"Again? What do you mean again?"

Fayden froze, slowly and mechanically turning to the figure in his doorway. "H-Hey gramps, fancy seeing you here."

"Answer me Fayden, what did you mean by 'again'?" he barked, demanding an answer.

'Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.' Fayden panicked; he didn't know how he would get out of this situation.

Virion sighed. "Please tell me, what kind of things are you seeing in your nightmares?"

Fayden almost sighed in relief. Yeah nightmares, he could use it as a scapegoat.

"It's nothing Gramps, it doesn't matter." Fayden said too calmly for Virion's liking. "You know first hand how terrifying war can be, and that was only a racial war. A world war is bound to be worse."

"That doesn't mean you should neglect your mental health." Virion retorted. He hated seeing his grandson suffer like this.

"Gramps, we need every able bodied mage to fight in this war, especially one as valuable as me. To be quite frank, my mental health doesn't matter anymore." Fayden appreciated his grandfather's concern, but his nightmares weren't something he could help with.

"There's still time until the war starts." Virion protested.

"And I'd rather use that time to train my skills than fight nightmares. Let's be honest, the shit I'll see in the war will be far more traumatising than what my nightmares show me now." Fayden had a point and Virion knew it.

And he hated it.

"Chances are," Fayden continued, "I might not even stay here for most of that time."

"What?"

"I called Noctis, asking for help. If he agrees to train me, I'll not be coming home very often." Fayden said apologetically. "I'll try to visit though."

The older man sighed, "When will he come?"

Fayden shrugged. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" Virion asked incredulously.

"It was a one-sided conversation, there was no answer."

"And you are sure he will come?" Virion asked, there was a chance his calls had gone unanswered.

"I am." Fayden said without missing a beat, the confidence in his voice stopping Virion from questioning his belief.

He sighed again. "I don't suppose I can convince you to attend even a single session?"

"Maybe after the war, Gramps."

Virion nodded in defeat. "Good night, brat."

"Night, Gramps."

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A nine-year-old boy scavenged through the alleyways of the city, hoping he would find something to eat today.

He sneaked behind a bakery, he knew there would be some goods in the trash, only slightly spoiled.

Grabbing a few slabs of the bread, the boy scurried away, back into the alleyway that would be his home for the day.

As he settled down, he began devouring the slabs of bread without any care in the world. He just had to finish them before anyone appeared.

Alas, his luck was never that good.

"Hah?! An urchin? What's a homeless fucker like you doing here?" The man sneered, not noticing the slabs of bread until the boy hurriedly hid them behind him.

"Oh? Do we have a thief here?" He grinned, taking a step forward. "Do you know what we do to thieves here? We castrate them, and then we rip their limbs apart one by one."

The black-haired boy was trembling as he held the ki sword he had stolen from the man he killed.

"Hoh? He has a weapon, whatever shall I do??" A palpable white aura surrounded him.

The bladeless sword buzzed to life as the boy imbued some of his ki into it. Looking at the blade was like looking at a black hole; it was so dark it went beyond comprehension.

The man's aura began flickering in the mere presence of the blade.

"Little shit, what did you do!"

The boy's trembling green eyes were as clueless as the man.

And he screamed.

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Fayden awoke to Aya's face dangerously close to his, but he wasn't thinking clearly.

Grabbing her hand, he twisted their position so that she was below him.

"My, how bold," Aya teased, becoming somewhat worried when she didn't get a response.

She was more worried when Fayden brought both hands up, as if holding a sword backwards.

A blade of pure nacht manifested in his hand, looking like it was forged out of a part of the cosmos.

And he plunged.

Aya's eyes widened and she turned her head only a millisecond faster than Fayden could stab her.

She was prepared to blow him off her when he blinked in confusion.

"Aya? What are you-shit!" He immediately dispelled the nacht sword, void stepping away from her.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know what came over me."

Aya dusted off her clothes, standing up from Fayden's bed. "Bad dream?"

Fayden nodded, "You could say that." Then, something struck him. "Wait, why are you in my room to begin with?"

Aya grinned seductively. "I was planning to give you a good morning kiss."

Fayden looked at her neutrally.

'Lady, I've not even had my morning coffee. Oh wait, that doesn't exist here!'

He sighed, at least alcohol still existed.

Muttering something about needing better wards in his room, Fayden walked into his bathroom.

When he came out, Aya was gone. Or maybe she was right there and just didn't want him to sense her.

Either way, he walked out of his room and began descending the stairs. He wasn't even halfway down when a familiar powerful mana signature walked into his range.

Forgoing breakfast, he decided instead to walk out of the castle.

"Has this pendant been verified?" He heard one of the guards speak as he got closer.

"Let him in, he's with me." He announced his presence, his eyes on Arthur's somber expression.

As Arthur walked on, Fayden began contemplating on what could have made Arthur make an expression so burdened.

"I met one of those deities you were talking about."

Fayden almost stumbled on the stairs. "Wait, what?"

Arthur went into an in-depth explanation with his encounter with the being called Windsom. Some of them were things Fayden already knew, like the existence of Alacrya and the deities being called Asura and Vritra. However, the rest was news to him.

"So Sylvie is an Indrath Princess?" Fayden confirmed.

"And we've been invited to Epheotus, the apparent 'Land of the Deities'…"

Fayden was glad to hear about the treaty between the Asuras and the Vritra. It seemed he wouldn't need to fight gods after all.

'Do you have a human form too, Zeke?'

'I don't know, I never tried it.' Zeke commented offhandedly, he was still miffed about their conversation the last night.

As the two settled into the meeting room table, they didn't have to wait long before the others arrived.

"Did you sleep well, brat?" Virion sent him a meaningful glance.

"Wasn't too bad." Fayden said casually, and his family settled on the table.

"It's good to see that you're well, Arthur," Merial commented, breaking the ice.

Arthur nodded courteously.

"Ahem," Fayden cleared his throat, "before I answer your questions, I'm going to show you what exactly happened in the dungeon."

Virion nodded, implying he can continue.

Fayden inhaled deeply, activating his integrate phase. He had a theory, if he could read minds and remove mental seals. Why couldn't he show people his own memory?

From Fayden's palm, tendrils of shadow manifested, reaching out to everyone in the room, heading towards their back. While Virion, his parents, and Arthur accepted it, allowing the tendrils to attach themselves at the base of their neck, Tessia froze up.

Her eyes trembled and she fought the urge to run and scream. The tendril heading towards her stopped, retreating.

"It's best you don't see this Tess." Fayden said, noticing her state.

"Did something happen between you two?" Merial asked, glancing between her children.

Virion averted his eyes, he had not told them of the event as per his grandson's request.

"..." Fayden didn't answer, nacht pulsing through the tendrils and their vision dimmed.

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"I was looking for something to vent on…"

"Why is it that you give off an aura so similar to them?"

"My power is vastly superior to those snakes."

"Your abilities are mere paltry tricks compared to what the Vritra are capable of!"

"Are you sure about that?"

…

"Lesser!" Uto spat out. "What did you do?!"

"I. Am. Superior."

Uto screamed, the gut wrenching pain rendering him unable to think for a moment.

…

"Did you show any mercy to the soldiers you slaughtered?" Fayden's fist hit his right breast with enough force to shatter diamond. The blade jutting out of his fist sliced through his ribs and into his lungs.

An unearthly scream tore itself free of his throat, so loud it ruptured his vocal cords. He couldn't even scream now.

Fayden stomped his feet, two unrefined blades shot out of the ground under him, stabbing through Uto's testicles. Even in his state, Uto managed an agonizing scream.

Fayden sniffed. "Smells like someone's cooking an omelette."

…

While he was still alive, Fayden stabbed his arm deep into his sternum. His fingers brushed past a smooth surface, and he gripped the sizable orb tightly as he yanked it out, careful not to shatter it.

…

A holographic screen buzzed to life, technology far advanced than anything in Dicathen.

"Well," the man on the other side began, "this is certainly an unexpected development."

"Bravo. You have managed to best one of the retainers."

"You're a sick fuck, you know that?"

"I'll consider that a compliment."

…

"You want war, Agrona?" Fayden said dangerously. "Then you can be damn well sure we'll put up a good fight."

"And you will lose."

"I, Fayden Eralith, of the Royal Family of Elenoir, hereby declare war on Alacrya."

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The entire process had only taken a few seconds, and when Fayden opened his eyes, he noticed everyone in the room staring at him. Their expressions ranged from confusion to disbelief to grim acceptance.

"Fayden," his father was the first to speak, "you could have killed the retainer much faster, couldn't you?"

Fayden narrowed his eyes, he saw what his father was getting at, "Are you implying I show mercy to a retainer? Someone responsible for desecrating our lands, indirectly putting Tessia in danger. Someone who slaughtered dozens of soldiers and would have slaughtered our Lance had I not arrived in time."

"You did not need to be that violent," his mother added, her face a mix of worry and disapproval.

Fayden shrugged. "He caught me in a bad mood."

Virion sighed, rubbing his temples. "While I realise you went overboard fighting the retainer, I can't say I wouldn't do the same in your situation."

Arthur nodded in agreement, "I probably wouldn't have shoved his finger in his throat, but the rest is fair game."

'One could say you…fingered him.'

'Zeke, I'm the one who should make dad jokes here, not you.'

"What did he do?" Tessia glanced around. She wasn't shown his memories.

"Long story short, he burned his face and upper body to a crisp, ripped apart his finger and stabbed it inside his throat, and forcibly removed his core while he was still alive." Arthur answered for him.

"And declared war." Fayden added smugly.

"That's not something you should take pride in." Arthur deadpanned.

Fayden rolled his eyes, "Oh please, the narcissistic fuck probably plays with himself thinking about destroying Dicathen."

"Fayden!" His mother gasped in displeasure.

He raised an eyebrow, "What? Tessia's used to my language and Arthur probably knows more advanced curses than me."

"I mean I wouldn't necessarily say they're advanced."

Virion chuckled, "Leave him be Merial, you cannot change the way he speaks."

Fayden shook his head, "Any other questions?"

"Yes." The queen of Elenoir glanced between him and Tessia. "What happened between you two?"

Fayden grimaced, he had hoped she would not push further, "Nothing, she just saw the more…disturbing aspects of my beast will."

Virion noticed the look on his face and clapped his hands, "Alright, continue your conversation in the carriage. We agreed to meet Rinia today, remember?"

"No need." Fayden stood up. "Why waste time travelling by carriage when I can just warp us there?"

Arthur raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure you can teleport us all?"

Fayden almost rolled his eyes again. "Arthur, I transferred fifty-two people from Hell's Jaw to Xyrus city."

"Oh, right."

As everyone else stood up, Tessia hesitated to do so.

"Tess?" Fayden leaned forward. "We can go by carriage if you don't want to."

Tessia shook her head, standing up, "I'm fine."

'Liar.'

Fayden sighed, spreading his nacht around the room. His eyes glowed silver and the group vanished in a flash of black.