Damien Aeldris had never felt so stifled in his life…
He was and is an imperial prince, born of the first prince of the empire, Damon Aeldris, elder brother of the current emperor, The GOLDEN VANGUARD, Julius Aeldris…
Disciple and beloved student of that same emperor…
He'd never known what strife meant, barring his grueling training sessions with his uncle…
He'd always been praised as a talent, gifted beyond his peers..
His uncle, the emperor, had no need to cater to the fragile ego of a child, so he was assured, assured of the fact that his uncle and master wasn't lying to soothe him…
Resolving to make his uncle and master proud, he strived even harder, his talent and hard work recognized by all within the imperial palace..
Even amongst his older siblings and nephews, the emperor's own children, who being older were clearly more powerful, yet his talent and hard work, made many place him above them…
Then came his awakening, a moment of pride, of accomplishment…
He awakened as a Dual Path practitioner…
They were not as rare as one would believe…
With the number of inhabitants within Althea, any decent power had its fair share of dual path practitioners, the aeldris imperial family even more so…
But his was different, he awakened as BOTH a limit break aura wielder AND a transcended grade mana affinity wielder…
It was the silent acknowledgment of the world itself of his talent and future…
He could remember his master, uncles, and father, the pride on their faces, the satisfaction….
His master personally couldn't keep quiet about rubbing this in their faces….
He couldn't understand..
When he'd asked why, his master told him,
"In this world, there are geniuses, then there are prodigies, and then, there're monsters, people so far above their peers that words wouldn't do them justice, and you, my boy" he'd ruffled his head fondly, "are destined to be a monster…" he'd said.. before his voice turned bitter, with something akin to resignation..
"But then even among monsters, there are still unreasonable existences, whose presence alone, if your heart wasn't strong enough, would drive you into despair" he'd concluded..
His naive mind couldn't understand, couldn't yet know that while Julius Aeldris had ran at first sight to brag to his two sworn brothers about his little nephew's accomplishments, those two demons had unceremoniously dashed his hopes, and then after that, beaten him up…
Truly, what a pitiful emperor he was, having such big brothers…..
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It wasn't until his father, Damon aeldris, got tired of his antics, and sent him to their ally's, the Agares', Stronghold, that he'd finally understood…
Raiden Agares, that demon, that bully, that unreasonably arrogant piece of…..
He hadn't expected subservience, or reverence, no, their status placed them on par with, some might even say above, the status of an imperial prince..
But even then, he expected some form of courtesy, but what did he get? Beatings, Torture, broken limbs, battered bones, he was treated like a damn peasant, all for what? Picking up a sword????
What was worse? He couldn't do shit..
All that talent he was praised for? Irrelevant in the face of that monster..
Hard work?….
That monster was training his already freakish physique to breaking point and beyond every damn day, completing thousands of sword swings and movement EVERY BLOODY DAY…
The first day he'd seen Raiden train with a sword he somewhat understood why he was being punished, the boy treated the sword with a reverence that bordered on madness…
But nevertheless…..
That bastard…
He thought..
His anger suddenly spiking as he imagined Raiden's face on the demon before him….
For six good months, he'd been acquainted with the infirmary so much so that even the healer was treating him like a friend…
All while that golden haired prick, just laughed, munched on popcorn(lord knows where he'd gotten it from) and kept dubbing him "wuss" every goddamn time…
But what unsettled him most was the fact that he'd come to accept it, to feel comfortable around them, for in all the beatings and torture, once the spars were off, they bantered, clashed, laughed and joked like all was right in the world…
No political games, no hidden schemes, no game of thrones treachery, just pure unfiltered intent…
If they hated something, they spoke up, they didn't care for who you were..
If you stepped out of line, they'd step in to correct you, and if you can beat them instead, they'd acknowledge you..
Just straight forward behavior without hidden strings attached, after all, what could he ever give them, that they couldn't take for themselves with their power?..
But!!!!
That still doesn't change the fact that that bastard tortured me for six good months…
He thought, teeth gritted, as his wild crimson hair grew longer, teeth sharpened, a feral aura pressing unto the atmosphere…
The demon facing him felt the change instantly, and unlike the others, this one didn't hesitate…
{Domain}…
But alas, despite somewhat being the smartest of all his counterparts, he ended up meeting the most stoic of the three kids…
Time to let off some steam…
Boooooommmmm!!!!!
{Beast Arts}...
He moved, faster than the demon could complete his utterance…
A crimson glow encircling his gauntleted fist, as he drove it into the demon's skull with bone shattering force….
Splash!!!
And then came the second part of his words..
{KING'S VERDICT-BEGONE!}
Booooommmmm!!!!!!
The strike, after obliterating the demon's upper torso, leaving only two legs taking a stance now lost to forever, went on to destroy the surrounding area, leaving nothing but devastation in its wake…
Thud!
The legs of the demon collapsed..
Damien, finally coming out of his beserk state, heaved a sigh of relief..
A satisfied smiled on his face..
"That felt good"…
He muttered softly as he continued onwards..
A new pep in his steps as he finally felt a burden lighten…
The image of Raiden's face being turned to mush, stirring a dark satisfaction within him..
He knew he was a far cry from ever beating that monster, but he could at least, use these demons to vent..
Thinking so, he increased his pace, moving steadily towards the looming misty mountain, ahead…
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A/N: I've gotta say, I'm enjoying reading and writing this the more I go on…
What are your thoughts??
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(4/6)
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Thanks for reading…..