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2024-10-29 19:42:56Clack! The door finally closed, and in an attempt to let oxygen back into my lungs which were expanding fast like I had been drowning, I loudly gasped, "argh."
At that point, nothing surprised me anymore. The only thought going through my head was to go home and eat a good meal with my brothers, and there I remembered… we were so poor that my brothers might have starved by now if they had not been consumed by the time they came back from this mission. I was promised a mere ten silver for this week-long mission.
I knew I was being ripped off, but I had no other choice as an unlicensed rift traveler. Being poor is for the weak, I had thought. I continuously blamed myself for my brothers, and I had.
My father and mother had been killed by my own hands to keep my brothers safe from those monsters.
I realized that I did not believe humans had any hope of goodness or…well, humanity in them. All of them are selfish bastards. They were only thinking of gaining for themselves and nothing else. It had been impossible for me to reason with nobles to get my brothers into Xenovia academy.
I had tried to make connections through fake smiles and tail-wagging favors, but none of them agreed. They just laugh it off, telling me I would be better off not sending them there as it would be their end.
I had lost myself in thoughts again. My attention is taken away by the despair these creatures had brought with the fear of it.
Click! I let go of the handle, and soon the door started dissipating, and the appearance of the hall changed to that of a small room with a big piano in the middle.
"Welcome, O foolish one"- a lady-like voice came from the piano's direction. Fear had engulfed my body once again as I froze up.
"Walk up, don't be afraid of this old one"-once again, her voice sent shivers down my spine. I couldn't shrug off the unsettling feeling that she was giving off despite knowing I did not have another choice.
"Thump, Thump" Loud footsteps echoed from my feet as I realized that my fear had gotten the best of me, and my body was moving on its own, getting closer to this shady figure.
"Do not fret as I am not the one that brings you demise," she proclaimed in a distinct low yet sharp voice. "I find it amusing that you don't recognize me anymore ---------" as if it was cut out, the last part could not reach me. I could not understand what she said, but she felt so familiar yet distant.
What amazed me most about this absurd scene unraveling in front of my own eyes was that even If
I could not see her face or how she looked, my gut told me that her beauty was unmatched; her grace was like no other.
I was so shocked that I could not bring myself to speak even when I calmed down; my mouth opened, but words would not come out, and I got lost in thought again; her loud voice interrupted my train of fearful thinking.
"It seems you cannot speak for yourself yet, and here I thought that you were ready for the Trial of the Castle,"-she said in a very disappointed tone, with her voice continuing to echo through the what seemed like never-ending darkness behind the spotlight that lied where the piano and the lady were.
"Fret not, O son of the night; you will soon find out the true meaning behind your sole existence,"- she uttered in a softer tone this time which had me forget who I was… what had I been doing until then.
This whole situation had made my memory so blurry as I walked through the dark corridors; there had been multiple windows that were the only light source that gave me even the slightest hope that there was a way out of this dark place.
The rift gate was just outside of the castle that was surrounded by only water and multiple giant rocks, this whole scenery was like straight out of a fantasy novel, but now I had been trapped in a room with this veil covered lady that was spouting some bullshit prophecy about me and unlike the fortune tellers that I never believed… this time I had no choice but to hear her out. Me being there was no coincidence.
If this had been a 5th class rift like I had been told, I would have finished and gone home to my brothers and bought them a good meal just like I had promised, and nothing wrong had happened until I walked into the rift. No distortion, commotion, or problems on the rift sync with reality.
So were all these events that unfolded the cause of some higher being… I was forced into believing as I had seen creatures that were worse than what some high-ranking rift walkers had described as being in the rifts between reality and these "Dreams."
This was the first time in a while that I had felt ultimately defeated by this forsaken thing that we call life. But little did I know that this would be the beginning of a new era…MY ERA.
"Now that YOUR time has come, it would be appropriate to let you go through with this,"- the white lady said again in a low, calm voice.
My confusion at her words would end when a door suddenly opened behind her and the piano. After gathering my thoughts, I began to step close to the door, and as I passed, I heard a whisper in the now familiar voice of the veiled lady.
'Try not to lose yourself, O son of the night."
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Son of Night Coming to Terms
When I got through the door, my eyes caught a glance of a small rift just ahead.Snapping back to reality, I run for it and shove my hand in the rift knowing that might be the only chance I get to run away. A dizzying feeling rushed my body, and in a flash, I was back to the rift departure room, noticing that all the alarm systems were going off and the whole RWC was in a state of emergency."CODE RED!"-I heard one of the rift supervisors yell at the top of his lungs."A 5th class rift has unexpectedly started fluctuating, connecting to a 1st class rift." The supervisor once again yelled at the other soldiers that were on standby. With prior experience in this job, it was the first time in history that this had happened, and when I looked at the clock, it was 5 minutes past 12, which meantI had departed only 5 minutes ago.This was not possible. I had spent more than two weeks running around the dark castle alone. But if I told this to the rift supervisor
Son of Night Warm Welcome
I got up from the ground and remembered that I had to be home for my brothers since I had left them nothing to eat. Running home, I stopped along the way to get some bread, vegetables, and a piece of fresh cow meat. That's all that ten silver could get you. Sad that I could not get anything else for my brothers, I ran home and was greeted with two warm hugs and smiles from my sweet brothers. "Big brother, you got home safe again," Rennie said, not caring that they had not eaten in 3 days. "We missed you so much!". Them saying this reminded me that I was not alone. My brothers had been the reason I kept going on missions despite me hating that I was entertaining those such nobles. "I'm gonna make you some stew," I said with a lump in my throat. They both smiled and went back into the house to continue what they were doing. Rennie loved reading and was always so gentle and mature for his age, contrary to Reggie was solemn and calm most of the time. I always mad
Son of Night Tapping Into Potential
A week had passed since I returned from that nightmarish place, and I was still in disbelief that those events had happened. I could standhere and ponder, but I had to get ready to work again to put food onthe table for my brothers.While chopping some wood for the furnace that I'd made a while backI felt some light tapping on my back; it was Rennie. "What can I help with, big bro."-his eyes gleamed at the thought of being somewhat of help around the house."It's okay; you can go in and study with Reggie again" I let out a sigh thinking they hadgotten too attached to me. "Time is going to come, and you won't have me there,I'm going to die someday as well!" trying to be strict, I thought of getting themto know the world better."Y…You'll leave us too, brother?" he asked me with tear-filled eyes. I could not bearSeeing him cry as I loved them so much. Hugging him tightly, I started to pat
Son of Night Unfolded Truth
We walked back into the house happier than ever, and I made a mealfor all of us to celebrate the hope that these following events had given us.Talking with my brothers under the moonlight was the only light source, just like the castle that I was in, discussing how we would live ina better place with better food and three rooms, three beds. Just whatwe always dreamed of, an everyday life. For the first time inmy life, I shut my eyes, barely waiting for tomorrow.Rushing to get an evaluation tablet, I completely forgetthat it costs 100 silver. Being more broke than ever right now, I started thinking of ideas of earning enough money for it. Making some breakfastquickly with what was left, I rushed to train our basement at theback of our house. I had never gone in it since it was locked, but a while backI found the keys in a box my "parents" had in their room and some old photos of a noble couple. I had no i
Son of Night Pieces Coming Together
Frozen, I stood in front of the drawer. I just got those lettersFrom not knowing what to feel anymore since I had been lied tosince the day I was born. It felt like I had a concussion. My head was spinningand I gather enough courage to read through the other letters thatwere left from there.The following letter was a reply to my parent's letter and read asfollows: "We cannot express how grateful we are to know thatour son is safe. Our only way of showing gratitude is through theseLetters and little monetary support that we can send to you in our bad conditions.The DracoFist family is currently under attack, and the prominent family is the onlypart left of what the DracoFist were; we are sorry to say that the only thingWe can hope right now for the survival of Raphael DracoFist, the heir tothe DracoFist family. Lastly, we want to know our son's condition afterthe seals
Son of Night The Ways of The DracoFists
Why was this only resurfacing now? This wasn't a coincidence since it happened whenthe markings showed up on my body after going through a couple of oddly suspicious flashes ofmy past. It was impossible…and to add up to that, only a week before the rift incident took place,Which almost looked like a fever dream or more close to a nightmare.The pages on the book felt brand new even though They had been there for more than seventeen years,I felt a strange aura that resonated with me coming from the book. It was weird but comforting. Never had I felt anything close to the ambiance in my life since my innate talent had not awakened yet.The pages contained so much information on the possibilities of what my innate talent could awaken as. Still, most importantly, I had more to know about the family that I came from. They were the first rankedamong the five powerhouses: The House of Angels, Fiend Famiglia, The House of Blue moo
Son of Night Revenge, the only option.
Furious from what I'd seen until now, I got up, walked into our house to change, and started thinking about how I could take down this filth that put itself so high. The main target is the House of Royal Angels, followed by other big families. I was still disgusted by the previous encounter in those visions. Taking out a bunch of herbs I used as painkillers. I got a bunch of old blank papers and started writing down what I needed to do to resurrect the DracoFists.The main reason I was even alive was by sheer luck or coincidence, definitely not skill. "I should get myself some good armor." The only issue is the lack of money. I really needed a TEC(Talent Evaluation Card), which you could only get from being a part of a family or a branch of the big family. I did not have the luxury. Unfortunately, I had to resort to using my undeveloped powers.A wave of fatigue hit me like a truck, and the main reason was that I had stayed locked up so long by myself. I needed some re
Son of Night Prodigy unleashed
I walked forward, looking straight ahead. I began to feel nauseous from the sheer anger towards the four great families. "Scum remains scum, I guess...". Nothing had changed since what appeared to be my family's disappearance. They were still the same. The sole purpose of their getting rid of them was that my family had a different perspective and, for a change, wanted to give everyone a chance at getting strong. Although their hands weren't clean either, the DracoFist family had tried their best to change the ways of the nobles when Orion, my father, became family head.I enter one of the inns of Angels Household in an attempt to begin gathering intel on how they work from the inside. I sit in front bartender, and he gives me a curious look. "New face haven't seen you here before."I shoot back with a smirk; "You didn't have a reason to until now.""So you looking for trouble, youngin?" - "Not at all, old man. I'm here to get a talent evaluation card," he cough
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[Rosewood villa meeting room]We were gathered in the meeting room beforehand by Iran to talk about the way we would approach the resurrection of the DracoFist Famiglia. This was a very sensitive matter so I could not understand why he brought Rennie and Reggie in here."Welcome everyone, and before you ask Raphael the reason why I brought the twins here is that they are now both my official apprentices," he said as if he read my face."But they are still eight years old what do they know about politics Iran?" I said as I was clearly annoyed by the haste decision of bringing them any stress. Their childhood had been stressful enough."Don't worry my liege, the young heirs are going to be attending here quite frequently, I want them to learn early on as that builds character." he firmly said."I sure hope this is the right thing to do, I trust you Iran."We carry on with the meeting, Tanna was there as well but she wasn't looking so good. I p
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"Come take a seat, Raphael; before we start physical training, we'll go over what you studied about Xer and "Sanctuary of Dawn."The Sanctuary of Dawn is what we call all territory that covers Xerith, our planet, according to what has been discovered so far and what is recorded in books. Xerith is divided into 5 main parts;[Paradisio Waterfalls] That is currently "The Royal House of Angels" territory.[Hell's Canyon] Which is under the rule of "Fiend Famiglia"[Fields of Silence] Under the "Ferrati Famiglia"[Moon Mirror] The oceanic territory of "The House of Blue Moon"[Nest of the Ancients] An abandoned territory that used to belong to "DracoFist Famiglia].There was a time when these regions were connected, prior to the discovery of The Chaos Orb in The "Nest of the Ancients." Following that, three decades[6500-6530] were spent experimenting with Chaos' fabric and attempting to understand how it operates, with little success. The
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"Come, Raphael, I want to talk to you about something." without hesitation she pulled me towards her room. Unlike before when she was dressed casually, she was now in a nightgown that didn't leave much to the imagination."What's wrong Tanna, why the sudden hold up?" I got flustered for a moment when our bodies met for a quick moment."Take a seat near the bed, I need to take measures for clothing," she said as she took out her measure tools. "We wouldn't want you to look bad in front of those snobs."Young nobles all around were known for dressing and going to occasional dances that they held within different households. Getting new clothes was exciting and all but what was floating in my mind right now was that the girl I had been interested in since my early years was standing in front of me, with nothing to hide.I had to get my mind out of the gutter she was just taking measures, that's it. After a short whil
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Tanna and I entered the bottom floor and were greeted by the housekeepers. Unlike the other royal house servants I'd seen before, these looked genuinely happy. Although unexpected, Iran was good to be different from the other nobles."Don't zone out and follow me we have a ton that you need to learn." Tanna interrupted my thoughts and pulled out two cards, handing them to me. "Im guessing you know what this is."", Yes, it's a talent evaluation card, but why do we need them?""You and your brothers will be entering the academy in one week, so getting them evaluated must be done," she said as we walked through the corridor. I currently had no idea where we were going and just followed her. We finally arrived in front of a door at the end of the hall."This is where you will train intensively with me as your instructor; you need to get in shape quickly for the academy acceptance test." Tanna pushed the door in front of us, and we entered a place that looked
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Helping Hand
"Follow me now, Raphael. We need to make sure you get a new profile to enter the academy." He said while almost dragging me to the front desk that I had been at initially."Your license needs to be renewed for your name not to grab any attention. The least you can do right now is move in with me."He kept his voice firm as if not to accept any other answer. "Tanna will be your secretary and be close to you to fulfil your needs and wants, and she will keep you out of any legal trouble." We finally arrived at the reception, and Tanna gave me a flirty smile like she always did when I interacted with her."Meeting in 1 hour exactly, don't ask questions." Iran cut her off as she was getting ready to greet us."Yes, sir", she replied immediately.[Iran Rosewood's Villa]In terms of information, I had no reliable source, so the only thing I could do was rely on Iran at the moment. We then left the RWC and went to Iran's mansion soon after. He did not enter
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You have never played chess?
The man who ordered me to sit and begin the trial was standing before me. On the other hand, I was stunned. I'd been told that this is a test on what to expect from a 4th-3rd rank rift. What was going through that man's head, I was wondering."Come on quickly, young man. We don't have all day, sadly."Hurriedly I took a seat, picked black, and he started a timer. "Do you know how to play chess?" the old man asks. "Well, I've heard of it but never had a chessboard to play with." That's unfortunate uh...what was your name again. "Sorry I forgot to mention it, my name is Raphael, what do i call you?"-"You can call me Iran." he said.I hesitated for a moment since I didn't want to claim that I was a DracoFist in front of a probable future enemy. "Raphael who, don't you have a surname young boy." he says, eagerly waiting for my move and answer. I move knight f6 and proceed cautiously. "How can a slum rat like me have a surname sir."He was visibly amused by my
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Interesting Turnout
Woke up, my shoulders stiff as ever, like I hadn't slept a minute. I made something ready for the kids to eat and left for the basement, where I had planned to clean up and prepare my base.Things looked like I had left them last time since my mind was not in the right place, and I tunnel-visioned into getting my revenge. The papers were scattered, and sharp claw marks were on the basement floor. Not thinking twice, I grab a broom that I made myself, not that we had the money to get a good broom anyway. "Money…" the thought of money made me realize that I had a severe lack of resources to begin my big plan. Starting small and steady was the right option.Making plans in the heat of the moment was not the right thing to do. Gathering intel on the small family branches and ensuring that I got into Xenovia academy were top priorities. After 2 hours of cleaning, I was finally done, and the letters that had been in the drawer were put in order across the wall as a wa
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Prodigy unleashed
I walked forward, looking straight ahead. I began to feel nauseous from the sheer anger towards the four great families. "Scum remains scum, I guess...". Nothing had changed since what appeared to be my family's disappearance. They were still the same. The sole purpose of their getting rid of them was that my family had a different perspective and, for a change, wanted to give everyone a chance at getting strong. Although their hands weren't clean either, the DracoFist family had tried their best to change the ways of the nobles when Orion, my father, became family head.I enter one of the inns of Angels Household in an attempt to begin gathering intel on how they work from the inside. I sit in front bartender, and he gives me a curious look. "New face haven't seen you here before."I shoot back with a smirk; "You didn't have a reason to until now.""So you looking for trouble, youngin?" - "Not at all, old man. I'm here to get a talent evaluation card," he cough
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Revenge, the only option.
Furious from what I'd seen until now, I got up, walked into our house to change, and started thinking about how I could take down this filth that put itself so high. The main target is the House of Royal Angels, followed by other big families. I was still disgusted by the previous encounter in those visions. Taking out a bunch of herbs I used as painkillers. I got a bunch of old blank papers and started writing down what I needed to do to resurrect the DracoFists.The main reason I was even alive was by sheer luck or coincidence, definitely not skill. "I should get myself some good armor." The only issue is the lack of money. I really needed a TEC(Talent Evaluation Card), which you could only get from being a part of a family or a branch of the big family. I did not have the luxury. Unfortunately, I had to resort to using my undeveloped powers.A wave of fatigue hit me like a truck, and the main reason was that I had stayed locked up so long by myself. I needed some re
