The Prince of Demons

Nox

I honestly thought Nil and Lux were out of ways to surprise us. Currently, Lux was achieving some staggering form of while Nil demonstrated that despite his new sword being about as long as he was tall, he could swing it like it had no weight. It was to him probably because Lord Utol had the insight to make sure no one could steal it from him. His swing was sloppy, and highly untrained, but the power behind the swing was immense. The sword was incredibly heavy and something about him changed, as his body was not that sturdy or powerful previously.

It is like they are having a contest of which we should currently be watching. I thought to myself.

“How was that Uncle Nox?” Nil asked. Needs improvement at best.

“Needs some improvement: you are too off balance as you are not used to swinging the sword, and you are not properly reinforcing your body with .” I instructed. Nez and Orga shot me some seriously dirty looks.

Nil reset into the basic form I showed him, closed his eyes for a minute, and I could feel his much denser start to flow. He reinforced his body slightly differently and launched himself at me. Nil sprung foward, leading with his sword to try and impale me. I simply side stepped as his sword froze in the air while Nil pivoted around it, attempting to plant a kick into me. I shifted my sword to catch his foot. Nil kicked off, trying to rotate with his to continue his attack, but he unfortunately kicked himself into the ground. Nil quickly picked himself back up. Good instincts, fast recovery, and he seems to be enjoying himself.

“Try to stick to the basics for now, but that was a good attempt.” I praised. Nil shot up right, and turned his head to face Lux.

Lux was currently emanating an immense presence, when her eyes shot open, emitting a blinding light from them. She fell to the ground panting, as the runes on her body began glowing just as bright. After a few seconds of putting the sun to shame, the light dissipated, and Lux formed a small little halo between her shoulder blades.

“That is amazing Lux!” Orga praised, making sure Lux was okay. Lux wobbled a little, before collapsing into a ball to nap. Nil and Lux tilted their heads back and forth a little as Nil checked on her before he refocused on me.

“Lux just became a more annoying opponent.” Nil declared, resetting into the starter stance I showed him. He closed his eyes for a minute, gathering his before striking.

This time, he launched a quick at me, focusing the with his offhand before charging in. He swung widely again, and when I blocked it, he had already prepared a small javelin of he quickly threw at me. I used to dodge to the side, allowing it to harmlessly pass me. Nil continued his assault, applying a minor to his foot to spin his body to kick me. His execution was surprisingly well done; unfortunately he couldn’t control his well enough so while the kick was successful, there was absolutely no power to it. Realizing his error, Nil quickly used to get a safe distance away. He at least understands just because there is a sword in his hand doesn’t mean it’s all he has to use to attack. His control is quite good for his age, but nowhere near sufficient to pull off the maneuvers and attacks he is trying. Rapidly manipulating in opposing directions while casting offhand or to move yourself accurately is incredibly challenging. Nil closed his eyes again as he reset. Not a good habit to have, but for his age I guess the fact he can attempt to start this training is impressive enough to tolerate a crutch like that for now. Now I definitely see why he and Lux alternated who was dodging and running while the other deflected and prepared their .

Nil kept his eyes closed longer than before, turning his head side to side. What is he trying to focus? Is he trying to visualize something? A spine-chilling sensation went down my body. The air seemed to fluctuate in an odd fashion. Nez and Orga immediately looked at him. This is the sensation that preludes that peculiar . This is bad, this literally killed him last time. I went to voice an objection, telling Nil we were going to stop, but his eyes shot open. The amber portion took on a bizarre glow, as the black part seemed to obliterate all light that came near it. The sensation of that clung to him intensified immensely; the world seemed to slow as Nil began walking towards me calmly. His stride was steady and slow, with his gaze locked on me, and only me. Nothing else seemed to exist to him. I could hear faint whispers as he walked towards me. His was being purely dedicated to his and reinforcing his body.

The instant Nil got close; he swung his sword again. This time, with an eerie precision. I went to dodge, and before I even started the course had corrected itself. I simply away. That attack terrified me. His motion was a bit wide, the reinforcement was wrong, but that swing made something in me quiver. What on Tenebrae was that? I am used to feeling a bit uneasy when he starts using strong ; this, this is something different. Something in my brain is screaming that attack is dangerous. I will observe it the next time he does it, see if I can figure out why. Nil had continued the oddly calm, steady pace towards me. Again, the instant he was close enough to connect, Nil tried swinging his sword at me. I kept my eyes fixed on the blade, as it seemed to carve the air it passed. I put up a guard to deflect, and the sword instantly changed trajectory to hit head on and not be deflected away. Every subtle change, minor detail, or shift I made, Nil adjusted the swing perfectly. It is like he is adjusting before it even happens. His sword connected. My hand went numb from the impact, but I forced his sword back, causing him to fall off balance and land on his butt. Still didn’t keep his balance well enough. That can be fixed. In an instant, the sensation stopped, and Nil was visibly sweating profusely. His was near empty. Those two swings took over half of his to perform.

“I feel a bit tired.” Nil declared, his eyelids drooping like they weighed as much as mountains.

He stored his sword into his ring, shuffled over to Lux, and used Lux as a pillow before passing out. Good news was he didn’t seem to hurt himself doing that. Bad news he could apparently use that bone chilling at will now.

“What happened there Nox? You looked scared.” Nez asked, clearly confused on how a five-year-old produced that.

“That he used at the end is terrifying. The sensation of when he is using it directed at you is honestly pretty unsettling. Nil seemed to correct his swing before I even adjusted. My wrist is still kind of tingling from that impact. The downside of whatever that is appears to be the fact it takes a lot out of him to use.” I explained.

“You mean the that killed him is a bit taxing? Why didn’t you stop him? We were trying to tell you to stop.” Nez lectured me in an annoyed tone.

“I did not hear you at all. It sounded like whispers.” I informed him.

“We were yelling quite loudly at the two of you. Did it seriously sound like whispers?” Orga checked, seemingly caught off guard.

“I am telling you both, if you thought being near that is unsettling, it is an entirely different beast when it is focused on you. It just feels so, unnatural. It legitimately sounded like you were whispering. I have no idea where or how he learned that, but we need to get him to understand how overwhelmingly dangerous that is. He might get it is dangerous, but his curiosity to explore it is too much.” I elaborated.

“Well, we should probably get a thorough before giving him another lesson and adjust the lessons. Now what did Lux do Orga?” Nez asked with a bit of a sigh.

“She formed her first halo. form halos at points in their growth, depending on how strong they are. It is kind of like a bottleneck they breakthrough. She used to channel the knowledge of her ancestors and solidified the halo. Lux is going to be quite a bit stronger than before and might have learned some new from the connection she formed.” Orga explained with a proud smile.

“Can these two be somewhat normal ever?” I moaned.

“Doubt it.” Nez and Orga replied in unison.

*

Nil

I was definitely being watched heavily by my family. No matter where I was, one of them was nearby. I guess coming back from the dead definitely scared them. I was definitely trying to avoid thinking about how easily I died to my own . Positive thoughts. I was alive now. I defeated the Lord of Death in a game of Realization. Positive thoughts. A solid thirteen seconds of them. Thirteen seconds? Thirteen? Now is not the time to be superstitious. Think. Positive. Thoughts. Positive thinking. I took a deep breath and cleared my mind. It didn’t help. I was struggling to sleep. First time that has happened in this life. It definitely wasn’t because of the furball currently battling for control of the bed. I am keeping my half you blasted devil. This is my bed. Not yours. Lux renewed her offensive with her rear, slowly shuffling her curled body over. Not today. The terrorists shall not win. I grabbed Lux and pulled her tight, snuggling her as tightly as possible. She yeowled before shuffling over to her side of the bed when I released her. Lux shot me a dirty look. Lords above does she hate that.

I am not an animal to snuggle. Lux snarled at me.

You were just shuffling over to my half of the bed, so I got confused. You looked so desperate to snuggle. I teased her.

Lux glared at me. She knew she was caught red handed. Or more accurately, red pawed. She shuffled all the way back to her side, curled up into a ball, and went back to sleep. With the sensation of victory, I stared back up at the ceiling. Now do I pick the fight? Burning off some energy might help me sleep. I am willing to throw down with that fluff ball. Something tells me the instant I start it one of my family members will stop the fight immediately. That odd I tried using took an immense toll on my . Two swings when I used it took three quarters of my and left me exhausted. Actually, it exhausted me. I mean, training and helping me sleep. I carefully got out of bed, closed my eyes, and took several deep breaths. I slowly flowed into my and tried feeling the world around me. After a few seconds, I could feel whatever it was around me. I opened my eyes, maintaining the sensation, and launched it through the . If I try that and mess up, I am history. Maybe just a foot. I started shaking when I gathered the . Don’t force it. I don’t have to force myself.

I lost the sensation. After a few deep breaths, I regained it. I focused it through my eyes like earlier. Remember Uncle Nox. Remember his movement. Remember what I tried. I summoned my sword. I need to give it a proper name. Something cool. I ran through the motions, trying the swings and again, failing some of the moves. The rapid switches in direction were taxing and difficult. Definitely needed practice. Practice makes permanent. I did not know how to properly swing my sword just yet, so I was going to practice the rapid switches. I put my sword away, took a breath to dispel the feeling, and began practicing the kicks. The path to success was paved with many faceplants. The quick pivot and first kick were not terrible, but the power was not ideal. Unfortunately, the flip off and quick kick back proved to be a sure-fire way to get acquainted with the solid brick floor. The twist was making my ribs start to creak. I alternated sides to lessen the strain, but I was doing terrible. Maintaining reinforcement on my body, enough to have actual impact, twisting my body with to pivot the kick while adjusting, and trying to prepare the move after was allowing me to count the pores in the brick. After roughly an hour of failure, I decided to call it. My ribs were hurting, and I was getting sore from the impacts. This room is clearly to keep the sound in; some of these have not been light. I peeled myself off the ground, to see Lux smirking at me.

That last one looked like it hurt. Lux mocked.

You could heal me you know. You have learned how to recently. I suggested to her.

Could. I most certainly, could. Lux informed me while laughing at her joke.

I could remember to sneak some extra fish from the kitchen as well. But what is my motivation? I taunted.

Make it two filets and we have a deal. Lux snapped. Her mouth was actively salivating. Gluttonous monster.

Lux rushed over to me, and quickly healed my numerous bruises. Within a few minutes, all the pain was gone. should be fine. For some reason I was shaking a little as I used and to infiltrate the kitchen. I grabbed three filets of Lux’s favorite fish, and returned to Lux. She was bouncing up and down with excitement. That was before she noticed I had three filets. Lux about launched herself from the bed when she saw that.

I want to practice a bit more, and that's going to be more bruises to heal. Heal me for the rest of the night and you get all three. I offered. The fish vanished from my hand so fast I could barely see the blur.

I resumed my practice slamming into the brick. Every thirty minutes Lux would heal my injuries. She was getting better, and faster. Lux was getting some hands-on experience treating these bruises at least. After three hours of slamming into the ground and getting healed, I was reaching my limit of how much failure I could stomach. Lux was looking quite sleepy, but I still felt wide awake. Time to use that I guess. Lux was not going to be a fan.

Lux, I want to practice one last thing. Do you have enough for some major healing? I checked.

If you are going to use that creepy not a chance. It is dangerous and reckless to use it. Lux snapped back.

Not to or anything dangerous. I want to try the I used on Uncle Nox again. It is just really draining. I bargained.

If you do anything other than that, you are going to be suffering on the ground until your mom comes to try and stop you from dying again. Lux snarled.

I am going to need you to either attack me or try and dodge me for this to work. I instructed her.

Your head is meeting that brick one more time. Lux promised me.

I took a few deep breaths and got the sensation. I channeled through my , and focused on Lux. I took another breath as I tuned into the sensation, and after each breath the color bled from my vision. My vision turned full monochrome, and I could feel the immense strain on my eyes. I let out my last deep breath and motioned for Lux to come at me.

You know, this is terrifying. I wondered why your Uncle Nox shivered when you did this earlier; this sensation is extremely unpleasant. Lux informed me.

Just because she didn’t like the sensation, did not stop her from launching a kick at my head. I could see the path she was going to take and adjusted accordingly. I could see the surprise wash over her face as I went to knock her into the ground. She tried dodging, but every thought, every change in trajectory, every attempt to dodge seemed clear as day to me. My hand connected launching Lux down. Before she could spring off the ground to renew her assault, I swept my leg to kick her. The halo she formed glowed, and she moved at a speed I could not follow with my body. I could see it clear as day, but my body was nowhere near fast enough to dodge. If I couldn’t dodge, I could trade. A paw was planted into my face, driving me into the ground as I launched a at Lux, sending her flying. We both stopped dead in our tracks, panting heavily.

What was that? I asked her.

No idea. Just a weird sensation and I went for it. Oh, I hurt all over. But that felt so good. Lux replied as she shook her body.

We need to test it further. I stated excitedly.

Why are you like this? Lux probed in an unamused tone.

See how fun that is? Using some new and exciting . It is an exhilarating feeling. I told Lux.

I am not going to push it like you. That was a limited test and honestly, I misjudged how much that would take from me. Lux snapped back.

Sure, sure, sure. I believe you. I teased. Lux huffed in response.

We both crawled back to bed and laid down. I closed my eyes and could feel my tiredness overwhelming me. I hope I don’t have to resort to this method every night now. Why am I struggling to sleep so much? I couldn’t think about it for long because I quickly fell asleep.