The Prince of Demons

Poam Levias Crowthorne

The instant I finished the chant to <Divine> what Nil was likely to become, the world went black. More accurately, the world vanished around me; I was in some form of a pocket dimension. Someone forcefully moved me into <Rift> without me so much as noticing the <Spell> being cast. I looked around and all I saw were two bright amber eyes.

"Who are you? Do you know the gravity of what you have done?" I asked the eyes.

"Relax. I am not going to harm you." the voice replied. It was deep and absolutely radiated with <Mana>. How powerful do you have to be for your voice to be able to carry that much <Mana>?

"What do you want?" I snapped the eyes.

"Why does everyone I bring here get so touchy? Solomon, and now you. You guys need to relax." the voice lectured in an annoyed tone.

"You mean Grand Archmagus Solomon?" I probed, caught a little off guard.

"Yes. That Solomon." the voice replied nonchalantly, with a hint of venom when it said the name Solomon.

"It is rude to address people without their respective title." I chastised. The eyes just stared at me for a second before letting out a sigh.

"As far as I am concerned, you are both already dead, and he didn't take that title to the grave. I will say one of your deaths brings me much more sadness than the other." the voice snapped back.

"What are you?" I inquired. A cold chill was going over my spine; this voice was not bluffing; it was not joking. These were facts in the history books as far as it was concerned.

"An interested third party. So many prying eyes into the future of little Nil." the voice replied, sounding bored.

"How did you intercept my <Divination>? How did Grand Archmagus Solomon cross your path?" I questioned. The more this thing talks the more questions I seem to have.

"Solomon tried looking into his future with an <Arcane Eye>, I believe his are the <Nostrad Core> eye, and I am not the one who intercepted your <Divination>. My master technically is, it just automatically sends me into <Rift> to discuss things he wants with whoever was trying to gaze into Nil's future. Master was thoughtful enough to have a list of those who he suspects have tried or are capable of. You for example, are supposed to be treated nicely and cordially." the voice explained, sounding bored out of its mind. This thing has a Master?

"I figure you will not tell me how I perish, but what happens to Solomon?" I asked. trying to grasp what was in front of me.

"I am not allowed to disclose such information." the voice informed. A second pair of amber eyes appeared.

"Excuse me, has Ori been treating you well? I got here as soon as I could, I apologize for the delay." a new voice interjected, to which the first set of eyes seemed to start darting around anxiously.

"Ori has been talking to me, but I would not say he has been overly cordial or nice." I answered. Ori refused to make any form of eye contact.

"Ori, I will work on your manners later." the voice snarled before a snap of its fingers, and Ori seemed to vanish.

"I would not say he was rude either, and I would hate to see him get overly punished from a misunderstanding. He was just very matter of fact except when it came to Grand Archmagus Solomon, who he clearly disliked." I clarified. Ori was on thin ice, but not the worst I ever dealt with.

"Ori is always like that, and it is Solomon. He never deserved that title, and it is not even his anymore." the voice spat. There was a level of malice and hate in its voice that was difficult to describe.

"So why are you intercepting anything looking into Nil's future? Can you answer my original <Divination>? Are you Kron, Lord of Fate?" I pressed. I want to know how as well; I have never even heard whispers of a <Magic> capable of doing that. For a Lord however, it would be possible. The voice erupted in laughter.

"I am most certainly not Kron." it replied between fits of laughter.

"Again, why are you intercepting attempts to look into Nil's future? Can you answer my original <Divination>?" I asked as the voice was laughing.

"Sorry about that. I do not want prying eyes trying to influence the path he takes. I have only intervened to give a gift and to save a teacher, which put me at the limit of what I can interfere and not cause serious <Karmic Retribution>, so from here I can essentially only block attempts to look at his future. Now, what were you trying to see with <Divination>? There is no guarantee I will answer your question entirely, but I will see what I can say without penalty." the voice explained.

"What type of person will Nil become?" I probed, wondering what <Magic> this was.

"That is pretty vague, can you clarify the question?" the voice asked politely.

"His mom is rightfully worried if he will have the personality or temperament of a monster with his talent. I was trying to use <Divination> to see what his character is like." I clarified for the voice.

"Personality, temperament, and character can all be influenced by parenting. Was it really necessary to use <Divination> to determine that?" the voice inquired, sounding amused.

"She is concerned as a relatively new mother with another child on the way. And Nil does possess a staggering talent with <Magic> that would make anyone concerned he does not become a monster." I pointed out. I could feel them smirk.

"I understand the worry but let her know not to worry. I find it difficult to find the words to explain what is to come without incurring some <Karmic Retribution>. Just know that what happens will happen no matter how hard you try. Some things are set in stone long before they ever occur; nothing that happens to her children is her fault. They all take their own paths, and they all end where they should. Trust your gut on where you think that is." the voice replied, with a touch of sadness to it.

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"I will not pry much more then. But do tell me just one thing, what is your interest in Nil?" I checked, wondering what their interest was.

"I am hoping to spare him from suffering some of the same regrets that I have. There is so much I want to say, things I wish I could change, so many what ifs, but it's best to leave the past buried where it is." the voice replied solemnly. His words were certainly not comforting.

"I understand. I have one last question before you return me from this <Rift>. Who are you?" I asked. The voice went silent for what felt like ages.

"I will give you only one of my names. I am The Eternal Emperor." the Eternal Emperor stated before snapping his fingers, returning me to my grandson and daughter-in-law.

*

Nil

My grandma looked around the room briefly, and then seemed to calm down. What did she see that caused her to panic? A sense of dread was building up as seven seconds had passed; she still had not said a word. I looked at Lux, then to my mom, and then at my grandma. It took me four and a half seconds. Why isn't she saying anything?

"What did you see Poam?" Mom asked nervously.

"More than I bargained for; it was just a bit disorienting. From what I experienced, I should tell you Senna that you should not worry." Grandma informed her, which sent a wave of relief over me.

"I am sorry for questioning what you would become Nil." Mom cried as she about crushed the life out of me with an incredibly tight hug.

"I can't breathe." I gasped with what little air was left in my lungs.

"I am so sorry little Nil. I will never have doubts about your future again." Mom assured me, which made me feel oddly warm.

"I have a feeling he is going to end up becoming an amazing demon Senna, and you have nothing to worry about. From what I have seen, he will be someone astounding." Grandma comforted her.

We sat there for a few minutes, with my mom holding me tight. My grandma stared at me with a perplexing look. What did she see? Why is she looking at me like that? My mom took a deep breath, followed by a long sigh.

"I should be going to sleep now. Poam, thank you. And please keep these two out of trouble." Mom requested while stifling a yawn.

"No problem dear." Grandma replied sweetly as my mom left. My grandma stared at us for a minute after my mom left.

"<Ethereal Form>!" I cheered with Lux nodding in agreement.

"Okay you two, you better pay attention." Grandma said while wagging her finger at us.

Lux and I nodded excitedly in agreement. So far, Uncle Nox only showed me how to reinforce my body with <Mana>, which I still clearly needed to improve on. As for true <Techniques>, this was the first. I wonder how they differ from <Spells>?

"So <Ethereal Form> is a <Technique> that is simple to understand, but difficult to perform. The basic idea is to have your body match the ambient <Mana> in the surroundings." Grandma explained to us.

I am technically a toddler. Maybe explain it a little more for me please. I thought while staring at her blankly.

"Maybe demonstrating would be easier for you to grasp. You want the <Mana> in your <Mana Channels> to be full of the ambient <Mana>. Actually, let us start with showing you how to sense the <Mana> inside your body." Grandma lectured seeming to realized we were toddlers.

She sat down, and motioned for Lux and I to put a hand or paw into one of hers. I timidly placed my hand in hers, wondering what she was going to do. As soon as my hand was in hers, I felt a peculiarly warm sensation go through my body. Lux recoiled in shock.

"That was me causing <Mana> to flow through your <Mana Channels>. Now try to see if you can grasp the feeling of the <Mana> flowing through you naturally." Grandma instructed us.

Wait, when I <Tempered>, it was a similar sensation. Albeit <Tempering> felt more like a scorching heat and got more intense the more I cycled it through the <Base>. What if I tried the same thing but without cycling it through the <Base>? In my head, it was an excellent idea. In execution, it definitely did nothing no matter how long I tried. I activated my <Arcane Eye> and stared at my arm. I focused on trying to see the <Mana> in my body. After focusing and straining my eyes a bit, a few minutes later, I could see what looked like circuits running along my skin throughout my entire arm. Surprisingly, it was not the same pure black of my <Space Affinity>. It was a bit diluted with ambient <Mana>. That's kind of interesting. I formed a ball of <Mana> in my hand, and sure enough, it was the normal black I was used to. Now that I think about it, <Void Mana> is clear, my <Space Affinity> is black, but Uncle Nez has a <Darkness Affinity> from what I recall, what color is that if it is not black? I am getting sidetracked; I need to focus.

I could see Lux sitting near me, awkwardly fidgeting, trying to figure out the sensation. Maybe I need to imagine the flow, not the feeling? I tried feeling something flowing through my body. <Magic> was oddly specific on things like that. Unfortunately, that was not the answer either. I wracked my brain, what could be the trick to doing this? Well, the <Mana Channels> looked like circuitry. Maybe if I tried feeling energy or a shock or something distributing itself across me. I closed my eyes and focused again, trying to see if this train of thought was going in the right direction. Imagining the charge trying to maintain equilibrium across my body. The charge moving from high to low, constantly moving as my muscles twitched. This time, I felt something. I immediately stopped, as it felt like thousands of ants were crawling over my skin.

"That was great Nil! Now try going back a little, you focused too much on your <Mana> causing it to spike a bit, which causes that unpleasant tingling." Grandma explained with a small clap.

Next to me, Lux seemed to have suddenly grasped it. My grandma clapped for Lux, who beamed with pride while giving me the smuggest side glance she could. To rub some salt in the wound, she let out a little hmph. I will not be outdone by this cocky furball. I renewed my effort, this time trying to focus less on the charge equalizing and more on the feeling there was charge. This time there was some success.

"That was well done you two! Now, try and get a grasp of the <Attribute> of the <Mana> in your body. What <Attribute> your <Mana> is will have a great effect on your body. Your natural <Affinity> will have a minor influence, but if the <Attribute> really skews, it will produce an effect. One of the basic principles of <Techniques> is controlling the purity of the <Mana> inside you for desired effects." Grandma lectured. Definitely a bit high level for a kid.

Lux and I immediately began to focus again. Feeling the mix of the ambient <Mana> and my <Space Affinity> came much quicker this time. Probably after about five minutes of concentrating I could begin to get a grasp of it. If <Ethereal Form> is matching the <Attribute> to be the same mix as what is around me, what happens if I change it to <Void Attribute>? The <Attribute> of nothingness? I imagined what Nez had told me, focusing on removing myself from my <Mana>. After a few attempts, the <Mana> in my body switched to <Void Attribute>. Instantly, I could not breath. I tried taking a breath, but no air came in. Then another sensation hit me, it felt like my heart had stopped. My hands tried to claw at my chest, but there was nothing. My vision looked like I was going through a tunnel, breaking my concentration completely, which switched my <Mana> back to normal. I took a massive gasp of air. I pat myself on the chest and could feel my heart beating. My breathing was labored as I tried calming down. What was that? What happened? Why did that happen? Lux was looking over at me with concern in her eyes, trying to figure out what had just happened.

"As I was saying Nil, turning all the <Mana> in your body to an <Attribute> will have an effect. Now, do not try turning all your <Mana> into <Void Attribute> a second time." Grandma scolded me.

I nodded my head in agreement; that was an extremely unpleasant experience. Lux chuckled, clearly laughing at what I had just done to myself. I cannot wait to defeat you again tomorrow. Lux and I stared at each other for a bit, and I realized Lux was bobbing her head a bit.

"I think that is enough for now, you two should go back to sleep now." Grandma ordered, making us get back in bed.

"I am not tired." I lied, as sleep came almost immediately as I closed my eyes.