Chapter 63 My Love,

Seated around a small table were an odd collection of individuals. The first pair were the duke and duchess of the territory they were in. The second pair were the heir to the title of duke and the duchess’s brother, who just so happened to also be the Guild Master of the Adventurers’ Guild on the other side of town. The following pair were the guests of honor, a man claiming to be a demigod and his mate, the self exiled princess of the most ruthless and violent empire in the planet. There were many questions ready to be thrown across the table but most of those present were trying to be polite and not drown the guests of honor. Most. “That power?” Lucius, the heir, began his questions as soon as all of them were seated but before anyone had even had the chance to grab a drink.

Isaac held up a hand to forestall the young duke to be. He downed a glass of water before sipping at the prepared wine. “Okay.” He told Lucius. “Which power? I’ve used quite a few.”

“Well, the most recent one, I guess, that… I’ve never felt that way before.” Lucius confessed.

“Be glad.” Izen, the boy’s father replied.

At the same time Lenna replied as well: “Good.” It was not a feeling that anyone not in the deepest depths of despair and at the end of the point of a sword could feel. A harsh reminder of exactly how mortal a person was. A feeling known by few who hadn’t met Isaac. A feeling no one had ever wanted to feel again.

Lucius looked back and forth between those that had spoken and also at his uncle who only nodded solemnly. Before he could speak Isaac set his wine glass on the table. “That, young Arbencroft, is what death feels like.” Isaac cryptically explained. “Death and shadows and everything in between. That is what is at my fingertips. The extremes and the culmination are easiest to summon. You witnessed death but you did not experience it.”

Lucius looked deep in thought. He was in training to be a magical knight due to his innate ability to feel mana. He was trying and failing to put his limited magical knowledge to use in understanding the self proclaimed demigod sitting across from him. Eventually he shook his head and decided to move on to the next question. His mother had been probing Lady V’Nova for information about her birthday present but apparently hadn’t gotten anywhere. “What about the swords?” He asked and the Lord of Darkness’s attention snapped back to him. His silver eyes were inhuman, especially in the odd mixture of white and yellow lighting in the ballroom.

Isaac had come up with a lie so full of shit that no one would ever believe him. That was why he went with it. He wanted to see exactly how far he could push his eccentric reputation. “Spirit blades.” Isaac began. “A sword, well it doesn’t have to be a sword I guess, that is forged of and stored inside a person’s core.” He tapped the center of his chest.

“Could I have one?” Lucius asked excitedly.

Isaac shook his head with a smile. “Mortals shouldn’t be able to have one.” He continued.

“But…” Lucius looked at Lenna in confusion for a long moment before his eyebrows shot up and his eyes went wide. “Does that mean?” He asked and looked back and forth between Isaac and Lenna.

Isaac’s smile broadened. “I think so. We will see.” He took another sip of his wine. “Lenna’s class is special but not unique so I’m not sure yet. She is special though.” He shrugged. “Maybe that’s all that really matters. I have a unique class so it’s hard for me to know either way.” He confessed.

Lucius’s mind was all over the place trying to process everything that Isaac was telling him. “Is that how you healed her with literal death?” He asked Isaac.

Isaac shook his head. “Yes and no. Most people would die when confronted with death but it heals her instead.” Isaac made a small ball of dark mana form over an outstretched finger. All eyes at the table eyed it save for Lenna’s, who was enjoying a small pastry with a cherry on top, snapped to it. Isaac snapped his other hand’s fingers. The darkness turned to shadows. He snapped again and it changed to death flames. “I could have killed everyone in the room earlier with a snap of my fingers.” He said quietly and mostly to himself. “Power like this is not what I had imagined.” He snapped his fingers a few more times, switching back and forth between darkness, shadows, and death. Eventually he left it on death. With a flick of his finger he sent it towards Lenna. The small ball of death flames splashed against Lenna’s face. She hadn’t even flinched. The flames spread out slightly and then seeped into her skin, gone in only a few seconds.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“Was that necessary?” She asked him with a raised eyebrow.

“You looked like you were falling asleep.” Isaac countered with a grin that looked slightly forced. It appeared that the realization of how many lives were always within the palm of his hand had hit him a little harder than he would have liked.

Lenna took a deep breath and sighed. “You’re right. Thank you for the refreshment.” She told him and went back to snacking.

“Having seen what it can do first hand in both directions…” Sera entered the conversation with a shake of her head. “That much would have killed me would it not?”

Isaac turned to her with a thoughtful expression. “Maybe…” He eyed her and got the feeling that she was a few levels lower than him but he had no idea what her class could’ve been. “I haven’t exactly experimented with the destructive potential of it. I try to limit myself to only using it on Lenna and myself.” He replied.

Izen gave him a pointed look. “Really?” He asked.

Isaac nodded earnestly. “Yes. Really. Every other time I’ve used it I was pushed to do so. The guard’s in the cells, the assassins in the street, and man in the tavern. Each one was killed that way out of necessity. Desperation, retaliation, and lastly, as a deterrent.” He explained evenly. He didn’t like to be questioned and his recent revelation hadn’t left him in the best of moods.

Izen realized he had overstepped and bowed his head slightly. “Apologies Lord Wexler, I did not mean anything by it.”

Isaac realized how harsh he had been with Izen and knew that he needed to change the subject and get his head back on straight. He nodded at Izen and moved on. “Sera’s birthday present.” He said to switch everyone’s attention to something else entirely. “Edward, you had said it might cause problems. Why?”

Edward frowned. “A gift like that is worthy of royalty. If you have it at your disposal and give it to a duchess before the queen then some might see it as a statement.” He explained. “The price of such a gift is far greater than its cost in gold.”

Isaac nodded slowly in realization but Lenna was the first to speak. “It is worth a life. Potentially more than one.” She explained. The other three at the table looked between the three adventurers. “The one it was taken from, and the number of assassination attempts that it could thwart, all need to be taken into account.”

Isaac nodded. “I understand that but what if I offer the crown the opportunity to buy the rest of it. Surely that would negate potential backlash.” He postulated.

Edward’s frown deepened in thought. “Maybe.” He looked at his sister. “She would know better than me but I take it you want it to stay a surprise?” He asked Isaac.

Isaac nodded again. “Yes. We’ll have to wait and see.” He shrugged. “Worst case we sell it to another group of royals. We are not beholden to the king and queen of Altia. We are not their subjects and down here they do not rule.” He explained. Everyone save for Lenna looked shocked and horrified at what he had just spoken out loud. A few of them looked around to see if anyone nearby had heard and it was evident that more than one person had. Isaac just plowed forwards. “Down here the strongest rule. Down here a dragon could have a city and it would be normal. Down here a duke with an army rules over a city, a town, and an outpost but not the land between them. Down here, down here a demigod of darkness decides what rules are worth following.” He looked at Izen. “Be glad,” He stole Izen’s phrase. “I agree with your management.”

Lenna fake coughed into her closed fist. “My Lord, this is a birthday party.” She chastised. “Let us go back to more pleasant topics.”

Isaac nodded and smiled apologetically at Sera. “I’m sorry Sera.” He told her with great sincerity. “Why don’t we talk about your wonderful son and why I haven’t seen him until now?”

Lucius expertly took control of the conversation. “I’ve been studying at the knight academy in the capital. All noble men are required to enroll either there or the magic academy. I was only allowed to come home early because I finished all of the required coursework for the rest of the semester already.” He began.

Conversation continued for a while on much lighter topics for a while until Isaac and Lenna took their leave. As the guests of honor they didn’t have to worry about staying until the end. The evening found the pair in normal street clothes on the roof of Celeste’s tavern. “Are you alright?” Lenna asked softly. She was sitting a few feet from where he was laying on the dusty roof.

Isaac sighed. “It’s complicated.” He told her.

Lenna chuckled. “If something about you wasn’t complicated I’d worry.” She joked.

“My feelings for you aren’t complicated.” Isaac replied almost absently.

Lenna shook her head. “You know what I mean.” She said back.

Isaac sighed again. “Having this much power is… heavy…” He was silent for a long moment. “Realizing that the entire room could have been swept away at a thought really puts some things into perspective.” Lenna nodded along, listening well and in understanding. “The strongest man in the world may be the kindest but the ruler of it will not be.” He turned his head to look at her. “That is one of the few memories I have left from before. The rest are of me dying or meeting with Rei and Zei. I chose to remember that above all else.” He searched her eyes but only found comfort in them, not the answers to his questions. “Was it a warning to myself? Was it about me or just a general statement about authority?”

Lenna smiled comfortingly at him. “I don’t know.” She told him honestly. “And you may never know either.”

Isaac sighed. He rubbed his face with his hands. “Maybe we should leave human territory.” He thought aloud. “I don’t want to rule over it but I also don’t want to be beholden to anyone.” His eyes searched Lenna’s again. “What do you think?”

“You don’t sound convinced.” Lenna pointed out. “I think, you are overthinking things.” She got up and crossed the few steps to reach him. “Do you think this kingdom is ruled by a demigod?” She asked while sitting down next to him and putting her hand on his chest. “There are plenty of them running around yet a normal human is in command.” She told him. “Why?”

Isaac was silent for a long while. Eventually he figured out where she was going with her train of thought. “They don’t want to.” He said with realization. “They just shoved the responsibility off onto someone else and then hold them accountable.”

Lenna smiled at him. “You’ve already made it clear who has the power here.” She told him. “The fact that you paid your fine means you are willing to let him rule.” She ran her fingers through his hair. “Follow Izen’s rules and do what he asks like a normal person if you don’t want to rule it yourself.” She told him. “Or take it all over and rule it.” She smiled warmly at him. “I’ll be beside you the entire way, no matter what you choose.” She chuckled. “But please, Isaac, my savior and my love, stop being so melodramatic.”