Nyx blinked as the glimmering morning light pierced his eyelids and disturbed his peaceful slumber. His breathing accelerated, blood rushing with anticipation to his brain and purging the drowsy feeling immediately. It was a great day. His day.
For weeks, he had observed his mother’s attempts at hiding the preparations for his coming-of-age celebration. A smile tugged at his cheeks before a grin exposed the demon's sharp teeth. Flexing his hands in the sunlight, he marveled at his dark gray skin turning to a crimson hue, his sharp white claws cracking menacingly.
Finally, he would be considered a fully-fledged adult, a member of the Eternal Blossom Family, allowed to venture out into the world and reclaim memories of his past lives. Nyx threw on a black shirt with short sleeves and a pair of cloth pants, both woven from Xilix fibre and made by a sister of the Eternal Blossom Family for the household. He put away his sleeping futon after giving it a good shake. His small room was pristine.
The wooden floor, decorated with alternating patterns of black Salix and white Tecoma wood, only carried Nyx’s desk, a mess of papers thrown into disarray a little more with every studying session. A disorderly mess of bundled-up scrolls containing stories of being summoned to different worlds piled up against the wall in a risky fashion, threatening to expunge themselves over the floor at the slightest touch.
They contained exploits of heroic cultivator demons and the powers they gained during their journey, as well as theoretical implications for cultivation and application to one’s own growth.
Nyx nodded to himself. Yes. Pristine. Nothing to clean here.
He stealthily hushed out of his room, hoping to spot a few more preparations for his celebration, only to be promptly surprised by his little brother in the corridor.
“Nysch!”
The three-year-old stumbled towards him, failing to pronounce the ‘x.’ Nyx retracted his claws subconsciously, protective of his sibling, and picked him up lovingly. “Nyx,” he said, trying to correct the young demon.
“Nysch! Nysch!” the child exclaimed excitedly, his little hands touching the dark cheeks that had given Nyx his first name. It was tradition to name demons after birth based on their skin color. The dark gray and black hues, which he showcased in his youth, tended to invoke ‘Nyx.’ His skin had since then developed a crimson hue, especially during the daytime.
Meanwhile, the light blue aquamarine color of his cute little brother, who now curiously pulled Nyx’s ears, would invoke the name – “Azrx, don’t cut me with your claws. I’ll eat you,” Nyx protested, softly biting his little brother’s arm, resulting in the little one squealing with joy.
He must have snuck away from his mother, curious to explore. “You want to explore?” Nyx asked the little rascal. “Nysch! Paka!” Azrx added while slapping his forehead enthusiastically. He clearly enjoyed the sound it made. Nyx grinned at the suggestion. “Let’s go,” he whispered, hurrying down the stairs with Azrx giggling, his tiny hands gripping his shirt.
Nyx gestured for him to be quiet and made for the kitchen through the great entrance hall. Stairs led into every corner of the Eternal Blossom House, and he let his bare feet stride across the polished andesite stone floor, stealthily concealing as much of his movement along the walls as possible to not be spotted by unsuspecting passersby. With great haste, he strode into the dining hall, avoiding the creaking sound of the white Tecoma floor by stepping on the decorative stone mosaics that broke up the floor pattern and adorned the walls of the empty room.
His little brother’s breath was raised in anticipation, but he showed enough discipline to make no sound.
Within seconds, Nyx was peeking around the corner of the kitchen entrance, his mother humming a melody as she prepared dozens of Vigen fruits—plants that could be harvested year-round, producing a starch-filled, mud-brown fruit with a round, beige, and rather tasteless core. However, mixed with spice and meat, it could be fashioned into a delightful meal. The ovens bellowed, and boiling water covered the sound of the two unsuspecting thieves as Azrx pointed at the solid polished stone slab that formed the kitchen counter.
Holding his brother carefully, Nyx used the opportunity to slide a short way across the kitchen floor, ending in a sitting motion, hidden behind the counter. His eyes gestured towards Azrx before he raised his brother’s body to peek above the counter.
The little rascal immediately used the opportunity to grab as many Paka cookies as his hands could carry, dropping two of them down to Nyx in the process.
“Nyx, don’t give your brother so many Paka; we are having dinner later.”
Defeated by the sensitive ears of his mother, Nyx sheepishly rose to his feet, his brother’s face already twisted in horror at the notion of having to give away his newfound treasure.
Nyx kissed his adorable brother’s cheek and whispered, “We’ll try again later.” He let Azrx enjoy at least one Paka cookie and returned the rest to the counter. “Yes, matriarch.”
His mother chuckled and turned away from her work. Her hands were still pristine, despite clearly having worked on the messy Vigen fruits just seconds ago. Her long white hair flowed down her shoulders, parting at her forehead to reveal a youthful appearance. Demons were blessed with ageless immortality. The matriarch, having lived for over a thousand years, showcased her experience only through her hair.
It was a symbol of pride and prestige to have fully white hair. Demonic Ascended, they called them. She had been on hundreds of adventures and was mother to hundreds of immortal children and leader of the Eternal Blossom Clan.
She caressed his cheek gently. “My, how you have grown.” Her eyes glinted with sadness and pride. “They always grow so fast,” she sighed, eyeing him melancholically, before interrupting his little brother, who was going rogue for a second cookie. The Eternal Blossom Clan Matriarch made the little demon levitate back to the stone floor, his grip strength on the cookie not strong enough to claim it as a prize. “Azrx, go wake up your sister, then you can have another one.”
With that, the tiny legs of the blue demon hurriedly carried him out of the cooking area.
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“Anything you want for today?” his mother asked, fixing his apparently messy hair by lovingly combing through it with her claws. “It’s your special day.”
“If it’s the Matriarch cooking, everything will be good,” Nyx said sheepishly.
“Aw, you.” His mother drew him close and kissed him on his cheek. “Go, do some work. The Kukar plants need milking. Some of the cubs are strolling around trying to get into the chicken coops.” She ruffled his hair. “It’s better messy. That suits you better.”
Nyx grabbed a single Paka cookie and enjoyed the sweet taste of the complex dough, soaked in Kukar milk for weeks before being baked with a hint of salt. If he ever developed a taste for cooking, he would have to ask his mother how to make them.
When he exited the front door, his father connected to him telepathically. “Nyx, could you take care of the Horned Rabbits today? One of your brothers came to visit late last night, and we have much to discuss.”
Nyx’s shoulders sank. His father had a real talent for finding him work when he least wanted it. At least it wasn’t cleaning. He hated cleaning. And another thing irked him:
The question was rather rhetorical. Nyx did not have the ability to answer through his mind like his long-lived father had. So far, his demonic bloodline had only exposed a small affinity for shapeshifting. Barely enough to retract his claws or change his appearance slightly. However, the prospect of talking to one of his brothers who had regained their memory of the Eternal Blossom Family made Nyx giddy with anticipation.
How old was he when he regained them? What stories would he have to tell? Would he share tales of his summonings? His parents refused to share their stories about that, which was a real shame. Maybe he could get his returned brother to make them share some? Eternal Blossom Family members had to stick together after all. Nyx glanced back at the innocent-looking, tiny farmstead that was the clan’s domain.
From the outside, the tiny farmhouse of the Eternal Blossom Clan looked unassuming, yet looks were deceiving. The inside was enlarged to a frightening degree, most of which Nyx had never even explored. A visiting sister of the clan had once told him that there were over four hundred rooms, hidden in an ever-growing maze of long-winded staircases and hallways. Yet, his mother always seemed to find him in mere seconds when he ventured off and got lost.
He found that the chicken coops were safe and sound, even with the two young bronzetooth curbears gnawing at the edges. The protective enchantment would not yield to the strength even a hundred adult curbears could muster. Not that a hundred adult curbears would be a huge threat. At least, not the bronzetooth curbears. When fully grown, they barely reached a height of 25 to 30 centimeters. The cubs barely reached 15. Nyx chuckled at their efforts.
Cute little furballs they were. And marvelous creatures for generating wool. As long as they were well-fed, they grew their thick fur up to 10 centimeters in all directions before they got tired of it and shed it voluntarily, provided it was warm enough. In the deep winter, they preferred to sleep and only woke up to drink.
He picked up the two complaining critters and dropped them off in the barn before raising the 40-centimeter-high wooden barrier that prevented the furballs from escaping. Nyx wiped down his clothes, freeing himself from hair.
When he turned the corner, a familiar green-skinned individual was already hard at work. His twelve-year-old sister Verx was taking care of the Kukar plants, extracting the thick and sweet light blue liquid that could be turned into many delicacies. It was unsurprising to find her choosing the chores she loved the most. She had a real sweet tooth.
The gigantic plants towered under the barn’s roof, lowering their swelling, green liquid pods. Kukar plants could be quite dangerous in the wild. Aside from their liquid pods, which they used to preserve nutrition for hard times, they grew snap traps—jaw-like maws that caught everything their size could handle with astonishing precision. When domesticated, it was simple enough to cut the snap traps when they grew beyond what one would be comfortable with, and they made for a great source of sugar.
Nyx backed off stealthily. He could not help but be a little bit gleeful. If his sister wanted to handle a part of his chores, he would not complain.
So, he took the long way around the house, picking up four more cubs that were playing with each other and dropping them off at the barn. Grabbing a sack of Briga, a sort of black-grained wheat, he headed out beyond the Eternal Blossom Family house.
An innocent-looking wooden fence protected the perimeter, spanning all around the farmstead. However, it was anything but. Powerful enchantments ensured that no creature other than a demon would enter their domain. A giant torii gate marked the entrance, engraved with hundreds of names of the children who had returned to the Eternal Blossom Clan. Fittingly, the wood was a hue that resembled cherry blossoms. Though, Nyx knew how little Pakira trees had to do with the innocent cherry trees he often found in his stories.
Passing through the exit, where trees blocked the view of the farmstead on all sides, the landscape widened up. A valley between large, evergreen hills, covered in golden Briga wheat and broad roads constructed on top of a roughly 2-meter-tall wall that was 5 meters wide, stretched throughout it. The golden color surprised Nyx. They had been green just two days ago! All the sunlight of the recent days had done wonders for the crop.
He also spotted a large wooden cart on the side of the road next to the entrance. Likely his brother’s. Maybe he had a spirit companion that had carried it? He would have to ask him later.
The thought accelerated his pace, and he quickly dropped off the wheat in the small watermill next to the cage with the horned rabbits and grabbed a sickle to cut some fresh grass. He had worked up quite a sweat by the time the grain was finished milling, and the horned beasts, which grew to the size of 60 centimeters, were already working their way through the first batch of grass he dropped.
Now he would deliver the flour to his mother, pick up his little brother, and then head down into the family crypt below to see what his father was up to.
It was exciting to have visitors. The Eternal Blossom Clan was far too quiet otherwise. And his father always found work for him to do when he voiced his boredom.
His pace accelerated once more, stopping when he arrived at the torii gate. Something curious was rolling around in front of the barrier—a little furball. Nyx dropped the flour and inspected the little guy. He was clearly trying to get inside, but the barrier denied him. How did he get outside?
“Little buddy, you will have to explain yourself.” Nyx sighed and went to pick the cub up.
Just as he was about to touch it, the black fur changed into a black, oozing liquid, and a spike shot out of its center directly aimed at his hand. A mimic. And a really tall mimic. The tooth crashed against his retracted claws, only scratching his skin slightly, and Nyx disengaged.
This had to be the biggest mimic he had ever seen. They tended to grow well in a pond nearby the horned rabbit enclosure, feasting on insects and digesting them while hidden as stones. His father cleaned them out of the pond every year, as they could grow to be quite the plague over time.
Nyx flexed his claws and engaged the black ooze, which was slowly transforming into a piece of wood. Mercilessly, he dashed through another attack that failed to even penetrate his shirt and crushed the mimic core between his sharp claws. What he did not expect, however, was how extreme the death of a mimic this size actually would be.
The black ooze exploded with much more force than the tiny black creatures he had seen so far, covering him from head to toe in black polymorphic fluid. Nyx knew from experience that the fluid would just dissipate into water over time, as the mimic core no longer provided it with signals, but it was still gross. He stripped the drenched shirt from his body and approached the wagon. Surely his brother would not mind if he left it here to dry?
Then the sideboard of the wagon moved.
Before Nyx could even react, he gazed into the maw of a mimic one hundred times the size of the one he had just killed. He turned to run, but the surprise predator was quicker. Hundreds of teeth tore into his upper arm, and a quick sideways motion ripped the demon’s arm clean off below the shoulder.
Nyx got thrown off the road against a tree, where the impact made him lose consciousness.