Neron’s POV

I squinted from the bright light that infiltrated through my window. I squirmed in my bed and toppled onto the wood floor. Groaning, I opened my eyes to be greeted by the warmth of the golden sun that had originally woken me up. I got up and opened the window and peered at the kids playing on the dirt streets with sticks as swords. They looked up and waved, I smiled and reciprocated the action.

“Neron, breakfast is ready!” Tesfira Erebus, my mother, called out from the dining room.

“Coming!” I responded, stretching my arms and letting out a yawn. I stumbled through the doorway and made my way downstairs.

I walked into the kitchen and was greeted with a hug from my mother. “Morning…” I said hoarsely.

My mother let go, her lips pulled into a smile, “Breakfast is on the table, and a boy like you needs your nutrients.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I waved her off and groaned. “You really need to stop treating me like a little boy.”

My mother chuckled, she pulled at the corners of my lips and I rolled my eyes in irritation. I pried her off me and walked towards the worn-out dining table that was made by my father, Etephyr Erebus, when I was a mere toddler. It’s been nearly twelve-years since his disappearance, or rather, his supposed death. There isn’t a singular memory that I can recall of Etephyr Erebus, I only know what he looked like because mom has a photograph of us three. A black and white photograph of my presumed father, he had an unruly mane of hair and an untrimmed beard, he cradled me in his large left hand; his right arm wrapped around my mother’s thin frail shoulders as we all smiled from ear to ear. Mom always told me that I have identical sharp facial features to my father, but a similar straight dark hair to her.

I was jolted back to reality when my mother conjured wind magic and gently settled two ceramic plates onto the pine table with the swipe of a finger and a quick chant. “When will I get to learn magic?” I questioned.

For a moment, an expression of fear flashed across my mother’s face. Compared to the photograph from twelve years ago, she looks more gaunt. Her smiles never quite reached her eyes, and our financial situation didn’t help much, either. At this time of the year, Darcester hasn’t been doing well, sometimes I would eavesdrop on mom’s conversations with the other citizens. Something about taxes rising. Not to mention, Etephyr Erebus’ death left her with a gaping hole in her heart, she never bothered to elaborate on why or how he came to pass.

“Neron,” my mother kneeled next to me as I sat on the edge of my seat with egg yolk dripping down my chin. “I know you want to learn magic, but—”

“Mom, I know that we can’t afford it…” I interrupted, “but can’t you teach me?”

“I...I’ve been busy with work shifts lately,” mom said.

For the past twelve years, she’s been working at the same alchemy shop in town, barely keeping up with our expenses. Even though our groceries have been restricted, we barely have two meals a day. I took a deep breath “You don’t need to keep hiding it, I know that you’ve been scared ever since…”

“But you understand why I can’t teach you, right? What if something...something happens?” my mother pleaded with me, stuttering.

I couldn’t help but sympathize with her. She lost her husband, someone who I don’t even know if I can consider as my father, to a dungeon. She was told that he was eaten as a whole as the rest of the party escaped. Surely she is mad at them for running away. For abandoning the person she loved so dearly. Throughout all these years, she never showed weakness. Not if it was in front of me. Yet late at night, I could hear her stifle sobs to this day.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“We’re in the middle of a war, Neron…” mom continued, her misty eyes bored into me.

She was right.

Our kingdom, Azuria, was being dragged into a war against the nation of Tartarus, ruled by the Devil King, Apollyon and his nation of demons. Azuria was the result of the four races coming to an alliance: the dwarves, the elves, the humans, and the half-beasts. Mom didn’t go too much into details, but nobody knows what the Devil King wants, and he’s the reason why so many people were struggling.

I sighed, I knew there was no getting past her. There was no changing mom’s mind when it came to these subjects. “Can I at least learn some, anyway?”

My mother’s gray eyes didn’t waver as she was deep in thought. That was another trait I didn’t get passed down from her, instead, I have light-brown eyes, almost a murky golden. “I’ll think it over, but give me some time,” mom replied, resigning from the small quarrel.

Smiling, I swiftly delved into my fried eggs and ran through the kitchen to get to the doorway. “I’m gonna go for a walk,” I announced with a smirk.

“Have fun, don’t get into trouble…” mom responded. “If you cause another problem with someone, I’ll be the one paying, so remember that!”

I was already outside by the time she finished. Taking a breath of the fresh air of the outside world, I walked through the streets towards the square. Darcester was separated into two sections, one half of it being where the commoners resided, and the other being a gated community where the nobles lived happily. From my experience, most of the nobles tended to be obnoxious and boasted their wealth at any chance given. The entire town was undifferentiated, every building was made out of the same material. I ogled at the refined swords that gleamed through the windows of various shops. I stared down at my tattered dirty clothes and sighed. This street was known for its diversity in terms of shopping, yet it felt like we were caged in at the same time. Families walked by, young couples and elder couples alike, they wore unbothered expressions as if they were free from harm and the war.

Very few people truly acknowledged my father, many just avoided my mother and I. Though, I’d partly blame both of us for that because of her poor attitude and the trouble that I always caused. Even mom’s old friends stopped visiting us a couple years ago, leaving us even more secluded. Reputation was a big part of having a successful life and living peacefully, being the poorest commoners, however, had its toll. Though it may seem strange, commoners could get more rights just by having a better reputation. There were special exceptions, however, such as joining the Imperial Army for the upcoming war. If given the chance, I would usually snatch a newspaper or two and put the reading skills my mother taught me to good use. Otherwise, she would rarely give me information on stuff about wars or danger.

Many people casted glares at me as I trotted down the street, but I was too distracted by the mighty staff in the shop on my left. It was made of what seemed like beautifully carved wood that was probably a couple of inches taller than me, on the top of the staff was a luminous red gem. There was a long line outside of the shop, I watched the nobles ogle at the staff and snickered. I knew that there was no way I could buy, or even use, that staff, but I still dreamt of one day wielding a magical weapon as cool as that.

A series of screams erupted from the crowd.

I swivelled my head in horror as a guttural screech sounded from behind me, a series of cries and shrieks followed. There was a demon.

It seemed unlike anything I had expected. Actually, it looked almost like a male human, except that it had obsidian black horns and scaly wings. Black veins protruded from the demon’s face and its eyes were full of malicious intent. A couple more gruesome cries sounded, ghastly yells followed.

At every turn, I could see pools of blood collecting on the brick street. I couldn’t scream, adrenaline ran through me along with a flood of panic, my instincts took over and I could already see myself sprinting towards my home. The only thing I could think of was my mom. She’ll be okay, calm down, Neron. There were more demons, my eyes widened at the sight. Almost everything was set on fire, havoc was lurking at every corner.

I approached my house carefully, only to see my mother running at me. Her dark hair was streaming behind her as she rushed towards me, tears streamed down her cheeks.

Why are you crying? Why did you leave the house?

I ran faster than I ever had in my life. All I wanted was to run away with her to somewhere safe. To hide, even if it made us cowardly. But it was too late, it was as if the world went into slow-motion right before my eyes. A demon was perched on the top of my house, it’s dark eyes narrowed on my mother and I. There was nothing for me to do as I watched it dive towards my mother with its wings folded against its body. A scream pierced through the air from in front of me, my vision was filled with crimson, there was a gaping hole in the middle of my mother’s chest, jutting out of it was a hand with jagged claws at the end of its fingers. The demon eyed me in curiosity and let out a revolting laugh, as if he were enjoying this. He flapped his wings and glanced at me with a cold expression, then flew away without another word.

I fell to my knees as my mother collapsed, her eyes were wide open in shock and fear, but most of all, they were full of concern. A puddle of scarlet liquid amassed around her as she laid on the dirt lifelessly. Tears poured from my eyes before I could have suspected it, I collapsed onto my mother’s chest and sobbed for what felt like hours. The pained screams went on for most of the night, until the last thing I could hear was the flapping of dozens of wings and vile laughs of victory. The rest of the night was filled with the crackling of flames. There was not a single cry to be heard. Only one thought remained within my numb mind.

Why didn’t I get killed?