My Devourer System: Rise of the Bastard Son

Lucen silently prepared to sleep that night. He and Selene arranged the bed with quiet efficiency. She reached over to help him grab a pillow, but Lucen plucked it up without looking at her.

He quietly contemplated everything that happened today, sitting on the edge of the bed.

The elixir in the soul ring on the desk beside the bed.

The fact he nearly killed Heimar.

And Kedral's intervention.

Kedral wanted him to complete this quest. Did that mean Lucen could stop expecting the King and his imperials to kill him? No.

Selene glanced out the side of her eyes at him repeatedly. "Are you thirsty?"

Lucen stayed silent for a moment. Then he simply shook his head.

He needed to think about this from the top down.

The empire was ruled by an appointed King, one man chosen literally by god. To assist the King, the Menian Court was created. They chose officials that would serve the empire.

The regions of the empire were ruled by selected families. The heads of these families were called Khans.

Horalix, the region Lucen lived in, was ruled by the Medaza family.

Then behind the King and his court, there were the demigods. Each demigod ruled an autonomous region in the empire called Imperati.

Imperati were like little kingdoms of their own on the edges of the empire.

Now what did these people expect?

The empire had seers that prophesied about Lucen's birth. That he would repair the Halo. But not everyone was aware of this prophecy.

Lost wind said it was a rumor among the War-readers, so Lucen could conclude Hestara knew.

As he considered the demigods, their father returned to his mind.

He still remembered the voice of that entity before he died. It told him to fix it all.

Restore it… the pieces… my broken children.

Was that Kal? The god of the Halo had stopped by his house, saw him getting stabbed, and decided, yeah, this guy can probably solve my problems.

It was too ridiculous. Why couldn't Kal have summoned him to just chill? Now Lucen had to fight his children to save them.

As for how powerful each of them were, Lucen wasn't permitted to have that knowledge. He could bypass Hierarchy and find information for himself, but he never knew who would be alerted of his actions.

But what he did know to an extent was the Lightcloak family. Among their recorded forces, the Lightcloaks had a hundred Grand Knights under them and at least ten thousand Knights.

Then there was Alger. He had to be a rank above Grand Knight. Something a step beyond mortals and closer to a divine being. Milena, the mysterious healer that revived Brock, also seemed to be above a Grand Knight.

Alger could be a Sage, but Lucen was unsure of that.

Lost Wind mentioned that Sages stood at the apex of their peers. But from her words, you didn't need to become a Sage, and it was actually something unfortunate.

Aya said that Sages mostly served demigods after he beat her in Highcraft.

Putting all that together, he concluded that Sages were people like Heimar.

Unable to advance due to not having received permission from their masters. But they still finding a way to grow stronger even though they were bottlenecked at Knight or Grand Knight.

Selene's voice tore him from his thoughts. "Lucen?"

He immediately returned to the spacious room. The velvet curtains behind them, the green couches. Selene sat beside him on the large bed, looking anxious.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think Heimar would take it that badly. I just wanted to tell him I would follow you."

"Why do you need to tell him?"

Lucen's even voice made her flinch. She turned away from him, smoothing her blond hair.

"We still have an obligation to this family… no matter what has happened. I thought having his permission would—"

"I don't understand why you need his permission. Do you still speak to him?"

"He's your father, of course I still speak with him."

"My father? Today was the first fucking time he's ever spoken to me," Lucen said, eyes narrowing, "is this like some delusion? He's your first love and you're still pining after him even though he hates us?"

Selene glared. "That's enough. I just want you to have the support of a family. You think you could've become a Knight without Heimar's permission? Even beyond that, as you grow stronger, you'll need people to support your rise."

Lucen grabbed his hair and tried to stop himself from screaming at her. Selene grimaced as he grew silent.

"You can't do everything by yourself. Lucen, you're amazing. A once in a generation prodigy. No matter how the Lightcloaks feel about you, they see your potential, and it scares them. If you don't prove your loyalty, they will make things hard."

Lucen turned to her, eyes bright with fury. He sneered, "I will never show loyalty to people that treat me like dirt. Mudborn. That's what they call us. I'll find my way without them."

Selene's eyes glowed with tears. "There's no path without them. Just heresy. Lucen, you have to understand god's plan for us relies on our devotion to his order. The families he has blessed, the authority he has given to his chosen. To disobey is to lead yourself to ruin."

Kal definitely had plans for him. But Lucen wasn't stupid enough to follow them. But could he tell Selene that without sounding like a heretic, without offending her values and beliefs?

"Let's just sleep," Lucen muttered. He pulled his legs under the covers and closed his eyes. But his eyes snapped open briefly as he said, "and I'm not abandoning this conversation. I'm just regrouping to explain."

Selene looked a bit soothed by the fact that he hadn't given up on convincing her. She stood up and walked over to her side of the bed.

She put out the lights and laid down. "Lucen, I love you. You know that, right? Everything I do is to give you more opportunities."

"I know. And I love you, too," Lucen returned.

When he closed his eyes, dreams of demigods followed him. Each cast in stone statues, all fighting among themselves.

There was a statue standing above them all. With a long beard reaching down to its belly and stern eyes looking down on the squabbling demigods.

Carved onto the statue's chest was a Halo. Beautiful concentric lines surrounded by thick mist and six-winged butterflies.

The bearded statue's eyes suddenly shot towards him. "Fulfil your duty or face my wrath."