My Devourer System: Rise of the Bastard Son

The awkward atmosphere hung. Lucen avoided everyone's eyes, but he felt that he was hiding his discomfort well. If there was one thing he knew how to do, it was to act calm.

He clasped forearms with Kon and Helie. It was an informal way of greeting—one he was pretty sure developed as a way to show someone you weren't hiding something up your sleeve.

Lucen caught Set's gaze lingering on him, suspicion flashing briefly. Ymir seemed surprised by his presence, walking over to greet him.

Ymir saluted him. "I went to your room this morning, but I remembered the doors weren't to be open to Sixth Light."

"Why are you up so early?" Lucen asked. "Surely you could have met Aya two hours from now?"

Set walked forward, stopping mere inches from Lucen. The silence dragged for a moment as he stared into Lucen's eyes. Lucen held the gaze; he needed to make sure Set's suspicions weren't validated.

"We wanted to speak to her personally. We want to make sure she isn't dragging us to our deaths."

Lucen nodded, cracking a little smile. "Same. I was wondering if she would guide us through the journey, seeing as she came here with just two guards."

Aya cleared her throat, cutting through the tension. "I have some bad news for that. I was teleported here by my father before he died. You can confirm this with Chester. My guards are only newly minted Low-tier Knights; we could never cross the region alone."

That made a lot of sense. That day Lucen met them in the fields, barely holding off Lurker hounds, he didn't know enough about travelling through Horalix.

It really was one of the most difficult regions to cross.

"That's convenient," Set said. He marched forward and stood over her. "So what happened to the Crown of Stars for the Red Keep?"

Aya shook her head. "Once my father died, the Lordship of the Red Keep was passed to me. As long as I can get to the Centerpiece of the Keep, I can take control of the defenses."

"Centerpiece?" Helie asked. "What's that?"

"It is a pillar that runs through the entire Keep," Ymir explained. "It's the center of all the magical formations protecting us. It also acts as a sort of Waiting Stone for the Crown of Stars."

Lucen never knew that. Helie and Kon were from lower Knight families, but he was a Lightcloak, he should technically know this. Well, it's not like he gave a fuck.

What he was surprised by was Aya's lies. If he didn't know she had the Crown, then he would have believed her. The lie was so well-detailed and confident in its delivery.

"I've never heard of this brother of yours." Set leaned against the desk beside the bed. "Loki, right? So this brother of yours, how old is he? And what powers does he have?"

Lucen's forehead wrinkled slightly. He hadn't even been thinking much of Loki Medaza.

To him, Loki was just the servant of something bigger. The force that the Devourer system kept predicting would bring him inescapble danger.

"He's around twenty years old. I never knew him either. My parents kept him hidden because he was born malformed. I don't know what powers he has, but he changed his face, made himself look normal."

"The wrath of god has been on your family for a while, it seems," Set muttered. "Maybe you're all better off in the grave."

Lucen's jaw tightened. He let out a deep breath. "Let's be civil now. Being an asshole won't get us info. What I'd like to know is how we are going to retake the castle."

All the Keep were magically reinforced. If the stories were to be believed, even if a hundred Grand Knight attacked the Red Keep, they wouldn't even be able to scratch its doors.

Set watched him for a moment. "True. We should worry about the end of the journey." He said sarcastiscally.

Lucen rolled his eyes at his sarcasm. "The journey will need a navigator, which we can find later. Her betraying or plotting against us makes no sense. She wouldn't come here to be killed if that was true—"

"Unless she knew the King's Voice would be coming," Set interrupted.

"—and do you think you can interrogate someone better than Chester?" Lucen continued, noticing Aya flinch slightly at the mention of Chester.

"So we should decide what we do at the end? Makes sense, I guess," Ymir added.

"I would suggest letting me retake the castle. You protect me till I get to the Centerpiece, and I'll solve everything."

"How can we trust you won't kill us?" Set spat. "We'll be in the middle of your Keep, where you have supreme power. Chester can attack anyone in the Keep without a single gap for escape."

"An oath. I'm willing to let you set the conditions." Aya spread her arms. "I have already sworn oaths to Kedral to return here no matter the outcome of the quest."

Lucen grimaced. That was something they would have to find a way around. With that oath, no matter what they planned, Aya would be forced into marriage or death.

They finalised details and learned a little about the Red Keep. Before they knew it, three hours had passed.

"We'll close now," Set decided. "I'd like to finalise our roles in the journey—Watch rotations, strategies, and how we'll split our specialties—"

"Yada yada," Ymir interrupted. "We'll meet at Eighteenth Light; please be early."

Lucen left first, suppressing his desire to glance at Aya. He turned to Tron as he passed the living sculpture.

"Thank you," he whispered as he passed.

"Glad to meet you again, halfblood hero." The stone winked smoothly. "I hope you keep this little statue in mind."

His fear of Tron grew every day. His stomach rumbled, and he decided to meet Liam.

But he also had on his mind what he and Aya had talked about before they were interrupted. He needed to apply some pressure on Chester.