Arcanthys, the vast continent that carries many mysteries since ancient times. Many civilizations perished and many kings and emperors vanished. The Valtherion kingdom and Killial's birthplace is only one of 12 kingdoms occupying the far eastern parts. Those 12 kingdoms used to be controlled by one emperor. The person is known as the Warlord of the 12 Kingdoms. His throne exists on a floating island high in the sky, right above the center of those kingdoms.
This position is only sought after by the most powerful person in the 12 kingdoms. Anyone else who tries to acquire the right to set foot on the flying island or claim its throne will immediately be killed. After all, those kingdoms didn't survive the ups and downs just by relying on luck.
At this very moment, at the furthest point in the east where the Elven Kingdom is located, many people were gathering. Many were elves but also other races like humans, dwarves, and demi-humans too who possessed qualities of other species.
The place looked like a giant eye made of dark-colored cliffs and huge flat rocks, each as massive as a battlefield. But the most interesting was the center of the eye, where a huge space crack was. Its color was black and white, and the surrounding area was also black and white, still expanding slowly so the naked eye couldn't grasp it at first sight.
That seemed like enough trouble, but it wasn't even close. The real trouble was lying there motionless. A giant demonic beast that resembled disaster. It looked like a lizard but its body was covered in black scales and it had sharp claws. As it stood up and walked out of the colorless zone, its red glowing eyes became obvious. And small wings that didn't seem to have the ability to fly.
It looked like a dark dragon but seemed less wise than most in their eyes. It let out a roar that shocked the surroundings and the trembling air sent many flying backward. Only a few held their composure. One of them was a middle-aged elf in royal clothes surrounded by many guards.
"Everyone get back!" as he spoke everyone obeyed.
"You heard the king, Sifer, everyone back off!" the guards shouted.
Only one young person advanced instead.
"Father, I'm ready to fight," he said. He looked as young as 16 years with silver hair. His forehead glowing with silver waves representing the wind elemental mark supported by one path.
Seeing that, everyone began to whisper. Some pitied the little boy for being in such a position. Others envied him for being recognized by the royal tradition.
The royal tradition is the most powerful figure in the royal family who possessed an elemental crown. This person chose to sacrifice his life at the end of his days. The purpose of the sacrifice was to leave behind an artifact made of his soul. With it, his descendants would gain some of his power equal to 70% when he was alive. But the condition was that the descendant must have a matching mark of the same element as the royal tradition and must be of his bloodline, which also makes the artifact safe from outsiders.
At that very moment, the middle-aged elf took out a silver-colored crown. It was shining bright and sending a ray of white light towards the sky.
"Son, this may feel unbearable for you now but it's for the sake of our kingdom. We can't let this monster roam free..."
The kid nodded in agreement. He took the crown and placed it in front of his forehead. The mark suddenly glowed bright and quickly swallowed the crown. Then it started to show improvement. More stars started to show up, two and three, as his aura became stronger. Until suddenly his aura surged, indicating forming a fourth star. Then the power increased again and again until it settled at the sixth star. Only then did he glance towards the demonic beast.
His father, the king, spoke.
"Son, draw your sword and show everyone why our royal tradition is worthy to be feared."
With that an illusory sword was unsheathed and the boy blinked towards the beast as it roared again sending powerful shockwaves. Everyone else backed off leaving only the two facing each other. The beast only used its physical strength. The fight was even at first but the boy slowly adapted to the fight. His speed was very fast and his wind element coupled with the sword fighting style. It could be said he's definitely powerful against people in the same level.
It was very obvious that choosing a suitable fighting style for your element is the number one priority. The wind blades are one of the best attacking styles in the world. In just a few rounds, the boy proved his supremacy. Although the physical defense of the demon beast was still hard to penetrate, attacking sensitive spots did cause it injuries.
Everyone was convinced of the power of the royal tradition. It was deadly and thanks to it, they finally had an idea what most of the twelve kingdoms held as a life-saving weapon.
What everyone didn't expect was that the beast didn't show its full power yet. Its injuries were too many and it had no other choice but to push further towards the limits. Its strength increased very fast and its appearance slightly changed. Things grew larger and horns appeared from its head. But unexpectedly, its size got smaller and smaller until it was half of its former size.
It opened its big mouth and pulled the surrounding air, then it raised its head towards the air where the boy was floating. The air was compressed to the extreme then released like a cannonball made of air.
As the boy was being challenged by the beast in his own element, he took a defensive posture. The illusory sword expanded in size until it covered his entire body. Not only was it a high-grade sword made to match the strength of the royal tradition at the sixth star, but it also had defensive magical spells. None of which helped him. Instead, in the eyes of everyone, the air bullet tore through the giant sword breaking all the protective magical arrays on it, the attack sent the boy flying in the air before he fell on the ground.
King Sifer didn't waste any time and hurried to take a look. Hopefully, he was still alive. But obviously such a deadly attack, there was no chance of survival. But before the king knew for certain.
Another crack appeared. But this crack wasn't colorless, it was dark purple high in the sky. Before anyone could retreat, an old voice broke through the crack.
"Little Sifer, I still remember you wetting yourself when you were a little baby. I'd forgot you would be here by now all grown up hahaha..."
As the voice came to their ears, the king couldn't be upset or complain as he had a guess who it was. He could only swallow his saliva. He glanced towards the crack. And an old gray-haired woman walked through it, wearing a dark purple outfit and leaning on a stick. Behind her, there was another person. Bald and old with a white beard. He had some muscle and was wearing a blue baggy outfit.
The moment everyone saw the two old figures, most of them didn't recognize them. But King Sifer did...
"Worried about your son?" she said, her voice sharp. "You reckless bastard, if I hadn't just saved his life, you'd be regretting this day for the rest of your life." She was so angry that even the raging demon backed off a few steps.
The elven king didn't dare to refute. Not only was she right, but she was also terrifying. Then the silent old man finally spoke. "Sifer, why did you risk your son's life just now? Didn't I tell you not to approach this area?" He sighed, but deep down he felt uneasy.
Sifer trembled all over. "Your Excellency, I was just trying to protect my kingdom. You disappeared for months, I thought you had already.."
"I had already died?" the old man interrupted. "The spatial rift in that library was indeed hard to deal with, but it was from being able to kill me."
Then the old woman added, "Why do kings seem so stupid these days…" She was clearly thinking about Killial, who had lost everything because of his father's shortcomings.
Everyone present couldn't believe what they were hearing. Whispers began to rise.
"Didn't you hear? These two just scolded the mighty king of the elves," someone muttered.
"I wonder who they are…" another whispered.
The king heard the whispers. He had to act, but his choices were limited. All he could do was turn to the witnesses. "How dare you be so presumptuous in front of the two sages! Don't you know when to be respectful?" He was obviously trying to smoothen things out with the two elders.
The demon roared, tired of their talk. A powerful demon that suppressed a sixth-star elemental king. Just its presence was intimidating.
Then the silver-haired boy woke up, his head dizzy from the pressure of the crown. He barely stood on his feet. "Father, the demon… I must kill it…" he barely stood on his feet Then he collapsed on his knees again.