The moon hung high over the capital, a pale sentinel watching the sleeping city. Shadows crept along cobbled alleys and over slanted rooftops, but one figure moved among them—silent, focused, deliberate.
Lucien Drevaris.
The once dethroned prince walked the side corridors of the palace, expression unreadable beneath the dim flicker of lanterns.
Earlier that day, he had stood beneath the scornful gazes of the nobles and priests, their laughter like gnats swarming around him. But none of it mattered.
Not anymore.
He pressed a hand to his chest. A low, subtle hum pulsed beneath his skin. The Demonic Core, still dormant and sealed, but real. Tangible. His anchor to what he once was.
"It begins," he whispered under his breath.
And tonight, it would begin in earnest.
The castle guards were as predictable as ever—routine-bound and arrogant. With Sir Caldus standing vigilantly nearby throughout the day, Lucien hadn't had a moment to himself. But now, with the moon as his accomplice, he finally saw his chance.
He rounded a quiet corner near the servant quarters, where a younger palace guard leaned against the wall, half-dozing with a hand loosely gripping his spear. Lucien's footsteps were calculated, soft enough to startle but not frighten. As the guard straightened, Lucien offered a disarming smile.
"Easy," he said, voice smooth as honey. "I just need a moment outside the walls. A bit of fresh air. I've been cooped up too long."
The guard blinked, clearly uncertain. "Prince Lucien, I… you're not really allowed out unsupervised, you know that. Sir Caldus would—"
Lucien stepped in closer, just enough to gently pressure the man with presence alone. "Do I look like I'm going to get into trouble?"
He raised a brow, gaze sharp beneath lazy lids. "Besides, if you keep quiet, I'll make sure a certain lazy night shift gets... overlooked in tomorrow's reports."
The guard hesitated, then gave a sheepish grin. "Well... alright, but just for a bit."
Lucien gave a nod, slipping past without another word. As he disappeared into the night, his smile vanished.
"So easy to manipulate," he thought coldly. "Humans… still the same."
By the time he reached the outer woods, the stars had taken full reign of the sky. The Royal Wildwood stretched out before him—tamed at its edges by palace hunts, but deeper within still untouched. Rumors claimed lesser beasts nested there—old remnants of a collapsed dungeon gate from a century ago, still leaking weaklings through the cracks.
Perfect.
Lucien crouched low, palm pressed to the earth. He could sense it. Weak ripples of essence drifting through the underbrush. Nothing threatening… yet.
He pressed forward, cloaked by shadow and trees, until a soft snarl caught his ear.
A Gnawing Shade. Vile little things—vaguely canine with stretched, rotting limbs and eyes like dying embers. It snapped its jaw at the darkness, sniffing for prey.
Lucien didn't engage immediately.
He hid behind the trunk of a twisted tree, eyes narrowed.
"Not even worth the effort normally… but essence is essence. And right now, I'll take anything."
With a snap of his fingers, a branch a few feet away cracked, drawing the creature's attention. It lunged—and Lucien struck from the opposite side, his hand glowing faintly with unstable energy.
Not mana. Not quite essence. Something… in-between.
The Gnawing Shade shrieked as Lucien's palm slammed against its head, a burst of volatile energy tearing through its skull.
He staggered back, chest heaving.
"Still unstable," he hissed. "But I can control it now… just barely."
Black smoke rose from the beast's corpse as tendrils of essence drifted into his palm. It wasn't much—but it was something.
He repeated the process twice more. Each kill was faster, more precise. And with each stolen essence, he could feel it—the Demonic Core, reacting, drinking it in.
A spark of power returned to his limbs.
But then, the forest trembled.
From deeper within, heavy footsteps echoed. The ground quaked. Lucien's eyes narrowed as he ducked low, watching the trees part—
—and from between them lumbered a Wyrmbark Troll. Towering, musclebound, its arms knotted like tree trunks, its eyes glowing with hunger.
Lucien's first instinct was to retreat. He was nowhere near strong enough. Not yet.
But then his gaze flicked to the troll's chest, where essence pooled thick and radiant.
His fingers twitched. A wicked grin crept onto his lips.
"You'll do nicely."
The battle began not with power, but positioning.
Lucien darted between trees, luring the beast with shallow wounds. His attacks weren't meant to kill, but provoke.
He led it through narrow gaps, past hanging branches he'd weakened in advance, across thick roots ready to trip and snare. Every corner of the terrain became a weapon.
He gathered wild thistle sap-flammable in small amounts-and spread it across tree bark where the troll would swipe.
Then, he baited it into a chase.
As it lunged, Lucien ducked, diving beneath its legs and flinging a small flame of demonic energy toward the sap-soaked bark behind them.
FWOOOM.
The flames burst skyward, licking the troll's back. It shrieked, flailing—and stumbled into the pit Lucien had dug earlier, a crude trap laced with sharpened branches from nearby thickets.
The beast screamed.
Lucien approached slowly, palm raised. His essence flared, unstable but growing stronger.
"Sleep," he whispered.
A final pulse of dark energy ended the creature's cries.
Black essence swirled toward him—this time thick, powerful, overwhelming. He gritted his teeth as it surged into his chest. The Demonic Core pulsed harder, the seal weakening. He dropped to a knee, sweat pouring down his brow.
But when he rose again, he felt different.
His arms no longer trembled from simple exertion.
He flexed his fingers, small sparks of demonic flame igniting and dying on command.
Not much. But enough.
A beginning.
By the time he returned to the outskirts of the palace, dawn peeked over the horizon.
He slipped back in unnoticed. Sir Caldus never stirred.
Lucien collapsed into his bed, lips twitching with satisfaction.
All the while, there had been a figure watching
"So the trash prince truly has changed…"