I am the Only Son of Nyx

"So, what was that all about?" Layra asked as she controlled her griffin to get closer.

Kai glanced at her and opened his mouth to speak.

Since she was the one who took care of him and kept a lookout while he was talking with the people from the Fallen Faction, he thought that she deserved to know. But no words came out of his mouth.

He closed it again, not sure whether it was a good idea to tell her about the Fallen Faction.

’You are stepping into a world you don’t understand.’

Bree’s words repeated inside his mind.

And he also recalled what she said back then, how the general public knew the Fallen Faction as an evil organization—one that wanted to burn the world to the ground. Bree came from a high-class background, so she knew more.

But the ordinary people would feed into the lie and believe it as the truth.

I don’t know much about Layra. I know she has a twin sister and she’s dead now, and that’s about it.

Kai forced out a smile.

"Have you heard about Professor Hera?"

"A professor from your academy?"

"Yes. She committed a felony—and I overheard that she was executed. Another reason for me going to the AAA’s Headquarters other than registering as a Red Prince was to break the news to Professor Hera’s best friend working there."

"And this best friend was the one who caused you to pass out earlier?"

"Something like that."

"How did she recognize you? Have you met her before?"

"No, I was wearing this thing." Kai pointed at his chest, but noticed a frown—on Layra’s face. It was then he realized the insignia was not on him anymore. Seems like Marcus had taken it from him without him knowing. "She must have taken it. I was wearing an insignia belonging to Professor Hera, and she noticed it."

"I see..." Layra nodded. "And I assumed she didn’t take the news well."

Kai only flashed a smile.

He was avoiding his eyes as he felt bad for lying directly to her face.

I’m sorry, Layra. But I’m worried that you’ll freak out if you knew I’m close with the Fallen Faction.

"Are we going straight back to the academy?" Layra asked, dismissing the gloomy air.

"Of course, we have to mine for our weekly quota, remember?" Kai replied.

"Ah, yes... I might need to stay up late lest I be punished."

"Right, we still need to play it safely."

Just then, the two of them burst out into all-out laughter—happy that those times were not behind them. As champions of their academies—there was no need for them to do any of that anymore.

Other than the privileges they obtained, they also could now collect taxes.

And most importantly, they were the ones who could dictate the price of the taxes, too.

For them, after the classes ended, they were basically free to do whatever they wanted.

"It’s not every day that we get to meet like this," Layra smiled—the curl of her lips was so soft and seamless that it made her look even more beautiful and brighter than the sun above. "Let’s fly around and see more of Cloud Colony Alpha."

"Sure," Kai nodded. "I have no complaints."

Swoosh—!

Kai and Layra flew for nearly two hours, circling Cloud Colony Alpha in wide, lazy arcs.

Other than sightseeing—they were also getting used to riding their mounts, and even tried to practice their sky maneuvers by chasing one another like doves in love. The First Sky around them sprawled in every direction.

An endless expanse of clouds dotted with the occasional cultivated cloud and other academies along with their infrastructure, which made up the biggest bulk of places in the First Sky. The two passed several academies—grand spires of white pale blue stone, buildings with varying architectures, training grounds, and many more buildings whose use they did not know.

Each academy had its own character, its own architecture, and its own declarations of power.

In between, they also saw clusters of cultivated clouds which were home to all manner of Star Beasts and Awakened Monsters. Kai saw a flock of winged serpents sunning themselves on a distant cloudbank, a massive turtle the size of a bear—and even hybrid monsters of a human and an animal here and there.

Along the way, they were stopped several times.

Guard Angels intercepted them, rising from their patrol routes with spears in their hands.

But each time, the moment they saw the crimson and emerald, their postures shifted.

Champions.

All of them backed off without causing Kai and Layra—too much trouble, offering only curt warnings before returning to their posts. The interruptions became routine, and they only served as amusement for them.

Seeing the change in attitude of the Guard Angels was quite something.

Along the way, they also talked to fill in the silence between them. It was small things at first, like the way the clouds changed color at this altitude, the strange creatures spotted below, and the academy they passed.

But gradually, the conversation deepened.

Layra spoke of her life on the surface, the world she had left behind before becoming an Angel.

Kai also shared his own—the struggles, the losses, but still a life worth living.

Even though it was subtle, Kai realized why she brought this up.

I think she knew that I lied about Professor Hera’s friend. Seemed like Mom was right.

Not too long ago, the Goddess pointed it out —that his eyes were expressive. His intent could easily be read by others, and it was a flaw. And now he realized that she was not only saying that. It was actually a flaw.

And then, while they were at it, they talked about what they experienced.

Talked about the months they had been separated after the Blood Rite.

Layra spoke of the politics of Aurelian Academy, the expectations placed on her shoulders as the Emerald Princess. Kai spoke of his struggles, the Ichor Legion, and the painful climb from Lesser Angel to Red Prince.

Neither of them glossed over the pain.

And neither asked for pity.

By the time the sun was about to go down, they descended toward Aurelian Academy.

Layra guided the griffin down first, and Kai followed on the raven, landing softly on the soft clouds right outside Eventide Academy’s territory, near the bottom of the slope. She dropped down and stretched, feeling sore from all the flying.

And then, she turned and saw Kai on his mount, still.

"Thank you for today," she said. "For letting me tag along and even accompanying me back."

"No problem. I also had fun because of you." Kai nodded.

"Since we’re champions now, I’m going to pay you a visit soon."

"Visit me...?"

"Unless you’re already tired of meeting me, of course."

"It’s nothing like that."

Kai smiled sheepishly behind his mask, already fretting about having Layra visit him back in the academy when both Bree and Matilda already moved into his mouth. Bree would most certainly freak out, but Matilda would be worse.

She knew Layra, and they don’t get along at all.

Matilda didn’t really reciprocate the spite, but Layra really didn’t like her at all.

"I-I’ll be looking forward to it." Kai eventually said.

Anything else would only rile Layra more.

Layra held his gaze for a heartbeat longer—then turned and began to climb up the slope with her griffin. Kai watched her go until she disappeared among the maple trees, then turned the raven around before blasting skyward.

It was time to head back.

For ten minutes, the raven pierced through the air like a shadow against the golden sky.

And in these ten minutes, Kai had time to gather his thoughts.

Cum laude, huh... Considering what Marcus said—I shouldn’t need to worry about that. All I need to set my mind upon is the sponsor. I know sponsors are supposed to be someone who’d be investing in the Angels in the Second Sky, at least Senior Asher made it seem like that. But who has the authority to be a sponsor?

Kai thought for a second, and all he could think of was the academies.

I need to ask someone about this.

Just as he focused on the moment again, he spotted something underneath. No, someone.

Someone was standing in the middle of nowhere.

Kai had no idea how this person had ended up stranded here in the middle of nowhere, but with his mount, he decided to help. He descended and landed beside the person, and then he noticed the person was completely shrouded in a dark brown robe—and the hood was drawn low, hiding the face entirely.

Even the raven flared its wings and croaked, reacting to this person.

I should leave. This person reeked of trouble.

Even without saying anything, Kai turned to leave, but then he felt a chill down his spine.

"Don’t leave yet, Red Prince Kai."

"Hm?!"

Kai leaped away from the raven when the voice felt like it was right beside his ear.

He landed hard against the clouds and slid away.

As he lifted his gaze, he saw the person was already on the raven. And with a tap, an enormous amount of mana shot into the raven’s body, knocking it out instantly—as its massive body fell to the ground.

For someone to do that... They need to be at least a Grade-3 Aspirant Supernal. Maybe higher.

Kai quickly tapped into his connection with Kaelmorath inside his mind.

Can you take this person on?

’With the sun up? I can maybe stall.’ Kaelmorath answered; his voice echoed in Kai’s mind.

Just then—the person walked down the raven’s massive body and finally opened up the robe and also the hood, revealing a scary woman with bronze eyes. Not because her face was scary, but because of something in her eyes that made Kai feel uneasy.

And those claws... She’s a Scion Supernal.

Kai looked at her clawed hands; the characteristics of her Patron God were already evident.

It meant she was of a higher rank.

"Who are you?" He asked in a demanding voice. "And what do you want?"

"No need to be on guard, Red Prince Kai." The woman’s lips curled into a devious smirk. "If I wanted you dead, then you would already be dead. Look at where we are. Do you think you’ll survive me?"

Kai looked around and agreed with her.

Right now, they were in the middle of nowhere and still far from the academy.

Additionally, with the raven knocked out, he would not be able to reach far even if he called out Kaelmorath to stall this woman. "In that case, tell me what you want. I’m all ears."

"I represent the person who had sent someone to kill you," She answered blatantly. "I’m sure you already know that He is someone who stood at the very top. And now—after seeing you cheat death multiple times, He came to admire your fighting skills and strong heart."

"What...?" Kai gasped in shock.

"Join us, Red Prince Kai." She reached out her inviting hand. "And your future in the upper skies would be as bright as Apollo’s head."

Hearing this, Kai’s eyes flashed as his lips curled into a smile.

Just the person I need.