I am the Only Son of Nyx

Matilda let out a deep sigh.

She was not sure how things ended up this way—but she was right to worry about not wanting Kai to venture into the Second Sky with Bree. Had she not hesitated to volunteer, she would’ve been there to make sure that Bree didn’t do anything stupid.

Now, things already happened, and there was no going back.

’I don’t think Bree is stupid enough to try and kill him. She did not have any motive to do that either. Then what can she possibly have done to make Kai change like this?’ She bit her lower lip. ’I should ask him. Yeah... I should ask him.’

For the last few months, Matilda had no courage to confront Kai directly.

Even though she knew that she should to ease this tension in the air, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She decided to give him space first to process whatever happened, and that stretched to months.

No more—she decided it was time to confront him.

Matilda blinked and realized Dorian and Bryan were looking at her.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked.

"Do something, will you?" Dorian urged, tilting his head at where Kai went. "I’m exhausted."

On the side, Bryan also nodded repeatedly, agreeing with what Dorian said.

"Me? Why me?"

"Because you’re a girl, duh. Just woo him or something. Use your feminine charm to have him slow down a bit."

"Feminine charm? Are you sure you’re talking to the right person? Ask Bree to do that."

"Ask me to do what?"

Bree was already approaching the group when she heard her name being brought up.

She looked at Matilda, Dorian, and then back to Matilda.

"These lazy bums are complaining about the strict schedule that Kai had set."

"It’s not really that strict. Just a few hours added to our hunting session."

"Come on, Bree. Say something to him, will you?" Dorian held her hand with both hands. His eyes were wide, and his eyebrows peaked like a puppy begging its owner for more food. "I don’t even have time to loiter around after class. I’m going insane!"

"Do you know Minotaurs needed to paw the ground after working hard?" Bryan added with the same puppy face—like the two had been rehearsing for this to lure empathy. "I can’t even do that."

"You boys are so dramatic," Bree rolled her eyes. "He’s pushing us to hunt for the group rank that would be determined tomorrow morning. The difference in rewards between the first and second place is really big, so we can’t lose."

"Tomorrow morning?" Dorian paused. "I thought it was in a few days."

"No, it’s going to be tomorrow morning. I overheard from the professors earlier."

"Does that mean we can relax again after tomorrow?"

Bryan clapped his hands in excitement, glad that the group ranking result was tomorrow.

Not in a few days like most thought.

"Come on guys, let’s hunt and aim for the first place!" He fist-pumped the air like a cheerleader.

Dorian also did the same thing, happy that his misery was going to be over tomorrow.

On the other hand, Matilda shook her head and then blasted away, leaving the group without saying anything. Her mind was still stuck on Kai, so she didn’t want to linger. It’s the perfect chance for her to talk with Kai right now since later, they would be mining and hunting.

It took Matilda almost a full hour to catch up to Kai.

Despite what Professor Hera said, he didn’t waste time winding down.

Instead, he continued to train on mobilizing the winged boots. He was now already far better than most students. In fact, he might be one of the best at using winged boots. Even now, the only reason Matilda could keep up was that he was working on making abrupt stops with his winged boots.

"Kai!"

"Hm?"

Kai turned to look over his shoulder.

He saw Matilda and then looked forward again.

"If you want to pair up, then you have to keep up with me."

"You know I can’t keep up with you. Not with your monstrous mana reserve."

"Then I’ll leave you behind."

"Can we talk?"

Just as Kai was about to blast forward again, he stopped and exhaled through his nose.

He already has a guess on what she was going to say.

"Talk about what?" Kai asked without looking while keeping flying forward at a moderate pace.

"About how you’ve been acting lately," Matilda replied, going straight to the point as she did not know how to ease into this conversation. "The others believed what happened in the Sky Gate changed you, but I’m certain it’s not because of that. It’s because of Bree, isn’t it?

"What happened between you and her?"

Kai exhaled lightly, as if the notion of answering her question already exhausted him.

And this only made Matilda even more sure about her suspicion.

"Nothing. Nothing happened between us."

"Don’t lie to me. As much as you try to hide it, I know something happened."

"..."

Kai stared ahead, watching the drifting clouds as if they were more interesting than whatever Matilda had to say. He did try to remain the same with Bree, at least on the surface, and it was working on Dorian and Bryan.

But that’s because they weren’t paying attention.

Or simply don’t care.

Matilda, on the other hand, was the opposite of them, so she noticed instantly.

"Let’s just say we drifted apart."

"What did she do?"

"She was using me from the start, Matilda. She was using her Legacy Skill on me, copying my Legacy Imprints and making them hers." Kai decided to tell the truth, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to get rid of Matilda otherwise. "I’m pretty sure it was her first time using her Legacy Skill on a stranger. Either way, she used it on me since the very beginning."

"What?" Matilda was taken aback. "She’s—copying your Legacy Imprints?"

"Hm."

"I see..."

Some things clicked inside her mind.

’So, that’s how she got around me. Because she got Kai’s Nigh-Phantom Legacy Imprint—now it made sense how she helped me at the Fire Swamp, and how she remained undetected.’ She shook her head at the thought.

Initially, she thought Bree stabbed Kai on the back, or maybe she seduced Kai to have sex once again. A move that would tighten her fingers around Kai. Or perhaps she made a mistake that almost got him killed.

But turns out it was because he found out the truth.

Kai had found out that Bree was using him from the very start.

"How does that make you feel?"

"Awful."

"Why?"

"Why? Because she probably approached me to test out her Legacy Skill. A Lesser Angel who was isolated and desperate is perfect for her. And then she realized my Legacy Imprints were worth something, so she stuck around. Probably thought she got lucky." He let out a hollow laugh. "I must’ve looked like a fool to her."

Kai clenched his fists.

As much as he was angry at what Bree did, he had nobody else but himself to blame.

From the start, he already somewhat knew that Bree had her own agenda.

Just that over time, he had tried to convince himself of a gentler truth; that she had approached him with nothing but pure intentions. A hand offered freely. After everything terrible that had befallen him, he was desperate for something good to hold onto.

And that desperation twisted his reality.

Unconsciously making him twist anything that was still vague into a good thing.

One being Bree’s intentions.

"Maybe that’s the case," Matilda murmured; her voice drifted softly into Kai’s ears. "But have you thought that she stayed because she actually fell for you?" She paused, letting the question settle in his mind. "I did my own research. A Supernal of Eileithyia carries a unique mutation. One that boosts whoever claims their purity, and it could not be taken back.

"Bree was trying to hand it over to you willingly. That has to count for something."

From what she found, Supernals of Eileithyia were mostly reserved by the Lower Olympus.

Their unique mutation made them very valuable to Demigods.

And with proper training, the boost can grow even bigger.

For Bree to decide that she would give it to Kai is a big decision, and that’s a fact.

"She’s only using it to make me fall harder for her. It’s a tool. Not something genuine."

"Does helping you make the Ambrosia Pact also a tool?"

"Hm? What do you mean? We all worked together to create the Ambrosia Pact."

"I’m not talking about that."

Matilda turned to look at Kai, and he did the same, meeting her eyes with quiet confusion.

He didn’t know what she was hinting at.

"The competition for the last slot of groups. Did you really think they magically disappear?"

"No, I didn’t think they magically disappear. I simply think we’re faster."

Back then, the entire group had been scrambling to mine the required mana ores—swollen as they insisted on having a Lesser Angel as the leader. They pushed themselves to the limit because they knew groupless students were being tempted to form their own groups, incentivized by someone working in the shadows.

Incentivized by someone who wanted to see Kai fail.

Kai simply thought they were faster thanks to their collective hard work.

But that wasn’t entirely the case.

"Bree made it all go away. She was the one who confronted Ragnar using the powers she took from you and forced him to withdraw the incentivization. That’s why we had enough time to gather mana ores and form our group."

"..."

A frown crept to Kai’s face behind the mask.

He didn’t want to believe Matilda, but there was no reason for her to lie.

"And how did you know about this?"

"I was looking into Ragnar, and found the footage of him being threatened by someone with the affinity to darkness. Or the night, as you did. I thought someone was impersonating you, but turns out Bree was the one behind it."

As she spoke, she realized that they had slowed down significantly.

A minute ago, they were soaring through the sky in a circle like a car on a highway.

Now, they were moving as slow as a car in traffic.

"Tell me, Kai." Matilda turned to face him fully when they finally halted. "If everything she did was just a tool—a way to make you like her more—then why didn’t she ever tell you about this? Why keep it hidden?"

"I..." Kai paused, and then clenched his jaw.

He didn’t know what to say.

"I’m not excusing what she did, but maybe you’re jumping to conclusions too fast. Maybe not everything she did or said was a lie."