I am the Only Son of Nyx

Kai woke up in the House of Night on his knees.

He was still wounded. Still tortured by the pain. But the night came and healed all wounds.

In this void, he was a ruler, and he was glad that he was right now.

As much as he would love to lie down and rest—now is not the time. Even though time works differently in the House of Night, he would still feel guilty for not rushing. Panas needs him, so he needs to move.

Kai spoke the name Kaelmorath in his mind.

Surprisingly enough, the domain materialized before him without needing to use usable exp.

A smile curled on his lips, and he entered the domain.

Once the battlefield littered with corpses came to be, along with the broken cathedral, Kai was met with Kaelmorath. He was already outside, standing before the broken entrance with his arms crossed.

As if Kaelmorath was already expecting his visit.

Kai approached and looked up to the massive Nightborn, "I’m ready to help you remember."

"For what reason do you want to help me remember?"

"For a selfish reason. I want to protect a kid, and I need your strength."

It was a blatantly truthful answer.

Last time, Kaelmorath was undecided whether to trust Kai or not because of his primal hunger for power. For him to be truthful like this was a risk on its own. But it paid off as Kaelmorath smiled at his answer.

Kai had become reckless, and that moved him.

Determining that Kai was ready, Kaelmorath took a step forward.

He took out the silver ring from his pocket, placed it on Kai’s hand, and closed it.

A silvery light seeped out from between Kai’s fingers, and it began to envelop the entire area.

"I’m ready, too," Kaelmorath whispered before the light devoured him. "Help me remember."

For a fleeting second, Kai could feel the world fleeing from under his feet. Noises, smell—and even sensations escaped him, as he was swallowed by the silver light. But soon, all his senses began to work again.

He could feel his muscles burning. Could smell the scent of death. And could hear battle cries.

Once the silver light disappeared, Kaelmorath’s domain disappeared.

In its place was an open field filled with military camps.

A hundred muscular and shirtless barbarians with a hand axe in each hand, and a bear hide draped over their backs, were charging. A howl escaped their mouths—as they entered the military camps and slaughtered the soldiers inside.

Some took the torches and went even deeper, running with an almost cheerful glee.

Kai was also running alongside these barbarians.

His body now belonged to another person, extremely built with arms the size of thighs.

It’s not like Perion. I’m now reliving Kaelmorath’s past as him.

Each armoured soldier that came his way was butchered—with a swing of his axe. And every time he hacked someone to death with a swing of his axe, there was this deep exhilaration in his chest that fueled him with more strength.

Kai charged to the biggest camp at the center and barged inside.

Inside, he spotted a man who was still gearing up. And there was a plume on his helmet.

Like a feral animal, Kai threw the hand axe, and the steel broke through the helmet and stabbed into the man’s head, killing him instantly. Not stopping at that, he decapitated the man with his other hand axe and brought the head outside.

"Ares!"

A name came out of his own mouth as he brought the head skyward.

Blood sluiced down his arms and droplets landed on his face, but this only made him smile.

"Accept my offering and give me the strength to level cities!"

Kai looked up at the sky with elation, but when he looked down, the military camps were no more. His barbarians disappeared, and the gore was no longer staining his face. Instead—his entire body was now wrapped in chains, and he was on his knees before a man in a long robe.

Around him was a crowd of furious and spiteful people.

"Kaelmorath, Chieftain of the Lanka Tribe," the robed man stated while reading from a scroll in his hands. "For terrorizing and killing the innocent people of our beloved kingdom, you’re hereby sentenced to execution by Bahkaran Cliff."

Kai could feel his heart racing inside his chest.

Anger spread across his entire body as he realized his life was nearing its end.

It twisted into the warmth of devastation, and then to the coldness of resignation. Such a shift wasn’t a new sensation for him, as he had felt the exact same thing when Bella’s sin of simply existing was punished by death.

And suddenly, he was no longer in public, but inside a small and cold underground prison.

For his strength, his wrists were chained to the ceiling, and his ankles bolted to the ground.

Every part of him was in pain.

He understood that this was the consequence of his own doings, so he endured this torment.

Days passed above the ground.

No light in this prison other than from the flickering torch that had already died a day ago.

Kai waited for the day of his execution, when he would be hurled from the Bahkaran Cliff and meet a swift, final death. Or perhaps they would simply forget him down here in the dark— leaving him to rot until the silence took him.

But then, the worn-out wooden door creaked open.

A hooded figure entered the underground chamber.

It was hard to tell as it was dark—and the figure was covered by a dark brown cloak from top to bottom. A cloaked figure like this couldn’t be one of the soldiers, so this wasn’t the day for his execution. Perhaps one of the family of the soldiers he killed. Or maybe a street hero who would make sure his death was painful.

Once the figure entered his prison and created fire with a snap, the face behind the hood was unlike what Kai expected.

A woman.

Beautiful and completely clean, traits that made it clear that she wasn’t a peasant.

And when she dropped the hood, he realized who it was.

Braided silver short hair, eyes that gleamed a bright, nearly white radiance—and a smile that could inspire anyone to shield her from harm. She was the kingdom’s princess—the fifteen-year-old jewel of the crown, Princess Diarbara.

And yet, impossibly, she stood here with him in the filth and darkness of this forgotten prison.

"Are you the famous Chieftain of the Lanka Tribe?" the young princess asked.

"I’m no longer that person." Kai’s lips moved on their own, like he was a part of a movie script. "My tribe is gone, slaughtered by your people."

Despite the sharp words, Princess Diarbara retained her pleasant, natural smile.

"Is it true?"

"Is what true? That I raided and slaughtered your people for Ares? Yes."

"No—Is it true that you can really crush a coconut with your hand?"

"What...?"

Princess Diarbara took out a coconut from inside her cloak and smiled sheepishly.

"They said you can crush a coconut with your bare hand, and I don’t believe it."

"You... You came down here to meet me, because of that?"

"Mn." The princess nodded eagerly and stepped closer, ignoring the fact that he was an actual criminal bound to be executed. She rose onto her tiptoes and undid the chain binding Kai’s left wrist to the ceiling.

Once his arm dropped free, she held the coconut before him.

"I want to see you do it. And if you fail, I’ll finally get to tell my brother he’s a liar."

Kai was at a loss for words, or rather, Kaelmorath was.

He looked at Princess Diarbara as if he was looking at someone who was not real.

Deaths were everywhere. No matter how sheltered she might be as the jewel of the kingdom— he refused to believe that she didn’t know what she was doing was dangerous. But instead of fearing for her safety, she grabbed Kai’s big hand and placed the coconut on his palm.

"Are you going to do it if I say please?" She asked, looking up at him with puppy eyes.

Splash—!

Out of nowhere, water splashed onto Princess Diarbara’s cloak and face.

Kai crushed the coconut with ease, as if his fingers were made of iron.

She looked down at the cracked coconut in Kai’s hand and gasped, covering her small mouth with both hands. "You cracked it!" She exclaimed—in pure shock. "I can’t believe it. How can a person be so strong?"

"I was born that way."

"Really? That’s amazing!"

"Go back to your castle before you get into trouble." Kai pushed her away hard.

Hard enough to knock her back to the rusted steel bars.

Princess Diarbara pouted at the push, not because she was disgusted by his touch, but because she was genuinely annoyed that he was kicking her out of the prison. She turned sharply and walked out of the prison.

She made the right decision.

Or at least, Kai felt inside that he was rooting for her to leave.

Had she done this with any other criminal, then she would’ve gotten hurt.

It was the reason why she pushed her hard, to teach her a lesson not to do this again.

But Princess Diarbara stopped at the entrance and turned.

"I’ve decided." She said with a demanding tone; the royal side of her was leaking out. "You’re going to be my personal knight—and I’m not taking no as an answer! You will be trained and reborn as a royal knight!"

"What...?"

"The Gods have blessed you with strength. And that means they have a far bigger plan for you in the future. It’ll be a waste and a transgression to the Gods to have you die here without fulfilling your fate."

Princess Diarbara stepped inside again.

She held Kai’s big hand with both hands—the roughness of his hand contrasted starkly with the smoothness of hers.

"You have lived your life according to your own will, and it has led you to death. Now, you should try living your life according to someone else. Who knows what the Gods have in store if you follow me? Perhaps you might not end up this badly."

"I... I don’t know what to say."

"In this situation, you should say ’It’s an honour to serve you, Your Highness. I promise I will serve you well." Princess Diarbara chuckled sweetly. "As long as you promise me that, I will free you from this grim fate."

At that moment, Kai looked down and saw the simple silver ring on her index finger.

He recognized that ring.

It was the one that Kaelmorath had been holding.

And it was then he realized that the source of Kaelmorath’s pain was her.

Princess Diarbara.