Revenge pact

"Father..." Within a sizeable compound constructed from fortified marble, a five-year-old Oizys stood in rapt attention. His gaze was firmly affixed upon his father, who was methodically delivering strikes to a straw dummy fortified with reinforcements.

Eurodos, who wore a simple kimono turned to face his child, pausing his training.

"Ozzy? What's wrong? You look upset."

"May I please ask you something?" Oizys asked as he nervously fiddled with his fingers.

"Of course you can." He said concernedly.

"Come here." Eurodos made his way toward a modest mat situated in a corner of the room. Seating himself, he employed a small towel to mop his perspiring brow.

"Yes Papa." Accepting Eurodos's unspoken invitation, Oizys settled down beside his father on the mat. His gaze fixed upon Eurodos, awaiting their interaction.

"What's up?"

"You're a magic knight, right? A soldier?" Oizys asked sadly.

"Yes, what's wrong?"

"That means you've killed people, right?" Oizys asked as he diverted his eyes from his father.

"..."

"Papa?"

"Yes, Oizys...I've took multiple lives."

"Multiple?" Oizys choked as he listened to his father's words.

"Yes, Oizys multiple." Eurodos said sadly.

"How does it feel?"

"How does what feel?"

"How does killing feel? Is it easy?" Oizys asked as he continued to fiddle with his fingers.

"Is it easy?" Eurodos chuckled.

"Yes, it's easy... Too easy actually." Eurodos said darkly.

Oizys gasped as he turned to his father, his eyes threatening to leak tears.

"Killing is the easy part Oizys, trying to fill the void that develops within you after you kill is the real challenge. After every life you take, that void becomes deeper and deeper and till it gets to the point where you become..."

"Empty." Oizys finished his fathers sentence.

"H-how'd it feel when you killed the your first opponent father?"

"Admittedly, it felt good."

Oizys shivered in fear when he heard his father's words.

"Good?"

"I was consumed with hate...and when I finally acted on it, I felt high. But the guilt that came with that temporary high was immeasurable, and looking back it wasn't worth it. I can say the same for every life I've ended."

"Every night I am haunted by a soul that I've taken..." Eurodos said as he traced his fingers along the dark circles around his eyes.

***

"Grape!"

Adonis groaned as he heard a middle-aged man shout.

"Grape!"

'Who the hell is screaming so much?'

"Mr Grape!"

{Kukuku...I think he means you Oizys.}

Adonis finally raised his head to see what all the commotion was about, and what he saw confused him.

Looking back at him were thirty-one teenagers and a blonde man he didn't recognize.

"What's going on?" He asked confusedly.

"You'd know if you actually paid attention!" The professor screamed.

{So loud.}

'I know right.'

"Grape, I asked you a question."

'Why's he calling me grape?'

{Take a wild guess, dumbass.}

"Sorry, what was the question sir?" Adonis looked at his professor confusedly.

"Who was the first the Caelum transcendent, and when did they emerge?" Professor Arminius sighed.

"Cornelius, Cornelius Minerva the first. And he emerged eighteen hundred years ago just before the fourth interworld war." Adonis said casually.

"..." The man was speechless.

"That's correct, now wake up miss Triksta!" He said trying to hide his embarrassment.

***

After the History lesson, it was Ethics class which Adonis once again slept through. Before he knew it, it was the one-hour break.

As the bell resounded, Adonis stirred awake, realizing that the entire classroom had emptied, leaving only him, the slumbering Luna, and another boy with long brown hair who remained.

"Hey, wake up." Adonis turned to Luna and lightly tapped the sleeping beauty.

No matter how many times he nudged her, the girl refused to wake up.

"She sleeps like a log." Adonis gave up and decided to leave the classroom to get some fresh air.

As he walked down the steps, he looked at boy who also had his head down. Unlike Luna, Jerald the fifth Rising Star was doing something other than sleeping; Jerald was quietly whispering to himself.

{What a weirdo.}

***

The last lesson of the day was martial arts training, this time the sleepy duo couldn't just sleep through it and were actually forced to participate.

Before heading to the training hall, Adonis took a moment to change into more comfortable attire: loose white pants secured by a golden rope belt, a sleeveless white tunic bearing the academy's emblem, and Roman-style sandals.

Emerging from the changing room, he stepped into the expansive training hall, where he observed that everyone had already assembled, patiently awaiting the commencement of the session.

The training hall boasted lofty 10-meter ceilings and a robust, reinforced wooden floor. Along the walls, an array of wooden and a few steel weapons were on display. Scattered across the spacious area were multiple 15x15 mats, designated for one-on-one training.

With everyone attired in their training gear and gathered within the hall, Professor Avitus, the martial arts instructor, signified the initiation of the lesson.

"Good afternoon everyone, I'm proffessor Avitus a retired Master level knight and your martial arts instructer."

"Good afternoon proffessor." The class said in unison.

"Today I'll be evaluating your hand to hand combat, find someone who you think is approximately as strong as you and gather in the main mat."

'I'm still a bit groggy.' Adonis complained as he looked around the training hall.

{And whose fault is that?}

'Hehe...'

Tarzy glared at direction and began charging towards him, determined to crush him.

'I wouldn't mind fighting him...'

Just as Tarzy was about to reach Adonis, a slender hand snatched him and pulled him aside.

'but...there's her.' Adonis sighed as Tarzy got dragged by the sleepy prodigy.

"Fight me dog!" Luna who was strangely energetic dragged Tarzy towards the main mat.

"Excuse me." An unfamiliar friendly voice sounded behind Adonis.

"Hm?" Adonis turned around and faced a teenage boy with a black middle part and friendly brown eyes who smiled at him.

"Please fight me!" Adonis' fellow first-year bowed respectfully as he requested the bout.

{This one's annoying.}

"Uh, sure. You don't have to bow."

***

"Okay. So the rules are simple, no magic, no aura and no weapons; just the body the Gods gave you."

{It's Devil God dumbass.} Eos snarled.

"That's unrealistic... When will there ever be an instant where we don't use those resources." A girl with strawberry blonde hair complained.

"What's unrealistic is you passing this class with that ignorance." Professor Avitus countered.

{Kukuku...I like him.} Eos chuckled.

"..."

"Now that we've got that little distraction out of the way...The first bout will be between Lutz van Alexia and John van Ani."

'Lutz...'

After hearing their names being called out, number four and nine both stepped into the large mat and stood in opposite corners.

"I'm surprised you agreed to fight me, van Alexia!" John grinned wildly as he stretched his legs.

"It's time I put you in your place." Lutz said coldly as he walked around the mat sizing up his opponent.

"Begin!"

As soon as he heard those words, John towards dashed Lutz; determined to make the first move.

***

5 years ago

Alex City-Miravulum kingdom, Caelum Empire

Through the expansive gates of the Van Alexia Dukedom estate, a grand carriage drawn by two majestic horses made its entrance.

Within the courtyard, positioned just beyond the main edifice, a statuesque blonde man with vibrant green eyes stood. His large hand rested on the shoulder of a young boy beside him, their gazes directed toward the carriage as it crossed the estate's threshold.

"Be polite." The Duke reminded as he turned to his son who watched the carriage with a blank expression on his face.

"Yes, father." A young Lutz said as he waited for the passengers to exit the vehicle.

After a bit, the carriage finally stopped and the coachmen demounted and opened the heavy door.

"Duke van Ani and young Master John have arrived!"

"This place hasn't changed much has it?" Duke van Ani said conceitedly while he gazed at the huge building in front of him.

Behind the Duke was a short young boy who strikingly resembled him in every aspect including the way he walked.

As Duke van Ani walked up to Duke van Alexia, he spared the young boy next to him and scoffed.

"Greetings Duke van Alexia."

"Good morning, I assume your ride was free from dis pleasantries." Duke van Alexia asked as he shook hands with the visitor.

"Indeed it was, thanks for asking. Is that young Lutz? He's grown so much." he said with a polite smile.

"I could say the same for John." Duke van Alexia chuckled as his eyes lowered towards the brunette boy behind the fellow duke.

Extra information:

The Golden Age is defined as the period in which mortals reached their peak, blessings became more prominent and the mana density in the atmosphere became denser. This was also when the first Inteworld war began, more details will be covered in future history lessons.