My Beginning After the End

Damages

(One Week Later)

It's been a week since I came back from the Sand Grotto, I was told my team was being given a break since we cleared two dungeons pretty fast. Actually, both my team and the Twin Horns were inside the castle. This was a rare thing, because civilians weren't usually allowed inside.

Over the past week, I've spent a lot of time with my family and friends, and I'm pretty sure something is up. They've been treating me differently, not in a good way. If I had to guess, Elder Virion wanted to make sure I was okay mentally, which I understood since I wasn't. I was starting to lose my mind, I knew it, but I didn't care.

Of course, I acted like I was fine, I didn't want them to pull me from the field, not that they could or anything. I would just find a way to get back out there. I haven't done any training; I've just been absorbing power from the Serpent.

I'm taking the Serpent giving me power as a second round of bonding with the Beast Will. I could tell that I was getting stronger from the power it was giving me, but I didn't understand why all of a sudden it just handed me over more of its power.

Elder Virion did announce to everyone that I killed one hundred Alacryans, I told him not to, but he said if I wanted to keep everyone's respect, that I needed to take credit for this. He wasn't excited about it, but thought it was necessary.

All of the time in the castle gave me time to think about the future. I told myself that I couldn't touch Lance Olfred at all, because he would lead Arthur to Retainer Uto. I was starting to change my mind on that, yes, Arthur takes down a traitor and a Retainer, but he doesn't kill Uto, Seris does. How much information is he handing over to Alacrya? If I said something now, what would change? You have to think that in time Arthur and Uto would meet still, and that Seris would still kill him. I haven't decided yet, I really haven't even talked to the Lance.

If I get to kill him though, that would be nice.

"I'm here to see the council." I told the two guards standing in front of the council room, they all knew me. I'm the only Blood Deviant inside the castle, of course they did. The council wanted to see me for some reason. They nodded their heads and opened the doors for me.

I walked in, and sitting inside was pretty much everyone. Why did they want to see me? Both Kings and Queens, all the Lances, Aldir and Elder Virion. I approached them and stood in the middle of the room. I lowered my head, and then looked up.

"Virion, thanks for coming." Elder Virion spoke. "You probably are wondering why you are here." I nodded my head, I turned to Lance Aya in the shadow, and gave her a smile. I spent a lot of time with her, she seems to care a lot about me. "There are two things we would like to talk about."

"Okay." I shrugged not knowing why they were taking this so seriously.

"How are you feeling?" King Eralith asked me, I turned to him confused. "After killing one hundred troops by yourself." They never really spoke to me about it, they just told everyone what I did.

Now that I think about it, they did that for motivation, I mean hearing that a kid killed that many Alacryans by himself, would motivate any soldier, a kid is doing your work for you.

I shrugged. "Normal." I was hoping I found more of them, I wanted to kill more. I had a Serpent to feed, which was slowly becoming me. I was growing into the serpent, obtaining its purpose and attitude. "Do I seem different to you all?"

"No, which is why we are worried." Aldir answered for everyone. "Usually, after someone does what you did, they suffer from some sort of symptom, but you seem good as new." I'm just good at hiding things, also who wants to tell other they like killing.