System: Transcending Happiness (BoyxBoy)

Arc 4.5

It took months for Kyuwa to finally not feel so weak and actually walk without the need for support. Numen had become a sort of pillar in this world that he didn't have a single clue about. They'd begun strengthening the muscles where his wings and back connected; giving him a better grasp on how to actually use them properly.  

Numen introduced Kyuwa to one of the teachers at a flight school who came to the house and showed the proper way to dive, go right, go left, or take off from the ground. He wasn't strong enough yet to take flight but he wasn't too worried. 

Six months. That's how long it took for him to completely master flight and how to retract his wings. It is impossible to retract your wings literally but if you accumulate enough Shadows, you can use them to hide their appearance from others. Gathering Shadows was a type of magic that the Shadow Blood were able to utilize. There were also Humans who were 'blessed' by God and could wield the elements to combat the Demons Demonic magic. 

Kyuwa was astounded at how much their city within the Dark Forest had advanced. Although far removed from civilization, they'd advanced further than the outsiders. There weren't electronics and such but their houses were well built and the produce as well as livestock seemed more healthy. 

Today, Kyuwa was planning to go with Numen to pick plants that they used for medicine. However, the type of plants they needed was closer to the outskirts of the Forest so a lot of the Shadow Blood refused to go. They didn't want to get that close to where someone could see them. 

Kyuwa couldn't control the colors of his clothing within this world since he didn't have access to the Space or Shop; so he had opted for wearing plain black pullover smock and pair of pants. They weren't fancy or anything but they were something to wear. The material was a lot finer than what you would find within the Human's Markets since the product was acquired within the Dark Forest. Plenty of terrifying Spider Beasts live within the Dark Forest and their webbing was used for clothes making. 

He followed behind Numen as they navigated through the Forest. Currently they were using their wings to stay off the ground but keeping low enough to avoid the branches above. This way there was no chance of beasts lurking within the tall grass or hanging from the branches to attack. Numen flapped his wings and averted numerous trees in his path while Kyuwa followed close behind. By the time they made it to the spot they were aiming for, Kyuwa was exhausted and panted as his back twinged from the exertion.

"Ha Ha! You did really well with the flight," Numen laughingly said as he hit Kyuwa on the back. Making Kyuwa curse aloud from the shock of his hit against the sore muscles. 

"You need to build up more muscle. One day you can look like me," he continued.

"I'm pretty sure that as an Erthris, I will never gain the muscles that you have, Big Brother." 

Kyuwa grabbed the flask of Tril'gonneth hanging from his waist and opened the cap to take a sip. It entered his mouth and seemed to flow through his body and warmed the area around his wings to remove the soreness.

"I see that you're still using that cheat to get rid of fatigue," Numen commented as he looked around to find the plants they were searching for.

"Yes, Yes. Your weak young brother really can't go anywhere without his drink."

"Saying it like that just makes you seem like a drunk, Aeilrha."

Kyuwa rolled his eyes but felt warmth at the nickname that Numen had given him. He had been confused when Numen called him Aeilrha the first time since it was nothing he had heard before. However, he explained that it his mother's language and meant 'little loved one, small holder of my heart, or tiny piece of my heart', usually reserved for close family members. Kyuwa had been wary that it was a love declaration but he was assured that there are other words used for a spouse and that Aeilrha was strictly meant for family related by blood.

"How many of these plants do you need to pick, Big Brother?"

"Well... as many as we can bring back I suppose."

Kyuwa hummed thoughtfully and began searching for his own plants to pick. There was a lot of tall grass in his surroundings so it was rather difficult to find any useful plants used in medicine among them. He stared at the ground as he searched and pulled his wings into his body to prevent them from hitting the trees. 

He began singing a song that Sang-Ki used to sing all the damn time when Kyuwa was tattooing clients. This song would always get stuck in his head whenever he began performing a task; Kyuwa even began singing it while taking a shower or cleaning the room. Singing made him think about his mates and with that, he paused his footsteps. 

There was a slight wind picking up and his silvery-white hair drifted around his face. Kyuwa had cut it short but not short enough to stay out of his eyes. He wanted the option of being able to cover his red eyes if possible. His long hair was something nostalgic and he loved having long hair but he didn't want to keep being mistaken for a woman. Although, if he were honest, he was still mistaken for a woman all the time within the small City of Shadow Blood. 

His thoughts were miles away as he stood merely two feet from the edge of the Dark Forest. Kyuwa was completely immersed within himself and didn't realize that something or someone was looking back at him. Anyone would think that he was some sort of angel, perhaps a dark angel, with those wings alongside that pale skin and hair. It made a very ethereal sight.

Somebody that had been staring greedily at Kyuwa suddenly appeared right next to him and before Kyuwa could react, he was knocked completely unconscious. 

 The last thing he heard was Numen shouting his name; the last thing he saw... was red eyes.

A/N: Hahaha, there there, here's a nice cliff hanger for my lovely Readers. x,x