Defying The Goddess Of Light 1-5

Chapter 1

The voice that spoke to Kail was melodic and soothing. His spirit form watched as the ball of black light faded away. He then felt his body being sucked away from the darkness that surrounded his body of identical black light.

Then there was nothing. Some time passed before he finally opened his eyes. He didn’t recognize anything around him. There was a strange man and woman looking down at him with bright loving eyes.

“Such a cute and tiny thing,” the man said in a rough voice. “Hard to believe we made him!”

The woman laughed a bit, covered in sweat. Kail realized then that his body was small and weak. The melodic voice from before resounded in the air.

“You have been reborn, my child,” the voice said. “I will guide you through this life but I cannot decide everything for you. You must burn your own path in this world. These are your new parents. Welcome to the planet of Mou. You are in the continent of Misaca. I am eager to see how you will live this life. There are a few things I should explain though.”

Kail listened closely, eager to learn more about this world and the second chance he had been given.

“My sister, the Goddess of Light, is the one who made your previous life miserable. Do you know why?” The voice was full of anger.

‘Because I was one of the ones able to communicate with demons?’ It wasn’t a hard question to answer. Kail could remember his first life easily. He could remember all the times he had been surrounded by demons and spirits of all kinds. How he could talk to and interact with them. He had even made some friends with them.

At some point, he learned that he could use demonic and spiritual powers in his daily life. Of course, he made sure to hide them so that no one would question him about it.

“Yes!” the female melodic voice yelled. Her voice came from above him. Even upon yelling, no one reacted. It seemed Kail was the only one who could hear her.

“She hated that you were born with a rare talent!” the voice continued. “You had a chance to destroy everything with your touch but you did no such thing even as you were forced to suffer tragedy after tragedy. She did not care. The only thing she cared about was the fact that you carried the blessing of the demon king of your world.”

Kail remembered being told he was blessed by the demon king when he was a teenager in his first life. He hadn’t believed it until now. I was a pretty lousy person to choose for that kind of blessing, he thought.

“Perhaps but you still made use of it in a benevolent way. You were the first of your kind to be such a person.” The voice seemed to be fully of happiness. “Which made you a prime example of the hope within despair. You pushed through everything that you suffered. But does it not make you angry that you were forced to live such a life just because of something you had no control over?”

Kail’s tiny body was lifted by the man. He ignored the man’s words as he thought about how he had always hated having such terrible luck in his previous life. He had always wondered why his life was like that. Why couldn’t he just be happy?

Now he knew why. The small flame of anger was slowly beginning to grow.

“She has plans to ruin your life in this world as well. She no doubt already knows you’ve come here thanks to me,” the voice added. “I can only do so much to protect you from her. Will you let her continue to deny you happiness? Will you continue to let her destroy all that you want? Remember Eric and how he had such a tragic end the day you two got together.

“Remember your parents. Remember your friends. The injuries you suffered. The traumatic events. All of it was caused by her! Will you let those same things happen in this life?” the voice demanded.

Kail’s new father laughed at his angry expression. Kail simply ignored him, completely focused on the goddess speaking to him. I refuse to let my life be controlled again. Help me get revenge.

“Yes! I will give you all my help, my dear child of darkness!” The voice was now ecstatic. “I will help you become the strongest warrior in this world! I will make you so powerful that the other gods will bow down to you! I will make you a god above gods!”

Kail liked the words that she spoke. He wasn’t certain how such a thing could come to be but with a goddess on his side, how hard could it be?

“Rest now, my child. You have a long and difficult road ahead of you. Enjoy this time while you can.” With that, the voice stopped speaking.

Kail zoned back into the world around him. He could hear someone speaking his name. Have I been given the same name as my previous life?

A few weeks passed. Kail hated being so small and helpless. He missed having an adult body. He missed being independent. I got to make sure that I start my journey early. As soon as I’m able to walk, that is when everything will begin. I know she said to enjoy this time but I can’t stand being a baby.

He couldn’t handle always being cared for. Especially when it came to being bathed and fed. Growing up seemed to pass by so quickly before. Now that I have an adult mentality as a baby, it is taking forever!

Kail wished he had remembered his previous life after he had grown up a bit but it was too late to do that.

He heard the door to his bedroom open up and soon a maid entered his field of vision. She had long dark green hair and bright emerald eyes. She held a bottle in one hand. A bright smile lit up her aging face. “Good afternoon, little Kail!” she greeted before scooping him up.

“Your parents are busy today so I will be feeding you,” she explained, not knowing he understood everything that she said.

The goddess had explained a while ago that the reason why he could understand the strange language the adults spoke in was thanks to her power. She had gifted him the ability to understand and speak in every language on Mou.

Learning that information had made him super happy. He had always wanted to learn more than one language in his previous life but things never went his way to allow him to do so. Thanks to her, he didn’t have to put in the effort to learn each language.

As the maid fed him, Kail sensed someone behind her. It was a dark spirit. The spirit was called a dark spirit simply for the fact that it had been a dark mana user while alive. This information could be learned by simply observing the color of their spirit body.

There were seven elements: earth, sky, light, darkness, water, fire, and blood. There were three common elements: earth, water, and fire. Sky was uncommon while light, darkness and blood were rare.

Light was seen as peaceful and full of blessings. Darkness was seen as dangerous and destructive. Blood was seen as amazing and helpful. Those who were labeled as Blood Mages were given high positions in society. Often times they took any occupation that had to do with healing. Blood magic was the best treatment available because a Blood Mage could heal any affliction or wound.

But they could also use it to bring death. This form of blood magic was lost to time though. Any information about it was either locked away or destroyed a long time ago.

According to the Goddess of Darkness, this was done after a horrible event that occurred ten thousand years ago. A Blood Mage labeled as The Bloody Claw wreaked havoc across the planet during his long life. He killed millions with his powerful magic. His signature move was creating long sharp claws made of blood.

He had even conquered several kingdoms and an empire with his abilities. He was only stopped thanks to a powerful Light Mage. The Light Mage was a warrior of the Goddess of Light. The two powerful beings had dueled in an amazing and destructive battle. The battle had been extremely long since both of them had high stamina but in the end, the Light Mage won.

The story was lost to time after the rulers deemed it too dangerous to be kept in the minds of the people. With a powerful spell cast by the Light Mage, the memories were blocked in the minds of the living. All mentions of The Bloody Claw were destroyed or locked away.

Chapter 2

The dark spirit gazed at Kail with curiosity on his face. Kail could see his full features. Most people who could see the spirits only saw partial features or no features at all. The spirit was swirling black light with a handsome young face.

The energy that made his body was almost nonexistent to Kail’s eyes. He could see spirits as if they were still alive but the swirling in their skin always reminded him of the truth. The dark spirit had piercing steel gray eyes and white hair. He even had pointed ears.

“You can see me?” the spirit asked.

Kail could only blink in response. The spirit smiled. “Finally! I have waited forever for someone in this family to have the darkness element again! I will teach you when you are old enough, little one. Welcome to the family, Young Master Kail!”

Young master? Kail was confused by the spirit’s words. He had only been called by his name by the servants and his parents. He had noticed that the house was extravagant and the clothes were also extremely nice. He knew his family was rich but he wasn’t sure how rich.

Am I noble’s son? The idea made him excited. Finally he could live life without worrying about his next meal. He wouldn’t have to scrounge for change to eat. As soon as he was able, he would learn more about the family he had been born into.

Unless the goddess decided to tell him. He would ask her whenever she revealed herself again.

When the maid finished feeding and burping him, she set Kail back in his crib. Kail was struck again with his helplessness. He wanted to explore! But he was stuck in his crib, staring at the ceiling.

The maid took a seat in the room and pulled a small book from one of her apron pockets. She began to read. The silence dragged on and Kail felt sleepy. If all he could do was sleep, then sleep he would.

Like that, another day slowly passed by. As time progressed, he learned how to walk, talk, and all other steps in a growing child’s life.

He was five when the goddess finally came to him again.

Kail was sitting in the library, reading one of the books. He had managed to slip out of his nanny’s care.

“Hello, Kail!” the goddess greeted, startling him out of his concentration. “What are you reading?”

Kail sighed and smiled. “I’m reading a tale about the Light Mage from ten thousand years ago.”

“Oh? Why are you interested in him?”

“Well, I want to learn more about The Bloody Claw. I figure the only way to do that is to learn more about the Light Mage he fought against,” Kail replied as he stood up to stretch his legs. They were going numb from sitting on the floor.

“My brother was his guide. If I knew where my brother was, we could ask him. He knows that mage better than anyone.” The goddess sighed. “But after the Blood Mage was killed in battle, he vanished. I think the two made a contract.”

“Contract?” Kail echoed.

“Yes. Gods and goddesses can make contracts regarding various topics. Some gods and goddesses will even sacrifice their life in the contract if they like the human enough. There have only been three cases, including my brother’s if he made such a contract.”

Kail mused over her words. “Do we have a contract?”

“No. This is more like an alliance. We will both benefit from your goal.”

“How will you benefit?”

“I will get the revenge I deserve. That bitch killed my human lover after I blessed him with the darkness element.”

“The gods and goddesses take human lovers?” Kail was reminded of the Greek mythology from his first life. Particularly Zeus. Were any of the gods in this world like him?

With a sigh, the goddess answered his thoughts. “Yes. His name is Jaz. He is a troublemaker in the human realm. The number of people he has slept with is unknown. He has been at it for too long. Let’s hope you don’t meet him when you’re an adult. He won’t hesitate to try to seduce you.”

Kail laughed. “Well, I should be able to avoid him with your help.”

“I will do my best to keep you hidden.”

“What else can you tell me about your kind?” Kail asked, eager to learn.

She hummed thoughtfully. “Well, we each have our own abilities and role to play in this world. My role is to keep my sister in check. Without light, there cannot be darkness. Without darkness, there cannot be light.

“My sister is one who loves complete control though. She needs to be stopped before she completely ruins our harmony.”

“What happens to the harmony when I kill her?” Kail had been curious about the consequences of his future actions.

“A selected human will take her place. All gods and goddesses of this world were originally humans.”

That information surprised him. “How were you able to become such a powerful being?” His blue-gray eyes seemed to sparkle with excitement.

“We were all once powerful humans who helped keep this world in check. As we continued to grow stronger and the other humans continued to see us in a holy light, we became gods. We held a meeting to give each other specific roles based on our abilities,” she explained. “The belief of humans is quite powerful.”

“What happens when the harmony is thrown out of balance? Has such a thing happened before?”

There was a brief silence. “It depends on what part of our harmony is destroyed. For example, my brother’s absence has given an increase in wandering lost spirits among the humans. Even the undead are wreaking havoc in areas. He was the god of the dead.”

“And what about the Goddess of Light? Has anything like her absence been seen?” His words brought another silence.

“One time before, yes. The original Goddess of Light sacrificed herself when she fell in love with a demon king from another world during a grand meeting between divine beings. A lot of the other divine did not approve of their relationship.”

The goddess let out a sad sigh. “My dear poor sister Azrelbella. She and her lover were forced into a war between divine beings. Her lover received a mortal wound and before he could die from his wound, she used her own life force to save him. At the same time, she released her true power.

“Her golden light lit up all of the universe. Her power dispersed the hate and calmed all beings that bathed in her light. Her light was warm and full of love and sorrow. The war ended with that. When she vanished, there was an infant in her place. She had been with child, an extremely rare occurrence between divine beings.

“That war had lasted for a thousand years. Many living beings lost their lives as a result. Some had willingly joined the fight. Some sided with either my sister or those who opposed her relationship. Others tried to stop the divine war.

“The child was left to be raised by the demon king and my sister’s absence quickly affected this world. The world was devoid of color. The warmth of the sun was no more. No flame brought relief from the cold that quickly began to take over.

“Myself and the other gods of this world rushed to find a replacement before the world became a planet of ice. We examined every single intelligent being that could possibly be a perfect replacement. Originally we started with just the humans but we quickly added the elves, dwarves, orcs, fairies, and demons. Even the spirits.

“We settled upon a teenage spirit. She met our requirements. We gave her our divine blessing to bring her to life and change her into a goddess. Immediately after doing so, the world returned to how it had been before. Sadly, by then, most of civilization had perished. It took too long to find a replacement.

“Four hundred years passed. The new Goddess of Light became power hungry. Thus began the fight between us. As time passed, she continued to eliminate the darkness element and blood element. Eventually both became rare. As retaliation, my brother and I eliminated any beings of the light element.

“But it came to no end. Now all three elements are rare. You are the first darkness element since the days of The Bloody Claw. The dark spirit you are friends with was his friend but the spell that was cast the day of The Bloody Claw’s death blocked his memories.”

The goddess heaved yet another sigh. “I wish this fighting between us would end quickly. I am tired and weaker than ever because of the lack of followers. My brother’s last mage was The Bloody Claw. I think because of that, he may have given his life as a term for the contract.”

Kail went over the information he had been given. It brought another question to his mind. “How come you yourself haven’t killed the Goddess of Light?”

Chapter 3

The Goddess of Darkness let out a hum. “I did try. But the pact made between us prevents us from killing each other. The only way is to bless a warrior of our choosing and have them hunt the specified god or goddess.”

“What’s your real name?” Kail asked, his curiosity not yet sated.

The goddess let out a hearty laugh. “You truly are a lover of knowledge. My real name is Izabella. I am the twin of the original Goddess of Light.”

“Why did you choose me?”

“Because the demon king who blessed you with the demonic arts is the former lover of my sister. I do not know why he chose you. That is something you will have to ask him yourself. I can find a way to contact him for you.” Izabella sounded happy.

“If you could, that would be great. I am quite curious.” Kail was about to ask another question but paused when he heard the door open.

His mother entered the library. Her blue-gray eyes landed on him. “There you are! Nanny Emily and I have been looking everywhere for you!”

Kail smiled. “I just wanted to read.”

His mother sighed when she saw the book in his hands. “Honestly, Kail. You’re not at that reading level yet.”

“Yes, I am!” Kail was not about to lose his access to the books.

“How? You’re five,” his mother retorted with a smile.

“So?”

“Then prove it to me.” She thought he was just being a stubborn kid.

Kail huffed and looked down at the pages he had the book open to. As he recited the words, his mother’s face became full of shock. She was in complete disbelief. Had the teacher they hired taught him how to read so well already?

“Okay, enough.” His mother waved her hand. “You win. Your teacher is amazing. I am quite happy that we hired him.”

Well, he didn’t really teach me. I already knew how to read thanks to the Goddess of Darkness. But Kail didn’t correct her. He had decided a while back to keep his connection to the goddess a secret. Especially after learning she was looked down upon.

Kail knew that his parents would be upset upon learning he was of the darkness element. The dark spirit formed beside his mother and waved with a smile. Kail spared him a glance. His mother didn’t catch it.

“Well, then.” She clapped her hands together. “Kail, are you ready to meet the prince tomorrow?”

“Prince?” Kail echoed.

“Yes,” she replied eagerly. “There is a chance you two could end up as fiancés.”

Kail was thoroughly confused. He had learned that there was royalty ruling over them and had assumed it would be run like any other royalty that appeared in history or novels. Clearly he was wrong.

Now that I think about it, it isn’t surprising that I have a chance at being paired with someone from royalty. His mind went over the information that he knew about his family.

His full name was Kail Phoenix. The Phoenix family was a grand dukedom. In terms of class, their family was right beneath the royal family. They were revered as the protectors of the kingdom. Since the family’s beginning, they have served the royal family and protected the kingdom from all threats.

Several of them were among the knights, guards, and adventurers. Each branch had a mix of high positions in the castle or elsewhere in the kingdom. Kail was always reminded of how different his life would be once his element was discovered later every time his teacher spoke about the great history of his family.

Their family name came from their forefather who had obtained the power of rebirth from the God of Fertility. It was not a power of immortality. Each family member had three uses of the ability. It was also paired with eternal youth.

At the age of twenty, their bodies stopped aging. There were several members who were over two hundred years old across the kingdom.

That information had made Kail want to shout with happiness the day that his teacher taught him about it. It would allow him to have a better chance to achieve his goal.

Kail looked up at his mother. “Is Teacher James here yet?” He had been in the library all morning. Surely it was noon by now.

His mother nodded. “Yes, let’s go. He’s waiting for you in your study.”

Kail followed her out, eager to obtain information about the royal family that he was to meet tomorrow.

Teacher James was a young man of twenty-five. He was a genius in his generation. He was an expert in many fields and was hired by several families, including the royal family. He had chocolate brown eyes and long moss green hair. The green hair represented his element which was earth.

“Hello, Kail. How are you today?” Teacher James greeted when Kail entered the study.

“I’m fine. I have a question,” Kail replied after shutting the door.

“What is your question?”

“Can you tell me about the royal family? I will be meeting them tomorrow.”

Teacher James smiled. “Ah, yes. It would be a good idea to learn about them before meeting them. Let’s see. Where to begin? I guess I’ll start with the current members.”

The royal family name was Skye. The king was Gerald Skye and the queen was Faith Skye. They had four children between them. The oldest was Gilbert. Gilbert was followed by Amanda, Keith, and Diacus. Diacus was the youngest and the one Kail would possibly become fiancés with.

The two were the same age. Upon learning this, Kail dreaded meeting the prince. He was an adult in a child’s body. He and the prince would have nothing in common. On top of that, Kail felt disgusted at possibly becoming the fiancé of a child. It was already weird that he was receiving one at such a young age.

But as a child, there was nothing he could do to stop the adults. Well, it wasn’t like he had plans to stay in the family. In ten years, Kail would run away.

In ten years, he would be given a private aptitude test with Prince Diacus. That test would determine whether or not they had an element and what that element would be. According to Teacher James, there was talk that Diacus would have the water element. This rumor was based off of his white hair and eyes.

Kail could already foresee how the test would go. While Diacus would be praised for his supposed water element, Kail would be shamed and cast out for his darkness element. Because of that, he needed to make sure to make a run for it as soon as the test date was determined.

Kail noticed Teacher James staring at him with a serious gaze after speaking about the aptitude test. “Your hair is black and your eyes are gray. Such a troubling sign.” He clicked his tongue in dismay. “I do hope you do not have the darkness element. Such a promising future will be destroyed if you do.”

It was rare to be able to tell someone’s element based off of their hair and eyes. Teacher James was one of those rare people.

There were specific colors: moss green hair with brown eyes for earth, white hair and eyes for water, black hair and gray eyes for darkness, red hair and eyes for blood, gray hair and blue eyes for sky, orange hair and eyes for fire, blond hair and golden eyes for light.

Kail was horrified to learn this information. My own DNA is ratting me out before I take the test? he thought, worried now about how he would be treated.

Teacher James made a mental note to speak about Kail’s future with his parents while he continued to teach Kail. He returned to the topic of the royal family.

The Skye family had taken over the kingdom five hundred years ago. The kingdom, named Cloud Kingdom, was originally ruled by the Azure family. The Azure family was corrupt and tyrannical. The Skye family led the rebellion that would end the Azure family and took over the kingdom.

As time passed, the Skye family proved they could rule a kingdom and their place on the throne brought nothing but prosperity for the kingdom. The citizens were well taken care of, including the poor.

Thanks to this, the crime rate was low and no one really complained. If they had suggestions or information, they were able to meet with a courier who would send the information in a scroll that was teleported by magic to another courier who would deliver the message to the king.

All of the work was divided among the royal family to allow for better management over the large kingdom. The Phoenix family helped with some of the work as well, solidifying the relationship between the two families.

This relationship was built on trust and had become one of friendship as time passed since the days of the rebellion. This year would be the first time they would attempt a marriage to combine the families.

Chapter 4

Kail had not expected to hear that. “This is the first time?”

Teacher James nodded. “There were a few times where the idea had been proposed but it was always dismissed for one reason or another. It may happen again this time as well.”

Teacher James looked Kail over once before clicking his tongue in annoyance. In his eyes, Kail was losing value as a student. If it turned out that Kail had the darkness element, James’ reputation would be ruined.

Kail frowned. He didn’t like how James was acting. At first, Teacher James had been friendly. But after bringing up the topic of elements, his whole attitude changed. I get the feeling he will be talking about me with my parents today.

A knock at the door interrupted the increasingly tense air between teacher and student.

“Enter,” Kail called.

The door opened and his older brother entered the room. His brother was named Storm. He was fifteen. He had their father’s dark red hair and green eyes. He had their mother’s gentle features.

Kail guessed that his appearance meant that he had returned from his aptitude test. Teacher James bowed as Storm entered the room.

“Hello, Young Master Storm. How are you this fine day?” James greeted with a bright smile.

Storm had a big smile on his face. He couldn’t hide his obvious excitement. “Hello, Teacher James. I’m doing great! I just returned from my aptitude test.”

“Oh? What was the result?”

“I am of the light element!” he revealed.

Kail’s eyes widened at the news and he looked up at his brother. Storm glanced at him. There was darkness in his eyes when their eyes met. Kail knew that he had been informed of his element. Damn Goddess of Light! She’s already trying to ruin my life!

Storm returned his gaze to Teacher James. “I need to borrow my little brother for a bit. I hope I’m not interrupting an important lesson.”

Teacher James shook his head. “Not at all. I was just giving him a brief history about the royal family today. I have another appointment to get to. I’ll take my leave now.”

Storm nodded before turning to Kail. “Follow me, Kail. I have something to show you.”

Kail kept his guard up as he reluctantly followed his brother out of the room. Storm led him into the game room down the hall. Once the door was closed, Storm leaned against the billiards table in the center of the room.

He rested his bright green eyes on Kail. “I spoke with the Goddess of Light while I was at the temple to take my test. Would you like to know what she told me?” His smile was gone and his expression was dark.

The affection he once had for Kail was gone. Kail simply nodded his head. In truth, he already had a hunch as to what the goddess had told Storm.

Storm crossed his arms and continued to look at him with a penetrating gaze. “She told me that you’re of the darkness element. I had suspected of such based on your hair and eyes but then I told myself maybe it’s because you have Mother’s eyes.”

Storm shook his head and sighed. “She also told me that you’re from another world. That your soul replaced my original brother.”

Kail’s rage blew up inside him. That bitch!

The Goddess of Darkness spoke at the same time, saying his thought out loud. Storm did not react for he did not hear her.

“Tell me why you decided to try and live a lie, Kail.” Storm’s voice was full of hatred.

Kail glared at Storm. He was desperately trying to think of a way to escape this sudden situation. He couldn’t play dumb and he couldn’t just change the subject. Storm would never let him get away with that.

“Answer now or I will go tell my parents the truth,” Storm threatened.

“Because the Goddess of Light ruined my first life!” Kail blurted, panicking.

Storm raised a thin eyebrow. “Oh? Why?”

“She hated me because I was blessed by the demon king of my first world. But I didn’t live like I was. I never used my powers to commit bad deeds. I only tried to live a simple and happy life. Yet she refused to let me have that. She always destroyed any source of happiness that I was able to obtain,” Kail explained.

All he could do was hope that his explanation would turn Storm to his side.

“I doubt you can prove all of that so I won’t ask for proof. It sounds pretty unbelievable. The Goddess of Light spoke of you as an evil person who terrorized everyone in your first life,” Storm said before flinching when a voice reached his ears.

“Not on my watch! I refuse to let things go wrong so early!” It was Izabella, Goddess of Darkness. She had given Storm the ability to hear her for just this moment. “My sister lied to you, child of light. Kail is no evil person.”

Storm looked at the empty space beside Kail where the voice resounded from. “Who are you? Are you the Goddess of Darkness? The Goddess of Light warned me about you as well.”

“What? How dare she? She is lying to you, human! You weren’t even supposed to have the light element originally! You were supposed to be fire!” Izabella felt livid with how things had turned out.

“Fire?” Storm laughed. “As if! I’ve never heard of a divine being able to change someone’s element.”

“You dare to mock a goddess? We have the ability to select a warrior and change their element to the one we represent. You living beings know a lot about our abilities but you don’t know everything.” The goddess was tempted to smite him.

Unfortunately, the Goddess of Light had placed a special protection spell on him that prevented Izabella from harming him.

Storm rolled his eyes. He knew she couldn’t do anything to him no matter how angry she got. “Whatever.” He turned his attention back to Kail. “You’re planning to get revenge against the Goddess of Light? I’d like to see you try. Grow up and get stronger. When you think you’re ready, we will face off in battle.”

He sneered at Kail as he spoke. “Be warned: I will be far stronger than you when that time comes. I will be training as well. For now, I won’t tell anyone. Well, at least until you’re fifteen. The test will tell everyone for me.”

With that, Storm left the room. Kail was shaking from his anger and fear. He had hoped to be able to keep everything a secret before running away at age fifteen.

The Goddess of Darkness huffed. “That bastard is too cocky for his own good. Alright, Kail. I’ll go find you a teacher. We’ll have you start training in secret. I don’t trust that brat to keep his mouth shut.”

“But I’m five years old. Who would want to teach me?” Kail refuted.

“I know some people who will have no qualms about teaching a kid,” she said before going silent. She had left.

Kail sighed and sat down on one of the couches sitting against a wall. “No doubt Storm will be working to make my life a living hell.”

The rest of the day passed slowly and tensely. Kail was woken up early to prepare for the meeting with Prince Diacus. Kail couldn’t stand the preparation and wanted nothing more than to go back to bed.

The servants made quick work of getting him ready for the day before he left for the palace a few hours later. Kail looked out the window of the carriage as they made their way to the massive palace and capital.

It would take them about three hours to arrive. The scene that passed by slowly changed from fields on either side of the road to a forest and then to the large wall around the capital. There were several people set up outside, selling wares and mystic services.

“Mother, what is going on?” Kail asked quietly, curious about the festivity in the air as they continued past the gate.

His mother, whose name was Esmerelda, smiled. “The Harvest Festival will begin soon. Do you want to go this year?”

Kail became a bit excited. “Yes, please!” His first event in this new world! The idea of being able to actually participate in a fantasy festival was a dream of his. He lost himself in thought as he wondered what the festival would hold as they continued through the capital.

The palace was soon revealed when they left the residential and market areas. The palace was a beautiful shimmering white and gold. A few other smaller palaces were set in orderly fashion just behind it on either side.

A giant flag bearing the emblem of the Skye family was hoisted up on a tall pole at the castle gates. The emblem was of an orange bird with long tail feathers that was flying while carrying a sword with one foot. A sun was behind it, its rays radiating around the bird.

Chapter 5

The Phoenix family emblem was similar. The same bird flew in the opposite direction, holding a shield instead of a sword. The sun was replaced by a crescent moon.

That bird was the phoenix. Kail had no idea why the phoenix was part of the royal family’s emblem. He made a mental note to research more about the two families.

The carriage came to a stop in front of the palace doors. The driver jumped down from his seat and opened the door. Kail’s father stepped out first, followed by his mother and then Kail himself.

The driveway was a large circular driveway that circled back to the gate. Bushes of bright orange and red flowers sat following the circle in the middle. To Kail, the petals resembled a bird’s foot, its claws reaching for the sky.

Kail followed his parents up the many steps to the door where two guards greeted them with a slight nod of respect. The doors were held open by two servants. The family passed through uninhibited.

Kail’s eyes widened at the scene that met him past the doors. The tall white walls were extravagantly decorated. Gold-framed paintings were hung on each wall, a gold plaque on the bottom of each frame. A large chandelier hung down from the ceiling, its bulbs of electric magic giving plenty of light to the room.

Deep red curtains with gold trim were tied back to reveal a pair of doors across from them. The large doors bore the emblem of the royal family. Kail’s family walked up to the doors and a crier announced their arrival through a magic item shaped like a star.

The item was a bit smaller than the crier’s palm and floated above his hand. It was a deep purple gem that acted as a microphone. Kail was intrigued by this strange item. It was added to his list of things to learn about.

The doors swung open on their own after a brief moment. Kail followed his parents through into a throne room. A red carpet with gold trim sat in the middle, reaching all the way to the platform that held the two seats of the king and queen. The said king and queen were sitting on their thrones.

The room was massive with tall windows letting in the sunlight. There were curtains tied back on either side of every window. The windows were made of stained glass in the middle, bearing the Skye family emblem.

The platform itself seemed to be made of gold upon closer inspection as Kail and his parents reached it. The king and queen both had smiles on their faces.

“Welcome, Harold and Esmerelda!” the king greeted happily as he stood. He walked down the steps and pulled Harold into a hug. Kail had learned from Teacher James that his father, Harold, was best friends with the king.

That probably had a huge impact on why Kail was in the palace. The two men pulled apart after a moment. Harold had a big smile on his face. “Gerald, this is Kail,” he said as Esmerelda gently pushed Kail forward.

King Gerald’s face lit up more as he looked Kail over. “Hello, Kail! You’ve grown quite a bit since I saw you as an infant.”

Kail dug through his memories of this new life but could not recall ever meeting Gerald as a baby. He must have been over while I was sleeping. That was the only logical explanation he could come up with.

Kail gave a respectful bow. “Greetings, Your Majesty.” Kail figured he should be the one to be respectful since he did not have the close relationship that his parents had with the royal family.

Faith laughed as she came to stand beside her husband. “Don’t be so stiff, little one. The Phoenix family are our friends!”

Gerald had a head of white hair and brown eyes. He had a scar over his right eye and was clearly older in terms of appearance than Kail’s parents. Faith had gray hair tied up in a perfect bun. There were a few bits of blonde hair that still showed among the gray. Her eyes were icy blue.

Kail nodded as he straightened. After a brief conversation, Kail and his parents were led through a side door. They walked down a hall and into another room. It was a sitting room. Tea and desserts were set up for them. The tea was still steaming.

They each took a seat on the couches on either side of the coffee table set up in the middle of the room.

“Diacus will be with us shortly. He should be finishing up his lessons now,” Gerald spoke before looking at Kail. “I’m certain you two will get along famously.”

Kail highly doubted it. He internally sighed, wishing he could go back to his books. His blue-gray eyes focused on the desserts. He loved sweets but he didn’t have an appetite. His guard was up. The way everyone acted towards him screamed fake and forced.

Kail didn’t need to think too much about the reason why. He knew that Teacher James had to have said something to his parents while the king and queen automatically knew his element based on his appearance.

He felt like he was in a lion’s den.

While the adults chatted, Kail thought of ways to escape his family. The Goddess of Light has already started her offensive against me. Even if Storm doesn’t say anything, those who know Teacher James and the appearance fact will know my element. Both my family and the royal family will no doubt try to keep me under control.

The more Kail thought about it, the more he realized that he was running out of time. The longer he stayed with the family, the more restricted his life would become. But he had no choice. He had to get stronger before he could run off into the strange world of Mou.

Kail wondered how long it would take for Izabella to return with the teacher she had left to fetch. Would this teacher even really take him on as a student?

Kail’s thoughts were interrupted by the door opening. A finely dressed child entered. Kail knew immediately who he was just by looking at the white hair and eyes. Prince Diacus. The adults looked over at Diacus.

“There he is,” Faith said happily as Diacus joined his parents on the couch. “Diacus, this is Kail.”

Kail put on a smile as Diacus looked him over with a judging gaze and false smile. Kail could already tell what he was thinking. He is disgusted by my appearance, Kail thought bitterly.

Diacus finally spoke after a moment. “Hello, Kail,” he greeted.

“Hello, Diacus,” Kail greeted back.

“Well, now that they’re both here, let’s get the talk underway,” Gerald spoke up after the two had greeted each other.

Kail listened closely to the adults while pretending to be interested in the conversation he was having with Diacus. The discussion between the four adults seemed to be going towards making the arranged marriage a reality.

This did not surprise Kail. The marriage would be chains for Kail. But he did not let that deter him from planning his escape. Even if the families put him under supervision, there would always be a chance for him to escape.

Kail was no stranger to being supervised and escaping. His first life had been full of such situations.

A few hours passed before a decision was made. The result? Kail would marry Diacus. Kail was a bit upset over the result but knew there was nothing he could say to change it. He was just a five-years-old kid to them.

A meeting for Diacus and Kail was set up before the Phoenix family left to travel the long way back home.

Kail felt exhausted from the day’s events as they headed home. He couldn’t wait to climb into bed and fall asleep. Upon arrival, he went straight to his room. I hate being so low on stamina. This child body of mine is too easily exhausted.

He sighed when he reached his bedroom door only to be called by his nanny. It was time for dinner. Kail reluctantly followed her to the dining room to join the rest of the family for dinner.

As they ate, Kail was bombarded by questions from his sister and second brother. Storm ate silently, ignoring Kail completely. Kail answered their questions about his arranged marriage as best as he could. Their parents spoke up when Kail could not answer a few of the questions.

Kail was glad when the dinner ended. He slipped out while the rest of the family was still talking as dessert was being brought in. He headed back to his room, dragging his feet from how tired he was.

Once in his room, he got ready for bed. Once under the covers, he sighed and closed his eyes. Sleep quickly claimed him and he was thrown into a vivid dream. The last thing he heard before slipping under was the caw of a raven at his window.

Author's Note: This novel will be on a four day hiatus after the next update in two days. It has reached chapter twenty on other sites and I take a break every ten chapters. If you would like to skip the wait here and continue reading, you can find this novel on scribblehub, deviantart, commaful, inkitt, inkspired, penana, webnovel, sweek, wattpad, and royalroad.