“Hmm, something doesn’t seem right… ”

A tall, dark-haired man in a golden robe stood in front of a painting canvas with a scowl etched on his face.

The man had a lean build and seemed quite relaxed, but there was a strange aura around him that made it appear as if the dark-haired man was more than what meets the eye. With long black hair braided in the center, and a pair of glimmering golden eyes, the man was strikingly handsome.

The painting depicted the scenery of a small lake and a tiny canoe gently swaying on top of the water. The canoe was empty with neither oars nor pa.s.sengers. Besides the turquoise colored water and the wooden canoe, the painting had nothing else.

Although the painting was bare, it still brought forth a strange emotion when one looked at it.

“You never had any talent in that hobby of yours.”

A new figure laughingly spoke as he slowly approached the dark-haired man from behind.

The newcomer was dressed in the same golden robe as the dark-haired man. He had shoulder-length purple hair, and bright amethyst colored eyes.

Unlike the dark-haired man, this newcomer was strongly built with muscles bulging through his golden robe. Calmly gazing at the dark-haired man’s back, the newcomer continued to slowly walk towards him.

“Sigh… this boredom is killing me, Ezkael! How long does Master plan to punish me?”

The dark-haired man complained, as he turned around to face his friend and fellow disciple.

“Haha, you snuck a peak when his daughter was showering, do you really think he will let you off that easily?”

Ezkael boisterously laughed out loud while slapping the dark-haired man on the back.

“Tch! How was I supposed to know Master was currently flying above the lake at that moment?”

The dark-haired man irritatedly replied, but soon joined his friend and burst into a fit of laughter when he realized that he could not hold it in any longer.

“Hahaha, that was definitely not your finest moment, my friend, definitely not.”

In large empty meadow, two youths chatted with each other as they lazily laid on the gra.s.s and gazed at the cloudless sky above.

“Oi… do you think our lives would be different if we both did not have the bloodline of a primordial beast?”

Ezkael softly whispered as he stared at the blue sky.

Letting out a light sigh, the dark-haired boy answered:

“I don’t know, Ezkael… but as the next heirs of our two families, we have a duty to protect this realm and its people. There is already unrest between the ascended human immortals and the beasts, and if w-”

“I get it, but why should we let the humans have their say here, when this was our home in the first place!”

Ezkael heatedly interrupted the dark-haired man, as he banged his fist against the ground.

“That does not matter anymore… some of them are not as weak as the Elders seem to think. I have interacted with a few of them, and their leader’s power is not any weaker than the strength of a primordial beast.”

The dark-haired man calmly explained to the angry Ezkael.

“You… talk to them?”

A raging anger began to spread itself across Ezkael’s face.

“This was why I did not tell you… ”

The dark-haired man quietly stated, as he remained unperturbed before the rising anger of his friend.

“Do you have any idea how the others will react if they find out that you have been cozying up towards the humans?”

Ezkael fumed in a cold voice as he struggled to keep his anger in check.

“I did it just to see a single glimpse of her… ”

The dark-haired man said softly with a slight smile on his face.

“Why?”

Ezkael sorrowfully asked as streams of tears poured down his face.

Kneeling on the ground and clutching the broken body of his best friend, Ezkael bitterly wept as he realized that there was no more hope for his friend.

Hearing his friend’s voice, the dark-haired man struggled to open his eyes while his hands trembled in an attempt to grasp Ezkael’s wrist.

“It’s a family curse, my friend… we keep falling for a woman who can never love us back… Haha- cough cough”

The dark-haired man lightly replied, as he spluttered out a mouthful of blood towards the end of his sentence.

Even on the verge of his death, the dark-haired man did not lose his sense of humor.

“I will kill those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds!”

Ezkael whispered venomously as his violet-amethyst eyes glowed with a sinister energy.

“NO! Don’t Ezkael… Please… ”

The dark-haired man abruptly exclaimed as he held Ezkael’s wrist with a steely grip.

“Give me one good reason for why I shouldn’t cleanse this realm of their filth!”

Ezkael frostily inquired, but his voice cracked in the middle when he saw his friend’s eyes slowly closing.

“Because… she bears my child… ”

The dark-haired man muttered as he took his final breath.

The heavens trembled under the booming sound of thunder as a royal purple lightning crackled within the clouds. Ezkael’s violet eyes burned with vengeance as he turned to face the sky, and he bellowed out his friend’s name to the entire realm.

“RAIZEL!”

These series of memories flashed through Calron’s mind while the violent bolt of lightning coursed through his veins.

He knew he was screaming his lungs out, but he did not hear a single sound.

He could not feel his heartbeat.

He did not even know if he was still breathing.

The only thing Calron could feel was a faint thrum spreading from the center of his body.

It was his father’s locket.

The metal slightly vibrated, as a misty azure smoke seeped out from it and hovered in front of Calron’s chest. Gradually, it shaped itself into the bird symbol on the locket and glowed with a pale azure light.

Calron did not know what was happening, but he could sense that the locket was summoning someone or something.

*SCREEEE*

A piercing cry of a bird suddenly echoed amidst the sound of thunder, as an illusion of a gigantic golden bird flew above the dark sky.

Flashes of Azure Lightning darted across its wings as it illuminated the entire sky with its brilliance!

The golden bird’s sparkling azure eyes focused on the human below it.

*SCREEEEEE*

The golden bird let out an ear-shattering screech as it turned its gaze towards the screaming human on the ground, and abruptly charged towards him.

Meanwhile, Calron still remained in a state of oblivion.

He continued to bellow in agony, as his muscles spastically twitched and veins popped up all across his body.

Suddenly, the nails on Calron’s fingers started to elongate and began to take the form of a claw.