I dreamt about better times when everyone in our family was alive. When my uncle and my cousin were still here with us.

"Master-"

"I'm up, I'm up." I interrupted her before she could finish her sentence.

I sat up on my bed and withheld a sigh.

"I've told you before to not call me master."

"But what else would I call Master?" She asked.

"How about Prince Ryoto, or just Ryoto?" I suggested.

She looked horrified at the prospect, "I could never call you by your name!"

I almost rolled my eyes, "Please, no one in my family was ever as arrogant like the other nobles."

She still hesitated.

"Fine, just call me young prince or something. But please, no 'Master'."

She nodded in affirmation.

But I knew better than to trust her with this. By the end of the day, she will revert to calling me 'Master'.

How do I know? Cause we've already had this talk more than a dozen times.

Why do I even bother…

Oh because I hate being called Master when I've done nothing to warrant that.

And, I'm talking to myself again.

Anyways, I should get ready.

"Did you bring my clothes, Akari?" I asked.

"Yes, Mas- Young Prince." She stumbled on her words, presenting me the clothes on a tray.

I sighed, noticing the lavish design of the clothes.

"Can I wear something else please?" I pouted.

She giggled, "Your father predicted you would say that, so he sent a different set of clothes for you."

She brought out a less lavish set, but they were still luxurious.

It consisted of black trousers, a chain hanging from one side; a black shirt with a purple tie; and a black long coat with purple highlights that extended to my calves.

A bit too much black there dad, but who am I to complain?

Akari left the room to give me some privacy to get changed, and that was appreciated.

As I exited the room, I saw Kufumi conversing with Akari.

My sister was 10, a year younger than me, with the same purple-streaked black hair and purple-slitted eyes as me.

Upon noticing me, she walked over to me.

"You know, Mom isn't going to approve of your outfit right?"

I shrugged, "I'll face her wrath. Besides, she knows I don't like dressing lavishly."

"You do remember what today is right?"

Now that confused me, "What do you mean? What's so special about tod-"

That's when it hit me.

The representatives of the 6 major clans will be arriving later in the day to discuss Hojosa, my older brothers, coronation.

"Ah, crap. I'll change before they arrive." I assured her.

"You better, I'm not saving you from mom if you don't change." She warned.

"Love you too sis." I retorted.

She shook her head as we began walking to our dining room, bickering ever so often.

"Morning children, fighting already I see." Father greeted us as we entered the room.

Needless to say, we got our looks from Dad, who looked like an older version of me.

Or rather I looked like a younger version of me.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call it fighting more like sibling rivalry."

He chuckled, "Yeah, of course."

Hojosa came a few seconds after we had settled down.

He took more towards mother, with his red-streaked silver hair and red eyes, same as mothers.

"Good morning Father." He spoke, then turned to us, "Morning Ryoto, Kufumi."

Mother came in last, and immediately zeroed in on me, eyebrows raised.

"I know, I'll change before they arrive." I spoke before she had a chance to.

She nodded, "Make sure you do so. You need to be presentable in front of the clan leaders."

"But this is a presentable outfit…" I muttered.

She sighed, "While I agree that it does suit you, you need to wear formal clothes for the meeting."

"Ok, mother." I relented.

"Speaking of which," She turned to Father, "When are you going to change?"

Father was in a casual shirt and trousers, not at all prepared for a meeting.

"I'll change as soon as I return." Was his reply.

"Where are you going?" I blurted out.

He shrugged, "I'm just going to look around the city, see if everything is prepared."

"Let me guess, you're gonna go incognito?"

He smiled sheepishly, "You caught me."

"Can I go too?" I pleaded, it has been weeks since I last stepped outside.

Father and Mother shared a glance, with mother having a worried expression on her face.

"He will be fine, I'm going with him."Father tried to reassure her.

She persisted for a few more seconds before relenting, "Fine, but I want you to return as fast as you can if you see something suspicious."

"You know I will."

"So, I can go?" I asked hopefully.

Mother sighed again, "Yes, but stay with your father at all times."

I nodded, "I will."

"Can I go too?" Kufumi asked.

Mother shook her head, no.

"Sorry, Kufumi, maybe some other time?" Father tried to make up.

Kufumi nodded, not at all fazed, "It's fine, I'll go with you next time."

Father patted her shoulder before getting up, turning to me, "Well then, let's go."

As we neared the gate, a maid was already standing there with two cloaks in a tray.

My Father took one for himself before tossing the other one at me, "Wear that over your coat. That way it will be harder to notice you. Have you learned how to hide your mana?"

"Yes Dad, I learned that years ago." I replied, shrugging into the cloak.

"Good, then put that to use." He remarked as we departed from the castle.

It was beautiful outside, the city had been decorated for the arrival of the beastkin leaders.

Festive decorations were all over the place, and dozens of stalls stood beside the streets, selling items that ranged from simple roasted nuts to enchanted armor and weapons.

I couldn't help but be amazed at the display.

There was armor that could appear on you in an instant, there were weapons that could be summoned to your hand. Some had runes etched on them, signifying the strong enchantments on them since runes are old magic and one of the strongest.

I was so busy staring at the displays that I never once noticed the massive volley of white-hot flames coming our way.

Father pushed me behind him, raising his arm and materializing a shield of purple flames in front of us.

Purple fire was the specialty of my race, said to be very potent and even hotter than white fire.

Which is why it held and spared us from the onslaught of the bone-melting hot flames.

Chaos ensued.

People began running in any direction they could, stepping over each other, the stalls left forgotten.

"Ryoto, stay behind me. Do not come out no matter what, understood?" The steel in my father's voice left no room for any argument.

"Yes, Dad."

I could sense four mana signatures, but they were far from any I have sensed.

For one, they gave this repulsing feeling. On top of that, it seemed erratic, chaotic. Never in one state. At one point they were pure mana, and a second later it was of fire affinity.

I can only imagine the agony of having such mana in you.

But I did not pity them, why should I when they came here to harm our people?

Despite all this, they were strong, strong enough to stand up to Father, who was the strongest mage we currently had.

That's when multiple shadows fell over us, and when I looked up, all the blood drained from my face.

Hundreds of icicles floated over us, and in a split second, they all plummeted.

Father moved his arms over his head, focusing on creating a shield over most of the plaza.

The icicles melted and vaporized on contact, shrouding the entire area in mist, degrading our vision.

Father swore softly under his breath.

Then, the knives came, each one coated in deadly poison, at least that's what I thought the blue liquid was.

Father waved his arms around, raising and rotating the air around us in a mini hurricane, deflecting the projectiles.

A faint rumbling sound began emanating from around us, and the ground started trembling.

The trembles got stronger and stronger until we had a full-blown earthquake on our hands.

That caused me to stumble out into view, giving them a clear and vulnerable target.

And then it rained blades, dripping with the same poison.

At the same time, the ground underneath us caved, as fissures ran out in a spiderweb around us.

Father turned around, grabbing me in his arms, and brought out his tails, which he wrapped around us.

The buildings around us, which had stood tall for centuries, began falling in on themselves, and the sky was blotted out of our vision as debris from the broken buildings fell, the people inside them long dead.

Along with the rocks, came the wave of poisonous projectiles, stabbing into my father's back as he cried out in agony.

"D-Dad. Your back!" I pointed to his shoulder, where his cloak and shirt had been torn off, showing his blackening skin which began flaking off.

Poison.

He ignored me, and with trembling hands, pulled out the ring on his index finger, the same ring he had been wearing for as long as I could remember.

"H-Here," He handed me the ring, closing my fist against it, "Take it… And run. Go anywhere you can, be it the castle, or be it the wild forests. But remember, no matter where you go, the Kingdom of Zaseon goes with you…"

By now the poison had reached his neck.

"D-Dad, I c-can't-."

I can't leave you like this.

I can't run while you slowly die out here.

"Just go!" He bellowed, "Run!"

His gaze softened and his lips curled up in a comforting smile, "Go, my son, you must survive. Tell your elder brother that I have faith in him, that I believe he will be a better king than I ever was. Tell your mother that I cherished the time we had together. And tell your sister that… well tell her I'm sorry, but the next time will never come. Now, run!"

And I did, never once looking back, not even when his screams filled my ears.

They had found him, and were taking their sweet time to kill him.

Tears rolled down my cheeks, as I grit my teeth in frustration.

Oh god, please let this end!

No matter how hard I prayed while running, the screams of pain and agony wouldn't stop from behind me.

I navigated my way through the rubble and fallen debris, even stumbling and falling once, but got up immediately and went back to running.

It was easy to slip out of the city since the guards were in disarray.

The capital city was located fairly close to the border and I was able to reach it by nightfall.

Once I did, I halted and hid behind some foliage, cloaking my mana.

Using my mana carefully to not alert the guards, I created the illusion of a man with a lantern, wielding a sword and running straight to the gate.

"Hey! Stop right there!" The guard shouted.

When he didn't listen, the guards went to intercept him.

Wasn't there supposed to be more guards?

I moved closer to the gate and found two of them sleeping, probably drunk.

I shook my head in disappointment, no wonder those assassins could get in so easily.

I swiftly moved through the gate, my legs groaning in protest. They ached so much, I was afraid they would fall off.

I ran blindly from there, mowing through branches and undergrowth with no concern for my being.

When is this forest going to end…?

Just when the forest seemed to come to an end my legs gave out, and I skidded on the muddy ground.

Just… a bit… further!

I need to… get out… of the forest!

I began crawling.

I was that desperate.

Then again, that's probably why I'm still alive since I made it out. Otherwise, I would have been food for the wild animals residing there.

Unfortunately for me, that seemed to be my breaking point, and I began losing my consciousness.

The last thing I saw was the shadow of a person over me.

Did they find me…?

Well Dad, seems like I won't be able to give them your message.

I suppose I will be seeing you soon then…