After about a month, their house was ready. It was a simple one story house with two bedrooms. I thought it was rather nice. It was about the same size as the one that I grew up in. This one was a little bit nicer though. There was very little furniture besides the beds. We didn’t use it to do much besides to sleep. Even dinner was just hunted and cooked at a fire outside, unless it was raining. It was fall and winter was looming around the corner, so we would start eating inside more often. For now there was no need.

I was used to eating outside due to my 4 years in the mountains, but I wasn’t sure about Lux. She wasn’t sure about it at first, since she had been brought up to eat at a dinner table with proper manners and the whole nine yards. She grew into it as time went on, since it was always nice outside.

Naturally we were busy, whether we went to town to get some supplies here and there, or training. It was mostly training though. From morning to early afternoon we focused on swordplay, and from then until evening we worked with magic. Lunch would be simple rations from town. After we were done training for the day, we would split up and hunt for something to eat. Whoever didn’t catch the meal was in charge of cooking for the night.

We soon realized that neither of us would be recognized by the townspeople. It was extremely unlikely that any of them would have ventured to the capital and caught a glimpse of what Lux looked like. Quite frankly, I don’t think that they even cared about the royal family out here. As long as we paid for our goods, and didn’t cause much trouble, they didn’t mind us too much.

Eventually I had to get a haircut. There was just way too much and it was a hassle. Before I cut it, it was down past my shoulders, and impossible to keep up with. I’m not sure how Lux takes care of her hair, when it’s all the way down her back. I made her cut it for me since I couldn’t do it myself without making myself look dumb. When she was done I was impressed. It looked and felt much better now that my hair was only down slightly past my ears.

We usually spent what little free time we had with idle talk. While we weren’t technically together, we were beginning to rely on eachother more and more. Whether it was for me to kill an insect, because almost all women hates bugs and refuse to kill them if there’s somebody else who can near them. Usually they instead opt to scream, because screaming solves everything. Or her waking me up in the morning, because I was not, am not, and will never be a morning person. It goes without saying that each of us was crucial for the other’s development in combat where they lacked.

What I enjoyed most was having another person who was my age to talk to daily. It wasn’t as if I stopped talking to Exidium, but he was usually sleeping. Also we already know almost everything about one another, so there isn’t much to talk about, especially since he can go through my memories so telling stories to him isn’t effective. I imagine that Lux is in the same situation with Salus.

When I did talk with Lux they were usually about little things. For example:

“Have I told you about the time I burnt down half the forest in the Lost Mountains?” Things like that. Or, “I remember the first time I went to a little in and met a girl named Linn.” Actually when she told that story she seemed to remember something that happened between them and started blushing.

Our trips to town were usually uneventful, but things did happen here and there. Every now and then we would take a day off and just enjoy ourselves. We weren’t in a rush to get anything done. There wasn’t a place we needed to be anytime soon. Even if we were to go against the kingdom, if we try to rush in without enough strength, the only thing waiting for us is death. It was almost like we were living a normal life.

Months past and winter was already here. I myself didn’t mind the cold, so I continued wearing my black coat that could be worn year round. Lux changed into heavy clothing. She looked stunning in it. The white clothing over the entirety of her body contrasted her black hair and glowing red eyes perfectly.

Training was progressing well. Her use of Rising Calamity was improving at a steady rate as I taught her the stances. One of the times we were sparring, she accidentally cut my shoulder because I wasn’t exactly paying attention to the match. Even in winter I usually sparred without my shirt out of habit, and thus my clothes were saved from ruin. Thankfully she hadn’t cut too deeply and the wound gone within the day thanks to my daemon blood. Even though it was clearly healed, she still bandaged me up and made me wear them just in case. I thought that part was a little strange since, well, she has healing magic.

I eventually got back to the level of control I had before the fusion. No matter what I tried, I couldn’t recast that enhancement magic that altered the flow of time. I remember using it, but I don’t remember how I did. Besides that I also created a few more spells. Dark Lightning was a spell that used the dark magic to send a torrent of energy into a target, mimicking real lightning, but was far more sinister.

Void was the only defensive spell that I created. It creates a mini black hole and absorbs all the magic around it. Unfortunately there is a limit to how much it can absorb and will disappear after taking too much. If a dangerous spell, like Broken Stars was used, it would at best block about 40% of the magic overall.

I could also enhance my sword with my dark magic. Since it had such a strong affinity with Oblivion there were no problems with the magic harming the blade like it would a normal one. I could use the magic to increase the sharpness as well as cause wounds to become more severe, like the magic was a poison that I laced over oblivion. Lux of course had her own enhancements for her sword, Excalibur. If I was asked what they were, I would have no response. (These enhancements did in fact cause harm to local forest animals. I apologize.)

As for Broken Stars I could cast it freely without any problems. I just chose not to often, since it was the spell that left Lux scarred for so many years. I don’t know if she thought it was a big deal at all, but I didn’t want to risk bringing up poor memories.

Eventually she asked the question after sparring one day. We were sitting down, resting after the spar had ended when she said, “When we met that day, I didn’t even know you could use a sword. Now you’re even better than me. How come you improved so much over the course of two short years?”

“Those two years were anything but short.” I didn’t mean for it to, but a slight coldness seeped into my voice as I remembered. “I gained oblivion then met with my father. Who sent me through a test of sorts.” I was still reluctant to tell her that my father was a daemon. Not just any daemon, but a Sovereign of Hell. Although I told her that he brought my mother to hell, I wasn’t sure if she thought I was serious. Maybe she thought that my dad was just someone who was extremely powerful and could sweep my mother away without a trace within this realm.

“The test was to awaken my daemon blood. My father is the Sovereign of Hell, Lucifer. The reason I was dying that day wasn’t because a random item I found in the labyrinth fused with my contract’s magic, it was because my inherit daemon blood was fusing with the contract. During those two years, I did nothing but fight and kill. Death and destruction followed me in my wake as I ascended the floors.” My voice was heavy as I recollected the events.

I was looking down without realizing it, and when I looked up I was expecting a look of disgust to come from her eyes. Instead what I found was a look of sympathy. She was feeling sympathetic for a half-daemon like me. “I always thought it was strange that you recovered unnaturally quickly. So you really weren’t kidding when you told me that Moth-Almitas was brought to hell.”

I felt a wave of relief wash over me as I realized she didn’t think I was disgusting or evil. She got up and knelt down beside me, and pressed her forehead against mine. “I can never think of you anything but good Noct. Even though our first meeting was less than great, and I was actually terrified of your existence, after our second encounter I knew you weren’t the person who I thought you were. You’re kind, calm, and patient, especially with someone like me who's never been without someone to aid her. And on that day we saved each other, I knew that you were going to be important to me forever. Your lineage, your past, and your power can’t change that.”

She lightly kissed my forehead before pulling me off the ground to once again spar. I wasn’t exactly thinking straight the entire time, but managed to barely escape injury. I would describe it as daydreaming while fighting. I know it’s not the time or place, but I was happy that I was truly accepted by someone besides my parents. Exidium is like a parent so he doesn’t count. By the time we finished sword training, it looked to me that the day got a bit brighter.