"Kyaah!" Raegan screamed in excitement as he soared through the skies.
His face was filled with happiness and his blue eyes were sparkling brightly under the afternoon sun.
Thud! Thud!
"He's having fun," Pier commented while standing near the window. He was observing the little dragon prince play with the new shadows his father allowed him to play.
"It was a good idea to get that, don't you think?" Ciaran hugged him from behind.
"It is. He loves playing with them," Pier remarked when Raegan produced another yell as he almost fell off of the middle head of the hydra.
The giant was roaming the territories with the crown prince of Mir in its head.
Pier, Ciaran, Gideon, and little Raegan were able to defeat the Hydra. It took them roughly two and a half days to make the gigantic creature surrender.
Raegan even took naps in between the battle so he can regain his energy and fight again using his small magic beads that might not have dealt quite a lot of damage compared to his fathers' and uncle's magic spells.
But the moment the swordmaster, the vampire king, and the white-haired king ganged up on the hydra, it was already meant to be their win.
Pier's endless supply of healing magic allowed Gideon and Ciaran to combat the heads and keep up with its movements for two days straight. They did not sleep nor did they rest. The magic sustenance was enough for them to conquer another mythical creature that eventually became Ciaran's shadow.
Speaking of shadow...
"I bet your magic increased again the moment you turned that Hydra into your shadow," Pier pointed out. The hydra had immense magic that concentrated on poison and other elements.
Even the dragon inside Gideon who was probably a middle-aged creature was not sure to defeat it yet the four managed to do so.
"It did. Look at this," Ciaran chuckled as black smoke gently appeared from his feet and onto the surroundings. Then, it traveled outside the window like a flow of water and onto the patch of flowers in the garden.
The moment the smoke touched the flowers...
"Hey! My flowers!" They all decayed and died in a split second.
Pier was left gaping at the now set of dead flowers in the garden where Ciaran's smoke had touched.
But of course, the vampire king easily restored it.
"The hydra had a small amount of restoration magic," Ciaran spoke and he switched the attribute of his smoke. The black smoke that caused death slowly started to make the plants alive once more.
"Wow..." Pier was amazed by the new set of powers his lover possessed.
Ciaran was even deadlier than ever the moment he acquired the hydra as his shadow. There were now three mythical creatures in possession of the vampire king.
A dead ancient fairy
A dead descendant of a dragon – the wyvern
And now, a highly poisonous hydra that could kill even vampires in a single second.
He can now use his smoke as either a killing factor or restoration. Ciaran could literally spread his smoke all-around a territory and just like that, every being would drop dead in his grasp.
But he needed to be careful with it because his allies might be included in the smoke and his restoration magic was not competent enough to bring them back to life.
Restoration magic.
It wasn't the same with Pier's healing magic because it cannot heal other creatures. Only the vampire king himself. He can use an incredibly small portion of it to restore the flowers but that's it. Nothing else. The moment he acquired the Hydra as his shadow, he now had regenerative powers that made his already immortal self further invincible.
Not that he would tell Pier.
He still wanted his lover to cast healing magic for him because it was the best thing in the world.
If someone were to cut Ciaran's head right now, the vampire king might even have the possibility of regrowing another head just like what the hydra did that made it difficult to battle.
And it was because of Pier.
Another thing his lover had done for him.
Pier was the main reason they were able to defeat the hydra. Since his healing magic came from the phoenix, it was greater than the hydra's poison.
Melfar was the strongest sovereign of the continent and battling against a hydra's poison was child's play for it. With his flame bubbles surrounding Gideon and Ciaran, the two were able to slice off the heads in close range.
'I probably won't die now even if the world comes at me,' Ciaran nudged his nose in Pier's hair and inhaled the satisfying scent.
'Even if the other candidates terrorize us, I will survive,' He thought. That's why even though he was unkillable at this moment and could live for eternity with Pier, he still needed to be the sovereign of darkness.
He was a candidate. It was either he goes to the northern oceans and kill the other candidates or they would come to Mir and try to kill him.
Ciaran cannot lose the territory he built in this place with Pier.
An even greater battle compared to the Hydra would occur the moment Ciaran would engage in combat against them and it won't be soon.
"My love, you need to rest," Ciaran looked at the marks that were spread around Pier's body; mainly the neck.
What would be a better thing to do after defeating an incredibly strong mythical creature that rivaled dragons?
Have romance.
The surge of power was like an endless shot of adrenaline coursing through the vampire king's body. He felt alive, he felt like he could destroy the world within his grasp.
And what's the best way to spend that rush of energy?
It was with the beautiful man who's the single living being who can defeat him.
They were like contrasting colors of paint in a blank canvas. Pier had the attributes associated with light and flames while Ciaran had the attributes of darkness.
Yet they were lovers.
They were meant to be the antithesis of the other but they chose to fight against the world together.
"I want to explore the uncharted territories with Raegan first," Pier slightly pushed Ciaran off of him because he felt the man's eagerness poking him from behind.
"Haven't the response from Taron arrived yet?" Ciaran asked while trying to press himself on Pier again but the latter resisted by pinching his nose.
"They haven't responded yet. Asher looked eager to see me though, I wonder why the response still had not come when I sent it weeks ago," Pier rolled his eyes as he released Ciaran's nose and manifested his wind magic.
"What if it still does not arrive?" Ciaran inquired quite seriously wherein Pier shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know. I'll leave tomorrow's problems to tomorrow's me," Pier chuckled before literally leaping out of the window that was stories high from the ground before floating in the air.
Thud! Thud!
"DAAAAD! IT'S SO FUN!" Ciaran heard Raegan scream from afar while sitting on top of the hydra's head.
"I'm coming!" Pier responded.
The vampire king was left in the room watching his family have fun in the distant horizon.
"Leave tomorrow's problem to tomorrow's you, huh," He leaned on the window frame and crossed his arms together.
His smile immediately disappeared when he thought about it.
There was another shadow inside of him that he had not shown even once. Not even Pier was able to meet it because he cannot fully control the shadow.
It was the candidate basilisk. There might be numerous basilisks around the world but the one he got was the strongest amongst the race.
He was afraid if it were to see Pier, the basilisk might try to remove Ciaran's control over it and accidentally kill Pier with its gaze.
He hid it in the deepest parts of his void.
Pier can visit his void but the white-haired king usually stays in the town he had decorated along with some of the shadow monsters. But deeper, deeper that it would probably take Pier hundreds of years looking for, hides another shadow that Ciaran took from the forbidden region.
And the basilisk was becoming impatient as time passed by.
Ciaran needed to act now or else he might have a hard time restraining the shadow candidate within him.
"I'm sorry, my love, but I cannot leave tomorrow's problem to tomorrow's you," Ciaran spoke before silence occupied the room.
Pier and Raegan, his family. He quickly needed to act.
---
Evening arrived and the crown prince, along with a few of his knights were going back to the palace after surveying the areas that were under construction.
"Your highness, we are truly grateful for your unending supervision and accommodation with our people's needs!" One knight praised him and another followed.
"Same here, your highness! The restorations will be completed in no time if this continues!" They cheered at the thought of Taron going back in its initial glory again.
Chuckling, the Crown Prince shook his head multiple times.
"It is my duty to help my people. Especially now that we are at in dire times, my presence is needed by everyone," he responded and the knights all toughened their hearts at the prince's answer.
Asher was adored by everyone. Despite some rumors about him going around and a few groups of his faction being dissatisfied in his relationship with the saint, he was still revered by many.
"W-We will do our best to continue serving his highness and the kingdom!" The knights spoke in unison and Asher laughed along with them.
It was a refreshing conversation to have after a tiring day supervising and signing a lot of papers simultaneously.
But the conversation was cut short when Asher's attention drifted towards the palace they were approaching.
His gaze drifted towards something... no, someone.
And that's when his breath stopped for a second.
Right beside the gate, someone was standing still. His long, silk robe was flapping along the breeze and his white hair was swaying too.
His beautiful face that Asher could not remove from his mind appeared.
"Pier..." Asher whispered in his ear. He lost all thought in his mind and completely forgot his knights. Slowly, the prince's walking feet started to act faster.
His legs began to take larger strides until he was fully running.
"Your highness?!" He heard the knights ask from afar but he was lost in all thought. The person in his mind right now was Pier who stood at the gates of the palace with a smile on his face.
He couldn't believe his eyes.
Pier really did come.
"Pier!" He called out loud when he saw Pier turn his back from him and also started to walk inside the palace in a certain direction.
Asher huffed as he was tired all day but he did not mind any of it. He wanted to see Pier. He wanted to meet the white-haired king!
"Pier!" He called again but it seems like Pier was using his magic as he literally floated in the air while still proceeding inside the palace.
But what the Crown Prince did not notice was that no one else was there. The halls were empty and servants nor knights were there roaming around.
He entered the palace too and quickly followed the white-haired king with his large strides.
"Pier! Wait for me!" Asher called out again but Pier stopped when he reached a certain room.
'The throne room?' Asher asked himself.
'Father is not there as of the moment...' He huffed when he closed the distance between them but not enough for Asher to touch Pier.
He stood a few feet away from the young master.
"Pier..." Asher trailed off but Pier did not respond.
Instead, the young master raised his hand to grab the handle of the double doors that led inside the throne room.
Creak ~
The object opened with Pier's strength and without looking back, he entered.
"Pier! Wait!" Asher was too blinded to notice anything else.
Knights should have been guarding the throne room even though the king was not there. Servants should have been cleaning the hallways and remove every speck of dust they could find.
But he was too engrossed in going after Pier that he failed to notice those.
Asher followed Pier inside the throne room and in an instant...
Thud!
The double doors closed.
"What..." He breathed hard from the fatigue.
But he couldn't find Pier anywhere. No, even if he wanted to let his eyes roam, he cannot. His gaze was transfixed on the throne.
On the golden seat where someone else was sitting.
"Mind if I borrow your throne? I don't want to sit anywhere else in this territory," the man who had a devilish grin on his face asked.
Asher's eyes widened and he felt his breath suddenly get constricted. He gasped for air but he could not take any of it.
"Sorry, did my presence almost make you die?" The man sitting on the throne asked and chuckled. Tapping his finger on the golden seat, the constricting feeling around Asher's throat vanished in thin air and the prince can now finally breathe.
Gasping, Asher glared at him which amused the man.
"You chased after the image of my lover without thinking about anything else and you're glaring at me like that, human?" He inquired with a smirk. His fangs bared in despise for the prince.
"I should be the one glaring at you while I watch you suffocate from my presence alone but I am here, sitting on this disgusting seat while trying to converse with you." He sounded disappointed. Asher's glare deepened even more and he tried to grab the sword beside him.
Click!
The man flicked his fingers and shadows appeared beside him.
"I wouldn't mind watching you die an instant death," he taunted as the dead swordmaster and the dead beastmaster stood right in front of the throne.
"What... have... you come here for... Fenrir?" Asher was still trying to catch his breath.
"I just want one thing for you to do. If you don't follow me, I'll kill all of your people and the entirety of Taron," Ciaran threatened.
"Where is Pier?!" Asher ignored his threat which amused Ciaran with how stupid he sounded. His kingdom was literally threatened yet he was still looking for Pier.
"I thought I was not suited to be a king at first but looking at you..." Ciaran let out a scoff of mockery.
"My lover... He's in bed resting after we made love the whole evening." The vampire king's smile widened when Asher's face instantly became blank.
"You look disappointed. I'm not surprised. After all, everyone wants to have my Pier." He clicked his tongue a few times before looking straight in Asher's eyes.
"After hours of vigorous lovemaking, he's resting in bed, Asher," Ciaran taunted again and this time, anger coursed through the crown prince's body.
'Lovemaking... Pier...' His head became empty with thoughts as he pulled his sword out.
"I'll kill you," Asher spoke in a monotonous voice.
"I'd like to see you try, human," the vampire king's eyes glowed red and his shadows started to take steps forward.
The dead swordmaster and beastmaster had horrifying looks but Asher was out of it. He was blinded in rage the moment Ciaran taunted him with Pier's actions.
"I would love to brag about how good my lover is in bed but I don't want people, especially the likes of you, to fantasize over him in your dreams," Ciaran watched with amusement as Asher took unhesitating steps towards the two shadows with his sword aura manifesting around his body.
"Beat him up until he is willing to listen to my proposition," He commanded his shadows.