Chapter 6: Wings of fate

"Hm, almost there now," Nyxon told himself.

Nyxon had been in the air for a while, flying to the castle to return to his father and his family. Nyxon was happy. Turning eighteen and getting to marry the love of his life, he couldn't ask for more. Nyxon stopped to think to himself about the door again. He couldn't stop thinking about it. It seemed no matter what, the mystery behind the closed door was always at bay in his mind. This time was different– he heard a voice. A woman, he heard a woman this time. She looked angry. Her skin was as white as snow. Nyxon scar started to burn as she heard her say something. Nyxon was confused.

He walked into the window of the castle. A gift seemed to be placed on his bed, which looked like something he wouldn't want to touch. But curiosity was never something Nyxon put aside. He went over to see who it was from. Luna signed it. Nyxon smiled. He wouldn't ever stop smiling. As happy as he was, Nyxon decided to open the gift whenever she arrived. He walked out into the hallway. The red door stood before him as he wandered to the stairs. He felt sick. His scar felt like the sun touching him. Nyxon always wondered what was behind this door that was such a secret. He stretched his hand out– but quickly pulled it back. He didn't feel ready to see what was lying behind it.

He jumped downstairs. He was almost afraid of what could be behind the door, no matter how well he could hide it. Downstairs was pretty. It was covered in paintings and photographs of Magnus's memories. His first fight with Donnel, his first time catching Nyxon up past his bedtime, Manda reading him stories. His father was sleeping next to him as a child. Nyxon seeing himself again as a baby made him tear up,".....Dad...."

"Yeah, he sure is something, isn't he?" A voice said behind him.

"Yeah... He's protected so many people. He's protected me too."

"Dragons are known to protect things they care about." Luna chirped. Luna walked to Nyxon to look at the statue he stood before. It was a figure of Magnus after the fight against the Elderian Queen.

Nyxon whispered, "Protecting things they care about," he thought about it for a while. "Could Father be... protecting me from the door?" Nyxon thought to himself. His scar started to hurt again, even more than the last time. Luna looked curious. Nyxon has never scratched this hard before. "What's wrong?" asked Luna, "I feel like you're not telling me something-"

"I'm fine," Nyxon replied, cutting Luna off in her sentence.

"Well– Nyxon–"

"NYXON! NYXON!" A youthful voice shouted from behind.

"HEY, NO FAIR! I WANNA TALK TO NYXON!" a second voice shouted, followed by three little kids running towards Luna and Nyxon. Luna looked at Nyxon in confusion. Luna smiled at Nyxon as he did the same. Nyxon thought to just talk to her later. "Neve!" the girl said excitedly as Luna brushed the hair on her head.

"OOH OOH! MY NAME IS CORMAC!" shouted Cormac. He looked excited. He had an eye patch and spiky orange hair.

"CORMAC! STOP PUSHING ME, YOU IDIOT!" shouted Neve. Neve had a fierce look in her eyes. She had sharp teeth that looked something like what a shark would have.

"G-Guys, Princess Luna is getting mad," the girl behind Cormac and Neve said quietly. Cormac and Neve slowly stop fighting as Luna taps her foot angrily at the three of them.

"I'm sorry about my friends, my name is Levy, but if you want, you can call me Lev," the girl says as she extends her hands outwards. Lev was sweet. She had glasses across her face that were held up by tape. Her pointy ears perked up at how nervous she was in front of Luna. Luna shakes Lev's hand in response to the kind gesture she has been giving as the two kids behind her start to jump with joy. Nyxon was happy. He's glad the kids liked Luna. "Princess Luna, can we ask how you met Prince Nyxon?" Cormac asks as he puts his hands together to plead with Luna. "Please!"

"P-Please, princess?" pleaded Neve.

"Ah, fine, fine," Luna says as she looks at Nyxon in the background as he stands in front of the statue. "So...I was about, um, I think, twelve, or I was about to turn thirteen?"

Nyxon walks over to the statue to lean on. Luna would talk for a while so that he could get comfortable. She had been going over every detail, from how they met from every handheld to every little funny moment between them. The kids watched in awe at every point provided while Nyxon watched from behind, he smiled, and Luna smiled back too. "She's beautiful even from here." Nyxon thought to himself as he laughed at himself from the statue he was next to.

Luna thought to herself as the kids laughed as she looked at Nyxon. "He's gorgeous," she says as she begins to blow a kiss from her position with the children, who are still laughing. Nyxons face began to flush with embarrassment as he tried to hide away his face in the path of the statue. Her laugh was so captivating. Her smile, her face red at every sight of Nyxon, only made it brighter.

Nyxon yelled in his head as he pushed up against the statute. It started falling in the opposite direction, almost toward the ground. Nyxon had begun to push it too hard without noticing, and it was starting to topple in the opposite direction.

Luna noticed the concern that was raised on Nyxon's face. She tried to distract the kids, who were still giving their full attention to Luna, who was telling them stories.

"C-Come on! Just push hard!" Nyxon says as he makes the statue nearly slam into the ground. He started to grip his hands onto the bottom of the statue as he held it in place. "Ok! Not that hard!" he thought to himself. He continued to pull along the statue until it had steadied itself. The statue was back to its normal position. Luna had let a sweat of relief wash over her face as Nyxon let off a thumbs up showing everything was ok. The kids were still laughing to themselves but soon after got up from the ground as Luna had tapped them.

"Oh man, Nyxon sounds funny!" Cormac says as he wipes his face from the tears he had gotten from laughing.

Levy looks behind herself to find Nyxon laughing to himself in the corner with the statue. Nyxon crouched down to Levy. Her smile grew even more significantly from seeing Nyxon so close after all the stories she had heard.

Lev brushes Nyxons hair that is sitting on his shoulder. "Nyxon! You have such pretty long hair!"

Nyxon's heart skipped a beat, "Aw, thank you, Lev! I love my hair, but my father doesn't like it so much."

"What? Why not?"

"He says it makes me look like a girl sometimes," replied Nyxon.

"Well! I think he says that because he wishes he was a girl. Cause girls are cool!" Neve chimes in as Levy is brushing Nyxons hair.

Nyxon laughs."Sure, Neve, maybe that's why."

"Have you tried cutting it?" asked Cormac.

"I tried, but it grows back in a few hours."

"Maybe you should tie it up instead? Isn't fighting with long hair bad–"

"Yes, it is," Luna says as she walks up behind Nyxon to hold his hand. "I don't think he really cares, though."

"I really don't, yeah, says Nyxon. "So, why are you guys even here?"

"Oh yeah! We wanted to ask if we could train with you!"

"Train with me? Cormac, come on-"

"PLEASE! PLEASE TRAIN US!" Cormac and the other kids pleaded as they put their hands together and bowed before Nyxon. "N-NYXON, PLEASE!"

Nyxon was embarrassed. But the kid's priorities were set."Ok, ok! I guess.... Since the dinner party hasn't started yet. I can spare a minute or two."

"YEAH!" The kids chanted as they ran around Nyxon, pulling on his hands as they started leading him to the training stadium.

Luna followed the kids pulling Nyxon in the opposite direction where Luna was facing. She never saw these kids before.

Nyxon sighed," T-They don't have any... they're orphans."

Luna was shocked. She was trying to find the right words, "I had no idea–" Luna sighed, "H-How did you meet them?"

"I saw them digging around the trash outside. I gave them some food, let them watch me train, and sometimes even did it with them," said Nyxon.

Luna looked at the children running around the stadium. They looked happy, happy to be with Nyxon.

Cormac wondered, "This is where you're gonna fight, Donnel?"

"Yeah, it's gonna be tough, but I can do it," replied Nyxon.

"Isn't he the King's right hand? I don't even think you'll scratch him."

"CORMAC! You jerk!" shouted Neve.

"Y-Yeah, I actually wanna see him win," muttered Lev.

The kids started arguing as they walked to the end of the circle where the walls had met the end of the training ground. The arena was something that could shock everyone. Nyxon could just see it all, columns of people lined up together to watch him fight for something he had been waiting for since he was only a kid.

Luna had walked beside Nyxon as he was taking in the view of just how big the arena was. Nyxon would draw for the blade that had been attached to his hip. Luna puts her hand over his for a moment. "You're not wearing a helmet?"

"I never have before. Why would I do it now?"

"Cause- ah, who am I kidding? This is Nyxon I'm talking to, after all." sighed Luna. "Just make sure you.... You know.... Hold back?"

"Oh yeah, I got it. I won't use my Aura or anything."

"Ok, well, you can do that! Just don't overdo it."

"I got it, I got it," said Nyxon. He backed into the arena, smiling at Luna as the kids stopped talking momentarily. "Alright, kids-"

"Wait! Just one second, sir!" Cormac says as he reaches his hands out towards Nyxon.

"How could you even think about fighting us.... Without showing your Aura first!" Neve chimes in as she and Cormac pose dramatically.

Levy stares off at the group from a small distance. "I-I can't believe I'm being reduced to this..." she says nervously as she walks to the group. "I order you! T-To show us your power!" she says as she poses awkwardly with the rest of the group.

Their power had started to flow from their bodies like smoke from a fire. The combination of their Aura colors had mixed into each other, showing the bond they shared as friends throughout their lives. Levy's purple Aura stirred from her body perfectly matched Neve's red and Cormacs, whose Aura possessed a light green.

Nyxon closed his eyes. He imagined himself and his Aura flowing outside of his body. He could feel his power swelling from his stomach and trying to escape him. It started to push out from him– it leaked out from his body like smoke from a fire. He imagined himself in a field of flowers; smelling the pollen in each one made him happy. He lowered his head to sniff another. He went to lift his head— but bumped into something. No, someone. Nyxon started panicking; why was this woman in his mind? He was starting to get annoyed. His body on the outside started acting strange, and his hair flowed into the air. He opened his eyes, saw the kids again, and his Aura flowed from his body.

"THAT LOOKS AWESOME! T-THE BLUE AND SUPER COOL SPARKELS!" shouted the kids all at once.

Luna was worried; she couldn't touch Nyxon, but she could feel something was wrong. Luna raised her hand into the air. "Are you guys ready?!"

"YEAH!" Everyone shouted.

Luna pulled her hand back down to start the fight. Levy immediately thrust her hands into the arena's ground as Cormac and Neve dashed away toward Nyxon.

Nyxon readied his blade. "Azure– HEY!" Before Nyxon could finish what he was saying, he was interrupted by vines attaching themselves to Nyxon's sword. He couldn't move his arms or remove the sword from his hip. Lev shouted, "Sorry, Nyxon! I used the ground to form vines!" Lev looked to her left, "And now it's his turn!"

"HEY! NYXON!" Cormac shouted toward Nyxon's side as he charged with his sword from his chest.

"Nice one!" Nyxon shouted.

Nyxon was trapped, Cormac to his left, Levy on his sword through her vines. He couldn't focus. The thoughts of the woman in his head and the door in his castle still bothered him. But he kept fighting. He was having fun, after all.

Nyxon thought quickly– he pulled the vines as hard as he could– leading Lev to be pulled from the ground as dust covered the arena. Luna cheered in the background, clapping her hands as owls from her Aura started to make noise. Lev slammed into Cormac as he shouted gibberish to being interrupted. The vines went away from Nyxon– this was his chance! Nyxon unsheathed his blade as his Aura started to flow through it.

"Azure Syle: Cobalt Slash!" Nyxon yells at the top of his lungs as he takes his sword and slashes across vertically, creating an air slash at Cormac and Levy.

The attack had sent Cormac and Levy against the ground as they toppled over each other.

"Levy! You're supposed to be in the back supporting us!"

"I was! Did you not see what Nyxon did?!"

Nyxon's sword started to flow with his Aura as the crystal from the weapon began to change colors. Confusedly, he looked at his sword. He knew that it generated Aura energy passively for him, but he didn't know how to use it. The air had started to get hot. Nyxon began to sweat as he looked in the air. A fireball? That high in the air? Neve had been charging up her fireball while everyone else had been distracted. Nyxon cracked a smile before being interrupted again– It was Cormac.

Cormac charged at Nyxon again with a thrust to his chest. Nyxon blocked it just in time for a counter-attack as he swung his blade against his again for a clash as the two backed up and dashed towards each other to keep the action going. Cormac decided to go for a low strike on Nyxon. Cormac struck— and Nyxon countered. Nyxon had plunged his sword into the ground to counter Cormac's strike. Cormac's head started to hurt. He was nervous. Nyxon readied himself to finish Cormac, but Lev saved him last second.

Luna whistled in the stands, accidentally attracting butterflies to her shoulders. Neve was in the air as she watched Nyxon wrestle with Lev and Cormac. "Come on– just another second–." the fireball in her hand started to grow bigger and bigger. It made her smile for a second. "It's ready!" She swung her arm with all the strength she had at Nyxon. The fireball increased in size as it moved toward Nyxon. Cormac and Lev kicked Nyxon away before moving to the end of the Arena.

Nyxon started to sweat– that's how hot the fire was. His hand was sore from the leather gripping against his hand. Nyxon closed his eyes– trying to focus again on destroying the attack before him. Then, within a fraction of a second– he cut the fireball in half, killing it instantly. The smoke started to plague the stadium. Luna covered herself with a shield bubble as the smoke entered near the stands. "D-Dang it," grunted Neve. She had used all of her Aura to create the fireball, which was already gone. She fell to the ground, gasping for air.

Cormac waved his sword through the air, trying to move enough to where he could see usually. He backed himself into something– No, someone. It was Nyxon. Nyxon's eyes were highlighted through the smoke as he knocked Cormac out. Nyxon picked up Cormac over his shoulder. He whispered, "You did good, kid," Nyxon went out to find Neve and Lev, who was backed against each other. Lev quickly surrendered with Neve. Cormac quickly recovered. That kid always felt strange about fights.

The smoke cleared from the Arena. Nyxon was giving a lesson as he watched Neve get healed from Luna. "Now, using all of your Aura for one attack isn't good. Once you run out– so does your body, and you can't fight anymore. You need to learn to preserve your energy more to fight longer."

Neve groaned, "Y-Yes, Nyxon."

"Thank you for fighting us, Nyxon!" Lev shouted. She had to adjust her glasses for a moment. Minutes had passed since the fight had ended, and the kids were hugging Nyxon for the sparing session as they ran into the castle to leave for more training in the forest. Neve started to transform into a dragon. "C'mon! I'll fly us out of here like last time,"

Cormac shivered, "I-I don't like when you fly– you turn too fast, and it makes me feel sick."

"W-WHAT?" shouted Neve. "Lev! I don't turn that fast, right?"

Lev started to whistle in the distance, trying not to answer her question. Nyxon and Luna laughed before quickly hiding their embarrassed faces from Neve's confusion. Neve started to revert to her human form. "F-Fine! We'll take the train." pouted Neve. The trio ran away in the opposite direction, waving goodbye to Nyxon and Luna as she blew a kiss at the group leaving.

Luna chuckled, "Nyxon, you've gotten much better at fighting than last time."

"Thanks! I'm just glad those kids still like sparring occasionally."

"Have they stopped for a while?" asked Luna.

"They've just been so drained with no food for so long. I tried getting my Dad to adopt them, but he's working on it." Nyxon laughed, "I've always wanted a younger brother and sister. My brother isn't really the nicest. Just thinking about him makes me angry– it also makes my scar hurt." said Nyxon.

"I still need to talk to him– When I see him, I'm gonna–"

"You're going to what? Princess?" a voice whispered.

"BRINKS!" shouted Luna.