[Corven Umbrovante]:
Upon first waking up in his dorm, Corven was angry. His whole situation pissed him off. His strength, or lack thereof, in the face of greater power… His weakness. His losses. His inability to make a difference in the face of true power — It was humiliating. It completely rubbed him the wrong way. All of it!
'He toyed with me how a boy would a toy truck,' Corven thought, fist clenched, even as he remembered everything that had happened the previous evening. His rage was an impossibly insurmountable mountain; an unstoppable gale of air that toxified his lungs with shame and spread the venom of vengeance through his heart. He knew then that he would NEVER be helpless like that again. 'I can never again let that happen. I need to get stronger.'
As he simmered in his rage, Corven suddenly remembered something — Mid battle with the masked figure known as Number 5, Corven had sensed the great snake shadow undead he had hidden within Cimon's shadow to protect him in case of emergency, activate. The only reason why it would have activated itself was if Cimon was in danger.
Corven's heart beat quickened at the thought of something happening to one of the only family he knew of, but he forced himself to think logically. He could still sense Night Viper's presence within the Academy, and he was sure that if he tried to, he would be able to pinpoint its exact location. And since he hadn't recalled the serpent or given it other orders, it should still be with Cimon.
No sooner had he thought this then the door to his dorm room burst open and in came both Cimon and Achlys.
"Well, if it isn't our favorite cousin," Achlys grinned as large as Cimon, arms outspread as if wanting a hug. Corven immediately complied, hugging both his cousins at once, though not with a sarcastic quip.
"I am technically your uncle," Corven offered.
"No way in the 5 Layers of Tartarus am I ever calling you 'uncle', cuz," Cimon stated, dead serious for a minute, though glee could still be seen in his eyes.
As the trio pulled away, Achlys took stock of Corven's dorm. The cultivation room he doesn't truly use, the squeaky clean bathroom and the darkened room itself, with his bedding, closet and dresser bathed in the darkness, that light repellant vibes that only eternally closed curtains brought.
She smiled in amusement as she spoke. "Still avoiding the light, I see. I can't remember if that's Photophobia or Heliophobia, you have; Remind me again which you have."
"Both... Kinda," Corven shrugged. "I mean, it's probably more Photophobia than Heliophobia, considering it's less of a fear, and more of a condition — Still, it's gotten more manageable these days; especially now when I am near constantly channelling a minute amount of shadow energy to stand in brightly lit places for extended periods of time. It helps make light more tolerable, though it's often draining on me if I have no clone to recharge my energies. It's why I keep my room dark; it lets me not have to channel shadow energy constantly, without fear of irritation from my condition."
Nodding to herself, Achlys maintained her silence as both she and Cimon studied Corven in appraisal. They suddenly had widened eyes, as if sensing something surprising.
"You're reached Mid-Demigod rank?!" they asked in shocked unison.
"Yes," Corven grinned, unabashedly prideful in himself.
"But you've only started cultivating less than 3 full months!" Achlys was flabbergasted. "How is this possible. It is not supposed to be possible."
"Evidently it is, though," although Cimon was mildly surprised, he had an inkling glint of comprehension in his eyes, as if he knew something nobody else did. "Nevertheless, it is... slightly disheartening to see that you achieved what took me 13 years in the span of 3 months…Even despite me being a prodigy in my own right, you're obviously a monster. Still, I am proud of you, Cousin."
"Yes, me, too," Achlys relented, giggling. "It just begs the question, if this is how powerful you are now, then by the end of the year, you should be on our level soon, right? The one we're on right now? I imagine that's not quite far-fetched…".
As Corven took his pride in their words, he picked up on her words and realized something else.
"You're both at Chaotic Rank," he said, a statement, not a question. A fact. An astute observation. "You both were at mid-Demigod rank last I saw you all."
Achlys grinned, as she told Corven her tale — of her mission, her ambush, her victory and her dream. As she spoke of Joshua Allen, Corven found himself speechless.
'So that fool is a Primordial Spawn as well, and one with greater power than even Achlys,' Corven thought in mild distress. 'So many strong enemies — Both near and afar. I cannot be so weak anymore. I must continue getting stronger. I must.'
"And that's when Athan arrived, but then, so, too, did a masked figure," Achlys was explaining. "It looked like it was helping him — Allen, I mean."
"Why are there so many masked figures these days?" Cimon muttered, though both Corven and Achlys silently agreed with the Prince of Slumbers.
"And Korey?" Corven asked, concern etched into his voice. "And Little Bella? What happened to them? You said they were healthy, and Korey was injured?"
"With the boy's permission, Athan turned him," Achlys said slowly, allowing Corven to digest her words. He blanched for a moment, before regaining control of himself.
"Turned?" Corven inquired.
"Into a vamp... like himself," Achlys said. "Apparently, the type of vampire he turned into was an exceedingly rare one, even rarer than Daylighter Vamps. It's called a 'Psychopompi Vampire', and I'm sure it's a result of Korey being a son of Hermes on some level. They're apparently faster than most vampire species and, while they can sustain themselves off blood, they primarily feed off souls, or something the like."
Corven wasn't sure how Khorey was taking this news. He was sure he would need time to adjust. Then again, he would also focus on the good of the situation as well, like how he had been better tools at his disposal pull pranks on others.
Corven was pretty sure that Athan's must've had his hands busy in teaching the boy the do's and don'ts of vampirehood.
Either way, he was glad, at least, that the boy and Little Bella survived all that.
And, apparently, Bella, little as she is, is a witch! Who'd have guessed? Corven was thrilled for their safety, and worried for future Athan's sanity. He was sure the little gremlins would soon terrarize the noble House of Eubeleus.
'Athan, apparently,' Coren thought, now realizing how his master seemed to have created a home for those of special lineages nobody ever seemed to want; it made Corven curious about his motivations, though he boxed the concerns for later coverage for thought.
"And, you, Cimon?" Corven turned to his "cousin." "What adventures have you gone through in the dream realm that has allowed you to break through to Chaotic Rank?"
"None?" Cimon said quickly, to Achlys's and Corven's raised eyebrows. "At least, none I'm willing to talk about right at this moment, anyway. What I will say is that even in the Dreaming world, the Night Viper was a great help. Thank you, Corven."
The two nodded at each other, before Corven spoke once more. "You guys have gotten stronger, but what if I said I had a way to get you two even stronger?"
That immediately got their attention.
Pulling out 4 Cultivation Boosting Plum Fruits, Corven handed two to each of his cousins, much to their delights.
"With this, we can reach mid-Chaotic rank in an instant!" Achlys checked out her fruit, thanking Corven profusely. Cimon joined in by giving Corven his appreciation.
Corven was about to say something sly, when his dorm door burst open once again, and in came Princess Celeste, flanked by Marxes and Jabari. They seemed to walk in in a rush.
"Hey, Celeste," Corven said, curious as to why she was here.; she never appears on the boys' side of the dorms. "What's going on?"
"A Capital ship has descended upon the school," Celeste answered. "It bears the Academy banners."
"Apparently," Markus continued. "The events of the past day has reached the ears of the Academy's upper eichelons — The Vice-President of the entire Academy has arrived."
Corven couldn't help but be shocked at the bomb that was just dropped. Because who wouldn' be?
The Vice-President of the entirety of Mythorus Academy? Even with the amount of time that Corven's been attending, he's never seen the guy. The fact that he was appearing now only spoke of the severity of the incident that had only previously occurred.
Corven couldn't help but wonder: If the Faction Heads are so powerful, and the VP is over even them, then how powerful must the VP be in actuality?
The urge to find out was digging into him… Or rather, digging to get out of him. His blood was calling to find out.
Demigods were warriors by nature. Even children of the more peaceful gods had warrior-like tendencies. It was just the nature of divine blood. And, as a Primordial Spawn, that nature was even more deeper for Corven.
Corven physically had to mentally restrain his thoughts to stop his battle-eager mind from imagining scenarios that would easily get him killed. And it worked. Briefly. Until…
"And… while the ship has only just landed on the campus shipbay, the Faction Heads are already out front to greet him," Jabari said."A mandatory assembly has been summoned for all students."
"We are to meets in the Dining Hall," Marxes stated, finishing the bombdrop. "All factions are to attend without refusal."
Corven merely smirked.
"Well, then," Corven said slyly. "Shall we?"