Two porcelain cups sat between them, steam rising in lazy curls. The morning sun filtered through the tall windows of the guest wing, bathing the wooden floor in soft golden hues.
Damian held his teacup with one hand, gently swirling the small 'tea' inside it. Across from him, Aeron sipped his own with the poise of a crown prince, unaware of the small, wicked grin twitching at the corner of his brother's mouth.
"So," Damian said, tilting the cup slightly. "It's not poisoned right?"
'W-what?... O-of course not." He stuttered, as he coughed on his tea.
"Alrighty then,... Don't mind if I do." Damian raised the cup halfway to his lips. Aeron's eyes flicked to it. Damian smirked and stopped just short of drinking.
"What's wrong?" Aeron asked.
Damian shrugged. "Nothing. Just… thinking about the taste. Bitter things aren't really my style."
"There's a lot of sugar in it Damian." Aeron added.
He tilted the cup again and paused.
Aeron narrowed his eyes
Damian sighed dramatically. "You know, there's something poetic about this tea. Something like swallowing all your regrets in one gulp...."
Still no sip.
Aeron's expression soured as his eyes started twitching."Just drink the damn thing already." he replied, trying to hide his annoyance.
Damian laughed, then, finally—slowly—he brought the cup to his lips and drank.
'Despite containing the poison that literally ruined my entire life, it gotta say, this is delicious.' Damian thought.
A devilish grin appeared on Aeron's face as he saw Damian drink the tea. "Ok then, I guess I'll on my way Damian. I just remembered I had to do something."
"Ok I should start getting ready for the big thing huh."
"Yeah" Aeron replied back while leaving the room.
"O-kay,... Today's a good day so why don't I wear something nice this time." He grinned.
•••
'Beelzebub's essence. A cursed concoction banned in most parts of the empire for its nasty effects.' Damian explained to himself while freshing up in front of his mirror.
A single dose temporarily devours all your stats—strength, magic, agility, everything—like they never existed. For twenty-four hours, you become less than your average commoner.
"But the terrifying part was that it permanently consumed 80% of a person's overall skill points." Arthur muttered softly.
An awakening is a one in a lifetime event where a person can get their class and any one skill of their choice. And get the said skills, the person would have to use an artifact to be transported into dimension where they can exchange their skill points for classes.
"Children with noble blood always have more starting skill points than normal children for some reason."
Although Damian also had noble blood, he was infact a half blood as his mother was a commoner.
Apart from the points you were born with, extra points were added for all a person's efforts before the awakening began.
On the other hand, Beelzebub's essence literally devoured everything thee moment it's inserted into the body. The drug is mostly lethal to kids who haven't under gone their awakening yet as they were the only ones who required points.
"But that's only half the story." Damian chuckled."I only found out during my days secluded research after I learned of this... Poison..."
Beelzebub's essence acted as a catalyst to something powerful. A skill that only pops up after deeming you worthy. And in this regression, Damian was bent on obtaining this skill as if he played his cards right, he would eventually achieve his goal—to become king.
He fastened the last button on his wrists and straightened his flowing black coat. The white turtle neck top he wore underneath blended perfectly with his persona as the young prince, a smile tugging at his lips.
Just then, he felt dull ache in his limbs. The essence was starting to do its work.
Unlike the permanent points deduction, the weakness he got from his skill loss was only temporary so he didn't pay much attention to it.
"I should get going."
As he strolled down the corridor toward the ceremonial hall, his thoughts drifted to his family.
His father Elric blackthorne, the king of the Aureon. Was a man with a... Big mindset.
Damian sighed. "As calm as he always appear to be, it seems even he couldn't keep his dignity in his pants."
King Elric has married 4 wives and had 7 children total. And out of these, Damian was the last child. The unimportant extra as he was often called.
"Number 7 huh..." He muttered, releasing another sigh.
His other siblings were what the Kingdom considered its potential heirs
The palace called them "The Crown's Branches." But everyone knew only two branches mattered—the first queen's sons, and the second queen's three heirs as among the 7, as they were the only ones born with pure noble blood.
Some people barely even knew the king had a seventh child in the first place.
His brother Aeron was a half blood, but he was placed leagues above Damian as his mother came from the house of a wealthy merchant.
But Damian's mother on the other hand was but a mere commoner with no significant backing to speak of.
Leaving them at the bottom of the ladder as weak and insignificant in the family tree.
But Damian was about to change all that. His goal burning brightly in his mind as he made his way to the next item he desired.
He pushed open the old worn out wooden door with a gentle creak as he stared at the occupant of the room, a tear running down his cheeks as he stared at the woman on the bed with a small genuine smile.
"Mom..."