Aether Chronicles: Birth Of A Legend

Raegar watched as Elara appeared in front of him with a relieved expression as she screamed toward her soldiers. ''Silverspears! Form up, we're returning to town!''

Moments later, dozens of heavily armored warriors circled them while Ranthor led them with a fierce gleam in his eyes, just after crushing a demon captain that tried to challenge, but it was useless.

He gripped his daggers as his arms shook but he dashed into the fray. Without a care he leaped over the shieldwall and cleared the way for the soldiers by cutting down the demons while throwing Fire and Thunder Bombs into the enemy ranks which erupted and killed dozens.

When Elara saw this, she charged forward and killed several enemies after blocking their attacks. Ten minutes later, they reached the town and were let inside just as cheers erupted, but he ignored that as his head spun.

He pulled out a stamina potion and downed it, which allowed him to stay on his feet. As he recovered, Elara appeared and suddenly hugged him while speaking cheerfully. ''It's good to see you Rae! When I spotted those daggers I knew it was you.''

The older woman started dragging him into the town, when they got away from the crowd she turned to him with a smile. ''Come to my quarters and rest, you look like you're about to collapse.''

Raegar chuckled before returning the hug before replying in an exhausting tone. ''I am, I used an ability that zaps me of energy but the more I use it the better it gets.''

Following that, Elara led him through the town until reaching a quiet square and ushered him into a quaint-looking home. She pushed him onto the sofa while speaking. ''Get some rest, I'll make some tea for us.''

''Okay,'' he replied before yawning.

Raegar felt the exhaustion creeping over his body, prompting him to pull out a bottle of sake and took a swig which caught the tiger woman's attention. Her eyebrow rose as she questioned. ''What are you doing?''

The sweet liquids burnt his throat, making him cough, once he calmed down, he replied. ''Waking up or I'll collapse on your sofa, it's the softest thing I've felt for months.''

When Elara heard this, her smile grew wider as she finished making the tea before approaching and sitting beside him while handing him a cup. ''Drink this, it will make you feel better.''

Raegar took it and down it in one go causing a wave of Aether to wash over him and make his body feel slightly better. While doing this, she curiously asked, as it was too much for her. ''Why are you wearing a mask now?''

''I was mutilated by a Devil Lord while trapped in a Rank D dungeon with a strike squad,'' he revealed before taking a sip of the hot tea which gave him some energy to continue. ''It destroyed my face during the fight and now I'm either waiting for my grandmother or finding a Tier Five Healer.''

Elara's heart dropped when she heard this and noticed the mask's expression changed slightly as if he was nervous. She grabbed his arm before asking. ''Let me see, please.''

Raegar was perplexed as he questioned with a raised eyebrow. ''Why? I'd rather not see a disgusted expression on your face.''

''I'd never do that!'' the tiger woman exclaimed.

He let out a soft chuckle before giving a slight nod. His hand moved to the mask, lifting it away, and a rush of cold air grazed his exposed skin. As he set the mask aside, Elara's eyes widened in disbelief.

Instinctively, she reached out, her fingers trembling as they gently traced the scars across his face. While doing that, she spoke in a low voice. ''There's nothing wrong with you Rae, you're still handsome and they make you look good to me.''

When Raegar heard this, his cheeks went red, which put a smile on the older woman's face. ''You honestly thought I'd be revolted by this?'' she said while massaging his temples.

''Yes,'' he answered honestly.

This made Elara frown once again before she flicked his forward and rejected such a thought. ''Never, you idiot. Now hurry up and finish your tea.''

Raegar chuckled before downing the hot liquid that gave him a boost of energy. After putting the cup down the tiger woman suddenly grabbed his head before dragging it onto her soft thigh.

''Rest my little warrior,'' she said in a soft voice while playing with his hair. ''Your parents will be proud to have a son like you, especially Alaric.''

Moments later, his eyes started closing as they got heavy and the last thing he saw was Elara's tail brushing against his cheek before falling asleep. While Raegar rested, the older woman watched over him with a smile.

After some time, a knock rang out, prompting her to speak as she put his mask back on to respect his privacy. ''Come in.''

Ranthor stepped into the room only to stop short when seeing Raegar sleeping on her lap, which made him chuckle. ''Looks like the boy is exhausted. No wonder, I can still sense his Aether outside.''

Elara toyed with his scruffy white hair, a warm smile spreading across her face as she spoke. ''Yes, he burned through so much energy, even my tea couldn't keep him going, and he just drifted off to sleep.''

The tiger man laughed before a knowing expression appeared as he teased. ''You know Victoria and Alaric will be hesitant about you both, he's their youngest son after all.''

Her head snapped toward him with narrowed eyes. ''I don't like him like that brother. I find him adorable and admire his dedication to getting stronger, not many humans have that kind of drive.''

Ranthor chuckled before pointing at the mask. ''What's with the new style?''

''I'll let him tell you,'' Elara answered with a smile. ''It's not for me to say, it's personal to him.''

When her brother heard this he shook his head and began to leave to warm. ''I'll leave you and your little lover alone baby sis, just remember to ask his parents for their blessing, knowing Alaric he'll have a heart attack.''

The tiger man ducked with a low chuckle as Elara hurled a shoe his way, then slipped out of the room, leaving her alone. She glanced down with a gentle smile, ensuring he was comfortable as she ran her fingers playfully through his hair.

Following that, Raegar recovered from using Fusion Overdrive and opened his eyes only to see Elara's head tilted to the side while sleeping. He sat up with a yawn and noticed it was still night outside.

It dawned on him then that he'd been resting on the older woman's soft thigh, a surprisingly comforting spot, and he jolted upright. The tiger woman beside him toppled to the side with the sudden movement, then leaned against him for support.

Raegar stiffened when feeling this, but didn't move her and ended up gathering to refill his Aether Pools. By the time they were full, it was morning and Elara was gone when he opened his eyes.

''Do you want some breakfast, Rae?'' her voice came from behind him.

He turned around and noticed Elara standing there with a smile before he nodded. ''Yes please but more importantly are the demons still outside?''

When the tiger woman heard this she nodded. ''Yes but thanks to you, their numbers have been halved giving us a chance to fight back.''

Raegar jumped to his feet, stretching his limbs with a grin stretching across his face. ''You handle breakfast,'' he declared cheerfully, ''And I'll take out the rest of them. I'll be back before it's ready.''

Following that, he left the room using Flash Step, which shocked Elara who started following him through the town by using the roofs. As he got close to the wall he summoned his daggers before using Lightningfire Blast to send himself flying over the wall.

The situation caught everyone off guard, but as Raegar soared through the air, he summoned Hydra Blades that materialized in his grip. Just before he struck the ground, he hurled the weapons with precision at the enemy soldiers.

What followed was a brutal massacre. With the Silverspear attack having already thinned the higher ranked warriors, only Tier One and Two demons remained, and Raegar cut them down effortlessly, leaving none standing.

He continued bouncing around the battlefield while slashing, stabbing, and deflecting attacks causing sparks to fly everywhere as he killed countless enemies until the Dawnfire soldiers charged out of the town.

Raegar watched while the Dawnfirians slaughter the demons to the last man, just as Ranthor appeared beside him. The older man glanced down with a big smile. ''It's good to see you took my sister's advice. Your attacks are stronger than before.''

''Yes, fighting countless monsters and devils everyday for months brought me here,'' he answered. ''But I can't get to Tier Two until reaching Drakenwood Academy.''

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