The next morning, when the first rays of the sun appeared in the skies, Nero, Ethel and a small group of people were already standing below a certain tree near the pond.

“Put the coffin in,” said a knight as Nero watched how few men placed his mother on the ground.

While those men started burying his mother, Nero just stood there and looked at the coffin with an empty expression on his face. Many scenes of his childhood flashed through his eyes. Mother, teacher, villagers, everything that happened to him.

Though he felt enormous pain, no tears appeared in his eyes. Nero only clenched his fists as the coffin slowly disappeared from his sight. The longer he watched, the emptier he felt as if his childhood slowly disappeared together with that coffin replaced by the scenes of the burning and crying village, and the scenes of his dying mother.

He continued to look at the spot of the coffin when knights finished and placed a small headstone before they left, leaving Nero alone. Only then, he finally returned to his senses and fell to his knees, looking there.

‘A loving daughter, warrior, and mother.’

There was no name or date. Only those words and insignia with a wing and sword were there.

Nero tightly gripped the earth near to the coffin before he raised his head and looked at the headstone. A resolution appeared in his eyes as he stood up and took a small knife. Cutting his arm, he let the blood fall on his mother’s headstone.

Red droplets dyed the headstone in red as Nero released a painful sigh.

“Mother, I - your son vow to have vengeance for you. For my teacher, villagers, and everything that you suffered because of them. I promise to burn them all, leaving only ashes behind. There won’t be mercy. I will kill all of them,” said Nero as he let his blood fell on the headstone.

Several minutes later, his blood stopped coming and Nero turned and looked at his only comrade here, his small, black griffon.

“Let’s go, Ethel,” said Nero as he took him to his arms and left towards his manor.

...

..

.

While Nero was watching after mother’s funerals, Baron Claus looked in the same direction from his window. He paid no attention to Primus and Grievous, who were together with him. Both men stayed silent while the old man continued to look there. Only half an hour later, he released a bitter sigh filled with regret and turned and looked at his subordinates.

Both men saw a rare and visible conflict on their Lord’s face. But baron quickly adjusted his face and looked at them with a stern and dutiful expression on his face.

“Are you sure that nobody knows about Nero’s existence?” asked the old man as he looked at them.

Primus and Grievous exchanged glances before Grievous took his turn to speak.

“My Lord, we have destroyed all traces of his existence. We absolutely burned that village, nearby forests and obliterated the whole hill. We also found no surviving villagers, all of them are dead. Secret Service might know something, but we made everything possible to make them think it was just another dead end. Nobody will come after him,” said Grievous.

“Everyone who took part in the rescue expedition and saw him even once already signed pacts of non-disclosure. None of them will tell about him,” said Primus.

Baron Claus attentively listened to them and nodded with satisfaction before he took one of his documents and started reading.

“My Lord, what should we do with the boy?” asked Primus.

Baron Claus only showed a mysterious smile as he put away his document and looked at his people.

“Leave him alone. He needs a bit more time to mature. Let him do anything he wishes except for leaving the territory and meeting me,” said the old man with the same smile, while both men exchanged dumbfounded glances.

“It will be done,” said both men as Baron Claus gestured them to leave.

...

..

.

Sitting in the cozy armchair, Nero watched how Ethel gladly ate a portion of the meat after another. It looked like a black griffon found his heaven on the earth. There was a lot of tasty meat, many soft places to sleep, and even a maid took care of all his wishes.

In such a manner, while Clara gladly gave Ethel one portion of the meat after another, the griffon continued to sunbathe while Nero watched after him without touching the food Clara delivered as lunch.

Though there was much delicious food, starting from meat and finishing with exotic fruits, Nero had no appetite and just continued to drink water. Of course, it was a time question before Clara would have noticed that.

“Young Master, you don’t like the food?” asked the maid as she looked at Nero.

Only now, after her question, the boy came to his senses and looked at all the food at the table. Though he never saw them, there was no curiosity in his heart. Nero just drank the water before standing up.

“Bring him to the room when he finishes fulling his stomach,” said Nero as he left the room.

Clara only released a sigh as she watched how he disappeared. As if feeling the atmosphere, Ethel also stopped eating the meat and lowered his head. Though he couldn’t understand why Nero left, he thought it was his fault.

“It’s not your fault. He just needs some time,” said Clara as she carefully caressed the griffon on his head.

At first, Ethel almost growled at her because of the weird feeling, but quickly calmed down and soon he once again jumped at the nearby meat.

...

..

.

Nero continued to hit the air as more sweat appeared on his forehead. Several hours have already passed since the beginning of his training, but the boy still continued to train in the small open space near his manor. Buds of sweat appeared on his forehead, but he paid no attention to them and his slowly increasing exhaustion.

According to the Purple Tide meditation technique, he needed to be physically exhausted before the beginning of his training. That’s why and because he needed to refresh his mind, Nero continued to train like crazy.

Stance, thrust, dodge, and evade followed, one after another. Everything looked like Nero was fighting against his shadow and the boy used all his essence in that training. It looked like he tried to impart his fury and rage into his thrusts.

In such a manner, Nero spent another half an hour before a boy fell to the ground with no strength left. His whole body was wet with sweat, muscles pained, but Nero gathered his will and started moving. Groaning from pain, he sat in the lotus position before closing his eyes.

According to the information Nero got about that technique, it was divided into three parts. The first was the Polishing of veins, the network in which his energy moved in his body. There were only 96 of them and only ten of them were now open in his body. They would have opened by themselves in the due time, but Nero could fasten its rate with the help of the technique and strengthen them.

The second part was the Polishing of bones, a chance to strengthen his bones, increasing the durability of his body, and the last one was the Polishing of muscles, increasing his physical power. He could make all those changes and get huge power just by meditating and using his inner energy to affect his body. But what if Nero added much harsh training and combined the effects? Only now, the boy realized that the voice indeed gave him a powerful technique.

Finishing with his thoughts, Nero focused his attention on his source, looking for a specific thing there. He watched how the small buds of his inner energy left his source and moved through few veins further across his body. Right now, it moved only in one direction, but to fulfill the first target, needed for the Polishing of Veins, he needed to open a natural barrier on his source at the opposite end of it.

Nero knew this process will be painful. So, he took some time to prepare before he clenched his fists and sent the first wave of inner energy under his control towards that barrier.

As soon as the first attack landed on the barrier, the source started shivering as energy became chaotic, attacking the veins in which it was moving. The source was resisting such change because it was just too big a transformation for its current form. That barrier usually opened only during the first transformation, but Nero started storming it while he was just the first rank squire.

As more attacks landed on the barrier, bones and muscles pained across the body. Blood appeared in his mouth and nose. But Nero just gritted his teeth and continued to send more waves at the barrier. Certain scenes which flashed through his eyes were much more painful than the current pain he felt.

Only after five minutes, his body stopped shivering as the inner energy calmed down. He succeeded! The barrier, which was still weak because of the overall weakness of the source, finally fell and inner energy started moving from the new opening. He made it. Now his energy could move in both directions.

As soon as Nero finished, a smile appeared on his lips before fatigue, mental exhaustion finally reached him, making him fall to the ground unconscious.

...

..

.

Inside a manor thousands of km away from Wingville. The sitting man watched how a man and woman in the noble outfit bowed to him with polite smiles on their lips.

“Good afternoon, Count Melor,” said the man.

The Count Melor just nodded and pointed at the seats next to him.

Soon, the man and woman sat on their seats as more people, dressed in noble outfits, joined them at the table. There were many barons, several counts, and a duke sat at the center of the table. There was only one empty seat here, but fifteen nobles paid no attention to that and focused their attention on the duke, waiting for his signal.

Duke Gatsby threw an indifferent glance at them before he waved his hand, beginning another of the region’s secret noble gatherings where they would decide the fates and future lives of people living here.

As soon as the duke gave a signal, Count Melor exchanged glances with several nobles before he cleared his throat, attracting attention.

“I would like to raise a certain topic which you all know about for today’s gathering,” said the Count as he glanced at different nobles here. “I would like to discuss the fate of the Claus family and their barony.”

When other nobles heard him, none of them showed surprised expressions as if they expected such a turn of events someday, and only a few nobles showed dissatisfied expression on their faces while others threw curious glances at the count.

“As you all know, Baron Claus, the current ruler of the barony, has no direct descendants to pass his heritage to. His only daughter abdicated long ago, and there were no traces after her departure. Baron controls the significant portion of region’s aerial forces, and only his family has taming secrets which let them create sky lizard squads that patrol our skies,” said Count Melor as he looked at nobles.

“We all know that, Melor. Stop walking in circles and move right to the deal. Not everyone here has so much free time just like you,” said another count, throwing a despising glance at him.

“Okay, Michael. Let me introduce the guests who I brought for today’s gathering,” said Count Melor as he stood and pointed at the man and woman next to him. “This is Andrey Claus, the young cousin of Baron Claus and she is his wife - Sylvana.”

As soon as other nobles heard him, many rose their brows in surprise when certain realizations struck them and they smiled, anticipating the show to watch.

“I would like to discuss the terms on which you will recognize them as the rightful successors of the Claus family,” said Count Melor as he threw several glances at few nobles.

A moment later, those nobles stood up and threw their glance at the duke.

“I support the statement,” said one baron.

“I support,” said another baron.

“Agree,” said a count.

“I never liked that bastard. So I also agree,” said a baron who just heard about such an idea from Melor, but who couldn’t lose such a nice chance.

While a quarter of nobles quickly showed their positions, others just looked at the show with smiles, and only one baron stood, hitting the table.

“Count Melor, you have no right to interfere in the family business. Only Baron Claus can solve the inner problems of the Claus family,” said the man as he clenched his fists and threw a rage-filled glance at him.

“Calm down, Leonid. No need for emotions here. We all heard your stance. Let’s listen to what our duke has to say about it,” said Count Melor.

The duke, who stayed indifferent to everything that was happening here, turned and looked at Melor, pondering at something before he turned and looked at other nobles.

“I don’t mind this interference, but I have a condition,” said Duke Gatsby, making all nobles focus on him. “You know how hard it is to keep our region neutral. I would like to get the taming secrets and all lizard squads under Baron’s Claus control to strengthen the course of our politics.”

As soon as Andrey Claus heard him, he widened his eyes and already wanted to retort him when his wife Sylvana stopped him, calming down when Count Melor took his turn to speak.

“Okay, I don’t mind it,” said Count Melor, as his supporters mirrored his opinion. “Since we have agreed, gentlemen, can you please sign a pact of non-disclosure before we discuss our plan?”

Most of the nobles, including the duke, quickly signed the pact while Baron Leonid watched after them, gritting teeth, but also ended up joining them. He wasn’t in the condition to go against so many nobles, risking his family.

“Good, then let’s start our discussions,” said Count Melor, beginning the long period of negotiations where nobles could divide the results of the change they wanted to realize.