The blade cut cleanly through the elk's neck as if it were going through soft butter. It surprised me how easily this blade cut through bone, I had honestly expected more resistance.

The foaming at its mouth stopped as its body became rigid before it finally dropped to the ground. The darkness surrounding it dissipated and the crazed look faded from its eyes. The patch of dead flora surrounding its carcass served as a grim reminder of why we were here.

"Good."

Tirack strode forward while I trailed behind. At first, it had been hard to keep up with his long strides, but now that I was taller and my legs were longer, it was less of an effort. But still an effort no less.

The feeling of the hilt of the sword in my hands no longer felt foreign to me. Instead, my hands unconsciously clutched the hilt in the form that had been drilled into me since I had first picked it up.

Since the day I asked to be a knight.

Of course, Rounen and Lucius didn't know about this. They still were under the impression that I would join the magic academy as a junior while they were seniors.

I wasn't looking forward to telling them.

As Tirack walked forward to meet up with the larger group, I stopped for half a second.

Just long enough for the darkness that had dissipated from the carcass to be drawn towards me. As the deathly shadows moved across the ground like shadows stretching in the setting sun, I felt the darkness enter my body and become absorbed into the familiar chasm within.

Another familiar voice entered my mind.

"You and me both." I muttered as I hurried to catch up to Tirack before he noticed me lagging.

As I walked forward over mossy green path of the forest, I felt the energy from the carcass power my footsteps. It was the only reason I had been able to keep up so far.

Looking back, it hadn't always been like this. These rabid animals had only appeared recently, with reports of rabid animals entering villages and terrorising the citizens only now reaching a point where our soldiers were stretched thin trying to kill them all. The church's priests were also working overtime.

After three years of only training and sword drills, I was finally being let outside—under supervision.

The decision to send me out was one wrought with confusion.

I had been having dinner with Kael—as I did most nights—and it had been a quiet event as per usual. That is, until Kael spoke words I had never thought I'd hear him say.

"What do you want to do?"

I was so surprised, I nearly chocked on the chicken I was eating. Did he seriously just ask me what I wanted? Did my ears deceive me?

But after seeing him look at me expectantly, I placed my knife and fork back on the table before staring at him in determination. "I want to join them."

He was quiet for a moment as he continued to stare at me. Normally, he would request my presence each night for dinner, but would never say a word. I honestly had no idea why he bothered if he wasn't going to say anything—and I sure as hell wasn't going to initiate. Why was I meant to? I wasn't going to beg for his love. I knew where that road ended up.

"It will be dangerous."

Since when did he care? Or was he taunting me?

"I can handle it." It was an automatic reply.

My hands were sweating. I couldn't believe he was considering this. After training every day and practising until the callouses on my hands bled, I was met with a chance.

"...please."

I was surprised at my own words—but I was desperate. This was my chance. My opportunity.

My way out.

With this, I would finally be on a path towards knighthood and away from magic and death. Kael held my gaze for a moment longer before turning towards his food and taking a sip of his drink. I had assumed this was his way of rejecting my request, but his next words caught me by surprise. "Tirack has agreed to take you into his group. You'll be leaving tomorrow."

I couldn't believe it. The excitement was overflowing. "Thank you father!"

He frowned.

I paused. Did I say something wrong? Fear erupted within me. If he was upset, would he withdraw his offer?

There was only one thing I could think of.

Surely not.

His eyes told me otherwise.

I could feel my cheeks heat up as the next words left my mouth like acid on my tongue. "Thank you...papa."

He smirked, as if he knew how much I hated saying those words. It was as if he enjoyed embarrassing me. It infuriated me.

"You'll need to meet Tirack in the armoury tomorrow morning, don't be late."

I gave him a fiendish smile. "I would never."

Honestly, my facial expressions were becoming more like this man every day. I guess that was bound to happen after dining alone with him every day for seven years. The idea of giving one of my genuine smiles to my brothers was beginning to feel foreign to me.

Shaking my head, I brought myself back to reality. Now, as I walked over a tree root and looked up at the cloudy sky, I tried smiling.

It felt awkward.

I really needed to practise my smiles for when I visited Rounen and Kael in a few weeks.

I missed them.

At first, I had denied missing them. But every time I saw them at the academy and their pure happiness at seeing me, I couldn't not like them. They were beginning to define the meaning of siblings for me. After all, I had never had any back on earth.

I touched my lips in surprise as I caught myself genuinely smiling. Perhaps it wouldn't be as hard as I thought.

As I looked down at my armour that was made for a child, I felt pride over my latest conquest. Although I had needed some assistance from Tirack, the final blow had been mine.

I was getting better.

When I had first faced a rabid a few weeks ago, I had frozen. My first real battle was met with adrenaline and fear.

Surely no ten year old had been through this before.

Nevertheless, my attempts to reign in my fear and think calmly had miserably failed. I would have been injured if not for Tirack when he jumped between me and the beast. It had looked like a panther, but it's body had been more angular, with sharper teeth and reptilian eyes—which had turned white after becoming rabid.

Its speed had surprised me. After backing up suddenly in fear, I had tripped on my own feet and fell to the ground.

I could almost picture Kael's infuriating smirk as I landed on my ass.

After Tirack saved me, I had been forced to observe more battles before I was finally allowed to battle again. Tirack's faith in my fighting ability surprised me. I knew I had keener fighting prowess than other ten year olds my age due to the demon blood within me, but I knew I wasn't exactly powerful either.

I didn't even have magic to assist me. After trying hard for so long, I had given up on magic. Although I could sense and absorb mana, that was where it ended.

Nyx had explained that any use of her powers would most likely kill my body.

I was still too weak.

This all left me with only one option: train.

All I had to show for my efforts the last three years was my muscle, speed and reaction time. All of which Tirack had drilled into me.

Rather than dresses, perfume and jewellery, I was more familiar with blood, sweat and tears.

It had taken me a few tries before I had finally managed to land a blow on a rabid. They were quick, and their rabidness meant that their moves weren't predictable.

All that I could rely on was reaction time and a build up of experience with the more battles I fought.

It was only after a few rabids had died, that I noticed the darkness trailing after me.

My initial panic was quelled when Nyx practically dragged me back to it. Her joy was almost palpable.

Her eyes would have sparkled if they weren't so black. There was nothing I could do as the darkness slowly crept closer until it finally touched my shadow on the forest floor.

In a sickening display of horror, the darkness was sucked in by my shadow and I felt a rush of energy enter my body.

Nyx tilted her head back and heaved a deep sigh.

I was very much grossed out. "Mind telling what is going on?"

Nyx opened her eyes and smiled at me.

"A god?"

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose as if she were dealing with an idiot.

I frowned in concentration as I tried to remember what she'd told me all those years ago. "The night?"

She clapped her hands together.

My brain had a lightbulb moment. "The darkness."

My brain was slow on the uptake. "Wait, so does that mean you–"

She took a handful of the cloudy darkness in her hands and breathed it in through her nose as if it were some drug. After a moment, she exhaled slowly.

I tried to keep a poker face while I mentally attempted to banish the horrid image from my mind. Yet, it became inescapable as the darkness followed me after every rabid's death.

I was like a magnet.

With all the appearances of rabids and death spreading throughout the kingdom like wildfire, it really was turning into playground for darkness.

As the lasts few dregs of energy spread throughout my body, I watched in fascination as the darkness danced licked out on the edges of my fingertips as if overflowing slightly before being fully sucked in.

Something which had driven an animal mad had become a source of fuel for my body—though I still did not know how to control it. Nearby, a few more shadows stretched across the forest floor, moving towards my shadow.

All the darkness had become my feeding ground.

It really was the perfect setting for the villainess to thrive.