I am the Only Son of Nyx

Matilda stopped mid-jog abruptly.

Her boots skidded against the cloud ground and her eyes locked on the clash above.

It was the sight of Kai striking the raven without touching it that made her frown.

Bree, still beside her at the back of the others, noticed the sudden halt and followed her gaze.

Same goes for the other students; they were also watching the clash between Kai and the Star Beast. It was impossible not to when the clash was as spectacular as it was. Seeing Kai fighting the raven without the use of winged boots was incredible.

Just earlier, the bald professor had told them all to ignore it.

Red Prince Kai was undergoing the subjugation process—bonding with the domesticated Star Beast granted to him as a Red Prince to become his mount. None of them should intervene, as that would hinder the raven’s acknowledgment of Kai.

In fact, none of them should even pay attention.

Focus on their exercise.

But the battle in the sky was too eye-catching to ignore, so only a few students kept their focus.

Matilda watched as the raven’s eyes fluttered closed mid-flight upon being hit by an invisible force. Her stomach dropped at the sight. "You idiot," She muttered, surprised that Kai would do something so stupid. "Don’t use your Legacy Skill on something that’s flying, Kai. Did you lose your brain somewhere in the arena?"

Bree heard the curse and caught on a second later, and her face paled.

One thing that she knew about Kai was his powerful Legacy Skill.

A Legacy Skill that allowed him to devour things.

"His Legacy Skill—now that he’s an Aspirant Supernal, it did not need to touch anymore. He can use it at range." She watched the raven go limp; its massive body plummeted toward the cloud ground. "I agree. He’s an idiot. Must be annoyed by the raven and forgot that he wasn’t fighting to kill it."

Just then, Matilda and Bree saw him make his move.

He finally snapped from his daze—and blasted toward the falling raven, changing his course mid-air using the Dark Discharge Imprint. Realizing that he could not let the raven fall head-first to its death, he needed to help it.

All his fingers curled strongly, holding a fistful of feathers while his body trailed behind—like a fluttering flag in a hurricane. The rush of the wind was brutal, tearing at his grip, his clothes, and even his hair.

Gritting his teeth, he crawled upward.

Since he brought nothing with him, there was no burden he needed to worry about.

He reached the raven’s neck, shoved his legs forward to trap its head between his thighs, and clamped down hard. Secured. Or as secured as a man could be on the back of an unconscious beast plunged straight toward the ground.

Ahead, the ground was rushing up to meet them fast.

I need to slow our descent!

Kai pointed his open palms and fired.

Dark Discharge Imprint erupted from each hand, twin blasts of energy that should’ve slowed the fall. But the raven was incredibly heavy, and the momentum only broke barely—not even close to stopping.

Both were still falling, still going to die.

He changed tactics.

I need to wake him up.

Kai pressed his hand against the back of the raven’s head—and flooded it with mana. He found the Null Gem easily, the severed connection to the Blue Void with his presence in it, and then pushed his way through.

No resistance—the raven was unconscious, so there was nothing stopping his mana.

Once inside, he quickly constructed the bridge between them, a thread of dark energy linking his main Primordial Lock to the Null Gem. Eight seconds to impact. He felt something snap into place, a presence at the edge of his mind, and a second heartbeat—echoing alongside his own.

He was connected with something else, with the raven, and now they were one.

"Wake up!" Kai screamed, trying to use his emotions to wake the raven up.

No response.

He pounded the back of the raven’s head and screamed louder, "WAKE UP!"

The ground was closing. Five seconds. The students in the distance, still jogging, finally sensed the danger. Their heads snapped up. Their eyes went wide. They saw the massive black shape hurtling toward the ground several miles away.

And they threw their faces aside, flinching in anticipation of the brutal impact.

But there was no impact.

"WOOHOO!"

In the nick of time, the raven’s eyes shot open.

It realized what was going on and quickly spread its holed wings, breaking the fall merely ten feet above the cloud ground. It was a sudden flare of feathers and power, and then they were flying.

"WOOHOO!"

Kai’s voice reverberated through the air as he rode the raven past the students’ heads.

He was laughing, screaming, his voice wild with adrenaline as he steered the raven in a straight line—the wind tore at his face, but his mind was solely focused on the thrill and the new bond between them.

All students below gaped, watching the pair carve a dark path above them.

Matilda exhaled in relief and unclenched her fists.

Bree let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding.

Even though they still thought Kai was an idiot for creating a problem that wasn’t there before, the sight of him laughing—and smiling as he rode the raven was a sight to behold. It had been months since they got to know him, and this was the only time they saw him as alive as this.

If a foolish decision resulted in this, then it might not be so foolish at all.

Just then, the two watched as the raven stumbled in the sky and then fell down again.

Its wings were holed, and it was exhausted, so it wasn’t a surprise.

But seeing such a sight made them shake their heads, never realizing that the Phantom of Ixos could be so goofy. The people he had killed, now in the underworld, would no doubt have vomited blood if they saw Kai like this.

For the rest of the day, nothing much happened.

It passed in a quiet blur, the kind of peaceful monotony that felt almost foreign.

Considering what had happened only days ago, this peace felt like a dream.

Once the bond with the raven was sealed, Henry had no choice but to retreat, with his mistake following him out the door. He was deliberating whether to report the raven to his superior, letting it pass until the mistake no longer mattered.

Of course, he didn’t forget to give the raven a potent healing berry.

For a powerful Scourge-class Star Beast like the raven, he would bring his equipment.

He had assumed there was no need to bring along his equipment since the domesticated Star Beasts offered to the Red Prince were nothing special, easy to subdue, but the raven proved him wrong.

So, he took responsibility and offered the berry as recompense.

And perhaps a bribe for Kai to lay low for a few weeks so that nobody noticed the raven.

Either way, the raven was healed completely with the berry as if the battle never happened.

After the second class, he brought the others to meet his new mount. The raven stood tall and terrible, its black feathers gleamed like polished obsidian—and its crimson eyes tracked each of them with a calm that bordered on regal arrogance.

It was stronger than Bree’s Pegasus—larger, faster, and far more intelligent.

Once the five of them climbed onto its back, it didn’t so much as ruffle a feather.

For the raven, their combined weight was nothing, and it launched into the sky with the ease of a beast that had been waiting for a worthy rider and Kai. With no need to go mining, they flew around, sightseeing the surrounding areas within a ten-mile radius of the academy.

The next day brought even better news.

In the cafeteria, Kai was sitting with Dorian and Bryan.

"Look at this." Bryan pointed at his head and then channeled his mana. And then, the horns of a bull grew from his temples—ending in a sharp point. "Got a fucking new Legacy Imprint. What do you think, eh? Pretty neat, huh?"

Just yesterday, Bryan went to use the multi-functional training chamber.

And today, he already got a new Legacy Imprint.

"All those headbutts only gave you horns? Come on." Dorian snickered. "Your Patron God is fucking stingy."

"My bloodline is of a Minotaur. What else are you expecting?"

"I heard a bull has a big slong. Better that than horns."

"Kai," Bryan turned and pointed at Dorian. "He’s talking about cock again."

"Ignore him. He’s probably on his period—you know, that time of the month." Kai shrugged. The words had barely left his mouth before a spoon smacked him square in the face as Dorian snarled at him.

Just then, Bree and Matilda arrived at the cafeteria.

But they were not alone.

Bree was dragging someone else, someone familiar—Abigail.

Soon, the three stood before the boys.

"Boys only," Dorian pointed at the empty spot on the steel table. "Can’t you see the sign here? It said no pussies."

"Shut up and be serious for once." Bree’s voice cracked like a whip—forcing him to raise both his hands in surrender. "I brought Abigail here because she has something to say." She turned to Abigail, her gaze softening with encouragement. "Go on. Tell them."

Abigail stumbled as Matilda pushed her forward.

Her expression was guarded, but soon hardened with determination.

"N-Now with Chester gone and the Ichor Legion reeling from what happened and my part in it, staying with them feels... awkward. I can feel their glances at me, and I don’t feel like I’m a part of them anymore." She looked down for a second, and then raised her face again to look at the three. "I was wondering if I... if I could join the Ambrosia Pact."

Kai sighed lightly.

A reaction that made Abigail’s heart tighten.

"Is it not... possible?"

"Not that. I thought you were going to say something troublesome. I have no objections."

Abigail had paid for her mistake—and proved her loyalty that night when she decided to warn Kai about Chester’s ploy instead of letting it happen. In fact, Kai had already invited her to join the group, but back then she refused.

Now that she was ready, he didn’t mind.

"Same here." Bryan shrugged his shoulders. "The more the merrier."

"Fuck that." Dorian intervened—and crossed his arms. His face was covered by his mask, but the sourness oozed out from it. "Do you look down on our group that much? You are already invited, but you refused, acting like you’re doing us a favour by not being a part of our group. And now, you want to join?

"What the fuck do you think this is? A desperate group? No—we’re the strongest group there is in our year or perhaps in the entire academy."