Chapter 2: Return and Training

My eyes snapped open, and not wasting even a moment I looked around the room and I immediately knew where I was. How could I not, after all this is my room when I was a child. And before anything else, I rushed to my mirror where I saw my 14 year old self.

Immediately after, I ran to my balcony on the left side of the room.

And as soon as I opened it I saw the imperial capital in all its glory, I saw people opening their shops, erecting or repairing buildings, and going to the market.

But this sight just brought tears to my eyes, after all the last time I saw this city it was bathed in fire and ice, it's buildings rendered to nothing more than ash and cinder, while my people were being butchered, violated, and tortured for fun!

I looked at the three sets of walls that were more than 100 meters tall, and the massive moat that embraced the entirety of the vibrant city in it's protective embrace.

Fortifications that saved the royal capital several times in the past stood gloriously before me, without even a single scratch on them.

But I couldn't help but bite my lip in frustration as I remembered how those same walls were brought down, and instead of protecting my people, were used to execute them by throwing them off its great height.

I looked to the left and saw, a grand building that looked like an ancient fortress, with several flying beasts above it. This was the home to the most honorable and prestigious knights in the history of the empire; The Chimera Knights!

Men who rode on creatures who had the body of a lion, the horns of a goat, the wings of an eagle, the tail of a serpent's head, and had the ability to breathe fire like dragons.

This grand sight before me looked pitiful though, since I still remember how those bastards skinned the chimeras and used them as trophies, while massacring the defenseless cubs.

I turned to my right and saw a massive floating, upside down, black pyramid, covered in ancient and powerful runes, surrounded with several floating obelisks that orbited it. This was the home of the wizards of the empire where the most important treasures and archives were stored.

And yet, even this place of great wisdom and knowledge was not spared and ransacked for all its worth.

As I raised my tear filled eyes to swear once again that this time it will be different, I heard the voice of a man and a woman from inside the room. "My prince, where are you? Are you okay?"

Quickly wiping the tears off my face, I walk back in and see the two people looking for me. The first one was a man named Horus, the head of my personal guard. He was a tall handsome young man in his late teens with silver hair, and blue eyes further complementing his features.

In my previous life, I always delayed the opening of my first gate because of the fear of this horrendous pain, but now I welcome it. After all, this is an insignificant price if you consider what I would gain instead.

I calmed my mind and easily found the traces of the divine blood in my body; usually my father was supposed to help me in this step and I should have been given some tonic to ease the suffering I was about to endure, but what I discovered in my previous life was that the more intense the pain, the more power I would gain!

And if you consider my already extremely pure blood, then I would be a true monster when unlock the higher gates. And that brought a malevolent smile to my face!

I started guiding my divine blood to start circulating throughout my body, and that's when it happened.

Pain!

Unbelievable pain, and anguish. And heat. Heat so intense, it caused my eyes to bleed and my skin to begin to bubble and blister. And then my skin became charred black, and cracks started forming as my blood began spill out uncontrollably.

But I didn't scream; after all I had already gone through this once before, and it's nothing compared to the higher level gates.

I could no longer feel Bell in my arms, who was obviously freaking out seeing me like this. Although I wanted to console him, I could no longer move my arms anymore. The reason for this, is because every time I unlock a new gate I allow an increasing amount of hell fire into my body!

And the amount of hell fire in my body right now was no larger than a spark!

But slowly my body began heal, but not to the way it was before, it was rapidly improving, and becoming far more powerful. When I finally opened my eyes again I was slightly taller than I was, and so was my black hair. But the real changes were to my eyes.

My sclera turned pitch black and my eyes which were black, became silverish white! My eyes now resembled a white flame in the middle of a burnt field.

In addition my body was now covered by black tattoos that looked like burn marks, but were actually divine writings that etched itself upon my flesh, and if you focused on them for too long, it would cause those who were mentally weak to collapse.

As I calmed Bell down, who was still in my arms, I looked outside the window and discovered that it was already sun down and word of my fathers death should arrive from the front lines any minute now.

Quickly returning to my normal form, and changing my clothes from the burnt ones I was wearing, I walked to the door to begin the second step of my plan, and to erase my first regret in my previous life!