MIDNIGHT PRINCE: Empire of Sin

Looking at Cecilia's stats had been honestly quite a bit of a shock for him. He knew that his mother was once powerful. Very powerful too. He just didn't know that she was-- That kind of Powerful.

This had been an eye opener for him about the reality that was in front of him. But it also made him even sadder as he realized everything his mom had to sacrifice just for him and that sacrifice had turned in vain, in the end.

After a tearful welcome, both Makarov and Viktor streamed into the room to see his condition and greet him. Viktor showed quite a contrite expression on his face while Makarov approached Adam with heavy steps...

"Thanks for making sure my stupid grandson was alright."

"Hah... I am sorry. It was because of me that he was in such a situation. I had to take responsibility for that."

"Because of you?"

Makorov's eyebrow rose slightly at his words before he chuckled out loud, "So was it because of you that the vampire bastard chose Pacific Park? Was it because of you he made a ritual to call a devil? Was it also because of you all those humans were put in danger?"

His voice softened a little as he spoke out his next set of words, "I understand what you are going through right now. It's a step every good hunter has to go through one day in their lives. Even that idiot of a woman you call your mom has gone through it."

As a hunter, the first lesson they had to learn was that they were not heroes. They could not save everyone, they could not be at the right place at the right moment and sometimes, they just weren't strong enough to face the challenges by themselves.

"You were at the wrong place at the wrong moment or... With how you helped, I guess you could say you were at the right place and moment."

Adam only flashed Makarov with a bitter smile as he heard the old man's statement, "Mom finished everything alone."

"Snort~ Yeah, it isn't very surprising that she did. This ain't the first time she is facing a god's descent. When she was even younger than you are currently, she managed to beat down the incarnation of Surtr that was summoned in London."

He showed a proud grin, "Those bastards of the association later said that it was the work of a zodiac because they didn't want to be shamed. But they gave appropriate rewards to her. They had some conscience in those thick brains of theirs, after all, it seems."

Thanks to that fight, Cecilia obtained the core of Surtr and the fragments of his sword. He was given the material and created the Divine Weapon she was holding right now. It was his greatest creation, even though he had an already half finished product.

"Anyway. Thanks to you being there, your mother came and was able to save everyone. This is a blessing. So accept it as what it is. If you can't, if you really feel frustrated about this then... Become stronger. So strong that no one and nothing can hold you in your path."

The reality of this world was rather simple. Might was right. Everything else was bullshit.

"The one who has the bigger fist makes the rules in this accursed world."

He smiled and began walking away from the room.

Viktor hesitated a little before strength gathered in his eyes, "I will make sure to help create the best weapon for you. Until grandfather makes the ultimate weapon, I will be your blacksmith. Come later when you are ready to make yourself a weapon you can use."

He immediately left after delivering those words to Adam. He was not good with words so this was the best he could do. But for him, this was very important.

He was useless as a fighter and could only be a liability in a real fight. But, even then, he refused to be useless. He would gear Adam up as much as possible until his father gathered all the elements necessary to create the most perfect weapon for the young man.

This was his vow as a blacksmith and the grandson of the greatest blacksmith in all of history.

------

The rest of the day was spent in bed as Adam watched the news on his phone and tried to gather himself.

He tried to contact Sae first. No matter how wounded he may mentally be, he doubted this would match the situation that Sae must be going through right now.

She should be very confused and lost at the moment with no one to help her and show her the way.

It rang a few times but no one answered at first. Until a voice answered him,

[Hello. Is it Adam?]

'Oh?'

He recognized the voice to be Sae's father. There was no way he was going to forget that.

"Kirishima-san? I am calling to ask about Sae, I was unable to contact her until today so I wanted to know if everything was alright with her."

Silence lasted for a while before a tired sigh followed by a frustrated and annoyed voice,

[Look, Adam, I am tired of turning around and hiding. I know you know about the other side and now my daughter is also in the same situation.]

His tone came out a little brusque as he delivered those words,

[Currently, Sae has been enrolled in the Academy. She hasn't left yet though, but she isn't in a place where she can receive calls. When she comes back, I will make sure to say you called, alright?]

"...I understand. I just want to know... Is she alright?"

[...She wasn't... Still isn't... Look, Adam. I don't know what is going on between you two currently. But... I hope that when she comes back, you will be there for her. Perhaps you will be able to open the door that was kept shut for us.]

The bitterness in the voice of Sae's father was all too evident for him but he was unable to say anything to comfort the man.

[Well, I will leave now. Have a good day, Adam.]

"You too, sir."

He sighed and pinched his brows. This did not go as he imagined it to go at all.

'The Academy, huh?'

He remembered the woman he met in Shuri's bar. Bridget Bishop. One of the witches of Salem and the contractor of Lilith.

His temples pounded. He didn't know how strong Bridget was. But, no matter how he thought about it, there was no way she would be weak.

What could he do if she proved to be a danger to him in the future?

Nothing. Not a goddamn thing, except perhaps crying for help and hoping his mom came to save him again.

"Haha... Fuck that shit."ραпdα `nᴏνɐ| сom

He breathed in deeply and exhaled before calling Natasha.

[Adam! You are finally awake! How are you now?]

Thankfully, he was able to reach her, unlike the case with Sae. Hearing the voice of his friend immediately put him in a better mood.

"I am alright. I just woke up. What about you?"

[I... Well, you could say that I am grounded. Hahah]

She gave an awkward laugh from the other side. Her words surprised him somewhat but he decided to hear her out first.

[I was first attacked by some mercenary and not even a week later, I faced a demon's descent. You can say that my father is currently quite frazzled by my circumstances.]

Natasha explained how they were stopping her from going out entirely while working on a complete overhaul of her security system.

Natasha had tried to fight back and argue that it was just bad luck. After all, obtaining her current freedom had not been easy. But she was overhauled by everyone and even Aleksandra was not on her side in this case.

[Well, they will finish working on my new security team soon. But until then I am blocked from going out.]

The two stayed silent.

[Adam you know, I am quite different from your normal werewolf.]

This was quite a sudden change in topic. But Adam nodded to himself. He knew that most werewolves weren't able to change into a huge giant wolf.

pαndα`noνɐ1~сoМ [Until now, I thought I was strong enough. I just had to let myself grow a little older and power would come naturally once I reached Adulthood.]

This was the power of her talent. She did not explain more as it was on the phone and it was possible for people to listen to them.

[I decided that I can't wait anymore.]

What was the use of power if you could not use it well enough when it mattered? Talent was useless as long as it wasn't concretized in power.

[I want to become worthy of my title and my blood.]

She didn't want to only be a shield good enough to help people buy time. She didn't want to be forced to risk her sanity for greater power.

This was why...

[Next time we meet, let's be even stronger, alright?]

The mood that had been brought low because of the news about Sae was lifted up again. Adam laughed at himself because of how easy he was but her words truly made him happy.

"I will be far stronger than you when we meet again."

[...I hope you will be.]

Her words seemed to hide quite the innuendo but she did not wait for Adam to answer before she hung up fast out of shame.

"What was that?"

He looked at his phone in wonder before shaking his head.

Now that he had made sure that the people he cared about, who were part of this incident, were alright, it was time to focus on himself.

The book opened and floated in the air in front of him.

He had obtained two new skills in this endeavor.

[The Magician] and [Death]

"I will have to test the [Death] one way or another."

This skill seemed like something that would be a total game changer for him. But for now, there was one thing he had to do.

He looked at his book.

[Your current Karma is 13400.]

[The second Chakra can be obtained by paying 10000 Karma] [1]

[Do you wish to open the Chakra?]

[Y/N]

The choice was already made, there was no hesitation,

"I chose to open Visuddha -- The Throat Chakra."

[Warning: The opening of a chakra is irreversible and the cost of each subsequent Chakra increases exponentially. Make your choice carefully.]

"I am sure."

[10 000 Karma has been deduced. Opening the Throat Chakra.]

Adam groaned as his throat began to burn with an intensity like he had never felt in his life.

He had already anticipated it, but it seemed that he could not escape the pain.

But it was alright. If pain was all he needed to become stronger, he would welcome that pain any time of the day.