"Just when I thought my life would continue like this, something strange started happening to the villagers. Then one night, they began behaving oddly..." Alvin paused for a moment when he reached this point.
He waved his hands dismissively, "Leave it. There is no point in recalling all those unpleasant memories. You just have to know that I became a devil feared by everyone from that night on. People started avoiding me, and many more came to take my life."
"From then on, I, who was called a devil by the people, lived in constant fear of being hunted down every day. Nobody ever thought that I was also a little boy who had pain and fear back then. In their eyes, I was just a crazy villain who should be hunted down at all costs," Alvin chuckled mockingly.
"But Alice was an exception. When I first met her, I was already heavily injured and was on the verge of death. Still, I held tightly onto my knife as I stood before her."
"If she wanted to, she could have just killed me without any effort. But she chose not to. Despite the opposing opinions of her subordinates, she took me with her. She healed my wounds, gave me new clothes, and forged a new identity as her long-lost brother in front of everyone."
"I only lived with her for a few years, but during those days, I really felt what the warmth of a family truly is. Each time she came back home from work, she would have a small package containing some snacks for me. I would wait for her at the door every day, and when she came back, she would rub my head affectionately like how other parents did for their kids..."
"Those few years were the only happy days I ever had in my entire life until now..." Alvin finished the story with a long sigh.
"I..." Magnus opened his mouth to say something, but he stopped as he was not sure what to say at that moment. In the end, as though he made a decision, he said, "It's decided. "
"huh? , what's decided?", Alvin asked in confusion.
"You will come back to Nyxvelia with me. I will personally announce you as the prince of Nyxborns to the world.", Magnus said.
Alvin was stunned when he heard Magnus's sudden declaration. Actually, the story he was telling until now was the story of the real Alvin, he had no idea this tough looking grandfather of his will suddenly change his decision after hearing his story.
"I didn't tell you this story to make you feel pity for me and take me with you. I just wanted to tell you how important Alice was in my life, and I hope you will give her child an even better life than the one she offered me back then. Please protect her, even if you have to go against the Phynicland for that," Alvin said as he stared at Magnus.
"Don't worry. From this day on, that little girl will be my granddaughter, and even if the entire Phynicland comes knocking on my door to claim their ownership of her, I will beat the hell out of them. But this has nothing to do with you coming back to the Nyxborns," Magnus said firmly.
Alvin's mouth twitched, "Grandpa, I am not the idiot from back then who needed to beg to even fill my stomach. My dreams of having a sweet family also died a long time ago. So, giving the life I once yearned for to my sister's child is the only thing I want from you..."
Magnus fell silent for a moment and asked, "Then what about you?"
"Me?" Alvin smiled, "Just drop me off at Heavenly Wood City. I still have many unfinished business there."
"Don't you want to spend some time with your niece before I take her with me?" Magnus asked.
Alvin hesitated for a moment and said, "Nah, I won't meet her for the time being. After all, I am the one who killed her father. It might sow seeds of unnecessary hatred in her mind if she ever comes to know of it in the future. So let's remain strangers. This will at least put my mind at ease knowing that the one she hates is a stranger rather than me."
"Do you regret killing him now?" Magnus asked.
Alvin nodded, "Yeah, I do feel regret. If I was there when he laid hands on my sister, he would have already met his maker back then."
Magnus laughed, "Fine then. We will do as you say. But still, as my blood, I have to give you some gifts before we depart. Also, there are many things we have to discuss about your bloodline and its pros and cons ."
Alvin nodded.
Magnus sat on the couch next to him and began talking, "You see, there are nine empires in Celestia, ruled by nine royal families, and the Great Celestial Alliance works as the central governing authority of the nine empires. Each of these royal families is blessed by ancient divine beasts or gods, so their descendants awaken different bloodline spirits according to the blessing in their blood."
"For us Nyxborns, there are two lineages within our bloodlines. One is the Divine Nyx bloodline spirit related to the Divine Nyx beast, and the next is the Cursed Nyx bloodline related to the Asura god."
"Compared to the Divine Nyx bloodline, the Cursed Nyx bloodline is rarely seen among us Nyxborns. For now, including you, your father, and me, there are only seven people with this bloodline spirit in our family. Comparatively, your second bloodline spirit is of the Everhart royal family, and it belongs to the dragon lineage. I was familiar with your previous Life Wheel bloodline spirit, but I am not familiar with the mutated bloodline spirit in your hand..." Magnus said as he glanced at the tattoo on the back of Alvin's palm.