The setting sun streamed in through the half-open window curtains, waking the Elf who had been sleeping soundly from exhaustion. The Elf rubbed his eyes, glancing at the clock on the wall which already showed five o'clock in the afternoon. It had been a long time, and he had slept so soundly too. Only, that dream replayed his old memories, the day his good friend left. But for now, he wouldn't cry over it.
In front of his eyes, in the direction he was looking now, a magnificent building towered high, a place where genius children gathered to hone their abilities. The former hero of light and their headmaster, Aethoniel, had to look authoritative. He would be a role model for them.
However, that authority would never be seen when the human he called the reincarnation of Kerthos came at the wrong time in his noisy way. Honestly, he missed his friend, but not all the weird things about him.
BRAK!
"GOOD AFTERNOON, UNCLE NIEL!!"
Athoniel, or who was now better known as Niel, let out a rough sigh. He leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed. "Ignore it, ignore it, ignore it. Just ignore it, Niel."
That person sat in the chair in front of Niel's desk. "Aren't you bored every night with these papers that smell of wood?" He picked up the papers on the desk and threw them away in disgust one by one.
"Hey, stop it!" Niel sat up straight. "Is it because you're old that you've forgotten your age? How old are you now? You're not a baby in diapers anymore, you know!" He scolded.
He was Arthas De Lumine. He was now sixty-seven years old. He had a child who had become King, a ten-year-old grandson and a five-year-old granddaughter. Yet, the older he got, the weirder his behavior always was. "Uhuk, uhuk, uhuk!" He coughed.
"There, serves you right!" Niel looked at Arthas with satisfaction. "Your child was more mature at age four than his father who is now sixty-seven years old."
Arthas immediately stopped coughing. He glared at Niel from behind his handkerchief. "You could say I'm younger than you, old uncle!" He retorted, not wanting to lose.
"At least I know my place." Niel wouldn't lose either.
"Tch." Arthas didn't know what to reply. "Uncle, have you visited father's grave?" he asked, making the Elf man who had gone back to writing look up at him.
"Always." Niel answered while turning the page of his book.
"Thank you for never letting father's grave go dry and lonely without flowers. As father's son, I rarely visit him even though I promised I would keep coming for ten years. But, lately I've been free because Arneld has taken over for me." Arthas explained.
"You're the type of father who burdens your duties onto your child, huh." Niel sneered, without shifting his focus from the book and pen.
"You're right, Sir grandpa!"
"Cough! Who is that?" Niel choked on his own saliva when someone called him 'Sir grandpa'.
"His Majesty King Arneld De Lumine is entering the room."
Only then did Niel know who the culprit was when the guard loudly announced his arrival. "Damn. That crazy and weird Kerthos really made me, who is handsome, look like an old man with great-grandchildren!" He muttered, annoyed.
"Father!"
"Grandpa!"
Arthas slowly turned around with a face that said 'I hope it's not them'. "A-Arneld? Ma-Mathius? What business do you have coming here? Hha..." He scratched the back of his neck which didn't itch.
"You're the reason we came here." The father and son answered, in unison.
Arthas snorted softly. Who exactly did their firmness and cold attitude resemble. "Me? What's wrong with me?" he asked with an innocent face.
"Matthius, bring your grandfather before father." Arneld ordered his first son who was ten years old.
"Understood, father." Matthius obeyed with his flat face. He pulled his grandfather before his father without mercy. "The former His Majesty King has been brought, Your Majesty."
"Hey, hey! You're reporting to your father as if I'm the number one criminal in the kingdom!" Arthas down there retorted, squirming to be released.
"Grandpa..." Matthius crouched down facing his grandfather. "You dared to run away from Vivi who father and I love the most." He explained.
Arthas looked pleadingly at Niel, hoping the man would help him. But Niel pretended not to see him. "You all... are cruel! I just wanted to run away from that sweet cruel mage, boo hoo hoo..."
"You just need to stay still while Vivi dresses you up like a fairy tale princess, grandpa. But, never mind. Now come with me, and don't run away again. Isn't having a granddaughter what you've wanted for a long time?" Matthius forced Arthas's body to stand, with a glance toward the Elf man busy with his work. "Forgive grandpa for disturbing your time, Lord great ancestor." He bowed slightly, hoping Niel would understand.
"No problem. I'm used to it." Niel was tired of commenting on the strange address that Kerthos had passed down to him. "Make sure he doesn't wander around again."
"Understood." Mathias turned around, taking his grandfather out.
"You're cruel, Uncle Niel~" Arthas's pleading face was still visible before the sound of the door closing tightly echoed.
"It's a bit amusing to be called uncle by someone who looks much older than me." Niel muttered.
"Forgive the commotion just now, Sir grandpa." Arneld walked closer, glancing briefly at one of the scattered books that he picked up, then placed it on the desk.
"It's fine. Your grandfather used to be more troublesome than them." Niel stood up, brewed tea in a teapot and brought it to the reception table near the work desk. "You, sit down first. Daily life as King must make you exhausted. Drink this herbal tea."
Arneld sat in the chair with the softly scented tea already prepared. "No wonder grandpa rarely wants to leave you. It turns out you're a caring person."
"You're praising me too much. And, yes. Speak casually to me." Niel sipped his tea first.
Arneld raised his teacup, looking at it without any intention of drinking it. "Can you tell me once about what happened back then?" he asked, then sipped the black tea given by Niel. His fatigue really disappeared. It seemed Niel had also mixed it with magic.
"What do you mean?" Niel acted as if he didn't understand.
Arneld put his teacup back down. "Don't act like you don't know, Sir grandpa. I'm sure you were the captain who led the light army during the war with the demon race. I want to know what happened until grandpa made a strict prohibition against traveling to the underworld. What exactly is down there?" he asked with great curiosity.
Neil stood still, stunned. Only members of the royal family knew the real reason for the prohibition against going to the underworld, but Arneld, who was still small back then, wasn't worthy yet. But now, the child knew and was asking for a clearer explanation. "There is a dangerous being down there, who with just one sentence he utters, can make anyone die gruesomely."
"Who?"
"The Demon King, Leviathan demonio. A being born from the darkness of the world. The only way to defeat him is to eliminate the darkness of the world, but that's impossible. Darkness cannot be separated from the world, therefore he is called a being without limits." Niel explained.
"I understand. The prohibition against going to the underworld is very appropriate. But Sir grandpa, we don't know how long this peace will last." Arneld said.
"That's right. Because of that, we need a user of the light element. If there isn't one, then we have to make another magic element able to affect him."
"Can't humans and demons live side by side? If the belief that demons are despicable beings is removed, maybe it could happen?"
"That's impossible, Arneld. For thousands of years humans and demons have lived in different realms. If it were possible, it would only happen after the Demon King shows himself in public. All this time he has only stayed silent in the underworld."
"In the end, not disturbing him is the best choice for now until another solution is found, right?"
"You're very smart. Unlike Kerthos and Arthas."
Arneld stood up slowly. "Then I'll take my leave. Sorry for disturbing your busy time, Sir former first hero of light." He said goodbye, then went to the door and closed it tightly.
"Your grandson is very cunning, Kerthos. It feels like he's a snake quietly leaving his venom without being seen."
"Well, he's my grandson, of course his intelligence was passed down from me." Niel's face turned disgusted. "If you were here, I'd definitely hear words like that." After that, this Lord ancestor went back to work.