After flying away, he returned to the castle and was greeted by the many maids, servants, and butlers who had awaited his arrival for years. He didn't say much upon returning. Of course, he checked to see if his father was home.
Naturally, he wasn't. As usual.
Percival returned to his quarters, blade in hand, and sat down before unsheathing it. He stared at it for a while.
"Now… just what should I name you?"
"Arrogant dragon blade? Dragon blade? Oh, how about the blade of death… No…"
Before Percival could finish his next thought, the blade made a noise, startling him so badly he nearly fell out of his chair.
"Nyxstorm. My name is Nyxstorm."
Percival recoiled and stared at the blade as a wisp of the black dragon he had slain all those months ago emerged.
"H-how are you still here?" Percival yelped, dropping the blade onto the floor.
"I'm here because I was smart enough not to let a bastard like you kill me fully," the blade said, mighty confident despite being a god that had fallen to a man.
"You're one bold man to think you bested a weaker version of me. Don't get cocky."
Percival looked at the tiny dragon floating from the blade.
"So how are you alive?" he asked, touching the spirit-like dragon.
"Easy. Upon my defeat, I transferred my mind and consciousness to my spirit core so that upon death, I would survive. But it turns out you turned me into a fucking weapon!" the dragon shouted.
Percival smiled. "Can you wield all of your old abilities?"
The dragon side-eyed him.
"To some extent… depends on my mood, though."
The dragon reentered the dagger and stayed put.
With this, Percival now had two almighty weapons: his odachi and his newly forged cursed blade, Nyxstorm.
Although he had promised to return to his brother back in the human realm, he couldn't give up his newly attained power.
After breaking his promise, years passed. He was now known as the Lord of Darkness — the rightful heir to death itself. He became the leading commander of the Ten Nightmare Devils. He had his own personal army that resided inside his shadows ancient warriors he could summon at will. His army was vast, numbering in the millions.
They had managed to create an entire civilization inside his shadow and could emerge in battle, making him a one-man army.
His shadows, however, were more physical than he would have liked. His army wasn't made of shadows at all they were real people. But he didn't mind. His ten shadows were his most powerful elite soldiers in battle.
For the first time in years, his father summoned an audience with his son. Although Percival was skeptical, he still went to see him. It had been ages, after all.
"My boy, how have you been?" his father called to him upon his arrival.
"Father… it has been years," Percival said, embracing him with a hug.
"Yes, my loyal son. I thought I would congratulate you for your great duties over the years. Not only did you slay the black dragon and kill the Silver Flame, and take over his empire, but you even led me to your brother."
He embraced his son with a malicious touch.
"Led?"
"That's right, son. You led me straight to your brother. You see, the boy supposedly faked his death. But of course, for my plan to succeed, you couldn't know that…"
"So then I had you kill the black dragon at the top of the summit by using the old man artis you met all those years ago giving him an offer he couldn't refuse…"
"Then, of course, while you were on the brink of death, I had the old man tell your brother of this and had my most loyal subordinates go to the human realm."
The Ten Nightmare Devils appeared, bowing before the Lord of Nightmares.
"To think that Percediel would taint this family's blood by getting with a human of all things. So of course, I had the natural reaction to breaking our laws."
The Lord of Nightmares smiled an unsettling smile a crazy smile.
"F-father… you couldn't have… possibly…"
Percival froze. He couldn't believe that his father could've possibly done what he was thinking. Nor could he believe any of this was true.
The Lord of Nightmares was silent for a moment before saying the words that made Percival's world crumble in guilt.
"That's right. I had his family killed and ripped them to shreds while he was away saving you."
Percival staggered back in fear.
"W-what? That's not possible. I laughed and ate with them. There's no way…"
He felt the tears flow from his eyes.
"I had them possessed child."
The Lord of Nightmares began laughing a single, long, mirthful, insane laugh.
"I had you both manipulated so this day would come," he said, wiping the tears from his eyes, still chuckling.
"The possession should have worn off some time ago, and they should've reverted back to how they should be just shredded-up lumps of flesh. Thus leading your brother to come here and when he arrives, with the both of you here, I can successfully create the ultimate vessel by combining you two once and for all… how it should be."
Words couldn't escape Percival's lips as he watched in horror. His once-beloved father had planned this for years…
"You two were never meant to be born twins. That altercation resulted in the overwhelming power we sensed from your mother's womb being split in half. Of course, she died upon giving birth to you fools. But her purpose was served despite her death."
Upon the Lord of Nightmares saying that, thunder ripped through the sky.
Though… was it really thunder?
No.
It was a man who had nothing to lose.
Percediel ripped through the sky, crashing down onto the castle dark bags under his eyes, weapon in hand.
"Avatar: The Iridescent Memory."
He activated it upon arrival. An all-white armor took over his body, glowing with luminosity as a white mask covered his face.
The mask was a fearsome, skeletal helm with jagged horns and sharp, angular features that evoked a demonic or undead warrior energy. Its dark, shadowed design contrasted starkly with Percediel's flowing white hair, creating a haunting, otherworldly presence that felt both ancient and powerful.
The Ten Nightmare Devils struck back in fear as the Iridescent Memory dashed forward and engaged in combat with the Lord of Nightmares.
"Brother, sto—" Although Percival wanted to tell his brother to stop… he couldn't. Because he understood him.
Percival's shadow army was prepared to unleash from the shadows to assist their Lord in battle, but Percival told them not to as he dashed into battle to assist his brother.
The Lord of Nightmares' power was overwhelming. Terrifying. Almost every word that spilled from his mouth was not just a mere 'word' it was a concept he made reality. He destroyed his sons in battle. Despite their hardship, they fought relentlessly against their father and the Ten Nightmare Devils.
Percival unleashed the full extent of Nyxstorm and managed to damage his father to some extent but the blade shattered in battle.
"That weapon is supposed to be mine! Its power doesn't suit someone like you!" the Lord of Nightmares said, preparing to kill his son.
But the shards of the blade blocked his strike.
And the dragon emerged not as a threat, but as an ally.
"You ready, Nyxstorm?" Percival said, rising from the ground, dagger in hand as the shards of the blade orbited him.
"Hell yeah!"
The dragon roared as he and his brother engaged in battle once more. They were overwhelming the Ten Nightmare Devils, who couldn't stand a chance against them. Together, they were light and darkness. Yin and yang.
But their father couldn't allow them to fight together. If they did, no one would be able to stop them. So he focused on keeping the fight one-on-one by having most of the Ten Nightmare Devils target Percediel.
Despite wielding Nyxstorm, Percival was overwhelmed. His father's power was unmatched. Untainted. He couldn't be bested not at his current level, at least. Although he was growing as he fought, Nyxstorm in this spiritual dragon version wasn't as strong as he used to be.
But the dagger was.
In a desperate attempt to behead his father, Percival managed to take his arm from him.
His father tried to regenerate it but nothing.
The wounds received from Nyxstorm simply could not be healed.
"Damn you!" the Lord of Nightmares roared, sending Percival flying.
His brother screamed out his name, but the warning was too late.
A rift appeared in the sky, and a beam filled with what seemed like a vast amount of galaxies came roaring toward Percival.
He watched in horror as the beautiful attack approached him.
Despite thinking this was the end, his brother got in the way of the blow and his body began deteriorating.
"B-Brother… why did you…" Percival cried, holding his brother's crumbling body in his hands.
"Because… despite everything we've been through… and despite the fact that I couldn't be a good brother to you… I… love you."
Those final words echoed through the battlefield as his brother's soul was removed from his crumbling body, along with his spirit core that flew white with iridescent sparkles trailing in its wake.
"One piece of my ascension complete… so all that's left is you, my son."
A single tear dripped from one eye of the Lord of Nightmares as he shot a blast directly through his son's core. Nyxstorm unleashed its wrath upon the kingdom simultaneously, roaring with fury that shook the skies.
Percival knew he wasn't going to make it.
So in a desperate attempt, he sealed his army inside the dark gourd and sent it flying into the sky. He grabbed his odachi and continued to battle his father despite his inevitable death, using every last ounce of his remaining strength. He transferred his mind, consciousness, and soul into his blade.
But he was inevitably defeated by the Lord of Nightmares.
And the Lord of Darkness, the rightful heir to death, fell in battle.
His core was stolen.
But in his final efforts, he shot a blast of darkness at his brother's core and shattered it into ten fragments. A white wisp escaped from the core and flew into a portal opened by Percival as he descended into the land of the forgotten.
Despite dying with a smile, Percival had one wish.
He decided that he would survive just to spite his father.
His wish ultimately became a curse.
A dark wisp emerged from his shattered core, formed from the vast amounts of energy he had left behind. He gave his final command to Nyxstorm, ordering it to hide deep within the nightmare lands…
The dark wisp descended onto the human realm.
Percival had decided that he would find a vessel worthy of handling both his and his brother's powers. He believed that if anyone could make his wish a reality, it would be the humans his brother loved ever so dearly...
Though the Lord of Nightmares did not anticipate that their physical bodies would reincarnate as a human without retaining their memories.
However, the curse continued to brand humans with curses in the hope of finding a worthy vessel that could handle the power, but that would all change 17 years later when Percy Swayder was born.