The Only Son Amongst The Daughters Of Eros

"Nooooo!" That was Aeric's one yell. The sight of Celestia, vulnerable and cornered, consumed him. A burning rage ignited in his chest, unlike anything he'd ever felt. His vision turned red. His body burned with unrestrained power.

It was like an eruption of something hidden within him for a long time. A crimson burning energy enveloped his entire body, and with a primal roar, Aeric thrust his arms forward.

A torrent of blazing red Divinity shot from his palms, slamming into Ravathra and sending it hurtling backward. The force of the blast shook the entire chamber, dislodging rocks from the ceiling.

More rocks fell, crashing on the beast. More, more and more, burying it in its rubble.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Celestia!" Aeric shouted, rushing to her. He grabbed her, shielding her with his body and at the same time, he summoned another burst of Divinity that instantly stretched to create a protective barrier above them.

It covered all of the team from the rocks and debris which pelted the shield, but the shield held firm.

The rocks stopped falling, and once again, everything was silent.

Once the dust settled, the silence even grew louder. No one was saying anything. The rest of the team — they all stared in stunned silence.

Nyx sat up, coughing through the dust. Her eyes widened as she saw Aeric glowing with crimson energy. "What... What was that?"

Phoebe froze, her mouth agape. "Master Aeric…"

Misty clutched the supplies tightly, her face pale. Even Celestia looked up at Aeric, her eyes wide with shock. She was still in his arms, and her breath was very shallow.

The rocks finished falling, revealing Ravathra's crushed, lifeless form beneath the rubble.

The system's voice rang out:

[The Abyssal Terror has been slain.]

[Congratulations. Dungeon Cleared Successfully.]

[Rewards for Clearing Mock Dungeon: 50 XP]

The silence was deafening.

Aeric's crimson glow faded as he slowly released Celestia, standing stoically as they all stared at him. He glanced at them, saying nothing with an his unreadable expression on his face.

~ ~ ~

Back in the classroom, Lady Magda leaned forward, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Impossible," she murmured. "He... he used physical Divinity like that? Such amount, such intensity?"

The classroom buzzed with a ripple of disbelief and tension as the display orb dimmed, its glowing surface fading into an eerie silence.

The Mock Dungeon was over but Aeric's final moments in the Dungeon still lingered in the minds of everyone present — his crimson Divinity erupting like a star, shielding his teammates from the chaos, his rageful explosion of power, finishing the Abyssal Terror in one decisive blast.

For a moment, no one spoke. Even the hum of background chatter that usually accompanied such displays had vanished, leaving only the sound of Lady Magda's pen slipping from her trembling hand and clattering onto the desk.

'How...' Luna of Moonlight, who had always been known as her mother's right hand, thought. She sat forward, silver hair spilling over her shoulder, her normally composed expression cracked with astonishment. 'How did he do that?'

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Faeryn, seated beside her with her arms crossed, tilted her head, her deep violet eyes narrowing. "To control physical Divinity at that age and Level. That is something else. It was controlled, raw, destructive." Her lips pressed into a thin line. "He shouldn't be capable of that yet. Not at his rank."

"Not at anyone's rank," Luna replied to her, her voice barely above a whisper. "Many Awakened Players aren't even capable of it in their lifetime."

"That is true," Faeryn agreed.

Across the room, Melina felt like the air had been sucked from her lungs. She leaned back in her chair, hoping no one could see how pale her face had grown or how her hands trembled slightly in her lap.

Her eyes darted to the blank orb, but all she could see was Aeric in that moment — his crimson glow, his unrelenting determination, his power.

Her thoughts churned, fear and guilt intertwining in a sickening spiral.

'How could he do that? That wasn't supposed to be possible. No one at his Level should be able to summon physical Divinity like that... let alone wield it with such precision and power. He literally killed that beast with it. He shielded them from falling rocks. Rocks! That was Divinity made physical.'

She swallowed hard, her throat dry. 'What have we done? What if he comes for us? What if he decides one day to take revenge? He's way more powerful than Aryanne and I. Has he been pretending all this while?'

Her heart pounded as images of Aeric holding her by the neck after killing Aryanne and standing on the ruins of what was once the Castle of Moonlight, flashed in his mind.

'Oh no.'

She heard Elara say that power like that is dangerous. 'Dangerous? Is that what he'll become if Aryanne and I continue to push him too far? He doesn't even need to try to get back at me. He could erase me with one blast like he did that monster.'

Her fingers curled into fists, nails biting into her palms as another of her creative thoughts surfaced — one that scared her even more than his power.

'We've both been following Luna's lead this whole time, making things hard for him here. Punishing him for killing Erimyra as mother ordered. What if he strikes back? Should I just tell him the truth and maybe he'd show me some mercy?'

But a guy like Aeric of Starlight? Would he even forgive me? Could he?

The sudden hush that had fallen over the room remained as Lady Magda stood still. She had been that way for moments, her face still pale, her mind reeling.

'That level of Divinity... it breaks every rule we know.' There was nothing else to show, but her eyes were still locked on the orb. 'Very few Players have wielded physical Divinity like that in a long while...' Her mind trailed off, refusing to finish the thought.

'And at such a young level. Oh my. I must let the Apostles know of this.'

Then, with a groan the Dungeon Entrance filled with mist as it opened once again. First, Linnette's team consisting of Aryanne and Rosette came out, and then Aeric's team followed.

And everyone was only looking at one person; the only Son of Eros, Aeric of Starlight.