Black Star

Page 85: To Your Eternity

Y/n's POV

Anyone would be on cloud nine in front of such offer, but I know the dark twist behind this; and it makes me hesitant. Any other power would have been fine as long as I could go back to my father and my brothers, but the power of a Lord comes with more cons than pros. I need to really need to think through, I don't want to regret my decision.

"If I accept, what will happen?" I ask to Bastian, and staying knelt, he lows his head more. Not a very good sign, it's like he's apologizing. "I never heard of a ninth Lord."

"If you accept my Lady, you will be able to summon the souls of the dead, write their names on your Grimoire and add them to your army, your body will be enhanced to match the Lord title, which means you will be stronger physically with a huge resource of mana." Bastian slightly raises his gaze to look at me in the eyes. "As any Lord, time will not touch you, but you will be different from the rest. May I ask if you know the power of the Lord of the Throne?"

"Now that I think about it, it's pretty similar to the ones you described." I reply thinking at my father. "He is able to resurrect people through their wish, and he gives them the powers they wished for. Once back to life, they will choose if to become a star in his Grimoire, or live peacefully in his lands."

"Indeed, Lord Astraea has a magnificent and absolute power, unseen among the history of Lords. If he wishes it, he can bring himself back to life, but the rule stays, he can do it only once." Bastian stands and for the first time he stares right into my eyes, like he's looking for my soul. "The Lord of Shadows does not have that limit; if killed they can bring themselves back as many times as they want. The Lord of Shadows will ultimately cease their life when they decide to pass down their powers to a suitable heir."

I wide my eyes as I complete the puzzle in my mind. "......Y-you...." I point my finger aware that's rude but I can't help it. I'm quite shocked to be honest. "You are the Lord- Wait, if you can bring yourself back, why are you so persistent about me being your successor?"

"Because I lived for too long, my Lady. I am tired and I wish to rest knowing that my powers are in good hands." he smiles sadly and continues: "I was already there when your father was born and was proclaimed Lord. As my vow says, only the one who sits on the Throne has the right to know about me, so until the moment I decided he was ready, I stayed hidden and supported the king. During the course of my long life, I let him see me maybe three or four times, so it would not be a surprise if he does not remember me-"

"My father rarely forgets." I correct him, determined to defend my father's persona. "He who was exiled, confined, feared and forgotten, will never be so disrespectful to not remember the name and the person he met. He is too selfless, he will never let others go through the pain he felt-" I stop when Bastian laughs softly. I raise my brows in question, hoping for him he is not laughing at Astra. Lord of whatever, nobody will stop me from punching him in the eye if he laughs at my sun. "What's so funny?"

"Apologies, my Lady. I was laughing at my self past, thinking at how ridiculous I was to doubt the Lord's memory. To make it short, what Araceli enslaved was my vessel, gladly he thought that fragile necromancer was the real me. Greed makes people stupid and blind, indeed." Bastian chuckles again. "But as you said my Lady, your father did not forget. In fact, somehow he sensed that I was in danger and sent you to the rescue. I should thank the Lord of Duels for letting me escape and covering my back for a while."

"Lord Mars helped you?"

"Yes. He said he didn't like seeing his companions who are resting being rudely woken up, forced to do things they don't want, just to be slayed again. So in a second, he thought of a plan and let me escape while he was keeping Araceli's attention on him. I had to help my vessel during the chase, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get where you found me."