"What is this??" Jadaka asked pointedly.
He received no answer from the darkness, and instead only more silence ensued.
He felt his irritation at what he considered to be a childish game was quickly reaching it's threshold.
"I grow tired of this jest!! Declare your intentions for summoning me to this place or be gone from-"
"You are exactly what I need... You will be the one to kill the betrayer."
"Do I look to be an assassin to you? Should you desire someone's head I believe it best you find someone more suited to that line of work."
"You need not be an assassin when you and I desire the demise of the same man..."
Visions began to play within Jadaka's dreamscape.
He saw a man with red hair, beautifully tanned skin and fabled red and purple eyes.
Even though Jadaka had never seen his nephew in person, he had heard his description more than enough times to recognize him at a glance.
"Well now, this is interesting... What has this whelp done to earn your ire?"
"Irrelevent... You desire his demise just as I do, so become my agent and I will give you the power needed to avenge us both..!"
Jadaka wasn't a dumb dragon by any means, so it was easy for him to make an inference that Abaddon and this being must have made some kind of deal in the past.
This clearly must have been how he gained power far beyond his means in such a short amount of time, and now this very same power was being offered to him.
He felt his ambition swirling in his chest when he thought of what he might be able to achieve with power like that.
Not only his nephew, but the insect buzzing around his beloved Yara as well.
How much beautiful despair would he see on her face then?? How glorious would such a scene be??
He had to create that transcendent, one of a kind scene no matter what.
"Tell me, second son of the calamity, will you accept my offer to bring about the future that we both desire...??"
Jadaka smiled madly and revealed two rows of razor sharp teeth.
"Specter... I believe you already know the answer."
-
Sunlight streamed gently through the curtains, warming the face of Antares' second prince and disturbed him from his life changing slumber.
Sitting up on his bed, he realized that the vision from last night was indeed not a hallucination, and the powerful artifact that he had been gifted from the specter was now resting in his soul.
He immediately pulled himself out of the bed and began getting dressed with new purpose.
Now that he had this great power, his dreams of ultimate bliss were only a few movements away.
Knock, knock, knock!
"My prince? Are you awake?"
Jadaka paused from putting his clothes on and looked towards the door.
He recognized the voice of the head maid of his castle and confirmed his alertness, signaling for her to come in.
"I am sorry to bother you, but you've received a summons from the king requesting your presence immediately."
Jadaka's chiseled jawline clenched as he felt bubbles of irritation well up in his chest.
Unlike his brother, he had never liked his father due to the way that he treated his mother like some kind of afterthought, which in turn caused her to treat him like a painful memory.
Just hearing that he was going to have to be in the same room with him was nauseating.
But his father also did not call for him often, so he was more than a little curious about what could have been the reason for this summons.
He finished getting dressed and then proceeded to venture to the castle, his mind solely focused on his next war to be waged.
Arriving at the castle, he breezed past the guards without even allowing them to speak.
"S-Second prince, the king awaits you in-"
"Be silent. I am already aware."
Jadaka pushed open the doors to his father's throne room and strode inside.
Contrary to what he was expecting, he did not find Helios sitting on his throne as he always did.
The grand hall was entirely empty save for himself.
"Old bastard... how dare you call me here and then have the nerve to make me wait...!"
"M-My prince...?" One of the guards said shakily.
"WHAT?!"
"T-The king... he awaits you in the garden, not the grand hall..."
Jadaka furrowed his brows in confusion as he gruffly pushed past the dragonewt, knocking him onto the ground.
The second prince of Antares found a rather isolated staircase within the castle and started climbing them aggressively.
'Why the hell has he called me to this blasted place..!? He never used to let brother or I set foot in here before!'
Reaching the top of the stairs, Jadaka pushed open the wooden gates to the late Queen's garden and took his first steps inside.
Unfortunately, he remained largely unfazed by the sight of this transcendental landscape and instead focused on searching for his father.
Delving deeper into the garden, he found him but... he was not alone.
And he was not any kind of way that Jadaka had ever seen him.
Helios' large frame was seated at a picnic table between two noble dragon women.
Both of them were beautiful mature visions with curvaceous frames that showed little signs of aging.
One woman had creamy white skin, and yellow eyes paired with her long red hair.
The second was someone who nearly made Jadaka fall over.
She was a very lovely woman, with rich tanned skin and copper eyes that were similar to his own.
Her silky black hair fell all the way down to the grass around them, and he recalled the days where he would be utterly mesmerized by it.
These were the first and second queens of Antares.
The first was Iori's mother; Ophelia Draven.
And the second was his own mother; Madeline.
"What.. is this..??" He asked in a hushed tone.
The three adults looked up at him and he was met with fond smiles.
Another vision the likes of which he hadn't ever seen before.
"I'm glad you're here, son." Helios said sincerely. "Please, join us."
Jadaka remained locked in his standing position, his eyes constantly flickering between the three parents.
"What...is this..?" He asked again.
Before Helios could respond, another voice joined them in the garden.
"It appears I am late."
The first prince Iori finally arrived in the garden, and he appeared as shocked to see his mother close to Helios as Jadaka was.
The golden dragon took a deep breath as he lightly squeezed the hands of both of his wives.
"I asked you both here because I figured that it was high time I make amends."
Both Jadaka and Iori watched their father with no small amount of suspicion in their eyes, and it was clear that they sincerely doubted his words.
"I think lately... I have been seeing more and more examples of what a family should be, and I've had to acknowledge that ours falls short of that.
But I am not blaming any of you. The guilt lies solely with I who had no idea of the kind of negligence my actions were based in. "
Whenever Helios watched the interactions that his daughter and grandson had with their families, he couldn't help but feel a tiny bit sad.
Watching them had served as a reminder that he hadn't done right by his own.
Not since falling in love with Rhea, and definitely not since she'd died.
"I want to... try again. I have already asked your mothers for their forgiveness and they have granted it. Now, I would ask you for yours."
Iori knew how much his mother had been hurt by his father in the past, so to see the two of them side by side like this really was strange.
She was clearly very happy, and in a way that she hadn't been in years.
It made him realize how serious his father was about this change.
"Father.. I will also-"
"You all must be joking!" Jadaka seemed to be the only one who found this situation to be completely ridiculous and he had no problem stating it.
"A family!? What family!? We are no more than a collection of strangers who share blood! Ever since you laid eyes on that woman we weren't worth the breeze that occurred when you walked past us! And now you claim to seek forgiveness? To hell with you all!"
"Jadaka!"
"Brother!"
Madeline and Iori were the only ones who tried to stop the second prince's rampage, as Helios felt no need to do so.
It wasn't as if his feelings were unjustified after all.
Iori placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Stop this! Even if things weren't perfect in the past, we have a chance now to-"
"Be silent, filth! You've burned away millennia trying to earn his approval and for what!? In the hopes that he will allow you to lick his boots?? You're pathetic!"
"You overstep!"
"I am honest, a quality that none of you seem to share!! You have molded yourself in his image and still failed to earn his attention, yet Yara's half-breed mistake captured it in a day!"
This time, Iori did not let such an insult slide.
His fist became coated in dark flames and he punched his brother squarely in the chest, sending him flying back into a nearby tree that snapped easily.
Helios finally stood up and grabbed his eldest son by the wrist. "That's enough, Iori! This is no place for that!"
"But father, he-"
"It matters not!" Helios said firmly.
BOOOOOMMMM!!!
Suddenly, a large explosion occurred in the sacred garden.
Rust colored flames latched onto every bit of greenery that they could as Jadaka leapt into the air, a weapon raised above his head.
Immediately, Helios felt his pulse quicken as disbelief flooded his waking mind.
His second son was holding a sword over his head.
It was a strange thing, seemingly comprised entirely of bone and ten feet in length.
It was in the style of a broadsword, with a pommel that contained a dark purple gem that was seemingly coursing with power.
Helios did not believe that he would ever see one in this world, least of all in the possession of one of his children.
"I'LL KILL YOU ALL!!!"
Jadaka could only see red as he brought out Jaldabaoth's gift with the intention to kill his brother.
But before he could even hope to bring the weapon close to Iori's neck, Helios grabbed him out of the air by his, and slammed him to the ground.
His father placed a knee on his hand that held the accursed weapon so that he could not fling it around so casually, but even then he felt the weakness that came from one of his kind being in close proximity to a blade like this.
"Where did you get this, boy!? WHY DO YOU HAVE A DRAGON SLAYER'S SWORD!?!"
Jadaka smirked like he was enjoying this scene and did not answer his father's question.
"I truly must thank the spector for giving me an opportunity to witness a sight like this. The world's great golden dragon with fear in his eyes, this day is truly an auspicious one!"
"You son of a bitch!"
Helios raised his hand and created a javelin made out of pure white fire.
"Wait, Helios!"
Madeline ran out with her hands raised and tried to prevent a disastrous outcome.
"Maddie, move!"
"Helios, he is our son!!" She cried.
She was also part of the reason why Jadaka had such a terrible disposition towards 'family' and just like Helios, she was trying to make up for it.
She couldn't do that if her son was dead, and she knew that Helios would never forgive himself if he killed one of his own children.
Helios looked down at Jadaka and felt his life flash before his eyes.
He was a very cute baby, in fact he was one of the most precious children he had ever seen.
Even as a child, the resemblance the two of them shared was uncanny.
Helios would have been a better father, but.. soon after he was born he met Rhea, and his thoughts became consumed with nothing but her.
He wanted to make up for that.. when Rhea was resurrected, he wanted to love all of his wives and children equally, just as they deserved.
It was only for a moment, but hesitation flickered within Helios' eyes and Jadaka knew that he had a chance.
Contacting his weapon mentally, he teleported it into his free hand within a single millisecond.
Before Helios could get to a safe enough distance, he was stabbed in the chest by his second son, and he felt his power leaving him.
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