As the matriarch took her seat next to her husband, she lazily waved her hand, commanding half a dozen golems to appear. The slim stone constructs made no sound, gliding across the floor effortlessly into the kitchen, where they gathered plates filled with various foods, as well as drinks: fried chicken with thin vigen slices that had been roasted, bread and cheese, and various hard sausages, cut into small pieces and impaled on toothpicks.

  Nyx hastily stored away his destroyed shirt, which carried his loot, when the golems arrived with drinks.

  Refined kukar milk that had been strained of impurities and enhanced by various spices was served alongside various blends of tea and ice-cold varieties of both, refined with sour and bitter herbs.

  Crystal-clear water, elaborate elixirs containing alcohol, and various drinks spiked with a diverse range of honey and nectar—all possible combinations Nyx could think of were available; his mother had mastered the art of cooking for centuries.

  While Nyx pondered the implications of his Grace of Undying, he absentmindedly picked his favorite drink, a black tea blend to which he added sour leaves. He much preferred this taste over the heavy, sweet flavors his sister enjoyed. Azrx did not seem to agree; his little brother had insisted on trying the drink as well, and Nyx chuckled as his face twisted against the sour taste.

  All in all, there was not much to speculate about. He had killed an Angel in a prior life, so he would remember it at some point. Even if he died tomorrow, he would be reborn, age and remember then. His parents had once explained this to him, but now he fully understood that death was really just the next journey.

  He had already worked his way through most of the meat that his mother had quickly piled onto his plate. Nyx’s progress was fast, his hunger spurring him on to eat while feeding his little brother, who was happy to help. The table settled into a more cheerful mood as everyone complimented the matriarch’s cooking and offered their thanks.

  Dinners like these were rare. The Eternal Blossom Clan leaders preferred to bring their children up in an environment that was not full of luxury. Every family member grew up in moderate wealth, toiling for their own food and drinks and only enjoying luxurious foods or the comfort of servants a few times a year.

  As the conversation turned to his sister reporting on her chores of the day, Nyx grew suspicious. His hunger was not subsiding; in fact, he barely felt full at all. How was it possible that he could eat four large steaks, drink all that kukar milk just minutes before dinner, and still feel like he could do it all over again?

  “Why am I so hungry?” Nyx exclaimed, half to himself, half in complaint, while picking a bowl of rice and some noodles to hopefully address his never-ending hunger.

  His father, who had sat back in silent contemplation for a while, stood with a glass of Ember Blossom Cider, tiny specks of flame dancing on the drink’s surface as he raised it in Nyx’s direction. The patriarch’s gaze was burdened with the weight of responsibility. There was a weight to his words that belied his usually casual and parental demeanor. The matriarch grabbed his hand in support.

  “It is a grave oversight of mine,” he declared as his gaze swept across the table. “To have lost myself so deeply in a sense of security that my negligence has allowed a monster to wander into our midst and ambush one of my children.

  “The responsibility of guarding our territory against all creatures lies with me, and had it not been for my son's great legacy, I would have to mourn another child dying before they were made an adult member of our Eternal Blossom Clan.” He raised his glass towards Nyx before emptying it with a proud and regretful gaze.

  The patriarch's fingers tightened around his wife's hand, remembering an incident long past. “I will tighten our formations, fortify them anew, and ensure that something like this will never happen again.” Then he moved on to address Nyx’s question. “As for why you are so hungry… You lost an entire arm and part of your body when you were attacked today. Your gift restored them, but the energy for that recovery did not appear out of thin air. You borrowed energy, and now your body is demanding it back.”

  Nyx bowed slightly in his father's direction. “Thank you, patriarch, but the fault lies entirely with me. Had I been more attentive, my death might have been avoided. I do not blame anyone but myself.” Then a peculiar thought invaded his mind, and he grinned, trying to lighten the mood. “So that means today I can literally eat an arm and a leg from all these delicious options without growing full? How can I be mad at that?”

  His mother chuckled at that. “Not the worst day to receive such a blessing, is it? To receive it just before your coming-of-age celebration?” While she was clearly not fully serious and saddened that this had happened under their watch, Nyx appreciated her supporting his effort to ease the patriarch's guilt.

  His father nodded. “Once you have replenished yourself, the hunger will subside.” With a burdened smile, he continued, “So, let us all celebrate Nyx’s coming-of-age. Let us feast and enjoy each other's company before you leave the Eternal Blossom Estate and spread our family name, like so many before you.”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Brother Nox’Yanxiou was the first to applaud and nod approvingly before giving a toast to Nyx. “I remember my own coming-of-age celebration. Our patriarch had gifted me a beautiful recurve bow. I still remember how devastated I was when it broke, years later.”

  His smile remained frozen as if he took a moment to step back into that particular memory. “Being part of the Eternal Blossom Clan is a great honor. Our upbringing teaches us about our humble origins, our responsibility toward demonkind. And we all have the urge to leave this world better for other demons than we found it ourselves.”

  Nyx, Verx, and Azrx listened intently to their older brother, as it was rare to hear any stories from outside the Eternal Blossom Estate from their parents.

  “It was not in this life that I was born here, so realizing the difference between who I am and who I was made me reconsider many choices. Instead of chasing after the heights of power and fighting on the front lines of our military, I realized I cannot neglect the smaller things in life—to build and restore things for the next generation.” Nox’Yanxiou raised his glass. “To Nyx, being successful in any path he chooses for himself. And to the Eternal Blossom Clan.”

  They all raised their respective drinks to that, Azrx almost tilting his drink over Nyx’s freshly restored mountain of fried chicken and fire lotus spring rolls.

  Nyx whispered to his older brother, “You were in the military? What did you—” But the stern gaze of his father silenced his attempt to gather information about the front line. He clearly did not want him to consider joining military service anytime soon. Not that he could; they only recruited demons who had ascended beyond the body cultivation level.

  “I will tell you later,” Nox’Yanxiou mouthed before continuing. “Sister Verx, our matriarch has told me that your natural ability is to manipulate minds? I have the same ability. If you want, I will leave you a few cultivation pills for the body cultivation level. I found them very helpful.”

  “Really?!” Verx almost jumped from her seat. “But aren’t those super expensive?” Her eyes were shining with anticipation. “Can I manipulate Nyx to do my chores then?”

  The Eternal Blossom Clan's matriarch chuckled. “Oh, dear." She shook her head. “Verx, your natural ability does not work against other demons. But you will find it quite helpful. It allows you to feel others' emotions, and it is quite powerful in some other worlds when you are summoned, for instance. And you shouldn’t force your brothers to do something they don’t want to.”

  Verx’s excitement immediately dimmed. “Okay,” she murmured and continued to dig through an enormous slice of sweet cake that had more than one variation of kukar milk as a base component. Nyx almost shuddered at the thought of eating something that sweet.

  “I’m a shapeshifter,” Nyx explained to his brother, showcasing his claws protracting and reforming on top of his fingers and knuckles like a set of bone brass-knuckles. Demons' claws were highly durable, and continued use without breaking them would harden them even further. “And Azrx,” he said, poking his younger brother's side and tickling him, “is clearly not like me; he always scratches me with his claws. Little devil.”

  Nox’Yanxiou considered that information for a moment. “I could try and create a pill for you from the mimic core you have, or something from the teeth, though I am not very advanced in carving rune totems. Alchemy and the pill furnace are my second home.” He grinned, his sharp teeth showing. “Let us try after the celebration.”

  And celebrate they did. Long after everyone was done eating, Nyx was still shoveling food into his mouth in an attempt to sate his ever-present hunger. His body demanded fuel for the expended energy.

  Nox’Yanxiou brought out a military game that soldiers sometimes used for drinking games, enticing everyone to take part. The game was a large cylindrical object with thousands of tiny obstacles inside. It was constantly spinning in various directions at the same time, making it impossible to predict where the marble thrown into the funnel at the top would end up.

  Apparently, it was also a method of training one's perception, as high-level cultivators would be able to predict the outcome at least seven out of ten times.

  Everybody received a marble to throw in and a drink of their choice. For Verx, their mother allowed a slightly alcoholic honey-syrup that was terribly sweet. For Nyx, his older brother recommended a pitch-black liquid that stung his nose when he tried to smell it. Azrx received paka cookies; he didn't understand the rules but just took a bite whenever any marble ended at the bottom in any of the five market areas.

  The little rascal enjoyed watching the marble dance up and down various obstacles, centrifugal force propelling it upwards, before quickly being knocked down again, back and forth until it ended at the bottom. Astonishingly, the youngest demon at the table had the most luck. Out of the 20 tries they played, he had only once ended at the worst field: “Empty your drink.”

  Sixteen times, he ended up at “Lucky,” and only three times showed “Take a sip,” while his sister Verx was pretty drunk and had refilled her glass multiple times before the matriarch finally disqualified her from playing.

  Nyx had been suspicious of his drink, but the pitch-black liquid had almost no taste, and its burn moved from his mouth all the way into his stomach, spreading warmth throughout his body and giving him a lightheaded feeling.

  By the end of the drinking game, Azrx found himself hugged by his sister, unable to break free of her affection, which their mother couldn’t stop laughing at. She and her husband had also lost quite a few games, but their cultivation gave them a higher tolerance, so they remained as composed as ever.

  Nyx was quite inebriated, but he had been lucky to avoid most of it. He was also finally able to work his way through the hunger. He could feel his stomach protesting with each further bite, but it had tormented him so much over the past hours that he felt like he owed it to himself to get a little payback.

  And Brother Nox’Yanxiou had achieved his goal. Passed out, drunk, and with a blissful grin on his face, sleeping at the table, despite his cultivation.