The Prince of Demons

Luna intentionally scooted closer to me while keeping an eye on my mom. Mom’s eyes were twitching a little before she made a space motion with her hands. Luna moved a little bit away from me, but probably not enough judging by Mom's reaction. I do not understand what is happening. Everyone was watching with twitching lips as the battle ensued; part of me felt this odd warmth as the two argued. It was odd, despite as much as I was being lectured, some part of me was quite happy. Luna and Mom kept their little back and forth, and a minor mental battle later the appropriate distance was set.

“For the record, you’re still our son.” Dad clarified awkwardly as Luna and Mom were staring each other down.

“Thanks Dad.” I replied as Luna very matter-of-factually grabbed my hand.

“So, what do we do from here?” Papa asked again, clearly trying to change the subject.

“Nil needs a .” Luna answered nearly immediately.

“Why?” Dad inquired. Mom let out a deep sigh as she conceded that she needed to shift her focus.

“Before that, can you give us an idea of what happens? Or originally happens?” Mom requested. Luna looked uneasy. I remember her saying it went badly, and that I ended up destroying everything to reset time. I see why that might not be a pleasant thing to inform them of.

“Um. How much detail?” Luna checked. I pulsed her hand a little and she looked at me.

“How badly did the events originally go?” Nez inquired, catching on to her discomfort.

“Imma guess hor’ibly.” Nautilus stated. She wasn’t wrong as far as I knew.

“It went fairly awful.” Luna confirmed while she was still squirming a bit.

“I feel we need to know. The Void King demonstrated immense, near Lord like strength so we know he’s probably the most dangerous being to exist. What happens that makes a the top priority?” Mom stated. Luna let out a deep sigh.

“Are you all sure?” Luna double-checked. I shifted a little closer to her to try and comfort her.

“Please tell us.” Papa assured her. Luna grimaced as she found the resolve to state it.

“Nez and Ein both died when Nil was young as they never existed as far as I knew, Nox was a drunk who died to the plague, Empress Senna was assassinated by someone, Emperor Azzeck died protecting Nil from Argranz, Cesar and Cleo both died during the Magus Uprising, Emperor Father Nil, Emperor Mother Poam, Surdel, and Grisbane were killed by Nautilus after Nil killed her lover, Nil then killed Nautilus, Ekard, Riva, and Julius died fighting the ‘hero’ of the Modinar Kingdom at different points in time, Helga vanished so I’m not entirely sure what happened to her, and at the end of it all, Nil reset the timeline and destroyed the world. It was the systemic removal and death of anyone that befriended and loved Nil.” Luna informed everyone. That painted a fairly bleak picture.

“So, everyone at this table but you three died?” Nez checked, blinking as he realized he originally died in the carriage saving me.

“Technically, yes. Nil killed me milliseconds before everything ended to see if his to send me back to try and avert the disastrous events would work.” Luna explained as she looked around awkwardly.

“Who is Argranz?” Dad asked as Nautilus and my grandparents were awkwardly looking at each other.

“The future Magus Supreme who began the Magus Uprising. I have no idea where he is currently. He is a Fae that appeared from nowhere and stunned the world.” Luna replied. Everyone was clearly processing what she said still.

“So, why the ?” Mom inquired after a few moments.

“It enables the strongest Nil ever unleashed, and from what I recall, his growth after getting one was nothing short of miraculous. As many of us as possible getting a would be ideal, but I am not overly sure the working mechanisms of getting one.” Luna stated. That was a good question, how to get one? I guess I could pray at Temple and hope for an answer. Kron usually answered when I tried talking to them, it had just been so overwhelmingly hectic since the Void King most Temple services were mass services across the city.

“Well, Void King annihilated most of Modinar, so I am not sure what to do in that regard. We can hunt down Argranz to see if we can get him on our side assuming the Void King hasn’t killed him already. The plague, what can be done to stop that or mitigate the impact? I am going off the hopeful assumption the Void King cannot create diseases.” Dad began, clearly work shopping what to do.

“Ya need t’ talk t’ a Lord fo’ th’ grublin. I think’ it’d be th’ fas’est.” Nautilus confirmed for me. Temple was supposed to be back to normal this week, so in two days I could talk to Kron.

“We will hope for information then, if not, Nez can likely research into that a bit more. Argranz we can use our information network and maybe your new friend Lilas to see if he has any ideas on that front to find him. Modinar we will leave alone for now as they have been devastated by the Void King and we can assume those events have drastically changed. Do we all agree with that?” Papa checked, looking at all the adults. Everyone was nodding in agreement.

“Now, how do you stop a plague? How long until the plague?” Mama sighed. They all looked stumped on how.

“The plague happens roughly ten years from now.” Luna explained. It gave us time to prepare for that at least

“Doesn’t answer how to deal with it.” Uncle Nox pointed out. They all let out a collective sigh.

“Just stop the germs from spreading.” I answered. All of them looked at me.

“What?” Mom checked.

“We all wash our hands with soap, right?” I checked, truly hoping Luna’s answer was yes.

“Yes.” They all replied in unison.

“Regularly washing hands, wearing masks when outside, keeping distance between people, immunization, and good hygiene can all be used to stop or at least slow a pandemic.” I explained. Mom seemed to connect the dots first.

“Your old world had better medicine than ours.” Mom declared quickly, looking at me for some confirmation.

“It had no , but it had vastly more developed technology and medicine.” I confirmed for her.

“WHAT?!” Uncle Nez spat in shock.

“I learned here.” I told him, which made him fight to keep his face under control.

“Blasted Crowthorne talent.” Uncle Nez mumbled as a few glared at him. He put his hands up to defend himself.

“Please explain a few of the differences. If we have time, we can pass laws, fund the development of a few systems, and lay the foundation to be able to better deal with the plague before it becomes a problem.” Papa requested as he, Mama, Dad, and Mom all summoned things to take notes.

I then had to explain that a plague is technically a form of epidemic or pandemic, not that I could remember the exact distinction between the two. Additionally, I explained how improper waste disposal, rats and fleas could spread the disease, and improper burying and handling of the dead could result in new infections as well. Soap and other ways of disinfecting could be used to create sanitary conditions that could at least slow down a disease from spreading. From there it moved onto germs, bacteria, and viruses. My memory on them was a bit fuzzy, as it was never a subject I studied too much. I knew there were a few differences, but the idea that such small organisms could do so much damage was a concept they all seemed to find immensely fascinating and concerning. I never truly understood just how much I took the ability to use the internet for granted. Up until now, I missed it a few times, but when I had to try and remember things as important as this I truly wished I could access it. Hopefully I didn't miss anything major as I tried remembering it all.

Once that topic was done, I was barraged with questions on technology and other systems that could be developed. To the best of my ability, I explained cars, trains, planes, and engines in general. I also tried explaining the internet to them, but that quickly proved difficult to conceptualize better than a mass information network shared between everyone. Several of the ideas and concepts required multiple repeated explanations as they seemed so fantastical as I explained them. I had no idea what all was practical or useful as I went through various pieces of technology from Earth. Luna had confirmed for me that guns were near useless, so definitely dictated and changed what was practical in application. The issue was I wasn't sure what all would translate well or in a useful way, so I tried to stay theoretical because of that as some of the information had to have some use. Not that I could currently think of it. After a several hour discussion of trying to explain concepts and technology from Earth, it was decided to take a break on that for now as they all looked in wonder at some of the ideas.

“Not sure how practical some of those are given exists, but the concepts can probably be used and adapted into something useful.” Papa declared after a bit of reviewing his notes.

“We can at least use the ideas in regard to sanitation, waste management, and healthcare to create what we need to make sure Speranza is not devastated by the plague when it arrives. I feel the other ideas can be shelved for after we are not fighting for survival.” Mom added on.

“We will prioritize dealing with the Void King and repelling him when the time comes other than that. If we have about two decades, it is not that long of a wait.” Dad agreed, as the physical adults nodded in agreement.

“Ya tw’ grublins are ‘bout t’ get some intense trainin’ ya know?” Nautilus teased us. Yay, the Nautilus Torture Express was going to be coming back.

“As tempting as nonstop combat lessons would be, I feel the other lessons for a prince and upcoming nobility should be maintained to help make sure they rest and not overwork themselves.” Mama suggested. Luna, Lux, and I all sighed. I don’t think our future is going to be full of a lot of fun for a while. I get why, I just wish this wasn’t reality.

The adults then began an incredibly dry conversation on how to begin making the policies needed to prepare for the plague. Never in a million years did I think Duthane’s etiquette lectures were not the driest subject matter in the world. How naïve I was. Policy and bureaucracy discussions when Lilas was around were quite boring, but now that it was also discussing which noble families they could use where it made me want to cry. Wait. Lilas was great at logistics. Could we ask him to plan this? I was technically friends with him still, so it should be doable. Maybe I could write him a letter asking him about it at a minimum. That was for later, as the adults kept talking and talking. It was taking all my willpower not to start slamming my head into the table from how boring the discussion was. Lords above it is so boring. Please tell me this was not going to be a large part of my future. The more rational part of my brain kept reminding me I was the Crown Prince.

This is boring. Lux whined to me mentally. I nodded in agreement.

You two should try and look like you’re paying attention. Both of you have the most glazed over expression I’ve ever seen. Luna lectured us.

How are you not bored to tears? I inquired as I tried looking more alert.

Because this is important so that Speranza isn’t devastated by a plague in about ten years. Luna chided me. Lux looked lifeless.

Wait, I don’t have to listen to this. Lux realized, hopping up on my shoulders and curling around my neck. It took her no time at all to look asleep.

Stupid fur ball. I grumbled at her. Nothing in response.

I know this is boring Nil, but you need to learn to do it. Luna told me as she poked my cheek.

Someone fought so hard to keep dating me; glad I mean so much to you. I retorted with a smirk.

While I like flattery, you need to focus. Luna shot back, blushing a bit. I fought the urge to sigh as the discussion continued.