Grim is now 21 years old, and has finally graduated from the Royal Academy.

8 years ago, he attended the academy and spent 4 years learning magic and academic stuff.

Another 2 years was for combat and military training.

Since he's a member of royalty he was trained as a commanding officer with 5 platoons under his command from the beginning then after the 1st year, it became 1 legion consisting of 2000 infantrymen, 600 cavalrymen, 500 mages, 1500 archers, 200 spies, 250 wyvern riders, and 800 gunners.

Grim is not the only royal prince of the Csiomerian Empire, exluding him, there are eight other princes and are on the same boat as him; assigned with each legion to command.

It is a must for each prince to train and participate inorder to prove their capability and right for the throne.

There are also 20 royal princesses, but unlike the princes; the ladies are not forced to participate in the Royal Academy's military training and graduation ceremony but they're allowed to join if they please, their own graduation ceremony is to congratulate and entertain the princes/ princesses who passes their ceremonial rites.

And after the 2nd year of their training, physical and mental conditioning, they are finally prepared for their graduation ceremony.

The Royal Academy's graduation ceremony lasts for a year, and in that span of time they have to participate in real-life training and warfare.

The three empires of the Western Continent have signed a treaty, stating that inorder to control the population growth of their citizens and to ensure the maintenance of sufficient resources, and for the training of their royalties, nobilities & troops; they have to conduct test wars that lasts for 10 years after every 20 years of temporary peacetime. 

Since the Csiomerian Empire is the strongest out of the three, Res and Sefir Empire will have to forge an alliance to fight on equal ground against Csiomeria.

And if any invaders from other continents were to interfere, they will have to temporarily join hands and get rid of the outsiders.

This pact is agreed upon  by the three empires 250 years ago , and is still being practiced even today.

The 9 princes, including Grim were assigned to each border of Csiomeria.

There are also 2 princesses who applied in the Academy's combat and military training and wished to participate in the graduation ceremony, they were similarly assigned to some of Csiomeria's borders.

After a year of seemingly endless bloodshed, deception, and carnage; a year that felt like a decade has finally passed.

Five out of nine princes remain, and out of the 5, one barely survived while two lived out of pure luck.

The remaining two, including Grim, truly proved themselves in the war and even earned unique titles deserving of their merits.

The two princesses also survived and one of them earned the title of Blood Fiend, and since she managed to rescue the other princess from mortal peril then even turned the tide of battle while painting the battlefield red with the blood of their enemies, it significantly improved her reputation.

The opposing army's royalties from  the Sefir and Res Empire consisted of 18 princes and 6 princesses. 10 of their princes and 2 of their princesses died while 3 princesses were captured as prisoners of war. Thus, only leaving 8 surviving princes and one capable princess.

The  casualties of Csiomeria's royalties weren't defeated purely because of the opposing empires' might but also due to some internal strife among the princes, some of them seized the chance of reducing competition for the throne by plotting each other's downfall. The same thing happened for some of the opposing empires' royalties. But there are also some factors like neutral parties, beasts, and deadly environment.

The 4 princes and 2 princesses returned for the graduation, whilst Grim requested an extended year remaining in the battlefield to fulfill his Noblesse Oblige.

The current Emperor decreed to put the celebration and graduation on hold until Grim finishes his one year extended service.

Some of the princes felt dissatisfaction but they didn't dare express it before the Emperor's presence, they haven't the means to disobey the imperial decree and come out alive.

After a year has passed and upon Grim's return, they have finally graduated and were decorated as Royal Generals of the Empire. Ofcourse, they became eligible successors for the Imperial throne whether they'd be male or female.

The princesses who welcomed and entertained them also graduated. 

Some of the royal princes and princesses even got engaged then married during that time eventhough they're close relatives, siblings, or shared a parent-child or aunt-nephew relationship.

Royal Incest is a norm and even encouraged to preserve the superiority and purity of their bloodline in the Empire of Csiomeria.

However the incestuous activity is only allowed for two times of intermarriage since the risks of overlapping genes may backfire according to their bio-researchers, thus it became the second Emperor's decree after the first Century of the Empire's birth.  And incest is limited only for the royalty; nobles and commonners who performed this were publicly executed since it appears as an insult to the Royal Bloodline's 'noble' decision.

The only ones who refused marriage eventhough they received heaps of letters containing marriage proposals were Prince Grim Csiome Twidnefas the Midnight Conquerer, Prince Zedd Truzar Destir the Vanquisher, and Princess Sasha Truzar Destir the Blood Fiend. 

These three ambitious relatives and half siblings refused those offers since they deem such ties as distractions that hamper their ambition.

Eventhough they rejected the proposals, that does not mean that they've not taken part in relieving the desires of the flesh.

To be specific, Prince Zedd spent a night with 8 royal princesses of Csiomeria, while Princess Sasha took her time subduing the 2 princesses she captured from the opposing empires; When Grim gifted her with the princess he captured, Princess Sasha invited Prince Grim to her room and they both experienced both their first time together with the three captured princesses which they tamed and had nights of fun with. The three captured princesses of the Res and Sefir Empire willingly chose to be maids of Princess Sasha after one week of venting and resting.

Prince Zedd the half-human & part elf, and the human hybrid blood elf Princess Sasha's ambition is both the throne as a single ruler so they developed their own rivalry, and compared to the other royalties, they have higher chances of acquiring it since their father Truzar Destir Zix is the third and current Emperor of Csiomeria.

The human Prince Grim on the other hand does not find the Imperial throne to be enticing, he yearns for absolute power & immortality, and if being an Emperor is a stepping-stone to acquiring it, then he won't hesitate to take a part of that pie. Plus, he is the only male descendant of the firt Emperor and founder of Csiomeria, so he's confident in also acquiring it.

After a week of celebration, engagements, and marriage; Emperor Truzar orders Prince Grim's presence.

"You called, your highness?"

Prince Grim casually asked while standing before the third emperor of Csiomeria.

"Grim, just call me uncle."

Emperor Truzar smilingly said.

"Ok, uncle. So what is the purpose of having an audience with Csiomeria's third Emperor?"

Grim sarcastically responded.

"Sigh, you're becoming sly as you become older huh?"

The emperor remarked

 "It runs in the family, does it not?"

Grim grins as he replies.

"Well, I'm your great-grandpa's brother's grandson so ofcourse, I'd agree."

The emperor proudly said.

The inhabitants of Csiomeria & royalties' fear and respect for Emperor Csiome is truly genuine even after the passage of time.

"Just get to the point old man."

Grim's beginning to lose interest due to the 'cliche' concerning his g-gramps.

"Ok, did you know that the first Emperor has left a will for you?"

Emperor Truzar finally became serious and asked

Grim shakes his head implying a 'no' answer.

Emperor Truzar gets up from his seat with a blue flame engulfing his right palm, he walks towards a certain wall of the throne room and ignites it.

"Emperor Csiome, upon leaving this world; he left us his only blood child, Princess Ahri your grandmother, and since she's a woman, she wasn't fit for the throne at that time, thus Csiome's brother, my grandfather, temporarily became Emperor while waiting for Csiome's return..."

Emperor Truzar pauses and looks at Grim with a smile on his face.

Grim was surprised with the hint of a revelation, and he thought 

'Return? Isn't the first emperor dead?'

But Grim remained silent, signaling Emperor Truzar to continue

The emperor notices Grim's implication then resumes telling his story

"Yes, my grandfather was waiting for his brother's return so he temporarily took the throne to maintain its glory.

My grandfather had two sons and 3 daughters; the first son is my father while the second is your grandfather, Princess Ahri's lover.

Aunt Ahri and Uncle loved each other, when my grandfather the acting-emperor at that time noticed the romance between his son and niece, immediately, he chose to become second Emperor then decreed the approval of 'Royal Incest' in hopes to support the blooming love of your grandma & grandpa, and also to preserve the purity of your Great-Grandfather Csiome's bloodline. 

Then their union gave birth to your mother,Princess Felicia; she and my brother shared mutual interests which naturally developed into a bond so intimate they became inseparable.

When your mother gave birth to you, and news spread out that the first male descendant of Emperor Csiome is born; a massive earthquake erupted and roars of thunder were heard then a familiar mana similar to Emperor Csiome's engulfed the whole Empire. Inhabitants reaching almost 2 billion that is half of Csiomeria's population at that time, vanished, including your mother, father, grandfather and grandmother.

When the Empire investigated the mysterious occurrence, we learned that all those who disappeared were mostly lower class nobility,commoners, tamed-beasts, and animals, with only your parents & grandparents who are royalties as exception. 

Also, under the ground where all the vanished nobles, commoners, beasts and animals stood, there were crimson-colored runes that smelled of blood, and again, only your  parents and grandparents are exceptions of that phenomena.

My wife and I took you in our care during the absence of your mother and father, grandpa & grandma. 

It was also during that time that I succeeded my grandfather as Emperor when he reached 200 years old and died of old age.

And here we are now."

Emperor Truzar stopped speaking while deep in thought as if reminiscing past events.

"So that's what it meant by 'noble' decision huh?"

Grim interrupted the Emperor who remained silent while staring at nothing.

"What? What do you..."  

The emperor stares at the smiling Grim while he realizes what the young man meant.

"You crazy little... Here I am talking about our family's history and you ask the real reason why the second Emperor approved of royal incest. You sunova-"

Emperor Truzar gets interrupted by Grim before he says something that may insult the first Emperor's granddaughter.

"Well,  I thought the reason why the second Emperor approved of 'that' was because of some weird fetish since the history books didn't mention anything about my grandma and grandpa's relationship."

'...'

Both uncle and nephew laughed for a moment before continuing their conversation.

"Well, I used to think that also before my father revealed to me the real reason why grandpa made such a decree." 

Emperor Truzar says, as he wipes a tear from his right eye which was caused by the humor from earlier.

"So what's the writings on the wall about?" 

Grim asked

"You'll know after a few moments."

Truzar replied

After 20 seconds, when the blue flames finally engulfed the whole wall, the words finally became visible.

It states...

"I Csiome Twidnefas, Emperor of Csiomeria leave this tomb as an inheritance for my first male descendant. Upon reaching the age of 21, he shall be granted access over everything within.

This is my will and decree."

After reading the blue flaming letters, a white portal appears, replacing the carved will of the Emperor.

"Do I enter?"

Grim asks his uncle

Before he looks at Emperor Truzar, he reflexively blocks an incoming kick using both hands as he was pushed backwards into the glowing portal.

"Yes"

The emperor replied after he 'gently' pushed his nephew towards the portal.

"Ah, that felt so refreshing~"

Emperor Truzar expressed, as he joyfully gets back to his seat in the throne room to wait for his nephew's return.

"That crazy-"

Grim stops his defensive pose then inspects the strange new environment he's in.

'Ah, so this must be great-grandfather's inheritance for me, looks promising.'

Grim thought to himself, as he gazes upon a dungeon-like tomb in the form of a maze with diabolical ceilings that glow red from time to time.

As if sensing his bloodline the crimson glows gather on the floor where Grim stands on.

"Fascinating, the floor seems to be forming teleportation runes."

Grim spoke with curiosity riddled on his face as he gets teleported to a room filled with treasures and a dragon's rotting corpse.

*zoong *zoong

His head is still ringing from teleporting.

"That was rather unpleasant."

Grim commented as he regains his bearings.

"Hmm...The records from the royal library stated that this was supposedly great-grandfather's tomb, but it seems that the only corpse here is a dragon's. Though I am unsurprised, I still find it a bit interesting that history records doesn't always consist truths. But still, the first emperor's body  is nowhere to be found."

Grim scans the really wide room but only sees treasures, books,some parchment of paper, a dagger, and a 300ft tall dead dragon.

'Since g-gramps body isn't here there's a possibility that he's alive somewhere. Plus, the blue fiery letters failed to specifically mention that this is "his tomb".

It's also probable  that this dragon corpse is his real body, and it's actually his tomb.

There's also the fact that I don't know shit.

...where or what state he's in'

He stops pondering  then proceeds towards the object laid before him.

Grim developed a habit to ponder and deliberate before making his move during the war.

 And his "clever moves" are never seen associated with long delays.

Naturally, a neither hasty nor too slow decisiveness became part of his traits.

It seems to display the wary and cautious instinctive behavior of his, even till this day.

He approaches the dagger and parchment of paper which lies closely to the dragon's corpse. 

"This dagger seems to be made of mithril, and this parchment of paper... For it to not have corroded after centuries... The writings seems foreign but for some reasons, I can understand its contents."

Grim begins to read the contents of the document.

"My descendant, you must be curious why there is a dragon's corpse instead of mine...