Van took a deep breath and let it go… He was here… He was ready… He stared his father down from the opposite side, going through all the motions in his head of how he was finally going to beat his father. Or at the least, force his father to use more than just ten or twenty percent of his power…

It had been a whole week, and Van had drastically improved, thanks in part to the harsh training he received from his past lives and the fact that time can work differently in those memory realms. Allowing him to work and train for several more hours a day than normally, though that didn’t mean he grew much in muscle or anything… one could at most only learn from experience in those realms if even that…

Etheirway, he was ready to wipe that confident look off of his dad's face if it was the last thing he did.

“Are you ready? Get set! Go!” Thea shouted from the sidelines, alongside Luna who watched with bated breath. The two of them hadn’t had another spar since last week. So this was a chance to see how much they had improved during that time given.

Van this time didn’t just dash forward like he did last time. This time, he moved in towards his father carefully, giving slashes of his aura as he went.

These slashes were far more precise than before, though a little weaker they still cut through the air as if he was using full power.

Alv quirked an eye at that, impressed and curious to know how his son had improved so quickly. Casually slashing down the blades of aura sent his way.

But…

The last aura slash Alv cut through exploded into light. Blinding him and making him take a step back in surprise.

Van now truly dashed forward, aiming for his father’s neck to end the match quickly in one strike. Only to be blocked, one of his father’s eyes still open, and though slightly blinded, he still could sense where Van was going to strike.

Van and Alvaroz then unleashed a flurry of strikes at each other at rapid speed. Van’s attacks were far more faster and precise than before. But Alv was slowly overpowering him as he regained his vision and relied on his other senses.

Decades of skill and experience were no match for a few weeks of hard work…

Van knew that, but he still had a few tricks up his sleeves.

His sclera went black and his eyes turned red as his body began to overflow with aura.

His father again started to look a little disappointed, wondering if his son was going to make the same mistake as last time, thinking Van was simply trying to overpower him again.

Which was exactly what Van wanted his father to think…

Van grinned a feral smile as he pumped himself up on more aura and black blood from his blood weaving. Forcing his body to the breaking point and pushing it beyond what it would naturally be able to handle.

Alv’s eyes widened with worry for his son, while at the same time he had to pick up the pace to keep up. Now using about a full twenty percent of his power. Their clashes sending miniature shockwaves into the air around them.

But if Alv thought this was the best Van could offer… he was dead wrong…

Van set his next plan into motion. Doing everything he could, he took complete control over every part of his blood, turning it black and allowing it to seep out of him.

Alv began to look even more worried, wondering if his son had lost control and was going berserk. Instead of going faster and harder to match his son’s increased speed and power, he instead tried to find openings to disable Van safely and end the match before anyone got hurt.

Van though, was thankful for the reprieve, taking the opportunity to control his blood and move it across his skin. The black blood then began to take on shapes and lines that hugged his body. And when that was complete, he forced aura through them…

Alv’s eyes widened as all of a sudden he was being pushed back. Forcing him to retreat for a bit and go back to using twenty percent of his power. Then twenty-two percent… then twenty-four…

Soon he was up to twenty-nine percent of his full power and finally, it seemed that Van’s power boost had met its limit. Alv was in awe, to say the least of his son’s determination to use his own body and blood as a conduit for runic enchancments to amplify his power to even greater heights. Knowing that his son should know the drawbacks and the backlash that could happen doing such a thing.

But Van wasn’t done just yet… Now he went wild, fighting all over the place, doing his best to push his father and act unpredictably.

But Alv wasn’t having any of it. He was impressed, sure… that his son would go this far… But it still wouldn’t be enough… So… He simply concentrated a little more, focused a little harder, and met his son’s speed for speed, their blades ringing in the air as their swords danced and disappeared from sight as they moved like the wind all over the place.

Luna was in awe at what she was seeing, it had never occurred to her to use her body like that for extra power… though she felt like she always knew deep down it was possible… This was definitely something useful to learn. Now if only her eyes could catch up with the sword strikes…

Thea, on the other hand. Could see everything clearly… and perhaps it was because she was a bystander, from the out looking in, that she saw what was coming next… and her body tensed a little in excitement to see if it would work…

Back to the fighting, Van pushed harder, faster, with even more wild and erratic movements. But all of them were met blow for blow by his father, who was slowly catching up on the rhythm and pattern.

Alv then began to push Van back, slowly at first, but with gaining speed… as Van’s attack pattern became predictable. In the end, he would say he was impressed by his son’s improvement and would congratulate him for exceeding his expectations after this fight.

Now he planned to end this, using his own son’s attack patterns against him… a few more strikes… and the way was clear to his victory…

Or so he thought…

For Van… disappeared…

“I win…” Van panted from the side of his father, his sword tip at his father’s neck.

Alv looked completely in shock, flabbergasted as to what in the world just happened. One second Van was right in front of him, the next… he was gone.

His son… had mastered the flicker step…

Not only that… he hid the fact until the last moment and did it when Alv was the most focused on his attack to finish the battle.

“People are most vulnerable when they go in for an attack they committed to… that’s what Xan, Duran, and even magnus said to me before sending me on my way… that there is never a better opportunity to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat when your opponents busy trying to end the fight he thought he won. It is something to watch out for in my enemies… and in myself… for it could also be used against me… I’m glad I learned this lesson. My father never saw it coming… a bit of a shame this wouldn’t work twice…” Van thought with a hint of smug pride in himself as he watched his father lower his sword in defeat.

“You did good, son…” Alv said slowly, then a smile slowly formed on his face. “You got me good…”

And the battle was over… for the first time since Van was born… he had won a bout with his father…

He probably wasn’t going to win again after this… Alv would now be doubly careful to not let what happened happen again... But damn if this victory didn’t feel amazing. Van was going to remember this for a long time…

Thea and Luna clapped widely in applause at the show they just witnessed.

“That was awesome Van!” Luna said excitedly. “Ugh! It sucks that me and mom can’t go at it…” she lamented, still clapping a little, then give a little sneeze.

“Indeed!” Thea agreed. “It really sucks that Luna caught my cold…” then gave a small sneeze of her own.

For the past few days, Luna and Thea had been sick with the flu.

“Well hopefully you will feel better after a few days of rest,” Alv said to his wife, then turned to Luna. “And hopefully you will recover soon, now that you are allowed to eat again. Normally I would be a bit of a stickler for the rules… but considering what just happened… I’ll let it slide… let's have a feast!” he said with a prideful grin.

“Woohoo!” Thea cheered.

“YAAAAAA!” Luna went along.

Van felt a little embarrassed by all the praise and cheering. But he couldn’t help his own sense of pride and accomplishment growing under it either. The only thing he could do was stand there with a sheepish grin on his face that he tried desperately to control, not wanting the fact that he finally defeated his father to be some big deal… though failing miserably as his grin kept peaking through.

“Alright…” Alv said with a clap, let’s head in, I’ll tell the cooks to whip us something wonderful. You two can take the rest of the day off until dinner. Have fun!”

“Yessss!” Luna said, pumping her arm up and down before giving another sneeze.

Van chuckled. “Why are you so happy? You already got a few days off because of your cold.” he teased.

“That is that. This is this!” Luna said smugly, then excitedly. “Oh! I can’t wait for tonight!” looking entirely too gleeful. “Just you wait, Van! I’m going to rock your world!”

Van laughed. “I look forward to it.”

Luna laughed as well. Then sneezed. Then sneezed again… and again… and again… then proceeded to rub her nose with her arm and gave a loud sniff. “Well… maybe not tonight…” she said dejectedly.

Van couldn’t help but laugh a little more at that. She was just so cute! “Maybe tomorrow…” he amended for her with a chuckle.

“Mmm” she replied with a sniffle and a miserable look on her face.

After that, they set out to enjoy the rest of the day leisurely until dinner time, where they were met with a beautiful assortment of foods and even… remshola… for the great feat of lasting a full month without food and sex and even beating Alvaroz.

There was much partying and joy to be had around, and Luna stuffed herself like no one's business. She gorged herself like some sort of cartoon character, her stomach looking far too full for her petite frame. Her stomach bursting out of her pants. It honestly was something quite scary to watch…

After that, Van was assaulted by several of his lovers who were quite excited about the fact he was finally free to bed them. But he turned them down, saying he wanted to wait and do Luna first since she waited just as long as he did, and to please be patient for at least a few more days.

The party continued and everyone was having good fun. Even Thea seemed to be taking after her daughter in stuffing herself as if the party was for her. Alv and Lore joked with each other about who was the better teacher for Van. Alv even went so far as to ribe Lore about how close he was getting to Pepper, to which Lore gave a slight blush to.

Lillia and Sheri were trying to stay composed while sipping tea, all the while they asked pointed questions of Pepper and her relationship with Lore. much to her embarrassment.

Lyn and Amie were of course there, as well as Xenith and they were talking about their own things. Kella, Isa, Sela, Venus, Gwen, and everyone else were also enjoying the party, and gave side-eyes towards Van, hoping for tonight, but being patient as he asked.

Agnès and Alecto were also relishing their food, and excitedly talking about what they had learned so far since they moved here.

Then, as the night began to wind down, Thea began crying all of a sudden for no reason. Just burst out into tears. Everyone who noticed looked at her confused and worried as to what just happened.

She then started muttering about swollen breasts or something. She went a little green in the face, and Alv immediately went over to her side to help excuse her from the table.

After that weirdness, the party continued if not a little subdued. Then after it was finished, Van and Luna decided to go to bed. It had been a long day and they were tired.

Unexpectedly, Luna really did not feel in the mood for sex. Claiming she still wasn’t feeling too well and was too full. Which Van could fully understand, and decided to be patient about.

But the next morning… Luna was still feeling very sick and dizzy. And not just her, but he heard that Thea wasn’t faring any better. Oddly enough, the doctors couldn’t pinpoint any diseases or sickness that was causing this.

What was worse was Thea’s sudden change in diet, going from eating a lot, to nothing at all, and sometimes eating the strangest of things. The same happened to Luna who would sometimes not feel in the mood to eat anything.

Thea would also suffer from sudden mood swings with no explanation as to why, which Luna was thankfully not a victim of.

For days this went by, and people began to worry as to what was going on.

Until…

“SHE’S PREGNANT!” Alv shouted so loud that it echoed throughout the entire castle.

Van immediately rushed to his father’s side, going from zero to a hundred, bouncing off walls and speeding down corridors until he entered his father’s and mother’s room

“SHE’S WHAT!” Van exclaimed as he opened the double doors that led into their room.

Alv turned to Van with a huge grin on his face. “She’s pregnant! Thea’s pregnant!”

Van could only stare in shock.

He was going to be an older brother…

His eyes then went wide as something occurred to him and he looked his father straight in the eye. “I’ll be right back.” his voice heavy with seriousness, and fled the room as quickly as he came in.

He rushed to Luna, closed his eyes, and begged Ren to help him figure something out that he desperately needed to know.

Ren, not entirely sure what was happening, picked up what Van wanted to know from what all the hubbub was about and used his skills to gather a detailed medical scan of Luna. creating a holographic image of himself to display outside in the real world. He then looked down and examined Luna closely and carefully…

“Van… she’s…” Ren began, Van holding his breath.

“Not pregnant… I’m sorry.” Ren said. “Though her symptoms are similar, whatever form of pregnancy she had is gone… it could have been she was pregnant, and this month of no sex and food killed whatever seed of life that might be there and was reabsorbed into the body. Or she was experiencing phantom pregnancy, as a succubus, she can be very attuned with those around her. It could be that she sensed that her mother was pregnant before anyone else realized. And that was the reason for her sickness…”

Van… had mixed feelings about this… he wasn’t sure if he was relieved… or not… “ya… your right… I mean… I made it so no information was passed along anymore when we had sex… so…”

“Oh, that actually doesn’t matter,” Ren said. “Succubi have a little pouch to help store sperm information, remember? The same sperm that helped create Scarlet, Leaf, and Sini is still inside her.” he then began to explain.

“You see when a succubus is pregnant, they actually become more sexually active, not less… and don’t show signs of pregnancy until the last month of birth, sometimes not even until the last week of it… this is because succubi feed off on energy of their sexual partners to help grow their offspring. Which are usually of a succubi nature themselves… it’s only when they give birth, that they have no desire for sex anymore, sometimes lasting a full year.”

“Either way… I’m sorry…” Ren said once more and left Van to give him some time alone.

Van watched Luna who was covered in sweat on the bed, looking very sick.

Again that feeling passed over him… a feeling of mixed relief… and a little grief…