I am the Only Son of Nyx

The Dragon Ring tournament is the last test that Kai needed to win in order to secure a footing in the First Sky. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy. He knew that for him to win it—he would need to shed blood, sweat, and tears.

Even after beating the seniors and dozens of students from Aurelian Academy, he didn’t stop.

Kai didn’t stop trying to grow even stronger.

There was a small voice in his head that was telling him to keep going. Keep getting stronger. His strength is still not enough. Reality proved that winning the tournament was harder than he imagined.

Had he ignored that small voice in his head, he would’ve been in trouble.

But he heeded it.

Grow even stronger to make sure that any antics would not be enough to defeat him.

He wanted to give up several times when he was being tortured in that isolated chamber. He wanted to surrender and let the world claim him. No need to keep fighting. No need to seek to survive.

Just let go and let the world take care of the rest.

But he told himself again and again that his life was no longer only his.

In order for him to surrender and die, he would need consent from his sister. From Bella.

And he knew she would never consent to it.

Mid-air with the Heart of Dragon in his hand, Kai saw the way the Chancellor looked right now. How his eyes widened in absolute shock at the one-in-a-billion spectacle right in front of him. How the spirits in them dimmed and showed defeat.

Kai was glad that he didn’t give up.

He had won.

"RAARGH!"

At the sound of his declaration, the stadium exploded.

Students jumped from their seats in complete shock and disbelief at what they were seeing.

Professors covered their mouths and pulled back their hair.

Deans recoiled in their seats as their eyes reflected the Lesser Angel holding the golden light.

And the Chancellor hung his head low.

On the other hand, the Ambrosia Pact was the loudest among everyone in the stadium. Dorian and Bryan were hugging each other, screaming and howling at the top of their lungs as if they were savage animals.

Bree clapped her hands above her head, bouncing on her heels with pure, unrestrained joy.

Even Matilda, who was normally more reserved than the others, cheered in victory.

Just watching the last moments of the final round was already hard. Seeing how Kai was being overwhelmed, turned the tables, and then had his scimitar shattered put them on the edge of their seats,

All of them were breathless and worried.

Bree and Matilda, in particular, were praying to the Gods to help Kai win the final round.

He had said that if he lost the final round, then he’d die.

Neither knew why that was exactly, but there’s no reason for Kai to lie, so they were worried.

And the relief that flooded them at the sight of Kai in the sky grasping the Heart of Dragon—was beyond anything they had ever felt before. It was like being bound to the guillotine, ready for the blade to be dropped, and being pardoned at the very last second.

It was invigorating.

...

Meanwhile, on the surface.

It was dark inside the apartment, save for the cold glow of the television.

David was on his knees, face inches from the screen, both hands clutching the TV as if it were a lifeline. His eyes were locked on the image before him—the Lesser Angel, the participant he had voted for on a whim, victorious in the sky of the arena.

His hands trembled.

The shades were drawn, leaving the room pitch-black, and the glare was hurting his eyes.

But he didn’t care.

David needed to see this close to make sure that he wasn’t seeing it wrong or hallucinating.

Once the truth finally settled, David gasped in utter shock—the sound was half-choked.

"No way," He whispered, eyes widening with each passing second. Then again, louder. "No way, no way—no way! No fucking way. This is not happening. This can’t be happening. Did he really win?"

He turned and fixed his gaze on something.

Frantically, he scrambled toward the single sofa and fished out his phone from the gap. And then he opened the betting app with shaking fingers. The active bet tab. The top entry. David tapped it, and the screen flashed.

And there it was—a single word in bold, victorious green.

’WIN’

His hand flew to his hair, gripping a fistful as if to anchor himself to reality. He then navigated to his profile to check his wallet. And the moment the number popped on the screen, the phone slipped from his grasp and clattered against the floor.

David fell back beside it, recoiling as if he was struck.

Then he stared at the screen from the floor, still glowing with the payout.

One in a thousand. A point-one percent chance. The market had called the Lesser Angel’s win a long shot, a fool’s bet. And yet the Lesser Angel had won. David bet his last remaining money on the Lesser Angel—two hundred dollars.

Now, that two hundred dollars had become two hundred thousand.

David stared at the number, and a breathless, disbelieving laugh bubbled from his chest.

It was the laugh of a man who had just been hit by lightning and lived.

"Lesser Angel Kai..." He turned towards the TV screen again. "I fucking love you."

Across the city, the sports bar was quieter than it should have been for a weekday afternoon, but the dozen or so customers inside were riveted to the mounted TV. The tournament played in high definition, and it was now showing the Lesser Angel closing around a golden light.

The room was thick with the smell of beer and fried food, but no one was eating.

No one was drinking.

Some of the waitresses who didn’t give a damn about sports were surprised to see the entire place suspended in silence, and then followed their gazes, only to see the same thing—on the TV screen.

The Lesser Angel’s victory.

"Who is this guy?" Someone muttered, voice edged with awe.

"A Lesser Angel," Another answered without looking. "I think this was the first time a Lesser Angel had won a tournament. Unnatural. That’s not normal strength. He went against High Angels and won."

"Are you kidding?" Another man with a cap on interjected. "I didn’t even know a Lesser Angel existed up until now.

The murmurs spread; voices overlapped in shared shock and disbelief.

A Lesser Angel—by name alone, should’ve been the bottom of the barrel. Yet that same Lesser Angel had just won the Dragon Ring tournament. Just that fact alone set the entire place ablaze, a wildfire of disbelief.

One that would spread across the city.

...

Kai roared until the last dregs of air fled his lungs and his voice cracked into silence.

His throat hurts, but the declaration of victory was necessary.

Of course, he wasn’t doing this for the crowd or his enemies, but for Bella, who should already be in the Elysian Fields by now. It was a triumphant requiem—that he hoped could reach her up there, enticing enough to pull her attention away from the tantalizing things up there even for a few seconds.

And then, the momentum carried him forward as he stumbled to the red wall of energy.

The broken scimitar, only half a blade now, was clutched in his trembling hand.

Kai drove the blade into the red surface with the last bit of strength he possessed. It was only able to bite shallowly, but it was enough for him to slide down the wall, creating strong friction to slow his fall as a tail of sparks chased him as he descended.

Not too far away, Chester also used the same tactic.

But his sickle snapped—the broken half spun away—and he was hurled forward.

He smashed into the ground with enough force to carve another crater into the ruined arena floor. Kai didn’t look too long. He did not care. He was too exhausted to care about anything except the Heart of Dragon in his fist.

Eventually, his boots hit the ground hard.

Kai landed harder than he anticipated, and he collapsed to his knees.

Fearing of losing the Heart of Dragon, he clutched it against his chest—fingers locked around it with a grip that would never loosen. Not until the tournament was declared over. Not until the announcer announced his victory.

His chest heaved, lungs burning, and he began to hyperventilate.

Each breath was short as his body desperately tried to circulate oxygen.

Around him, the crowd’s roar was a distant ocean, but Kai could barely hear it.

All he could focus on was breathing.

Steadying the frantic rhythm of his heart.

Kai chuckled inwardly in between gasps; settling on the sheer fact that he had finally won was unreal. Against all odds—against the torture and the exhaustion and the weight of the sky on his back, he had won.

And after so many dreadful days, he could finally celebrate a little.

Just then, the air churned.

Swoosh—!

The shield embedded in the wall that made the red wall wavered.

A sudden and violent mana spike erupted from within it—so sudden, so fierce, that even the Deans and the Chancellor snapped their heads towards it in unison. The reddish energy wall let out a low, resonant hum, then solidified, growing denser and harder until it was something more than a mere barrier.

It turned into a cage.

Among the crowd, Bree’s head whipped around.

Her eyes found the humming wall amidst the crowd’s uproar, and a cold dread pooled inside her stomach. Something was wrong. Soon, the other students felt it too; their cheers faltered, and their attention shifted to the seething red steam beginning to leak from the barrier.

It was obvious now—something was tampering with it.

Some wanted to move.

But they were all too late.

Boom—!

Inside the arena, a sudden blast of mana erupted.

At the center, Chester’s broken body was convulsing—as a powerful deep blue aura exploded from him in a terrible pillar of light that shot skyward. He was unconscious earlier, but now, his eyes snapped wide.

Seeing the deep blue aura, shock and fear crept into him.

He stared at the light pouring out of him as if he had never seen it before, and his lips parted, trying to speak—but no words came out. A scream escaped instead as black veins started to crawl beneath his tattered combat suit, slithered up his neck, and then twisted across his face.

The black veins reached his brain, and when they did, his eyeballs turned solid blue.

Boom—!

Another explosion detonated outward in a ring of pure force.

It shattered boulders and slabs and slammed Kai back until he was pressed against the wall.

Kai gritted his teeth and stared at Chester, who was now rising to his feet like a living corpse.

What...? He’s corrupted?!

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!