HDXD: Omni Harem System-Chapter 274: Truth of The Horn Born’s
The hall had long since quieted behind them.Only the faint and lingering scent of blood filled the air now.
As the aftertaste of the Execution Grounds that was about three rooms back, this place where Arbitration kill the rule breakers of the masquerade was big on its own.
Now, deep within the hidden quarters of this place, three people where present in a dark room, or rather just Mordux as Adam and Priscilla remained standing before him.
The room was dim.
Only a single lantern burned in the corner, its soft golden light flickering against blackened walls layered with dust and web.
The scent of parchment, blood, and incense mingled faintly, and base off the memories and desires to be freed or spared Adam could pick up, he concluded that this room was used mostly for confession, or interrogation, depending on who held the power within.
Mordux on the other hand sat at the long wooden table. Both hands were clasped tight, as his gloved fingers interlocked, and the soft sound of his leather creaking whenever he shifted.
They all looked at each other, yet struggle to speak, however Mordux killed the silence by starting with.
"…I don't even know where to begin, I am being honest."
He admitted that much.
But the truth will be reveal her tonight, Adam going as far as to consider using Brain Eater to extract the information he wanted, or maybe us his abilities to see his desires.
Either method would work.
But he didn't want to be uncivilized either.
As such Adam tilted his head slightly, one hand in his pocket, as he spoke.
"Well for starters...
He began then continued.
"You could start by introducing yourself."
A flicker of humor, bitter, faint, but real...crossed Mordux's voice.
"That would be… a good start indeed."
"Logical too... I mean you say you are my uncle but I don't know you as a person, as far as I know, you are still a stranger to me, so we can definitely start there."
Adam added, leaning slightly against the wall beside Priscilla.
"Guess that runs in the family. Your mom was the same, she can make a tense situation calm, and easy to follow like mother like son I guess."
For a brief moment, silence pressed between them. Even the faint hum of the lantern felt distant.
He exhaled through his nose, steadying himself again. There were questions — dozens of them — burning at the back of his mind. But he didn't speak them yet.
Not until this man, this "uncle," proved he was worth listening to.
Beside him, Priscilla remained silent.
Her crimson eyes flicked between them, her expression unreadable — though her folded arms and stillness made it clear she was simply watching, and just listening.
Finally, Mordux nodded slightly, his posture straightening.
"My real name is Seth La'Terra if you where wondering. Mordux is a mask, one of many I've worn since I abandoned my first name to the blood. Still I kept my family name at the very least."
"Before I became… what you see now, I wasn't always a vampire. Rather like yourself... I was human, or rather, a species of human. We were called the Horn-Born."
Adam frowned faintly at that. He didn't interrupt, but the name alone drew his curiosity.
Mordux leaned back slightly, his back now on the wall, as he fold his arm, his voice gaining a low rhythm as he continue with his story.
"The Horn-Born were not ordinary. We were the children of Gaia's experiment, humans molded with her essence, granted the ability to manipulate the fundamental core of magic itself."
He raised one gloved hand and gestured toward his masked head, gesturing what lies just beneath it.
"Through our horns all magic, especially those of nature became usable to us."
Adam's gaze sharpened.
"Horns you say!?"
"Exactly."
Mordux replied.
"We didn't need magic circles, nor contract to use a magic at all. That also apply ritual magic too, we don't chants, prayers or scrolls. With our horns alone we commanded magic. Raw. Pure. Direct force of nature."
Said Mordux to Adam.
Priscilla's expression didn't change for the most part, but even she tilted her head slightly, intrigued.
Mordux the. continued, his tone quiet but sure.
"Our horns channel the purest form of Astrum, life, death, all things born of creation and destruction. We can control phenomena at their source. Fire, water, earth, light, all bound by the flow of Astrum through these specialized horns. To the world, it looked like a miracle that goes against the will of God. The Will of Losdeus. Given Magic as a Concept only became possible because of Merlin. She might have made the rules of it, and she like all other Divine Spirit Works under Losdeus so going against the Mechanics of creation like we do is seen as Hersey to alot of purist. But such is the ambition of the first Overlord of Humanity when he had our people created."
Adam nodded slowly, his hand subconsciously brushing the side of his head.
He could still feel the faint pressure beneath his skin where his horns usually remained hidden, it was reacting to this man in a weird way.
That much lined up.
Yet it wasn't enough.
So he looked back at Mordux, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"That is quite the introduction, and history lesson I had no idea about."
He said softly.
"But words are cheap. You could've just read that from some old relic script. How do I know what you're saying is the truth?"
For the first time, Mordux chuckled, though it wasn't amusement.
It was weariness.
"You sound just like your mother when she doubted everything I told her about the Overlord, it is in her nature especially to be so fanatical about things."
Adam's jaw tightened faintly at that, but before he could speak, Mordux rose.
As he began to stretch his limbs.
"Very well nephew... watch closely, from here on out I will make my actions speak for me."
He said, as he began to take a deep breathe.
"I'm sure you can do this too, even if your horns are retracted, I can feel their resonance in you, as I am sure you can too in me."
He reached up, fingers pressing against the seam of his mask.
Then, with a faint crack, it split down the center.
A low hum filled the room.The air thickened instantly... heavy, dense, pulsing with invisible force.
From beneath the mask, two enormous horns emerged. White... No Bone-white in color, yet faintly translucent at their edges, glowing faintly with veins of Astrum threading through them.
They curled backward, a strange hybrid between an Oni's fierce arch and a ram's spiral grace. Each movement of the horns seemed to pull the air itself inward.
The walls groaned.
The world shake.
The lantern flame wavered wildly, bending toward him as though gravity itself had shifted.
And then... the Astrum in the world around the began to moved.
The invisible particles that always drifted unseen suddenly became visible, faint trails of blue, red, green basically all elemental Astrum in the vicinity, appear as light particles as it began to be sucked toward Mordux, swirling around him like ribbons in a violent storm.
Adam's eyes widened in suprise at the familiar sight.
He could feel it, the air emptying, the space vibrating, every particle of Astrum answering the Horn-Born's call.
Priscilla's eyes flickered faintly crimson in response, her instincts sharpening. Even she stepped half a pace back as the sheer rawness of the energy began to claw at the edges of the room.
Mordux's voice came low, distorted by the wave of energy surrounding him.
"This… is what it means to be Horn-Born. We do not call upon magic... For we are its will."
As he spoke, his body began to shift.
The skin along his arms cracked, glowing from within like light escaping the confines of broken glass. His flesh started to break apart, bones, blood, vein and skin started to burn and transform.
The old table split down the middle from the sheer force of his presence, hairline fractures spreading like spiderwebs through the wood beneath.
And then....He stopped himself, any further and we have undergone spirit awakening.
The horns shimmered, then slowly receded back into his skull, dissolving into particles of soft light.
The air rushed back all at once, as the Astrum he absorbed from the world around him return back from where they came.
The cracks along his skin sealed instantly. Even his mask, impossibly, mended itself, whole again as if nothing had ever happened.
The silence afterward was absolute.
Adam blinked once, twice...processing.
His heartbeat, usually slow and measured, was faster than he liked to admit.
He needed no further evidence, and the same for for Priscilla as well, this man.
Mordux La'Terra.... Was just like him.
Mordux looked at him then, his masked face turned slightly, and his voice steady.
"Do you believe me now?"
Adam said nothing for a long while.Then finally, with a small exhale, he replied quietly.
"…Yeah."
A pause.
Then, with faint humor fill into his tone, he added. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
"Unfortunately, I have no choice but to believe you now."
Mordux chuckled softly, lowering himself back unto to the table.
"I expected more resistance, but I am glad we are now on the same page here."
"...Still I guess you want to know more about your mom and dad right!?"
"Yes, I really do wish to know more about them."
