CHAPTER 381: ROYALLY SCREWED

The throne room was nothing like what any of them had expected. Instead of the formal grandeur they’d imagined, Lucas’s parents had chosen to receive them in what could only be described as a living room that happened to be the size of a small cathedral. Comfortable furniture was arranged in intimate clusters, and the walls were lined with what looked like family photos spanning generations.

Damien Grey was sprawled across what had to be the most expensive couch in the galaxy, wearing a t-shirt that read "Galaxy’s #1 Dad" in glittering letters. His wife, Vivian, was perched on the arm of his chair, barefoot and grinning like she’d just heard the best joke of her life.

"So you’re the infamous gang that came to rescue our son," Vivian said, her eyes sparkling with delight. "Lucas has told us so much about you all."

"We were worried about him," Sophie said, though she was clearly trying not to smile at the casual atmosphere.

"Oh honey, we know exactly how that feels," Damien chimed in, gesturing dramatically. "You should have seen us when we got his message. Vivian nearly launched the entire fleet."

Lucas groaned, covering his face with his hands. "Dad, please—"

"Please nothing! These people dropped everything to make sure you were safe," Vivian said, but she was grinning the entire time. "I like them already."

Kelvin was staring at Damien’s shirt with undisguised delight. "Your Majesty, I need to know where you got that shirt because it’s absolutely phenomenal."

"Right? Vivian got it for me for my birthday. I’ve got seventeen more just like it in different colors." Damien struck a pose. "This is how royalty dresses when we’re not trying to impress anyone."

"Seventeen?" Diana asked, her composed facade cracking slightly.

"One for every year we’ve been married," Vivian said, leaning over to kiss her husband’s cheek. "He wears them to formal state dinners just to watch the ambassadors’ faces."

"So you’re Noah," Damien said, pointing at each of them in turn. "Sophie, Diana, Kelvin, and Lyra. Lucas couldn’t stop talking about you all at dinner. Noah, he said you keep everyone grounded. Sophie, apparently you’re the active commando. Diana, you’re the enemy turned friend after figuring out how awesome my son is,"

Lucas palmed his face but that didn’t stop his father.

"And Kelvin," Vivian added with a grin, "you’re the one who makes everyone laugh even when things are terrible."

"That’s me!" Kelvin said, preening slightly. "Professional morale booster."

"What about Lyra?" Noah asked.

"Lucas said she’s the newcomer but a big part of the team. Plus, she’s just as enthusiastic as kelvin," Damien said with a laugh.

"Sounds about right," Lyra said dryly.

"Speaking of which," Lucas said, his tone shifting slightly, "I need to ask again. Why am I back home? These people risked everything to get here because they thought I was in danger. What’s so important that I had to leave the vanguard station?"

The change was subtle but immediate. Damien’s goofy grin faltered just slightly, and Vivian’s playful energy dimmed like someone had turned down a light switch.

"It’s a family matter, kiddo," Damien said, but his voice had lost some of its lightness.

"These people traveled across billions of stars to save me because I left so suddenly," Lucas said, his voice growing stronger. "They were willing to risk court martial and imprisonment because they thought I was in danger. They’re my family, through and through. If anything needs to be discussed, they’re as much Grey as I am."

Vivian and Damien looked at each other, and something passed between them that made the air in the room feel heavier.

"Lucas," Vivian said quietly, her playful demeanor still there but strained, "there are some things that are just... complicated."

"No," Lucas said firmly. "These people have earned the right to know. Whatever brought me back here, whatever’s happening, they’re part of it now."

Damien ran his hands through his hair, messing it up completely. "Well, shit," he muttered, then looked at his wife. "Viv, what do you think?"

"I think," Vivian said slowly, "that if they’re willing to risk everything for our son, they deserve to know what they’re walking into."

Damien sighed heavily and stood up, his casual demeanor still intact but now carrying an undercurrent of something more serious. "Alright, but not here. This conversation needs a proper setting. Follow me."

They walked through corridors that grew progressively more formal until they reached a chamber that felt like stepping into a temple. The room was circular, with a domed ceiling that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it. But it was the seven statues that dominated the space—each nearly twenty feet tall, carved from what looked like crystallized lightning.

"Holy shit," Kelvin whispered, his neck craning back. "Lucas, your ancestors were giants!"

"The seven original families," Damien said, his voice echoing in the vast space but still carrying that familiar warmth. "Our great-great-great-and-so-on grandparents."

"They’re not just impressive," Vivian added, joining them in the center of the circle, her bare feet making no sound on the polished floor. "They’re the reason any of us are still alive."

Lucas had been here before, but always for ceremonies and formal occasions. He’d never heard the full story, just the sanitized version taught to children. But his parents’ expressions suggested that was about to change.

"Thousands of years ago," Damien began, settling into storytelling mode like he was continuing a conversation from dinner, "during humanity’s early civilization, a group of hunters came across something that changed everything. A meteor had crashed, creating a crater that glowed with energy unlike anything they’d ever seen."

"They thought the power came from the stars," Vivian continued, perching on the edge of one of the ceremonial pedestals like it was a park bench, "from the meteor itself. They didn’t understand that the impact had simply unearthed something that had been sleeping in Earth’s core all along."

"Void energy," Diana said enthusiastically. She seemed to enjoy the presence of Lucas’s parents.

"Exactly," Damien said, snapping his fingers. "Seven of them were exposed to that energy, and it changed them fundamentally. Enhanced abilities, extended lifespans, deeper connections to the forces that flow through every living world." His voice carried the weight of legend, but he still gestured like he was explaining something over dinner. "They became the first of what we are now."

"But there’s more to the story, isn’t there?" Noah said, reading their expressions.

Damien and Vivian exchanged another look, and this time Lucas saw something he’d never seen in his parents’ eyes before, fear.

But even the fear was wrapped in their fundamental warmth.

"What we’ve taught our children, what’s been recorded in our histories, what the seven families have believed for generations..." Damien paused, running his hand through his hair again. "Well, turns out our ancestors were pretty good at selective editing."

"There wasn’t just seven," Vivian said quietly, but her voice still carried that gentleness that made even bad news feel less terrible. "There was an eighth."

Lucas felt the world shift beneath his feet. "What do you mean there was an eighth?"

"The eighth was unique," Damien continued, his casual tone making the revelation feel like a family secret rather than a historical bombshell. "While the other seven manifested their powers immediately, he showed nothing. They assumed he’d been spared, that the energy had somehow passed him by."

"But he wasn’t spared," Vivian said, her voice carrying the same sadness she’d used when explaining difficult truths. "He was different. His power was to copy, to steal, to gift abilities to others. But it only revealed itself when he was pushed to his absolute limit."

"What happened?" Sophie asked, though her voice suggested she wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

"Oh, the usual family drama," Damien said with a bitter laugh. "One of the seven had an affair with the eighth’s wife. When the eighth discovered it, the confrontation nearly turned deadly. And that’s when everyone learned what his true ability was."

The chamber fell silent except for the soft hum of the crystallized lightning in the statues above them.

"They were afraid," Vivian said sadly, her maternal instincts making her want to protect even historical figures. "Afraid of what someone with that kind of power could do. So they made a decision."

"They royally screwed up," Damien said bluntly, his usual humor taking on a darker edge. "Lured him to a chamber deep underground and sealed him there. Left him to die in the dark."

Lucas stared at his parents, his worldview cracking apart. "They murdered him? Their friend?"

"They thought they were protecting everyone," Vivian said, but her voice lacked conviction. "Doesn’t make it right, but that’s what they told themselves."

"But here’s the kicker," Damien said, his storytelling rhythm never faltering even as he delivered the worst news. "He didn’t die. Somehow, he survived. And now he’s back."

The implications hit Lucas like a physical blow. "You called me back from my post, from people who needed me, to tell me that our ancestors were liars and murderers?"

"Lucas—" Damien began, his paternal concern breaking through.

"How is this any of my business?" Lucas’s voice rose, echoing off the chamber walls. "This happened thousands of years ago!"

"Because no Grey anywhere in the galaxy is safe except within these walls," Vivian said urgently, her casual demeanor cracking to reveal the terrified mother underneath. "Because this person—this eighth—he’s not the same man who was betrayed all those years ago. Centuries of isolation, of betrayal, of rage... it’s changed him."

"From all indications, you were the villains," Lucas said coldly.

Kelvin, who had been unusually quiet during the revelations, suddenly spoke up. "With all due respect, Your Royal Majesties who wear awesome t-shirts and seem really cool, it sounds like your ancestors really screwed the pooch on this one." His voice carried its usual humor but with an edge of nervousness. "So now, on top of the Harbinger war that’s killing people every day, we have to deal with a bitter immortal grandpa that none of us knew about?"

"Pretty much," Damien said with a humorless laugh. "The entire seven families scattered across the universe have called for unity. We’re gathering our strongest, preparing for what’s coming."

"What’s coming?" Noah asked.

"War," Vivian said simply, but she still sounded like she was discussing weekend plans rather than the end of civilization. "The eighth has returned with an army larger than any in human history. No one in the galaxy is safe."

Lucas shook his head, his decision already made. "I’m returning with my friends to the EDF. I’m going back to the vanguard station where I’m actually needed, where I can make a difference in a war that matters."

"No,"

The single word came from Damien, but something had shifted. The goofy father was still there, but underneath it was something that had ruled a star system for decades. His casual posture didn’t change, but his presence filled the chamber, and even the temperature seemed to respond to his mood.

"Nobody’s going anywhere, kiddo."

Kelvin let out a nervous chuckle that echoed strangely in the sudden silence. "Right, so... that’s not ominous at all. Still love the shirt, though."