"Teach me!" Astoria immediately exclaimed, jumping up to Damien and tugging on his sleeve.
"Calm down, calm down," Damien urged as he shook her off.
"I'm not just planning to teach you, I'm going to accept you as a proper disciple. Do you understand what that means? My status in your life will be no less than your father's, and my words and ideals will be reflected in you in the future. You are still young and have plenty of time to decide on your path, so do not rashly make a decision because of my demonstration."
Despite his eagerness to teach her, he needed her to know what it meant to accept him as a master.
He wasn't going to say something like she could never have another master in this life, as such practices were extremely outdated, but during their time together, he definitely wouldn't take it easy.
He wouldn't treat her as a "little sister," but as a "disciple."
Astoria nodded her head in understanding.
"There's no problem with this. If you were someone not worth following, would you be so considerate about my decision? I've thought it over already, and I want to learn!"
Damien smiled lightly.
"Then, who are you calling 'you?'"
"Hehe, Master!" Astoria exclaimed with a smile.
"Tch, most masters get tea ceremonies or kowtows when they accept disciples, but all I get is a clingy brat. So sad." Damien sighed in faux disappointment
"Err…" Astoria looked away sheepishly.
She definitely didn't know how to do the tea ceremony, and even Damien had to admit that accepting a kowtow from someone without a great difference in seniority felt strange…
"Whatever, let's just use a Mana Oath as a master-disciple contract of sorts." Damien sighed.
Astoria smiled and put her hand over her heart, activating her mana.
"I, Astoria Golden, hereby take Sir Damien Void as my Master for life. If I ever betray his trust, the universe may strip me of my mana and leave me crippled for eternity!"
It was a firm and direct oath without any loopholes.
Damien couldn't help but smile in return.
"Then, from this point forth, I, Damien Void, accept Astoria Golden as my disciple for life. Should I ever betray her trust, may the universe cripple me for life and strike my soul from reincarnation!"
Mana coalesced between them in the form of an illusory contract before tearing into two and entering their bodies.
Unknown to the duo themselves, this would be the start of another legend in the known universe for generations to come.
The legend of the Void Princess who ruled the concept of space, a true supreme Godbeast without rival.
***
After establishing the master-disciple relationship with Astoria far easier than he expected, Damien directly left her quarters for the day. He'd begin teaching her tomorrow, but for now, with him having officially accepted her, it was time for him to claim his first reward.
"Your Majesty, I hope you don't renege on our agreement," Damien said as he faced the Emperor, who was currently eyeing him strangely.
"Worry not, for I am not such a heartless person. I am merely surprised that you were able to tame Astoria in such a short period of time!" The Emperor exclaimed in genuine amazement.
How many years did he spend tirelessly trying to convince Astoria to do this and that? How was Damien able to accomplish a task as significant as becoming her master so simply?!
What he didn't know was that, while the current Damien was a man with a youthful mouth and a mature mind, he didn't used to be that way.
He used to be even worse than Astoria, genuinely thinking of himself as the Heavens and even viewing the war with the Nox as a mere playground.
Coming from such a past, Damien knew exactly how to tame young and overexcited geniuses like Astoria.
He simply needed to give her a reason to learn.
He needed to keep her entertained in the truest sense.
And when it came to elements, there weren't many as entertaining to learn as space.
Especially if one could grow to appreciate the true vastness of the concept.
Nevertheless, those things were reserved for a later date. For now, Damien had used the prospect of such things to entice Astoria into accepting their master-disciple relationship.
"It's just a little show of skill. What do you think, Emperor, aren't I a great choice of tutor?" Damien teased with a smile.
"It has only been two days yet you seem to have no thoughts of respecting my status as an Emperor and a Demigod. Very well, take your treasures and leave. Don't let me see your face unless I need to." The Emperor sighed exasperatedly.
Damien smiled and winked casually. "Don't worry, Your Majesty. Once you start seeing the results of my efforts, I'm afraid you won't be willing to let me go."
After giving final goodbye, Damien followed a nearby group of guards who escorted him to the royal treasury.
It wasn't a long walk, rather, it was a direct teleportation that landed them in front of a pair of towering golden doors with intricate draconic patterns etched on them.
From it, the true majesty of dragons could be felt. It was a suppressive aura that even made Damien's mutated bloodline feel a bit of reverence, filling him with endless surprise.
'My dragon bloodline is no longer necessarily a dragon bloodline. It is my three bloodlines merged into one and fused into the Samsara Blood flowing through my veins. For such a deeply entrenched bloodline to suddenly show activity…the origin of this door is not simple.'
If the doors alone were already so magisterial, what would the contents look like?
'Three things are not a lot now that I think about it.' Damien thought wryly.
As he did, he watched the several guards line up in formation across the golden doors and insert strange plaques into the slots present there.
The doors began to rumble, coming alit with blindingly bright light. Before Damien knew it, his spatial coordinates had been displaced.
Despite not moving or teleporting, he arrived inside the light beams, the true face of the treasury.
Damien's eyes widened into saucers.
Compared to the wealth he had procured with so much difficulty…
'It's not even worth comparing.'
This treasury was easily a hundred times the size of Damien's entire fortune.
And currently, all he could see were flashes of artifacts and currencies flying by in the golden light.
"A guest has entered the Golden Dragon Treasure Cove."
A robotic voice sang out.
"As per the regulations, three treasures will be designated to their fated owner."
Listening to its words, Damien's felt a mixture of disappointment and excitement.
It was unfortunate that he couldn't see the entire treasury splayed out before him, but it was understandable that an outsider wouldn't be able to access such things.
But…
Damien had always been a fan of these fateful encounters.
Rather than treasures he picked himself, the ones that came to him through fate were the ones who stuck with him through thick and thin, becoming true members of his arsenal.
And now, fate was going to confer him three treasures.
The anticipation was truly killing him.
