Noah was astonished to find Felix there. He had hated his father for a long time, so he was definitely angry. Yet, Noah felt an indescribable fear bursting inside him, overshadowing his rage. Felix was his father, who abandoned him when he was just an infant. There were many times he desperately needed his father's affection, but Felix failed to do so. Now that he didn't want to see his father anymore, there he was, standing in front of him. 

Noah was still on the ground, Felix approached Noah to help him up, but Noah unconsciously evaded Felix's hands as if he was afraid of them. After all, he had beaten by the maids many times, he remembered the tortures he had suffered for years and that made him tremble. Even if Noah was a great mage in his previous life, the emotions and pain he endured for years wasn't something easily forgotten, it was all engrained onto his heart by the hands of his own family.

Felix wore a painful expression on his face. He placed his right hand on top of his eyes and sighed. His face showed how grief-stricken he was. He had seen Noah only once, when he born. After years of imprisoning Noah, Felix now saw his youngest, yet he wasn't happy but depressed. Noah should have lived happily just like his older brothers, but there he was, wandering in some opaque woods searching for a shelter. While others enjoyed delicious meals three times a day, Noah had to starve. Felix couldn't even provide a meal to his own child despite being the emperor. His golden eyes were moist, his heart throbbed to see his child in such a pitiful state. But Felix couldn't even part his trembling lips in front of Noah, his regret weighed heavily.

Noah stood up, staring at Felix. Noah was just a baby when he saw Felix, no one would believe him, if he said he knows the man who was standing in front of him was his father. So, Noah posed a question to Felix, "who are you?"

Felix gulped, gazing at Noah. Just as Felix parted his lips to answer Noah, a sudden voice pierced the air, breaking the awkward silence, "am I interrupting this affectionate moment between father and son?"

Noah's eyes met Felix's, and he saw a glimmer of warning. Felix snapped back to the direction of voice, his expression transformed from warmth to guardedness, Felix's serious gaze locked onto Noah, his eyes screaming 'danger'.

"Oh, you're hurting my feelings!" 

Suddenly, a figure emerged out of nowhere. The man was devilishly handsome, his long silver hair, falling across his forehead in an elegant way. His luscious wine-red eyes burned with an inner intensity. His jawline, as sharp as a blade, and his defined cheekbones added more depth to his holy build. He was tall, square-shouldered and wore a cerise gem on his dark-black robe.

As the man emerged, Felix's hand rose elegantly, his long beautiful staff materialized in his hand. The staff shone with an ethereal light. The crystal orb on it pulsed with a blue glow. There were runes carved on to it. The archaic power emanated from it was splendid. The staff seemed to be entwined between beauty and mystery.

The one who was most shocked was Noah. The man who was standing in front of him, posing as a potential threat, was the same man he had met at the inn back then—Cassius. Noah couldn't understand why Felix would be wary of someone, unless he was the infamous 'Demon monarch'.

 The mysterious sigil on Felix's chest began to spread in an arcane pattern as if the obsidian brand were blooming. Noah noticed the intricate design on Felix — It was pitch-black and beautifully tattooed. "Your Tanwen is absolutely spellbinding every time I see it." Cassius uttered as he approached Felix with a smile. 

'Tanwen' was the star-staff which could be only be wielded by the omnipotent member of the dragon race. It couldn't wield by just anyone. Dragons were one of the ancient races, yet, the Tanwen had only chosen only two owners so far, being Felix one of them. As a fire mage, Felix was compatible with the staff. Tanwen's white radiant flame could even incinerate space itself. It was one of the reasons why other races were obeyed dragons, fearing that otherwise, they would burn in those flames eternally.