Valerian Gremory was a lonely child growing up. The son of The Crimson Satan Sirzechs Lucifer and the Strongest Queen Grayfia Lucifuge was, unfortunately, a neglected child.

He was born with a minimal amount of demonic power. When compared to other devil heirs, Valerian was sorely lacking. That and being born without the power of destruction, rumors flew around the devil circles that Grayfia had an affair with another man, straining Sirzech's and Grayfia's relationship. It was only after Valerian had a blood test from Ajuka that the two's relationship was mended.

But the damage was already done, the fighting and arguing between the two led to the neglect of their baby. Even when realizing this, they subconsciously neglected Valerian.

Grayfia Lucifuge was the head maid of the Gremory Clan and queen of the strongest satan and Sirzechs Lucifer was a super devil and Crimson Satan, the majority of his time was dealing with devil affairs, leaving him with very little time to spend with his child.

The time they did spend with him was awkward, almost as though they had better things to do.

Valerian, even as an 8-year-old child at the time knew that his parents and grandparents were busy and he understood that. He would have been fine with this and even proud of his parents being so powerful, but everything changed when she was born, Rias Gremory.

His busy parents and grandparents that barely had enough time for him suddenly had all this free time to dote upon Rias, leaving Valerian to feel abandoned and sorrowful.

Even the Gremory servants treated him with indifference and a little disdain while showering Rias in praises.

Valerian remembered this, he even remembered everything. Unknown to everyone but him, Valerian was a genius, surpassing his father and mother. Although he was born with a minimal amount of demonic power and without the power of destruction, he inherited his mother's power over ice magic and the Gremory's superior control of demonic powers.

Remembering all this led Valerian's feelings of neglect, abandonment, and sorrow to grow into something more. Hate. He began to hate Sirzechs Lucifer. He began to hate Grayfia Lucifuge. He began to hate Zeoticus Gremory. He began to hate Venelana Gremory. He began to hate Rias Gremory. He began to hate the Gremory servants. He hated them. He hated all of them. He hated them. He hated them. He hated them. HE HATED THEM HE HATED THEM HE HATED THEM HE HATED THEM HE HATED THEM HE HATED THEM HE HATED THEM HE HATED THEM HE HATED THEM. HE HATED THE WORLD.

He once a happy but lonely 8-year-old boy who just wanted his families' love started to feel all these dark emotions and began loosing all his happy ones, until his heart was cold, just like his ice magic.

'Mmph,' Valerian thought to himself, 'I don't need them. I'll surpass them all and let them know what they missed.' Valerian was navigating through the immensely large Gremory Castle and arrived at the library. Although Valerian was an 8-year-old boy, people could already tell that he would grow up to be a handsome man like his father. He inherited his mother's silver hair and eyes while inheriting his father's elegant and aristocratic face. He was wearing a white button-up dress shirt with slacks and holding a black bag. He looked more like a Lucifuge then a Gremory, leading the devils to belive in the rumors of Grayfia's affair.

As he walked through the hallways of the castle, he arrived at the large doors containing the Gremory library. Walking through the great walls of books he arrived at the corner of the library and picked up an unassuming book titled "The Complete History of the Gremory Clan." Flipping through the book with practiced ease, he arrived on the last page. On the last page of the book was a page filled with different magic circles with a handprint in the center. Placing his small hand in the adult-sized handprint, Valerian felt the magic held within the book scan his hand and body. After the book was finished scanning a small magic teleportation circle with the Gremory clan symbol appear in front of him. Valerian calmly placed the book back in its original spot and walked into the teleportation circle, transporting him into a secret room.

Being neglected by his parents and family left Valerian ample free time, leading him to the Gremory Clan's library. It was almost as though the books had filled the void within his heart, leading him to devour all books he came across. From history to devil politics, magical grimoires, and even devil autonomy, he sped through all of them like a hurricane.

At that time he made a huge discovery. Why was it that the Gremory Clan was included within the 72 pillars? What was the special power of the Gremory clan, making them in the same rankings as the immortal Phenex clan or the time controlling Agares clan?

His answers led him to the mysterious yet plain blook titled "The Complete History of the Gremory Clan." In it was the complete timeline of the Gremory Clan. Valerian learned that the reason why Lucifer, the first devil, valued the Gremory clan so much was because of their vast Ritual knowledge and magic comprehension.

How else would his father's knight Souji Okita know so much about rituals to be able to turn his body into a nest of youkai? It also explained why the Gremory's were born with vast amounts of demonic power and control. When the devils were still in the womb, they usually did a ritual to grant more power with the only price of being the magic of the caster. It was a small and simple yet effective ritual. Though, the Gremorys mostly stopped using rituals ever since Zeoticus' father was clan head as it was seen as taboo and forbidden.

Valerian walked out of the teleportation circle and was greeted by a large grey room. The middle of the room as an indented circle with complicated magic circles with numerous runes that took up most of the room. The sides of the room had numerous books storing the Gremory's complete knowledge of magic and rituals with some being harmless rituals that only took magic to some darker ones that needed living sacrifices.

He opened the black bag and pulled out a black leather book. He walked towards the indented circle while flipping through the book and found his page. The page was titled "Eternal Ice Heart." It was a ritual found in the secret room that compliments his already inherited devil abilities. It used the eternal ice found in Cocytus and nine powerful devil hearts to empower the caster. This ritual empowered the usual with godlike affinity with ice, enhanced physical and magical powers and inhuman like control over ice. The notes said that the caster would be able to freeze magic itself. The only downside of this ritual is the immense physical pain of having your heart ripped out of your chest painfully while your body broke down and built back up.

Valerian looked up from the page with an emotionless face, checking over his materials, he spoke in a monotone voice, "Ritual, start." The indented circle in the middle of the room flashed as the ambient magic in the room began to converge. Icy blue magic circles began to form with a large one in the center followed by nine others, all connected with words and runes, forming a nine-pointed star-shaped. the temperature within the room began to plummet as frost began to form on the walls and floors,

Within the nine magic circles, icy winds convulsed as ice spires began to form. Valerian, still holding his black bag began to walk to the nearest spire. Reaching into his bag, Valerian pulled out a heart and plunged it into the spire, spearing it with ice. The blood began to drip down the ice and flow into the magic circle, tainting it bloody red. Valerian repeated these eight other times.

Finally, Valerian stood in the magic circle in the center of the room, still holding his last material. He reached into his black bag and retrieved a sharp piece of ice. Valerian, even with his insane affinity, was feeling cold. His hand began to frost over as frostbite began to form. With no hesitation, he threw the black bag and plunged the ice into his heart, making him drop to his knees in pain.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Valerian couldn't contain his screams any longer, it felt as though ice water was running through his veins. The blood from the hearts began to follow the lines and converge around Valerian, creating a blood cocoon. The blood began to seep into his body and melt the ice. Valerian's chest began to throb as his heart shot out, connecting to the blood cocoon and merge. Various bones began to pierce through his skin and his body began to break down. His muscles and skin began to rip and tear, giving Valerian a fiendish and demon-like look.

'STOP THE PAIN! MOTHER! FATHER!' Valerian's last coherent thoughts called out to his mother and father, hoping they can stop the pain. No matter how he acts, Valerian is only an 8-year-old boy calling out to his parents.

Last of the blood from the blood cocoon began to seep into his body, leaving Valerian laying in a bloody heap. His skin was still ripped, his bones jutting out, and his body cold and numb. Valerian was all alone, dying from blood loss. 'I'm was alone,' Valerian thought, 'like always...' He was feeling it, he was dying. 'Did the ritual fail? Impossible! I followed the steps accordingly!'

'Why can't mother and father be here? Where are they? Are they thinking about me? Will they miss me?' Valerian thought sadly. No matter how much he denies it, no matter how much he buries it deep within his heart, he still loves his parents. He wants their love and affection. He wants to make them proud. His secret reason why he did this ritual in the first place was to gain more power and show his parents that he was something.

'I don't want to die!'

As if answering his prayers, a cooling sensation was felt throughout his body. If one were to look at the gaping hole in his chest, one would see ice begin to form where his heart once was. The ice began to form the shape of a heart, a devil's heart. His bones began to recede back into his body, mending them together. His skin and muscle combined, though his skin still kept all the scars. Valerian shakily stood looking over his new look.

'I'll have to do something about these,' Valerian thought as he looked at the scars. They probably covered 90% of his body including his arms, legs, head, and body with varying sizes. Valerian controlled his magic to form a layer of ice, like a second skin, to cover his skin. He looked the same as he did before the ritual, as though it never happened. "Maybe mother and father will notice me," Valerian told himself almost inaudibly.

Valerian teleported back to the Gremory Library and walked through the halls. Wondering aimlessly, Valerian caught the sight of his mother's back, leaning on the doorway to the living room, smiling a small smile to herself. Valerian walked quietly behind her to see what she was smiling about. He's never had that smile directed to himself. In fact, he could count how many times he's seen his mother smile on both hands and still have plenty leftover. Those smiles were always reserved for her husband and rias, never him. It was almost either indifference or a small frown, sometimes even disappointment. As he saw what his mother was smiling at, he froze in his tracks.

In the living room were his family. His grandparents were sitting on the velvet couches closely together smiling and laughing at the sight of his father, Sirzechs on the floor, play wrestling with Rias, his aunt, who was five years old. It was a beautiful sight, filled with happiness and humor. Any painter would feel blessed with such an image to paint. That's what it was, a beautiful, happy picture.

One he was not in, he was never in, not allowed to be in. He wanted to be in, to feel this happiness. Suddenly, the dying flames of hate he had for his family was blazing. He went through hell just to be noticed, to gain the recognition of his family. While he was dying, hoping for his parents to be there, his family was happily playing without him, like always. He hated them. He hated the world. He hated everything. Why?! WHY!?

"Hmm?" As if sensing something, Grayfia turned her head away from the happy picture and looked behind her. All she saw was an empty, lonely hallway willed with frost and ice, giving it a desolate and depressing feeling.