《Dark Lord For Dummies?》


 Chapter ???

    Skies darken when he walks


    Death comes next to where he goes


    Light ceases before his power


    Stars fade with a flick of his fingers


    The gods think he is gone for good, but they are wrongA case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    The Dark Lord, he''d been sleeping for too long


    His return will bring chaos, death and destruction to gods and mortals alike


    All life will bow down to his evil might


    Apocalypse is the future he will hold in his hands


    Will he make it a reality? Or against it he''ll make his stand?

 A tl;dr shitty tear-jerking notice

    Ooookay, where should I start... I know! Let''s start with this one sentence of truth: This web serial is shit, absolute garbage, an abysmal poor excuse of a novel that sucks everything on a hardcore level.


    Okay that''s an exaggeration. In RRL standards, it''s average if not above. While that''s well and all, and believe me I loved the support, enthusiasm, and well-done criticism everyone gave me and this story, it just feels like something is missing.


    I started this shit with no clear plan in mind, a ¡®the wind will take me somewhere¡¯ kind of start. It had been fun, at the very least, just scribbling with reckless abandon then throwing it out the middle of the road (which is shit attitude in real life, by the way).


    But I feel like this, this story, is something good. No, scratch that, ¡®great¡¯, in my opinion, but I lack the skills to tell the story well. And that amounts to nothing at all. I feel like it would be a waste to tell this story in this level of execution (which is, 1 to 10, I would rate myself 3) and that you, my readers, deserve more than these abysmal first draft chapters.


    All that soppy drama said, I''m closing the curtains.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    No, no, I''m far from dropping it. I won''t drop it, on the contrary, I will work harder for it, but you just won''t see them for a while. A complete rewrite, yes, because I''m not satisfied on my work. The story deserves more quality, and you good sons of bitches do, too.


    I''ll be working on fixing things like the magic system which had been so overwhelmingly complicated that everyone''s heads are already spinning. And also a myriad of other issues.


    So exactly how it sounds like, I won''t be updating for a while. I don''t know how long it will take (somewhere around 3 months to a whole year, all depends on my speed and skill). That said, I''m open to beta readers, who I can contact in private, and feed crappy vomit cereals along the way.


    Now why would anyone want that? I guess I''ll give those who participate a little something... Like a character named to them, yes. Anyone who wants to be a beta reader can, you know, shout in the comments (I''ll be reading them with great vigor) or give me a private message. I will add you as a buddy and send chapter drafts as pm''s.


    A character named Azuriq or Dragrath should be nice (Yes, I''m looking at you guys). Please join the dark side. I won''t stop checking comments and replying, and am always open to suggestions, criticism, words of encouragement, roasting and what-have-you.


    With that all said, this tl;dr crappy notice shall now end. I''ll see you guys next millennium.

 Zero: A normal day... Not?

    The convenience store didn''t have a single customer from how I saw it through the glass. Not surprising, it''s already three in the morning. Even I don''t usually go out this late, but tonight I just had to. That''s life, always refuses to go your way.


    With a whoosh, the automatic sliding door opened¡ªblowing a cold breeze at my face. Whether it really felt cold or not was debatable, though, the outside wind might''ve been colder. I took my first step on the nylon doormat and ironically it was a bit warmer inside even with an AC.


    Ah the small store, always in for that homey atmosphere I never felt back at the dorm. Double door fridges on one corner, all of them filled with all sorts of beverages, from energy drinks to milkshakes. The greater part of the establishment were shelves, featuring RTE meals, candies, powdered drinks like coffee and juice, while the open space near the door sported weekly magazines stacked on a steel rack. The counter was located at the corner near the door, with a blonde behind it.


    Her hair was pulled to a shoddy ponytail that left curly strands dangle on the sides of her face. White shirt and jeans, average height, in her later teens. I frequent this store, almost every other day, but surprisingly it''s the first time I''ve seen her. Either she was new or her shift was late night; probably the latter. She was far from ugly, though she wasn''t too stunning either. How do I put this... She was plain, except for her cold blue eyes that seemed to stare blankly at the distance.


    Her fingers drummed the desk with her eyes drooping and cheek cupped on hand. Lack of customers meant lack of work, it seemed. When the door zipped close behind me her head turned my way.


    ¡°Hey.¡± She got up from her slump with a yawn.


    ¡°... Me?¡±


    She narrowed on me with drunk eyes. If I didn''t know anything better her stare felt more like hate-at-first-sight, though that''s stupid¡ªalmost never happens unless the stranger utterly looks like an alpha jerk. Do I look like one?


    ¡°There''s really no one here other than us, is there?¡±


    ¡°¡­ A good point.¡±


    Though she could''ve been a little nicer to a stranger. She''s pissed, alright. I drew close and lent my ears.


    ¡°Something wrong?¡±


    ¡°Oh, nothing wrong.¡± She waved her hand. ¡°Just want to let you know that we are currently accepting part-timers.¡±


    ¡°Hmm... Really?¡± I clutched my chin.


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    Her cold blue eyes just turned colder from the suspicious glare she was giving me.


    ¡°You''re probably thinking ¡®Why do we even need an extra hand when we don''t even have customers¡¯ right?¡± She said with a raised brow and a scowl.


    "Oh no, that didn''t even cross my mind." I cramped a smile and waved my hand.


    ... Totally wasn''t expecting her to be the bitchy cynical rebel type. I mean, she''s blonde, she''s supposed to be that naive and cheerful girl and¡ªoh, I''m sorry, I''m a stereotyping jerkass. I''ll stop now.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    ¡°I know it''s just because of the time.¡± I threw in an affable smile with matching crinkled slits for eyes.


    The people around these parts aren''t nocturnal, so when the clock hits twelve you can invariably expect to see not a soul wandering the streets. But that doesn''t mean a convenience store can just take down the ¡®open 24 hrs¡¯ sign, it wouldn''t be so convenient then.


    "... You''re weirder than I thought." She muttered under her breath.


    "Pardon?"


    "Nothing." Her eyes rolled skyward. "Anyway, I just thought you''d be interested. In case you''re wondering what kind we''re looking for, it''s a janitor."


    "Ah... I see, I''ll give it some thought, then." I said.


    I don''t think I would spend a lot of time thinking, though, since it was pretty much decided. I don''t need extra pocket money. On top of that, I''m already busy juggling college life as it is, why would I want to add an extra ball? I''m not a masochist.


    She gave a satisfied nod and I left for the shelves.


    I stopped by the aisle where the powdered goods were shelved and picked up the usual 10''s instant coffee¡ªit was a blue four-by-four box that depicted on the front a coffee mug that had "Sandy''s" on it. Ironic, since it tasted just like sand. How did I know how sand tasted like? I don''t, though it''s probably tasteless. Unless it''s from a beach, then it''s salty. Maybe.


    I returned to the counter and handed the girl the box of coffee along with two cards¡ªone my payment card while the other my student ID. Ten percent student discount.


    She scanned the item and typed away on her terminal, while a yawn escaped me as I waited. Sleep, why are you always so far away?


    "Going out this late for a box of coffee?" She gave me a side glance as she put the coffee box inside a white plastic bag.


    "Yeah, I forgot to buy yesterday, I was too busy." My shoulders slumped.


    "But can''t you just get one tomorrow?"


    "Of course not, we''re talking about my lifeline you know?" I chuckled.


    Her lips curved to a smile, revealing a row of sparkly white teeth.


    "Well, here." She handed me the bag, and I made my exit.


    ---


    Outside was freezing, and that''s coming from someone who just came out of an establishment that had a powerful AC set to 14. I wondered if it would snow, but then again it wouldn''t have anything to do with me. I started walking down the sidewalk of the desolate street, passing by the usual row houses of blue walls and maroon roofs. Nothing new, I walked without paying my surroundings any mind.


    A few blocks before I reach my destination however, I didn''t know if it was drowsiness or the fatigue, but my vision started to blur. A second passed and I could already see black spots dotting my sight, multiplying faster than horny people on meth. It didn''t take long for them to envelope the entirety of my blurred vision.


    The next thing I felt was my heart slamming against my ribcage, accompanied with a heavy thud that echoed throughout the dead-silent street. I tried to get up, but not a drop of strength entered my four limbs. There was a panicked shouting from the distance, but my mind was too hazy to make something of it.


    Footsteps. They drew closer every second, but before they reached me, my consciousness already said farewell.


    ---


    I was surrounded by black brick walls and a high, domed ceiling of same color. There was no lighting except from an arched glass window on the far side letting a peculiar purple light in. The air was stagnant as well as cold, just like wherever I laid. So dark, so creepy, fear crept up my chest like a nightcrawler, but not because of the surroundings.


    Hovering above my face was another''s face. A wrinkled, ghastly pale face of a forty-something man, only that there were purple all over the surface of his skin. They were like veins underneath, making his white skin seem translucent. For some reason, his mouth was agape like he just lost his jaw, and his gunmetal eyes sparkled with tears of joy.


    He straightened, spread his arms wide and raised his chin upward, as if thanking the skies. Or the ceiling, for that matter.


    ¡°The Dark Lord of Asteria... has returned!¡± He spoke in a deep, trembling voice that hinted awe and triumph.


    The what has what? I didn''t understand, why wasn''t I screaming like a little girl?

 One: Im WHO now?

    The uncanny figure got off of my face while I sat up in a panic. Please don''t eat me, I was going to say, but the next scene left me dumbfounded. The humanoid entity knelt down on one knee and bowed.


    ¡°It is of unimaginable relief to see you again, Lord Alrion.¡± He said with his gray carbon eyes sparkling of genuine gladness.


    Okay, that''s fucking weird. Not only was he wearing a black hooded robe, he even had a full smile that didn''t go well with his face which looked like a new corpse''s. And wait,


    ¡°Alrion? Who''s that?¡±


    He tilted his head like he just saw a moron. ¡°Is that not your name, my lord?¡±


    ¡°Eh? Uh...¡±


    My eyes darted round and round the room looking for the perfect response. Do I tell him no or pretend I''m this lord? I thought hard, since my answer might well decide my fate. Just then, I happened to notice a vital fact about him.


    There was a long black object hanging on his waist by a belt. The moment I recognized what the thing was, cold sweat rolled through my back like a slippery snake.


    ¡°Ah yeah!¡± I said. ¡°Alrion, yeah, that''s me alright. Yeah...¡±


    My head was nodding like a jackhammer without my brain attached.


    ¡°... ¡®Yeah¡¯? Is that a word from an ancient language, my lord?¡± He tilted his head to the side.


    ¡°Oh! I meant yes... Yeah¡ªI mean yes.¡±


    ¡°... I see.¡±


    ¡°Aha. Ahaha...¡±


    My heart calmed down. I was safe, I was safe, I told myself over and over, my eyes still fixed on the sheathed sword by his waist. Just what would have happened if I told him that I wasn''t this lord of his? I wondered, but the answer was already quite obvious. I would''ve been diced meat.


    He stood up and dusted his robe, then turned to me.


    ¡°Then we should get going, Lord Alrion.¡± He said.


    ¡°... Get going? Go where?¡±


    ¡°To let the king know of course, that you have finally returned from the abyss.¡±


    ¡°Oh... okay...¡± I said.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    I stood up. Finally, a ticket outside! Fragile hope filled my head.


    But then, in the middle of my first step, I noticed plenty of things wrong. The non-human chap noticed the sudden halt of my feet and called me, but I had to ignore him.


    First were my clothes. I wasn''t wearing the tracksuit I had on before I woke up in this place. Instead what I wore was a dusty dark robe vaguely similar to the mysterious figure''s.


    Second, there were curtains of white hair on my shoulders. When I tried to pull them off, there was a tugging feedback from my scalp.


    What the hell?


    I pulled again, this time a little harder. And that earned me the same sensation.


    At that moment, nothing else mattered other than me and the mysterious lump of long hair hanging from my top. No seriously what the hell?! The last time I looked at a mirror, I had black, spiky short hair. Sure, it has been a few months before I last got a haircut, but even the dumbest idiot know that a few months is not enough time to grow hair this long. The length was well past my shoulders. Moreover, it was white! as in milky white, not that gray hair you get from aging.


    ¡°Impossible.¡± I muttered. ¡°How is this even¡ª¡±


    ¡°¡ªLook out behind you!¡±


    It was him, his widened eyes fixed at the brick wall behind me. Behind? I turned around, and as soon as I did my alarms went off¡ª


    ¡ªI was in immediate danger, and I raised my arm in a vain attempt to deflect the sudden threat.


    Then it hit me head on, a flash of searing white light. It enveloped my forearm in intense heat, accompanied by a great force that threw me across the chamber like I was nothing but a rag doll.


    My back collided against what I think was a wall, preventing me from flying further away. The impact knocked the air out of my lungs and left my ears ringing, while also giving off a sound of stone cracking and pebbles scattering. Everything happened so fast, my mind took a good while to catch up. Was I hurt? What happened? The burning sensation on my forearm slowly faded away. And that is never good.


    ... Was I dead already? I asked myself.


    I slowly opened my eyes, half expecting to see a white marble hall with Dumbledore greeting me. Or was it Gandalf?


    But as it turns out, I wasn''t dead. At least not yet.


    Instead, I was inside a purple transparent dome. It looked like glass, but its surface was twisting, flowing, like a thin wall of water. I wanted to stare at it some more, but a more shocking thing took my fickle attention away.


    A large hole the size of a human was punched out of the wall where the light came from, revealing a dark outside.


    Then it dawned upon me.


    Did something strong enough to bust concrete just hit me? I thought as I took another look at the purple dome that surrounded me.


    The front part of the dome had cracks. Then does that mean...? Well, it does look like a force field alright.


    But even though the dome prevented my death, I wasn''t unscathed. The stench of burnt flesh was too powerful to ignore, and it came from my right arm. From fingers to elbow, a lot of skin patches were missing while small parts of the bone peeked out from every direction. It didn''t hurt, but it was numb. Blood was flowing out of the blisters, but it wasn''t red.


    The blood was pure black.


    The ringing in my ears finally abated, and I began hearing a pair of footsteps rushing towards me, accompanied by panicked shouting.


    Ah, him. I remember, I wasn''t alone. Yeah, he would probably help me.


    The dome surrounding me started to crack, and then shattered when the accumulated fatigue finally pulled me to the ground littered with the fragments of the wall I crashed onto.


    Can this day even get any weirder? Walking up in a creepy room with a creepy creature, then getting hit by a Kamehameha and seeing a real life energy shield. But then again, this is just a dream, right? This have to be.

 Two: My real self and an annoying wench.

    I awoke, again, to a face inches away from my own. But this time, it wasn''t a morgue monster''s. It was a normal teenage girl. She had straight black hair that dangled before me. Her complexion was pale, but to my relief, she didn''t have purple veins mapping her pretty face. Oh how fucking glad I was, to have finally woken up from that crazy dream-slash-nightmare. I''m home, normal world. I''ve missed you so much.


    ¡°Oh. He''s awake.¡± The girl said, her tone was as stale as raw pasta.


    ¡°Uhhhh... Hi?¡±


    ¡°... ¡±


    She got up and flew out the door, completely ignoring me. I take it she''s not too friendly. Oh well, her mother must''ve taught her not to talk to strangers.


    I bolted up and checked my arm double time. A second passed. Two. Three. I felt stupid for doing so.


    My forearm was normal, no burns, no black blood, no bones protruding out. I chuckled. Of course, why would there be?


    Only a true idiot confuses dream for reality.


    Right, it was a dream, I told myself, though why is it that the room I was in seemed to disagree?


    ---


    ¡°No, that can''t be right...¡±


    Reality was crumbling apart bit by bit as my eyes traveled around the room. The walls were somber, made of black stone bricks. Just like the chamber. Bookshelves lined up on one corner, filled with books that came in all shapes and sizes, while a tea table became the room''s centerpiece. It was made of blanched wood, similar to the four chairs that surrounded it.


    What''s weird about a table set you ask? Well, nothing, really. But the fireplace on the wall gave reality some more popcorn. There was no firewood, or firedog, but hey, don''t worry. It''s still maintaining a pretty large fire.


    Although the flames were um... Purple? Yeah, the flames were purple! But ironically true to logic, it gave off light of the same hue.


    I got up from the bed and tip-toed my way closer to the fireplace, torturous curiosity fueling my every step. Halfway through, I remembered ¡®Curiosity killed the cat.¡¯ It''s funny, because I''m just checking out a hearth with purple flames in it, what could go wrong?


    When I reached it, I crouched down and stretched my cold palms out.


    There was no heat.


    ¡°What the hell?¡±


    If it''s not producing heat then, isn''t this completely useless? I complained inside, but my eyes were telling me ¡®it wasn''t so bad¡¯ as they focused on the gentle swaying of the purple flames. Every now and then the flame shifts from purple to slight pink to white. I was going to touch the fire with my bare hands, but I instinctively stopped myself from doing such a risky stupid thing.


    Oh yeah, come to think of it, you can actually make purple flames like this one. I don''t know how, but I''ve read about it before in a thoroughly useless book that had nothing but trivially cool experiments.


    You add stuff like salt and other chemicals with tongue-twister names, then you chant ¡®Swiper go away¡¯ three times. Oh? That''s not it? Then is it ¡®By the power of Greyskull¡¯?


    But in all seriousness, does that really make the fire ¡®un-hot¡¯...? And more than that, why would someone go through the trouble of mixing things just to create a vain fire?


    While my head fooled around the stupid thoughts, the door opened.


    It was the girl, and she was wearing a dark robe that looked strangely familiar.


    ¡°Look father,¡± Her index pointed at me. ¡°He''s already up.¡±


    ---


    I stood up in a flash. The robe she was wearing made me remember the vivid dream I just had. Where my arm had been...


    Suddenly the urge to relinquish what little I had left in my stomach swirled inside me, but I held it in. It wasn''t the best time to be a pathetic wuss. Not in front of a girl anyway.


    Another figure appeared behind the robed girl. A tall figure also wearing the same robe, but with a sword hanging on his side, and over-visible veins on his ghastly pale skin.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    ¡°It is good to see you''re already up, Lord Alrion.¡± He said.


    Oh hell naw...


    ¡°You''re... You''re real?¡±


    They both tilted their heads.


    ¡°Of course I am, my lord.¡±


    ¡°But then that would mean¡ª¡±


    All of it was real. All that happened, wasn''t just a lucid nightmare. But how can that be?


    ¡°Wait wait wait, that''s not possible, right? I mean look at this!


    I still have both my arms! No human being could have recovered from that burn as if nothing happened right?!¡±


    They didn''t say anything and just looked at each other. The weird thing was that they looked more confused than I was. Finally, the man spoke.


    ¡°It''s because you''re not a human, Lord Alrion.¡±


    What?


    ¡°Even though you definitely don''t look like it, you''re the primordial God of Darkness. The only being born from pure Aster, Alrion.¡± The girl supplemented. ¡°You''re not a human, not even an Asterian.¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay wait.


    I don''t know what you guys are talking about, and I couldn''t care less about the flavor of meth you guys are taking, but please stop it with this eight-grader delusional crap. I''m a human, okay? I don''t look like anything but a human. Just hours ago I was still attending college!¡±


    ¡°Then how do you explain your regeneration?¡± The girl retorted. ¡°You have said it yourself. No human can regrow a limb. Humans are such frail creatures, they can''t even survive an arrow on the head, let alone a wave of Arkos that can harm an immortal.¡±


    ¡°Laianne.¡± The man glared at him.


    ¡°No, father. Let me finish.¡± The girl stood defiant. ¡°Or would you rather continue worshipping a God that is trapped in the delusion that he''s a lowly human?¡±


    He shut up like an obedient kid. Funny, since the girl calls him father.


    ¡°Actually, I''m amazed why a being as high as you keeps on insisting that you''re a human being.¡±


    ¡°That''s because I am.¡± I shot her a death glare.


    ¡°Or are you?¡± She returned the favor. ¡°You wouldn''t know. You have been dead for two-hundred years, and you''re living now because my father here performed a high resurrection spell to bring your soul back from the abyss of afterlife.¡±


    She took a break and sat at one of the chairs surrounding the round tea table.


    ¡°Want to sit down?¡± She asked.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Suit yourself.¡± She sighed. ¡°Let''s continue on, you claim that you''ve lived your life as a human, and that we''re fooling you, but if you stop for a moment and think, isn''t there a big chance that the reverse is true?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    What was she saying?


    She turned to her father with a fed-up expression. ¡°Father, it seems like ¡®Lord Alrion¡¯ here hit his head hard during the attack. His brain is now nowhere to be seen.¡± She said, with a derisive mocking glare to match.


    Ugh, what a bitch. I glinted back at her.


    Her snide behavior earned her a glare from her father.


    ¡°As I was saying, while your soul was drifting along the abyss, what did you think your mind was doing for two-hundred years?¡±


    ¡°How should I know?¡±


    ¡°It dreamt of life. It craved the sense of being alive again, so it imagined life.¡± She puffed what little chest she had proudly. ¡°Take my word for it. Even though I haven''t experienced death yet, I have mastered the arts of necromancy.¡±


    Migraine just attacked me after hearing a complicated explanation, and before I knew it I was already sitting on the chair opposite to hers.


    ¡°So you''re saying that my life simply didn''t exist, and it was just me dreaming while dead?¡±


    ¡°In shorter words, yes.¡±


    ¡°Hoo boy...¡±


    My hands were stacked on my chest, trying to calm the storm of palpitation inside.


    ¡°Another thing to help you understand.¡± She put up her index. ¡°The language. It seems like you haven''t noticed yet, but we''re talking in ancient Asterian script.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°Mhm.¡± She nodded.


    She was right. I had been too rattled to notice, but I wasn''t speaking in English. It sounded more like Greek, or Latin. A thread of foreign syllables.


    ¡°No way...¡±


    ¡°Yes way.¡± She chuckled. ¡°Listen, you''re speaking fluently too, despite your claims to being a human. Want to know why, ¡®Lord Alrion¡¯?¡±


    ¡°... Why?¡±


    ¡°Because you invented this language yourself.¡±


    If I wasn''t sitting I would have fallen on my knees. She had hammered the last nail of the coffin. Her argument was flawless, it left no holes to be poked. Of course, it was hard to accept¡ªthe fact that everyone, my parents, my classmates and my siblings, were all part of my imagination, but what was I to do?


    ¡°I can see you''re still reluctant.¡±


    ¡°No I... All of this is just so hard to swallow in one gulp.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± She stood up, uninterested. ¡°Don''t feel too sad in finding out that you''re not human.¡±


    ¡°And why is that?¡±


    ¡°Because a human just tried to kill you.¡±


    What...?


    She smiled, mischievous. ¡°Oh, father, the intruder''s execution will begin soon, yes?¡±


    ¡°Yes, why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, I just thought it would help Lord Alrion feel better if he sees the face of the vile human that attacked him. That way, he wouldn''t feel so thrilled about humans anymore.¡±


    ¡°Hmm...¡± The man held his chin. ¡°A sound idea, Laianne. Lord Alrion, can I ask you to follow me to the plaza later? ¡±


    ¡°Well...¡±


    Let''s see, I don''t know where the hell I am, moreover, I don''t even know fully who or what I am! And besides, that Laianne just said that the one who attacked me was a human. There''s no harm in seeing my assailant get executed. I just have to make sure to cover my eyes when the guillotine drops.


    ¡°I, I will go. Do I even have anything better to do?¡±


    ¡°Wise choice, Lord Alrion¡± Laianne smiled. She opened the door, but then looked back to her father.


    ¡°Then father, I shall go study in the library.¡± She said and finally made her exit.


    But before the door closed, her head protruded out.


    ¡°Oh and also.¡± She added. ¡°From our conversation, I think the dark lord doesn''t have his memories of this world, I don''t know if it''s a side effect of staying dead for too long. So, I think it''d be best father if you show him places he had been to before, it might help.¡±


    The door closed. She was gone for good. I sighed in relief, something about her ticks me off. Maybe because she''s sarcastic towards me, I don''t know. Just then, the door opened, as if mocking me. Laianne''s face was peeking through the gap.


    ¡°Please remember, Lord Alrion.¡±


    ¡°What now?¡±


    ¡°Only a true idiot confuses dream for reality.¡± She let out an impish giggle and closed the door, again, for the hundredth time.


    What the hell? That was a quote I made! Not only was she sarcastic, she was also a quote-stealing witch! God, I so fucking hate her.


    ¡°Eherm. Lord Alrion, shall we get going?¡±


    ¡°O-oh, yeah.¡±


    <hr>

 Three: An evil Gods identity crisis

    ¡°Hey.¡±


    I nudged the one beside me, Alrod Darkscythe, the father of Laianne Darkscythe.


    While we were walking earlier I took the liberty to ask him. Don''t worry, I already asked if he was an Anime junkie the moment I heard his name. But according to him, there''s no such thing as television in this world, let alone Anime.


    Apparently, cringe surnames like that are common here. Like ¡®Correus Nightwind¡¯, the name of the current king. The laughs I got from that one were many, which is bad since according to my pal Alrod, all Asterians are, in a way, my descendants. The current king wasn''t an exception. Even Alrod.


    He said there''s this one human chick the past me fell in love with, that gave birth to our offspring, the Asterians. Demigods that can harness the essence of darkness called Aster. Which is, supposedly my element but I can''t do much at the moment since my power wilted while I was dead for eons, along with my memory.


    From a virgin to a racial ancestor overnight? Talk about rushing things up a few thousand years.


    ¡°What is it, Lord Alrion?¡± he lent an ear as we walked through the hallway.


    ¡°Why is it that evil strongholds are always dark and creepy?¡± I asked, my index pointing forward.


    Like the rooms I have entered prior, the hallway''s walls were made from black stone bricks. Gas lamps hanging on the walls were the primary source of light, but the flames inside them were purple, which meant that the light they emitted wasn''t as strong as a normal gas lamp so yeah, dark and creepy. I mean, I kinda get that I''m called the God of Darkness around here... But my castle doesn''t have to be a horror mansion, right? It''s all about individual preference.


    Not all Dark Lords like dark places. Or maybe it''s just me.


    ¡°Oh... Are you talking about the walls, or the lighting?¡±


    ¡°Both?¡±


    ¡°Hmm...¡± He held his chin and closed his eyes.


    ¡°The walls are made from a durable type of stone called Aridia. Though they are naturally black so we cannot do much about it.¡±


    ¡°What about paint?¡±


    Alrod tilted his head. ¡°... Paint? As in painting, like art?¡±


    ¡°No no... In my world¡ªor rather, my ¡®dream¡¯, people use colored liquid to change the color of things, like houses, by letting the liquid dry stuck on the wall.¡±


    ¡°Interesting... How do they make this, this ¡®paint¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm... Not sure, but most likely they mix water with chemicals.¡±


    ¡°I see I see, chemicals.¡± Alrod nodded. ¡°If I have time, I guess I will ask the local alchemist about it...¡±


    ¡°Yeah, try to get white, or pink, or blue. Just not black, okay? We''re creepy enough as it is.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    While we were walking at a leisurely pace, we came across two hooded fellas walking the opposite direction. When they saw Alrod, they bowed down as a greeting, which Alrod returned by doing the same.


    ¡°Have a great one, Lord Alrod.¡± Said the Asterian to the left.


    Lord Alrod? He must be a big shot.


    ¡°Have a great one too, Renius, Delbin.¡± Alrod said.


    ¡°Who''s that new face with you, Lord Alrod? Acquaintance?¡± The other Asterian asked.


    ¡°Uhhhh, greetings.¡± I bowed. ¡°I''m¡ª¡±


    ¡°¡ªYes, he is a friend from central kingdom.¡± Alrod cut me off.


    I wondered what was up, but I played along. In this world where danger is real and a godzilla laser can hit you anytime, a little extra carefulness won''t hurt.


    ¡°I''m Bruce.¡± I smiled. ¡°Bruce Darknight.¡±


    ¡°That''s a weird name.¡± One said.


    ¡°But he said Darknight... Oh? Are you perhaps a relative to one of the councilmen?¡±


    What? This world has a Batman?!


    ¡°Not quite. He''s just a commoner and an old friend of mine.¡± Said Alrod. ¡°Well, we should get going. Again, keep up the good work you two.¡±


    The two hoodies bowed farewell and passed by. We resumed the walk through the endless corridor, but something felt different. Alrod''s middle-aged face was on serious mode.


    ¡°What''s that about?¡± I peered at his face. Somehow I easily got used to his creepy appearance. Was it because I''m not human? Or was it because I''m supposed to be their God? I honestly don''t know which.


    ¡°Lord Alrion.¡± He said as he took a step forward.


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°For the time being, I think it''d be best if we keep the fact that you have already returned a silent matter. Well actually, the entirety of Asteria already knew the moment you returned, but they don''t know how you look like or that you''re here so...¡±


    ¡°Oh... Okay. Though I''m curious, why?¡±


    We slowed down the pace, and Alrod leaned closer.


    ¡°My lord, remember when you were attacked, how the culprit was not inside the chamber?¡±


    ¡°Yeah... There was a hole in the wall, right? That means that the beam came from outside. What about it?¡±


    ¡°Well... I wouldn''t dare say with certainty that the human we caught wasn''t the criminal but...¡±


    ¡°But?¡±


    ¡°There is this chance that the intruder to be executed soon isn''t the real assassin, and the real one could be hiding or has escaped.¡± Alrod said, a somber shadow falling on his face.


    ¡°What? Then if that''s the case, shouldn''t you postpone the execution until we know for certain that he''s the culprit?¡±


    ¡°Well no.¡±


    ¡°Why? That''s not right.¡±


    ¡°Lord Alrion, humans are our mortal enemies.¡± He said. ¡°So even if she''s not the criminal, we still have to kill her.¡±


    She? So the one they caught was a girl.


    ¡°I don''t know, that doesn''t sit right with me.¡±


    ¡°Of course, we''re not killing her just because. She may not be the one who attacked you, but she''s a spy of the human kingdom.¡± Alrod stated as we approached a turn.


    ¡°How can you say that with certainty? She might be just a random villager that happened to lose her way home.¡±


    ¡°Lord Alrion, no ¡®random¡¯ human can get past my guards and climb the castle all the way up to the ritual chamber where we found her. Added to that, Asteria belongs to the Nether Plane, while the human kingdom is from the Aether, so before a ¡®random¡¯ villager could even step on our world''s soil, she would need to cross an ancient dimension gateway first. A random villager simply doesn''t have access to a portal, she had to be a spy sent by the human king.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so wait, humans are from another world?¡±


    ¡°That is so, my lord.¡±


    That''s weird. I thought it was a golden rule for isekai stories to have all races in one big world. Also, the protagonist always gets summoned as a hero. While me I got summoned as a villain? So unfair. But then again, all of those turned out to be nothing but my colorful imagination.


    I can''t say I''m getting used to thinking that.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°So, Where are we going now, if the one to be executed isn''t the assassin?¡±


    ¡°We don''t know that, my lord. I just said that I found certain holes at the investigation. When you collapsed, I carried you to safety so I didn''t get to see the whole story. A guard said that they found the intruder inside the chamber right after we fled, so naturally, she was deemed the assailant.¡±


    ¡°Because she''s a human?¡±


    ¡°That is so.¡±


    ¡°Okay... So the reason why we should maintain a low profile is that there''s a chance that the assassin is still around?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°But aren''t I a God?¡±


    Gods are supposedly those cheat bastards who can''t be killed by a mortal, right? But then again, that beam of light destroyed my arm... I wonder, are Gods actually not as strong as I imagine, and they''re just glorified majestic mascots?


    Alrod sighed. ¡°Yes, although you just came back from the grave, so your divinity is still wounded from the damage the Goddess of Light Nariad inflicted upon you centuries ago.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Nariad? Is that the one who kicked my ass two-hundred years ago?¡±


    He silently nodded.


    ¡°But why? I''m curious why the bastard killed me, though I could guess...¡±


    Yeah, it''s the light versus darkness clich¨¦, right? where the evil one always ends up dead, or sealed in a can, only to be revived by the surviving evilmons. Which is Alrod by the way.


    ¡°Nariad is your sister, Lord Alrion.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°She is also your first spouse.¡±


    ---


    Two-hundred years ago, a great war took place. It ended with the humans winning, their mighty heroes had prevailed against the Dark Lord, and managed to seal him away for good. Peace returned to the land, but this peace proved to be fragile, as the loyal right hand of the God of Darkness succeeded in releasing the tyrant from his prison to plague the lands once more.


    BUT apparently, that''s not what happened.


    ¡°Wait, so you''re saying, this Nariad and I are in an incestuous relationship, and that she killed me two-hundred years ago only because I cheated?!


    No, that can''t be! I''m a good boy! I''m not a bastard, and wait, cheating or not, isn''t death too much for a punishment?¡±


    Besides, why can Zeus get away with philandering, while it''s the certain end of the line for me?


    ¡°No, my lord.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Indeed, she killed you once when you mated with the human, but that was thousands of years ago.¡±


    ¡°Oh so I''ve died more than once? Why did she kill me recently then?¡±


    ¡°Hmmmm...¡± He pondered as he took a step. ¡°The exact reason was unclear but, it must have had something to do with the fight between you and her twin, the God of Light Nariod.¡±


    ¡°I see...¡±


    Nariod, Nariad, I get it. Still, the God of Darkness and the Goddess of Light together? What a weird pair.


    ¡°By the way, Alrod.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Why do we have to walk? This hallway is endless! I''m a primordial God, right? Can''t I just pass through walls, or run super fast, or teleport outside?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but, for now you can''t. At least not before you remember how to use your power.¡±


    ¡°That sucks...¡± A sigh escaped me as we made another turn to left.


    ¡°Don''t feel so down now, Lord Alrion, because the gate is already upon us.¡± He pointed forward, at the end of the hallway where an enormous ogival door made from steel stood.


    ---


    ¡°Woah...¡±


    In front of me was a goth village. A real life goth village! Filled with noble vampires? No. Filled with dark-clothed Asterians? Yes. The houses numbered hundreds and all of them were at most two storeys each. They were all made from that black stone called Aridia.


    The streets were lit by light-emitting purple crystals nestled on top of wooden poles. Like lampposts, but cooler. The citizens were not wearing robes of course, but their tunics and sarongs and skirts were black, all of them. There must be an explanation for that, but the boring stuff can wait.


    The dark sky on the other hand, can''t.


    ¡°Woooah...¡± I must''ve looked like a kid entering a planetarium for the first time.


    The sky was a mixture of empty black space and purple blobs that looked like clouds. There were no stars, no moon, but there was a dark crack in the middle. A rift that split the heaven into two, from pole to pole. A literally broken night. It was quite the sight, too bad I didn''t have my smartphone with me. Or did it even exist?


    Alrod explained that I and Asteria are one. The soil symbolized my power, gray when I''m weak while darker when strong. Right now... You guessed it, the grains of dirt that formed the ground were gray. The sky of Asteria on the other hand, symbolized my divinity. Whenever my immortality is scarred, the sky breaks, and it will remain broken until I''m as good as new. It was interesting to say the least, but still...


    ¡°I''m really a God, huh...¡±


    I still can''t believe it.


    ¡°Yes. And you could also say that you''re Asteria itself.¡±


    ¡°How long will it be before my divinity heals?¡±


    ¡°There''s no telling us, Lord Alrion. It depends on the enormity of the damage received by the Deity.¡±


    ¡°A rough guess?¡±


    ¡°Hmmmm... A year or so, before your condition reach its peak.¡± Said Alrod. ¡°But fear not, the process is progressive so technically you will get stronger everyday.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Our feet resumed forward, further inside the village.


    Citizens filled the streets, buying from the rows of wooden stalls on the roadside that sell almost anything I could think of. Clothes, sandals, dark drinks inside glass bottles, that last one might not be human-friendly, but hey, I''m not a human right? There''s also a stall that sells knives for skinning things. And a stall that sells... Meat. Yes, gray meat from the carcass of a leopard-sized purple wasp.


    A God might be immune to food poisoning, but fuck no I''m so not going to eat that. Even with a barrel of gravy.


    In a few strides we reached a clearing, where streets intersect. In the middle of the plaza stood a temporary gallows. Dense crowd gathered around it, their clamor drowning the sound of the whip that tortured the back of the human girl whose hands were tied up. When my eyes zoomed in on the bound girl''s face, my heart began to race.


    ¡°She''s¡ª¡±


    ¡°She''s the apprehended intruder. The spy, my lord.¡±


    ¡°No! She''s, she''s not a spy!¡±


    She was someone I remembered seeing. Cold blue eyes, long blonde hair, youthful face. She wore jeans, but her upper has been stripped to only her white bra. A dark-robed Asterian was behind her, flashing a whip against her arched back.


    The noise that surrounded me faded into the background, and all I could hear then was her high-pitched groan ringing each time the whip connected to her back. A strike. Two strikes. Three. Strength left her body, and she couldn''t keep her legs straight anymore.


    Unable to stand the twisting feel in my gut any longer, I rushed forward.


    ¡°My lord!¡± Alrod''s hand coiled around my arm.


    ¡°Let me go, Alrod.¡± My voice came out, cold and deeper than usual.


    ¡°She''s a human spy!¡± He protested.


    ¡°How can a part-time counter girl at a local convenience store be a spy? Let go.¡±


    The girl''s scream rang yet again. I took another step forward, to which Alrod responded by pulling harder.


    ¡°I said let go, didn''t I?¡±


    ¡°But...!¡±


    ¡°Alrod!¡±


    The sky roared and a dark lightning descended, hitting a distant mountain. The thunderous sound made everyone look up, and Alrod to soften his grip. I took the chance and shook my arm free, then I parted the sea of rattled plebeians and climbed up the wooden platform.


    The girl''s wilted eyes widened when she saw me.


    ¡°Wh-what?¡± She stuttered an English word.


    ¡°Shhh.¡±


    The robed Asterian behind the girl raised his whip, but she wasn''t the target.


    It was me.


    My head screamed danger. I brought up my forearm in a reflex. The whip lashed down, and I closed my eyes.


    There was a sound of shattering glass, and not a thing felt on my arm.


    I opened my eyes. A dome of purple glass covered me. A small part of it was broken, where the whip was supposed to hit me. The Asterian gasped, the crowd clamored.


    The robed Asterian let go of the whip and channeled purple flame¡ªAster, in his hands. But before the flames enveloped his hands, the sky roared once again, and a dark pillar of energy engulfed him from above.


    Drowned death throes after, the energy dissipated, and what was left of the Asterian was a pile of black ash.


    When the danger faded, the dome shattered into a swarm of purple particles. I turned to the bound girl and took a step forward, but she tried to distance herself from me. In vain, of course, since loops of rope were coiled around her wrists.


    ¡°P-please don''t kill me...¡± She pleaded.


    ¡°I said quiet, didn''t I?¡± I said in English so she would understand. ¡°And while you''re at it, don''t move.¡±


    Her eyes widened, but she didn''t say anything more and zipped her mouth.


    I grabbed the ropes, but then it hit me. I didn''t have anything to cut them. This sucks, I thought, but then Aster sparked from my hands. It burned the ropes nicely. Then, like having outlived its usefulness, the purple flames snapped asunder and disappeared.


    The weight of the girl leaned on my chest¡ªshe could barely even stand. Her back was a wreck, crimson blood flowed out everywhere, from the trace of lashes she received, and she had light bruises here and there. She was shaking. It was a cold night, and on top of that she was almost topless, save from her underwear.


    How can a girl this frail be a super spy that shoots out goddamn lasers? That doesn''t make sense.


    Exclaims came from the citizens who have watched the whole scene, while a squad of marching footsteps rushed towards us. It was a tens group of hooded guards, they joined us on the platform. They drew their swords, long and gleaming, they pointed them at me. Or us.


    One of them spoke¡ªthe one on the middle, probably the captain.


    ¡°Speak your name, Asterian!¡± The guard said.


    I shot him a death glare ¡°Im¡ª!¡±


    ¡ªAlrion? The God of Darkness? Am I really? My eyes wandered down to the trembling girl in my arms. She exists. She wasn''t a product of my imagination. And that meant nor was Arenson Randall, the college student.


    Then just who the fuck am I? More than that, what am I?


    ---


    ¡°Stand down you fools!¡± A voice among the crowd. It was Alrod''s.


    The men turned around, there was an Asterian pushing aside the crowd.


    ¡°Lord Alrod!¡± The captain said. The whole squad bowed down, and Alrod stepped in.


    ¡°Sheathe your swords,¡± Ordered Alrod. ¡°or would all of you rather have Lord Alrion turn you into piles of ashes?¡±


    The crowd hushed and gossiped.


    ¡°A-Alrion?¡±


    All of them looked at me, then at Alrod.


    ¡°Yes, the God of Darkness is here, in front of you all.¡± He pointed at me and addressed the citizens.


    ¡°Now all of you better show your respect, or suffer the consequences.¡±


    Alrod then turned to the squad of guards and shot them a glare. ¡°That goes double for you impious idiots, kneel!¡±


    After the hooded men knelt down, Alrod rushed to our position.


    ¡°Lord Alrion, are you hurt?¡±


    ¡°I... I''m not.


    Though she is.¡± I peered at the girl''s face. ¡°Can you stand?¡±


    She nodded quietly. However, her legs were still wobbly so I supported her by the shoulder just in case.


    ¡°Hey Alrod.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Get her a coat or something. Fast.¡±


    I would''ve done something about it myself, but the robe I was wearing isn''t exactly what you''d call a convenient attire you can take off with one hand. On top of my robe being hard to take off, I also got the feeling that I wasn''t wearing any underneath.


    ¡°Understood.¡± He turned to the kneeling guards. ¡°You heard him, give the human girl clothes.¡±


    The men also wore robes, so they scurried off to find clothes.


    ¡°Can you walk like this?¡± I asked the girl and took a step forward.


    ¡°I-I think so...¡± She demonstrated by taking a step, although she was still shaky and seemed like she would fall to her knees if I wasn''t by her side.


    ¡°Okay, we''ll take it slow.¡± I said and brought forth my right foot.


    After the sole of my toe met the wooden planks however, my vision started to drift.


    ¡°Ugh, this is bad.¡± I muttered.


    It was the shield, wasn''t it?


    My foundation crumbled and I hit the floor. The girl soon followed, crashing on top of me.


    ¡°Hey!?¡± She exclaimed, her frantic face mere centimeters away from mine.


    Now that I got a closer look, she didn''t look so bad. Or maybe it''s just my blurry vision.


    Damn... why did that dome have to be so mana-expensive?

 Four: Compassion, Essence, and Imminent Death?

    Normally, one wakes up only once a day, but here I am, waking up for the third time. And like the two instances prior, it was to a face. This trend has to stop, seriously. Long black hair, pale skin, coal eyes. It was my favorite girl, fucking Laianne.


    ¡°Oh? You''re not dead? What a letdown...¡± She slurred.


    Please, I''m not in the mood.


    ¡°Hmmmm... Okay?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°If you''re not in the mood then, I guess I''ll cut the teasing and save it for another time.¡± She said with a sigh and got off my face.


    Oh? Did I say that out loud? Weird.


    I sat up and looked around. It was that room with shelves and a cool fireplace. Cool in a literal sense, anyway. Sitting on my bedside was Laianne, though she wore a black blouse with matching skirt, instead of the drab robe everyone seemed to love wearing. Alrod was standing behind her, worry coloring his white face blue.


    ¡°My lord, are you¡ª¡±


    ¡°¡ªI''m fine.¡± I cut him off. ¡°More importantly, the girl?¡±


    ¡°She''s resting next door.¡± He said. ¡°I had someone treat her but... Are you really sure about this my lord?¡±


    ¡°Sure about what?¡±


    ¡°About saving that girl. The citizens of Artrud just saw you, the Dark Lord of Asteria, save a vile human.¡± He said.


    ¡°What about it?¡±


    I don''t know where he''s getting at but, so what if people saw me save a human? Can they really do anything about it, about me? After I just smote an Asterian to ashes...


    ¡°I''m afraid they will start losing piety towards you, my lord.¡±


    Oh, so that''s what he wanted to say.


    ¡°I see.


    Do I look like I fucking care, though?¡±


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    ¡°Never mind. You know what? I''m sorry. That came out wrong.¡± I got up the bed. ¡°It''s just that... It''s just that, part of how I managed to accept this Dark Lord thingy was the fact that I was never anyone other than Alrion¡ªmy family didn''t exist, my friends didn''t exist, everything that once made me ¡®me¡¯, didn''t exist. But now that I know SHE really existed, I don''t know what to think anymore. Or what to feel.¡±


    What about my family? Right now, are they worried to death and are calling the cops to search for me? And me. What happened to me there? Did my body just disappear, or it''s still there but doesn''t have a soul inside right now? All of these things, I didn''t worry about them because I believed they just weren''t there.


    I''m not that guy who forgets Earth in an instant and fucking yells ¡®status!¡¯ the first thing when transported to another world. I have a family back there. Siblings, parents, maybe a minute amount of friends that cared for me. And even if that life of mine was boring as hell, isn''t it my obligation to go back and at least tell them not to worry?


    But if I''m to go back, will I still be human?


    ¡°Wait, what are you talking about?¡± Laianne asked. ¡°What''s that human have to do with anything?¡±


    ¡°Don''t you get it? I''m saying that I met and talked to THAT girl when I was still living a human life. Her existence meant the existence of my life as a normal human.


    Don''t get me wrong, I''m not saying you''re an evil liar.¡±


    Oh, that came out wrong.


    ¡°Okay, you might be an evil bitch but yeah. I''m not saying you lied, I''m just saying that maybe, there are things you don''t have any idea about. Things that concern Earth, my home world. That''s why I want to talk to the girl as soon as possible.¡± I turned to Alrod.


    ¡°Hey Alrod.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Lord Alrion?¡±


    ¡°Where''s her room?¡±


    ¡°The one before us.¡± He pointed at the wall to my left.


    ¡°Okay. You don''t have to follow.¡± I walked to the door and turned the knob. ¡°I''ll talk to you guys later.¡±


    I entered the dark hallway and shut the door behind me. Rows of doors decorated the sides of the hallway. Without delay I opened the one on my left, a door made of pale-brown wood, like all the other ones.


    In the center of the room was a king-sized bed. A blonde girl laid on the middle, sound asleep, wearing a simple black duster half under the bed''s dark blanket. On one side of the bed sat a robed female Asterian, but unlike Laianne, she had those purple creepy veins plaguing her otherwise beautifully mature face. There must be a trend on who has those and who doesn''t, but that''s for another time.


    She was tending to the girl, wiping the girl''s arm with a wet towel. When she saw me by the door, she stopped what she was doing in an instant and knelt down on one knee.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Lord Alrion.¡± The woman bowed.


    ¡°You don''t have to do that. Stand up.¡±


    She got up and bowed again.


    ¡°You are?¡±


    ¡°Senea. Senea Stormwither, Lord Alrod''s personal witch doctor.¡±


    ¡°I see. Nice to meet you, Senea.¡± I bowed. ¡°What''s her status?¡±


    ¡°She''s a human so I couldn''t treat her by injecting Aster. Instead, I just treated her back with herbal medicine safe for humans. She''s no longer in danger, and just needs to rest.¡± She calmly stated.


    ¡°Is that so? Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Well, if you''ll excuse me my lord, I will take my leave now.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Thank you again.¡±


    She took a tray containing bottles of unknown medicine with her and bowed, then she made her exit and creaked the door close. It was just me and a sleeping girl inside the room. I sat on the bedside, I guess I would have to wait for her to get up.


    Can''t blame her for taking a rest though, one day she''s living a normal life then in the blink of an eye, she was already tied up on a gallows while creepy people talking in a language she doesn''t know surrounded her. I can relate, though she probably had it worse than me. I woke up as a Dark Lord, while she woke up as an intruder to be executed.


    She had been through so much in such a short time, her pale lips were frowning even in her sleep. She moved and turned her body to the side. Her arms then wrapped around my abdomen, probably mistaking me for her body pillow. I was to let her sleep for a little while longer but, as expected, it was too much for me as a healthy young man. Or a God for that matter.


    ¡°Oy... Wake up.¡± I poked her cheek. ¡°I''m not your pillow.¡±


    She shook her head awake and slowly opened her eyes. She looked up at me, then at where her arms rested, then she screamed.


    ¡°Wh-wha-what are you doing here?¡± She crept backward to the other end of the bed.


    ¡°Wow. Good morning to you, too.¡±


    ¡°What? Please speak in English, I didn''t understand.¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡± I said, in proper English. ¡°How''s your back?¡±


    ¡°Fine... ¡± She touched her back. ¡°Although still a little, um, itchy...¡±


    ¡°That''s good.¡±


    ¡°By the way.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°You''re, you''re one of them, right? Why... did you save me? And how come you know English?¡±


    ¡°One of them? Oh, you mean them... Well, I don''t know, not really.¡±


    ¡°But you speak that weird language and...¡± Her eyes wandered down. ¡°And you can do um... Magic?¡±


    ¡°Well... I''m not exactly like them¡ªhey, I came here because I''m supposed to ask you questions, not the other way around.¡±


    ¡°A-ask me questions?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I crept up the bed and closed in on her. I pointed at my face. ¡°Look closely at this face. I''m the guy who bought coffee at the convenience store that night. Do you remember?¡±


    ¡°What...?¡± She zoomed in on me and gasped. ¡°No way! Arenson?!¡±


    Huh? That''s not right... Did I tell her my name?


    ¡°B-but that can''t be! You were already¡ª


    You were already dead!¡±


    ---


    ¡°I died?¡±


    ¡°Yeah you did!¡± She said, Her hands shaking while sweat dripped down her forehead.


    ¡°I ran after you because you forgot your ID and card but, but when I finally caught up with you, you were lying on the ground and.


    And when I checked, a dagger, a dagger was sticking out of your back and blood was dripping!¡±


    A second passed. Two. Three. She covered her hysteric face and broke into tears.


    What...? That''s far from what I remember... I wasn''t stabbed, I just blacked out didn''t I? And besides, the street was empty when I collapsed.


    My eyes refused to leave the crying girl in front of me as more questions popped out one by one. Just what the hell really happened that night?


    And this girl, I don''t need someone to tell me that she''s traumatized. If she really did see someone die then it''s barely surprising she''s like this.


    ¡°Hey.¡± I stretched my hand out, but before it reached her she swatted it off.


    ¡°Please don''t touch me!¡± She said.


    Ugh. She''s of no use to me like this.


    I launched my hand again, but before she could deflect it I already had grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her close.


    ¡°Let me go!¡± She squirmed as I coiled my arms around her slim figure.


    She struggled some more, pushing me away, pounding my chest to break free, but it was all for naught. After a few moments, she gave up and just limped while sobbing. I stroked her head and combed her silky hair. The sobbing gradually faded.


    This technique, as effective as ever. I remembered when my dog died. I was a kid then, and I couldn''t stop crying, not until my aunt hugged me like this and lulled me to sleep. It seemed to be working on this girl just as well. After five minutes, her eyes were already shut, and was snoring softly.


    Maybe, maybe when she wakes up she''ll be stable enough to answer my questions. With that thought inside, I guided her head down to the brown leather pillow. I covered her with a blanket and then took my leave.


    ¡°That was a weird language.¡± Said Laianne, whose back was against the wall of the room.


    ¡°Oh, what are you doing here?¡±


    She smirked like an imp. ¡°Well, I was trying to eavesdrop, but then you and that girl were talking in a language I don''t understand.¡±


    ¡°Ugh. I''m a God right? How come you''re being so disrespectful to me... I know! Why not take lessons from your father on how to be a good worshipper?¡±


    ¡°Father doesn''t understand a myriad of things.¡± She snorted. ¡°Let''s just say that right now, you''re not qualified to be our God yet. You''re too soft, you don''t even try to punish this impious woman before you.¡±


    ¡°Really? Woman? More like a little girl. And wait, are you a masochist? I''m sorry but I''m not into that stuff.¡± I said and turned my heel.


    ¡°You don''t get it do you?¡± She said, catching up with my pace. ¡°Us Asterians don''t consider someone who can''t even watch a human die a God. The Dark Lord of Asteria supposedly symbolized ruthlessness, vengeance and cunning deception. Right now, you don''t symbolize any of those.¡±


    ¡°So you''re saying, the God of Darkness is basically the archetypal villain?¡± I said as we took the staircase downward.


    ¡°Pretty much. Though Chaos didn''t really think like that.¡±


    ¡°Chaos?¡±


    ¡°The father of the primordial Gods. Well technically no, he just created Hesra, Aster and Arkos, and you and your siblings just emerged from those elements by yourselves. Hesra creates life, Arkos nurtures the living with life, while Aster destroys what those two elements have created. As the embodiment of Aster, you aren''t necessarily a villain, but you need to destroy life, or the balance of the universe will be upset.¡±


    ¡°Like a predator that prevents prey from multiplying out of control?¡±


    ¡°Very perceptive, for once, Lord Alrion.¡±


    ¡°That ¡®for once¡¯ wasn''t necessary, though.¡±


    ¡°So while not inherently evil, we Asterians are perceived as villains by the humans, and some other races. Even within the God circle, you are an outcast. Raien and Nariod hates you.¡±


    ¡°I know Nariod, Alrod mentioned him once but, who''s Raien?¡±


    ¡°The Goddess of Life, embodiment of Hesra. I don''t like her too much.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°She sides with the humans, along with Nariod.¡±


    ¡°Oh... Then that would mean humans have two Gods, while Asterians only have the blessing of one? Talk about unfair.¡±


    ¡°Yes, and your spouse, Nariad, remains neutral and doesn''t concern herself with the war between the two races.¡±


    ¡°I see... Though I''m curious, how do I contact other Gods? Is there something like social media exclusively for Gods?¡±


    ¡°Social media? What''s that.¡±


    ¡°Never mind, then.¡±


    ¡°Well, I don''t know anything about that, but if you want to talk to Nariad then, we should hurry up. She''s waiting by the castle gate right now.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± My shout shook the air around us. Literally.


    ¡°Yes. Father''s trying to calm her down right now.¡± She smirked. ¡°And I''m afraid you''ll have a lot of explaining to do about your embrace with the human girl earlier.¡± She tapped my shoulder.


    How the hell did anyone see that? Oh fuck no. I''m so going to die.


    A major part of me absolutely wanted to run away. But to where? I didn''t know.

 Five: The line that shouldnt be crossed.

    We were halfway down the stairs. There was a sound of concrete getting demolished, followed by violent pangs of agony. Laianne and I sprinted down, and we ended up in a hall where robed men were scattered around the floor. Some were still squirming, while others were completely knocked out, along with the fragments of the steel gate.


    In the middle of the black hall stood a woman. Tall, white, wearing a pleated majestic white gown that seemed to glow amidst the black scenery. Voluminous silver hair spread out behind her, flowing until her slim waist.


    Alrod was standing before what little was left of the gate, his palm against his face.


    ¡°Oh...¡± Laianne breathes. ¡°Well good luck, Lord Al-ri-on.¡±


    ¡°Please don''t scare me, I''m on the verge of soiling myself as it is.¡±


    The woman heard us and turned, revealing a face that belonged to the heavens. Golden eyes, long eyelashes, high cheekbones. Despite the grim scenario, her full lips were curved to a smile. Scary.


    ¡°Oh, Alrion. I entered because I thought you weren''t going to see me.¡± The woman''s aurum eyes sparkled.


    Entered... Though it seemed more like she ¡®broke in¡¯ than anything.


    ¡°Uh, hi?¡± I bowed. ¡°Nariad, yes?¡±


    She didn''t answer and just flew forward, a gust of wind trailing her blurred figure.


    Alarms went off, an attack. I stepped back and braced myself, but not even a second had passed and she was already at point blank.


    Goodbye, Alrion, it had been short, but it was nice meeting you. I think. I closed my eyes.


    But to my surprise, I wasn''t dead yet. Instead a pleasant warm wrapped me, along with a squishy thing against my chest. I was alive, and there was a Goddess hugging me. Nariad, the Goddess of Light, the one who supposedly pummeled me two-hundred years ago, was then wrapping me in a wife''s embrace.


    ¡°What Alrod said, is it true? Did you really lose your memory?¡± She said, looking up at me with puppy gold eyes that glow faintly.


    ¡°Ummm...¡± I looked away. Her cleavage was peeking from the dress she was wearing.


    Well, I have no qualms about getting embraced by a beautiful Goddess but, it felt more weird than pleasing. And no, I''m not a eunuch. It''s just, weird, you know? A babe that severely injured a handful of people was suddenly hugging you like nothing happened, all while you''re praying for your life. And she smelled like good roses too... Wait what am I thinking?


    ¡°I think so? Somehow.¡± I answered.


    ¡°Oh!¡± Her arms around me tightened. ¡°When you embraced that woman earlier, I thought you were being unfaithful to me but, now I understand. You weren''t doing it on purpose, right? You just forgot that you have me, right? I see, I was going to kill the human then but, I''m glad I stopped myself. I understand it now.¡± She said as she snuggled on my chest.


    ¡°Eh? Yeah... Sure.¡±


    Though it seemed more like Alrod stopped her. And I really don''t know how the fuck she saw that, the windows were curtained. But then again, a Goddess. Duh.


    ¡°I''m sorry this happened to you my dear.¡±


    ¡°It''s fine.¡± I said with a complicated feeling swirling inside.


    ¡°I, I shouldn''t have listened to you that time. I shouldn''t have fulfilled your wish of dying. Then this wouldn''t have happened...¡±


    ¡°Eh? Wish of dying?¡±


    My eyes met Alrod''s. He shrugged. It seemed like he didn''t know anything about what the Goddess was talking about.


    ¡°You really don''t remember?¡± She peered at my face. ¡°You wanted me to destroy your ethereal form and send you to the realm of the afterlife. You said you had something to do. But you never told me what it was so I was furious and so without thinking I...¡±


    ¡°Wait wait wait, I... I did that?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Her head pressed against my chest.


    ¡°But you don''t have to worry now, I will do everything I can to bring your memories back, even if it means killing you again!¡± She said as she put a hand on my cheek.


    ¡°Please no...¡± I muttered.


    ¡°Alrod!¡± She separated from me and turned to the poor servant. ¡°Forget bringing Alrion to the king, that brat can wait.¡±


    ¡°U-understood...¡± He bowed obedient.


    ¡°Instead, I want you to take him to the elves, they might have a machine that can help. Prepare the portal.¡±


    Alrod bowed and took his leave as ordered. Nariad turned her attention back at me.


    ¡°I have matters to tend to at the moment so I won''t be with you for the journey, but rest assured my love, I will be waiting for you at the elves'' mechanical city.¡± She said and, with a snap of her fingers, a bright flash of light blinded me.


    When I opened my eyes, the Goddess of Light was nowhere to be found.


    ¡°Flashy, isn''t she?¡± Laianne said behind me, amused.


    No kidding. Literally ¡®flashy¡¯.


    ¡°Still, elves huh? I didn''t think the Goddess of Light had already acknowledged them as a race.¡± She muttered under her breath.


    ¡°Oh yeah come to think of it, she said mechanical city. But aren''t elves peace-loving woodland creatures?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± She knitted her brow. ¡°Of course not. Elves are a young, warmongering race that originally resided within the Mortal Plane. But because they had destroyed their world, they moved on to a world belonging in Aether, in Verden, the world of humans.¡±


    ¡°Oh... I seriously thought it was the Tolkien kind. How do they look like? Are they strong in magic?¡±


    Laianne shook her head. ¡°As they were from the Mortal Plane, they don''t have magic within them. But they''re far from weak. They are inherently intelligent, and they understand things that the other races don''t. Even though they don''t have magic, their machines and weapons are a match against the sorcery of their mortal enemy, the humans.¡±


    Wow... Elves and machines? I''m kinda looking forward to seeing them.


    A dozen guards from outside rushed in and helped the Asterians that were pummeled by the Goddess to the floor, while Laianne and I ventured out to meet with the town''s portal. With her guidance, of course.


    ---


    We were deep inside a dark forest. It was the forest next to the village. The trees were tall, their trunks were pale brown, their leaves were black, and larger-than-palm insects of myriad varieties crawled on them like parasites. There was even a green spider that had twelve legs, eating a finger-sized ant covered with spikes. The broken dark sky didn''t help with the atmosphere, either. There was a goat''s bleat from the unseen distant, which sounded harmless, but according to Laianne it was a wolf deceiving its prey. So yeah.


    Laianne was walking beside me with her arms crossed. ¡°Why do you look so scared? This is your world, your forest. Not a monster here will even try to lunge at you.¡± She said.


    ¡°Me? Scared? No of course not.¡± I retorted. ¡°I was just thinking how a place like this calls for a perfect nature picnic.¡±


    Heavy stomps to our far right shook the ground, accompanied with a buzzing and the sound of broken trees.


    It was a dark, ten-wheeler-sized wingless dragon with black shiny scales, running away from a giant wasp with black and purple stripes on the butt. I remembered seeing one like it getting butchered back at the market.


    ¡°What the hell.¡±


    It was a perfectly absurd scene of nature taking its course.


    ¡°That''s pretty normal.¡± Laianne said. ¡°Dragons are harmless creatures that eat tree leaves, while lion wasps, well. They eat dragons and wolves.¡±


    Amazement escaped with my breath as the unexpected prey and unusual predator disappeared into the sea of livid trunks.


    ¡°Dragons are used as mounts as well, like horses to humans.¡± She added a fact and we resumed to our feet. ¡°While lion wasps are hunted for its nutritious meat fiber.¡±


    ¡°Interesting...¡± I said. ¡°Its meat, is it safe for human consumption?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Lion wasps aren''t contaminated by Aster so they''re safe. Though the same isn''t true for dragons. Why are you asking?¡±


    ¡°Ah. It''s just that we left the human girl there so I was wondering what the cooks will make her eat.¡± I said. ¡°Speaking of which, we came here to find the portal right? So that means we''re leaving her behind... Is there a chance that someone from the castle will, you know, hurt her?¡±


    As far as I know, Asterians hate humans, so shouldn''t I take her with me just to be safe?


    ¡°None.¡± She said. ¡°Father ordered that she be protected by the guards and everyone inside the castle. And our servants don''t disobey father.¡±


    ¡°Oh... That''s a good thing.¡±


    Laianne halted. ¡°And besides, why are you overly concerned with what happens to the human girl?¡± She said, eyeing me suspiciously.


    ¡°I can''t let her die.¡±


    At least not yet.


    ¡°See? That''s what I meant by soft.¡±


    ¡°It''s not a matter of being soft.¡± I faced her. ¡°She has something that I need, and she''ll have no way of giving it to me if she''s dead. Besides, did you really think I saved her just because I wanted to play the knight in shining armor? You''re dumber than you seem to be, Laianne.¡±


    The shocked look on her face was priceless, I tell you.


    ¡°And, I don''t know how the fuck you saw that thing between me and her earlier, but you''re getting it wrong. I did it because I needed her to calm down, not just for the lulz or just because I''m a pervert who takes advantage of weakened women.


    Dark Lord of Asteria, ruthlessness and cunning deception, you told me, right? I can''t change myself in an instant, but I''m getting there. Manipulating people is a start, so instead of throwing me a bitch storm every time, I''d appreciate it if you just help me with things.¡±


    I''m not saying I like where my ego is going, but even as a human, I wasn''t overly concerned of morals then. I looked at things as loss and gain, reason and motive, not black and white, good and bad. In every story, the villain has a reason for being a villain. No one thinks they''re evil, and one might do morally deplorable things because there''s simply no other way.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    And the same goes for this world. These Asterians fight humans not because they know they''re evil, but because they think they deserve to live more than the humans.


    If I really am the God of Darkness, and those other Gods are trying to kill me, then I wouldn''t mind destroying them first. I''ll have every right to do so. That''s life, even for a God it seems.


    I turned and resumed walking. She trailed behind me, but didn''t say anything more and just hung her head down.


    An hour or so later, we walked into a forest clearing, where an ancient-looking arch on top of a circular stone platform stood. The arch was made of gray stone, and written all over it were strange runes. The same with the elevated circle ground, made from prehistoric gray stone with large runes carved along its circumference, but I couldn''t read them. Might be a language different from the ancient Asterian script.


    Alrod stood beside the arch, along with a hooded Asterian.


    ¡°My lord, Laianne... I don''t remember telling you two to go here this early but, you''re just in time.¡± He said.


    The Asterian walked up to the front of the portal and spread his arms wide. He then chanted something, a string of cult-y words as short as a four-word sentence.


    A second passed, a vortex of blue light swirled in the confines of the arch, growing in size as a moment drifted.


    ¡°Then, Lord Alrion, shall we go?¡± Alrod asked as he positioned himself before the swirling vortex.


    I took my step on the platform and went side by side with Alrod, my eyes glued to the mesmerizing sight in front of me.


    ¡°I''m coming as well.¡± Laianne said.


    ¡°Hmmmm...¡± Alrod pondered. ¡°Very well. Just don''t cause trouble for our lord.¡±


    ¡°Yay.¡± She said and lined up on my other side. ¡°Now I''ll get to see how our lord grows.¡± She grinned.


    Alrod walked into the light first and disappeared. Followed by Laianne. Followed by me, but halfway through, I instinctively halted. I peered over my shoulder, at the Asterian who activated the portal. His name was Renius, I think.


    ¡°What is it, Lord Alrion?¡± Renius asked.


    ¡°This thing, it works, right? It won''t kill me, right? It won''t put my leg on my head, right?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely not, my lord.¡± He bowed down.


    I gulped and closed my eyes, then I made the jump through my first portal ride. How exciting. Let''s just hope that I don''t turn to a large blob of green jelly, like the banana.


    ---


    I opened my eyes. It was daytime, and we were in the middle of a razed village. Burnt houses surrounded us, smoke still steaming up the wooden roofs. Corpses laid on the ground, on the dirt road, on the ranches, they numbered at least hundreds, and they ranged from children to adults. Some of them were burnt beyond recognition, some of them had fewer limbs than four, while a few were even decapitated. The stench of death and burnt wood hung thickly around the area. The miasma made my stomach twist and distort, and I would''ve fallen to the ground and puke my throat out,


    If it weren''t for the people surrounding the portal platform the three of us were on.


    They numbered a dozen, if not more. Humans, wearing steel plates from neck to boot, holding swords and spears smeared with blood that turned dark from the passage of time. Rugged men, few with scars on their faces, while others had piercings hanging by their earlobes. They were grinning, as if we were their livelihood or something.


    They were scary, no doubt about that. The one in front of me though, looked nowhere like the literal ironclad soldiers, and stuck out like a sore thumb.


    He was in early twenties based on his look. Swept up blond hair, peach complexion, golden eyes, gold rings hanging on his earlobes, wearing a white tuxedo with matching white formal pants and black leather shoes. He looked completely like the asshole heir to a rich businessman, except for the fact that he was holding a two-handed sword in one hand. Its hilt and cross handguard were gold, while the blade itself was gleaming red. It looked impressive, expensive, and downright Godly. Down to the dark blood dripping from its tip.


    The tux guy was wearing a nasty smile on his face, for some reason.


    ¡°Oh?


    Are you the God of Darkness, Alrion?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Me? Yeah.¡± I said.


    ¡°Hmmmm.... You don''t look too impressive. But I know it''s just me.¡± He said, rubbing his chin. ¡°You know, when I was still a child eighty-five years ago, I wanted to see you up close, but father said that you were dead so I never got the chance to...


    Ah! Right, how rude of me.¡± He bowed down. ¡°I''m Darius. A demigod, son of Nariod.¡±


    Alrod and Laianne both gasped. Meeting the son of Nariod probably isn''t a good thing. And in the middle of a ruins, with a handful of soldiers surrounding us at that.


    ¡°Father told me a lot about you, God of Darkness Alrion. Like how you''re the only God to match his power, and how you stole his twin, Nariad away from him. I had been interested, but then I wondered, if you were as strong as father made you out to be, then how come you died? That question plagued me everyday. I asked father, and while he knew ¡®auntie¡¯ killed you, he didn''t know how. It didn''t make sense, because you were far stronger than Nariad. So even though I never got the answer to that, you, you became my inspiration for living, you know, Alrion. Or should I call you uncle?¡± He chuckled.


    ¡°So, when I heard that you''re back and was coming here, I knew that I just had to see you. But these,¡± He pointed his sword at the village around us.


    ¡°But these children of yours, these Asterians, they got in the way. ¡± He said, his voice falling deep, his gold eyes narrowing sharp. ¡°So I had no choice but to kill them. I''m sorry for that, uncle.¡±


    Alrod and Laianne, fury and disgust distorted their faces, while my heart raced and stomach turned.


    He did all this? All these people, he and his men did this?


    ¡°How dare you.¡± Alrod''s deep voice trembled. Not from fear, nor disgust, but from pure anger. His nostrils flared, his eyebrows low, as if aiming at Darius'' neck. Perhaps unbeknownst to him, his hands were already covered in purple flames.


    Laianne tried her best to calm down though, even with a bitter face, she was just standing there behind me, listening to the conversation.


    ¡°Oh? I didn''t realize you had companions, uncle.¡± Darius said. ¡°But how is this now? I thought I''ll get to test you without distractions but...¡±


    ¡°Test me?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡± He nodded. ¡°I mean of course you''re not as strong now as you were before but, I''m sure you would still put up a good fight. Ever since I was a child I had wanted to try killing you at least once, you know?¡±


    Cold sweat sent shudders down my back, and my core was thumping like it demanded to be uncaged.


    This guy in front of me, to challenge a God head-on, he must be confident in his strength. A demigod. Is this the end of the line I wonder?


    He turned to Alrod. ¡°So, I''m sorry, companions of uncle, but I''m borrowing uncle for a bit. Don''t worry though, I won''t let you two die from boredom. Men!¡±


    At the snap of his fingers the knights formed a circle around Alrod and Laianne.


    ¡°Please don''t take your eyes off of me, uncle.¡± Darius said. ¡°They will be fine, I don''t know about you though!¡±


    When I turned around, he was already a meter off the ground. He brandished his red blade and swung down at me from above.


    A sound of shattering glass. The purple shield saved me yet again. At that moment, Alrod and Laianne and the other enemies faded into the background. What was left was the insane and obsessed demigod, and myself who''s then facing a life and death situation.


    I took advantage of the second Darius spent bewildered and ran. But it seemed like that purple shield, once in place, can no longer be moved so when I stepped forward, it disappeared into a scatter of purple particles.


    A hundred meters away from the village was a thick forest. I headed towards it with my sandals pounding against the dirt road and white hair trailing behind me.


    ¡°Where are you going, uncle? Heeeey~!¡± Darius shouted, but he didn''t give chase and just stood there with a sullen expression like a kid.


    I ignored him and ran as fast as my stride allowed me. I didn''t know for how long I was running then, but when I finally got under the cover of the trees, I peered over my shoulder to check up on my assailant.


    He wasn''t there anymore.


    ¡°You''re boring uncle, you know that?¡±


    A voice came from ahead of me.


    I turned and as soon as I did, my feet took brake. Darius was standing in front of me among the trees.


    Damn. Did I really think I''d get away from a demigod by running?


    ¡°You don''t want to play fair, no running.¡± He teased.


    I took a step back and wished for my shield.


    ¡°You should teach me that spell uncle.¡± Darius said. ¡°After you reincarnate, though.¡±


    The blade of his sword glowed white while he took a stance. He delivered a swift, horizontal slash that bore power greater than his first strike. The shield broke in an instant.


    ---


    He exhibited another slash, I leaped backward to avoid it.


    However, before I even got the chance to plant my feet properly, the second, vertical one came.


    In a reflex I brought up my right arm. But this time, there was not a purple dome of glass to save me.


    The glowing blade cleaved my limb.


    What remained of my arm then was only the upper part. Everything that once belonged under my elbow fell on the ground with a thud and cried pure black blood.


    A second passed, the realization came with an unimaginable sharp pain. A guttural scream escaped me as I fell on my knees, heart raging, pulse running.


    It hurts. It fucking hurts. I wanted to pass out from it.


    The fucking bastard was still smirking, enjoying the sight of me doubled over in pain.


    Just what did I do to him huh? I did nothing, didn''t I? And yet why, why was I transported to another world, and got pulled out of my peaceful life, only to experience this? That doesn''t make a damn sense.


    ¡°That''s got to hurt, uncle.¡± He said as I covered the stump with my other hand, in futility.


    ¡°... I''m going to fucking kill you.¡± I looked up at him with a death glare.


    He laughed. ¡°How harsh... Here, why not let me help you?¡±


    He pointed the tip of his sword to where my heart was and spoke.


    ¡°Are you ready? Don''t worry, uncle. Your children will still probably revive you. That is, if any of them are still left after father destroys your world.¡± He giggled.


    ¡°Humans will win the war, uncle. That''s the inevitable, whether you''re alive or not. So why not do yourself a favor by dying right now?¡±


    ¡°You wish.¡±


    ¡°Oh, before I do it. I think I''ll tell you an interesting fact first. I mean, dying is more painful if you didn''t know why you died, right?¡± He said. ¡°So I''ll be generous and spare you that pain, uncle Alrion.


    Do you know how, out of all the gateways that connected Aether and Nether, I knew that you will be coming out of that particular gateway?¡±


    Huh?


    ¡°No way!¡± He gasped. ¡°Did you really think that our meeting now was a total coincidence?!¡±


    ¡°What... are you going on about now?¡±


    He clicked his tongue in irritation and plopped down in front of me.


    ¡°You''re too slow, uncle. I''m saying that you and your companions are going to die here right now because you had a traitor back in your castle.¡± He said.


    ¡°... A traitor?¡±


    ¡°Yes, she was kind enough to tell us that aunt Nariad came there to tell you to go to Aether and that you will be using that particular gateway in Artrud.¡±


    Ah, I get it. I didn''t have time to think about it earlier but now that I have plenty to go by, it really didn''t make sense that the enemies had anticipated where we were going to teleport and burned the Asterian village around that one portal hours prior.


    ¡°Remind me to thank her later uncle, without her, I wouldn''t have been able to see you right now. Oh, but then you won''t be able to remind me.¡±


    A laugh escaped me.


    ¡°Hmmmm? What''s so funny, uncle?¡±


    ¡°You''ll regret telling the enemy that, you know.¡± I grinned.


    Alrod and Laianne should be done with those cannon fodders by now. I hoped, foolishly.


    But it seemed like my last line was just a harmless bluff.


    ¡°Why would I,¡± He tilted his head, face blank. ¡°When you''re taking that secret with you to the afterlife?¡±


    The blade sunk deep in my chest, grinding itself past my ribs and tearing straight through my soft heart.


    ---


    ¡°Goodbye, uncle.¡± Darius said, a huge grin on his face as he looked down on my pitiful figure.


    He looked around, impatient. ¡°Now what''s taking my men so long?¡±


    The bastard ventured off, probably to help take care of Alrod and Laianne.


    They will die. It was hard a fact as solid ice. I tried to lift my body but as one would expect, I couldn''t exert any control over it.


    They really will die. And so will I.


    I was so tired. When I couldn''t stand the weight of my eyelids anymore, they fell down.


    [But you can''t die.] A voice echoed from somewhere.


    Huh?


    I opened my eyes. There were only the green leaves of the trees that filtered the glory of the sun, their soft rustles, and the verdant fragrance that drifted from them. The voice didn''t come from anywhere. It was... Inside. Inside my head. What sort of luck I have, to even die insane.


    [You can''t die,] The voice rang again, it sounded like neither a man nor woman, genderless.


    [You haven''t done anything yet, you haven''t destroyed enough, took enough lives yet, why are you trying to rest? You don''t deserve one.]


    A throbbing pain different from earlier plagued my right arm. I groaned. Dark, viscous liquid covered the stump, and from there a forearm grew anew. But it didn''t look anywhere close to the one it replaced. It was black and instead of fingers, I had long, dark claws of black luster. Purple, glowing cracks ran all throughout the surface of my new forearm.


    The hole in my chest closed in a beat, and strength entered my limbs once more. I was filled with power possibly greater than what I had. I stood up. There were things I couldn''t understand, but it wasn''t the time for a Q and A portion, that Darius couldn''t have gone far. I kicked the ground and ran, ten-fold faster than before.


    Zooming past trees, jumping over thick roots, and tearing through the morning mist, I escaped the grasp of the forest.


    I was back at the razed village.


    ---


    There, in the middle of the dirt road was Alrod, sitting on the ground. He was cradling Laianne in his arms.


    While Darius pointed his sword on Alrod''s neck, a victorious smirk on his youthful, demonic face.


    I didn''t have to think. I rushed toward the bastard, closing the gap in a second and, when I was close enough to attack, I swung my monster arm down.


    He didn''t expect it, but he still managed to get his sword on the way just before my claws tore through his face. Impressive speed, though my claws didn''t collide with his blade, it passed through. The half of his blade fell to the ground with a clunk.


    He discarded the remains of his weapon and leaped backward to create a distance between us. He then tried to chant something and yellow light covered his hand, but before he could finish it I already had severed his hand.


    Blood splayed over the dirt, accompanied by his shrill screech. He fell on his behind, and proceeded to mourn for himself.


    I wanted to just leave the guy be, out of pity, until I remembered Laianne''s words.


    ¡®Us Asterians don''t consider someone who can''t even watch a human die a God.¡¯


    And then, there she was, wrapped in her father''s arms, a gaping hole on her stomach, convulsing, crying, desperately gasping for air. All because of this demigod.


    I walked up to him and lifted him off the ground by the tuxedo''s collar.


    ¡°Didn''t I tell you you were gonna regret telling me that?¡±


    He laughed and coughed at the same time, blood trailing down his mouth.


    ¡°I still don''t, you know, uncle. Besides,


    What difference will a single spy caught make?¡±


    ¡°You''re still going on about nonsense?¡±


    ¡°Humans will win the war.¡± He laughed. ¡°Because evil will destroy itself.¡±


    ¡°Then isn''t that like saying humans and Nariod will destroy themselves?¡±


    ¡°You hear me, uncle? Humans will win.¡±


    ¡°No they won''t.¡±


    I dug deep in his chest and pulled out his heart, his life. It was still beating. That fact infuriated me, and so I crushed it with the clench of my fist. Bits and pieces of it clung to my face, covering my eyes with blood that dripped from them.


    He died with a cursed grin still in his face. It made me sick.


    ¡°They won''t, because the Dark Lord of Asteria is going to war.¡± I said to him as a farewell.

 Six: The journey to where?

    Laianne was still conscious, just barely. Her eyes were half closing, while her mouth was agape, desperately fishing for air. Hot blood gushed out of the palm-sized circular hole on her abdomen. Her body spasmed every and each second, while the pain delivered constant trembling on her as a whole. I crouched down, and Alrod looked at me, gritting his teeth audibly while pain glinted in his carbon eyes.


    ¡°Quick, what does she need?¡± I asked.


    ¡°We need to open the gateway¡ª¡±


    ¡°¡ªWe don''t have time to walk through a forest for hours. We need to treat her right now.¡± I cut him off. ¡°What about injecting her with Aster?¡±


    Alrod looked down. His eyes met Laianne''s.


    ¡°A wound this severe requires enormous amounts of Aster, nothing less will suffice. It will require many healers, that''s why we have to go back to Artrud.¡±


    ¡°And I''m telling you we don''t have the luxury of opening a portal!¡±


    ¡°But it would require at least three healers!¡± He shouted back at me for the first time ever. ¡°And I don''t have any power left!¡±


    ¡°I still have some energy,¡± I said. ¡°though I don''t know how so you will have to teach me.¡± I covered her wound with my hand.


    ¡°You can''t do that Lord Alrion!¡± He said, panic distorting his aged face. ¡°You''re a being made from pure Aster! In your current state, before you can make even a difference, you will most certainly perish!¡±


    ¡°We don''t know that.¡± I said.


    He looked at Laianne''s eyes, then at her wound, and back at me.


    ¡°But!¡±


    ¡°That''s an order, Alrod. Don''t make me repeat myself.¡± My gaze fell down Laianne''s figure.


    Inordinate amounts of sweat covered Laianne''s face down to her neck. Tears sparkled in her eyes as her view alternated between me and Alrod. She wanted to say something and was holding my arm, but she was busy taking in air and the best she could form were breathy groans. We didn''t have much time.


    ¡°... Understood.¡± He casted down his gaze to her daughter.


    Laianne shook her head frantically, but Alrod ignored it.


    ¡°You, you call Aster in your hands and you let it flow from your hand to the wound using your will and control.¡±


    ¡°What the hell? Then you should''ve just told me how easy it was from the get go!¡± I said and focused on my splayed hand and her gaping wound.


    Like that time with the rope I willed the flames to existence. A spark. Flames erupted from the back of my hand, though unlike the last time, it looked more... Dark? Instead of violet and white its main body became black, while only the serrated edges were purple. It looked more intimidating to say the least.


    I pushed my palm harder against her hot and bloodied skin. As the pressure heightened, the nerves beneath my left arm''s skin became increasingly apparent. The veins twitched, and I could feel something inside them getting sucked out to my palm.


    Laianne gasped for air. Her back arched outward and her fingers dug into my wrist as the skin started to regrow anew from the edges of the wound inward.


    It was working, but it was too slow, and Laianne wouldn''t hold still. I guess regeneration hurts more than the wound itself.


    I nodded at Alrod. He picked up the meaning and held down Laianne''s waist.


    I pressed my palm harder against her flesh, strengthening our connection and thus, speeding up the process at the great expense of my energy. Laianne released an ear-piercing scream.


    As the wound closed, my limbs became increasingly numb and black stars plagued my vision. My black right arm began crumbling to ashes from the claws up.


    [A destroyer sacrificing himself for a mortal? How foolish.] The voice finally rang inside my head.


    Not quite. I answered. I''m not planning on sacrificing myself. I don''t know who you are, but I knew you''d come back.


    [Pushing your luck, are you? What makes you think I won''t let you die this time?]


    Because you need me. You can''t have me dead, can you?


    The voice didn''t answer.


    Laianne quieted down and limped in her father''s arms. The hole was no more. Her father wept in joy, while my eyes seized their hard-earned rest.


    ---


    I opened my eyes. A purple rhombus crystal was embedded on the black stone ceiling, shedding light of the same hue. It was a good start for a day since for the first time, a face didn''t greet me. My right arm, my normal right arm, was also back, but I didn''t get the chance to thank myself for being a God that can regrow limbs,


    Because there was another arm over my chest, and it wasn''t mine.


    The arm was sleek, white, smooth, and most of all, warm. When I traced where it came from, it brought me to a naked girl sleeping on my left.


    It was Laianne, and it seemed like she wasn''t wearing anything under the black blanket.


    Her face was also just inches away from mine.


    Now that I have plenty of time to look at her close, I had concluded that she didn''t look bad at all. The opposite was true, even. Her thin brows were beautiful when they weren''t curved inward from sarcasm. She had quaint pink lips as well, which I never noticed since she always talks, and usually not in a good way. She had high cheekbones, defined bridge, and silky black hair.


    All in all she looked like an angel when asleep. Oh how I wish she would stay asleep.


    But isn''t the fact that she''s beside me naked completely weird? And oh, it seemed like her one leg was over mine as well, but I couldn''t see it under the blanket.


    Thank the God of blankets. I almost put up the sexual content warning.


    The door creaked open. It was Alrod with his usual collected demeanor and calm stare.


    ¡°Lord Alrion.¡± He bowed. ¡°Are you feeling well now? You''ve been out for two days.¡±


    ¡°Think so.¡± I said, but I was still too lazy to get up. ¡°Hey Alrod.¡±The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Isn''t this your daughter?¡±


    ¡°Yes my lord. What about it?¡±


    ¡°Oh nothing, really.¡± I said. ¡°I just thought you''d want to be the stereotypical father right now and yell something like ¡®What are you doing with my daughter!¡¯ all while throwing a machete, or pointing a shotgun at me or something.¡±


    He shut his eyes and stifled a chuckle. ¡°Well, nothing happened between you and Laianne so I don''t have a reason to be furious, my lord.¡±


    ¡°But isn''t she naked right now?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes, only because she can''t sleep with clothes on.¡± He said.


    ¡°And because of that, this is supposed to be fine? Why is she here anyway?¡±


    ¡°Well, she insisted that she wanted to take care of you.¡±


    ¡°She did what?¡±


    That didn''t sound like her at all.


    I couldn''t help but turn to the side, where her carefree face was. She was even faintly snoring? This girl is so unpredictable. One day she''s being a bitch then the next she''s an adorable sheep.


    Though that remains to be seen, she was still sleeping. Who knows how she''ll be when she wakes up. Like I said, unpredictable.


    ¡°Yes, she even kicked Senea out of the room.¡± He heaved a sigh. ¡°Though back at the issue at hand, in the event that something does happen between you two, I''m sure that you, Lord Alrion, will be more than worthy to take her and make her your second spouse.¡±


    My eyes narrowed on him. Just what the hell kind of father is this guy?


    On top of Laianne being roughly my great great great granddaughter, there''s also Nariad who''s sure to crush my balls under her heels when she sees this. If that doesn''t sound bad then I don''t know what is.


    And why am I even considering Laianne as a partner? That doesn''t make sense. I don''t want a bitchy wife.


    Alrod bowed down and turn his back. Halfway out the door, he stopped.


    ¡°In any case, I will take my leave now. If you wish to talk to me I will just be a level downstairs, in my desk, Lord Alrion.¡±


    The door creaked shut.


    Asteria never disappoints.


    Okay, what to do now...


    Well do I even have anything to do? Aside from checking on the human girl, and thinking of how to get rid of the ¡®spy¡¯... Actually that''s a lot of work isn''t it? So why am I even trying to find more?


    I put aside Laianne''s embracing arm and sat up. Now, to think of the real serious stuff. That Darius, although he was fucking demented and all with his joker laugh, he made a point. We were this close to dying because of a planted mole.


    If holes are poked, there''s even a chance that the spy he was talking about was the one who hit me with that Arkos beam back at the chamber. But what are the odds? It''s pretty much obvious that Asterians can''t wield Arkos. That''s light you know. Then that would make the attacker not an Asterian.


    But there''s only one human here, and she''s a former counter girl who doesn''t even know kung-fu, let alone how to cast a legendary spell that can injure a God.


    So that would mean we''re down to the fact that the spy and the assailant are different individuals of different races. Right now, for the peace of mind, I will assume that the assailant had already escaped. Then the only immediate problem would be the spy.


    Well, there are hundreds of ¡®government employees¡¯ here inside the castle so I don''t think it''ll be easy but, at least I have a list of people that absolutely can''t be spies. One of course, is Alrod. He''s too loyal to the point that he''s willing to trade his own daughter''s life for me.


    Next would be Laianne, since she''s almost always with me so unless there''s a way to share information in this world, or rather, universe, using telepathy, then she''s definitely not the culprit.


    And last would be, yeah, the counter girl. Do I even need to elaborate? She couldn''t even handle seeing someone die.


    But then again, that''s not a lot of info to go on. Is being a Dark Lord really this stressful?


    With a sigh, my head dropped back to the leather pillow. I didn''t feel like playing whack-a-mole. A real mole, though not necessarily the animal.


    A cute groan sounded beside me. Laianne''s carbon eyes flashed open.


    ¡°Oh... Good morning.¡± I said.


    ¡°Hmm... Morning? Asteria doesn''t have mornings, or daytime.¡± She said with a soft voice as she turned to the black-curtained window behind her.


    ¡°At least, not until the sky heals. Or so father says.¡± She yawned. It was cute.


    ¡°Is that so? Come to think of it, I haven''t seen the sky brighten yet.¡±


    ¡°That''s because Asteria originally didn''t have a day. But since Nariad is your spouse, she blessed this world with light. Though for some reason it only works when you''re healthy...¡± She said, her eyes only half-open. ¡°Coupled with the fact that you spent most of your time unconscious...¡±


    ¡°That''s right isn''t it? Within such a short span of time, I already fainted enough times to last a lifetime.¡±


    ¡°Ho...¡± Laianne stared at me with her deadpan expression. ¡°This is the first time I''ve seen you smile.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I''m smiling?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± She nodded.


    ¡°Weird...¡± I turned away.


    An awkward silence.


    ¡°By the way, Laianne.¡±


    ¡°What.¡± She looked at me, morning haze apparent in her eyes.


    ¡°You''re naked right now, you know that?¡± I said.


    ¡°So?¡± She asked, uninterested. ¡°Don''t tell me this is the first time you''ve seen a naked woman?¡±


    ¡°No, but it''s my first time seeing a naked girl.¡±


    ¡°Gentleman.¡± She muttered under her breath. ¡°Well, what do you want to do now?¡±


    ¡°Is that really the question here? Isn''t it ¡®When are you planning on putting on clothes¡¯?¡±


    ¡°I could ask you the same thing.¡± Her pink lips curved into a mischievous grin. ¡°When are you planning on wearing clothes?¡±


    What? I looked down.


    Oh. I didn''t notice.


    ---


    We were navigating a black corridor, lit by an endless row of Aster lamps hanging on the wall on fixed intervals. Rows of doors decorated both side walls, and later on one of them would lead to Alrod''s office. We were walking on a steady pace then, until Laianne threw me a question about what she was wearing.


    ¡°But still, why do I have to wear a robe.


    Can''t I wear a blouse and skirt?¡± She asked with a sullen look.


    ¡°In where we''re going, a blouse and a skirt will be too breezy.¡± I said.


    ¡°But aren''t I cuter on a skirt?¡±


    ¡°In where we''re going, your cuteness probably doesn''t have a use.¡±


    She peered at my face, her brows knitted in irritation. ¡°Where are you planning on going, anyway?¡±


    ¡°I have the best plan in the world, but I don''t know exactly where we''re going.¡± I said and faced her. ¡°Ask me things all you want, but not before we''re out of Artrud.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I said don''t ask.¡±


    She clicked her tongue and shot me a death glare from below. ¡°What''s with you?¡±


    I didn''t answer. But then again ignoring the obnoxious girl isn''t the most effective way of getting rid of her.


    Laianne gasped. ¡°Don''t tell me... Don''t tell me you''re mad because nothing happened between us?!¡±


    ¡°Ha?¡±


    She stacked her hands on her chest and faked a cute blushing face. ¡°... D-don''t worry, Lord Alrion, I''ll be sure to sleep with you again next time. Then I''ll let you do umm... naughty things to me when that happens.¡±


    What the hell is she saying? This girl.


    ¡°Cut it with the crap, Laianne.¡± I scolded her. ¡°First off, you''re a lady, or wait, a girl, so start acting like one...¡±


    ¡°Ho... Fishy.¡± Her eyes bore holes on my jaw, but I did my best to ignore it.


    ¡°Second. I''m not mad.¡± I said. ¡°There are just things I simply can''t tell you or anyone right now. Not until we''re far from here, anyway.¡±


    She finally picked up the meaning. Laianne got off my face and nodded. ¡°So father is into this as well, yes?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°We''re already past his office, though.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I looked back.


    Laianne pointed to a door one meter behind us that had a stone plate. Six characters from ancient Asterian script was carved on the plate. It looked like sanskrit with those arbitrary curves and lines.


    It roughly read as ¡®Governor''s Desk¡¯.


    ¡°Oh, so Alrod''s a governor?¡± I asked as we walked back.


    ¡°You mean you just noticed?¡± She pulled the door open.


    Inside the room was Alrod, sitting before a pale-brown wooden desk, reading a black hard-bound book that most likely came from the great bookshelf at one corner of the room. When he saw us by the doorstep, he clapped the book close and told us to come in.


    It was a nice room that was more spacious than it seemed at first. There was a counter to the right corner that had a steel tea set on it, along with a dozen matching cups turned upside-down. There was a conference of brown leather couches in the middle of the room, surrounding a quaint coffee table made of that common pale-brown wood. I wonder, just how much power does a governor hold?


    ¡°What do you need of me, Lord Alrion?¡± He asked with a smile as he walked up to me.


    ¡°Hmmmm... I want you to pack things for travel.¡± I said. ¡°I''d like it if you can prepare tents, clothes, medicine that one might need for a long trek. We''re leaving Artrud for a while, us three.¡±


    ¡°Understood my lord.¡± He bowed. ¡°Though if you don''t mind me asking, for what reason?¡±


    ¡°I really want to tell you but right now, I can''t.¡± I said.


    ¡°I see...¡± He nodded. ¡°I''ll get on with it, then.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I smiled.


    ¡°Since you mentioned travel, I wonder if you would like me to prepare a dragon for us?¡±


    ¡°No, I don''t think riding a big dragon will give us anything but disadvantage. It might come in handy some other time, but not for this one. We''re going on foot.¡± I said.


    A drawled sound of protest erupted behind me after I said ¡®on foot¡¯.


    ¡°Why do I have to go too?¡± She glared at me.


    ¡°Hmm... Because you owe me one for saving you.¡±


    Laianne''s face contorted as if she was chewing a bitter bug.


    ¡°Ugh... Fine.¡± She consented, although reluctantly.


    ¡°Great. Thanks Laianne.¡± I said.


    She said nothing more and looked away with a ''hmph''. What a kid. I turned to Alrod.


    ¡°Once you''re done preparing things, just find me upstairs. I''ll be visiting the human girl at least before we set off.¡±


    Alrod bowed down, marking my exit.

 Seven: Crouching Jerkass, Hidden Dark Lord.

    I was only a few meters away from my destination down the eerie hallway, when the door to the human girl''s room opened. What came out was a female robed Asterian. Her face was also riddled with purple veins, like most Asterians I have come across. She was holding in both hands a tray of food that had gone cold. Maybe someone in charge of bringing the girl food? I walked up to the Asterian and greeted.


    ¡°Lord Alrion.¡± The maid bowed.


    ¡°Good day.¡± I said. ¡°How''s uh... my slave, doing?¡±


    Now that I think about what Alrod said, the Dark Lord keeping a human alive without a good reason is kinda fishy. Though if it''s like this, it totally makes sense, right?


    ¡°She barely eats, my lord. This is the food I brought her yesterday.¡± She looked down on the steel tray she was holding. It featured a bowl of black viscous soup with white meatballs(?) floating on the surface.


    No really, even if that''s safe for human consumption, I don''t think she will eat that.


    ¡°We think she didn''t like how the soup looked so this time I gave her something that closely resembled a human dish.¡±


    ¡°What kind of dish?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Lion wasp steak, my lord.¡± She calmly answered.


    That''s... Well a steak is normal human food but, oh boy...


    My saliva didn''t want to stay in my mouth any longer and continuously dove down my throat. Let''s just hope she doesn''t ever find out about where the meat came from.


    ¡°Well uh... Thank you, again.¡± I said, bitter taste still on my buds.


    She bowed down and strode past me.


    I breathed in, out, and held the cavity of the door that served as a handle. I pulled the door open, with next to none expectations that she''s well.


    In the middle of the purple-lit black room, there she was, sitting by the foot-end of the enormous dark bed, weeping, trembling, fear in her crestfallen blue eyes and agitation in her gnashing teeth. Her gaze was downcast, fixed on her right hand that held a dangerous object. The steak knife¡ªIts sharp tip was close to touching her left wrist.


    Suicide.


    My brain didn''t have time to think, I rushed forth.


    I seized the girl''s thin arm and raised it up, away from her other wrist that seemed to be her target. She looked up at me, startled, shaken, her teary blue eyes reflecting the purple ceiling light. They would''ve been beautiful, if it wasn''t for the sadness that seemed to dull them gray.


    Without a thought I gripped the knife by its blade. The sharp, serrated edge buried itself on my palms and pure black blood trickled down, along with a sharp pain, but I didn''t care. By force, I tore the knife away from the girl''s white and cold hand.


    ¡°What the hell do you think you''re doing?!¡± I yelled at her face.


    ¡°I...¡± A hoarse mutter blew out her parched pink lips.


    ¡°P-please let me go... I want to go home.¡± She pleaded.


    ¡°But you can''t go home!¡± My angry bellow made her shrink back.


    ¡°Both of us can''t.¡±


    I threw aside the knife that clung to my hand.


    She struggled, trying her hardest to yank her arm away from my clutches.


    I let go of her wrist, and she withdrew further into the bed, away from me. But I was far from over with her. My hands clamped on her waist, and she stared at me with widened eyes.


    ¡°E-eh?!¡±


    I lifted her off the bed by the waist and slung her on my shoulder horizontally. She wasn''t that heavy, but it had been a chore. With her in tow, I walked out the room and into the hallway. And no, not a princess carry. More like carrying a log.


    ¡°Hey! Le-let me down!¡± She protested.


    For a wooden log she was quite energetic. Her legs wouldn''t hold still as I carried her, so I used my free hand to restrain them, else she might kick someone walking the hallway to the face by accident. Her fists pounded against my back in a futile attempt to force me to let her down. It didn''t hurt, but it was annoying.


    ¡°Let me down I said!¡± Her high-pitched annoying yell echoed throughout the black hallway, prompting the few robed Asterians passing by to look at us as we passed.


    I mean who wouldn''t? I was carrying a human girl on my shoulder who screeches every second in a language they don''t understand.


    They were kind enough to bow down and steer clear of our path, though. That''s one good thing about being a Dark Lord.


    When we reached the staircase, two uneven figures were climbing up from downstairs. Alrod and Laianne.


    Laianne was toting a large black pouch, while Alrod carried a handful of wooden poles packed in a thick roll of cloth, probably the tents.


    When they saw me, they couldn''t help but halt halfway and flinch. But oh how I was glad to see them.


    ¡°Perfect timing. Hey Alrod.¡± I called.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    ¡°What is it, Lord Alrion?¡± He asked, his face still reeling back.


    ¡°What''s this? Lord Alrion is attacking a human girl?¡± Laianne pitched in with a naughty smirk, but I ignored her.


    ¡°I changed my mind.¡± I said. ¡°Prepare a dragon.¡±


    Screw stealth. I think it''s already obvious that I can''t leave her here anymore, not after the stunt she tried to pull, but I''m so not going to carry this girl for the whole journey. That''s not a job for the Dark Lord.


    ¡°And while you''re at it, get some cuffs and chains as well.¡± I said. ¡°Just in case...¡±


    ¡°Yes... Right away, then.¡± Alrod turned his back and began descending the staircase again.


    ---


    ¡°What happened to your hand?¡± Laianne walking beside me asked as we headed for the gate.


    ¡°Long story.¡± I said, my eyes drifting to the human girl that meekly trailed behind me.


    At one point earlier, we formed an agreement that I will let her walk on her own if she behaves and promise not to try running away. That worked out well, but like what you''d expect from someone who had given up on life. Her eyes were low, listless, and her gaze was fixed only forward. She showed minimal movement and her legs were the only part of her that was active. Let''s just say that if we happened to be crossing a highway, she''ll most certainly die from getting hit by a speeding ambulance, or any vehicle for that matter.


    And with her like this, asking things is probably out of the question. Hopefully she''ll recover, but if not then there''s just nothing I can do about it. I can''t babysit her and it''ll be barely rewarding if ever, what happened back at Earth is in the bottom of my to-care list right now, when I know that who-Gods are out there, plotting some great war to crush me in a one-versus-all setting.


    What did I ever do to them? I guess we''ll find out.


    Some things right now absolutely make no sense, like why did I stay dead for two-hundred years before someone revived me. Like who''s the Deus ex Machina inside, and also why I told Nariad to kill me that time. I can''t help but feel like these things mesh with one another, but maybe it''s just me and my brain. Hopefully, one or more of these things will be answered by this one adventure.


    I got pulled out of my monologue when sharp pain prickled my left, wounded hand with a thousand needles. It was Laianne, her petite palm against mine, the back of her hand emitting purple and white flames.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I asked.


    ¡°What does it look like I''m doing?¡± She asked back as the unclean cut closed itself.


    My hand was as good as new, and the only trace left of the abuse was the blot of half-erased pure black blood on my palm. Since Laianne touched my bloodied hand, some amount of blood was stuck on her palm as well.


    Imagine my surprise when she began licking her palm like a cat as we walked, but with a delirious, oddly-enticing expression of pure bliss on her juvenile face. And she was breathing heavily, too. Weirdly stimulating.


    ¡°Okay, that''s weird Laianne.¡± I said.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± She tilted her head after she was done cleaning her palm. ¡°What is?¡±


    ¡°That''s... That was my blood, right?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you mean that? You''re a being of pure Aster. The blood you''re calling that comes from you is just a rarified, liquidized form of Aster. And it''s of the purest kind given its entirely black color...¡± She began to add in trivia as if nothing happened.


    ¡°Not entirely sure I caught your drift but, why were you um, licking it?¡± I said, with my face probably scrunched sour.


    ¡°You really know next to nothing about your children, eh?¡± She narrowed her eyes at a moron. ¡°Well, you lost your memory so I won''t be going too hard on you.¡±


    ¡°That''s a first.¡± I pitched in.


    She ignored my remark and carried on.


    ¡°Us Asterians love anything that contain Aster.¡± She started. ¡°You can say we''re addicted to it, because the more Aster we have inside us, the more powerful our spells become. Look.¡±


    She made sure that I was looking at her hand closely. When she snapped her fingers, flame began to coat her hand from the fingers up. But the amazing thing about the flames was that it was closer to being dark-purple than being a mix of white and purple. And they showed more activity than usual, like they were dancing on a higher tempo.


    ¡°That''s how much power a mere few drops of your ¡®blood¡¯ contains.¡± She smiled, oddly proud. ¡°I would drain you myself, but I don''t have fangs.¡±


    ¡°Ho... Amazing.¡± I gasped. ¡°So the darker it gets, the purer and stronger Aster it is?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°The purest Aster doesn''t even take the form of flames. Just a beam of utter darkness. That''s the true form.¡±


    ¡°For some reason, that makes me want to be a Dark Lord more.¡±


    Pure darkness?


    ¡°You''ll get there.¡± She gave my back a tap of encouragement. ¡°Father said that back when you and him were still side by side during the last war, you had enough power to make an entire city vanish without doing anything more than simply wanting it.¡±


    ¡°Just plain badassery.¡±


    Just thinking of how I used to be a world-destroying God is enough to make me cool-gasm.


    ¡°But wait, how far back was that?¡±


    ¡°Hmmmm...¡± She held her chin and shut her eyes. ¡°About five-hundred years ago? Back when father was still young, or so father says. I have no way to be sure since I wasn''t born until a century ago.¡±


    ¡°What? You''re a century old?¡±


    Then just how old is Alrod?!


    ¡°For an Asterian, I''m still in my youth.¡± She said. ¡°No one has really died of age yet, considering that we''re a much younger race than humans. The first Asterians, your direct children, all died during the war. But if they were still alive they would be at least a thousand years old by now.¡±


    ¡°Oh...¡±


    I forgot, Asterians are demigods that emerged from the union of a human and me. I''m curious about what happened to that woman, but I guess she''s not here anymore.


    Even with our leisurely pace, we still managed to reach the main hall. Two Asterians were by the both sides of the steel ¡®gate¡¯. When they saw us coming, they scampered to hold the larger-than-life steel bars that served as the gate''s handles. They pulled both sides open with much force and trouble.


    It was a thick, heavy, needlessly large double door, its vertical clearance probably reaching three meters up the ground.


    Outside the gate was a creature that surpassed the gate''s size by a large margin.


    A dragon. Long snout, flaring nose, overlapping plates¡ªscales of black color and lustrous surface. Four-legged, its size no smaller than two container vans stacked on top of each other. No wings, and on its broad back was attached a rectangular wooden platform.


    I guess that platform is where the passengers sit. A wooden hand rail secured the edges to avoid people from falling over during travel. At the dragon''s side, connected to the wooden platform, was a slanted, wooden ladder leading to it. I guess due to its size, one simply can''t hop on without a ladder.


    I heard a gasp behind me. It was the girl, her blue eyes widened and mouth agape in amazement. It''s a good thing she''s not yet an empty shell.


    ¡°That''s where we''ll ride on.¡± I told the girl with a smile.


    She shrunk back, afraid.


    I guess, it''s not that easy. I heaved a sigh.


    Alrod was already on top of the platform with the folded tents, and he was waving his hand.


    We walked up to the ladder, and I was the first to climb up. The feeling was somehow similar to trudging the stairs to an airplane ride, except extraordinarily adventure-y.


    I was followed by Laianne, then the girl.


    The girl leaned over the rail first thing, like a kid that admired the world view from a balcony. The skirt of her black night dress swayed with the cold night wind, along with her frizzy, long blonde hair.


    I tried doing the same and stood beside her. From there I saw, a gorgeous panoramic view of the black village and the distant myriad of ashen mountains. Coupled with the breath-taking dark sky of pitch and purple, the view sent shivers down my spine. Completely caption-worthy.


    ¡°Amazing isn''t it...¡± I muttered.


    The girl didn''t say anything, and her blue eyes only glistened with dampness.


    The view isn''t the best thing I will be getting by riding a dragon, though. It''s the crowd of citizens that gathered below us.


    Soon, the word that the God of Darkness has left Artrud will spread around the village.


    I wonder what you''re going to do next, o traitor of Asteria?

 Eight: The meek, the cunning, and the sleepy dragon.

    Being aboard a dragon was like riding on an elephant, only that it''s three times larger, and instead of a seat, you have a whole floor to sit on, sleep on, and roll on. Talk about cruise quality.


    The ride felt slow, but not any slower than a group of four walking on foot.


    We were a few hours deep inside a forest, and even though the forest wasn''t so dense, there were still times when trees stood on our way. And then the dragon would stop, uproot and eat it by the trunk if it''s hungry, or it would just take down the poor tree entirely by ramming it with its forehead. Yes, that was how large the big baby was. Judging by how long its neck was, just standing on top of the dragon''s head would allow one to see the treetops. Though I wouldn''t wanna, I''m the biggest wuss when high altitudes are concerned.


    But if dragons can demolish trees in its path, aren''t forests a little in danger? Well, Laianne says no.


    She said dragons don''t normally get the chance to grow until this big, they either get eaten by predators such as lion wasps, or die of old age. Dragons this big will then be claimed by the kingdom and given to high-ranking officials as personal carriages. Normal-sized dragons can only travel smoothly on roads, while bigger dragons are more like monster trucks that can go off-road, so no risks of deforestation there.


    This dragon is Alrod''s pet as he is a governor. His name is Danrel, the team pet trope is already up. Apparently Danrel here was a baby dragon I happened to give Alrod years before I last died. He''s not older than feudalism, but he''s old enough.


    ¡°We must be far enough from Artrud now, Lord Alrion.¡± Said Alrod.


    Cautious, I scanned the moving forest scape around me. An endless sea of pale trunks and dark leaves, midnight zephyr blew from west to east, as if giving life to the stiff and still branches. Rustling of the unseen wildlife creatures prowling under the shroud of dark brushes, ravens crying, and the audible flapping of wings. Not a trace of civilization, just the pure fierceness of nature that wouldn''t think twice about sending unwary trespassers to their deaths. Should be good enough.


    ¡°Okay.¡± I nodded. ¡°We''ll set camp here for now.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡± He replied and put a hand on a meager part of the dragon''s broad neck.


    The dragon stopped in its tracks as if understanding us, making the wooden floor quake. If it wasn''t for my hand that gripped the rail I would''ve rolled over until the other end of the platform. Laianne though, managed to stay upright, while the girl... She''s still against the rail.


    She was a foot away to my right, and during the whole ride, not once did she talk. Often she would space out, stare up at the sky, not a care in the world. Sometimes though, she would look at the dark nature around us with innocent amazement in her eyes. She would sit down when her legs are tired, and after a couple minutes she would return to sightseeing.


    Coupled with the fact that she doesn''t understand our conversations, one would honestly think she was a deaf-mute.


    Once the floor fully stabilized, Laianne and Alrod gathered our necessities and stepped down the ladder. I would''ve follow them then, but before I took my first step down, I noticed the human girl was just in one corner of the platform, leaning over the wooden rail, her gaze bound to the unseen distant and her head clearly absent. I walked up to her and poked her shoulder.


    Her body jolted the instant my finger touched her bare skin. I could almost hear her heart pounding against her ribcage as she turned to me, eyes wide open.


    ¡°Hey.¡± I said.


    She didn''t answer and just stared still at my face.


    What was she thinking about, I was curious, but she probably wouldn''t tell me.


    ¡°Aren''t you coming?¡±


    She looked around, at the entirety of the platform, at the dragon, then at me.


    ¡°¡­ Come?¡± She said in a hoarse undertone.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Come where?¡±


    ¡°Down.¡± I said.


    ¡°Down...?¡± She tilted her head.


    I nodded and held out my hand to her. She looked at it, then back at my face, hesitation in her iceberg eyes. They were larger than normal. Her eyes were adjusted to accommodate the darkness.


    ¡°I''m not really sure if I''m still a human, probably not anymore, but what I can guarantee you is that I don''t eat people, and that I won''t hurt you.¡± I said.


    The worst I can probably do to you is chain you to a wall. Wait, is that considered as hurting someone? Well I guess it depends on how energetic the one getting chained is.


    ¡°Alrion, though I was Arenson Randall not too long ago.¡± I couldn''t help but smile wryly.


    She looked down at my hand again. After thinking for good three seconds, she stacked her right hand over mine in a timid fashion.


    ¡°Jana.¡± She muttered. ¡°Jana Mirren.¡±


    Her eyes looked up at me, uneasiness in the form of tears coated her eyes like twisting glass. I didn''t know why but something about her cold eyes felt, odd. Unsettling. It wasn''t their color nor how they looked like as a whole. I found myself staring at them, perhaps subconsciously trying to find what was odd about her eyes. Our gazes were locked on to each other for a second, two seconds, three, until I finally lost count.


    Then the floorboard creaked, like an untimely wake up call.


    I turned around, Alrod stood by the ladder way, unmoving.


    ¡°... Lord Alrion?¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    ¡°What.¡± I let go of the girl''s cold hands. ¡°Don''t ask, we weren''t doing anything.¡±


    ¡°We''re done setting up.¡±


    ¡°OH...


    I''ll be right there, then.¡± I said.


    Alrod descended the ladder with aura of suspicion tracking his back.


    ¡°We should go.¡± I told the girl, Jana. ¡°I think Danrel can''t sleep when someone''s still aboard.¡±


    Jana tilted her head. ¡°... Danrel?¡±


    ¡°The dragon.¡±


    She instinctively turned to the dragon who was then giving her a sidelong glance with his reptilian yellow eyes.


    ¡°O-okay...¡± She muttered.


    On the ashen ground covered with white dead leaves were three normal triangular tents large enough for one person or two to sleep in. They were erected in a circle close to a campfire. A campfire with normal, scarlet flame. Laianne was sitting on the ground near the crackling fire looking bored out of her mind, and was twirling a strand of her black hair around a finger.


    I got off Danrel, with Jana timidly chasing my back. As soon as our feet were off the ladder, Danrel lay down with a plop, his white fluffy belly down to the forest ground, along with his head. He closed his eyes and began to snore, clouds of dust belching out of his nostrils. What a cute little fella.


    I joined Laianne by the campfire, while Jana scurried off and crouched down near the dragon''s snout that was larger than her. I think she wanted to touch him, but was too afraid because of Danrel''s size.


    Alrod, he was nowhere to be found so I asked Laianne. She said Alrod went out to gather water since he saw a stream flowing near us on the way here.


    Shortly after, Alrod returns holding two wooden buckets of water. He said that since humans need to bathe, one bucket would be for the girl and the other one for drinking and cooking. I asked if Asterians don''t take baths, and Laianne looked at me like I was a moron.


    ¡°We take baths, from time to time. But it''s only because soaking oneself in water is relaxing.¡± She said.


    ¡°Though that doesn''t mean that we don''t clean ourselves regularly.¡± Alrod chimed in and sat by the fire. ¡°We coat ourselves with Aster to cleanse our bodies.¡±


    ¡°Oh... So you don''t need water to clean up. That''s pretty neat.¡±


    Alrod nodded solemnly, while Laianne''s eyes were drilling my face for some reason.


    ¡°Enough about trivial things.¡± She said, irritated. ¡°We can ask you questions now, yes?¡±


    Oops, forgot about that.


    I craned my neck and looked around first before nodding. ¡°Yeah, I did promise, though I can probably guess the things you two will ask me.


    ¡®Why I brought you here¡¯, huh?¡±


    They both nodded.


    ¡°Well, the short form.¡± I put my index up. ¡°The castle walls had ears, while the ceiling had eyes. There''s a traitor among your men, Alrod.¡±


    Laianne looked pretty surprised, though I don''t know why Alrod was so calm. It was like he already knew. One thing about Alrod is that if he''s calm, you won''t have a way of knowing what''s going on inside his head. Poker-faced.


    ¡°Well, Alrod?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Lord Alrion. You may very well be right.¡± He said.


    ¡°So that''s why you were acting strange.¡± Laianne held her chin. ¡°I didn''t know you were astute enough to think of a plan.¡±


    ¡°You know what? I might''ve fallen for you if it wasn''t for your impertinence.¡± I said.


    ¡°Really?¡± Her imaginary dog ears perked up.


    ¡°Yeah, totally.¡±


    She averted her gaze.


    ¡°But if that''s the case...¡± Alrod''s eyes were shut. ¡°We should''ve just walked on foot, so that the traitor would easily lose us.¡±


    ¡°I also thought of the same thing. That''s why I told you to not prepare a dragon before, because dragons are big and showy, the traitor won''t have problems tracking us down when we''re riding a big fat dragon.¡±


    ¡°So then why did you change your mind, Lord Alrion?¡±


    ¡°Because I figured out that I wanted the bastard to track us after all.¡±


    ¡°Pardon?¡± Alrod said.


    ¡°Huh? That doesn''t make sense at all.¡± Laianne wracked her head.


    ¡°Or maybe it makes perfect sense?¡±


    I must''ve been wearing a smug face then.


    ¡°Let me tell you two something. After our encounter with the son of Nariod, I had nothing else on my mind then other than wanting to train and enhance my combat abilities.


    But then there was a mole in the castle, and that meant the enemies will be able to track my progress and gauge my current power.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Then?¡±


    ¡°So instead of wasting time trying to pull one traitor out of a hundred people, I decided to just do my business somewhere else, take you two with me to some secret forest or the like without letting anyone else know.


    Wait, are you guys still following me?¡±


    ¡°Somehow...¡± A yawn escaped Laianne''s mouth, while her father was as silent as ever.


    ¡°But then she came into the mix.¡± I pointed behind me where a girl was petting and rubbing the snout of a black gargantuan dragon.


    ¡°For a reason I''d rather not elaborate, I had to take her with us, but she was such a pain then that I began weighing the pros and cons of riding a dragon. That''s when an idea suddenly hit me.¡±


    Laianne drew close and lent her ears. I could tell her interest was piqued.


    ¡°If we left without a trace, the traitor wouldn''t be able to keep up. I will be able to train in peace outside Artrud, but it also meant that the traitor would be safe and sound inside the castle until we return.


    But, if we let the whole world know we''re going out of the town by riding a big ass dragon, which was what we did, the mole won''t be sitting still and will try to chase after us and observe us from afar for the whole journey.


    That''s what I was aiming for. ¡®She¡¯ already did us the favor of leaving the sheep ranch herself, and while she''s out here, observing us, we will have a greater chance of catching her than back at the castle where she''s practically camouflaged.¡±


    ¡°I see...¡± Alrod nodded a few times. ¡°Though why are you telling us that now, when she might hear us?¡±


    ¡°Before she can hear us she would have to get close first. Asterians don''t have super-hearing, yes?¡±


    They both nodded.


    ¡°Then she''ll have to be painfully close before our voices are within her earshot.¡±


    ¡°How cunning of you, Lord Alrion.¡± Alrod praised.


    ¡°Why thank you.¡±


    Laianne walked up to me, her eyes closed. Somehow I got the feeling that she would do something bitchy.


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± I looked up at her.


    She put her hand down on my head and began patting me and ruffling my hair.


    ¡°It seems like our Dark Lord is growing well.¡± She said. ¡°Good job.¡±


    I swatted her hand away.


    ¡°You''re really annoying, you know that?¡±


    She crouched down beside me.


    ¡°Don''t be so mad now, Lord Alrion.¡± She whispered. ¡°As a reward for being so clever, how about let''s sleep together in a tent? Since there are only three, it would make sense for one of them to accommodate two people, right?¡± She said with a smoky seductive voice and blew a cold gust to my ear.


    I wonder, do Asterians have something like mating season? Either that or women here really are just open about their sexuality.


    ¡°No actually.¡± I crawled backward. ¡°At least one of us would be up for guard duty at any given time so three tents are just fine.¡±


    ¡°Now you''re just making excuses.¡± She said with narrowed eyes as she crept forward. ¡°As long as we''re near you, not a monster would attack us so there''s no need for guard duty.¡±


    ¡°What about Danrel? Won''t lion wasps try to eat him?¡±


    ¡°Like I said, as long as Danrel is near you, he''s safe.¡± She said, stubborn.


    ¡°But you can''t sleep with clothes on, right?¡±


    ¡°What about it? You already saw me naked anyway.¡±


    ¡°Hey shouldn''t you be more conservative than that? You just told me you''re still on your youth.¡±


    ¡°Hmm...?¡± She stopped her advance and sat up. ¡°Men should be the conservative ones, not the other way around.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± I froze.


    Cause of death: Major culture shock.


    ¡°Hey Alrod, is this true?¡±


    For some reason, Alrod''s eyes were far away from us.


    Damn Alrod. Damn Asteria.


    ¡°I forgot.¡± Alrod stood up and dusted off his robe. ¡°I will be hunting lion wasps for our dinner now, Lord Alrion.¡±


    ¡°Ah that''s great for practicing my abilities, let me help.¡± I said.


    ¡°Well, with all due respect my lord, you can''t, because you have an aura that wards off wildlife.¡±


    ¡°What!¡±


    ¡°I will be right back.¡± He disappeared into the dark shroud of eternal night.


    ¡°Ugh.¡±


    ¡°You know, if you want to train your control of Aster so bad, I can just teach you a few things.¡± Laianne said.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± She puffed her chest. ¡°My power might not be as intense as father''s, but in terms of controlling it, I''m far more capable than him.¡±


    ¡°That''s pretty amazing you know, since Alrod is a lot older than you.¡±


    ¡°Well? Hold out your palms.¡±


    I did as she ordered, and my summer training camp began.

 Nine: Jana Mirren and the Asterian Hadouken

    My flames were back to being purple and white, much to my disappointment. Apparently it''s the cost of saving Laianne that time... But hey, if she died back there then she wouldn''t be here to help me with my training so I''m not really complaining.


    Alrod was still out hunting wasps, while Jana decided to take a bath. The thing is, she can''t go too far away from me, but she can''t bathe in the open for me to see, either. So she ended up doing her thing behind the sleeping Danrel to my right. The fella was big enough to serve as a wall between my eyes and her, even when asleep.


    I could hear water splashing, but I couldn''t care less and I won''t even try to peek. I''m not a lecherous sex beast, and if I really want to see a naked girl, I think I can just ask Laianne anytime. But in all seriousness, I didn''t come here to get laid, I''m here to train.


    ¡°So I do it like, this?¡±


    Laianne told me that to change the shape of Aster, one only need to imagine. But for beginners, like kids, it''s advisable to treat Aster like clay you mold with your hands. I don''t feel good about being an utter noob at this, but for now I settled with rotating my cupped hands around the purple flame, slow, carefully, like making a perfect, round snowball.


    To my shock and awe, the ever-erratic flames that previously had no concrete form swirled inward to form a dense, bright sphere only as large as a tennis ball. Its size was puny as hell, but it was visually pleasing. The core was white, while purple gas coated it over. It reminded me of the sun, its surface rough from the fiery eruptions.


    ¡°Well done.¡± Said Laianne, her eyes closed and crinkled, her pink lips curved into a broad smile.


    For a second I really thought she was pleased, until she tip-toed and plopped her hand down my head, ruffling my white hair.


    I flicked her hand off and gave her a glare.


    ¡°You know what? I''m so going to spank you with an Aster-covered hand when the time comes.¡±


    ¡°Hmmmm... I''m kind of looking forward to that, but then again you''re not manly enough to do something so bold.¡± She said with a yawn trailing after her words.


    ¡°You... You''re really a masochist, aren''t you?¡±


    She ignored me and carried on to the next lesson.


    ¡°Now, what you''re going to do is throw it.¡± She said.


    She clung to my left arm and pointed forward, to a tree at least ten meters away from where we stood. It was taller than others that surrounded it, and looked quite similar to eucalyptus in its upright branches and elongated leaves.


    ¡°Like this?¡± I asked as I took a stance that resembled a pitch.


    ¡°That''s kind of a weird posture...¡± Her brow flattened. ¡°Oh whatever. Try hitting that tree.¡±


    I breathed in, out, and focused on the pale tree. I don''t know anything about my accuracy but, I think I''ll at least hit it if the trunk is thick. I must hit the tree, the tree, tree.


    ¡°... Here goes!¡± I exerted force forward. The fireball launched out of my hand.


    Silence.


    Something was wrong with it. Laianne at my side burst out laughing.


    ¡°Wow!¡± She doubled over, her arms crossed over her stomach. ¡°Your incompetence really amazes me.¡±


    No kidding. The ball left my hand, but it was um... It wasn''t traveling as fast as I thought it would be... ¡®Launched¡¯ isn''t even the term I''d use. The ball was just there, in front of me, floating, and maybe moving a little forward every second. It was like watching a snail walk on air, more than an object that was thrown with force.


    What the hell... Do I really suck that hard?


    ¡°Are you kidding.¡±


    ¡°You really are an idiot eh...¡± She said as she watched the fireball traverse distance in super-slow motion.


    ¡°Why is it traveling so slow? I threw it perfectly!¡±


    She shook her head with a palm on her face. ¡°Why it''s traveling slow you ask? It''s because you didn''t throw it.¡±


    ¡°Ha? But I did!¡±


    ¡°No you didn''t. Aster responds to your thoughts. If you think that you''re throwing a ball, Aster will behave like a ball and fly forward like you threw it.¡±


    ¡°Oh... So you''re saying, what''s important is that I think that I''m throwing it?¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± She nodded. ¡°In truth, you''re not really throwing it. You don''t need physical force to command Aster.¡±


    ¡°Interesting...¡±


    It''s like that matrix thing, ¡®there''s no spoon.¡¯


    ¡°What went wrong though?¡± I asked. ¡°I properly thought I was throwing it.¡±


    ¡°No. You were focused on hitting the tree, more than thinking about throwing.¡± She said and pointed at the meager fireball slowly drifting away from us.


    ¡°You told that Aster ball that it should hit the tree, no matter what. So in essence, you were controlling its trajectory. And when you ¡®throw¡¯ things, you can aim, but you can''t control where it''s headed. Your commands were in conflict with each other, and so the ball is stuck now with no clear direction.¡±


    ¡°Now that''s complicated.¡± I said. ¡°I thought magic is magic, and didn''t need explanations?¡±Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    ¡°Now you know better.¡± She closed her eyes and massaged her forehead.


    So again, I don''t have to really throw it. Then...


    ¡°Okay, I''ll try it again.¡± I disposed of the floating ball with my will, making it explode in midair.


    I created another ball on my right palm, but this time I didn''t need to do that snowball molding thing since I already saw how it was done. I just summoned flames and wished for it to swirl into a sphere. The keyword is ¡®mind¡¯. Controlling Aster only needs the thought of the caster. Then I have a major advantage in imagination over these people.


    I set apart my legs, right foot forward. I connected both my palms by the wrist, then I breathed in, out, and¡ª


    ¡°¡ªHadouken!¡± I thrust my palms forward.


    The white and purple sphere flew forward in light speed, mercilessly tearing the cold wind on its path apart.


    Laianne gasped. The tiny ball collided with the trunk. Not too long after, the area of impact had been set ablaze with purple flame. The flames burned the wood to ashes within a second, and the upper part of the tree fell down with a loud rustle and a quake to the ground.


    Damn. I always wanted to do that.


    A smile escaped me, accompanied by a tinge of electrocuting embarrassment.


    ¡°What, what did you just do?¡± Laianne asked, brows high, eyes wide open, dumbfounded. ¡°And what was that... ¡®Ha-do-ken¡¯? Is that a spell chant?¡±


    ¡°... Yeah you can call it that.¡±


    ¡°But... That''s out of our lesson...¡±


    ¡°Well, you said it''s all about the thought, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes but, but isn''t it easier to imagine if you do an honest throw?¡±


    ¡°Not really. Throwing things the normal way is boring, there''s no way I can think about a stuff so dull.¡±


    They probably don''t even know Ryu, or Ken, or Street Fighter as a whole. But damn was it so satisfying.


    That reminds me... There''s someone here who might have at least heard of Street Fighter. When I turned to the side, that someone was already looking at me with weirded-out widened blue eyes.


    ¡°... Hey.¡± I waved.


    Jana wore the most-loved dark robe, and her blonde hair was still wet and clustered. Her mouth was opened wide, and don''t get me started with her stare. I didn''t know why but something about her gaze felt like it was judging me for shouting the magic word.


    ¡°...¡± She averted her eyes.


    ¡°I can explain... Please.¡±


    ---


    After that embarrassing scene, Jana refused to talk to me for the whole evening. Alrod came back with a stack of dark red meat cut rectangular, and he roasted it by the fire. Lion wasp meat didn''t taste as bad as I thought it would. And no, it didn''t taste like chicken clich¨¦. Why does everything need to taste like chicken? It was closer to tuna than anything.


    When we were all done eating, Alrod and Jana hit the sack fast, occupying the two tents.


    Me and Laianne though, were still up, chatting over the campfire.


    ¡°So since I died, day, yesterday, today, tomorrow, all words connected to time of day became nothing but figures of speech?¡±


    ¡°That is so.¡±


    ¡°Talk about an unstable world...¡±


    But then again, Greeks also once believed in Gods that maintained the world. Like Helios and Poseidon.


    ¡°That''s just how it is.¡± She shrugged. ¡°You''re the creator of Asteria. And all of the worlds belonging to the Nether.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Just heard that right now... So I created not just one?¡±


    She nodded, her eyes invested on the embers of the small campfire.


    ¡°But as a ¡®Destroyer¡¯, I shouldn''t be creating worlds, right?¡±


    ¡°Well, you didn''t create worlds on your own. You can treat worlds as offsprings of your fusion with other Goddesses. Though unlike Asteria, all the other worlds in the Nether don''t get affected by whatever happens to you.¡±


    ¡°Why is that? Why is Asteria so different?¡±


    ¡°Well... Let''s say that a world is a child of you and a specific Goddess. For that world to continue existing, it would need a constant supply of energy, that is you and the Goddess. So even if say, you ceased to exist, no noticeable change will happen to that world because there''s still your partner.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I somehow get it. So the world only truly crumbles when both of its parents are dead.¡±


    ¡°Yes...¡±


    ¡°What makes Asteria different from the other worlds I created, then?¡±


    ¡°Asteria, well... You created it on your own. You loved a human so much that you created a world only for your and that human''s children.¡±


    ¡°Really? But, didn''t I die? Asteria should''ve exploded then...¡±


    ¡°Well, you didn''t really die as in ceased to exist. In all those times that Nariad killed you, she didn''t really kill you, it''s more like she destroyed one of your aspects, specifically your ethereal aspect. So you still existed, somewhere, in what we call the abyss or the afterlife.¡±


    ¡°Okay... It''s really hard to get the subtleties around this God and world and universe thing. So you''re saying, as long as I don''t become non-existent, Asteria will stand?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but since you''re the only parent of Asteria, whatever happens to you is reflected heavily on the world. Like the sky up there.¡± She looked up and pointed at the groggy black line that separated the two halves of the sky.


    ¡°And yes, when the sky, or your divinity is broken, Nariad''s blessing does not work since she gave it to you, not to the world.¡±


    You really can''t expect a nineteen-year-old to get all these complicated stuff completely.


    ¡°Anyway...¡± She yawned and stretched her arms up. ¡°I think we should sleep.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah about that, do Gods really need sleep?¡±


    She looked at me, her eyelids desperately lifting themselves. ¡°Not normally, but you''re closer to a mortal right now than anything Godly. Come, Lord Alrion. We will be planning our next course of action tomorrow, yes?¡±


    ¡°... Yeah.¡±


    We crept up to the tent, and once we were inside, Laianne began to undress.


    ---


    In the end, I only caught a nap. It''s because of space, not because the tent was cramped, it''s... Personal space?


    Laianne was on my left, sound asleep. Her eyes were shut, obviously, her brows flat, and her thin lips puckered.


    She was, again, down to all her naked glory. Though I don''t know, maybe the God of Blankets was a pal of mine back in Olympia. He was benevolent enough to make Alrod think of packing up blankets for the journey.


    It''s not that far, God of Blankets, God of Darkness... Anyway, he''s really kind.


    Like the last time, Laianne made me her body pillow. Her leg pressing against mine under the blanket, one arm across my chest, her head mounted on my shoulder, and her raven hair tickling my neck.


    Don''t go there, we didn''t do anything. I''m clothed, I checked that first thing.


    I heard a rustle outside. Someone, maybe Alrod? I sat up after laying down Laianne''s head on her folded robe that she used as a pillow. I put aside the tent''s entrance cover, then I crawled out into the open.


    It wasn''t Alrod, though. It was Jana, hanging out with Danrel who was also awake then. He was pretty lazy though, still lying down, but his amber reptilian eyes, as large as basketballs, were open.


    Jana was there, standing by the side of the black dragon''s face. I walked up to her, and surprisingly, she spoke first.


    ¡°Cute, isn''t he...¡± She said with a warm smile on her face as she rubbed the hardened scale of the dragon.


    ¡°Yeah, cute.¡± I said, though I wasn''t really looking at Danrel. I was looking at her face.


    It was the first time in this journey that I saw her eyes free from gray clouds. I wonder, is it already okay for me to ask questions?


    Just then, before I opened my mouth, she spoke.


    ¡°There was a pillar of light.¡± She said, but she wasn''t looking at me.


    ¡°... Pillar of light?¡±


    ¡°I''m not sure who you are but, you''re not Aren...¡±


    ¡°What... Do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Aren and I were high school then.¡± She said, her eyes on the past. ¡°We loved each other, so much, so much that I can''t find a word to properly describe it.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°But one day,¡± She grimaced. ¡°One day there was that pillar of light that descended from the sky. It engulfed him.


    But he didn''t die. Not even a scratch. Only when he woke up in the hospital did something happen. He doesn''t remember me anymore. He remembered everything and everyone else, just not me.¡±


    ¡°Wait...¡±


    ¡°That''s why,¡± She turned to me, sad emptiness in her gleaming eyes, tears streaming down her face silently.


    ¡°That''s why I know you''re not Arenson. Aren would never forget me. That day, Aren left, and you, whoever you are, you replaced him. I don''t know why or how you have his memories, but you''re not him.¡±


    ¡°... Then, just who am I?¡±

 First Update

    Ten chapters in, (well nine, actually, if you exclude Chapter Zero) I''ve listened to some... Issues, with pacing especially in five. I updated the controversial chapter five today, added some flesh to it. (Feel free to read it again. It''s at least more enjoyable now.) With that said, I will not be releasing a chapter today, since the next one would be a little bigger than the others, I''d want more than twenty hours to spend on it so that I can lessen the screw up. But rest assured, after its release tomorrow, the daily release will go back to normal.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    I''d appreciate any feedback via comments or review on what you think about the quality, story, or yeah issues.


    Meanwhile, here''s a poll for you guys.

 Ten: Upheaval of kingdoms, people, and feelings

    ¡°So, what are the ups and downs of going to the nearest portal to go to the elves?¡± I asked as I paced back and forth in front of Laianne and Alrod who were both sitting by the campfire.


    Laianne''s enthusiasm was fully on me, though the same couldn''t be said with Alrod. He was there, but he wasn''t looking at me. His head was downcast while his arms were crossed. I could tell he was too busy to even think about how weird his current behavior was. What''s inside his head, that I didn''t know.


    ¡°We can get ambushed again.¡± Laianne said, her hand raised. ¡°And even if we arrive there safely, there''s no guarantee that the elves will be happy to see us.¡±


    I stopped my feet, hand combing my white hair. ¡°But I thought humans are their enemies? You know, the enemy of your enemy is your friend.¡±


    Wait, that''s wrong. The friend of your friend is your enemy.


    ¡°Humans are their enemies, no doubt.¡± Her eyes slacked. ¡°But that doesn''t make them our allies. We''re not at war with the elves, but we''re not friendly with them either. Neutral, where one wrong move could spark the flames of war.¡±


    ¡°Then why did Nariad tell me to go there?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Who knows.¡± She shrugged. ¡°Maybe she has something outrageous in mind.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough... Next option.¡± I cleared my throat. ¡°What about going to the king?¡±


    Alrod, who was just nodding in agreement a second ago, looked up at me with widened coal eyes, hiding the crow''s feet beneath them.


    ¡°Lord Alrion, I don''t think that''s¡ª¡±


    ¡°¡ªThat''s a better idea.¡± Alrod was unintentionally cut off by his daughter. Laianne''s hand was on her chin, eyes on the scarlet sparks of the small fire as it burned the twigs inside it.


    ¡°Your spear is there after all, inside the artifact hall of the royal palace.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Spear?¡± My head bobbed to the side.


    ¡°Your weapon, Hamartia.¡± She said.


    ¡°Oh... That''s a nice name for a weapon.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Laianne tilted her head.


    ¡°In my world it means ¡®fatal flaw¡¯.¡± I said


    I may not look like it, but I was once a part of the theatrics club back in high school. That coupled with the fact that our club advisor was a Euripides tragedy junkie, it''s really not surprising that I know a word so unheard of these days.


    ¡°I see. Well anyway, that weapon will help you live long enough for your divinity to fully heal. A year is a long time, Lord Alrion, if you''re facing death everyday.¡±


    ¡°A good point.¡± I nodded. ¡°Still, I wasn''t expecting a spear to be my weapon.¡±


    I was actually expecting the sword of plot advancement. Maybe Frostmourne since I''m the big bad but, oh well. Dark Lords can''t be choosers.


    ¡°Hamartia is not always a spear.¡± Alrod chimed in. ¡°It can and will change forms on your command, Lord Alrion, although you''re fondest of spears.¡±


    ¡°Oooooh... A morph weapon.¡±


    This Hamartia is raising a lot of tropes. Seriously, I''m getting this.


    ¡°In any case, going to Larcon will definitely be a better move than risking it with Aether.¡± Said Laianne, her arms crossed on her undefined chest.


    ¡°No, honestly it is not.¡± Alrod stood up, much to Laianne''s surprise, a stern expression wrinkling his broad bridge. ¡°Lord Alrion, can I have a word?¡±


    He leveled his vision to me, his freckled carbon eyes narrowed in cautious apprehension and his sturdy jaw twitching.


    ¡°Sure.¡± I said. ¡°I''ll follow.¡±


    Alrod bowed down and walked forth, away from the camp, with me trailing behind.


    A dozen steps after, Alrod stopped. He peered over his shoulder, at Laianne who was left alone by the campfire, watching our backs dazzled. He turned back to me and leaned closer, like a robber who''s about to introduce his plan of buying realistic-looking toy guns to hostage a bank accountant and get to the vault.


    ¡°Come on, what''s wrong?¡± I asked.


    ¡°... I''ve been thinking about, things.¡± He said. ¡°It''s about the traitor you speak of, my lord.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Let''s hear it then.¡±


    ¡°The traitor, might not necessarily be allied with the humans.¡±


    ¡°... How so?¡± I squinted. ¡°She''s the reason the three of us nearly died by the hands of a human-side demigod, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, there is that but,¡± He looked around. ¡°There is also a chance that she works for the king.¡±


    Shocking revelation there.


    ¡°And why would the king do that?¡± I asked. ¡°Unless...¡±


    Unless of course he''s secretly in league with the humans. Like RPG games and their plot twists that can be seen from a fucking mile away, where the kind human king is actually in cahoots with the Demon lord because he wants evuuul powers for no reason other than to be the unexpected second-to-the-last boss.


    ¡°It''s probably not what you are thinking, Lord Alrion.¡± He said, as if reading my mind. ¡°That was what I also thought at first but, there might be a little more to it than the king simply siding with the humans.¡±


    ¡°... I''m listening.¡± I said.


    I leaned on the tree next to me, but something inside the bark of the trunk moved and so I instinctively pulled back. It was an inch-long earthworm with brown flesh and head shaped like a cockroach''s, crawling out of the blisters on the tree''s surface.


    Have troubles imagining it? Look at a cockroach through a magnifying glass, then imagine its head getting stuck on one end of a finger-sized worm. As an advice though, don''t eat anything eight hours prior. If the vomiting persists, consult your doctor.


    ¡°King Correus,¡± He sighed. ¡°He does not openly declare it, but I can tell he''s not pleased with your return.¡±


    ¡°Hmm...¡± I put a hand to my chin. ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°Well, it has something to do with the war.¡± He shut his eyes and exhaled. ¡°Right now, Aster is peaceful because of the ceasefire King Correus and the human king agreed on years ago. It only became possible because you were already dead, and there was no reason to fight anymore. Or so King Correus said, because he is still young and naive.


    I think he believes in peace. And he might take measures to protect it.¡±


    ¡°Even if he has to send me back to the grave, huh.¡±


    ¡°Yes...¡± He nodded. ¡°But he cannot do anything against you out in the open, for those that are still loyal to you might make a move.¡±


    ¡°And he couldn''t risk a coup d''etat so, instead of doing the dirty work himself, what he did was give away my whereabouts to the enemy using someone from the castle.¡±


    Alrod nodded as he lessened the creases on his forehead by massaging it with his hand up and down. While me, I almost exhaled my lungs out.


    If that''s the case then we''re not going to catch anyone during this trip. Because there''s no traitor, only dogs of the King.


    ¡°This is bad...¡±


    Damn, I have to hand it to the King. Impressive wit, I guess he''s not called the Asterian King for nothing. But that said, he''s still stupid. He forgot to take into account how genocidal humans are. And then while he''s sitting pretty in his throne, enjoying his ¡®peace¡¯, this Nariod guy is slowly building his army.


    ¡°That''s why,¡± Alrod looked back. ¡°That''s why we can''t go there, Lord Alrion. It''s too dangerous.¡± He said, his gaze focused only on Laianne who was watching us from the distance, her head tilted with an innocent question mark on her face.


    ¡°I get it.¡± I dropped a hand on his shoulder. ¡°You''re worried for Laianne.¡±


    He hung his head down. I could tell he didn''t want me to think that family was affecting his decisions.


    What made him so loyal to me, I wonder... Was I that good of a guy before I died?


    ¡°I apologize.¡± He said in an undertone.


    ¡°You don''t have to.¡± I gave his shoulder a grip. ¡°That''s normal, you''re a father. Actually, I think I like you more now than that time in Verden where you were seriously thinking of letting Laianne die just so I won''t.¡±


    He lifted his chin up and stared at me, jaw-dropped, wide-eyed, like I was a saint of salvation that descended from the heavens or something. Too bad for him.


    ¡°I understand you completely.¡± I said. ¡°That''s why we''re going to the King.¡±


    ¡°Pardon?¡± His eyes trembled. ¡°But I thought you understood...¡± He said, words trailing off.


    ¡°We can''t let things stay as is, Alrod.¡± I told him. ¡°That Darius blabbed about Nariod planning to restart the war. We can''t afford to have a mascot king who will just wait for the enemy by the doorstep and greet them good day as they invade. You already said it, he''s young and naive. A king like that will get all of us killed, that''s why we have to go there and slit his throat and murder his royal family and kick their dogs.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    Okay all of those are unnecessary but you got the message, right? He''s in no condition to rule a war-driven kingdom. What does he know about it when, as you said, Asteria was peaceful the whole time he was ruling?¡±


    ¡°But my lord, shouldn''t we wait for you to fully recover first?¡± He asked, agitated. ¡°The main city is too dangerous for us.¡±


    ¡°You don''t think too far enough. The reverse of what you say is true.¡± I narrowed my eyes at him. ¡°Just think about it, Darius failed to kill me. So right now, the King is planning his next move, and if he''s as smart as I think he is, his next move would be to send assassins to kill me, us, while we''re merrily playing picnic here. Laianne will be in grave danger¡ªall of us, will be in grave danger.¡±


    ¡°All of us, Alrod.¡± I reiterated.


    Alrod bit his lip and hung down his head.


    ¡°But if we go there now, he won''t be able to do anything about it. He will let us in. He can''t openly disobey the God of Darkness, the creator of Asteria, can he?¡±


    He couldn''t do anything but shut up and nod.


    ¡°Remember Alrod, this is like a chess game, but not a king against a king. It''s a king versus a God. We have all the advantage.¡±


    ¡°¡­ What''s this, ¡®chess¡¯?¡± He asked.


    ¡°You''re ruining my moment, Alrod. Ask later and just nod.¡±


    He nodded.


    ¡°What I''m saying is, once we''re already in front of the populace, he can''t harm us. It''s checkmate for him.¡±


    ¡°... What does ¡®checkmate¡¯ mean?¡±


    ¡°Ugh, Alrod.¡± I glared at him.


    ¡°What is it, Lord Alrion?¡±


    ¡°Just pack up the camp, will you? And wake up Danrel while you''re at it.¡± I said.


    ¡°... Understood.¡± He bowed down and, as told, walked back to the camp.


    ---


    Alrod was taking down the first tent, uprooting the wooden pegs he knocked into the ground by pulling them with sheer force. Laianne took care of the small stuff, emptying buckets, cleaning her father''s sword with a piece of black cloth, putting the campfire out, and shelving our items back inside the black sack.


    She completely acts like the stereotypical teenage rebel, but oh boy is she so diligent. The idea of her being my second wife isn''t so bad anymore.


    Who am I kidding? Of course it still is! You don''t have to be a lolicon to be a pedo. She''s my granddaughter dammit.


    Danrel was up and raring to go¡ªor not... He was eating the tree leaves that happened to dangle above him in pure bliss and was in no hurry to go anywhere. Watching him was like watching a giraffe eat leaves while chewing slow like a cow. Surreal, but cute.


    Just don''t make him flash his teeth, or you''ll receive an item named ¡®Adventurer''s Soiled Pants +10¡¯. Still a stronger equipment than the ¡®Trousers of Eternal Darkness¡¯, but many times unbearable in the grossness department.


    Jana, she was still asleep inside a tent. After our little heartfelt chat last night... The hell am I saying? It''s always night in Asteria. And heartfelt? Screw that shit. Anyway, after we talked, she retreated back to her tent. Haven''t seen her get out of it yet, so I decided to wake the girl up. I wouldn''t want to leave her here to rot and die, not after she just gave me a whole box full of jelly-coated questions. And no, I''m not thanking her for it.


    I crouched before the entrance and moved aside the dangling cloth covering it.


    There she was, in the middle of the spacious, rectangular inner. Her body was curved into the fetal position, shivering every other second.


    I already got used to Asteria''s temperature, most likely because I''m a God and I''m tailored for it, but the same couldn''t be said to her. As one would expect, a world without a sun is just too cold for a human.


    I crawled inside, since the ceiling was too low for anyone to walk in even with the back hunched. I crept up until her side and sat down with my legs crossed. She was still sleeping, though I couldn''t see her face since her curdled blonde hair was everywhere. I combed her hair with my fingers and tucked them between her ear, then when her sleeping face was finally clear, I poked her cheek. It was so soft and supple, but also cold. Like marshmallows in a fridge.


    She groaned, but her eyes didn''t open, instead, what she did was bite my finger like a cute puppy.


    It was more than a play bite though.


    The sting of her sharp canine digging into the joint of my index made me scream like a little girl getting butchered in the local slaughterhouse.


    Her blue eyes shot open.


    At least my shriek woke her up, but there was something else going on. I could hear footsteps outside, approaching us.


    Meanwhile, Jana''s eyes stooped down to look at what she had in her mouth, then she looked up at me, question in her eyes. All while still grinding my finger inside.


    There was a nearby rustle, followed by a frantic shout.


    ¡°Alrion?!¡± It was a high-pitched, feminine voice. Wait, where did the ¡®Lord¡¯ go?


    The dangling entrance flipped upward like a tornado swept over, revealing a crouched down figure of a girl with long black hair clad in a dark, baggy robe. Her expression was dire. Eyes bulging out, forehead wrinkled, and cold sweat dripping from her temple.


    It changed into a WTFH expression sooner than later, though.


    A second passed, Alrod arrived with the wind and positioned himself behind Laianne, holding his unsheathed, gleaming steel sword.


    ¡°What happened?¡± He asked in urgent, like he was prepared to cut down anything hostile within range. For a moment he wore a no-joke expression complete with sharp eyes and lowered brows. The kind of face you''d expect a professional assassin to have, but then it quickly crumbled to a face resembling a stupefied sheep.


    ¡°What, are you two doing?¡± Laianne''s narrow glare alternated between me and Jana.


    ¡°Uhhhh... Good question.¡± My neck creaked as my head turned to the startled blondie, searching for an answer perhaps.


    Her clamping on my finger eased down, but it was still half in her mouth. She looked at me with a question mark, then at Laianne, then Alrod, then back at me.


    Since her press softened, I took the chance to pull out my index from her lips. When it came out, it was wet and slimy.


    Looking at my finger that just came out of her orifice, realization came to her with widened eyes and hot cheeks.


    ¡°Wh-what were you doing?!¡± She asked as she sat up double-time. She covered her mouth, all while looking at me like I just took her virtue.


    ¡°Don''t ask me, I was just going to wake you up, and then you chomped my finger.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Tell me, were you dreaming of marshmallows?¡±


    ¡°What, what are you saying? I, I don''t dream of marshmallows... Only chocolates.¡± She said and averted her gaze, teeny tears of embarrassment escaping her ducts.


    ¡°Chocolates, then.¡±


    ¡°Oy, when are you two going to speak in a language that we can understand?¡± Said Laianne with her cheeks and eyelids sagged down.


    ¡°... What did she say?¡± Jana asked, her index pointed at Laianne''s grumpy face.


    ¡°She said good morning.¡±


    ¡°Oh... But why is she like... mad?¡± Jana asked as she distanced herself from the entrance bit by bit.


    ¡°She''s just like that, that''s her kind face.¡± I told her with a cramped smile.


    ¡°Hey! I still can''t understand!¡± Laianne barked. Alrod pressed his forehead.


    ¡°See? She''s not mad.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Liar.¡± The meek girl squinted at me for the first time.


    ---


    After the little chaos¡ªLittle? Really? We finished packing up and are now in the process of loading the baggage on Danrel''s wooden platform. Well, I say we, but in truth Alrod and Laianne all did the work, while I did the thinking of plans, and Jana, ummm... She did the caring for Danrel.


    ¡°We''re done, Lord Alrion.¡± Alrod shouted from above me, aboard Danrel''s back.


    I was standing by the slanted wooden ladder, now that I think about it, the ladder looks closer to a stair, maybe because it was angled and wasn''t a straight drop.


    I didn''t climb up yet, because Jana was still on land, petting Danrel''s scaly snout with a tender smile on her fair face.


    The thing is, Danrel was liking it since he purposefully lowered his head for Jana to reach. What a spoiled dragon. I was kinda jealous of him.


    ¡°Hey!¡± I shouted.


    Jana paused and looked at me.


    ¡°We need to go now.¡±


    After hearing me, she gave Danrel the last soothing tap and skipped her way to the ladder and climbed up, then I followed closely behind.


    When all of us were already aboard, the whole platform tilted steep to one side. It was Danrel standing up. Laianne and Alrod couldn''t care less about it, but me and Jana had to hold on to the wooden hand rail for dear life.


    When the floor leveled and stabilized, Danrel took his first step forward, causing the forest ground to vibrate.


    ¡°Oh yeah, I''ve been wondering about how Danrel knows where we want to go. Is there an explanation for that? Because I don''t see any reins attached to him.¡±


    ¡°He doesn''t need reins.¡± Laianne said. ¡°Dragons are controlled through mental communication.¡±


    ¡°Ho...¡±


    ¡°So it''s best if you don''t talk to the one who controls him too much.¡±


    My eyes flew to Alrod. He was there at the other end of the platform where he can touch the dragon''s neck anytime. He was just standing straight, not a word, not a move. I couldn''t see his face since his back was turned to me, though.


    ¡°I''ll be a good sheep, then.¡±


    I sat down on the wooden floorboard with my legs crossed. Jana, like last time, was by my side, looking back at the path of destruction Danrel left¡ªbroken trees and etched footprints on the ashen forest ground. I really don''t get her. Often times she would ignore me when I say hi, but she wouldn''t distance herself from me. I guess that at least means she''s not afraid of me anymore.


    Oh well, thinking more of her can wait, strategies can''t. I may already be a murderer, but I''m not a psychopath. I still know what I want and what''s right, and my gut tells me that I can''t let these three die. Because I need them? Yes. But there''s something more to it. Something more humane.


    Laianne, she walked up to my right and sat down. She reclined against the wooden rail and looked at me, lips pursed and eyes upturned.


    ¡°Something on your mind, Lord Alrion?¡± She asked with concern.


    Whenever I stare at her face, I couldn''t help but think about how she could''ve died back there, and how I''m thankful she didn''t. Something inside tells me I would''ve been something unrecognizable then. I don''t know, I already killed two, but I''m still afraid to become something... else. This girl might well have helped me contain this, this thing inside. What do they call it? Monster? I think that''s the word.


    Wow, a Destroyer refusing to be a monster. Well, I''ll end up as one whatever happens anyway. I''m far from done taking lives yet. I''m sure of it.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± I shook my head.


    ¡°Liar. You''re almost crying.¡± She drilled me with her carbon gray eyes freckled with black spots.


    ¡°Come on.¡± I groaned. ¡°I told you it''s nothing.¡±


    I dropped a hand on her head. I felt like it, because she was short enough for me to see the top of her head even when we''re both sitting. Either that or I was really tall.


    What''s good about Laianne though, is that she doesn''t mind me touching her like this. Hell, she doesn''t even mind me seeing her nude. So, I enjoyed the moment and stroked her hair. Something about it felt good against the palm, her hair was silky and smooth, and I found my hand crawling down the stream of her hair, until I was already touching her nape.


    She let out a moan and began rubbing her cheeks against my arm with her eyes closed. She was more a cat than an Asterian, it seems.


    It felt nice, who can blame me? I''m a healthy youth. But sadly, all things need to come to an end, Jana behind me was looking down at us with flabbergasted eyes.


    I retracted my hand away from Laianne, prompting her to snap out of her feline trance and open her sleepy eyes.


    ¡°Anyway. Tell me more about Larcon.


    Or better yet, do we have a map?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Hmmmm... Wait a moment.¡± She crawled on all fours to the black sack and started rummaging.


    Meanwhile, I felt a poke on my shoulder blade. I turned around and saw that it was Jana with her lips pursed.


    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Look there...¡± She pointed to her right.


    To where she was pointing, there were nothing but trees. Or so I thought. I stood up and zoomed in on the dark scenery.


    There I saw, jumping from a tree branch to another, parallel to our pace, were shadows. They were moving so fast that I had no way to be certain, but I think there were at least six of them. Hooded figures clad in black robes. Although the robes they were wearing were different from what we were wearing. Theirs had violet outlines, and they were more like long coats than robes, judging by how its end fluttered freely behind them as they hopped around.


    Faster than the time it takes to say ah, a gleaming object flew out of one of the shady figures. Whatever it was, it was sharp, and it was aimed at us.


    I didn''t even have the time to shout ¡®look out!¡¯. Before I knew it, Jana was already in my arms. I closed my eyes and willed the shield, hoping that it deploys before the lethal object gouges my back.


    A sound of glass shattering. The purple dome didn''t disappoint.


    It protected me and the girl I was holding just in time inside its velvet confines.


    ¡°What are you... Eh?¡± Jana looked around, unblinking.


    I peered over my shoulder, my arms still wrapped around Jana''s slim frame. There I saw a small part of the shield cracked, and a silver dagger with a serrated edge and black handle, pinned on the wooden floorboard.


    Damn, my prediction had been right.


    ¡°... What''s happening? Hey...¡± Jana looked up at me, her eyes shaking.


    Seriously, this is the worst time to get attacked. Aboard Danrel, we don''t have any cover. Unless, unless they don''t need covers.


    ¡°You, get down and duck.¡± I let go and told Jana.


    She didn''t need be told twice, she hit the floor like an expert.


    ¡°Alrod, stop Danrel!¡± I shouted.


    Danrel stomped his last the moment Alrod turned around.


    ¡°Lord Alrion?!¡±


    ¡°Don''t just stand there! Protect Laianne and Jana.¡±


    ¡°U-understood.¡± He pulled his sword out from its hilt and rushed to us.


    I dispelled the shield and walked up to the ladder, when Laianne shouted.


    ¡°Where are you going?!¡± She asked with worry on her startled face.


    ¡°I''m going out.¡±


    I slid down the ladder.

 Eleven: The crappiest strategy, plus crappiest combat ability, divided by cool mind talk

    For how long was I running? I didn''t know, and honestly it didn''t matter, as long as I was far enough from everyone.


    A laugh echoed from above and around¡ªmocking, impish, feminine. It rang in my ears, drowning the swish of the leaves and the rustle of their movements. The shadows, they were fast enough that they''re just laughing at my futile attempt at outrunning them.


    That''s the thing though, I wasn''t planning on outrunning people who can jump from one tree to another.


    I had something in mind, though it''s more of a hit-or-miss that would mean death or the other.


    My leather sandals dug in to the ashen soil as I braked. It was far enough from everyone, the first phase was complete. I held my chest and calmed the violent storm inside.


    Having caught my breath, I looked above, a forced grin on my haggard face.


    ¡°I have to say. I never thought the King was stupid enough to send his assassins to their deaths.¡± I shouted, aimed at the shadows on the treetops.


    I hoped I sounded intimidating enough for them to run. Probably not, my fingers were ice cold.


    A rustle among the treetops.


    ¡°My, my. The God of Darkness is quite the jester.¡± The feminine voice echoed.


    A figure jumped down from the tree to my right. It landed close so I leapt sideway to keep a distance.


    I couldn''t see clearly from the hood, but it was a woman. Perhaps my chat partner not too long ago. She wore the hooded long coat of black luster and purple accent. She held a silver, serrated dagger in one hand, exactly like the one that nearly killed me.


    ¡°Tired of jumping around already?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Not really.¡± She shrugged. ¡°It''s just my custom to introduce myself to my victims.¡± A nasty giggle trailed her words.


    ¡°Isn''t that kinda dangerous? I mean, your victim tonight is not going to die. Are you sure you wanna expose yourself?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Oh no... I''m so scared.¡± She faked a shiver.


    Her snow hands that protruded out the black sleeves clutched the two sides of her hood. She pulled it back, peeling out the shadow that concealed her identity.


    ¡°I''m Anrietta Shadowforge.¡± She declared.


    An oval face with angular cheekbones and slightly pointed chin. Anrietta''s countenance exuded an aura of maturity with deep crimson full lips and long, curled eyelashes, while her dark, shoulder-length hair framed her face.


    ¡°And no one has ever managed to escape me yet. The Dark Lord of Asteria will not be an exception.¡± She put her index across her smiling lips.


    ¡°Oh no... I''m so scared.¡± I snorted.


    The worst thing about it was that it''s actually true.


    ¡°You better be. That was a bad call you know, leaving the protection of that knight... Alrod Darkscythe, Governor of Artrud, right?¡±


    ¡°Oh so you know Alrod... You two friends?¡±


    ¡°Not really. Everyone involved in politics just know him since he was your right hand during the war.¡± She heaved a sigh of uninterest. ¡°And I can see that is still the case.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I guess you could call us good friends.¡±


    ¡°Well in any case,¡± Her aquatic green eyes narrowed at me. ¡°Leaving your right hand''s side is probably the worst thing you have done today.¡±


    ¡°I''ll say the same thing.¡± I glared back at her. ¡°Leaving the cover of the shadows is probably the worst thing you have ever done in your life.¡±


    ¡°Oh...


    Oh my!¡± She doubled over and exploded with laughter. ¡°And... Why is that?¡±


    ¡°Because we''re in Asteria... And as far as I know, I''m stronger here than anywhere else.¡±


    ¡°Hmmmm?¡± Anrietta tilted her head.


    ¡°Alrod is probably stronger than me, but he can''t call down lightning from the sky to turn enemies into ashes.¡± I said and raised my hand.


    ¡°What''s the use of such enormous power, if you can''t hit your mark?¡±


    I grinned. ¡°I guess we''ll just have to see...!¡±


    I brought my arm down, like the hammer of judgement. The sky roared in a way that would''ve woken up every living soul in the planet. An ethereal stream of darkness crashed in front of me and swallowed Anrietta''s figure whole. Or so I thought.


    A second, two seconds, three. The jet pillar disappeared, leaving behind a black circle of scorched ground.


    As everything settled, my gears stuck still, opposite of the violent pounding inside my ribcage. Anrietta''s ashes weren''t there.


    A lady''s cackle¡ªeerie and resounding, echoed throughout the sea of livid trees, sending a cold snake down my spine.


    Above were the other five assassins, standing on branches of different trees. I should''ve known that the reason they weren''t moving was because they didn''t have to.


    Anrietta was more than enough for me.


    The thought made me spin around looking for the invisible assassin. If I couldn''t find her before she attacks,


    I''m as good as dead.


    And it seemed like I wasn''t that far off the mark.


    ¡°I''m disappointed in you, God of Darkness.¡± A voice close behind. Drawled, derisive, mocking.


    Death screamed inside my head. I deployed the dome, only at the slightest millisecond before the attack came.


    It was a bolt of swirling black and purple flames, like what I had when I was strengthened. It hit the purple shield while I was in mid-turn.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    The whole dome shattered and I, like a rag doll, was flung backward, my body shaped into a disorderly crescent.


    I collided with a tree. The impact knocked the air out of my lungs, along with the crackle of a broken something inside, but I didn''t have time to indulge in the pain of having my shoulder blade snap in half. Anrietta''s unseen footsteps were all around me, crunching the blanched dead leaves littering the ashen ground under.


    Without thinking twice I drew the shield again. Another bolt of dark Aster manifested in thin air in front of me.


    Death was approaching. My teeth gritted as I braced myself and closed my eyes.


    The sharp sound of glass violently shattering deafened my ears while cold heat gouged through my abdomen.


    My ears ringing, my vision distorted, and crippling pain gnawed at my innards¡ªthere was a palm-sized black hole on my stomach.


    The hole expanded itself each second passed, turning the surrounding pale skin into dark ashes that crumble. A progressing conflagration that kills cells one by one, a lethal poison spreading in one''s system, it felt like a million needles puncturing one''s fragile skin. The way it was progressing, my abdomen would go non-existent in no time at all.


    Aster, what terrifying power it holds.


    The empty scenery of trees and nature in front of me turned and twisted, giving birth to a woman''s figure from the head down, like an intangible curtain that concealed reality was being taken down.


    ¡°Oh... Did I overdo it? I wasn''t planning on killing you with that one...¡± Anrietta said with upturned eyes that feigned innocence. ¡°Well whatever...¡±


    She walked up to me with leisurely pace, twirling her dagger in hand.


    Any time is a good time now, Deus ex Machina. I coughed out blood and littered the floor with black dots.


    Anrietta stops an inch before me, a prismatic furtive gaze in her jade eyes. An endearing smile was curved on her red lips, while her index was pressed across mine that was parched.


    She pressed the dagger''s sleek tip lightly against my chest, cutting a tiny slit on the black cloth that served as my robe.


    ¡°Any...¡± She put a warm hand on my cheek. ¡°Last words?¡±


    ¡°I...¡± A jagged cough interrupted me. ¡°I wanna eat spaghetti.¡±


    Her left brow flattened and her head tilted. Oh? No spaghetti in Asteria? She burst out laughing.


    ¡°A God''s last word is about eating?¡± She asked as she wiped the tears escaping her eyes.


    Come on mysterious voice, say something. You''re the Deus ex Machina, do your job. I thought as I looked down at the gleaming dagger against my left chest.


    [I''d rather not be called that. I have a proper name.] A voice rang inside. The soothing, genderless voice. Finally.


    A slack grin formed on my face wrecked with pain and wet with exhaustion.


    Took you long enough.


    [Don''t misunderstand, I''m not here to help you.]


    Hey wait...


    The voice didn''t say anything more.


    ¡°Hmmmm...¡± Anrietta tapped her temple with a finger. ¡°I really don''t know anything about this ¡®spaghetti¡¯ so I can''t give you some. So I''m sorry but, you''ll have to die without it.¡±


    She lead the jagged blade deep inside.


    ¡°Farewell.¡±


    ---


    A world of pure darkness, where the cold of emptiness envelops one''s existence. I felt like I was just floating about a vast void. Nothing existed. Not even my body. Completely like what you see when your eyes are closed, nothing.


    I died. So this is how dying feels, nothing. That hell and heaven was crap. I don''t see flames. Or light.


    Amidst the endless black and the deafening silence, the androgynous voice echoed. [Do you know why you died?]


    Let me see... It''s because you let me, right?


    [No. It''s because you let yourself.]


    So you''re saying I wanted to die?


    [No. I''m saying that you just didn''t want to live enough.]


    Really? I did everything, right? The enemy was just out of my league.


    [The assassin was right. You wouldn''t have died if you had not strayed away from Alrod.]


    So what are you trying to say now?


    [You died because you thought of your companions first. You realized that you were the only target so you lured the enemies away.]


    But I had a plan. Dying for friendship was not included in it.


    [A risky plan it turned out to be. It doesn''t change the fact that you cared more about others than your own self. Such a notion, is not acceptable as the God of Darkness, Arenson Randall.]


    Then what do you want me to do now? I''m already dead, teaching me how not to fucking care about others like a prick now is kinda stupid.


    [I want you to choose, Arenson Randall. You can''t be the God of Darkness and be a compassionate human at the same time. You have to choose.]


    Choose...?


    [Yes. On one hand, everything remains unchanged. You will die as a mortal, and when the time comes, you will be reincarnated as a mortal. A fleeting existence that repeats itself, that''s what you''ll be. But in exchange, your soul will remain pure, innocent and sane.]


    And the other?


    [On the other hand, you will live. Live for as long as this universe permits. You''ll be a true God, not an incomplete existence like you are now. You will wield limitless power, destruction given form, Aster. But that power does not come without a cost.]


    ¡­ What cost?


    [Holding cosmic amounts of Aster erodes one''s ego. The more lives you take, the stronger the Aster inside you becomes, and the stronger your mind has to become, lest you be a mindless beast.]


    But aren''t I dead already? Why are you giving me options...


    [The human, Arenson Randall, is. But not the God of Darkness. Only Arkos can destroy me. That''s why I didn''t help you, because I was not in danger like the last time with the son of Nariod.]


    Huh? Wait, I''m having troubles understanding.


    [The time is ticking. We don''t have time for exposition, your soul is already half inside the abyss. Choose, Arenson. The assassin is also on her way to your companions.]


    Choose between death and insanity?!


    [In shorter words. Now. Stay as Arenson? Or become me, become us, become... Alrion?]


    Let''s see... If I pick humanity, I will die, and who knows where I''ll be going. But if I pick divinity... It will be the point of no return. I probably won''t see my family ever again. And there''s also this insanity... But if I don''t pick the latter, Laianne, Alrod, and Jana will die.


    Laianne will die.


    I can''t let that happen. Absolutely.


    [It seems like you already made your mind, Alrion.]


    Yeah. I''ll just have to make sure I don''t go crazy, right?


    Sounds easy enough.


    [That is so.]


    Well then, bring me back to Asteria.


    ---


    Air entered my lungs, life imbued my limbs, and strength propelled my eyelids upward. I was back. Back at the forest. But one thing was wrong. The sky wasn''t dark.


    It was a vast expanse of blue, with thin white clouds as decoration. It didn''t have a sun, but it was bright enough even without it. Daytime. So this is Nariad''s blessing.


    I sat up with my hands as support.


    Halfway I noticed that Anrietta''s dagger was still stuck inside me. It didn''t throb in pain... That''s dangerous.


    Please don''t tell me I''m a zombie now... I prayed to the Gods. God of what, though?


    ¡°You can already remove that, you know.¡± A husky female voice made my heart, if I even have one, jump out my throat.


    When I turned to the side, a face greeted me.


    A woman. Straight milk hair, livid skin, purple eyes, full pink lips and defined cheekbones. She wore a goth blouse and skirt.


    Her black blouse was that laced back type with no buttons, while her skirt was full-length, pleated and was decorated with layers of horizontal white frills until the hem. And no, she wasn''t a goth loli, she was a full grown woman with a decent chest.


    She was pretty, though on top of not knowing who she is, something about her face and appearance weirded me out.


    ¡°Excuse me, who are you?¡± I asked.


    ¡°What do you mean who am I? We were just talking a few moments ago.¡±


    ¡°Wait you''re¡ª¡±


    ¡°¡ªAlrion? I guess you can call me that. But then we''ll confuse each other, so how about hm... Asterielle? Call me that, it''s a pretty name.¡±


    She crawled forward.


    ¡°Hold still.¡± She said and wrapped her porcelain fingers around the carbon handle of the dagger sticking out of my robe.


    Oy, oy, this isn''t...


    ¡°Ready...!¡±


    She pulled it out in one go. I looked up and also pulled out a girly scream in one go, by the way.


    But the thing is, it didn''t hurt. Not even a pinch. The thick nasty cut it left on my chest closed itself in less than a second.


    ¡°This weapon can''t even kill an immortal... ¡± She said as she examined the dagger covered in black liquid substance. ¡°The Asterian King really underestimates us.¡± Her purple eyes sharpened as she threw the bloodied weapon with little to no effort, pinning it on a nearby tree. Scary precision there.


    She got off me and stood up. When she was done dusting her inconveniently-long skirt, she looked around the dim forest.


    ¡°The assassin couldn''t have gone far, Alrion. Stand up.¡±


    ¡°Oh... Okay?¡± I lifted my ass off the black forest ground that was previously gray. ¡°But how do I know which way I came from?¡±


    I was kinda running without care earlier since I didn''t have the mind space to do so... But now it''s really going to be a pain. I don''t watch Bear Grylls.


    She looked at me, lips pursed and eyelids half-close. ¡°You''re a God, you can just fly.¡±


    What?


    ¡°¡­ Fly?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you don''t know how to? And here I thought you at least get the rough idea since you''ve watched many fictional shows already.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Get on with it.¡±

 Eleven A: Laianne - And you thought Alrion was a man?!

    Laianne


    ¡°... I can''t believe him.¡±


    I leaned on a nearby tree to calm my pulse and heart down. I''ve been running forever, but I still haven''t seen a single trace of him. Ugh that idiot! He runs off all of a sudden taking all the enemies with him... Just what does he think he is? He might be a God but he''s still as weak as an average Asterian!


    If those were really the King''s assassins then he totally doesn''t stand a chance. Each of them are as strong, if not stronger than father.


    Once I caught my breath I straightened up. I have to find him. That''s right, I don''t have anything to do other than find him. Father is more than capable of slaying the forest monsters and protecting that human, I''ll just be a hindrance if I go back there.


    I resumed to my feet. In this forest you can''t stay in one place for too long, or monsters will catch scent of your Aster. I started with a jog, then slowly I built up momentum, turning it into a sprint, only to be stopped by a creature that pounced out of a thorn bush in front of me.


    A black-furred wolf. This one''s size isn''t too impressive, and the two black horns on its head were both only a thumb long. A scout only as large as a goat. Its bloodshot eyes were shaking with rage, while a string of saliva hung from its white, sharp canine so long it couldn''t possibly be contained inside its mouth.


    The absolute worst time to encounter a monster. I called Aster in my right hand. I compressed the flames into a sphere of white and purple using my will. For the briefest moment, Alrion''s face flashed in front of me¡ªhis swirling purple eyes, his chiseled jaw, and the serious-yet-goofy expression he had when I taught him how to do this.


    I have to see him again today, not after his next resurrection.


    All my life I blamed him for existing. I had always seen him as the only reason why father was so far away from us, me and my sister. I hated Alrion. He was dead, he was dead but why was he so important that father put him first than family, I thought at that time. I hated father because he served the dead more than his living daughters, but it wasn''t more than the hatred I had for the Dark Lord of Asteria.


    I''ve been awful to him, I told him he was an idiot, stupid, moron, brainless, but even so, when I was this close to dying, he was there. He could''ve just abandoned me, one less annoyance in his life, but he did the reverse. Even though he knew he was risking death again, even though father himself already gave up on me, he saved me. A man almost traded his life for a stranger.


    A God almost traded his life for a mortal.


    He''s such a fool. He''s not fit to be the Dark Lord, and yet you''ll be compelled to call him that. It doesn''t make any sense. He''s far from the ideal God of Darkness, but he deserves everything that he has and will have¡ªfather''s undying loyalty, this whole world''s piety, enormous power, and...


    My soul.


    He deserves my whole being. I owe it to him.


    My heart burned with the unyielding desire to see him alive and well. It''s embarrassing, what am I doing, thinking of someone in the middle of a battle?


    I hurled the sphere of Aster forward, hitting the wolf that attempted a lunge at me. The sphere passed through the scout wolf''s face, leaving a clear, see-through hole into its forehead. With a pitched pang of agony, the scout fell down to the ashen forest ground, lifeless.


    I killed the scout of a pack. If I don''t leave the area, its kin will soon surround me. And so I ran, pulse beating, heart screaming, a stream of ebon hair trailing behind me¡ªflowing with the cold wind.


    You can''t die, you hear me Alrion? Because, because you''re my...


    A trembling thunder that deafened one''s ears cried from the sky, shaking the thoughts out of my head and the momentum out of my pace.


    Among the heliotrope clouds of the dismal sky, was the great raven fissure that split Asteria. The abysmal crevice was producing branches, like tributaries to a river. The branches crept away from the great rift, becoming lesser rifts on their own.


    ¡°This,¡±


    The sky, it was crumbling. It intends on returning to how it once was before Alrion''s resurrection.


    You can''t do this. You can''t do this to me, not after I have finally found it in my heart to forgive him. I wanted to scream, but no one will listen.


    Freezing wind passed by the back of my neck as I stood there, unmoving, eyes couldn''t be peeled away from the catastrophe spreading above.


    A ripple of white slowly approached from the left, converting the ashen dirt in its path into livid sand¡ªan infection that corrupted the bleak soil, turned it into something worse.


    Without thinking at all I followed the direction from which the ripple originated.


    It might lead me to him.


    But perhaps I was already tired, or a part of me already had given up, I wasn''t running anymore. Just my feet drifting forward on their own unsteady way, crunching under them the blanched dead leaves and little critters small enough to be stepped on.


    It seemed like I was already too late. The sky, not a part of it was whole anymore, dark cracks covered the entirety of the surface, like a fragile, broken mirror with its fragments about to fall down. His ethereal form has already passed.


    ... But am I really too late? He''s the God of Darkness, the being that emerged from pure Aster. Only cosmic amounts of Arkos can truly destroy him.


    So if it''s still like this, father can still resurrect him, right?


    Hope filled me with warmth. Father still can. I just have to find his body and bring him back to Artrud. That''s right, I still have to find him. I don''t care if he loses his memories again, as long as he''s living, we can just make more memories, together.


    I kicked the ground and burst to a sprint, like I wasn''t so tired just a moment ago. Low branches grazed my cheeks every other second, but I didn''t care. I had to get to him, I told myself, making my racing heart spread out flames of determination inside.


    A loud rustle among the trees. I instinctively stopped in my tracks. I scrutinized the surrounding with untrained eyes.


    I couldn''t see anything but pale trees and dark shrubs around me, but as father always said, never trust your eyes when it''s dark. I planted my feet firmly on the ground.


    Out of the inexplicable darkness ahead of me, a sphere of Aster, five times larger than what I could conjure, was born. Achromatic, I wouldn''t have seen it in the middle of the darkness if it was not for the purple ring of erratic flames that surrounded it.


    From my perspective, the sphere grew larger and larger but in truth, it was only approaching me,


    In an incredulous speed.


    I skipped to the side and avoided the bolt only by a paper-thin margin. The dark sphere hit a tree far behind me and exploded, turning the tree into ashes within a second. Frighteningly powerful.


    A hooded figure emerged from the ebon curtain ahead, clad in a black leather long coat with purple trappings around the coat''s cuffs and seams. I couldn''t see the assassin''s face from the shadow the hood provided.


    The assassin treaded forward, but stopped not too long after. Purple flames covered both my hands and I took a battle stance.


    ¡°That really isn''t necessary, is it now? Sis.¡± The hooded figure said, voice honeyed, attractive, familiar.


    For a second I doubted my ears, until she peeled off the hood that casted shadow on her face.


    ¡°La-Laryenne?¡±


    ---


    Heart-shaped face, freckled metal eyes, high cheekbones. Laryenne, with her pink lips beamish and her straight raven hair riding with the wind. My sister. My twin sister who shared the same beauty as mine. That strange feeling again, like I''m facing a mirror. Like the mirror will swallow me whole, drown me, make me non-existent.


    The flames in my hands died down without my doing.


    ¡°Where are you running off to?¡± She asked. ¡°Isn''t father that way?¡± She pointed to my south.


    ¡°... What are you doing here, Laryenne? And where''s... Where''s Alrion?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Hmm...?¡± She tilted her head. ¡°Why are you asking?


    Anrietta already sent his ethereal form into the afterlife.¡± She said with a blank face.


    Right there and then, my world crumbled. I squeezed my hands covered in cold sweat into fists as I tried to endure the pain inside. A spear, gouging my heart, digging deeper each second the reality took to sink in.


    It was the one thing I absolutely didn''t want to hear. And it was even my sister who said it.


    ¡°Give me his body, please...¡± I pleaded in an undertone, my head hung down and my ears ringing like I had been hit.


    ¡°Why?¡± She crossed her arms on her chest. ¡°I can''t do that. They''re still in the process of sealing him off.¡±The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ... Sealing?


    ¡°What... do you mean?¡± I froze.


    My breath wouldn''t go out, my trembling eyes wouldn''t stray away from Laryenne''s deadpan face.


    ¡°Exactly what it means, we''re sealing him for good. He wouldn''t cease to exist completely of course, we don''t want to destroy our world, but no one will ever be able to revive him. Not even father.¡± Her eyes closed and turned solemn, but the corner of her lips was tugged to a faint grin. ¡°Besides, why does it concern you? Why do you look like you''re about to break and cry?


    ... Isn''t this what we wanted? What ¡®you¡¯, wanted?¡±


    ¡°I...¡±


    My eyes wandered down to the ground. The ground that turned white. Things are... Things are not so simple anymore. I did wish for him to just fade away, but that was before. Now, I don''t know anymore.


    ¡°Ha.¡± She clapped her hands. ¡°I get it now.¡±


    She formed a heart shape with her two hands together on her chest, still with a mirthless, blank face. ¡°Looks like my little sister is maturing fast...¡±


    ¡°Stop it.¡± I said, heat creeping up my ears.


    And it''s not like I''m any younger compared to her, we''re twins...


    ¡°Well anyway¡ªoh?¡± She looked up without having finished. ¡°Would you look at that, they failed after all.¡± She said with amazed eyes and widened mouth.


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    My eyes almost fell out of their sockets as the ruined firmament above all of Asteria began to heal. The verdant air around us vibrated, a disturbance in nature caused by the behemoth movement of magic. It made my bodily hair stand on ends.


    ¡°This is...¡±


    ¡°The renascence of a primordial God.¡± Laryenne muttered in pure amazement. ¡°A sight to behold...¡±


    The great rift thinned out ever so slowly as the celestial space trembled, closing the lesser veins in the process. Meanwhile, in the middle of the sky was a vortex forming. A vast, swirling maelstrom of ivory light, swelling larger as the dark sky around it healed.


    It was beautiful.


    The ground beneath my feet rumbled as its white color faded to black.


    Alrion, he''s alive.... And this time, he''ll do well as the primordial God of Darkness.


    Tears almost escaped my eyes as I gazed at the sky¡ªat Alrion''s sky.


    There was no reason to worry about him anymore. He won''t face death again. My heart jumped out of its cage, an inexplicable feeling of relief and happiness inside.


    ¡°Well,¡± Laryenne brought her head back to the land and closed her eyes as she heaved a sigh. ¡°I guess it really was just the King pushing his luck. I wonder what he''d do next...¡±


    Laryenne stole my gaze when she turned her back and walked the opposite direction without a care in the world. How could she afford to be so calm? She''s an agent of the King, isn''t this bad for her?


    ¡°Oh, I forgot.¡± She peered at me over her shoulder. ¡°Because you''re my sister and because you''re hopelessly in love right now, I''ll let you off without consequences.


    But remember this, little sis.¡± Her lazy eyes straightened sharp. ¡°The next time we meet, and you''re still on the Dark Lord''s side, know that I won''t hesitate to take your life.¡±


    With those words, the looming darkness of the forest ate her figure.


    ¡°Laryenne...¡±


    When that time comes, what will I do? Can I defend myself from her, when she''s that strong? I don''t know, but if there''s one thing that''s certain it would be that I can''t always call for Alrion for help.


    The whirlpool of light on the sky had grown so large that my surrounding almost felt like daytime. But what do I know about daytime? I never got the chance to experience something like that. The fissure in the sky also became nothing more than a measly crease. A moment passed, it completely closed up. For some reason, the rift''s non-existence prompted the whirlpool of light to explode into a burst of white light.


    I closed my eyes as the ivory flash engulfed everything¡ªthe trees, the ground, me.


    When I opened my eyes, it was to a cerulean expanse. White fuzzy strips adorned every part of it, just like the purple clouds of Asteria. So this is daytime... I could only remember father telling me how nice daytime felt like, and that he was such a fortunate Asterian to have experienced it. Now, now that I finally see day with my own eyes...


    It isn''t bad at all.


    My eyes stayed up above for a few more moments before I had to move.


    I need to tell father about Laryenne.


    ---


    The forest was no longer dark, but it was still dim. Well I guess that''s just how things are, since the tree leaves protected the forest from the sky''s light like canopies.


    Anyhow, the improvement on visibility was a great help in tracing my footprints that were pressed on the black dirt. I was confident that I would find my way back to father and Danrel.


    But in the end, it was nothing more than my wishful thinking, because I forgot a vital fact to my current situation.


    I killed a scout wolf earlier.


    Those pesky things, when killed, will alert its whole pack through blood sense. Once they find the dead scout, they will proceed to eat it, then go after the one who most likely killed their member.


    And without a doubt, it was me.


    So now, a dozen-odd wolves are surrounding me. All of them had black furs, black ram-like horns, and bloodshot eyes that bulged out of their sockets. All of them were bigger than the measly scout, and their sizes ranged from as large as a lion wasp to a heavy ram, which is a lot bigger than an Asterian.


    Their pack leader, the largest one, was towering in front of me. It was at least one and a half me in terms of height. And that''s when standing, when sitting it could easily be two times of me. But I''m kind of short, so in comparison, this pack leader is not the most impressive one out of this forest. But it will be the one who will try eating me.


    Shut up. Don''t make fun of my height. I''m at least five feet and one inch tall. Wondering how I knew those measurements? Ask Polarchon, not me.


    The pack leader casted down a shadow upon me as its carbuncular eyes looked down at me with raging ferocity. The other ones who formed a circle around me however, were all just sitting, staring at me and their chief.


    Honestly it was like being in an arena. Wolves are proud creatures after all, they like displaying their strength. That goes double for the leader.


    The leader began to snarl, slimy saliva drooping out the side close to its giant yellowish fangs. A book I''ve read said that it marks the start of the ¡®duel¡¯. If the leader wins, the challenger will be feasted on by the whole pack. But if the challenger wins, the pack will let the poor individual go.


    So all I really had to do was just kill the leader.


    I drew out flames in my hands. White and purple, I morphed them into a single, large sphere instead of two smaller ones because I somehow doubt it will pierce the skin of a leader that has been tempered with the same element.


    The leader got ready as well, leaping backward a few strides far. It raked the ground with its claws, in preparation to run and pounce at me, or ram me with its horns.


    It was intimidating, but I''m not going to die. Not right now, I refuse to. Not when I know Alrion is more alive than ever.


    Hmmmm... Speaking of Alrion, how did he do that again? Shouting ¡®Hadouken¡¯ while joining both palms by the wrist like this?


    For some reason, when I saw myself doing the same thing, I felt a rush of warm embarrassment climbing up my cheeks, so I stopped it.


    The giant black wolf launched itself forward. On all-fours, it was fast like a blur, but not fast enough to close the hefty distance before I hurled the sphere that was arguably larger than one''s splayed palm.


    The sphere of white and purple Aster traversed the air with a high velocity, and it would collide with the rushing beast. When that happens, I have no doubt it will be the beast''s end.


    To my surprise, though, nothing of that sort happened. The big wolf''s body tipped to one side and down to the ground in the middle of its sprint, before it even met the sphere of Aster. Instead, the sphere hit a distant tree.


    Since the beast was running swift when it crashed, its body rolled forth into a mass of black fur, provoking a cloud of black dust from the forest ground. A heavy thud. The beast''s unsightly roll stopped only when its momentum died down from the friction.


    What...?


    It was as if the wolf tripped on something and fell before it could reach me, but no. On closer inspection, it was already dead. Yes, its death was so abrupt that the beast didn''t have a chance to cry. So abrupt that I had trouble understanding what happened at first, but after the dark dust settled, everything became clear.


    Something was stuck on its broad forehead. A shaft. A shaft made of crystallized, pure black Aster. It might''ve been a spear, and I just couldn''t see the other end of it since it was deep inside the wolf''s head.


    The wolves surrounding me all scurried off like mouses that saw a cat, fading into dark shrubs and through arched tree roots. All that was left in the forest clearing was a dumbfounded me and a giant wolf''s corpse.


    Or so I thought.


    ¡°Hmm... Alrod''s second daughter, yes?¡±


    A voice behind me¡ªhusky, proud, feminine. It made me turn around involuntarily.


    There was no one behind me.


    All I saw were inanimate trees, shrubs, and dark vines hanging on branches. There were some crawlers, but everyone knows insects don''t talk. Was I going crazy?


    ¡°Up here.¡± The voice reached me again. This time though, I finally caught the direction it came from. Above.


    ¡°... Who?¡±


    Floating above me was a woman. She was, she was beautiful. Her straight hair was of ivory color, not at all that far from her porcelain-white complexion. She had full pink lips, while her cheekbones stood out because it was perfectly defined.


    She was wearing a blouse and long skirt of peculiar style I haven''t seen before anywhere. They were black, uniform to each other, though the skirt somehow looked special with lanes of white frills all over. They were beautiful clothes, if not strange.


    What concerned me the most though, wasn''t her face nor dress. It was her purple eyes. They looked identical to...


    ¡°Alrion?¡±


    She hovered down slow, gracefully landing on the forest ground with one foot. Now that I have seen it, her sandals were weird as well, they had what I could only assume as pointed deadly weapons, which were also used as supports.


    ¡°How perceptive.¡± She bobbed her head to the side and flashed me a white smile. ¡°That''s right, I''m Alrion.¡±


    ¡°HAAAA?!¡±


    I couldn''t help but let out a baffled squeal that sounded more like a tiger cub''s cry than anything remotely Asterian.


    ¡°B-but Alrion is a male, right?!¡±


    This can''t be. This, this woman, she''s not Alrion is she? Well, her hair was also long, straight and white, but she had a big chest! And Alrion had a male part! I''m sure of it!


    ¡°It depends... I assume you''re thinking about my other half?¡± She said, a hand on her chin.


    ¡°¡­ Other half?¡±


    ¡°Yes...¡± She giggled. ¡°The man you slept with. He and I are Alrion as a whole.¡±


    My eyes wandered around the place looking for explanations. To be honest, I didn''t get what the woman was saying. Was she saying that Alrion isn''t just one individual?


    ¡°I can see you''re having troubles understanding.¡± She nodded at her own words. ¡°I totally understand, he also had the same problem earlier...¡±


    ¡°¡­ Earlier?¡± I tilted my head.


    ¡°Yes, earlier.¡± She said. ¡°I think it would be easier for you if you think like this, the God you''ve been with the whole time is the mind of the God of Darkness, while I''m the Aster inside him, the power of the Dark Lord.


    But since he was incomplete, I couldn''t take shape until earlier, when he finally became a divinity. So, together, we''re Alrion.¡±


    ¡°¡­ I see.¡± I nodded.


    It had been a confusing explanation, but somehow it made sense. Still, why a woman?


    ¡°But yes, I get your dilemma. You can''t call us both Alrion, yes?¡± She asked.


    I nodded.


    ¡°That''s why you can call me Asterielle!¡± She threw her hands up in the air. ¡°Your father also calls me that.¡±


    ¡°Oh...¡±


    So father knows about this? He didn''t tell me anything about Alrion being comprised of individual beings, though. He had told me a lot of worthless things about the Dark Lord, like the Dark Lord''s height, how the Dark Lord is scared of small insects, but he never told me anything important like this.


    Well, maybe he just thought it was none of my business since I already openly declared that I didn''t like Alrion.


    Asterielle approached me, her purple eyes narrowed to a furtive gaze. ¡°But still, if you really look at it closely, my face resembles his to some degree, yes? I''m like his female counterpart.¡± She whispered.


    She was right. I couldn''t explain it, but their eyes, nose, and complexion were somehow identical to each other. It feels... strange, to be looking at a beautiful woman who looks like Alrion this close... It''s making my heart thump and my palms sweaty. Even though the one in front of me was a woman. A woman with quite the appealing bust beneath the blouse. Ugh, I hate her...


    ¡°Umm... So,¡± I averted my eyes. ¡°Where''s Alrion? The male one, I mean...¡±


    ¡°Well that''s the weird thing, you know?¡± She distanced herself a step away from me, then she paced around the clearing. ¡°He sent me here instead of him.¡±


    ¡°I was so sure seeing his companions'' well being would be his main priority, but no.¡± She shook her head with a sigh. ¡°When I told him the enemies were escaping, he said ¡®No, they''re already safe so I don''t have a reason to visit them, on the other hand, I have to catch Anrietta. I''m not letting her get away.¡¯ like a grump.


    Seriously that man, you''ll never know what he''s going to do next. Sometimes kind and compassionate, then the next, cold and pragmatic.¡±


    ¡°Tell me about it...¡± A snicker came out of me.


    That''s what I like about him. He''s serious when you need him to be, not to mention smart, creative, and cunning.


    Still the biggest idiot, though.

 Twelve: My anaconda dont. Or tentacles, for that matter.

    ¡®Remember, Aster becomes what its God wants it to be.¡¯ The goth girl said before we split up, when she tried to give me a flying 101 crash course and ended up failing miserably.


    In the end, learning how to fly in a few moments was too much of a task for an amnesic primordial God, but it didn''t mean I was about to let Anrietta get away. I hold grudges. I keep them well.


    Not against her, anyway.


    I tore through the day-lit forest, a flow of white hair following me, just like the aerial turbulence trailing close behind. Everything around me was a blur of sepia and pallid trunks¡ªat my speed, it wasn''t at all an exaggeration to say that I would catch up with a being as swift as Anrietta in a second. My stride might not be ridiculous enough to burn the dead leaves littering the ground through insane friction, but I was still at least as fast as a Veyron that consumed steroids for fuel.


    Ahead, I could see a shadow clear up, hopping from one tree to another, not minding the mist that clouded the treetops. Hooded, clad in black leather; definitely one of the assassins, but lone. I guess it makes sense for them to split up during escape to avoid getting caught en masse. I couldn''t see who it was from the hood, but Anrietta or not, as long as it''s someone in league with her, it didn''t matter, I just gotta catch them all.


    I slowed down and held my dominant hand out¡ªpalm aimed at the unsuspecting lone shadow ahead.


    Aster becomes what its God wants it to be, huh. My pallid, dried lips curved into an evil grin.


    Then how about becoming an object of control?


    I stopped, closed my eyes and pushed Aster down the veins of my arm, passing my wrist, flowing through my palm like hot blood.


    Four threads of black and purple burst forth my palm. Chains, and no, not the fun kind. They appear translucent, the surface like chipped and chiseled gem of black luster, all while emitting an aura of purple flames. Chains made of crystal... Crystal coated with flames... Crystallized pure Aster chains?


    Oy, I wasn''t imagining BDSM, or tentacle porn, maybe chains really are just ideal for catching people. It''s unconscious you guys, purely unconscious process.


    They didn''t have definite length and continued reeling out of my palm with rapid clanking, despite not being made of steel. Their launch speed far surpassed the assassin''s and before long, their length was enough to reach their mark.


    The ends slithered forward, seeking the black-clothed assassin like tentacles of death¡ªagain, not what you''re thinking.


    ¡°Ah!?¡± She turned around and let out a surprised moan as the first two coiled on her forearms. Not THAT kind of moan. When the other two had seized her legs, I pulled the chains with my other hand and she fell from the oak branch she used as her footing. Like a fly without wings, she dropped and submerged into the bracken ten meters away from me.


    ¡°Caught you.¡±


    I followed the trail drawn by the chains fastened to my hand, leading through the black-leafed high shrub barbed with prickly thorns. It''s not like something of the degree will do much harm to a divinity, so I just ignored the needles and squeezed myself inside, pushing the natural fluff to the side as I made my way through.


    I arrived to a small arbor of clear ground where the old tree the assassin fell from stood. The hooded assassin laid by the tree''s foot, body curled to a ball, face-down, the chains gripping her limbs still directly connected to my hand like leashes. When she heard my footsteps crunching the duff, she exhibited a lot of squirming, trying to yank off the shackles that bound her forearms and ankles.


    I clutched her shoulder and turned her whole body up.


    She couldn''t do much but waste her energy yanking the crystal chains that bound her. It was somehow entertaining to watch, if not pitiful.


    ¡°You should just stop, you know.¡± I hunched my back to reach the black hood that veiled her identity.


    I clutched the cloth and threw it up, revealing a girl with long raven hair and lazy gunmetal eyes. Eyes wide, jaw dislocated, I froze in disbelief.


    ¡°... Laianne?!¡±


    ¡°So we meet, Dark Lord of Asteria, Alrion.¡± She gave a cold, haughty greeting.


    Her languid, half-closed eyes sharpened as the corner of her glossy lips tugged upward. She thrust her palm up towards my face and dark flames sparked from her snow-white skin.


    ¡°What?¡±


    The chains that were supposedly grounding her were gone. Non-existent. The black flames in her hand swirled in the middle of her palm¡ªdanger.


    Damn, I let my guard down. I leapt backward to avoid the bolt of black and purple Aster that would''ve put a hole through my skull. The dark bolt instead hit the tree leaves above us, burning them and whole branches down to a shower of black dust.


    She jumped upright from her unsightly like a super agent and took advantage of the second I spent dazzled, dashing away with the fleet of foot and disappearing into the towering thickets.


    I didn''t know what the hell just happened.


    That was Laianne just now, right? No that can''t be... Laianne doesn''t have boobs.


    Feet first, mind later, I jumped out of the thicket and into the open forest, giving pursuit.


    She moved like the wind; jumping over twigs, ducking under arched roots, her nimble figure drifted away every blink and leap and stride.


    Too bad the one who''s chasing her was a God. I kicked the ground with a force enough to rattle the dust and launched myself forward, closing the gap between me and her down to a couple meters.


    But before I could touch even a strand of her hair, she disappeared in a flash of white. Flashbang? Not likely. It was a stream of white light with a side intonation of gold. I skidded to an abrupt halt to avoid colliding with the column of aurum light that obstructed my path in an untimely manner. I felt threatened just by being near it. Arkos.


    I pulled back a step away from the tower of light that stretched up until the azure heavens. It just remained in place¡ªas if buying time for Laianne''s doppelganger to escape¡ªfor four, agonizing seconds. It was enough time for the assassin''s figure to finally be out of my sight.


    God damn. Frustration and impatience sent tremors down my clenched fists. My eyes trembled as they tried to out-gleam the pillar of light with a glare. In the end, I couldn''t catch a mortal girl. Because of this light.


    The beam of white and gold dispersed into a scatter of light particles, spawning a man in its place. Talk about flashy entrance.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    A man with spiky silver hair, clad in a Greek chiton¡ªwhich was but white linen cloth loosely buttoned over his right shoulder, leaving half of his toned chest uncovered. The cloth stretched until his ankles like a skirt, held together by a bronze-plated leather belt on the waist.


    His calm aureate eyes triggered something inside me. A flash of memory.


    That''s right...


    He''s wearing a chiton, but he''s not Zeus. He''s someone I know. Someone I know well.


    Black flames engulfed my right fist that seethed in anger. From within the flames, a mountain of crystalline Aster protruded. The black, refractive crystal began shaping itself¡ªchipping a part there, smoothing a part here. It was like watching a sculptor make do with ice, but instead of cold ice, it''s Aster of lethal purity; instead of making human or animal figures, it''s a basic pistol with the rudimentary parts: muzzle, breech, trigger and so on.


    Someone I know well. Someone I need to kill, right now.


    My vision turned red, and I couldn''t see anything other than the man in front of me. His sly stare, his confident smile, his rectangular, chiseled olive face as a whole¡ªthey brought back a shard of memory. A shard that even I can''t understand.


    ¡°Nariod.¡±


    ¡°It''s been centuries, Alrion.¡± He said with that deep and smooth youthful voice that flipped my gut.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I pointed the gun at his face. ¡°centuries.¡±


    I clicked the cold trigger without a thought. The end of the gun banged with a flash of purple flame, spitting forth a bullet¡ªa bullet with a sharp point, made of crudely chiseled pure Aster. It flew straight, heading for Nariod''s cranium, but Nariod didn''t move an inch. A God can see and avoid a bullet, but he wasn''t moving. Instead, he even waited for it with a daring smirk.


    The bullet shattered, just before it reached Nariod''s clear forehead. A dome of gold light surrounded him, much like the shield that saved me a lot of times. I should''ve known. Nariod raised his cleft chin and arched a sly brow.


    ¡°I know you can do better¡ª¡±


    I let go of the black crystalline gun and propelled myself forward with a shattering kick on the ground.


    ¡°¡ªShut up.¡±


    Mid-rush, I created a basic crystalline poleaxe with both hands and swung its broad edge forward. The heavy blade cleaved with the wind, tearing a horizontal line on Nariod''s shield of light.


    The golden dome broke into a scatter of golden dust. He leapt backward, the cocky grin on his face wiped away with surprise and irritation.


    I wasn''t going to let him rest. I threw away the heavy crystal poleaxe and burst into a light-speed rush.


    As soon as his gladiator sandals touched the ground, I was already there in front of him, brandishing a black crystalline spear with a broad head shaped like a layered arrowhead. The swing left a diagonal cut across Nariod''s chest, but it was shallow and the only damage it did was tear his clothes and scratch his toned skin.


    He fell on his behind, unamused, rattled, sweat drenching his wrinkled forehead. He looked up at me, brows bumped together in a scowl.


    I pointed the tip of the spearhead against his neck.


    ¡°Checkmate.¡± I glared at him.


    ¡°Or is it?¡± He sneered, his golden eyes gleaming of deviltry.


    ¡°See for yourself.¡± I pressed the tip harder, pinning a dot into his skin that cried a drip of blue blood.


    ¡°Now who was that woman in my memory? Why did you kill her?¡±


    Despite his grim predicament, he chuckled.


    ¡°No, Alrion.¡± His eyes sharpened. ¡°I didn''t kill her. You did.¡±


    I lost sight of his sly mock when an endless sea of green flashed before me.


    I vaulted back in reflex, landing a few meters away from the ominous phenomenon. Pixels obscured my vision as my eyes adjusted from the sudden brightness.


    After a second, everything settled; the half of my spear was missing¡ªfrom the triangular spearhead to the half of the pole.


    Nariod was already up, and beside him was a stream of emerald energy stretching out until the unreachable azure.


    ¡°You have always been an emotionally-driven God.¡± Nariod raised his chin and broke a condescending smirk.


    ¡°A superior being of power and wisdom, that''s what you are, but you cannot control yourself.¡±


    His right hand shone white light, and from there golden radiance smoked out¡ªforming a curved ray of gold particles, an arc.


    He gripped the arc and aimed it at me like a bow, but he wasn''t preparing to launch an attack just yet. It was as if he was waiting for something.


    And that something was the pillar of green light close to his left that drowned the surrounding chirrup and swish with its gushing sound. The verdant beam thinned out¡ªscattering green beads of light around it and, once exhausted, revealed a graceful figure. A woman wearing a green gown with detached sleeves and translucent, jade-colored trimmings. On top of her wavy brunette hair was a silver diadem jeweled with a small emerald.


    ¡°You''re late, Raien.¡± Nariod shot the woman with a cold glare.


    Raien... Embodiment of life¡ªof Hesra. She scanned me toe-to-head with her leafy almond eyes, paying Nariod''s scold no mind.


    ¡°As dashing as ever, Alrion, even after spending generations in deep slumber.¡± She uttered between breaths, her ringed pupils dilated and knees wobbly under the fanned, see-through overskirt.


    My hand dropped what little remained of the spear¡ªwhich was nothing more but a one-foot stick of chiseled black gem. The spear met the black ground that was thick with mucky duff and shattered into a hundred fragments.


    Nariod, whose bow of light was still aimed at me, bit his lip and slammed his eyes shut in irritation.


    ¡°... Thanks, I guess?¡± Tension left my stance and I found myself straightening up. ¡°You, don''t look so bad yourself.¡± I said with a wry smile.


    She exuded the appropriate aura as a goddess with that hourglass body and glossy green dress that clung to her figure, emphasizing it so subtly. That''s well and all, but I can''t help but feel like this is so out of context. We''re supposedly in combat.


    ¡°Really? You really think so?¡± Raien''s eyes sparkled while her palms caressed her red cheeks.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I gave the lovestruck maiden a pseudo-charming smile. ¡°and I would love to be your company later, but for now can you like, I don''t know, distance yourself from that bastard maybe? I''m trying to kill him, you see.¡±


    ¡°... Bastard?¡± She tilted her head and rolled her eyes skyward. After a second of thinking, she took a glance at Nariod and got back to me. ¡°You mean this one?¡±


    Nariod''s spiky silver hair stood up in fury as veins marred his otherwise flawless forehead; Raien was pointing at him while feigning innocence.


    ¡°Yeah, that one.¡± I nodded. ¡°Do you think you can steer clear for a bit? It won''t take long, I promise.¡± My gaze narrowed at Nariod as I willed another rudimentary spear to sprout forth my palm.


    ¡°Hmm...¡± Her finger tapped on her temple with her eyes closed. ¡°Your offer is quite tempting. There''s nothing I like more than being with you but...¡± Her eyes flashed open, sharpened and serious without any of the coquettish behavior she previously had.


    ¡°But I can''t do that.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± I shut my eyes and heaved a sigh. ¡°Have it your way, then.¡±


    I summoned a pistol with my free hand and aimed forward. I fired a shot. A crystal shard flew after a bang, heading towards the goddess.


    As a supreme being, something so slow as a bullet was not a threat to her. She blocked the bullet by swiping with peerless speed¡ªcatching it with her white hand.


    Oh...


    You know I was kinda expecting a green shield to coat her or something. Oh well, her action wasn''t so bad for me, either. On the contrary, she just saved me trouble.


    ¡°Hmmmm...?¡± She pinched the rough shard with two fingers and zoomed in on it like a curious child. She shouldn''t have done that.


    I threw away the pistol and snapped my fingers.


    Detonate.


    The black bullet between her fingers lit purple and exploded into a caustic outburst of raven flames. Blue blood shot splayed across the ground, with bits and pieces of burnt skin that came from her hands and half of her face. She let out an ear-grating screech and fell to her knees; the left side of her face unrecognizable, bathed in blue, while the fingers of her right hand were missing¡ªall of them, their marred stumps crying sapphire liquid.


    The goddess'' blood may have been blue, but that didn''t make it less bloody.


    Aster, it becomes what you want it to be, but it can''t become something you don''t know, something you can''t imagine or expect. But I know bombs exist and have a concrete idea how they explode. Something to thank my past life for.


    A shaft of golden light sprang forth Nariod''s left hand. It was an arrow of Arkos, without the fletching. Just the shaft and the arrowhead.


    He nocked the arrow in his bow of light, and drew it as if the ethereal bow had a bowstring. The bow''s shallow curve steepened inward in reaction to his draw. Completely no science here. His aurum eyes showed no emotion, but even so they were sharp, aimed at my forehead.


    He let the arrow loose and it surged forward. I ducked and tumbled to the right like a pro dancer, making the arrow of light miss and pass overhead. It phased a hole straight into the trunk of a tree behind me.


    Without any reaction at all he produced a second arrow and nocked it in. But I wasn''t going to give him another chance to strike.


    With my low stance as a result of the tumble, I vaulted forward with unsurpassed speed¡ªmy spear leading the charge. Everything became a blur, but I didn''t lose clear sight of Nariod who was in the process of drawing back his shot.


    I would reach him before he even launched his attack. I was confident about it,


    But then something coiled around my ankle and I tripped face first down on the muck. All the fancy momentum lost, and my face raked the ground until I collided with Nariod''s foot. It was a root. A root of a nearby tree, wrapping my ankle.


    It squirmed like a tentacle and lifted me one foot up the ground. I was then hanging upside down. I could see the goddess'' white bare feet, approaching me. She''s going to be fucking pissed.

 Twelve A: Nariad - Balance

    Nariad


    I ignored the dozen-odd white-clothed servants who each gave me a court bow as they passed by. They seemed afraid, hesitant, and didn''t say any of their usual pleasantries; each of them eager to just dash past me but couldn''t.


    Afraid of me they should be. The soft clatter of their concerted leather footsteps were made inaudible by the stomp of my steel boots against the marble, which reverberated throughout the gilded white hall.


    Yes, they should be afraid, since depending on the Orator''s explanation, there''s a significant chance of me burning this cursed edifice down the Eden''s ground.


    The arched wooden door of the council was nearing; I quickened my pace¡ªthe fury burning inside my chest could not be contained any longer.


    The door maiden, who was clad in white vestment and that stood by the side of the door approached me in a half-rush.


    ¡°Goddess Nariad.¡± She obstructed my way and bowed. What a nuisance.


    ¡°Greetings.¡± I raised my hand for her to straighten up. She did so, revealing her youthful face wrought with apprehension. She knew already why I''m here.


    ¡°The Orator, is he inside?¡±


    ¡°Y-yes...¡± She gave a hesitant nod. ¡°But the council is closed at the moment¡ª¡±


    ¡°¡ªThank you, I''ll go visit him, then.¡± I cut her off and worked my way past her.


    This transgression, I won''t tolerate it. I headed towards the imposing door, anger guiding my each and every step.


    ¡°Goddess!¡±


    The door maiden tried to follow, but soon stood back after I glowered at her from over my shoulder. Her hand was even stretched out, I wonder what she would have done to try and restrain me. She can''t do anything. Nor can Galadine.


    I didn''t bother with the golden bars that served as handles and shove the double door, causing it to swing open with a resounding blast against the hinges.


    Inside the council''s white chamber was Esoria and Tytus, their backs leaning against the alabaster marble pillars at the other end of the chamber, while Galadine sat before his granite desk, fiddling with his quill but was not doing anything in particular.


    He stood up and fixed the folds of his white garb when he saw me approaching.


    ¡°Greetings, Light Goddess Nariad.¡± His long black hair fell down as he bowed courtly. ¡°What seems to be the problem? You don''t look so... well.¡±


    ¡°Cut the foolish act, Galadine.¡± I narrowed my eyes at his young face that feigned innocence. ¡°Why did the council allow Nariod and Raien inside Asteria? This is a clear desecration of the sacred agreement that Alrion and his realm are not to be touched in any way as long as he does not move against Aether.¡±


    ¡°Hmmmm... I''m afraid the word is ¡®harmed¡¯, not ¡®touched¡¯, Light Goddess.¡± He closed his eyes.


    My trembling hand wouldn''t hold still and reached for the hilt of the sword that hung on my waist. I don''t care if he''s the first son of Nariod and Raien, this schemer deserves to be cut down.


    He smiled and sat back on his wooden chair. ¡°Please don''t let your temper influence you to act recklessly.¡±


    ¡°Give me a good reason why I shouldn''t just send your ethereal form to the afterlife.¡± My grip of the leather hilt tightened as I tried my hardest not to draw my steel.


    ¡°There is one.¡± He raised his pointing finger. ¡°I did nothing that contradicts with the agreement.¡±


    ¡°Isn''t that a good enough reason?¡± He tilted his head.


    ¡°Barely.¡± I held my ground and slacken my grip. ¡°You have a few moments to speak.¡±


    ¡°Well then.¡± He reclined. ¡°I''m sure you''re already aware, that the God of Darkness has already regained his divinity.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    ¡°I know, but he doesn''t have his memories, so there''s no further need to keep him in check as he will not meddle with mortal affairs again.¡± I said.


    ¡°But it might return.¡± He retorted. ¡°Alrion is the first and only God to ever disobey Chaos'' law of not meddling with mortal conflicts. And it was not just some trivial meddling, he almost brought extinction to mankind, all for avenging a mortal woman''s death.¡±


    ¡°He is but an unruly and unstable God, what makes you certain that he won''t repeat the same act of atrocity again? Just because he lost his memories? For all we know, he might be just pretending to not have them. All the more plausible like this when we don''t even know the exact reason for the disappearance of his memories.¡±


    ¡°Alrion is not like that.¡±


    ¡°What do you know about him, Goddess?¡± His jeering jade eyes met mine.


    ¡°Alrion is my consort.¡± I glared at him. ¡°I know everything there is to know about him.¡±


    ¡°Then do you also know that Alrion isn''t just one being?¡±


    ¡°... What, do you mean?¡± An unknown feeling swirled inside me, like a horrible mixture of anxiety and fear and confusion. Cold, it felt cold, even though I wore full plate armor from neck to toe.


    ¡°Exactly what Galadine said.¡± Esoria, the daughter of Alrion with Raien¡ªwhose presence had been silent the whole time¡ªspoke in a cold and calm voice with her eyes close and fingers twirling a lock of her hazel hair. Her sudden statement glued my eyes to her lax figure clad in the white garb of the councilors.


    ¡°We just found out that the amount of Aster inside father had grown enough to develop its own consciousness.¡± She said as she opened her eyes.


    ¡°Isn''t that right, Tytus?¡± Her gaze turned to Tytus who, like Esoria, discreetly listened by the sidelines, leaning on a pillar to my right as opposed to Esoria who happened to be on my left.


    ¡°Seems so.¡± He nodded with his arms crossed. He corrected his laid back lousy posture and cleared his throat, before meeting eyes with me. ¡°It must have happened because of the long-lasting war he waged against the humans and Nariod...


    The totality of destruction and movement of magic that occurred over the millennium had been way past normal because of the clashes between us Gods, and that seemed to fuel the Aster inside Alrion faster than the time it takes for it to decay.¡± Tytus explained.


    I tried to absorb what he was saying, and slowly I found myself running around a spiral.


    ---


    The being known as Alrion is the consciousness that emerged from the initial, cosmic amount of Aster Chaos created. For the Aster Alrion controls to develop its own mind the same way, the power inside him must be near equal to the amount of power needed to create him.


    ¡°Then you''re saying, Alrion is already...¡±


    ¡°Yes, Alrion is already the strongest of the primordial Gods.¡± Said Galadine.


    ¡°His power is now only next to Chaos''. Intentionally or unintentionally, he created a lesser God from scratch and without a consort, exactly like how Chaos created the four primordial Gods. He can already create a divinity, Goddess, we can''t let such an anarchic God hold that kind of power.¡±


    ¡°But, but that doesn''t make sense... A God can''t take form in a single day...¡±


    I don''t know about a lesser God, but it usually takes at least three hundred Asterian years, or one hundred human years for a God to finish its birth cycle. Not even Chaos can create a being as powerful as a God within hours...


    ¡°We''re not saying she was born just now.¡± Uttered Esoria as she hauled her weight from the white marble pillar. ¡°We only got to see it now because this is the first time she took shape. She had been inside father for who knows how long. Either she started to form while father is dead, or father knew already and just hid it.¡±


    She gazed straight at me with those almond, purple eyes of Alrion, of her father, that seemed to stare through one''s soul.


    ¡°Whatever the deal is, Mother and Nariod did not come down to Asteria to kill father.¡±


    ¡°They''re not?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°If that is so,¡± I returned her sharp gaze. ¡°Then why are they in a battle against Alrion right now?¡±


    ¡°Because they need to restrain father before they can separate him from his power.¡± She said.


    ¡°... Separate? You can''t separate a God''s power from his control.¡±


    ¡°Normally, yes. There''s not a way to separate a God from his power,¡± She began. ¡°but now that his Aster already manifested as a vaguely-independent being, we only need to capture and seal it.¡±


    ¡°And you can''t do that.¡±


    They can''t take Alrion''s power away from him. Once they do that, he will cease to be a God. He will be powerless, and Asteria will crumble soon after.


    ¡°We can, and we will.¡± Galadine stood defiant. ¡°The council exists for two purposes, that is keeping Gods from meddling with mortal conflicts, and keeping the balance of power. This is merely us doing our duty, Goddess.¡±


    This...


    My glance flew towards Tytus. He''s a demigod whose mother is an Asterian, yet he seemed so calm¡ªeyes solemn as he massaged the nape of his neck like none of this is any of his concern, even though Alrion''s sealing means the destruction of Asteria and the death of his mother.


    ¡°I know what you want to say, Nariad.¡± Esoria added. ¡°But father is already too powerful, and we have to make our move before his memory returns, or he will be unstoppable should he rediscover his full control over Aster and his hatred for humans.¡±


    ¡°Even if it destroys a whole race?¡± My voice came out loud and rough like a roar that shook the stagnant air.


    ¡°Asteria doesn''t have to crumble, Goddess.¡± Tytus answered from behind me. ¡°We will be absorbing the God of Darkness'' power into a Narkhon crystal, so that we can transfer it to someone more worthy and rational.¡±


    ¡°Someone like father, Nariod.¡± Galadine smirked, while Esoria didn''t say anything more and just shut her eyes.


    ¡°... I see.¡±


    So that''s how it is. My hands squeezed into fists. Nariod, he does not ever change.


    I turned my back on the three councilmen and made my way towards the door.


    The council might''ve let him do this, but I won''t.

 Thirteen: Penultimate

    Raien loomed over my hanging self, her emerald eyes burning like torches, her big chest rising and falling every ragged breath out of her agape mouth¡ªall this while viscous blue blood was slathered on the half of her face, dripping down her flat chin.


    As expected of a Goddess, her hands and face were already good as new, not a sign of the earlier mutilation.


    Which means I''m fucked.


    Nariod stood far behind Raien, watching us from the background with his eyes shut and a palm on his forehead.


    ¡°You were so rough.¡± Raien zipped her widened mouth to a suggestive smile with considerable labor.


    ¡°As the actress said to the bishop.¡± I bluffed a smile; the innuendo was hard to miss.


    ¡°Hmm? Actress?¡± She tilted her head.


    ¡°Nevermind, then.¡±


    With the spear on my right hand I performed a horizontal swing. Yes, while still hanging upside-down. I aimed for her ankle, but she had seen through my intentions a millisecond earlier than my action and leapt backward a few strides to avoid getting sliced.


    Just what I wanted, distance.


    I thrust my spear up to cut the pesky gnarled root coiling around my ankle. Just as planned, the sharp crystalline spearhead passed through and bisected the otherwise sturdy wooden root, but since I was a noob at being precise, I did more than just cutting the root.


    I fucking impaled my own foot. Right in the middle where the muscles were. I shrieked in reflex, even though it didn''t hurt one bit, and closed itself before blood could even drip. The cut living root limped and pulled away, while my vision shook as my head banged against the floor with a hard thud and a rustle, followed by my body.


    I sprang up from my awkward posture like I was never that scrawny plant of a nineteen-year-old. Just when did I learn that? I guess it doesn''t matter.


    ¡°What are you doing, Raien?¡± Said Nariod. ¡°The plan is to capture them both.¡±


    Capture them both? Wow, evil plan alert.


    ¡°The plan was for me to take Alrion for myself, Nariod.¡± Raien sighed and eyed Nariod. ¡°Just get the lesser God and let us two be.¡± She shooed him with flimsy hands.


    ¡°Since when did you have the right to order me around?¡± His nose flared up.


    ¡°You know well it isn''t an order.


    It''s a suggestion.¡± Raien stood firm and intercepted Nariod''s glare with her own. ¡°So you will do it, unless of course you want to stay as the second in Nariad''s heart for all eternity.¡±


    Nariod scrunched up his face and gritted his teeth. He took a sharp glance at me, then back at Raien whose lips were arched to a sly smile.


    ¡°... I''ll fulfill the end of the bargain and leave you two be.¡± Nariod¡ªlike a sore loser, turned his back and took a step forward, but turned around within a second to give the last parthian shot at Raien. ¡°Just make sure he isn''t going to be a bother again.¡±


    Raien nodded in lack of interest and saw his back off as he dashed away.


    As I watched the exchange of the two seasoned liars end, determination swept over me. It fueled my adrenaline, and tightened my grip on the spear''s chiseled pole.


    I knew where he was going, and I wasn''t about to let him go to where Laianne and Asterielle were. My feet kicked the ground and launched me forward with the wind.


    Pulse throbbing, sweat running, I came after Nariod''s distant broad back. A stride, two strides, three, but before I could close the distance, Raien rushed¡ªher lightweight green raiment flowing with the wind¡ªto block my path, a smile on her face and a green winged staff made from interweaved vines on her hands. I skidded to a sudden brake to avoid crashing with the green Goddess.


    ¡°You''re not going anywhere, Alrion.¡± Her left eye flickered to a subtle wink. She swung the verdant staff, causing a torrential gust of wind accompanied with green leaves to assault me. I dove down the dirt and rolled to the left like a ball.


    I don''t have time for this woman. I set my sight on Raien and vaulted forth with a low posture like a feline. I got under her bosom and brandished the black crystalline spear in an arc, aiming for her abdomen.


    She blocked with her winged staff, negating the slash with a blunt feedback as the cutting edge of the spearhead clashed with the pole made of twisted vines. It should''ve been cut due to its rather flimsy material but no, its durability was well on par with the spear of pure Aster. Much to my detriment.


    ¡°Get out of my way, Goddess.¡±


    I pushed harder to try and overwhelm her with brute force, but her staff wouldn''t budge a millimeter.


    ¡°No.¡± She redirected the immense force to the side with a refined twist of her wrist. Because I leaned too hard forward I almost lost my balance and fall face first on the mud, but thankfully Gods have faster reflexes.


    We both pulled back a step away from each other, creating a five-meter distance between us.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°I can''t.¡± Raien''s emerald eyes sharpened and bore holes through my sockets, as if telling me that nothing will change her mind.


    ¡°And why is that? Hatred for me?¡±


    Come to think of it, Laianne did say Raien hates me, along with Nariod and some more Gods. Regardless of their reasons I will still kill them, though I can''t help but wonder, just what the hell did I do to them? Then again, it doesn''t matter. They tried to kill me, they tried to kill Laianne, and they killed...


    Who was she? Whatever.


    ¡°Believe it or not, Alrion,¡± She raised her staff overhead. ¡°I''m doing this to spare you from annihilation.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Spare me from annihilation? But why would she do that, and how is blocking my way helping me? I''m kind of confused right now.


    ¡°Yes...¡± Raien nodded. ¡°The council''s first decision was to kill you, make you totally inexistent, after taking your power. But I told them that they didn''t have to kill you, as long as you behave and let them capture the lesser God you created.¡±


    ¡°Lesser God... I''m assuming that''s Asterielle?¡± I asked.


    ¡°That is so.¡± She nodded.


    But she said she''s me... Or rather the Aster inside me. Then that makes this all the more worse. My Aster is what''s keeping Asteria intact, so even if something bad happens to me, as long as my Aster is still good, Asteria wouldn''t disappear. But what happens when I''m still alive but lost my power? I''m as good as useless. Asteria will crumble once they capture Asterielle¡ªmy power. Everyone will die, everything here will die. Laianne will.


    A switch inside me has been flipped.


    I could hear and feel the marching of my heart, and the Aster flowing through my veins and passing through my pulse. I can''t let things go that way.


    ¡°Hey Raien.¡± I called to the Goddess clad in green.


    ¡°... What is it?¡±


    Perhaps caught off-guard by my sudden casual tone, she lowered the staff and lent her ears.


    ¡°Do me a favor and get out of my way.¡± I said with a cold tone, all while sculpting a pistol from an Aster shard on my left hand. ¡°As in right now.¡± I leveled my aim on her head.


    ¡°You don''t understand what you''re doing.¡± She stood defiant and matched my gun with her eyes. ¡°I''m giving you a chance to live, because our children would not want to see you extinct. If you go there now, Nariod will kill you.¡±


    ¡°Not if I kill him first.¡± I nestled my index lightly against the trigger''s curve.


    ¡°Then the whole council will do whatever they can to keep you in control, even if it means wiping the Aster element completely out of the entire universe.¡± She said.


    ¡°Do I look like I care? Either way, Asteria will fall, and those who matter to me will die.¡±


    Whether I heed this woman''s word or not, in the end this world is still a goner. I let them capture Asterielle, Asteria will crumble. I act and prevent Nariod, this ¡®council¡¯ whatnot will come and kill me for real, Asteria will still be destroyed. Both of those are completely identical, only that with the former, I''ll live, and with the latter, I will die along with every Asterian.


    Not much difference if you ask me, I''ve experienced death once with Anrietta. It hurt as hell, but it''s probably not as bad as living through loss and guilt.


    Either I find a solution or die trying.


    ¡°No, Alrion.¡± She shook her head.


    ¡°If you would just listen to me, Asteria wouldn''t¡ª¡±


    A beam of light crashed down the clear space between us and silenced Raien mid-sentence.


    Intense, gushing, the beam of gold and white light singed the dirt in its point of impact.


    After a long second, the light burned out and dispersed¡ªleaving a cindered circle on the ground, and a woman with silver hair and steel plates standing on it.


    Nariad. From neck to toe she was covered with overlapping plates of radiant steel. On her right hand dressed with iron glove was a sword. A two-handed heavy broadsword with cross arm-guards. The hilt was made of tanned leather, while the guard was made from ornate gold. The blade, I couldn''t see what comprised the blade, since it was bathed with blinding yellow light. Just glancing at it hurts my eyes.


    I won''t be surprised if that sword happened to be Excalibur, but then that would mean she''s Saber, not sure how I feel about that.


    ¡°Nariad...¡± Raien''s brows conjoined. Her whole face turned red within a second, followed by cramped lips, wrinkled forehead, and eyes glimmering with fiery contempt. With a brisk swing, she directed the green-gemmed tip of the staff at the armored Goddess.


    Without as much as a single word, Nariad kicked the ground and propelled her tall frame towards Raien with her radiant broadsword fanned at the side.


    The diamond-shaped emerald nestled on the tip of Raien''s staff glowed intense white; a beam of green and white erupted from it, and headed to intercept the incoming Light Goddess.


    Nariad responded to the attack with a brake. She planted her feet firmly on the ground, and swung the light broadsword against the incoming verdant beam that threatened to swallow her whole.


    The torrent of green energy got bisected into two halves, and ended up passing by Nariad''s flank before disappearing into a scatter of white particles.


    Nariad brushed aside her silky silver hair and took a battle-ready stance with the clank of her heavy armor. She craned her neck and peered at me over her shoulder.


    ¡°Go, Alrion.¡± She said, her bright amber eyes steeled in conviction.


    I honestly forgot Nariad even existed... But now that she''s here, that means I''m free to go. I''m free to save them.


    ¡°Thank you, Nariad.¡±


    She replied with a faint smile that made her cheekbones stand out and glow. Beautiful.


    ¡°Whatever you do, do the right thing.¡± She gave a sharp nod; the warm smile disappeared, drowned in a sea of seriousness.


    ¡°I will.¡±


    I pumped heat down my legs and bolted forth, passing by the two Goddess. Raien rushed in an attempt to chase my back, but she had been blocked by Nariad, and the two ended up in a weapon locking contest¡ªstaff against a sword.


    As I plunged further away into the woods, the figures of the battle maidens slowly disappeared amidst the sea of trees.


    ---


    Raien


    ¡°You just made things worse by coming here.¡± I glared at Nariad as I lead her force to the right with my staff. ¡°I''m trying to spare his life, and you, you just worked to get him killed.¡±


    ¡°What you were doing was the opposite, Raien.¡± She didn''t fall into the trap like Alrion and stayed upright. She jumped back to keep a distance and continued with her preaching.


    ¡°You don''t understand Alrion.¡± She matched me with her aurum glare.


    ¡°Neither do you. What do you understand about him?


    You''re his consort, and you''re a Goddess, yet he valued a mortal more, to the point that he was willing to defy even Chaos just to give her death closure. That says something, Nariad. You''re not doing your duty as his spouse, you were never enough for him, therefore you''ll never understand him.¡±


    ¡°And what do you know about Alrion, Raien?¡± She sneered, unfaltering. ¡°What right do you have to patronize me, when you don''t even know what he wants? You think he would still want to live in a universe controlled by Nariod? Because that''s what about to happen. You were not just saving Alrion, you were helping Nariod succeed Chaos.¡±


    The more I listened to her condescending tone, the more my heart burned with the desire to just kill her. She has always been like this¡ªperfect, loved by all, Nariod loved her, Alrion chose her, while me, despite being better than her, was casted aside. Just what did Alrion see in her? And it seems like she''s too blind to see that she''s the cause of all this.


    That''s right...


    ¡°You''re saying that, but you''re the reason all of this is happening.¡± I aimed my staff at her.


    ¡°... What did you say?¡±


    ¡°You don''t even know, why Nariod is doing all this.¡±


    ¡°I know how he thinks, he wants to become all-powerful. He''s Nariod, my twin, I should know.¡±


    ¡°Naive.¡±

 Intermission: Laryenne - The Hand

    Laryenne


    ¡°He won''t reach his half in time, are you really sure about this?¡±


    [You have too little faith in me, Laryenne.]


    ¡°You have too little care in your methods. Won''t the whole Nether be destroyed if he fails this? You put too much faith in him.¡±


    [I can see the future of all, Laryenne, I do not just put too much faith in one soul. The realm will not fall today, I assure you that.]Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°Ho...¡±


    [You do not seem convinced, do you want a bet? Let us play one.]


    ¡°You want to play bet, when you can see the future? What kind of sane being would fall for that.¡±


    [So you believe in me and my power after all.]


    ¡°Sketchy old man.¡±


    [Now now, that is not something to call the Great Creator with.]


    ¡°Great Creator isn''t so respectable.¡±


    [But you follow me?]


    ¡°Shut up.¡±


    [I know what you feel inside, Laryenne, and I''m here to tell you that your worries are nothing more than what they are. You only need follow me until the end, and your desire will be granted.]


    ¡°... ¡®Until the end¡¯, just when is that?¡±


    [Sooner than you think.]