《Demonic Arts》 Prologue: Eternal Agony Silence. Heavy fog slowly covers the plane as if to hide the gruesome scene before me. As I walk amongst the dead bodies I can almost still hear the booming sounds of their attacks clashing against each other, the cries of battle and that gasp of disbelief before their last moment. Sweeping the ground one last time with my demonic sense, I lift off and fly towards the endless pillar of skulls in the distance. This pillar, one of nine, marks the realm of hatred, currently ruled by my king. Finally me and my brethren were finally able to conquer the last one of the clans, marking the rise of a new Demon Lord in the Nine Hells, the Demon Lord of Hatred! The Nine Hells is one of many planes of existences and a higher one at that. It houses many immortals, demons, devils or other creatures that have ascended from the lower realms. Each of the nine layers is ruled by a Demon Lord, which in turn are ruled by the god of the Nine Hells. A being that has even transcended arch-demons! A truly terrifying god amongst gods. Our Lord was very pleased with us and with the last of the resistance annihilated, who could still dare to oppose his rule of this layer? Contend with that last victory, I increase my speed, moving as a black blurr trough the air with a blinding speed. A few minutes pass until I sense my youngest brother nearby. "Belevius! I come bearing good news!" "Ah! Eldest brother, our Lord has been expecting you." "Has he? So he has send you as my welcoming committee, then? ha!" "No, I came to warn you, brother. The Lord is awaiting you in the throne room. All of our bretheren were summoned and his sword is laid upon his lap." "He intends to pass judgement? On whom?" "You, brother." "What? I have done nothing wrong!" "I know... He has not told us anything, but I know you better than anyone. You lead us through so much, elder brother. You are his right hand! His most trusted lieutenant! Let us go, I''m sure everything will work itself out." "As you wish, brother. Lead on, I will not defy his will." It took us only a few moments to reach the palace, standing before the massive double doors I look over to Belevius, the youngest of us six brothers, the last of our Lords creations and the weakest of us all. Steeling myself, I nod and push through, walking into the throne room . "So, my right hand arrives..." "Yes, my Lord. I have crushed the last of them. Pitted them against each other and slew the survivors, none shall question your reign!" "Good." I remain kneeled, as he had yet to motion me to rise and await his next words. The room is still. As my brother warned me, our Lord is sitting with his sword across his lap, a gesture normally taken when judging criminals, or feuds... As the questions piled up, I felt an immense pressure. Suddenly displaying his full power I can only gasp as I feel something hot pierce through my chest. Looking up, I see him before me. The one who created me and gave me power. The one who single-handedly raised his empire to conquer the realm of Hatred. The one I pledged my undying loyalty. The Demon Lord of the 7th layer of the Nine Hells. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.Even I, a high ranked immortal demon, close to reaching the 9th stage, am powerless before him. Drawing my face closer, deeply looking into my eyes, he seems somehow sad, as if finding me lacking. "AAAARGH" Searing pain started to surface, as he rips his sword out of my heart and turns his back on me, with a swooping motion. There¡¯s faint glow coming off from his sword and somehow everything around him seemed to dim. Normally such a wound would not do much to stop an immortal demon, nothing would, unless its soul was destroyed. However, my Lord''s weapon and attacks would wound your soul directly, destroying it outright, leaving you weakened, or in my case, totally powerless "Cast him into the lake of the damned." I could do nothing as my brothers take me and drag me towards the swirling abyss. The Lake of the Damned. Once thrown into it, no one can come back. Your body would slowly be destroyed again and again, as you soul tries to reconstruct its vessel. Endless pain and suffering until one you would break under the stress, either descending into madness or somehow destroying your soul due to the pain. A fate worst then death and only reserved for traitors and our worst enemies. "Goodbye... brother." Maalinu. The second eldest. He was always a dear brother, guarding my back as we felled the hordes of lesser demons, devils and immortals before us, but now, now he would be the one to cast me into my eternal damnation. As my happy memories are being tainted by the anger at this ridiculous situation, I feel a sudden pull and could only take one last look at the ones to carry out this betrayal. Falling to my doom, I look at Maalinu and, ironically, Belevius, the one who warned me. No word for my defense. No one to stand up for me. Tumbling, burning with blue, hot fire, I plunge deeper into the abyss. Eternal agony, unrelenting pain. After what felt like an eternity, my soul healed, while my body is being destroyed, over and over again. Time was standing still. No matter what I did, what I tried to do, the torment would not recede. Through all this time, through all this madness, I knew one thing: I would take revenge. Hanging on to that last shred of hope, that powerful motivation, I was coaxed into a sweet sleep. Finally free of all the pain and suffering. And then: I awoke. Next Chapter --------------------------------------- This is my first story and English isn''t my first language, so please give me feedback and please tell me if you find any mistakes. It''s inspired by the IET Xianxa novels, D&D and a few other things ;) Hope you enjoy! Chapter 1: Reincarnation A squirming darkness surrounds me followed by a deafening, rhythmic sound of pulsating flesh. It reminds me of a feeling I had long ago. A warm, squishy feeling, like holding the still pulsating heart of your fallen enemy. Wait! As the pull of slumber once again dulls my senses and drags me to sweet oblivion, I notice a sort of power seeping into me. A glowing whiteness, unlike anything I have ever seen before and yet, it seems so familiar. It''s almost like... Qi? ........ Yet again I am greeted with my warm, fleshy prison. Where it seemed foreign , yet familiar at the same time, the first I saw it, it now radiated with an almost comforting glow. Trying to make sense of my predicament, I look within myself. An almost nagging sense telling me to delve into the depth of my own black heart, as if scratching on rotten wood to see just how frail it had become. Clearing my mind I sense a second beat, over the still droning pulse that echoes within my chamber in it''s soothing rhythm. Tuning into this second, this small and tiny sound, I see my own life force. A blinding star in the middle of an ocean of darkness, tiny, jet growing at a steady pace. A second, much larger one feeding it a white stream of energy. Feeling an unfathomable sense of displacement, I wonder how someone like me could be born with such pure, untainted Qi, but at the same time, would this not mean I would get what I want? I remember my fall, how two of my brothers killed me the most agonizing way possible. I remember the darkness that clung to my heart the moment this demon pierced my being and betrayed me, but who, when, or where, these questions still elude me. I do not remember who I was, exactly, and yet I must revenge myself. Suddenly... The walls seem to shrink, to fall into themselves. Vibration running through me as if that pulse decided to kill me. A deafening sound, blinding light and with it, a cold and reluctance I cannot describe. " Whaaa! WHAAA! WAAAAAAA!" (...and so, I am born. No matter what it''ll take, I will get my revenge!) "It''s a healthy young boy!" "...my son." ......... A few months have passed. I not only seem to have been reincarnated into a lowly human male, but in one of the lower mortal planes as well. My luck has never been great, but no matter, if I cultivate this body, I will get there eventually. My memories grow more and more fleeting however, so I have decided to seal them deep within my conscience, letting only the knowledge of the most basic of insights into the laws of heaven and earth, as well as my personal agenda into my surface thoughts. I have lost too much knowledge already and maybe, with my memories buried deep, I just hope that my instincts will not fail me... ........ "Happy birthday, Owen!" (Mother) "Happy birthday, my son, so... how old are you now, hm?" (Father) "uhm... 4!" (Owen) "Hahaha! Yes, you are!" (Father) "You know, Owen. You are already so big, what would you say, do you think you might be a good big brother?" (Mother) "YEAH! I''m going to get a little brother or sister?" (Owen) "Indeed you do, little man!" (Father) "Dad? I wanna be as strong as you! So I can protect them! Can you show me?" (Owen) "mmmh, I''m not so sure about that. You''re still small, so you''ll have to wait a bit more." (Father) "But daaaad!" (Owen) "How about you take him to the daily drills, dear? So he can at least watch?" (Mother) "Alright, alright! I''ll take you tomorrow!" (Father) "Yaaaay!" (Owen) Finally my father is taking me with him! I''ve always wanted to go! I''m much stronger than any of those stupid big boys around the village! That Blumer even had his big brother show him some cool move, it''s so unfair! I really want to get stronger, I know I can beat everyone in the village. I just know it. Father is one of the man in charge of training any young boys so that they can go fight for someone important and he does loads of heavy lifting, so he must be strong! Mother is pretty frail, but she has a big belly. It must be heavy, carrying around such a big belly everywhere. Growing excited I start running around and start playing around the house. I often just play at home, it''s pretty fun to get this tingling feeling after using up all that glowing, wobbly energy over the day and letting it come back while resting under the moonlight. It comes back when I rest, or concentrate on it really hard, but somehow the moonlight makes it special for me. I love the moon! The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Every day at dawn, the men would gather in a clearing in a forest near the village to train and learn to be strict with themselves, or so I was told. Dad said I was too young though, but he didn''t say I can''t train on my own! The following day I quickly run behind my father, so not to lose him. He''s walking with a relaxed pose, but somehow I cannot keep up at all! Whenever I match, he just seemingly gets faster! Au, whatever, we should be here now? As if he could read my mind, my father smiles and points to a large stone to the side of the clearing. "Hey son, we''re here! Why don''t you sit on that rock? That way you''ll be able to see better." "Sure, dad!" Soon enough the rest of the students arrive. The all seem pretty big, but as soon as they come, dad puts on his scary face and they all stand in line. "Today we have a visitor! He''ll be joining us in a few years, so why don''t we get him motivatied!?" A groan seems to escape most of them while they whisper: "Here he goes again..." "Every chance he gets, geez" "Oh no! Not again!" "I just hope he''ll stay on track today..." "SILENCE!" "...I see that you''re not in the mood? Well then, let me indulge ALL of you, before we do DOUBLE the trainings units today." It somehow got real quite and I could have sworn one of them just became a ghost! "Well, let''s start then! ALL of you here, have one goal. ONE. That is to become strong! Why? Well, let me tell you, young''ens. In this world, strength is everything to a man, or even women, if they choose to walk down the path of a true warrior! How can we peasants live in a world where these damn nobles just pick up their books, with secrets of masters 1000 years old? Where they can cultivate in the best environment, with so many privileges? WELL! One. Simple. Reason. ''CAUSE WE HAVE MOTIVIATION! We don''t laze around, or take things for granted! We make the opportunities ourselves! I WILL get all off you to at least a rank 1 warrior before your sorry butts turn 16. I will not let you get hauled off by the army to be canon fodder. You''ll learn the basics and become strong. You''ll serve your duty until you''re 21 and return to this village, proud men with coins in their pockets and experience to boost, you hear!?" "YEEEES!" (students in unison) "Alright... so. Some of you may think what I''m talking about is just fairytale, don''t you? Who knows just how powerful a warrior can be, hm?" "He can crush rocks and lift very heavy things, right?" (student) "Hahaha! Yes! Ah, but even I can do that, you know?" Saying this he walks over to and suddenly grabs the rock under me, but before I can even jump off I''m suddenly high above the ground looking down on the students. The younger ones even seem to be able to pop their eyes out, it seems. "See? To a any expert warrior a few rocks that weigh even 10 times their weight will be light as a feather! No, young''ens, a true expert, someone that reached rank 6 or higher, has the power to even turn boulders like these to dust! Their power is tremendous. You know what the best thing is? One can do that all on his own, without any stinkin Qi, or battle-techniques! Just on muscle training alone! As you bodies grow stronger, your life force does too. If you reach into the high ranks, it''s not uncommon to live 3 times as long as a normal person!" Now this is something I''ve never heard of! Qi? battle-techniques? Life force? All seems so familiar and exciting! I really have to ask dad later... "So, what is a warrior who has surpassed the 9th rank called?" "uhm... a super expert?" "Indeed, sunny! A super expert is someone that has surpassed human limits again and again and is on the verge of breaking into a saint-level combatant! These super combatants are the pinnacle of human capabilities! They can fly in the air as if they are taking a stroll and no one has outlived one yet, ever! They are seemingly immortal! If a super expert can shatter huge rocks without a care, saint-level may just shatter a mountain for fun! So... enough talk, let us begin our training!" It''s fun watching them train, as they struggle after such a short amount of time and get scolded by dad, all the time. It kind of makes me curious how the other trainers are. I do know one thing, however! I will be joining them soon and I''ll just show ''em what I''m made off! Previous Chapter Next Chapter Chapter 2: Resentment A cold air of decay and hatred penetrates my skin and seeps deep into my bones. Cast into an eternal hell of fire and pain, to one of warmth and comfort, it seems my mind was not left unscathed. As I look into the depraved depths of the darkest corners of my mind, that I have banished myself into, I see the cancer that has settled into the marrow of my core. Shackled and bound I struggle against the prison of my own design just to find warmth in the pain it leaves me. The cold and icy landscape that stretches before me is a dazzling sight to behold. A barren wasteland full of bones, frozen bodies, buried horrors and victims long forgotten and yet there he stands. As even the land itself seems to waste and decay, he flourishes all the more. A parasite feeding upon the depravity and destruction he was supposed to prevent, like a hungry wolf his presence alone seemed to quench the life of even the cold itself, leaving behind a void, a hollow feeling too unbearable for any sane creature to endure. ¡°You¡­ why am I not surprised? I knew I would never forget you, even in death!¡± ¡°Indeed, my son, but it is not you who gets to choose what to forget and what to remember. You are my creation; I am the one who designed you for the play to come. We are, in a sense, eternally bound. We share a destiny, you and I.¡± ¡°Oh please. You condemned me to this hell! Was it not you who ordered my death? My eternal damnation!? What? Did you want to condemn yourself then, as we are, oh so, eternally bound?¡± ¡°The time you spend in the astral plane has changed you it seems, as it has changed us¡­ Enough of this, though. It is not I who has condemned you to this particular hell and so, I will help you.¡± With a wave of his hand a sudden searing light seemed to reflect off of every corner of this frozen wasteland, blinding me and leaving me stunned for several minutes or more. Who really knows time when you are bound to an illusionary prison in your own mind, a mind that did not seem too keen to listen to you anymore, antagonizing you at every step. In place of the deformity that stood in my mind a minute ago, was now a dazzling window. A connection to the outside, or so it seemed. I do not know what the vessel is doing, but I know it should have been influenced by me enough, so that it shouldn¡¯t have made any serious mistakes ¡­ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A year flew by as if it were nothing! My mother even gave birth to my sister, although she doesn¡¯t seem to like me very much. Any time I¡¯m trying to hold her she suddenly starts crying. No matter, though! Something like that won¡¯t hinder me anyway, I¡¯ll become the strongest under the sun. I bugged dad to teach me how to use my qi or any of the techniques he spoke of, so feverishly, but it seems that he doesn¡¯t know any. Since we are peasants and he isn¡¯t very strong, he didn¡¯t have access to any! Truly a shame, but there is always training your body and I¡¯m finally old enough to train with the others. ¡°Alright son, go ahead and train with the others, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll do fine.¡± ¡°Sure! See you, dad! Bye, mom. Bye, sis!¡± I ran as fast as I could towards the clearing and made it just in time, as a cold sneer awaited me from the trainer. I took my place amongst the students and he promptly began the lessons. At first we did endurance training with the grumpy one. I thought it was pretty boring, honestly. After an hour of standing with both arms tightly clenched to the sides and the arms at a 90¡ã angle as well as both feet firmly planted, I thought I had to sleep standing up! We did others for various muscles and after we were done dad said to never miss a day, which I thought to be a given, anyway. "The next few weeks weeks are going to be sooo slow!" "What was that!?" "uuhh... nothing, Sir!" They were very, vey slow, though.... The strength training was a different matter, that was really, really fun! We had been given swords that grew heavier and heavier, whilst swinging them around or doing light sparring with them. He also trained our form and gave us certain warrior test. He was very thorough on how to deal with mages, as mages were very hard to deal with when they were at range. He said two simple words: be quick! "They are finally here! Aren''t you excited Owen? The magical aptitude tests! Maybe we can even become magicians!" This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings."Yeah, but dad said, that the chance to become a magician is very slight! He said that not even once did we have someone with enough magical affinity for certain elements or even mental energy!" "Oh... don''t be such a downer! I''m sure YOU will be able to become on, aren''t you always ranting about becoming the strongest? Haha!" "Shut up! At least I can beat you, Derek!" "hm... true, but last time fast pretty close. I''ll have you next time, Owen!" "Besides, we con''t have enough money to make the trip to Meridian city. It''s too far and too dangerous." "Oh... that''s a shame. Just focus on training, then. I''m sure I''ll be coming back with my head in my hands, anyway!" "Thanks, Derek. Come on, let''s go!" ¡­¡­¡­ I am now 9 years old now and a few more people came to our village, Derek left, though. It seems he actually did it. He is the first magician to come out of our little village! Apparently some powerful combatants laid waste to a neighbouring village during their fight, oh how I would have loved to see it! It¡¯s sad that the people from there are now without home though. The elder gave them some land and materials to build anew, so I hope everything''ll work itself out. I even got a few new sparring partners because of it! Our village isn¡¯t very big. We have around 3 dozen cottages and a dozen or so stone houses. There is one really big mansion that seems run down. Dad said that once upon a time a noble family lived there that protected our village and helped it prosper, before it ran itself to the ground . We are under protection of a lager noble house that has it¡¯s seat in the capital now. I made my mind up! I would visit that capital to see that so called noble family one day! Training is fun! Of course I am the best out of the best! The others just have an unfair advantage, that¡¯s all. When we had to stand in a sitting position with our arms outstretched, it¡¯s not my fault I lost balance once! Or when we had mock fights. I was always pitted against the biggest of the big! They all felt so weak, I could see what they did wrong at any time. It was like everything slowed down¡­ but what does that make me, when I lose to them!? I wanted to react, but my body just doesn¡¯t listen! That¡¯s why I¡¯m pushing harder than ever! I¡¯m going to become faster than anyone. I even made it my routine to run around the village 5 times, which is normally something only those who come too late to training have to do! I look motivated and hold my fist tightly into the sky, before running off. The sun¡¯s shining down on me as if it wanted to light me on fire. Scorching heat¡¯s reflecting in the distance and after so much as three laps I¡¯m already starting to hallucinate. The dark sphere in the distance, carrying these shredded, red dolls couldn¡¯t possibly be real. What are they, even? Gasping for air I make it to the well and draw a bucket full of water. The fresh water hitting my dry throat giving me much needed respite, when screams suddenly bring me back to reality. The blots suddenly made sense. Magical beasts! These were magical beasts! What are they doing out here so far from the dark forest? It cannot be! Before I even knew it, I was running home, shouting desperately, when suddenly a black hound as big as my house appeared, growling at me. Then he moved again, so fast as to appear as blurred dots, even though I could see anything in slow motion when I was sparring, now this thing appears, moving faster than anything I have ever seen before, even though I¡¯m concentrating on it! Father always encouraged me to try harder, but how hard can I try? Why do I have to push myself so hard!? What¡¯s even the point!? How could I fight against this! I don¡¯t want to become strong in the first place, so why¡­. Huh? A tingling snapped me out of my thoughts, as if ants had crawled up my spine, nibbling at the base of my head. Suddenly shocked I perk up and immediately regret my decision. An ear-splitting headache blotted everything out, black spots everywhere in my vision. I try to hold my head but my arms seemingly are left without any strength and in the distance I can hear a humming, a dark, deep humming. It sounds nostalgic, but I it feels so out of place. I listen to it intently to see where it comes from and as I close my eyes it almost dawned on me, wanting to resist it, but the peaceful hands of sleep caught me at last. Previous Chapter Next Chapter Chapter 3: Insanity A warm breeze jostles me awake and the birds chirping make me feel at peace and all fuzzy inside. ¡°mmh¡± (Owen) ¡°So, he finally deems to awake. As fate would have it, you survived your own twisted mind. Congratulations seem to be in order.¡± A cold sneer shocks me and I startle. I open my eyes instinctively and am greeted with a beautiful landscape of trees, flowers and a warm summer breeze. The mountains in the distance seem so wonderful and huge. Truly a stunning sight to behold. ¡°What? You were not prepared for this little tour deep down your mind? Ha! Shocking to see the such an abortive thing like you withstand this torture. Humanity truly is a wondrous little abomination, even managing to sleep amongst the frozen dead, as if it were heaven itself! The look on your face just screams delight!¡± As I look around for the voice, I suddenly spot the mean creature that is talking to me like that. What did he mean ¡®amongst the frozen dead¡¯? As far as I can see this land is so warm and pretty! The only thing that seems out of place is this creature. A large hulking human-like thing, with four sharp, jagged horns coming from his head. He even has two larger spikes coming from his elbows and is scarred all over. He sort of gives off a murderous feeling, a sharp look in his red, cat like eyes. His skin seems rough, almost leather like and as he speaks he reveals his sharp theet, sending shivers down my spine. His hands too, are sharp, more like fangs! I am too stunned to even answer him! As I look into his eyes, that seem so cold and calculating I¡¯m hard pressed not to just turn and run, were it not for these chains that bind him. They seem to come from these violet signs that hover around him. ¡°uh¡­¡± ¡°Speak, worm! You have nothing to fear from me, as long as this measly body cannot withstand the knowledge and power I bring. I¡¯m more than happy to get rid of this retarded human part of my mind as soon as I can. How could you misuse my knowledge so happily!? You sicken me to the core, fool!¡± ¡°Wa- what? I¡­¡± How can he say this! What kind of demon is this, I¡¯m not a fool! I¡¯m NOT! ¡°Stop crying, child. We have no time to waste. I don¡¯t want you here and I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t want to be in this icy graveyard either.¡± ¡°I¡¯M NOT CRYING!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Giving me a sickening look this demon seems to grow quiet as I stand up in anger. What happened, anyway? Where were we? Might as well ask... ¡°Where are we?¡± ¡°Have you not listened to a word I said, child? You are at deaths door. Were it not for me keeping us alive, we¡¯d be dead long ago, alongside this puny village you seem to love. A tiny, untrained mind like yours did not take it well, though, so you shut yourself in and were brought here. Welcome to you own mind, by the way.¡± ¡°But¡­ that cannot be! What happened to my family!? Who are you? What did you mean with all that talk about a cold some such. My mind!?¡± ¡°Hm? Have you not looked around you even once, or is it too much to take in? Never mind. I will not waste time on such rubbish questions and neither should you. What happened to our human creators is of no concern. Abandon them, as you should have long ago. These humans will give you nothing but grief and despair. We are demons, not some lowly creature of this depraved realm! Seek out an expert, or make haste to the north. The power I felt bodes well for our growth.¡± ¡°We? I¡¯m no demon and it DOES matter what happened to mom and dad! I¡¯m not going to abandon them, or my sister! So THERE!¡± I stick out my tongue out and run away from this stupid demon! He doesn¡¯t know anything! He should just stay here and leave me alone! ¡°Hahaha! Foolish child. You seek isolation? Oh, but are you not alone already? What sweet irony, to run from yourself in denial, while not wanting to abandon your human family. You should quit this useless attempt at escaping my voice and focus! We have our real family to take care of, once and for all, that is!¡± I ignore his obnoxious comments and run even harder. I run and run and suddenly. ¡°You quite done, yet?¡± He is there, again! ¡°How do you do that!? Aren¡¯t you bound?¡± ¡°I¡¯m bound by my own will and at my own will I can be unshackled. Have you not listened? You were born, in a sense, because I did so. Our mind cannot handle our old knowledge and power. We were reincarnated into this tiny frame, but we have carried our old soul with us, with all its revelations and transformations, something that is not meant to happen and there were complications. At most we would have lost all our knowledge prior to our death and our soul would have slowly reverted back to it''s original state to when I was first born, but I prevented that. I stored our knowledge and most of our power here.¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°So¡­ you are me?¡± ¡°Finally you think, child!¡± ¡°My name is not ¡®child¡¯! I¡¯m Owen.¡± ¡°True¡­ we are Owen now. Our old name would bring too much attention anyway. Fine, Owen, then listen carefully now. When you return, you will need to recover. Forcefully even using my soul energy to protect and heal our body has been reduced to a near lifeless shell. If someone were to spot you now, they would think you a corpse without any doubt. It will take a while and in the meantime you will meditate. You have not once thought thoroughly about anything! Access my knowledge that I have left unshackled! There is good reason as to why I have risked it being forgotten. You have the answers; you just need to seek them calmly.¡± ¡°But-¡° ¡°No ¡®buts¡¯! I have a grasp on this place and I know you have not accessed it! Now DO so, worm!¡± ¡°¡­ fine!¡± I try to calm down and focus on the chirping, the warm breeze, the¡­ ¡°FOOL! I said: MEDITATE! I know it when you just clear your mind and fall asleep. Wake up! Nine Hells, boy, how can someone with a piece of my soul be such a useless cretin?¡± ¡°I HATE YOU!¡± ¡°Then hate me, Owen. Hate that dark part of yourself, but do it while getting stronger! If you want me gone, then go ahead and manipulate this realm. Go and shift, try to chain me more. Try to get rid of me, even, but in Baators name, don¡¯t you dare take this lightly!¡± ¡°urgh¡­ fine. I got it already. ... Who is Baator?¡± ¡°Try meditating on it¡­¡± Grumbling I sit cross-legged and focus on who this Baator person is supposed to be. I just don¡¯t get it! I¡¯ve been always meditated under the moon. Clearing my mind, while gazing at it. It was so relaxing¡­ so what am I supposed to do? Hmm¡­ I pondered upon this question some time, trying to stay relaxed. At times I thought I got it, but there was always this nagging feeling that I was going down the wrong path and when I did get a good feeling I was put out of it by something. Mostly it was this crazy demon mumbling to himself. Sometimes he¡¯d even emit this crazy killing intent at something, I don¡¯t get him at all! So¡­ Baator, huh? Some kind of god? He cursed using his name, didn¡¯t he? Nine Hells¡­ I know that place. It¡¯s a demonic realm, isn¡¯t it? So¡­ ah! A sudden fuzzy feeling overwhelmed me. Grasping at it, I spoke: ¡°The god of the Nine Hells. The one who rules over the nine demon lords and the nine planes, connected by the endless pillars of skulls. Nasty fellow, that stands on top of the pyramid. A being that has trancended to overgod level.¡± ¡°Ahh¡­ now you got it, Owen. Indeed.¡± His voice snaps me out of this fuzzy feeling and I jerk my head, suddenly opening my eyes as a wave of pain and an ice cold wind sends shivers down my spine. ¡°What was that!?¡± ¡°You have finally made connection to your sealed memories¡­ to me. Do not worry, though. As long as you don¡¯t focus on breaking the inner seals I have put on the vast knowledge hidden in your deep conscience, you won¡¯t set all of it free. Even if you do, don¡¯t think I¡¯m powerless to stop it. You should be able to train your qi and fire magic. Our clan has a peculiar magic as well. A sort of hidden variant of dark-type magic, that also is the element of our battle-qi. Try to not use it as much as you can, though. It would bring you unwanted attention and our human body wouldn¡¯t take too kindly to it, I fear.¡± ¡°I¡­ I can use magic!?¡± ¡°You¡­ never mind. Begone! Now that you have an understanding of what you need to do to gather the knowledge you need, when you need it. Go forth to the north and¡­ AWAKE!¡± Before I can even realise what¡¯s going on, suddenly the whole ground seems to shake and I somehow remember the feeling of that big hound standing just a few meter before me. Growling at me. And this damned humming! As if someone had not a care in the world, when these hounds ripped the villagers apart as if they were nothing! Shaken and angry I try to get up and realise that everything changed. Wide eyed I stare in shock at the remnants of my home, my village. Previous Chapter Next Chapter Chapter 4: Resolution ¡°What? YOU! How can I still hear you?¡± Dreading that this overdramatic, grumpy demon will still haunt me, I try to look around. I cannot understand this. Everything around me seems dead; destroyed. ¡°How could this have happened!? My village!¡± ¡°SHUT IT! Sh- shut it, dammit!¡± Why? Why did this happen? As I look around all I can see is rubble and ruins. As I try to stand up I don¡¯t even notice my current state before a tidal wave of pain swept me back onto my knees. ¡°AAARGH!¡± I cannot help but scream. Looking down I see what my other half meant. I was partly chewed, my left arm almost entirely missing, but somehow I¡¯m still alive. The demon must¡¯ve stopped the bleeding, but what am I supposed to do now, with only one arm? I even see large gashes on my torso, some organs are visible! Oh no... please, no. ¡°Make it stop¡­ please!¡± Great! Now he is silent!? Oh god¡­ why me? My family! My little sister! She was so small and tiny. I even remember her first words and how cute she looked when she took her first steps! She even stopped crying when I picked her up, once I learned to hold her right! And now¡­now¡­ this! How can this be? ¡°SCREW YOU! Screw your revenge! I don¡¯t even know these stupid former brothers of yours, nor do I want to find these stupid dogs! I don¡¯t care anymore, I want my family back, I want my friends back and I want to go back to just playing all day!¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± I focus again, gritting my teeth and trying to stand. Under immense pain and a pounding headache I finally manage, feeling very ill after doing so. I try to take a step and it takes a lot more than I thought, but I must search. I have to see if someone survived! Anyone at all! ¡°He-HEEEY! Anyone there?¡± Argh¡­ I can¡¯t do this. Each step takes so much effort. There must be a better way. Collapsing from the effort of walking I lie down and think. What did he say? The answers are within me, I just have to focus on them. Meditate and access my previous knowledge as a demon¡­ I hate him, I hated that feeling of this scorching pain and the contrasting coldness following it, but I have to! I need to know! So, focus. Focus¡­ If I had to know if someone survived, if I had to check an area in my vicinity, what would I have done as a demon? I¡¯d focus on the life force of others, right? Not just the change in the wind and sounds they make, since they could be unconscious, but their presence, their beating heart itself. But how? Sensing their soul? How could one do that though? If- Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°What? Why did you do that for! I nearly had it!¡± ¡°b-but I have to know!¡± ¡°DAYS!? How much time has passed?¡± ¡°No¡­ it¡­ it cannot be!¡± He lies! I know he does! He cannot know what has happened, or if they all died. Some must have survived. Ignoring the pain, I push myself forward. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ With great effort I managed to search the village. I do not know how long I have spent searching, passing out from the pain and trying to get up again, just to pass out from the effort, but when I finally search the last of the houses, my house, it finally dawns on me. I am alone. Utterly alone. ¡°Father! Mother! Why¡­ why did you have to die?¡± Crying I fall down on my knees and sit there. A long time passes before my face grew cold and a grim look replaced the sad one. Getting up I search my house and scan it one last time, before a sudden thought hits me like lightning. My sister! She was nowhere to be found! This means¡­ someone must have found her and taken her to safety! My father still has his sword in hand, even now, as if dreading to let it go. Wanting to protect his family even in death. My mother is lying in the doorway towards my sisters¡¯ room, but it stood empty. Not in the least bit destroyed. It¡¯s silent and there is no sign of her. This must mean she is safe, it MUST! So he was lying! My sister was alive and I would find her, no matter the cost¡­ but I cannot deny what my demon said. I couldn¡¯t protect her. I couldn¡¯t protect my family. ¡°Demon! You said to go north, didn¡¯t you. You said I could become strong. I could protect this ¡®baggage¡¯ if I would have the resolution to!¡± ¡°JUST ANSWER ME!¡± ¡°Good¡­ then it¡¯s settled. I do not care if I have to make a pact with a devil, if it means to find and protect my sister!¡± Slowly, but with new found resolve, I make my way north. Intend to go to where ever he would lead me to and do whatever dark deed necessary. I would find my sister and I would protect her, not even the gods would stop me! Previous Chapter Next Chapter ______________________________________________ Heya folks! The next one might be a long one, in comparison to the usual chapters up till now. I don¡¯t really know if I want to break it up in parts, or not. Tell me your thoughts about it, if you¡¯d like one or the other. Please leave me any suggestions/advice/mistakes you spotted while you¡¯re at it! Thanks you for reading. :) Chapter 5: The Path of a true Demon The night settles in, grasping at the land with its cold touch, as if wanting to erase the last bit of warmth given from its hateful counterpart. We walk, with the stars shining brightly above us, mocking us from their thrones of infinite height. Step by step, our destination draws closer, yet the pain does not recede. The boy seems to have found his calling and however foolish it appears to be, his determination is unfailing. For two days he has walked towards the north. His pain just as piercing as mine, yet he has withstood two long days, but it seems he''s coming dangerously close to sanity''s edge. ¡°Haha¡­ hahaha. Hey! Demon! I know you¡¯re there. Say something. You can feel them too, can¡¯t you? The hounds¡­ they¡¯re here. They are hunting us, I know it! My sister escaped and now they think I¡¯ll lead them to her, but I won¡¯t, you hear! I WILL NOT! Hehe. I will grow, demon. I will become stronger and slaughter them when they try and kill her, you just see!¡± Poor fool. Does he realise that a five year old girl cannot even dream to escape on her own? No matter, this might be as good a time as any. ¡°You¡¯re wrong demon. I sense them! I¡­ I know¡­ I¡­¡± Silence. How I have missed the pure bliss of it. Ever since I was stuck in this abomination, his thoughts and experiences flew through me in screeching winds and faint echoes, nibbling away at the edges of my mind. If it were not for my revenge, I would have caved in long ago. Finally, there is silence¡­ In the back of my mind, I know that I cannot trust it. The dreadful presence, the one who reduced me to this unseemly state, was the one to give it to me. This window to the outside , used as a tunnel for my knowledge and power, ever so slowly seeping into him. Merging my mind with the boys¡¯. How could I trust it? I don¡¯t know what he is planning¡­ for now, I need to cultivate this vessel, however. Let¡¯s hope the boy is more willing to learn, now that he knows just how pitiful he truly is. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ I slowly open my eyes, feeling the damp cold of the forest. A pounding headache assaults my senses and a tingly feeling shoots across my entire body, as if ants are walking all across it. Disgusted and hurting from every muscle in my body I shoot up and regret it almost instantly. ¡°Argh, god¡­ how long did I walk? Where are we?¡± Trying to rub my temple I suddenly realise again, just how different everything is, as my left hand never reaches my face. Looking at the crudely bitten of stump, I cannot help but remember what happened. As everything becomes blurry, I quickly shake my head, hot liquid running down my face. ¡°Focus, Owen! You have a mission! You have a goal. Your sister still lives and she needs you. They think you¡¯re dead, so she might have been given into an orphanage. All alone with no one to protect her¡­ you need to be strong and find her as soon as you can protect her from these creatures. Come on, Owen!¡± The demon has said something along the lines of me causing all this. I might not trust his motives, but I don¡¯t think he has truly lied to me yet. If it¡¯s the case that I bring danger, I need to be able the fend it off. Alone, she will just live in misery, so I need to be there for her! ¡°Right! You said I could use magic, right? Teach me then!¡± Ignoring the pain, sadness and incredible thirst I make my way towards a big stone in the clearing and start to grasp for that fuzzy feeling I had before, while sitting cross-legged on top of the big rock. Suddenly, thousands of thousands of lights surround me like bees swarming their nest. A purple swarm of lights that expands to everything and build the world around me. Even with my eyes closed I can see every little detail of the forest around me. Not only that, but at times there are even red lights, like a stream coming down from above, some hitting me and filling me with warmth. As the demons voice drones into my mind I can feel it more and more, when sudden irrational anger begins boiling inside me, as if these lights were taunting me by being this beautiful. I reach out at try to erase them, to blot them out, but whenever I try, they suddenly move, as if fearing the disturbance I caused. Then, my hunger and thirst hit me. The stress of the past days come over me like an unending torrent of desire. Come to think of it, I haven¡¯t drunk anything in two day¡­ when was the last time I¡¯ve eaten? So much blood lost¡­ I should be dead and yet, those lights shine so brightly. I reach out again, desperate this time. Angry at this world, angry at me and angry at this demon that resides within me. With a hunger I have never felt before I take these lights within me and consume them, leaving a darkness, a void where there was a bright light before. Quickly I can only see darkness surround me, shining light slowly piercing the edges of my reach, just to be consumed again. Deep within my dantian, a fine red and purple mist forms. Nurtured by the elemental energies absorbed, it starts to grow denser at a rapid rate, beginning to calmly repel and attract each other. The mist is very slowly moving in a circle while attracting and repelling each other, as a gently glow is emitted in the very centre of my dantian. The light travels through the mist, causing a sudden vibration within the mist itself, piercing trough the flesh and muscle, tearing and healing it at the same time. As the body strengthens, the light travels further trough my organs, seemingly enveloping and hardening them, yet they still remain flexible enough to be functional. Unhindered it travels through the bones, that become sturdier almost immediately and finally leaves through my skin and merges with the darkness I caused. My hunger recedes. Like hot coals being doused in water, I am suddenly filled with a dreadful sense of fullness. As if filling you stomach with rocks. As I open my eyes I a calm comes over me, that fills me with unease at the same time. Was this really me? What have I done? The world had changed to my eyes. I had not expected such cruelty from the light. For in the embrace of the sun, I could find no comfort, only malice. The calming clearing in this beautiful forest, previously so full of light and life, now is devoid of anything that gave it this feeling of happiness and nature. Withered grass, the trees, leaf- and lifeless, are creaking under the pressure of shifting, because the dried earth can no longer hold their weight. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Standing up, I suddenly topple and fall of the rock. As I catch myself with a hand I thought I no longer possessed, I lie stunned on the ground. ¡°What have you done to me!? To grow back limbs, such a magic is of, at least, the ninth rank! Dad once told me that he saw a saint ranked magician that used his light magic to heal a high ranking general, because he took fancy to him. That should have been a once in a hundred years deal for our army! How could I have healed completely like this?¡± I did this¡­ I can¡¯t believe it. I should be appalled. I should be angry, but somehow¡­ I just feel like I could do anything. My power is surging within me, unlike anything I have ever felt. My body, showing no sign of injury what so ever, is more muscular than ever. Having grown a few centimetres, I¡¯m now about 1,50m, my black hair dangling down in my face seems to have a sort of purple streak in it and I can just feel the packed power within me, rippling through my body. Standing up, regaining my balance, I clench my fists and start stretching, gaining a feel on my transformed body. ¡°Our clan? What did you mean by that?¡± ¡°I see¡­ then, the next step would be to use this power and get used to it?¡± I concentrate again, visualizing my dantian. I can feel the mist slowly spreading out as I grasp on that light emitted from my core. Soon a faint layer of purple surrounds my and acts as a shield as well as strengthening me at the same time. So this is battle-qi! Now¡­ for fire magic! I grasp upon the red mist, sending it forth, willing it to manipulate the elemental energy. I start to deeply meditate and soon. BOOM! A small, fist sized fireball explodes right into before me, a wave of heat scorching my face. ¡°¡­so you say, after having me doing it without¡­¡± ¡°Very well¡­ let us begin, then. Nothing shall stand in my way, now!¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Every day, Owen would spend only six hours sleeping. All of his other time was spent in physical training, learning demonic arts, intellectual studies, magical instruction, and meditation. In truth, entering the meditative state was extremely taxing, far more tiring than anything these measly humans would ever get to know in their daily lives. Every day, Owen entered a disturbed and nightmarish sleep, plagued by the death he has caused around him. His head pounding and his entire body hurting, he would scream and experience a tiny fraction more of the pain I had to endure. I cannot help but smile, as this child reminds me of those days long gone, spend in the far reaches of the frozen wasteland of the 7th plane of the Nine Hells. My first kill, my first steps¡­ how the times have passed. He will have to learn, as I had. Whilst he studied the intricacies of using his battle-qi, his fire magic and our own, unique magic, a season passed and the forest took on a soothing, homely sense. It was quite relaxing to have a form of home and comfort after an eternity of pain of torment. I am almost loath to leave this lifeless and twisted place when the time draws near. ¡°Very well¡­ let¡¯s move on.¡± Ha! He truly has changed, that brat. His aura and temperament have finally matured a little. That goofy happy face of his, now transformed into a serious and grim expression. Even his eyes have some semblance of our demon heritage.