At the eastern shore of the continent of Sarliane, at the fringes of the Republic of Mercenaries, on the shimmering sand that was facing the sunrise, a lone figure walked. Dressed in odd black clothing with a cape and a slitted helmet, he moved forward with a limp. On his hand, there was a crooked staff that resembled a gigantic thorn that he used to support himself.

  Crunch, crunch, crunch. Each of his unrhythmic steps on the sparkling sand echoed on the empty landscape. His boots dug into the ground, soaking in sea-water with satisfying crunches, and yet he didn’t stop walking. In his surroundings all there was accompanying him were the stray sea-shells that broke apart when he stepped on them, the gentle tide of the ocean, and the rising sun. He seemed to be walking towards a rocky hill with some difficulty.

  The man was none other than Dargon, still limping and injured from the fight with the Primordial Spirit of the Arthra Forest. Even though it had happened so long ago, he was still hurt and slightly crippled, but even in this state he was still very much an executive of the council; a true visionary of the future.

  Which is why he had made a shocking decision just recently in spite of his state.

  “Life… is it the fleeting moments that brings us happiness, or the moments where we feel soul-crushing sorrow that makes it worth living?”

  His old and aged voice echoed in the empty beach as he began to step on the rocks of the hill. He was speaking at nobody in particular, but even then his words carried deep meaning.

  “Is it when we create casual relationships? Like when I became a mentor to others and treated them as my children?”

  He glanced towards the cloudy sky that was threatening to rain. The wind was blowing, causing his cloak to flutter back and forth. He took a moment before continuing forward, letting his question go unanswered.

  “Is it when we create something from nothing? When we find places we belong to? Or when we achieve something we didn’t think possible? Maybe it’s all of them; all of them are dreams, after all.”

  His crooked steps echoed calmly as he made his way up the small hill, his staff dug into the rocks, breaking them as he used them to support himself.

  “Dreams… that is what makes life worth living. But a single individual can only achieve so much in the limited time that life offers them.”

  He made his way to the top as he began to overlook the ocean with a rather calm deamenor. Even though his expression wasn’t visible, his serene feelings were more than obvious.

  “Which is why, one must dream as a collective.”

  His voice echoed into the ocean, and he tapped his staff down on the ground. A ripple of dark and purple magic exploded into his surroundings, as he channeled his mana.

  “Only then, will we achieve greatness.”

  The sea in the distance began to move as a small whirlpool began to spin to life, and it began to grow bigger, and bigger. The tide began to grow violent as sploches of red began to permeate the once blue canvas.

  “Even though we yearned for a certain path, sometimes it is not wrong to change directions to achieve our goals. After all, the routes we take are merely a means to an end…” he mused.

  Above the whirlpool, a gigantic magic circle of space opened, creating a massive portal from where demons began to fall in the hundreds. Like red grains of wheat being poured down into the sea, it was a red waterfall. And from within the sea, a gigantic and pale maw opened, swallowing them whole before moving back into the depths.

  Shortly after that, a voice spoke in Dargon’s mind. “More sacrifices are required.”

  “I know.”

  Silence followed as the whirlpool within the ocean began to disappear and the portal above it vanished. It was as if nothing had ever happened, yet him and some others knew that this event would shake the entire world.

  Once it all vanished, he turned around and began to walk away, making his way down the rocky hill once more. To him, to the council, this had been their decision to meet their goals. After thousands of years, it was clear that the Primordials wouldn’t allow them to see into the beyond, which is why they had to take matters into their own hands. That was the only route they had left.

  “Perhaps, this is just fate.” Dargon shook his head.

  As he stepped back onto the sand, he couldn’t help but let out a small humph of satisfaction. After all, that pesky primordial had told him he wouldn’t amount to anything in the past; he had long been ridiculed, but now? Now things were different, and even if that woman, Amber made an appearance, nothing would change.

  He reached into his clothes and pulled a single crystal ball that was sparkling with red and mystical light.

  Because now, the same artifact he had used against that Primordial Spirit had now been recharged. He looked at it for a moment before storing it away and making his way back towards his base.

  “I shall be waiting…”

  So many members of the council had paid in blood to fulfill their dreams, and soon would be the time to fulfill them, and once they did, their names would go down the annals of history. They would open the gates to a world that even most of their members weren’t aware of.

  What a truly exciting time to be alive.

  While he was sure that the true struggle to realize his and everybody else’s dreams had yet to come, he was ready to weather this storm and face it to achieve what they had set out to do. After all, he was far from alone.

  He smiled, seeing three other figures waiting in the distance.

  Even now, their preparations were just starting. After all, there was still a demon left to summon.

  * * *

  Summon a Demon God?

  Amber’s mind reeled, if she didn’t misremember, Elcaro, or rather Oracle, intended to control demons. So, how exactly would a Demon God be summoned if he most definitely couldn’t control something like that? There was no way he’d allow that. Something wasn’t adding up there.

  Having that realization, she frowned and looked at the Demon of Chaos questioningly.

  “I don’t think Oracle would allow that.”

  “Hehe, Oracle? That fool?”

  His mocking voice resounded as he met her gaze, before speaking.

  “He’s dead.”

  He shook his head, almost in desbelief at her statement. “Even before I reached you, I felt my contract towards him end. What do you think that means?”

  He gave her a mocking grin, but all Amber could do was nod.

  “So, the council is cooperating to summon the Demon God?” Mercoth asked, his face ashen.

  “Maybe they don’t know the full extent of the genesis scum’s plans, but I can tell you with certainty that is the reason he is here in Vir,” the Demon of Chaos explained simply. “To us, demons, especially to the Demon Gods, destroying Vir would be an occassion worth celebrating. When given the opportunity, they’d obviously seize it.”

  Hearing that, the rest of the people went quiet, except for Amber. After all, she was well aware of the feud between the demons and the primordials, but even then, hearing that suddenly there was the threat of the world ending just from the fact that she had failed to kill Oracle back then was…

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  It was certainly very hard to swallow.

  After all, who would’ve expected that something like that would scale into this? Nobody.

  Amber gritted her teeth for a moment, before looking over at the Demon of Chaos.

  “How do I stop the summoning ritual?”

  “At your current strength? Impossible.” He shook his head. “Even if my strength were fully recovered you’d be hard pressed. After all, not only would you need to get past the Demon of Genesis, but also get past all the accomplices he has recruited.”

  She balled her fists in annoyance. “Do I have much time?”

  “No, the destruction of Vir will happen soon. You have a two weeks at most, and that’s me being generous.”

  “Wouldn’t the primordials interfere with this?” Mercoth asked, evidently annoyed.

  “You think the Demon Gods would stand and let them act? Even those that are still in this world, will be stopped in some way, or some might not even act.” He smirked. “I remember there’s a primordial that has a contract they must honor in this situation to make an example.”

  “That is…” the old man was at a loss for words.

  “Sadly, you insects never stood a chance against those sly bastards,” he said, almost ruefully.

  Amber took all the information in. She never thought that the stakes of this entire situation would be this high, and at this point even though the Demon of Chaos was prideful, he had no reason to make up the facts. After all, in spite of his attitude he was now her ally, and in his words, this was an investment.

  She closed her eyes thinking back to the contract she had made with the demon. Her own words flashing in her mind.

  “You will give me your power, your knowledge, your experience, and your guidance; everything that is you will belong to me. And only then will I help you enact your revenge.”

  Everything that was the Demon of Chaos belonged to her, even though she couldn’t directly access his knowledge or guidance without asking him, she was still entitled to it. Which meant…

  “Help me grow stronger,” she said towards the demon.

  He craned his head towards her before shaking her head. “Impossible, to advance past the 2nd Realm in such a short amount of time is something out of your reach, as talented as you are.”

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  Shaking her head she met his gaze once more, as she began to speak.

  “Help me find monsters, demons, bad people to kill and grow stronger.” It almost felt weird to say she sought to kill humans, but she was desperate now. “I need to be able to stop this catastrophe.”

  The Demon of Chaos gave her a good look before tilting his head in confusion. “Why?”

  “What do you mean why?”

  He harrumphed and with a wave of his hand, Amber felt the demon’s Essence within her stir as a purple barrier formed, only having the two of them inside. It was an unexpected move that shocked everyone present, and if not for the nod Amber gave Frei, she was sure they would’ve jumped to destroy it.

  Now inside and alone with the Demon of Chaos, the demon continued speaking.

  “That’s right, why? You are likely to become a god in due time, what does it matter if Vir is destroyed to you? Your primordial friends can just help you arrive in Ill’hine and get your foot in the door so you can barely scrape by there. Then, you can slowly grow stronger until reaching apotheosis.”

  His calm words resonated within the barrier as he leaned over and looked at Amber with true puzzlement.

  “So why?”

  Is that what he thinks? She mulled over his words as numerous memories arrived in her mind. The first memory that hit her was from back on Earth, when she was running.

  She remembered the taste of iron in her mouth. The outside world completely tuned out, only her heartbeat and breathing accompanying her as she ran. The aching of her muscles being nothing but a small distraction as her thoughts focused on only one task.

  Running.

  She remembered, wanting to push forward more and more, and then?— her vision growing hazy and a feeling of sickness hitting her. The whole situation almost caused her to fall as she came to a stop with unsteady and messy steps.

  Back then on Earth, she thought that she was nearing her limits, that that was it. Even though it brought her fulfillment, the limits of her flesh also frustrated her. So when she came to Vir, when she found out she was rewarded for her behaviors, she almost felt… liberated.

  It was an incredibly rewarding feeling to be free of all of that, even if in the past she had missed her life on Earth to some extent. So, it almost felt like she belonged in Vir. Of course, if that was it then there was no reason as to why to want to save it that badly; she could probably push her limits just as well in Ill’hine.

  Then, she remembered her first friend on Vir, Ax’thra.

  She remembered sitting before him, talking about why being a Mage was preferable to being a Warrior, before he said his signature words.

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  And that’s when she had had enough. She had called him unbearable and sighed, before realizing the meaning of her words. But contrary to her expectations the god before her broke into howling laughter.

  “A human has said I’m unbearable?”

  He laughed for sometime before speaking once more:

  “You are quite something. Honestly, that is true. That’s why I built all of this for myself, to placate my boredom. And that’s why I like you! Entertain me more, mortal?, no?— Amber!”

  Even though he had been somewhat rude back then, it was still a fond memory to her. After all, if it hadn’t been for Ax’thra’s arrangements, it was likely she wouldn’t have learned Essence or learn how much more she could push herself.

  But still, Ax’thra was a god, he wasn’t even native to Vir, so why want to protect this world? And that’s when other memories came into her mind.

  She remembered Thieney, his attempts to befriend her and guide her back in Laria in spite of being a complete stranger to him. His guidance on death when she first encountered it… Even now, she remembered his words.

  “I just mean to say that, deaths are an inevitability. Monsters attack us, and we defend ourselves. Sometimes, we are the heroes who defend against the darkness, and sometimes… well, the darkness wins. Today, we are the heroes.”

  Then, Amber remembered Liz Starkell, she remembered her sister Velda Starkell, she even remembered the cute deer-like creature she adopted, naming it Deer on a whim. And that wasn’t all, she remembered the merchant Cecile, she remembered her first Essence mentor, Asil. She remembered Silvette, the daughter of the Dazdril family.

  Hell, she even remembered Aveline, or Frei who were present in this very room.

  She had met so many people in Vir. So many faces flashed across her mind for a moment, whether it was the king and the princess or even that adventurer that tried to stop her from going to the dungeon with Thieny back in Laria. To her, Vir was like a second home.

  “Why you ask?” She smiled. “This place is like my second home. Isn’t there something you’d be willing to risk your life to protect?”

  The Demon of Chaos paused and stood straight once more before finally shaking his head.

  “Not at all.”

  “Your pride.” Amber pointed out.

  The demon frowned but remained silent. Finally, after a moment he spoke up:

  “And here I thought I would never understand the emotions of a lowly human. So it is like that for you.”

  “That’s right, but there’s also something else,” she added.

  The Demon of Chaos seemed confused for a moment before eyeing her curiously: “And that is?”

  “I once missed the opportunity to kill Oracle, the fact that that mistake is going to turn into something this massive is not something I can tolerate, which is also why I see it as my responsibility to put a stop to this,” she said resolutely.

  The Demon of Chaos listened for a moment, taking her words in. And finally, after a few moments, he spoke:

  “Looks like I might’ve made a mistake with this contract,” he mused. “But, I’m not one to back out of my decisions, and even if it leads to my end I shall stick to the agreed terms.”

  After a moment of silence, he flashed a creepy grin.

  “Alright, then let us make you stronger so you can ruin the plans of the Demon Gods.”

  Amber frowned hearing that. “You get something out of this and yet you were trying to stop me, are you sure you’re not the Demon of Kindness?”

  “That fool is long dead,” he scoffed. “All I’m doing is looking out for my investment. If you throw your life away, then it would all go to waste.”

  With those words, he waved and the barrier surrounding them began to disintegrate, startling the people that had been waiting. Little by little, the purple faded into the air, until the barrier was completely gone. Then, looking around, the Demon of Chaos began to speak.

  “Human fools, if you value your life I’d suggest against accompanying the stupid master I chose.”

  Frei scowled hearing him. “I chose her as my master first, you think I’m scared just because I might die?”

  He glanced over at her and simply harrumphed, not even bothering to reply to that.

  Aveline spoke up. “I’ve already made up my mind.”

  However, contrary to expectations, or maybe even fulfilling expectations, Mercoth looked towards Amber as he seemed to hesitate.

  “Do you think I could… leave?”

  The contrast was truly there, causing her to chuckle. “It’s up to you.”

  His eyes widened in shock, then he seemed to go through some kind of internal struggle as he placed a hand on his chin, before finally he let out a sigh of resignation.

  “I never thought I’d do something for a noble cause, but I’m willing to stick with you.” He shook his head. “If the world is destroyed how am I meant to take a vacation?”

  Amber blinked hearing that, but smiled shortly after. The Demon of Chaos watched it all, waiting for everyone to finish talking, before nodding and turning to Amber.

  “Then, I suppose it is time to start training you, isn’t it?”

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