The dark prince smirked at Orion.

"What do you think?"

(Me?)

Pointing at himself, Orion blinked. He wasn't expecting the question to be thrown back at him.

"That's why I never liked you. Stop being a moron and answer his question."

"Shut it, you good-for-nothing. Wait for your turn."

The priestess and the dark prince looked at each other with hate. He grabbed the woman's face with one hand, pressing on her cheeks. She grabbed his collar and pulled him closer to her.

'What is happening?'

Orion looked at this scene, reminding him of a married couple's infighting.

"Let me go, prince of nothing!"

"You first, firefly!"

They released each other's at the same time and crossed their arms after looking away.

(I would hate to be wrong... but were you a couple?)

The prince turned to Orion, before closing his eyes.

"Only one question each."

Subjected to the man's logic damaged Orion's pride, but he swallowed it and listened in silence as the man began to speak.

"You asked us who we are, but the real question should be, who 'were' we."

The subtlety wasn't wasted on Orion. He nodded and focused. The priestess seemed to also concentrate on the conversation, as she warmly smiled at him.

"I had received the title of 'Prince of Darkness', while my real name is Alaric. As you might have realized by now, I was your ancestor, the first human to become a demon."

With a provocative smirk, he nodded, satisfied by his words.

"Can you please not toot your own horn? You make me want to vomit."

He glared at the woman with a high-and-mighty expression and opened his mouth.

"Introduce yourself instead of bothering me every time I open my mouth, would you?"

"Yes, yes. I get it, prince of nothing."

A vein bulged on Alaric's face, yet, he contained his anger and ignored her comment. She gave a satisfied smile, before she smiled at Orion again.

With swift movements, she grabbed the bottom part of her dress and bowed forward with dignity.

"I am Alyssia. Like this pitiful prince over there, I was the first angel to have emerged, and is also your ancestor. While alive, I have called the 'Radiant Priestess'."

Orion blinked.

(Is it my blood?)

Alaric looked at him and nodded.

"You catch on fast. It is certainly the reason behind our apparition."

He glanced at Alyssia with a hint of regret on his face. She did the same, before they both sighed.

"For what it is worth, let me thank you."

She bowed once again, before straightening her back. With a dry smile, she continued.

"Even if we died a long time ago, our souls kept on watching through the many generations that succeeded us. Yet, this is the first time we ever crossed path since then."

With a frown on his face, Alaric stared at Orion.

"It might be better if we explain our background to you. Since we have the opportunity, I would like to pass the torch to you, the final bearer of our extinguished feelings."

(What do you mean by that?)

With a confused expression, Orion looked back at him, before Alyssia interjected.

"Everything has a timing. Do not worry, you will properly understand in due time."

Her warm smile calmed him to his core.

(Alright.)

"I'll start."

Alaric, still his arms crossed, began to tell their story.

"We said that we became the first of our kind, but before that happened, we were humans."

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"During our time, the world was ravaged constantly by corrupted creatures that destroyed villages as if humans were insects on their path. One such fate happened to us, as one day, everything around us turned into ash and dust."

With the memories of this day still haunting his mind, he closed his eyes.

"Powerless children as we were, most of us laid there, between life and death. If not for that man, not a single child would have survived. Yet, in the end..."

Alyssia glared at him.

"You're digressing. Focus."

He nodded, before returning to the main topic.

"Noah Stralicht. The Hero. The man who single-handedly ended the reign of terror that ravaged our continent."

"He was like a bright light, yet, he dragged the darkness of the world behind him. In an attempt to ease his mental strain, he saved countless orphans from those destroyed villages. Noah was also the one giving us new names."

"Every month of so, for ten years, he came to the land we named Eogis, which was uninhabited, and dropped us off there. We quickly formed a tight-fitted colony, where we strived to improve our lives."

His expression changed to pride.

"The first ones to show signs of changes were me, and this woman. Most of us decided to follow our heart, and share the burden our savior was carrying. With our prayers answered, and thanks to the man himself, magic changed our bodies, and we became able to wield it."

"But it came with a big change. Our body mutated into these new forms. Wings sprouted from our back, and various changes happened to each individual. Some had halos, others had tails, you get the idea."

Alyssia nodded, before placing her hand on his shoulder.

"I'll take over from here. I know you don't like the next part."

"Hmpf."

He turned his face away, but for a split second, Orion managed to see regret painted on his face.

"At first, there weren't any problems. We continued to live peacefully while Noah worked on saving our world. While life wasn't exactly all roses, this guy and I fell in love. We lived a pretty simple life, and we were expecting a child in the near future."

"Oh, you don't have to worry, our daughter ended up being birthed safely. What you saw during the first match was made to drag us toward the necessary mood."

Alaric and Alyssia looked at each other, before both of them smiled lightly. They seemed to treasure the memories of their daughter, even after becoming watchers.

"At the time, our blood had still barely changed, which meant that our children were humans until much later in their life. But that isn't the problem."

A dark veil covered her eyes, and Alaric sighed.

"Noah died. That became the catalyst of our demise as a group. Sure, he had removed the threat that the corruption was, but our savior perished at the same time."

"Many of us refused to believe it. We waited multiple years, in hope that he would return one day, but never did Noah set foot on our land again."

"The children, now adults, began to despair. Their mind couldn't endure the pain of losing him, and before long, they turned against each others."

Alyssia turned her body and crossed her arms.

"Angels and demons began to argue, until a pink haired woman appeared to us with two artifacts."

Orion knew only one woman who had pink hair, and who was acquainted with Noah.

'Tetra, probably.'

"She gave us each a part of an artifact Noah had on him at all time. It was broken in half, which meant both factions could receive a keepsake of him. Alas, this wasn't enough to quell the fighting."

"They both tried to steal the other half of the artifact to each other. As we watched in disarray, the unthinkable happened at last."

Alaric opened his mouth, and with the darkest stare a man was capable of displaying, he looked at Alyssia.

"Small conflicts escalated into a full-on war. The once tight-knitted community turned against each other, killing each other's without a care."

"I still do not understand why. They forcefully separated couples of angels and demons, and dragged us into the mess they had created."

"In the end, we ended up killing each other on the battlefield, in front of our daughter."

(...)

Orion understood at last. The hate coming from them during the matches weren't directed at one another, but at the people who used them and destroyed their lives.

"What we built, everything, was destroyed in just an instant. Because one hero died, the world came crashing on the weakest souls, leading them on a path of self-destruction."

"Of course, it isn't Noah's fault. Our history is one we forced upon ourselves. In our heart, we were still humans, who were barely healed from our wounds. It was no wonder conflict would arise, when two separate evolutions happened."

With the time to analyze their history, Alaric explained his discoveries.

"On one side, the angels were interested in creating devices, while the demons focused solely on improving their magic aptitudes. Segregation happened naturally, and it led to this unhealthy rivalry."

"We were the most powerful, but died so easily at the hand of the other. Only bitter regret stand between us."

(You were used against your will, with no choice to free yourselves.)

"Exactly. Sure, we could have fled somewhere. Yet, there is a saying: 'Trouble always come back to bite you in the ass.'"

(I understand it very well.)

"We saw. You, who finally became the anchor for our factions' peace, have been fighting not only for your survival, but also to protect the people around you."

Alyssia smiled and took over.

"We couldn't have asked for a better successor. I am simply saddened by the complete destruction of our factions, which means that you ultimately ended up inheriting our broken history, and nothing with it."

(...)

"Please, succeed on these trials, and awaken your demon blood. When the time will be ripe, everything will fall into place, and your unique blood will form. We believe you will become way stronger."

Alaric nodded.

"We were the peak of our generation. Noah was a beast in his own right, but we could hold our head high against him. I will pray that one day, you reach the peak of your strength."

Their body began to vanish, starting from their legs.

"Because there is nothing as marvelous as standing on the highest peak, looking in the horizon."

With a wink followed by a smirk, he placed his right hand on Orion's left shoulder.

"Don't listen to him too seriously. Evolve at your own pace, and one day, you will break through your limits. Then, nothing will be able to destroy your peace, and your happiness."

"We will continue to watch over you. Since your existence gave us the opportunity to stay together for a little while longer, we should enjoy whatever time we have left."

Alyssia placed her hand on his head, and gently caressed his hair.

"Orion, go forth. Be proud of who you are, and always remember."

They disappeared from his sight.

"History doesn't make you who you are."

Orion looked in front of him, with conflicted emotions.

(Thank you. I won't forget those words.)

With gratitude filling his heart, he felt like something cast over him had been lifted. A weight he had no idea existed vanished, and with a smile on his face, Orion readied himself for the third trial.

Having heard the story of his ancestors, he swore to remember them until the very last moment of his life.

Pride filled his being. Even those who suffered greatly supported him. He had to grant their wish, and attain the peak, one way or another.

So that tragedy would not happen to him, or anyone else.

(The peak.)

Looking forward to the next trial, it didn't take long for it to appear in front of him.

A bright light covered him, revealing the third trial.

The trial of 'Willpower'.