Spero stands at a cliffside a few kilometers away from Anshan. He has a vivid flashback to when he was just a child. He was running around, laughing and enjoying himself when he heard faint whispering coming from somewhere behind him. Curious, he stealthily creeps across the uneven terrain and peers around the corner of a large boulder.

"You know you can't protect him forever, the other gods will turn their back on you." Says a young beautiful woman, wearing a white dress and a gold crown.

Spero's father responds, "I do not care, I refuse to abandon my child, I partook in these wars and I will no longer allow the carnage to resume on these lands."

"This boy will cause nothing but trouble, you cannot change his true nature. An angel taking care of a daeva is blasphemous, is your life worth raising him?"

His father stands over her, "He is worth more than the ground I step on and the air I breathe. The other gods have gone too far, they have abandoned these people...and I will stand for it no more."

He puts his hand on her face and leans in, "You know it to be true, stay with me, stay with us, and together we can change all of this and make it the way the deities dreamed it could be, the way we have dreamt it."

The woman leans in close, but she shoves him away [https://img.wattpad.com/49c23e0726063cbec4fa4cb83952a8735e22eb1f/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f64454132685555665163435853513d3d2d313431323433323433362e313762616439313361343136656165303438373037353138333834362e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

The woman leans in close, but she shoves him away, "No! This child will perish this land and I will not be a part of it! You have betrayed the Yazatas and you have chosen your path...goodbye Verethragna."

She walks off and Verethragna walks toward her, "Anahita, please, don't do this...I will not be your enemy!"

She pauses and slightly looks past her left shoulder, "You are no longer a god among us, nor mine."

Anahita leaves and Verethragna stands in dismay. Spero ops out and approaches his father.

"Sp...Spero, are you done playing already?". He leans down and pats Spero on his shoulder, holding a false smile.

"Are you alright father?"

Verethragna gets up, "Yes, my son...I'm going to lie down for a bit. I will see you when the sun rises, don't stay up too late."

He strides away, pausing after a few steps. He wills himself not to look back as he bites his lip to prevent any words from slipping out as he marches off to catch some sleep. In the present, Spero stares down at the ring in his clenched fist, his eyes gleaming with fierce determination and a thirst for vengeance. His gaze turns to the horizon.

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Spero returns to Anshan and spots Nefarious wandering around the plaza. He follows him, carefully tailing him as he goes. Nefarious eventually stops at a wall and begins chanting a spell. Suddenly, a door forms in the wall and opens up with a slight creak. Spero examines the wall and finds an alternate route nestled within its structure.

Nefarious lays his staff down and strides toward his laboratory table [https://img.wattpad.com/6a7d196f9a8d19cb9283197f901eb06c2ef4031b/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f7a4e6857414354324449706157513d3d2d313431323433323433362e313761393062313361383533346535343333363835353731353032312e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

Nefarious lays his staff down and strides toward his laboratory table. Before he can reach out for his feathered quill, he whirls around, conjuring a magical circle in the palm of his hand. Spero stands silently at a meter's distance.

"How the hell did you get in here?"

"I've found my way inside plenty of hidden chambers, yours was trickier than most," Spero admits while playing with some items lying around.

"You managed to slip by a five-structure lock spell...what is it you want?"

"Don't worry, I'm not here to spy on you or your secret experiments, I came for information."

Nefarious smirks and brings his hands together, "And what will you offer in return?"

"A seat in an ongoing revolt in the Median Empire."

Nefarious's face goes blank, "Now that is an intriguing offer, what do you seek?"

"As part of the Divine Covenant, you must have made contact with certain gods in your time."

Nefarious gets quiet, "What is it you're truly asking of me?"

"I want to know of any alliances and or locations of gods or demons in the desert."

The sorcerer leans on his table, "Are you absurd?!"

Spero puts down a jar that has eyes floating inside, "The Divine Covenant is considered the most powerful sorcerers in the world. You have plenty of connections."

"Even if I had that knowledge, sharing such information would be detrimental to my clients.

"Don't worry, I'll keep your name out of my mouth if I'm spotted."

"This isn't a matter of who knows, it's a matter of what could happen if you mess with the wrong individuals. This could cause conflict with multiple cities and spark a grand war between gods."

"No need to be alarmed, I have no interest in creating any pointless battles, all I need is a name and a general location, and I will figure out the rest. Someone like you should have an interest in daevas. Magic that dapples with the dark arts is your specialty, correct?"

Nefarious grabs his forehead and shakes in regret, "Asto Vidatu, the demon god of death. If you travel close to the body of water near the edge of Old Elam you will find an abandoned cave that used to belong to him. There are old testaments and artifacts of Daevas and other gods. I only had a short time to glance over that information, but it was overrun. It would be best to travel there in the next two seasons, after that period the demonic beasts should have migrated to a new nest for the time being."

"Thank you."

Spero then shares with Nefarious a few details of their ploy against the Median Empire and the inner conflict between King Astyages and Cambyses. Nefarious agrees to assist in the matter ensuring he gets accommodations worthy of his contribution.

"Before you leave Spero, I do have a question for you."

Spero nods his head with hesitation.

"Once we conquer the Medes, will you be so kind as to let me research your power?"

"Why?"

"The dark energy you produce is rare and incredibly unnatural to the structural tree of all energy types."

Spero, also curious as to what his true power is, hesitates to answer, he stares at Nefarious untruthfully but gives in to his self-discovery.

"Perhaps in the near future."

Spero leaves and Nefarious grins with excitement.