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Saho was not the strongest of his family. That honor was given to his brother, nor was he the smartest, a title that was quietly and unofficially given to his sister.
That wasn’t to say that Saho was useless, he was more skilled with tools then his siblings.
By this time of the day, he was by the Nile river, gathering water. He had done it thousands of times before, and was not expecting anything to change this time.
Of course, much like the stories that his mother would tell him, that was his first mistake.
He didn’t notice the crocodile that was waiting in the reeds, although that's not to say it wasn’t well hidden.
Even if he had seen it, it wouldn’t matter. It lunged far too fast for him to react.
The only solace that his family had was that it likely happened so fast that he didn’t feel it.
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Desperate was not something that could often be prescribed to Akira, although Nakai didn’t think that anything else would fit here.
The sudden appearance of beasts that bore the mark of the. . . thing from so long ago had sent Akira into a panic. They had thought it defeated permanently, with the darker races that had appeared being merely a lasting effect from its appearance on Asyke.
Akira had been trying to think of a solution for days now, although nearly everything fell short. The Gods were just as helpless as she was, and the inhabitants of Asyke, who were practically at war with each other prior, were crumbling before this new threat.
Nakai’s job was to help their creator, so they started looking around the universe for anything that might help.
Which is where they stumbled across Earth. Like Asyke, it had humans, although these humans were much more suited for the magic that Akira had given to the inhabitants of Chihiro’s planet.
Gaia was particularly sympathetic to Chihiro because of their sharing of the human race, so she was happy to help. Nakai picked a human soul, and brought it over to Akira so that they could present their idea.
A hero, enhanced directly by the creator.
They were desperate, and this wasn’t a bad idea. Nakai hoped that Akira would agree.
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Saho wasn’t expecting this.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
He knew that he was dead, and although he was no pharaoh, he was being judged.
Then a bright light appeared behind him, and pulled him away from Osiris before either could react.
It felt as though he was flying. He could hear whispers, although he couldn’t quite make out what they were saying.
Saho.
He heard a voice, feminine and ethereal.
You have been chosen.
It filled his ears, and the words etched themselves into his mind.
Be a hero.
And he felt the ground beneath his feet once more.
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Dux continued scanning the bookshelves. Ever since the demons began their assault on the bright races, the skaven had started scavenging the ruined towns left in their wake. They knew that the Dark One– named Ome by the skaven– had created the demons as well, although they were not driven to join them in their crusade.
Dux, like many other skaven, had started looting this particular elf village only about two days ago, during which time they found the stash of magical knowledge that the elves liked to keep to themselves.
At the moment, they were dissecting it with fervor, combining the knowledge of this village with the knowledge from others.
Then he felt a prickling in his fur. Something had changed, and it wasn’t the adventurers who thought they were being sneaky outside. Something– or someone– had just arrived. And they were not on the side of the demons.
Dux took a moment to recollect himself, as did the other skaven.
By the time the not-so-hidden adventurers kicked in the library door– quite rude, it wasn’t even locked– The skaven were ready to fight.
Dux quickly flung a dagger in the direction of the adventurers, and sprung backwards toward the table that he and the other skaven were using as a reading surface. The dagger was of course dodged– Dux wasn't expecting it to hit, given that these didn’t seem to be fresh adventurers– but it caused enough of a distraction for his friend Ves to throw a glass bottle filled with an opaque yellow liquid at them.
The party’s knight managed to knock it away with her sword, but the second and third daggers thrown by Dux found their way into her side before her movement was finished. As the dwarven paladin raised their battleaxe, the skaven retreated, preparing their next attacks. Rur– who had been in the back of the library until this point– leapt over one of the bookshelves, scythe in hand, while Ves grabbed another potion and Dux readied a spell that he had read about in one of the books.
The adventuring party charged, met fiercely by the feral howls of the skaven as the fight commenced.
Skaven were not demons. But they could fight like them.
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It was a known fact that the Dark One– Known to the demons as Kranua, a name with the literal meaning being hidden-in-shadow– had goals that were beyond most of their understanding. Even the Archdevils, Lucifer and Lillith, were not privy to the full extent.
Krika was.
He might not have been told it, but he was smart enough to figure it out. Why else would the generals be informed that a failed invasion didn’t matter?
Kranua didn’t need or even want the Bright One and her creations destroyed.
It wanted entertainment.
Some might have been horrified. Some might deny it. Some might even try to fight against it.
Not Krika.
He understood. He knew. He embraced it. If Kranua wanted a show, he was glad to put one on.
He did not take hostages just because it was more strategic. He took them for a later showing. He did not plan carefully just because he enjoyed outthinking his opponents. He did it to be certain that he could plan dramatic moments on the battlefield.
His mother always told him he was an excellent actor.
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