A blue figure was rapidly zig-zagging between trees, leaving sparks of lightning behind. A rabbit stuck out its head and munched on leaves moments before it got turned into a mist of blood that coated the nearby grass and trees. The figure stopped before emerging from the thick foliage, taking a deep breath and fixing its face.
He had lost count of how many hours, days he had been running. Time slowed and accelerated as he used his innate ability, and when he finally stopped, each second was strange. Each time he ran, he competed with shadowy figures in his mind, seeing who was faster, and after all these days, he finally overtook them. He had finally grasped the concept of lightning.
He looked at the map and the compass one more time, nodding as he put them back. He took a step outside of the forest, revealing the grand plains Eastwix was known for. It was flat for kilometres on end, all the way until he saw the horizon. Buildings dotted the entirety of the Endless Plains, the city of Levinex encompassing the majority of it.
Hyacinth slowly walked through the outskirts of the city, wolf-mixes playing a game of tag where one had to rip a cloth figure out of each other’s jaws. He saw blood being drawn as they tussled to the ground, and this was only a kid's game. Adults played much more dangerous games, though often by the cover of night.
He walked around the plains, taking in the sights. Buildings were sporadic, and only parts of where they congregated could be called “districts”. The rest of the plains was a place for wolf-mixes and regular wolves to roam.
He was walking into one such district right now. It was separated from other parts by a strong stench of blood, dirt and animals. While he had been here before multiple times, his senses were now several times stronger. Previously, he would have recoiled and perhaps thrown up, but now he licked his lips, sniffing the air around him in delight.
Some of his wolf friends had described districts using colours, and for the longest time he couldn’t understand why. Until now. The air smelled distinctly red, a strong sense of fear and excitement, hunger and blood. Animals were practically everywhere, though none dared to wander far, for a thousand wolves were surrounding them.
“Can I have a few bites of that pig there? It looks quite delicious.” Hyacinth pointed at one of the braver pigs who had wandered away from the others. It looked to be on the verge of bursting, even fatter than those around it.
The wolf-mix running the stall narrowed his eyes at Hyacinth, smelling the air and furrowing his brow. He was one of the rare white-fur wolf-mixes, his fur slightly discoloured. He held a cleaver in his hands, his fur slightly stained red.
“You’re a weird one. Got the smell of death and doom on you. I’d be really careful if I were you. The folks in Veras won’t like that one bit.” The wolf-mix reached out his hand, grasping Hyacinth’s shoulder.
Veras, Decas, Tresh. The plains were divided into three parts, Veras being in the dead centre. It was also the most populated area, adopting several human laws. Guards patrolled the streets both in uniform and in secret, keeping the city safe. Such niceties weren’t present here in Tresh, but people managed.
“I’ve said my piece. Now, would you like it alive or dead?”
Hyacinth raised an eyebrow at that. “I’ll take it alive.”
“Bound or free?” He raised the thick hemp rope, the pigs squealing as he did.
“Bound.”
The wolf-mix stood up, walking on two legs. He stalked after the curious pig, and when it was distracted by a vibrant blue flower, he grabbed the pig’s throat. It wildly trashed around, making an ungodly amount of noise. It was tied up in just a few seconds, its mouth plugged by a piece of cloth.
After handing over gold for the pig, he found a quiet corner to slowly devour it, all while it was alive. As a demon, he didn’t have to eat, and most of the food tasted bland regardless. Only raw meat satisfied him, and it tasted so, so much better if it was alive.
Wiping off blood from his mouth, he made his way into Decas. It was much more alive than the outer ring of the plains - cultivated farmland, lavish gardens and various freshwater ponds littered the place. Buildings were a much more frequent occurrence, almost every bit of land a district of some sorts. The way of marking territory by smell was gone here, a constant breeze carrying away the smells.
He took in the sights, wary of the druids cultivating the place. Wolf-mix pups were sparring with each other, the grand dream of adventure drilled into their mind. It was only now that Hyacinth wondered where all the books of mighty adventurers had come from. Why were there so many stories about heroes, but none about the harsh reality of dungeons?
Still, it wasn’t here that his path took him. He headed into a part of the city that humans understood better. Row upon row of solid stone houses were lined up in a circle, creating a pseudo-wall. Heavily dressed wolf-mixes stood at attention, guarding the straight path that pierced through the city centre. If the way wasn’t blocked by people, he would be able to see the other set of guards that blocked the opposite entrance.
The guards here were nosy. Literally. They smelled Hyacinth from head to toe, interrogating him about every kind of smell he had on him. He had dealt with this before, though it was a much more violent interrogation this time, the guards shaking him up and down, grasping at his cloak and sword.
It took close to half an hour to convince them that he wasn’t a threat - he was an adventurer that recently came from a dungeon. Reluctantly, they let him into the inner city their gazes lingering on him for as long as they could. They had memorised his scent.
Veras was very different from other parts of the plains. The wolves here carried themselves with dignity, properly clothed and walking on two legs. While most wolf-mixes did that, he had seen some running around on four feet, naked as the day they were born. Hyacinth didn’t see a problem in that, though he wasn’t a half-mix.
The residential district was... odd. The air faintly smelled of flowers, though no strong smell jumped out at him. The houses were all evenly spaced, the same design of a blocky stone home. Only the door was allowed to have any changes, and that was where people truly expressed themselves. Doors made of gold, copper and iron. Doors depicting wolves fighting dragons, painted by ink. Doors partially broken, a meaning of some sort.
It was here that his mission led him, a place where a wide variety of people met. Humans mixed with half-mixes and the half-immortal races, exploring the strange inner city. Hyacinth wanted to meet some of the stronger adventurers, to once again see the wonders of his city, but he had a code to deliver.
He walked to a darker part of the residential area, looking for a shady alley. Privacy was extremely hard to find here - there was always a nosy wolf who was listening for anything strange. When he was finally all alone, he traced a series of magic runes on the wall, waiting for something to happen. The runes faded away in just a few seconds, mana fading from the air.
Then, he traced the runes on every single abandoned wall he could find. He stayed clear of people, and made absolutely sure no mages were near him. When he was done, he walked outside the inner city, heading back to Tresh, the outer layer of the plains. Sitting down on an empty patch of land devoid of half-mixes, he waited.
It only took an hour for something to happen. The air became deathly still, the sound of howling suddenly muffled, day turning to evening. A lady in her twenties had somehow snuck up to him, standing behind his back and breathing on his neck. More importantly, he saw the shimmering of magic as invisible strings surrounded him from all sides. If he slightly shifted his body, his neck would be cut off.
“Are you stupid? Do you want to die right now? You almost ruined my cover.” While the woman’s voice was mellow, the killing intent was extremely real. Cold malice spewed out with every word.
The woman was plain in every way possible. She had long brown hair tied in a ponytail and a dimpled yet asymmetrical face that raised no questions. She wore rough clothes made from animal fur, worn by time and stained by various foods. If not for her furious expression, Hyacinth would forget what she looked like a few minutes after meeting her.
“If it worked then it worked. He said that it was the easiest way to contact you,” Hyacinth said, his nonchalant expression not managing to disguise his panicked eyes. The woman was much, much stronger than him. That was easy to tell.
“A rune in Nexian saying “find me”. That was your method. I hope you do know that not only demons know our language. Tell me everything, now.” As she said that, mist started to emerge from the string, covering everything in a pink haze. He tried to not breathe in, but it was too late. "Why?" he yelled, last bits of consciousness fading.
His mind started to relax. What was he thinking again? He had something important to do, but he couldn’t remember what. It was fine to just take it easy for a few minutes, he deserved it after all.
“Now, who sent you?” She asked, her voice seductively sweet.
“Demonic sword Agares.” He replied, his face sagging.
“Who is that?”
“The strongest sword to exist. He was the one that turned me into a demon, he gave me power. He said he was very important - he had strong allies.”
The woman fell silent, processing the information.
“Why did you contact me?
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“He said he had an urgent letter. I need to deliver it to any demon in contact with someone called ‘Lilac’. He said he was sure that a spy would be in the inner city and that they would find me.”
The woman’s eyes became frantic. She looked around, the pink mist deepening.
“Hand me the letter.”
Hyacinth sluggishly opened his magic backpack, rummaging through it. He pulled out a piece of rolled up parchment, a wax seal on top of it, a strange rune illustrated on it.
“A simple explosive rune. Amateur work.” She muttered, wrapping the string around the seal. Moments later, it was gone and she was reading the letter. It was a series of letters, runes and numbers that she couldn’t recognise. None of the standard ciphers - something much more advanced.
She leaned her head to the side, wrinkling her brow. She sighed after a few minutes of reading, casting another spell. No mana was disturbed, no special effects or any traces of a spell being cast appeared, but despite that, a crystal materialised out of thin air. Holding it in her palm, lights flashed on it, each lingering for a different amount of time, each a different hue. Barely louder than a whisper, she began to read the letter out loud.
After she was done, she waved her hand and both the crystal and the letter disappeared. She kneeled down, holding up Hyacinth’s chin with her finger. She looked him straight in the eyes, unfocused and dilated. “Now, what are we going to do with you? Maybe I’ll make you my private plaything. It’s been a while since I’ve had some fun.”
Similar to the pig from before, the pink string bound him tightly together, making him bleed wherever it touched. Despite the pain, he was stupidly smiling, his body completely relaxed. He was in the sweetest dreamland known to man, a paradise in his mind. She quietly laughed, covering her mouth.
Her laughter quickly turned into a panicked scream. She scrambled up, hysterically looking around, her eyes filled with terror. She lifted up her arm, only to find her hand gone. The familiar sensation of moving her fingers faded as the memory slipped from her mind.
“Please, please! I haven’t done anything wrong! I’ve served you faithfully, I’ve done everything you asked me to do. I still want to live, I want to enjoy life!. Give me another chance, I’m begging you.” She fell down to her knees, crying blood red tears.
“Is it about him? The fool?” Her head rapidly snapped toward Hyacinth, still blissfully unaware of his surroundings. “I’ll let him go. I didn’t mean to do anything to him, it was a mistake! Yes, yes, a simple mistake. Look at him. He won’t remember anything, he’ll forgive me!” Her bloodshot eyes roamed across Hyacinth’s body as she screamed to air. She tried to raise her arm, but nothing happened. She didn’t feel anything.
She cried and begged, but no matter what she did, it wouldn’t stop. Her legs were next, disappearing just as quickly. Anger took over as she tried to pull the string, to end Hyacinth’s life, but at some point, she had forgotten magic. Her life faded away, one memory at a time.
“Please, Mistress Lilac. I don’t want to be forgotten.” Those were her final words, her mouth vanishing as she uttered them. Still, she wasn’t dead. For a demon died only when their heart stopped. Her pink heart beat on and on, letting out a mournful sound. It struggled, but eventually, even it forgot how to beat, erased from existence.
Along with her went her magic. The pink fog faded, the sky brightened and noise could once again be heard. It took several minutes for him to snap out of his dream. He was supposed to do something, to meet with someone. He scratched his head, trying his best to remember what he was doing, but no matter how hard he tried, nothing came up.
“Oh, the letter. I need to go to the city and mark the runes,” he rummaged through his bag, but the letter was nowhere to be found. Then, he screamed in panic, searching through the thick grass. His precious letter was gone - Agares would kill him.
Hyacinth spent hours looking for the letter, but it was gone. He collapsed on the grass, wondering what the hell he was supposed to do now. Could he return back to the dungeon?
----------------------------------------
“Brother, brother! He’s alive! Viv’s alive!” Lilac burst into Vedan’s room, tears falling down her cheeks. Without giving him any time to process, she hugged the young boy. Her tears never stopped as she shivered, squeezing her brother even tighter.
“I was so afraid. I was afraid he would leave us like everyone else.” Vedan’s tears joined Lilac’s as both of them collapsed to the ground, bawling their eyes out. Minutes passed in a desperate embrace until they calmed down, but even then, the shaking wouldn’t stop.
“He sent a letter. Do you want to hear it?” She said, sniffling and patting Vedan’s head. She leaned against him, holding his shaking hand. He nodded as if his life depended on it. Nearby, his tears picked themselves up from the ground, running out of the door and into the castle.
“I’m alive. That day, I saw my life strings and knew I wasn’t going to die, but I didn’t expect three years to pass. I hope you’re all doing well, especially little Vedan. I never meant to abandon you or your sister, and I sincerely hope you can forgive me. With any luck, I’ll be able to rejoin you in a few months, though I’ve found myself in a difficult situation. Don’t worry, there’s nothing that can best me. I’m the strongest in the world.”
Lilac had trouble getting through the letter, tears once again staining her lilac skin and dripping onto her white hair that reached all the way to her back. Her normally fierce eyes were wide open as if reading a letter before her. She paid no mind to her crumpled silver dress - this was more important than anything else.
“I need your strength once again. Lilac, I need you to keep Sogron - curse the old fool - in check. He’s bound to act up now that I’m gone, and especially when you start making any moves now. Vedan, I need you to do something special for me. Create me a demon that can pass through any barrier, or, if you can, a demon that will shatter any barrier. Create a demon that can destroy a soul, a gigantic one. I trust that you can do it.”
Vedan smiled through the tears, his violet eyes shining bright, a deeper hue than his lilac skin. Lilac ruffled his short, white hair as he stood up, his mind blazing with ideas. Despite being immersed in thought, his face maintained the ever youthful and innocent expression. Lilac rushed to similarly stand up and looked down at his face, a full head taller than Vedan.
“Tell Menoset to start working on a weapon. Tell him to forge the strongest spear in the world, to welcome me back with a gift. Get Mag’ar to gather his old allies. We’ll be needing all the strength we can get, even if it means taking in a few questionable beings. As for Rikuth and Ezre, tell them to be on standby.”
“I won’t be sending another message unless it’s absolutely necessary. Get rid of all the evidence and don’t let any information spread, lest you be in danger. I won’t forgive you if you go and get killed for my sake.”
With that, Lilac finished reciting the letter. She wiped away her last tears, squeezing Vedan’s hand even tighter. He absently nodded, but his mind was no longer there with her. He bit down on his tongue, severing it and spitting it out. It floated in the air before it started to violently mutate, expanding in size until it became as big as himself. Then, he got to work.
The shadow watched the young demon work with fascination. It carefully observed the black marks on the sibling’s bodies, twisting and coiling, binding them like chains. It wanted nothing more than to devour the young prince to gain even a fraction of his knowledge, to hear the voice for even a second.
It watched for moments longer, but it had a job to do. Jumping from one shadow to another, it arrived in a pitch black room a thousand metres underground. The room was small - it wouldn’t be able to transform into its true form if the old man wanted to kill it. But then again, did he fear his own creation?
“The Demon Lord’s alive. He did say he wasn’t going to die, and the legacy didn’t pass to Vedan. You were foolish to think otherwise.” The shadow didn’t speak. It morphed, briefly showing true concepts of words.
“A fool can only dream. I hoped the bastard would keel over and die, but no, nothing’s ever that simple. Did she say where he was?” Despite his appearance, Sogron spoke with a young man’s voice, filled with cunning and mystique.
“The girl didn’t mention it. The Lord most likely mentioned it, I could see it in her being, but you’d have better luck taking over the world than getting into her memories." The shadow morphed into the concept of laughter, a thousand voices sounding as one. "Unless you fancy being erased? It would be a painless and fitting death for someone who’s already supposed to be dead.”
“No, no, Vedan needs her. The bastard must die, he must pass the legacy onwards. Only Vedan holds the true key to salvation. Only he has heard the voice.” Sogron licked his lips, a demented smile on his face.
“You’re lucky that’s the only thing I agree with you on. Nothing left to do but wait. Craft your schemes carefully, you old fool. Viv could annihilate you in just a few moments.” With that, the shadow disappeared from the room, though one could never be sure. Sogron sat in complete silence, clutching his head, whispering to himself. Abruptly, he stood up, a black grimoire forming from the darkness. The every essence of life twisted as he wrote, each word consuming something more primal that even mana.
As for Lilac, she spent the next hours with Vedan, watching him work. Eventually, she left him to it, heading down to the throne room. She sat on the throne as a hundred different demons bowed to her, thinking back on the message.
“To Lilac. Keep this part only to yourself. Lock the memory in your deepest chamber, lock it in the White Box. Despite making grand claims to Vedan, I’m in a pathetic state, with not a fraction of my power left. I’m currently located in Brevus, in a cave near the Jukai forest. I do not know how, but I’ve become a sentient dungeon core.
“Just like any dungeon core, I can summon monsters, give out treasure and create magical equipment. The potential for it is immense, provided I survive. The strongest creature I can summon wouldn’t hold a candle to a “proper” greater demon, and the threats around me are immense.
“Brevus needs to collapse. Take the army and start carving a path to it. Have Rikuth lead the front and rouse Ezre from her slumber. Let her distract Livia for as long as she can before she falls asleep once again. Also, I allow you to agree to Mag’ar’s preposition. Take in the twisted one, grant them a home in our lands. In exchange, they must fight our wars until the bitter end. Don’t accept any other terms, they’ll agree to it.
“In addition, you need to research Auberion and the fairy realm. He and another tribe are the only ones that know I am alive, but Auberion is the only threat among the two. Ask the Ancient Ones, talk to the devils, listen to the void. Find his greatest weakness and bring me the spear that would slay even a legend like him.
“And finally, investigate every dungeon in our realm. They all have intelligence, even if they don’t talk. Each dungeon core holds immeasurable secrets, and I’m confident that the stronger dungeons can speak and walk the world. Send demons to retrieve dungeon cores and study the runes, for they contain secrets even I don’t know. Find the oldest dungeons and talk to them, find out what they know.
“I know I ask a lot of you Lilac, but I know I can trust you. You’re stronger than you look, and I’m proud of you. Protect your brother while I’m not here. I promise you, I will return.”
She had too much to do already, but she was beyond ecstatic to hear anything from Viv. Previously, she was like a lost moth who had lost its light. It flew around, searching for anything to latch onto, but it couldn’t find its way. Now, a hint of the same light had appeared in the distance. All she had to do was reach for it.
"Meri, I'm recalling you back from Livia. Head over to Brevus immediately. This is an order." Although Lilac remained perfectly still on the throne, she opened one of the many doors in her mind, looking at a peculiar demon.
"Must I really? It's been so fun here. I've made so many new friends!"
"This is more important than even your own life. Get moving." She kept the door open, observing the demon's every move. Lilac would get in touch with Viv one way or another, even if he wished for utmost secrecy.
Then, she rose from her throne, darkness and flame billowing behind her. She gave out order after order, preparing for a bloody war. Millions would die in the upcoming months, and she would be at the front of it all.
The following morning, the king of Livia announced to the world that the Demon Lord was not dead.