Snapping my eyes open, I sit up and look out the window, my eyes blasted with an orange glare.

Oh, for fuck’s sake. Should’ve told someone to wake me up after an hour or so.

Why do I feel hungover for the second time today? My throat’s dry and raw, and my brain feels like it’s pounding against my skull in synergy with my heartbeat. God damnit. A deep rumble resounds throughout the room from my stomach. Did I miss dinner? By the Phoenix’s arsehole I need a drink. I instinctively look for the jug of rice wine I left on the desk on the far side of the room but stop myself from having a swig. I need some water instead.

I get up off my arse, open the door and head down the hall to the largest room in the Manor, the dining room. I open the double doors and am greeted by Dra’xx at the head of the long table, who's pouring some piss-yellow liquid into a small wine glass. A plate of steaming hot dumplings sits on the table next to a nice pot of tea and a few fancy cups. A strong yeasty smell fills my nostrils as I come closer. Whiskey? Whiskey and dumplings, great mix.

“Blood of the Phoenix,” Dra’xx says, nodding to the bottle. “Personal favourite of mine. Imported from Talyngursa up north. Shithole of a continent, too hot, but damn they make good whiskey.”

“What? Talyngursa? Good whiskey? Those words don’t belong in the same sentence. The good stuff comes from the Heavenly Empire.”

“Yer tellin’ me yer don’t like the Blood of the Phoenix? Tch, t’ think I thought you a kid of good taste. A’ve a taste, you’ll like it.”

Blood of the Phoenix isn’t bad by any means, but the name puts me off. Why would I want to drink something called Blood of the Phoenix? Looks like piss too.

Well, a sip wouldn’t hurt…

I take the glass and down it to the dismay of Dra’xx who now has to pour a new one, and to the dismay of myself, whose throat and belly is now on fire. Gotta love my impeccable impulse control.

“It’s good, I’ll give you that.”

Dra’xx nods in approval, picks up the piping pot of tea and pours some. I’m puzzled by this but pay it no mind. But before I can leave to get water from the well out back, he calls to me.

“Here, boy. Some tea would do yer some good.”

I raise my eyebrows at this unexpected kindness from Dra’xx and accept it. Maybe he feels bad about beating the shit out of me.

“Thanks.”

I pick up the cup and take a whiff of the calming green leaf aroma, then walk to an open window to look at the moon which is barely peeking from the horizon, the gargantuan diagonal gash just coming into view. I’ve always wondered what could be strong enough to cause a crater that big on the moon's surface, but never really cared enough to ask. Well, no, I’ve asked my fair share of times to my fair share of people, and all I get is evasive looks or non-answers. It’s getting annoying now. I know it happened 50 years ago, so I doubt it’s important to me, but I’m curious damnit.

“Hey, Dra’xx, you know why there’s a big arse slash on the moon. No one ever tells me when I ask.”

When I look back, I find a bewildered Dra’xx with half a dumpling in his mouth looking quite like a squirrel. I give him a minute to finish chewing and swallow his food, his expression unchanging while he does so.

“Yer mean… yer’ve never heard of the Crimson Calamity?”

“Ah, that. I’ve heard bits and pieces, basic half-arsed summaries and that, but the full story? Not once. It’s like people are scared to.”

“Hm. Yeah, understandable. No one’s eager t' tell the story of the Heavenly Realm’s biggest folly in all its 20,000 years. Ah know I’m not.”

“Biggest folly, ay?”

“Yeah. Allowin’ a Demon like that t’ slip through the Great Seal and enter the Realm… 170 of their strongest cultivators gone in a single night.”

“Only 170 deaths don’t seem that bad to me. Especially considering how powerful that demon was. I’m surprised the continent of Parydisa didn’t blow up.”

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“Yer forgettin’ just who those cultivators are, boy. There are 220 beings worthy of bein' called ‘Gods’ in this Realm. 220 Inheritors of Mantles, the Emperor bein’ one of them. But 173 of those Mantles, those Inheritors, belong t' the Heavenly Empire. Yer catchin’ on?”

“So, you mean… 170 Gods were killed? In a single night?”

“By a single demon.”

My shock is palpable, but I still don’t fully comprehend his words. I don’t fully understand the weight behind them. These ‘Gods’… I know how powerful the Emperor is; I’ve seen it first-hand: the unfathomable spiritual pressure, the Aura which expanded infinitely, the ability to lift oceans and crush mountains with a single errant thought. I’ve felt that, seen that. 170 of those beings, each of one them as powerful as that, maybe more so, killed in a single night by a single demon. That’s an utterly ridiculous level of power.

“Is that Demon still alive?”

“Hard t’ say. The Dreamin’ Demon was defeated in the end by Shensheng Zhi Wang or however you pronounce it, the Lord God. But only after all Gods but three were killed in a matter of minutes. That reminds me, the moon… that crater was caused by a clash between the Dreamin’ Demon and Chuangjian the Complex, the second strongest in the Realm. A missed attack by Chuangjian, or so they say. Apparently, the Demon fled south, which is worryin', but he’s probably long dead now.”

There’s a lot to process here, more than I’m capable of. The Dreaming Demon. I know that name. The Demon so strong that it can only dream of death. It achieved my dream of absolute power, the very Peak of the God Realm, and regretted it to the point of wanting to die, but not being able to. It’s… a strange feeling to say the least. The concept of such a Demon fleeing south is pretty damn concerning too.

“Chuangjian, he’s at the Peak of the God Realm, isn’t he? Is he dead?”

I speak calmly but my uneasiness is written all over my face. There’s only 11 known Peak God Realm cultivators in the world, 7 of which are wholly neutral, hibernating Ancient Dragons. If a Peak God Realm cultivator on the side of the Heavenly Realm dies, the balance will be offset, and when the Great Seal dissipates… we will lose the inevitable war to follow.

“No. Thankfully, no,” I breathe a sigh of relief. “but he is far from fit t’ fight in the incomin' war. His spine was shattered and corrupted with the highest level of Dark Energy in the world. There’s no Healin’ that. He’s a cripple with nothing going for him but his cultivation. Shensheng Zhi Wang somehow beat the Dreamin’ Demon off without much trouble in time t’ save his life, n' another God too. Xing Mingli, quite the genius cultivator. Likely a future Peak God if he keeps goin’ at his current pace.”

“Shit, man.”

That’s all I can say to that. The moon is higher in the sky now, the gash fully in sight and looking far bigger than it used to. The Peak God who did that is a useless cripple now.

“Yeah, but things are lookin’ up nowadays. Most of the Inheritors a’ve been recruited back into the Heavenly Empire, so their nearly back to their prime. N’ think about it, we’ve lost one of our Peak Gods, sure, but the Crimson Realm lost their strongest Peak God. Things lean in our favour really.”

“Yeah but…”

“Yer a pessimist, boy. The war will be a hard fought one, that’s a guarantee. The Crimson Realm has thirty more Mantles than we do, and they can’t travel in-between Realms so there’s no way we can get em’. But we have more normal God Realm cultivators, more Divine Cultivators, too. And most importantly,” Dra’xx points to his temple. “We’ve still got our sanity intact. Most demons don’t.”

“Well, debatable that you still have yours.”

“Heh, fair enough. T’ think I’d find myself almost wantin’ t’ fight in the Holy War. I’m almost jealous that yer’ll actually live t’ see it."

It annoys me to think he's still wanting to fight, even after all the battles he's already fought. The Fortress is fine and has been fine for 100 years, and the Empire is as strong as it has ever been for about 400 years, or so I'm told.

"Still thinking about the situation at the Fortress? You're probably just being paranoid."

"Nah, boy, a' don't think a' am. When the Demons of the Whitelands stop showing up for long periods of time, they usually come back with a Heaven Realm demon or, Phoenix forbid, a Divine Realm one. It's been 100 years since the last siege, longer than they've ever waited before in history, n' ah ain't eager t' see what they're comin' back with this time."

"Well, if one of those Demons come, it's not like you'll be able to do anything about it, so chill."

Dra'xx is almost always thinking about war, even in times of relaxation. The man likes to put up a strong front, but 100s of years of fighting must've worn him down a whole lot. He's very proud about his time served, and tells me stories from time to time. But he's never told me a story where something bad happens, like a lost battle, or a comrade dying. I almost outright ask him, but fill my mouth with tea before I do.

Anyway, it's not like I can talk. I've been worrying a little bit about that myself lately.

"Tch, I could've if ah were in my prime, y'know!"

Uh oh, looks like I touched a nerve.

"Ah was this close to the Heaven Realm before the Imperial Doctors up n' told me my body was too weak t' handle it!"

Dra'xx takes his thumb and forefinger and puts them really close to each other. He isn't in the Heaven Realm for real then?

"Now a've lost my opportunity."

Now he's slumping in his seat.

"You're better off weak and old than dead, Dra'xx."

"Ah know, but still! Tch, shitty Cultivation Manual. Could've reached the Heaven Realm 100 years earlier if a' switched t' the Imperial one. Too damn young n' prideful t' make good decisions!"

"Alright, if you think 280 is young, then you need to get your head checked out."

"Well, it is if yer think about it. The old monsters in the Divine Realm would see me as a child, n' those in the God Realm would see even them as new borns."

"I guess your right about that..."

But come on! 280 is not young no matter how you put it or what you compare it to...

Damn, now my tea's lukewarm.