image [https://imgur.com/dL7I7oH.jpg]

All around us was nothing but a white void that stretched far off into the horizon. Some semblance of a floor existed, but when we looked down we could see all the battles still raging across the giant chessboard. All the numbers of bees and minor demons were nearly depleted, only a few of the strongest stragglers still fought on the war torn board.

Indena, Marek and Mella were still battling the actor, and even those crusaders were still by their side, swinging their flaming white swords at nephilim demons to take some of the pressure off my friends.

And of course, Uncle was still down there too, battling the female nephilim with the flail. He was mostly dodging the spiky ball as she swung it around, watching closely for an opening in her strong offense.

“You’re good with that weapon, but too aggressive!” Uncle shouted, knocking away her flail and slashing his longsword at her.

Her body melted into a shadowy mess and reformed a few centimeters forward, taking up her weapon again and nearly hitting Uncle. But he was quick and dodged, striking her with his fist.

A gooey black substance stuck to his skin and armour where he’d made contact, holding him steady.

The black substance was connected to the female nephilim, and she started tugging on each of the strands to get him to move around at her command.

In a show of pure willpower, he fought her control and cut the strands with his flaming sword, but only after she played him like a ragdoll. They kept fighting on without any clear sign of who was going to come out on top.

It was crazy to have this bird's eye view of everything. I felt so disconnected from the fights that I might as well not have considered myself a part of them at all.

“I used to see the world like this all the time,” Belphegor spoke up. “Watching humanity from above, guiding them in unseen ways.”

“Demons aren’t supposed to be looking down on people,” I said, thinking they’re supposed to be looking up from heck.

He took my comment with a smirk. “Would you believe I was once an angel?"

I shook my head. He didn't look like an angel at all. Maybe this is what fallen angels ended up looking like, but they sure turned ugly when they got evil.

"I thought not. However, that's the truth I swear by." He suddenly looked even more tired than normal, like he was ready to go to bed. Some of the swelling from his muscles began to fade. "Long ago, I was the principality presiding over man’s creativity. I'd guide them to create wonderful inventions and ideas.”

A scepter spawned in his hand, the one he’d briefly used in battle, as well as an old crown on his head. Both seemed very dusty and broken in a few places. They didn’t look beyond repair, but definitely would have needed some effort and TLC. Not that I figured he’d be willing to do that, what with how lazy he was.

“Lord Sleepy Eyes, if you used to be an angel, why are you evil now?”

“God had wisely set limitations on what man could do. When I saw the wasted potential of humanity, how they could be creating even more wondrous things by stretching their imaginations, I wanted to push them further than I was allowed. I chose to disobey, and fell far from grace.”

He used the term ‘wisely’ in that explanation and it didn't sound sarcastic. There must have been a reason for that.

“Why were limitations put on people?”

“Because people can become very strange when not carefully tended to, like children without a parent to guide them. Their minds seek out guidance, sometimes even inventing things to do it."

I couldn't imagine how someone could invent a guide of their own through life, since you couldn't exactly create something smarter than you. But then again, was that really true? Humans could combine their collective minds to create amazing pieces of technology. Where one person would die, another would take up his torch to continue the blaze. My people were a fruit of that generational effort.

When I thought about it like that, humanity really was beautiful. They can make just about anything they want, even if that thing outgrows them.

Belphegor let out a groan, placing a hand over his chest.

“Another limitation is their dreadfully short life spans,” he chortled. “Yalda, you've entertained me enough. I concede the victory to you.”

Yes! Yamin and the town are safe again!

Now that I had her on my mind and he was being chatty, I figured I could probe a little deeper into why Yamin was such a big deal to everyone. Not only were demons after her, but so were spirits that ordered around Mella.

“Say, what's so important about Yamin?” I asked. “What connection does she have with the darkness?”

“You’re friend Yamin is very connected to it, and many of us lords personally. A primordial power dwells within her that can make us kings.”

Huh… I needed more on what this power was and why Yamin had it specifically. Even more than that, I needed to know how we could get it out of her so people would stop trying to hunt her down.

“That’s why you wanted to marry her,” I concluded.

“We’re all trying to inherit that power. Be warned, I will not be the last of my kind to go after her. Many more will come, human and demon alike.”

I'll take that warning seriously.

“Aren't you throwing your friends under the bus by telling me that?”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Who ever said the other lords are my friends?”

Point taken. If other demons were trying to conquer the world too, that made them enemies to both of us.

“How do we get that evilness out of Yamin?” I asked, hoping she wouldn't have to deal with this problem for much longer.

“You could always kill her, but it must be done justly.”

How do you kill someone 'Justly?' I shook my head, then gave him a pout.

“No! Why 'justly' anyways?”

He explained that her death must be lawfully done or whomever takes her life will inherit her power, and not for the better. In order for this type of death to even take place, a lawful aligned being must put out a decree for her death.

Now I think I understand what Mella was after a little better… Those spirits she served must have been a lawful force and determined that Yamin needed to die. And since Mella considered Indena to be Yamin's guardian, she'd have to defeat her first. That didn’t change my decision to protect her.

“Can you tell me more about her power?” I asked, but he shook his head.

“Everything you'll need to know will be found in that book she has. I will say no more about it.”

That's right, she had a book with her. No idea what it was, but if he was referring to it in such a sinister light, I needed to take a look at it.

He gripped at his chest again, this time letting out a painful sounding breath. His body quickly began to atrophy until he looked sickly and weak, much like the state we’d seen him in before.

“Looks like this dream is ending.” he uttered, turning upwards toward what appeared to be a normal twilight sky replacing the void. “How short lived it was…but I kept my promise.”

“Your promise?”

He neglected to answer. As his final command to this world, he snapped his fingers, sending a wind to blow over everything, taking with it the last remnants of the dream realm he’d created.

~☆☆☆~

The sun was beginning to rise in the east, finally breaking through the endless twilight. The stars went to bed, allowing the true ruler of the daytime sky to take its rightful place.

As the sun shined across the land, the remnants of demonic corruption ceased to exist, turning into nothing more than dust in the wind.

People who had been subject to the demonic alterations were now free of their plights, no longer cursed with any sort of dark affinity that sapped them of their spiritual energy. They were scattered everywhere, some in inconvenient spots, but alive nonetheless.

Below me was the church. On my wings, I descended downward, leaving the sky behind. Floating down by my side was Belphegor, a shriveled husk of the fully muscular man he once was in the dream reality.

“As I promised, the town has returned to normal,” he said.

“Thank you for keeping your word,” I replied.

We both landed at the central plaza, just in front of the water fountain, which began to spurt up with crisp and clear liquid.

“There’s something lovely about mornings, wouldn’t you say?” he said. “Twilight is the bridge between dream and reality. A time when both exist at the same moment.”

Once he finished saying that, he collapsed to his knees, clutching tightly to his chest. Red veins scattered across his body, turning his skin raw looking.

I dropped down with him, trying to support his weight so he didn’t fall any further. My hand hovered over his chest to diagnose his condition…

“...Cancer…?” I could hardly breathe out the word. He was very sick and needed help.

While my lips sank, his raised up in a smirk. His left eye peeked open, fighting the pressure and pain he was under to give me a confident look.

“This body is weak and frail. It only had a few days left at most. The soul whom it belonged to wished for nothing more than to be healthy and whole. For a short time, I made that dream come true.”

He grunted as his stomach fought his will to stay strong. He hunched over deeply and struggled to stay awake.

“No…” I uttered. “You can’t…”

“What’s this, you feel bad for me, the demon lord?” he forced himself to laugh. “Soon this body and the soul within it will pass into the next life. Then I will return to Hell, where I belong.”

Why did I feel so downtrodden that he was passing away? Not only did he steal a town's worth of mana from these humans, but he also fought me every step of the way as I tried to save them. Maybe his story and suffering resonated with me, and I felt sorry for how far he’d fallen from grace. Or maybe I felt something more simply empathetic, watching this living being's life wane before my eyes. Heck, maybe I wasn't thinking straight out of exhaustion.

No matter the reason, these feelings were real. I didn’t want him to die, not when he could be helped.

“Maybe I can… I can save you.”

I primed my healing spell to cast over his body. But before I could find out if it could help him, he stopped me by placing a single hand over both of mine.

“You already gave him what he wanted. One fantastic battle, just like the cartoons he watched as a child.”

It seemed that Belphegor and the person's soul were so connected that they both had the same experiences. At least, that’s how I interpreted it.

“What about you?” I asked the demon lord.

“You aren’t done with me yet,” he winked. “I’ll see you, in your dreams.”

A wind passed over us as darkness seeped from his pores. The moving air began to carry away the shadows that radiated off his skin, further shrinking the man down and leaving him in even more of a poor condition.

“Thank you, Eighth Star…” a weak voice whispered from the man's mouth. “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to hurt anyone…”

This wasn’t Belphegor talking anymore, it was whoever he was possessing. Their tones and voices were so different that it was like a completely different person, even though they still looked the same.

“It’s okay…” I said through my weeping. “It’s okay…”

My heart turned white again, radiating a graceful glow over the man's body. For a moment, his eyes went wide, causing the light to sparkle over their pretty glossy surface. Then as my heart's brightness faded, so did the light in the man's soul.

I weeped even louder, not just to express my grief, but also to show this man that he was a beloved human. Even if nobody cared for him now, even if he’d made such terrible mistakes, at least I wouldn’t let his final moments be spent alone, and I’d make sure his memory would never be forgotten.

Now his body was without life. The emptiness made him feel lighter as I carried him to a patch of grass and laid him down over the soft green bristles.

I cupped my hands together and closed my eyes. “God, please forgive him and let him rest peacefully. And please help this town to recover. Amen.”

Once my prayer had concluded, I could hear familiar murmurs at the entrance of the plaza.

My head turned back as I detected the vital signs of my friends, all five of them. Indena, Uncle, Marek, Melpomene, Emily and thankfully Yamin as well. With my own eyes, I confirmed that data.

As the sun began to shine over the plaza, bathing it in a pleasing orange glow, I teared up and waved at them.

“Guys!” I cheered, jumping up a few times to get their attention. “Over here! We did it!”

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