Demon continent Alsace in the year 291 in the month Inium on the 1 day after the shattering of the empire

They were now about a month on the road, in which they had come through various villages and cities of the demon continent.

At least he knew now that it was the first Inium, if he now applied his mathematical knowledge, it was almost a year ago that he was murdered. If a demon's pregnancy also lasted nine months and he had also begun his new life on the same day he died. In fact, the day of his death was the first Inium.

This was a sobering realization, he had already been dead for a year, and what had he done in that one year. Mostly he had slept. Well, his body was also still that of an infant. Only this month he had started to crawl and had of course immediately tried to walk. What had ended in an unsurprising end, in which he had sat down on his butt. He was amazed at himself and his body that he had managed to stand up at all. Since then, he has practiced every day.

Also, the toys that the Cirkati gave their children were much more interesting than what he had received in his first childhood. Most of the toys had the nice side effect of accumulating arcane energies and directing them into the child's body.

This is why he had become intensely involved with them, but they also had an immense fun factor.

The toys were inscribed with small runes of what he assumed was the demon language. These gave the toys their arcane properties. It seemed to him that the Cirkati as a group were trying to teach their children to use arcane energy as early as possible. Also, the toys seemed to show the adults or parents which Arcane Energy their child was inclined to. As in all a very practical thing, which should he ever return to his family, he wanted to introduce these toys immediately. This, however, was future music.

This is why he was content to play with them and observe which rune did what, and thus learn the magical language of the demons.

He had talked with arcane users of the will in his old life and had seen how they cast spells, but it was still different to use them himself. For example, the one attacker who had teleported awake must have used a spell, since he was an Arcane User of the Body, but the question came up how? How was easy to clarify, he had used an object similar to the toy to teleport himself.

This was not a new concept for him, of course, but the demons seemed to be more knowledgeable than the humans.

But that day, they entered a small town called Bura. It was on their way to the colonies. The traders whom they accompanied and protected had a route that they followed. On this route, they passed through some towns and villages where the merchants wanted to offer their goods. This was fine with the Cirkati who had a stand where they sold their own goods. Also, the merchants did not seem to mind that their guards were earning some extra money and could compete with them.

Whereas most of the stalls offered only small nibbles and odds and ends, the merchants dealt with real goods and sometimes a whole cart changed hands.

Sappho and Sia had set up their theater, as in all the other towns and villages.

They were performing a play about the creation of demons.

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Lilith stood with a host of gods on a plain devastated by fire and eternal battles. Opposite her stood Asmodus, with as many gods as she. They both wanted to have the right to found their own race. For this, they had taken allies whose loyalty was questionable, but who could not become a danger to them. Flouda and her brother Eloum had chosen no side. Their children had chosen to stay out of their disputes and not get involved. It was also simply not in their nature to fight; they had become an odd pair of children.

She set out to meet Asmodus in the middle of the field to see if there would be any negotiations.

When Asmodus saw this, he also set off. A twinge in his chest as he faced his former love. Only one could become the god of a new race, and the strongest of them both.

"So you realized that it should be me and not you?" She asked from above.

"Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing." He let his gaze wander over Lilith's allies. She had a little more allies than he did, but they were only weaker gods. Where he had sought out gods of war, she had seemingly gone for quantity. It would become apparent over the course of the battle whose strategy would work. She lowered herself to a snort.

"Don't act as you've already won. I see what allies you have, do you really think they will stand by you when you are weakened from battle?" It wasn't entirely wrong what she said, he couldn't be sure of his allies' loyalty, but the same was true for her. They both simply had no weakness to show.

"Oh, and you can say that about your allies?" He asked in a mocking voice. He now eyed her the same way she had eyed him, from above. She laughed in his face and smiled at him.

"We both know what it's like and where we and our allies stand. So if we can't come to an agreement here, then I say let's let the weapons speak and let the more powerful of us win." She held out a hand, which he took. Both spoke in unison.

""I swear by the three sisters. May the better one win""

After that, chaos broke out. The armies of the two gods clashed. Powerful spells were cast and unleashed by both sides on the other. Explosions shook the ground, bodies, and body parts were hurled through the air. While among these, the gods chopped themselves into small pieces. Weak gods were killed in an instant by stronger ones and their power was absorbed by them. This happened all over the plane, every kind of weapon was used from simple clubs to finely crafted swords. From axes to halberds or even simple fists, everything was used to damage and kill the opponents.

For hours the masses of gods surged and blazed against each other, on ever-higher mountains from their fallen comrades. From which rivers of divine blood of all colors flowed down, soaking the ground so that it welled up and everyone sank into the ground up to their knees. Nevertheless, the killing continued and increased in frenzy, more and more gods dying faster and faster in tune to an unheard heart. The heart of the new race, which, if fate so wills, shall see the light of day here today.

Faster and faster the heartbeat, with it the blood of the gods flowed faster and faster and was sucked up by the greedy drinking ground, there could not be enough blood flowing and bodies trampled into the ground.

And in all of this, Lilith and Asmodus fought each other, both scarred by battle, their armor dented and damaged, nothing left of its former glory. Their blades had become dull and ragged, their limbs more and more tired. Exhaustion took hold of them, and yet they still had to fight each other. Occasionally they had to defend themselves against other opponents, consisting of former allies or enemies, sometimes both at the same time.

Slowly it became quieter and quieter on the battlefield and the blood and the hunger for destruction became less and less. Until only two lonely figures, leaning against each other fought against each other. Tiredly raising their arms and hitting each other with weak blows. The heartbeat could still be heard, but it became quieter and quieter, and to the same extent, the two fighters became slower and slower.

Until, with a smacking sound, the ground opened up and all the bodies had disappeared, along with all the blood and weapons. No spark of magic was to be found, no trace of once-powerful arcane energies, which had been discharged during fights among arcane users of the body. No souls of the deceased. Instead, green meadows.

Then the screaming of children. Which made both gods freeze. Slowly leaning on each other they look around. Children in a battle, only then do they notice what was happening around them and that there was no longer a battle.

A few meters away, children were lying in the tall grass. Some of them were asleep others were awake and others were crying.

The two gods looked at the children and realized that they had the skin colors and characteristics of both of them. With fiery veins, in which the blood of gods flowed, from the flesh and bones of those very gods who died for them.

Thus demons were born and Lilith and Asmodus became our parents." Sia ended her narration, while Sappho dropped the curtain, bringing the play to an end.

Both bowed to their audience. The children clapped and stamped their feet, while their parents only clapped.

After that, the audience dispersed and the parents set about catching their children and taking them home to bed.

"A successful day." Said Sia, stretching so that her bones cracked. Sia and Sappho then set about putting everything away for the night.

"And Cali, how did you like the story about how we came to be." Asked Sappho as she took him in her arms so she could lay him down to sleep. He now had his own Little Crib in Sia and Sappho's wagon in which to sleep. He tried his hand at an answer

"Good." Whereupon he nodded his head that the two demonesses had to start laughing. They laid him in his crib, after which they laid themselves down. A few moments later, the faint breathing of both of them could be heard. Meanwhile, he was still busy accumulating and purifying arcane energy. Until finally he too fell asleep.