"Embers. We have waited for long. The Wrath awakened again ! Immolators ! Rise and spread the word to the ones in search of repentance ! Coonect with the Prideful ! The Devourers ! The Envious ! The Merchant Guild ! Help them locate the Virtues ! The seals will break ! No matter the price ! Our flames of life will burn for a grand purpose !"
A chorus of cheers and chants echoed in the deserts of Saand, hidden by tormenting winds and sand storms. Soon after the call to arms, the fanatics of Wrath spread out, only leaving pyres and sacrifices as witnesses of the reunion.
Somewhere, a headmaster felt a tug on his heart, filling him with confidence and power. He wanted to roar to the heavens.
All over the world, peddlers and traders felt that their precious gold just became infinitely more important now...
All over the world, men, women, children and even beasts with sentience engaged in feasts and orgies.
...
Raya opened her eyes. The world of black, grey and silver welcomed her yet again. But this time, she did not care. For she could see white too. All over her, all over where her Fire spread. The black taint receded as her Flames raged on.
She felt good. Finally.
Her mind was free. The Fire was getting rid of everything that burdened her mind. Everything. Now there was only Raya, Drake Sin of Wrath. The memories of that precious person were burning, just like anything unnecessary. There were still lots of them, but they were disappearing. That was all that mattered.
She roared and took off without even looking back. This event would have consequences but... she did not care.
...
The appearance of The Divine's Hand shook the world. They had not manifested for eons. The last time They did was to smother the Wrathful Flames.
Not even a minute since the apparition and many already turned to the Papal States in search of answers. They were met with the country's silence. Even the pope herself had no answers.
---
"What just... happened ? Ramiel. You saw that, right ?!"
"Shut up and run ! We don't have time for that !"
Ramiel and Liz'a were sprinting in a forest, avoiding immobilization spells, branches and roots. Paladins were tailing them like hounds and the two teens were completely out of breath. They had been running for what felt like hours until a weird giant hand appeared in the sky and momentarily stopped the soldeirs chasing the pair.
Ramiel looked with an annoyed gaze at the thing in his hands. The holy sword. A day ago, Liz'a made up some sort of excuse to get him in town with her. They were supposedly visiting shops that could help them grow stronger but Ramiel felt weird that they ere staying very close to the cathedral. A red flag he missed...
Then when Liz'a finally decided to stock up, she seemed to only take items used in long travels. Potions, stealth scrolls, invisibility ones, a map... A tent and utensils. The map was marked with crosses in random places, with arrows and notes he couldn't decipher. Plus she also brought light armor for both of them. Very obvious for anyone but to him for some reason.
Thinking about it again, Ramiel wanted to punch himslef in the face. He had been stupid !
And this morning, Liz'a showed up at the entrance of the boys' dorms. She talked about one last errand she had to do with him and went in the city again. Ramiel had been tasked to wait for a bit near a building and when the heiress came back, she was sweaty and out of breath. She had been running.
The weapon held in her arms and the shouts coming from the cathedral were enough to make Ramiel understand. Liz'a had just stolen the holy sword ! And before the male teen could utter a single word, the two of them were in this forest because of a cheap teleportation scroll.
Now...
"Get back here you filfthy thieves !"
Yeah...
Ramiel cursed himself and Liz'a at the same time. He had been played with. He was sure that ditching her and obediently returning the weapon was pointless now... They had been escaping for too long now. Where did Liz'a want them to go to begin with ? They were heading west but Ramiel doubted that the Plateaux were a good place to go...
No... Oh ! The unnamed ruined kingdom from the setting ? Did she want them to go there ? Some of the most powerful artifacts of the game were there after all.
How ironic. The girl who ranted about not treating this as a game was now trying to collect items the very same game described as powerful. Speaking of which... What about Frea ? Where was she ? Was she fine ?
A paralizing arrow flew by and Ramiel ducked. He got up and looked at Liz'a, who was still running without any care in the world. He felt annoyed. very much so.
First, she threw a tantrum about this reality being as real as their formere world, then she deceived him, lead him around for a whole day. And now, she just pulled that shit...
Who there thought about this life as a game ? Everyone knew that they could die again. That was why Ramiel trained his body as soon as this body allowed him to stand on his legs. That was why MaviK and Margos excelled in their respective fighting styles. That was why Frea had planned many countermeasures in her own country.
The only one who did nothing was her. Liz'a. She appeared not even two weeks ago in this reality and there she was, endangering everything. She blamed them for trying to predict outcomes based on a videogame but how could they not ?! This was their safest bet. Not a perfect one but the only one they knew from their experience.
Ramiel knew he was weak without his holy sword. Not weak weak, but not strong enough to be considered any kind of prodigy, like that red-haired elf in class... he could stand up to a knight but not win. But Liz'a... she was fucking trash... What did she think ? She couldn't even cast a simple spell without mana blowing up in her face. And she was even weaker than a non-sentient goblin for fuck's sake !
A somber thought crossed Ramiel's mind. They would have been better off without her...
But now he had to escape.
Liz'a activated their last invisibility and agility scrolls before sending a flashbomb stone. The Paladins, who were running too fast to notice it, got blinded and stiopped in the sea of trees to rub their eyes.
"We're close !" the girl shouted.
Indeed. The trees decreased in number as they ran. There was some kind of gorge ?The two could see immense rock formations creating a passage and a gigantic open gate. But if that turned out to be a cave, they were doomed.
"Wait Liz'a ! We can't !"
"Shup up ! That's our only chance !"
Ramiel noticed something. A barrier... of fire ! Just like a dome !
"Liz'a ! There's a barrier !" he shouted in hopes to make her turn back.
This had the opposite effect. The teen sprinted even further and Ramiel panicked. At this rate, she would smash into the protective fire dome, or be burnt by it.
He brandished the holy weapon and launched it past the girl. It smashed into the fire and created a hole big enough to let them enter.
Meanwhile the Paladins were cursing at their recklessness and their stupidity. They had lost the targets.
"What do we do now ? Search for them ?"
"A search ? In there ? Not happening. We're already running low on mana from tailing these thieves all morning and I don't want any of you guys to die in an ambush while we're exhausted... We'll have to bear the consequences."
"Alright..."
----------------------------------------
"Where the fuck are we..."
Liz'a and Ramiel were staring at gates only a enormous being could have built. Taller than a troll or a giant, they dwarfed the two humans. Moss and vines hanging from it signified the structure had been abandonned but cleaned recently. Most trees in the surroundings were burnt to their very core, no leaves and trunks as black as coal. Something unpleasant happened there.
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The two went deeper into the unknown, both on high alert. Ruins like these could house monsters and they were far from as strong as they wanted to be. They walked for ten more minutes before they noticed other buildings and structures. But...
"Aren't these things... too big ?" Liz'a observed.
The structures were in ruins too, they looked like houses but most were as big as the cathedral they escaped from... The two began to search in the housings, noticing more and more oddities. The layout and architecture indicated that the houses were made for... quadrupedal creatures without proper hands. The ceiling was low, but the witdth and lenght of the rooms was impressive.
Whatever lived here was long and wide, not tall. Snakes ?
Most stuff was accessible from a relatively low point. Shelves, drawers and commodities were either on the ground or stood at a maximum of three meters high. No handles anywhere but very big gashes for what Ramiel assumed to be claws or teeth. There were no doors, only fabric and animal hides hanging from the ceiling to separate rooms from each other.
Everything was completely out of proportions. Just like in the fairy tale about the girl in the bear house.
At some point, the two humans concluded that there was literally nothing in this weird village and separated to explore more. At least there weren't any stairs to climb. Only ramps.
Everything was in ruins. There were broken blades, balista projectiles. Remnants of catching nets... The more they explored, the more the two could conclude that a battle occured there. Moreover, the size of the stucture gave an unnverving feeling to the place. The beings that lived here had been killed by much tinier beings. Humans most likely.
The continued to explore. That was weird. If a battle occured here, shouldn't corpses and remains be all over the place ?
"R- Ramiel !"
The hero candidate rushed out of the house he was in. Liz'a was waving an arm frantically while pointing to a direction with the other. What did she find now ?
"What's gotten into you ? Something interesting ?"
"Y- yeah. We're not just in a village of some big creature. We're... well you'll see for yourself. I... guess.."
Ramiel frowned. Her answer was strange. She seemed disturbed.
The boy was lead to a structure bigger than any other there. It looked like a mayan temple. But in front of it...
"A pile of... bones ?"
Ramiel stared at the remains of whatever creature lived there.
Reptilian skulls, long tails. Unknown elongated limbs. Scales that fell off... Couldn't that be...
"Oh...! Aren't those... wyverns ?! Is this the place where they lived ?!"
"Y-yeah..."
Ramiel frowned again. What was up with the stutter now ? He turned to his companion, who was fidgetting nervously.
"Is... something wrong ?"
"..."
"Liz'a ?"
"I... I went in that temple-looking building. There were... writings on one of the wall..." Liz'a took a deep breath and looked at Ramiel straight in the eyes.
"My fiance's name was written on the wall. Jean. And his online pseudonyme too... he lived there Ramiel. He was a... a wyvern. He reincarnated just like us. He left a date. The day he reincarnated. And the bones... I..."
The hero candidate cut the heiress off with his arms in a cross-shape.
"Wait wait wait ! If that's really your boyfriend, he could be alive ! He could have escaped whatever battle took place there. He could have been far away when it took place ! If he played the game too, he surely knew how to avoid this, right !"
"No ! Don't you remember ?! There's no fucking lore on wyverns ! The only thing we hear is that they're used as materials even though they're intelligent ! He can't predict things that weren't stated !"
"Hold on. Before making conclusions, let's explore more and search for traces of any happening or event. That could help us understand why the wyverns were attacked." Ramiel countered while making some space between them. He didn't particularily like the feeling of being shaken frantically by an hysteric teen.
"I- OKay..." the other answered, dejected.
They climbed up and started to rummage though debris and big containers. There were receipes of potions, of strange mixtures to strenghten the eggshells female wyverns produced, drawings of plants used as painkillers...
"Huh..."
Ramiel stared at an enormous dusty book. It was probably as big as himself and much heavier too. The pages were made of metal and scriptures were engraved in them. Most likely with the help of claws.
"Liz'a ? There's something interesting. It seems important. And ancient."
The girl barely nodded but came closer nonetheless. They lifted the tome's cover with all the strengh they could muster up and it fell with a hard sound. As expected, the writting appeared as unreadable gibberish. They couldn't make anything out of it.
"Let's try to use Status on it..."
"Does this work ?" Liz'a asked. A nod from Ramiel was the answer she needed to activate the ability too.
"What will we learn now ?" she muttered with a hopeful glint in her eyes.
Time passed and pages were flipped. The tome didn't detail everything, it talked about diet and the population; its numbers, some customs... but Ramiel and Liz'a learned enough. No-one here had survived. A thousand and one fire wyverns lived there. A thousand skulls were in front of the temple. Only Raya's was missing. The wyverns got massacred.
Was that... was that why Raya became the Drake Sin of Wrath ? But that... didn't match with the Raya they saw back at the academy.
"Liz'a ?"
"I need... I need to talk to Raya. So that I can truly get rid of what's in my heart. I need to know how he lived and how he died. I need to know why she wasn't there to protect her tribe when she had such a grand role..."
"That's not... a good idea. I don't think she likes humans that much after what happened there. She'll kill you."
The hopeful glint was now one of hate. Hate towards Raya, Ramiel deducted.
"Then I'll kill her too. Why didn't she protect her tribe... ? I'll make her pay. I will..."
Ramiel gazed sadly at Liz'a 's crazed eyes. What if this Jean was... no. That was a dumb guess.
"We should go. Really..."
----------------------------------------
Raya was flying over Astria. Already a distant memory. She went back to the place that held her captive all these years. The place where she lost so many memories and clung to a few of them to keep herself sane.
She noticed movement from the corner of her eyes. People in a formation. Did people still live there ? Even after the carnage she had left ? She had no idea.
A lightning bolt crackled in the air. It was... directed to her ? Okay now she was interested. She dove right in and adjusted one of her wings to prepare for impact. Unluckily, some humans got out of the way. The big burly one was out of commision. Reduced to bloody paste even. A shielder ? Most likely. His left arm was still holding a giant piece of bent scrap.
A fireball crashed on Raya's snout. Dumb. She turned to the other humans. No, that wasn't right. The group was made up of various races. They... looked like... What was the name then again ? Adevnturists ? No. Explorators...? Adenvtu- Adventurers. That was it. Her gaze lingered on each one of them for a few instants.
They appeared closer to silver than black. A hint of... Greed in them. The usual amount of Greed a sentient being possessed. That was acceptable for now. But still. She wanted to know why they tried to attack her.
Why did you... try to harm me ? I don't think I did anything wrong to you.
Whispers rose among the party. One elf was muttering to an orc and a human male was tending to the others' wounds. The Wyvern observed them for another minute. They seemed experienced. Good gear, good protective measures, good behavior. They seemed close too. They kinda reminded Raya of Sun Mane's own party. But the lack of answer irritated her.
I am still waiting. I believe I have left you enough time to treat your wounded.
Raya growled and slammed her tail on the ground. Why were people so unreasonable ? It was only a simple question.
...
Fuck this. The expedition never mentioned a wyvern roaming around. Was this place its territory ? The Skullbreaker party was supposed to explore the ruins of Astria and get as many things they could find there. They brought scavenging equipements, not weapons for house-sized foes... Not that it would matter much anyway. Seeing how that dive attack pulverized Trogar...
One of the mages of the party was searching in the beast codex for information about wyverns, but she was too slow. The wyvern didn't seem too pleased by the attack she launched before. That girl was a new recruit but still... why did she do that ?
The party was completely stuck. The wyvern had encircled them with its body and was tapping on the ground with one of its claws, adding to the tension.
Finally, one of the members spoke up with a trembling voice.
"A- apologies wyvern. This... attack was a grave mistake. Our newbie mistook you for a bird and... and she wanted to try out a new spell. We have no ill intention towards you. We were on our way to salvage resources from this city. We... we apologize again if that place turns out to be your lair. We will... go back I guess ?"
It was hard to discern but the wyvern was flabbergasted.
W- what ? A bird ? Do I look like a bird ? Do birds have tails like that ? What kind of shitty vision does she have to mistake me for... a bird ?!
The novice shivered from fright and tried to make herself as small as possible under the creature's gaze. It sighed, blowing steaming air out of its jaws and nostrils, shook its head and stepped back.
You absolute cretin... I don't care what you're doing in these acursed ruins but never again.
"Y- you know what happened there ? Why do you call this place cursed ?"
...
This kingdom massacred my kin. It deserved to pay. So much sin was bred there...
The wyvern took off, leaving the bewildered party alone.
...
Demons...will they cause problems too ? Should I get rid of them ? No... The Progenitor said that the hero would get rid of them as usual. The hero... Does this world need a hero ?
The fate of this world is to burn, unless we can stop otherworlders from coming. A futile ambition... Even The Divine cannot stop it. Even the Progenitor lost Their way after trying for eons...
Even I will most likely... suffer the same fate.
After all, the destiny of a Flame is to burn itself to death...
But for now, as long as sins fuels The Wrath...
My followers. My siblings' followers. They will help. To gather them, I will have to travel.
Ah... This world is doomed.
---
"Honored Shamans. Demons are already on the move. Our scouts have reported that they are currenlty traversing the Frosty Death en masses. Moreover, various factions following the Sins have also started to cause trouble in the East. Should we try to apprehand them these cultists ?"
Frea looked at the world's map with her elder. On one hand, the cultists were closer and already in Elfort. They were an immediate threat. But on the other hand, demons were far more violent and erratic. They would be the ones who'd cause the most destruction in Elfort and the surroundings.
The elder and the young Shaman looked at each other and nodded.
"Concentrate all forces near the Western frontier. Deploy everything we have. Magic balista and cannons. Talk to the the Treants and try to rally the Forest Spirits too. Warn the Vampire and the bestial races in our territory. We'll have to stop the demons as soon as they try to cross our borders."
"Understood." the vampire emissary responded before vanishing in a cloud of bats.
The elder Shaman put a hand on her apprentice's shoulder and smiled sadly.
"Troubled times are coming. Let's hope that... we will stand through this."