The darkness pressed down on him like a heavy weight; threatening to crush him with its oppressiveness. But his rage was great, and even though he couldn't feel or move his body, he rebelled against the darkness. It was enough to force the darkness back; and in the space one would take to draw a breath, light appeared.
His eyes opened, and for a few disconcerted moments, he couldn't make out his surroundings. Or rather, it would be better to say that he couldn't understand what he was seeing.
Dark, damp stone which was crumbled with age arched over him; smashed and toppled marble pillars which lay cast about, with only a few bent and holding up the ceiling, its weight settled so that none of it had hit the floor. The floor itself was the same dark stone, and was just as cracked and twisted as the rest. Here and there, the glint of metal shows that at one point in time, there had been grand chandeliers and torch scones.
There are also a great mess of broken blades and garbage strewn about. The room was desolate and cold. Not that he actually felt it. In fact, his limbs had only just started tingling; the returning sensation a great relief. He was alive. But that was impossible. He had been dead, and he remembers the time within the great darkness. And yet here he was.
He knew this place. He remembered the vaulted ceiling and the stone floor, and as he tilts his head back, he can see the vast black granite throne where he once sat. A long, long time ago. But now it was broken. Once, this hall had been pristine and grandiose, filled with gold and jewels of every type, weapons and armors on stands and great works of art from all over the world. He remembers it as if it were only yesterday.
And then it ended. War came, and even he, the greatest and most powerful being in the world, was killed. Killed through wickedness and betrayal. Just thinking about it blurs his vision with a deep tint of red. But it soon subsides, cause he'd noticed something else.
Everything appeared really big. Too big.
It was only then that he looks down at himself, and gives a screeching yell.
“What the...!” But his words come out as a chitter.
His body was small and pale, with short arms and legs. His head felt too big for his body, and was hairless. He tries to lift one of his hands, and has to grit his teeth as the previous tingling turns into a harsh burning sensation, as if all of his muscles were atrophied and unused. But he finally manages it.
“Oh... no...” He mutters, and once again the chittering is heard. He wasn't speaking any language he'd heard before. In fact, it sounded almost like the clatter a mouse would make.
Or an imp.
His hand was small, and his fingers were equally as small, tipped with black nails that were oddly long. But he recognized this body. It was indeed the body of an imp. The weakest, most detestable demon creature in the world.
“HA HA HA HAHAHAHAHA!” His laughing tone was suddenly expelled from his body, for once sounding like a true voice; but there was an hysterical edge to it.
“Of all the things, to be reborn as an imp! The gods must truly be cruel!” Chitter-chatter-chitter.
But suddenly he drops his hand, panting for breath from the sudden outburst and exertion. His body was like that of a newborn, weak and powerless. His muscles burned from fatigue, and even wiggling his fingers and toes were a chore.
But he was alive. He was alive, and he'd rise again. Even if it takes him centuries or millennium. He'd rise, and kill those who destroyed him!
His rage knew no bounds.
-|- -|- -|-
It was three thousand years ago, when the world was a vastly different place. Great kingdoms spread across the continents, and there was peace even for the most miserly of people. And it was all due to one person; a being with a dark and terrible power.
But it was a power that was never put towards violence or destruction.
In fact, the power was used like a blanket to cover the world, insuring almost absolute security for all.
In this world, Asteria, in the center of the central continent of Aphrona, the Demon Kingdom reined supreme and terrible. But its ruler, the Overlord, was a just if iron-handed ruler. Centuries before, great fighting between the various races had almost brought the world to ruin, but the Overlord eventually won out; and used his power to impose his will across the world. Every continent and every living being was bound by that will.
Murder, thievery, most forms of treachery were done away with. He become as a god. His power was such that even the demonic beasts, monsters that flourished in the untamed wildernesses were suppressed; their power weakened and slowly drained away.
For hundreds of years, it was a great time of peace, a true golden age. There were no armies, and very little violent death. Kingdoms flourished as never before. Trade spread out, and new technology and techniques in magic were developed. The gods were pleased, and grand temples spread across the earth.
But like all things, it came to a rather abrupt and ruinous end.
The great wizards and priests of the temples of the gods developed the means to summon people from other worlds into Asteria, and it was found that these people had greatly enhanced abilities and powers beyond the keen of the other races. A terrible price was paid for using such great magic though, weakening the magic the Overlord used to dampen the darker side of nature.
As more and more people were pulled into the world, violence once again broke out. First it was small things, monster attacks, hatred between the races, minor skirmishes.
And then it broke like a sheet of glass. Seven people were summoned by a collective of all seven of the gods' priests, and within a night the world was plunged back into the chaos and violence that had fallen only into myth and legend.
Great and terrible wars broke out, and even the gods intervened, turning against themselves. The only country who resolved not to fight was the Demon Kingdom, still ruled by its Overlord. But that didn't last long.
Those seven people who had been summoned last were caught in the fray, and developed their own awesome powers. They slowly stopped the fighting and the wars, and become dubbed as 'Heroes'. But their powers also corrupted them. They grew ambitious and arrogant, and used their powers to force control over the various races and kingdoms.
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In the end, they brought war onto the Demon Kingdom, the only kingdom to not summon a hero of its own. The only kingdom who remained at peace and refused to fight its neighbors. The only one who still openly traded and flourish in a world turned into hell.
And so the Heroes blamed the Demon Kingdom and its Overlord for what the rest of the world had gone through. And they brought war with them.
Eventually even the Overlord was struck down, suffering a fatal wound even before the Heroes appeared in his great Citadel. Stabbed by a Priest of the Dark God, the god of the demon race.
The rest is history, which has mostly been forgotten.
-|- -|- -|-
The being who had once been known as the Overlord had been reincarnated after three thousand years, into the weakest of demons, an Imp.
It took him more than a day to finally work up the strength to stand on his own, using a nearby broken pillar for support. Strength had returned to him gradually, but by then the growls of his empty stomach made even the simplest tasks a hassle, leaving him winded and out of stamina.
“Damn it..” Chitter – He mutters under his breath, looking around with his large head and bulbous-like black eyes. His body resembles that of an half-born child, scrawny and tiny but with an over-sized head. All told, he was barely eight inches tall, and the world around him seemed colossal by comparison.
But once he was up and about, things became a little easier. Part of the ceiling had collapsed in the corner of the great hall, allowing rain water to run inside, bringing with it a flush of moss and grass that grew up between the shattered stones. Small, glowing grub-like worms were also there, eating the moss and absorbing the pale sunlight that strayed inside during the day and releasing a pale blue light after the night fell.
All told, there were hundreds of them worming about slowly.
It was these Glow-Worms that the Imp got his first meal; as even as weak and pitiful as he was, they were still slower and easy to catch. He stuffed his face with a dozen of them.
Surprisingly, they were rather tasty, plump and juicy. They also filled his small belly.
After eating about twenty of them, he sighed contently and sat down with his back against the half-crumbling walls. Night had fallen, and the hall had turned as black and empty as a tomb. But the soft, pale light emitted by the worms was enough to give him a decent view of the surrounding area.
*DING*
+1 Endurance
+ Glowing Eyes – 1 Meter Dark Vision
The sound and the information that popped up on the translucent message that appeared in front of him caught him off guard, but he laughs at the sudden discovery.
“The advancement system still works!” Chitter-chitter-chatter!
It was a great revelation, and something he'd forgotten about. If that still worked, then the Status Plate should still work as well. He hurriedly tries to remember how to access it.
“Aah, -STATUS-...” He mutters, and it appears in front of him.
-|- -|- -|-
STATUS
Name – Unknown
Age – Unknown
Gender – Male
Level – 1
Class – Overlord (Pre-Up)
STR: 5
DEX: 7
AGI: 4
END: 3
INT: 5
MAG: 1
MAGIC and ABILITIES
Imp Fire – Level 1: A small flicker of imp fire. Can be controlled mentally when cast, similar to fox-fire.
Glowing Eyes – Level 1: By consuming Glow-Worms, a light shines from your eyes, allowing you to see even in utter darkness. Similar to Dark Vision. Range: 1 Meter.
Absolute Command – Level 1: By slaying a monster or beast, you are able to command one such creature absolutely as long as their level is lower than your own.
Overlord's Power – Level 0: ######
Consumption – Level 1: By eating creatures and items, you can gain increased states and abilities and strengthen them with additional consumption.
-|- -|- -|-
For a moment, all he could do was stare. His states were utterly horrible. Less than even a human child's, which were generally at the 10 – 12 range. But his abilities were better than he expected.
He'd even retained some of his previous Overlord abilities, along with a new one. Consumption was something he'd never heard about before. But after experiencing it after eating the Glow-Worms, it made sense to him.
Perhaps it was a trait of Imps? But that didn't make much sense, either. If Imps were able to advance with such an ability, they wouldn't be considered the weakest of demons. In fact, Imps were often bound as servants or used as spies.
Feral Imps were great tricksters by nature and demeanor. So weak that even humans could kill them with only a bare knife.
But he was definitely different. But even just thinking about it made his head start to hurt. In fact, his status caused him to think of a few other things as well. Overlord's Power was something he'd had before. He was sure of it. But for some reason he couldn't remember what it was.
And the Status of it was garbled, as well.
Odd. Odd.
But he shakes his head and decides not to think of it. There wasn't any point. More over, its likely tied to his stats, all of which were very small. His old self would half laughed at such a weakness and sent it flying with a flick of his finger.
He could almost imagine having that sort of power again.
But in the end he simply shakes his head and looks up through the broken ceiling, to the wheeling sky above. The stars had changed from what he remembered, but they still glittered coldly in the darkness of the night.
It was somewhat relaxing, and his eyelids started getting heavy. He cannot help but yawn. Its bed time. At least his stomach was full. He wouldn't have to worry about food at this point. But if he eats too many of the Glow-Worms, they might all disappear before having the chance to breed. He'd have to be careful about farming them.
So he stands up and moves around to the backside of the broken pillar he'd originally woke near, and finds a nice dark corner. He curls up, only about the size of a rat, and falls asleep on the first night of his new life.