FOREX, IOLITE

In the world of Axtral, the Iolite continent was located in between the Golodh continent and the southernmost continent, where the Abyss lay. But the demons dwelling within the Abyss had extended their grasp beyond the Abyss borders, seeking to conquer the territories of Iolite.

The Princess of Iolite won’t allow it to happen.

The Princess of Iolite, Lucia Angelique Solace, had dedicated her life to taking down these demons. To cleanse Iolite from this filth. Nothing else mattered. Maybe then, Iolite can gain its glory like the great empires. Maybe then she would prove herself strong to her people and her parents. Especially her parents.

Riding a black horse, she watched from the top of the hill as the army of demons approached. The southern coast of Iolite was within sight. She could feel her heart pounding against her chest, but she kept her composure. There was no rush. Victory in many battles had finally liberated Iolite’s citizens from the demon’s grasp. No longer would her people live in fear of theft, murder, or curses wrought by the demons.

“Soldiers of Iolite, let us not fight merely to claim victory in this war. Let us fight to establish a new era of peace, one where the people of Iolite no longer live in fear. Let us be the ones to ensure that peace is not a fleeting moment, but a constant state of being.” Lucia’s voice resounded through the air.

Lucia exchanged glances with Hilda, her attendant. Hilda then raised her arm, signaling the dawn of war. The sound of the horn echoed through the valley as Lucia watched her army spring into action. Swords were unsheathed, shields were raised, and sorcerers and archers took their position. The clerics sat from the back, providing their people with divine protection.

What a terrible sight to behold. The nearer they were to the Abyss, the more corrupted the demons became. The lesser demons crawled out from below the earth, looking gray and famished, with a pair of dull red horns and tiny vestigial unused bat wings.

The demons bare their razor-sharp teeth and claws, charging forward to the army. Their screams filled the air. The battlefield became a chaotic scene of blood and fire. Swords clashed with claws, arrows whizzed past horns, and magic spells were thrown.

As the battle raged on, it became clear that the demons, despite their overwhelming numbers, were losing ground. The Creations were too powerful, equipped with fighting skills and magic spells. The battle raged on for what felt like hours. The ground was littered with bodies, both fairy and demon. It seemed like the end was near.

As soon as hope seemed like it was within their grasp, three demon generals emerged from the flames of fire. The demon was twice as large, with dark red horns protruding from their foreheads. Within the sockets of their skull, they had eyes burning in the flames of the Abyss. Their leathery wings almost resembled the cloak of darkness. The sight of them easily broke the will of the soldiers and their resolve to fight.

With a commanding roar, the soldiers beside the demon generals trembled, falling to their knees. The lesser demons cried in glee, feasting on the fear of these soldiers. They quickly plunged their claws through the armor of the soldiers, feasting on their flesh. With every flesh they consumed, they grew stronger, feeding the flames within them.

The three demon generals smiled with glee as they slew the soldiers like cutting butter. The soldier fell onto his back, cowering with fear. He saw the blade of the general right in front of his eyes, charging toward him.

“W-We’re losing. There’s no way I can…”

“Fight, you fool!” A flash of light blue light whizzed past the fallen soldier as his blade deflected against the general’s blade.

“Lieutenant Thomas…?”

“We’re not giving up! The coastline of Iolite is within sight! We’re so close!”

The soldier looked up at Thomas with mixed feelings of awe and terror. How could he stand in front of them like that? Thomas was being pushed back. Thomas parried the demon’s attacks with his sword, sweat pouring down his face as he struggled to keep up with the demon’s relentless assault. He gritted his teeth as he faced off against the three towering demon generals.

Thomas yelled, defending the soldier with all his might, “Jorax, you better get this right!”

“I’m really running out of magic, though.” Another fairy said. Unlike the other fairy, he had a much smaller build and looked like he was drained.

With a wave of his staff, a small piece of ice was conjured from his wand, propelling towards the demon general. It looked insignificant, almost like it could disappear with the blow of the wind. But the ice took the shape of a claw. The ice penetrated through his armor, encasing the demon general in a wall of ice. But the Abyssal flame burned within the demon’s soul, fighting against the magical ice surrounding it. Thomas knew that he had to finish it quickly before the ice melted.

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“Good boy, Jorax. I’ll give you a treat later.” Thomas said.

“I’m not your pet, stupid. Hurry, before I lose concentration…” Jorax’s legs trembled under the weight of exhaustion, but he refused to falter. With a grunt, he slammed his staff onto the ground, using it as support.

Infusing the sword with his magical energy, Thomas delivered a couple of strikes to the demon. Each blow was precise and deadly, striking its vital points. The demon could hardly move, but he dropped his weapon, using his claw to slash the torso of the fairy. But Thomas didn’t mind. He took the claw attack, blood dripping down from his torso to the ground.

From up high, Thomas then delivered a final blow to his skull, splitting it in half, and bringing down the demon. The flames of Abyss in the demon general slowly diminished.

The other two demon generals remained unfazed by the fall of their comrade. Instead, they grinned with delight at the sight of the resilient fairy. Their auras were beyond menacing, sending chills down Thomas’s spine. He tightened his grip on his sword, knowing that he and Jorax were no match for these two powerful demon generals. He could barely heal himself, and Jorax was spent. The thought of facing them was daunting.

“You’re a powerful fairy.” Their claws reached out for him.

“No, I’m not,” he replied with a grin. “I’m not even close.”

From the corner of his eyes, he caught a glimmer of green. . A fairy with shoulder-length emerald-green hair and lime-green eyes descended from the sky. Her eyes glowed with a fierce determination as she locked onto her targets, ready to strike with the precision of a hawk hunting its prey. Her wings, like shimmering green glass, spread wide as she flew to the two demon generals, her silver tiara glinting in the fading light.

With a flick of her wrist, she conjured a fiery blue butterfly that flitted and danced through the air before landing on the demon’s outstretched hand. The butterfly suddenly burst into flames, causing the demon to recoil in pain and shock.

“Thomas, bring Jorax to the medics,” Lucia ordered.

“Princess! Why? I can still fight!”

“We’re not losing anyone here. Not today, not ever.” Lucia said, her eyes filled with determination.

The two demon generals raised their eyebrows in surprise as they watched the Princess of Iolite descend from the sky, her aura radiating power beyond measure.

“You called for a powerful fairy, and here I am,” the Princess said, floating in the middle of the sky. By the looks of it, she certainly wasn’t pleased that her soldiers were falling.

As she raised her arms, a powerful incantation escaped her lips, and ethereal weapons materialized from the skies, crashing onto the battlefield below. The lesser demons were caught off guard, struggling to defend themselves against the onslaught of mystical weaponry.

The two remaining demon generals grinned. They raised their weapons against the Princess, charging towards her. Lucia descended to the ground and unsheathed her sword, preparing to defend against their power.

The Princess waited for the right moment. She was strong, but efficiency was the key here. She drew in her breath, observing their movements and waiting for their vital points to be aligned.

The demons took the first step, then the second. Time slowed down for her as she readied her stance.

Then, a fine line appeared before her eyes, shimmering in a white light. Lucia could never explain what it was. The vital points of the demons shined bright like the stars of constellation and the line linked them together. In one breath, she used her sword to trace the line before her. With a swift cut and graceful footwork, she followed the starry guidelines with expert precision.

The two demon general’s wails pierced the air, writhing in pain. Lucia infused her sword with radiant energy, preparing to stab the demon general to the core.

Lucia’s voice dripped with discontent as she spoke, her expression stoic and unyielding. “I never knew that demon generals were capable of feeling pain,” she said, her words heavy with bitterness.

After the fall of the demon generals, every single demon was slain and wiped off the face of Iolite. The long war finally came to an end. With great pride, she planted the Iolite flag as a symbol of victory, and the surviving troops erupted in triumphant cheers.

Her heart swelled with a sense of unparalleled accomplishment as she planted the flag on the ground, its colors rippling in the wind. The last battlefield lay ahead, the Island of Fetters, a cluster of islands nestled near the Abyss. The magical shield, painted in shades of light blue, that enveloped the island was a hindrance to their progress, but that challenge could wait for another day. Today, they bask in the glory of victory.

The victory was sweet, but a strange sensation coursed through her body. Dark energy burned within her soul, threatening to consume her very being.

As the words echoed through her mind, they seemed to take on a life of their own. “You are the strongest fairy alive. The King and Queen of Iolite are inept and unworthy of their titles.”

The dark hum that followed was impossible to resist, like a siren’s call. “Seize the throne.”

Lucia’s eyes darted around frantically, searching for the source of the voice. But all she could see was Hilda, her faithful servant, standing loyally by her side. The soldiers cried in glory and pure happiness, drowning out the insidious whispers in her mind.

And yet, the voice persisted, growing louder and more urgent. “Seize the throne.”

Lucia’s heart clenched as if someone was holding it tight. Her heart clenched with fear as icy vines coiled around it, threatening to slow it down. The pace of her breath quickened with the rising anxiety. Then she felt her fingers burning. Lucia’s eyes caught sight of a small flame on her fingers.

A dark black flame. The undisputable symptom of the Curse of Abyss. The Desires of Andromeda.

What was she going to do now?

Lucia retired to her quarters, seeking refuge from the chaos of the night. Her thoughts were consumed by the dark flames that flashed before her eyes, her mind racing with anxiety. She attempted to dispel the curse and tried every restoration spell in her book, but nothing worked. All of her research seemed to point to the same conclusion: there is no cure for the Curse of Abyss. Only death awaits.