A full moon illuminated the surrounding clouds with its cold light as the bitter wind cuts through my armour, freezing me to the bone.

"Breath in, breath out." I watched through my helmet's visor as condensation rose from my mouth, dancing in the air.

"Let the human in." I can't help but chuckle my old world's song. If memory serves me right, it should have been ten bloody years since we were kidnapped to this world, enslaved and forced to fight a pointless war. Our deeds, as well as what they did to us, making us less human than most of the species on this god forsaken planet.

Our calling wasn't anything as grand or virtuous as good versus evil like the stories go. It was simply two different cultures violently clashing as they tried to impose their will on the other.

On one side stood the Alliance, though calling them a conglomerate of imperialistic states would be more appropriate. On the other, the Dark races. A collective of different species, all having negative connotations linked to them, that basically practised Darwinism. Survival of the fittest. A society where weak obeyed the strong or died fighting.

After beating each other into a stalemate, some bright spark took experimenting with humans one step too far and decided to try gathering beings from other... universes, dimensions... where ever we came from. They never gave us the details. At least they weren't that stupid. Anywhere that's where we came in, a hundred or so people summoned to another world in order to fight and die just because we could.

I didn't give a flying fuck for their reasons, like most of us that were ripped from our lives, which I might add every other son of a bitch on our planet had, I just wanted to return to our world and forget this ever happened.

It might sound like I am bitter at being one of the chosen ones. Well, damn right. Why couldn't those bald monkeys pick some snotty nosed brat that wants to play at being a hero or someone who has nothing left to live for and just wants another chance?. I had a family, and although my life sucked as much as the next blue-collar slob, it was bearable.

Letting out a deep growl, the black armoured knight sitting next to me placed his hand on my shoulder in understanding. I know that at the time, I was thinking about something else, but I always like to wind myself before I get to this point. If my dreams are going to be this vivid and consistent, might as well get what I can out of it. The comfort from a long dead comrade is still comfort.

Remembering the song that got me on this line of thought, I can't help buy sigh. I wonder how much of me is human anymore? Would they even recognise me now? Could we still laugh, drink and even cry together like a family? 

It's funny really, this should have been our last mission before being returned, and yet all I remember is how depressing the atmosphere was. Not that I was helping. All that I could think about was the mountain of corpses we had to climb to get to this point and those we had buried.

My memory looks around and carefully studies the eleven people sitting with me, their black armour looking more demonic and fearsome than even the most terrifying of demons.

Ahh, my team, Death's reapers. I would have gone to hell and back for these guys, and in a way, they are the reason I wasn't completely fucked when the shit hit the fan. Say what you will about human nature, There is good and bad in everyone and these guys are pretty much the only reason I managed to reason myself out of destroying this world. Admittedly it took me a small amount of time... I guess about a hundred and fifty years or so, but still, I was always known for holding a grudge and being stapled to the floor and potentially imprisoned for eternity isn't exactly positive thought inducing.

I feel a sad smile creep upon the face of my real body. There were so many of us at first, but once again, the stories were woefully inaccurate. We weren't greeted as heroes, well not at least until we had some achievements under our belts and could be used as propaganda material, but as expendable military assets. Very expendable until they found out that we rapidly adapted to this world and its mana.

Our number halved in the first two months and although the death rate decreased when their scientists, or as we called them butchers, stopped with their experiments, we were then thrown into the meat grinder that was their hundred-year war. Out of the fire and into the frying pan comes to mind. Still, at least we had a fighting chance battling the demon hordes, dark elf assassins and the plethora of other deadly beasts that were sent to slow us down.

Well, at least it never got boring.

A few others are milling around the balloon, one in particular that I wish I didn't have to look at. I know this just a memory, but it doesn't make it any better. I can't control or distort it in any way. Even my general thinking and emotions are defined. Luckily I was pissed off at the time. It would be unbearable if I were forced to feel happiness toward the main instigator to my comrade's demise and my imprisonment.

I watch as she checks the shields we will be using before straightening up and walking towards me. Her pointy ears reflecting the moonlight as her hips sway suggestively.

I feel bile rise in my real bodies throat and can't help but think about how lucky she was to die before I escaped. Elves have a pretty long life, around about three hundred years, and I am sure I could think up enough ways to 'entertain' that bitch for all of them. No point crying over spilt milk.

Looking back on it I was a fool. My team and I had survived countless plots and assassinations, mostly from our own masters, yet at the end, I fell for such an obvious ploy. 

Least I never gave in to her advances. I don't think they make water, acid or molten lava hot enough to ease the disgust I would have felt at myself. 

Oh. My. God. I want a bath so bad. The first thing I am going to do when I get to a place that doesn't look like a third world relief station is to stuff my face and take the longest bath ever. Anyway, I digress. I can think about that stuff when I wake up.

Styx, the soul eater my team had adopted as a mascot, partially because of the guilt we felt for pretty much being solely responsible for exterminating her species, not that we told her that, but also because she had a calming influence on me, had tried to warn me that something was wrong.

There was something about her mask-like face and quirky behaviour that normally, not saying that it always worked, managed to keep my inner demons at bay. It was kind of like having a creepy little sister that, by keeping her out of trouble, kept me out of trouble.

It's a shame she betrayed us. Yes, she got to live but I wonder if she feels it was worth the cost.

I remember her acting funny, even going as far as saying something weird before we left that put me on edge though that damn seductress managed to distract me. I still managed to alert the others that something was wrong in the code we developed over the years, and we all made preparations, but really we were- No, I was an idiot.

This was the mission to end the war. The Dark Races were about to crumble, and all they needed was a little push. They were just tying up loose ends. The Demon Lord and us. Obvious now I think about it. Fucking hindsight.

I need to calm down, I can't afford to lose mana, not until I secure a new source. Though I am trapped in a dream at the moment, my emotions still effect my body, kinda like having a nightmare and screaming but instead of looking like a fool, I lay waste to an area around me and tighten my proverbial chains.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Suddenly the moonlight is blocked as the enchanting elf towers over my sitting self, her piercing gaze locked onto mine as she leans in. She opens her mouth and says something but I can't hear it.

Everything turns black. This wasn't the end of the memory but it is now, at least for this part. This was one of the memories I sacrificed when I was developing my original spell. No idea what she said but I am sure it annoyed the shit out of me.

I have the feeling she called me by my name as well but that doesn't matter. I will never be able to remember my name. Another thing I had to lose in order to free myself of that infernal collar. It was the first step to my freedom, and weirdly enough, the most painful one.

Those bastards really did a number on me. A collar that will destroy my soul if I break a supreme command, Divine Spears, that were designed to imprison the old gods, trapping my body and probably the strongest magical barrier this world has ever seen just incase I ever did become more powerful than a god.

Ha, more powerful. I would have thought that those basters would understand that everything has a cost. The greater the benefit, the higher it would be. I might have temporarily gained my freedom, but it has left me a crippled shell of what I once was.

They wouldn't even let me die as they were afraid I would enter the reincarnation pool as a vengeful spirit and seek revenge, which was very perceptive of them. Hell, even if there wasn't such a thing I somehow feel I would have found a way to claw my way from whatever abyss I was trapped in and drag them back with me.

Hell, even if there wasn't such a thing I somehow feel I would have found a way to claw my way from whatever abyss I was trapped in and drag them back with me.

OK, before I get big headed, those precautions weren't just for me. They needed to keep the Demon Lord under control as well, seeing as if they killed him his essence would escape and find another vessel but like I said, the war was won and I like to take things personally.

Urg, just remembering that guy makes me want to vomit. I needed the energy and to make sure I trapped the essence before it could escape and alert anyone but man... talk about inedible. Must have been some survival trait that enabled them to live without getting eaten when they crawled out of whatever primordial ooze spawned them. Black bones were pretty cool though.

Still feeling queasy, time to distract myself again. After so long alone, I have gotten pretty good at it.

The concepts and ideas we brought to this world revolutionised the Alliances technology. Even at a fraction of the size of the Dark Races, they still steamrolled them once the first prototypes went into production. The reason it took ten years was due to the size of the world and amount of people they, or more often we, needed to eliminate.

Conquest is a bloody business, especially if you get the nickname of Death's favourite. Was there even a God of Death? Who knows, the swine has been avoiding me like the plague ever since I got here.

Actually, I think we introduced the concept of the Grim Reaper to this world. They believed in fairies that escorted souls until that point. Wonder if that spread outside of the capital? I tried to encourage Halloween but when monsters are real and a few dozen different sentient species, it kinda feels like Halloween every day.

On another note, I always found it weird they thought it was a good idea to leave us in the same room. The ancient Demon Lord who had a vast amount of forbidden knowledge, most lost to time and a vengeful being that was susceptible controlled mutations.

Forgetting the Miasma of the Demon Lord and the area's high amount of natural mana, it was a recipe for disaster if I ever saw one. Not that I told them that.

Oh well, their mistake. It's almost ironic, their fear and heavy-handed methods actually gave me my greatest weapon. Time.

Due to the planet, we came from, the other summoned and I continuously absorb mana from the environments and our bodies use it to mutate in a controlled, almost logical way. 

It's nothing impressive. Enhanced muscles and eyesight, increased regeneration abilities and stuff like that. The biggest problem was that it took years to see any noticeable improvements. I would have died of old age before becoming truly powerful. Well before I got stabbed with holy sticks of undyingness.

Whoever came up with the idea to make something strong enough to trap a god, but at the same time keep them alive was a sadistic arsehole who I would give my right arm to meet in a dark alley.

It took me god knows how long, but finally I was ready. I might not be able to completely break out of my prison, but that didn't mean I couldn't be free. Well, it kind of did but meh, minor details.

Idiots. It's a shame they are all dead. It would have been good to show them what their foolishness created and watch as they dispair but alas, they are dead and gone, and unfortunately, the child doesn't inherit the sins of the parent. I mean what kind of psycho would think that? I might have slight, niggling concerns about some of my thoughts but mindless genocide. I'll pass thanks, it's kind of pointless, takes a lot of effort and is pretty bad for your own lifespan.

With revenge out of the question, and it being useless to return to my old world due to the passage of time, what was left for a semi-immortal like me to do?

I felt an unhinged grin form on my real body.

Quite a lot actually. I might not have any hatred to anyone living, OK there is one but she is useful at the moment, or any attachments but that doesn't mean I can let the entity my comrades and I were sacrificed for, survive.

Yet I am just one man, A forgotten hero that has nothing to his name, wait not even his name, and isn't even a tenth of his previous power.

Luckily there is more than one way to skin a cat.

My senses gradually return as I hear the buzz of refugees filing past my temporary resting place. Sitting up and feeling the rough bark of the tree I have been leaning against through my cloak, I open my eyes, still feeling the evil grin on my face.

Hmm, no screams. That's always a good sign. Last time I woke up from a nap, I nearly scared an old demon lady to death. Haven't seen myself in a mirror for centuries but my smile can't be that bad, can it?

I watch the horde of refugees stumble past, carrying the few possessions they own. A few of them stop near a large crystal-like screen that has been set up to give them updates on the current situation as well as distract them from their mundane grumbling.

You would thing that someone had destroyed their entire lif- 

I watch as if it has nothing to do with me. Well, it depends on your perspective. Do you blame a bear that has been chained and beaten for breaking free and maiming a random? No, so I don't know why I still feel a tinge of guilt. Maybe it's the last bits of my humanity performing a valiant last stand, like the Alamo.

The volume emanated from the crystal is low, so much so that a normal person would never be able to hear it, especially from this distance.

Luckily I am not a normal person. 

A familiar face, wearing a black dress is giving a speech causing gasps of horror to come from the people that stopped to watch, most too busy rushing to get to the next town in the hope it's not already full.

I just want to find a dungeon that wasn't upgraded due to the barriers explosion. In my current state fighting my way to its core would be impossible. I would use up my pathetic reserves too quickly and become a living statue. One that everyone had forgotten.

I raise my arm out of my cloak and look at the skin on my arm, black splotches with glowing blue lines covering the surface.

"Tsk" I used up too much energy escaping. I thought they were meant to be demi-gods. Barely enough power to light a lightbulb.

Noticing that the air is rank with fear, people nervously talking amongst themselves, eyeing everyone with suspicion I can't help but chuckle. "So far so good."

Collecting my scavenged bag, I sling it over my shoulder as I start walking in the same direction as the refugees, humming a song with the occasional words. People look at me with disgust. Apparently, this is a sensitive time where everyone, no matter the species should be sad.

All but one of the demigods are dead and they have just discovered the culprit of the destruction of the demon lands, the one who caused half the population to mutate into mindless monsters and upgrade every monster in a two hundred mile radius. This being is also being blamed for pretty much every evil that has occurred. A mysterious being that operates in the shadows. The Devil.

Some guy from my world once said that the biggest trick the devil ever played was convincing man he didn't exist. If that's the case, convincing another world that he does have to come a close second.

Not really original I know, but this world didn't have an ultimate evil. It had good and bad gods, but they were always pretty grey around the edges.

If religion taught me anything in my previous world, it is that every light has a dark and in a world where belief actually generates energy, while on an individual level is pathetic, times it by the countless number of sentient beings that inhabit this oversized world and maybe, just maybe, I will obtain true freedom.

Becoming a god would be the icing on the cake, but then again, that sounds boring and dangerous. There is always a bigger fish, and as long as I am free to do what I want, I have no ambitions of starting that endless journey. Give me a warm bed, good food and drink and maybe some music without these cursed spear's, and I'll be happy. Honest.

I am in too much of a good mood the other people's stares affect me, so I just carry on humming as I think about the best ways to put my plan into motion. "...For the times, they are a-changing."