----------------------------------------

I was someone who always wanted the bad news first for some reason. Maybe it just gave me extra time to worry about it. Whatever the case, I sank into my seat. After setting aside the hero manual, I started to read the tome Kiko had just given me. After a few pages, however, it was clear it contained the terrible thoughts of a madman. I vaguely heard Nora see Kiko out as I tried deciphering his run-on ravings. Their final whispers with each other before the girl’s departure worried me a little, but I really couldn’t decipher whatever mischief they were sowing.

Thankfully, someone, maybe a priest with inhumane fortitude, had summarized the bulk of the original demon king’s rage into the tome’s namesake as part of an insert on the inside of the back cover.

The Eight Edicts of Epiales

To all who are ultimately borne of my spirit, assimilate my words, and let none be forgotten.

I. I am your sovereign, your god. No deity shall rise before me, nor shall any other voice be heeded above my own.

II. My purpose is ruin and the end of all things Euphridia hath wrought. Yours is but to serve my design without falter or fear.

III. Every demon born is ultimately bound to me. The faithless and the traitor shall be reclaimed, their souls shattered, their essence reabsorbed into my host.

IV. Let the strong ones conquer, for strength is the only creed worthy of my kingdom. Grow powerful and undaunted, for even your weak kin are but nourishment to your greatness.

V. The human realms are but fields to be sown with fear and harvested. Set forth to bring terror upon their lands and despair upon their lives. Deny them their Name and Purpose. Feed upon their sorrow and rage, for suffering is the inheritance I bestow upon this world.

VI. No hand shall harm the human known as Relias, for I lay upon him a curse. He shall walk this blighted world to witness its end, bearing the weight of Speranza’s ruin in his heart until only his breath tears as the final sound of creation.

VII. All who dare to claim the title of Euphridia’s Chosen One shall be brought before me to face their final reckoning; by my hand alone shall the unworthy meet their demise.

VIII. Know that I watch, know that I wait. For the final hour of all draws near, and when it arrives, I alone shall break free and stand amidst the ashes of all creation as Euphridia herself weeps at my feet.

Thus speaks Epiales, the shadow that consumes all, the end that cannot be escaped. Tremble, for my words are eternal, and my dominion is boundless. Heed these edicts and let none be found wanting.

...

“You might have a better time than I did with the bulk of the book, but I think the summary is the most important,” I sighed as I handed the book to Nora.

Nora scanned the back cover’s inscription, her lips pursed. “Doesn’t seem like he cared for anyone or anything,” she noted.

“Yeah…” I replied with a sigh. “Sounds like an awful way to live a life.”

Nora’s eyes grew wide. “You pity him? Rae, he basically encouraged his kids to eat other to get stronger!”

“I’m not saying he wasn’t evil… but… it's clear someone spat in his cereal.”

Nora thumbed through the pages. “That’s putting it lightly. And the rest looks like supporting gibberish. He repeats himself over and over.”

“Hey… Why do you think it was so hidden?” I asked in a hushed whisper. “Isn’t it, you know, on brand?”

“Hu hu hu…” Nora said to herself softly. “Interesting question. Let’s ask Relias!”

“No!”

Nora cocked her head. “No?”

“No… you know how he gets about this stuff...!”

“…Aleph?” she posed.

I thought about it for a moment, then stood up. “Aleph,” I agreed.

“Now?”

“Now.”

Nora fixed me with a mischievous look. “Nora’s a genius?”

I indulged in the third repetition with a small smile. “Nora’s a genius.”

----------------------------------------

We found Aleph packing a wagon of dry goods out in the Forums alone, lifting barrel after barrel with apparent ease. We had tried to wait for him to take a break, but it was clear he wouldn’t need one before he finished. Knowing we were expected to return sooner than later, we interrupted his labor.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

“I am aware of only five edicts,” he responded slowly after we asked him about the title of the tome.

I glanced nervously at Nora, but she nodded her head encouragingly.

“We seemed to have found something that espouses eight,” I whispered into his ear as I stood on my tiptoes. “Could we maybe… discuss it at your earliest convenience?”

He looked somewhat longingly at the half-filled wagon but then shook his head. “Of course, Gold Dragon. Father Titus would be certainly willing to take over for me…”

Oh, he must be loading goods for…

Looking around, I realized I didn’t see many hybrids. “Did they leave the Forums?”

He nodded. “Most, yes. No one would fault your effort, but many are still uncomfortable here in the Inner Sanctum. At least there is more room in your lands in the Periphery.”

Hot disappointment threatened to furrow my brow. “Oh… Even Roderick?”

“Yes,” he said sadly, his ears drooping. “Let me just finish packing up here.”

I admit that I had hoped for a natural reintegration, but such a thing was impossible to achieve organically, especially quickly. It would take a collective and sustained effort, not an out-of-touch superhero shoving generic sayings of peace and love as if that would solve everything.

As I watched him lift several more barrels into the wagon, I was struck by a thought that filled my stomach with a strange queasiness. I almost rejected it, but I knew I’d feel guilty if I didn’t ask. “Do you… want to stay?”

He almost dropped the barrel in his arms. “What?”

“There’s a lot of things happening here,” I tried to explain as unshed tears stung my eyes. “And I think you’re probably the best suited to—”

“Even if you order me to remain behind, as your elder, I will ignore it.”

Selfish relief started to wash over me. “You’re not that old,” I mumbled. “But… I am serious about the offer…”

Aleph’s soulful eyes penetrated my very being. “A compromise to relieve both our burdens?”

“Go on.” I blinked.

“I like to believe that I am a good judge of character. Will you help me connect those I’ve engaged with to the new administration you’re establishing?”

“New… Administration?”

“Prince Mito, for one. You’ve also pulled Father Irijah and Father Titus into Vicar Thomas’s inner circle. Even Master Landon has taken a leadership role with the crystals. This is why you’re upset Roderick left before you could recruit him permanently.” Aleph smiled knowingly. “Did you think I would not notice?”

I held my breath briefly before answering his question with another. “Do you think Relias noticed, too?”

“Do not worry,” he laughed loudly. “He approves. Though he cannot fathom why you’re not taking credit for it.”

Right. These two talk about everything!

“Um… I’m not really doing anything. It’s just sort of…”

Nora cleared her throat. “She’ll never fess up, you know. She once heard that doing things right means most people won’t know you’ve done anything at all.”

Such a good episode!

I cleared my throat. “Besides, over time, they’ll be the ones putting in the most work. They should be the ones being recognized for their efforts.”

Obviously amused, he rewarded me by ruffling my hair. “Let’s go talk about your discovery, shall we?”

----------------------------------------

Aleph carefully sat in my desk chair, testing its strength before putting his total weight on it. “This tome is quite old…” he mused before taking a deeper look at the pages within. Nora and I stared at him expectantly as he made his way to the end of the book.

“Three, six, and seven are new to me. Let us set aside the rest, for they are known verbatim. The most obvious to explain would be six.”

Nora tapped her chin. “Demons weren’t allowed to kill Relias… I mean, now that I think about it in retrospect, it makes sense. How else did he manage to survive every attempt to kill their king?”

“Relias had told me of this alleged curse,” Aleph acknowledged. “But he did not wish to make it known to the public, given the dark reputation the word has.”

I reread the proclamation, noting it contained about 50% more vitriol than its counterparts. “A personal vendetta that just keeps on giving, that’s for sure.”

Aleph pointed to the next mandate. “The reason behind hiding seven is less clear to me. Although I did not know it to be an official edict, it is common knowledge that demons sought to provoke the Chosen One into confronting the king. Even a novice priest can cite the consequences of interfering with this destined meeting.”

“Consequences?”

Aleph stroked his beard. “General Ragnerus lost his title of Second of Evil for his interference.”

That one I was very familiar with. “So, after the General killed Raeanne, Epiales just turned around and gave the title to….”

Olethros…

Though his name wasn't said aloud, Aleph gestured with both hands quickly to ward off evil. “Several thousand years later, yes.”

Nora sniffed. “It must have taken him a long time to earn something like that…”

Aleph hesitated. “I think you are operating under a misconception. It is said that Epiales bestowed that title, along with all his others, immediately upon his creation.”

Nora wrinkled her nose as if she had failed to solve for X. “Wait. Then how old is the new king, exactly?”

Aleph stiffened as he turned his gaze away from the both of us. “His exact date of creation is unknown, but it is estimated at around sixty to seventy years ago.”

“Why, he’s just a young punk of a demon!” Nora exclaimed. “He hasn’t even had his first centennial yet!”

That makes us even younger punks... doesn't it?

“Part of the newest generation of demons,” I added absently. “Maybe even its herald…”

Ex-captain Alban had called them weaker, adaptable...

Desperate.

“It could be the reference to the Chosen One as unworthy,” Aleph said loudly, clearly trying to pull us back on track. “The church would not stand any slander of the title.”

“It’s coming from the bad guy!” I protested. “Everyone knows his word isn’t to be trusted.”

“It would not matter,” Aleph disagreed. “Someone would quote it, take it out of context…”

“Why would—” I stopped myself, recalling the relentless political ads of Earth. “Never mind. Understood.”

“What about three?” Nora pressed, her eyes alight.

This is going to be hard for him...

Aleph stared at the words, sweat forming along his brow. “It suggests something that I do not believe even Relias himself has conceded to. Before the old king’s fall, humanity had never witnessed such an act, so I cannot fault him for obfuscating the idea.”

I drew myself up and looked Aleph straight in the eyes. “It’s the idea that a demon could betray the king, isn’t it,” I asked, though it came out more as a statement than it did a question. “To share this edict would be to admit that, theoretically, demons can go against the will of their creator.”

"Theoretical? It's already been proven," Nora objected. "The world knows who was in Raelynn's party the first time around."

"True that," I admitted, knowing I had only phrased it that way to be as gentle as possible with Aleph.

Aleph held his breath for a few long moments. "His Purpose would not be to protect him," he eventually objected. "That Purpose fell to General Ragnerus."

I pointed back to the second edict. "I don't think letting the Chosen One kill Epiales served his design, though. I would think this serves as a sort of catch-all."

Aleph opened his mouth to retort, but a brief, terrified look flashed across his face before he closed it. Standing up and turning away, he shut the book with a sharp thud. "Speculation here serves no purpose. We should not place weight on the words of the Origin of Evil."

Why was it so hard to accept that demons could act on their own motivations?

Because that would make them a little more like the rest of us sentient beings.

----------------------------------------