Nyx woke up in a cold sweat under the stars. He had been placed on a cold, rough slab of cement. His tattered, unfitting royal garb remained on, giving him some warmth to work with in the cold dark. He was once again in a clearing in the forest. He thought for a moment, following the treeline with his gaze. All around him were plentiful flowers of all colors and shapes, all mixing together to create a vast garden around the central concrete block that held Aleecia. There was a heavy fragrance in the air.
After completing a circle, he turned back to the pedestal he and Aleecia had been searching for. There a glowing blade lingered, halfway submerged into its container. It took on a different form than before. The greatsword shape from before was no longer, and just a plain- with the exception of the glow- longsword remained. The hilt remained luxurious though, being the luster of gold it was, but the gems had all but disappeared.
He drew closer to it and touched it gently. The glowing shimmered where he touched it, but the light didn't go out. He rubbed it along its edges. It was smooth and warm. This short moment of eternal peace was cut.
"Stop where you are."
A single commanding voice called out from a little bit behind Nyx. He unconsciously followed the order and worries appeared in his head. A pair of boot began to click on the concrete after a moment and they drew closer and louder. Then, more followed suit, and more after them.
"Stand up Demon," The voice was colder than the wind that flowed swiftly around his body. He stood up, partly in fear, partly in anticipation, and another reason that he could not tell quite yet.
"Turn to face me,"
Nyx slowly span around to meet 15 drawn longbows to his face. A gland of cold sweat dripped from his face. Behind the bows were the Elves- all before him were women. They each differed slightly, only one directly in the middle had a deep sun kissed skin. She was a Elf. Nyx swallowed at air.
"State you name and purpose here," The Dark Elf spoke with an unchanging and clear grimace on her face. Most of her features were concealed by the darkness at this time of night She was disgusted to find a demon somewhere so sacred- Nyx could tell from her face the moment he saw her.
"My name?" He asked feverishly; there was no response from the Elves. He took a deep breath and spoke again. "My name is Satan Nyx Furcas Bael, eldest son of the former Demon King," Nyx watched in worry as the looks on the Elves faced flickered.
"That is a lie." The Dark Elf responded. "A high class imp would have horns of great stature, and more than two of them at that. The pair on your forehead are petty and dull," Sharp and blunt at the same time.
"It is no lie- I promise! My reason for being here is to return the holy sword to her pedestal so that she can rest for awhile, before we depart again."
The elves turned and mumbled to their companions, though it didn't last long. The Dark Elf in the middle only listened to the conversation around her, not participating in any of it. She sighed slightly, keeping her grip ever strong on the drawn arrow and spoke again.
"I would thank you for you bringing the sword back to where it belongs- However, it is not yours to have. You as a demon do not have the right to it. For trespassing on Elven ground with a stolen sacred artifact, I sentence you to execution where you stand," The other Elves seemed content with this and shifted their arrows around on the string in response.
"Do you have any last words before I send you back to the Hell you belong in?" She said as a courtesy that the Elves were known for.
"I can't- won't die here, wish hasn't been fulfilled yet." Nyx said, worry ridden on his face. He was still a child inside.
"Wishes are for children. Die-" She was cut off from behind her.
"Don't you dare shoot that demon." was a clear and strict voice in comparison to the Dark Elf's voice. The bunch immediately obliged and twirled to kneel to the figure.
"Elf Mother, please back away!" The Dark Elf looked up and pleaded to her overseer. Nyx struggled to make light of the situation as the figure unveiled herself. An elderly woman slowly walked forward. She had long silky hair, and she was larger than the Elves before her.
"Fina," She said to the Dark Elf. "How many time must I remind you that violence is not always the answer to the problems that find themselves before you?" She smiled. Fina dropped her head in reluctance her.
"What is your name child?" She asked Nyx, wading through the kneeling crowd. She called him a child even though he looked adult enough of an imp to the rest of the elves.
"I… I um... " Nyx stuttered in front of her.
"No need to fear child," She eased Nyx. "There is no wrong in the name you were given, be proud of your family,"
"Then trust me... unlike them," She nodded in response. He hesitated a moment in front of the higher power, but spoke nonetheless."I am Satan Nyx Furcas Bael, eldest son of the former Demon King, the Satan of the Holy War before me." He was indeed proud of his father.
"Oh hoh?" The Elf Mother drew out the sound, before returning her face to a smile. "If you say so, then it must be true child. You seem cold, and could use a change of clothes. Would you prefer to come with us to the village for a little while, or do you perhaps want to stay with Aleecia while she rests?" She asked him in a gentle tone.
"Elf Mother!" Fina looked up from her position again, in detest of the options given to Nyx.
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"Fina, do not be rude to the guest I have invited. He may decline if he so chooses to. Besides, Emmili reported him to me already on the account of him successfully altering the form of the spirit into the blade- something not many have seen in their lifetimes. If she trusts him... then so do I," Fina could not respond anymore and she once again dropped her head.
"I um, would like it if you could repair the clothes that I wear… They're important to me. I'll come with you if you can," Nyx asked with a shiver. The imp's didn't have any heat or cold resistance like most monsters.
"Oh? We will try our best then. Please come with me then," She smiled and turned away, gesturing for him to follow. The Elven girls all dispersed at this signal, and disappeared into the trees. Fina shot Nyx a glare before she followed suit. Nyx stuck his tongue out in response.
They made their way to the edge of the clearing and Nyx halted abruptly. He stared back at the lightly glowing pedestal for a moment.
"Do not worry child. She will be fine. I understand she accepted you and your father's wishes. She's never failed to grant a wish to those who've deserved it before." Her smile gleamed in the light of the Aleecia. She turned and continued walking into the forest. Nyx stared at the sword for a few moments longer before catching up to the Elf Mother.
She took him through the forest, for quite the distance. Despite her old looks, she maneuvered through the dense, unpathed forest quite well, weaving through bush and tree as though her movements were thoughtless efforts.
Nyx struggled to keep up in turn, every branch and twig irritating his arms, every root covered in darkness beckoning him to trip at every turn he took.
He stumbled in the darkness after the Elf Mother. He followed whatever sound she made, though they were quiet if not nonexistent. She never seemed too far away, but never within distance.
Nyx gasped as his leg was grabbed, and he fell. He closed his eyes tight and moments after, his shoulder hit the ground.
"Ugh!" Nyx the ground hard. It was padded with dead leaves, and thick grass. He lied on the ground in shock, before shortly regaining his senses. Whatever grabbed his leg was no longer there. However- he had lost the Elf Mother. After coming this far into the forest, there was no light, and no way to see anymore.
Nyx slowly stood up, grasping at a nearby tree base. He shook his head to clear his mind. The vast emptiness around him went on forever. He thought for a minute before continuing on.
"Uhm… here goes nothing," Nyx grasped for a twig above him. With a small struggle, he found and broke one off of a branch. Following after, he pulled at the bark of the same tree. Nyx remembered Kopflos, his instructor in survival as a child.
Kopflos was a headless creature, known to Humans as the 'headless horseman.' He was a brilliant teacher, who had taught him to cleanse water, climb, hunt, basic crafting, basic cooking, and fire starting.
Nyx placed the chunk of bark under a handful of dry leaves and inserted the stick. He rubbed the stick back and forth between his hands quickly.
Kopflos had commonly said "Magic is a powerful tool Nyx, but it is useless when it's user runs out of magic. One needs to be creative, and intuitive to survive even with it in the wilderness of demons. As long as the fire in your heart never goes out, you will never need to waste your magic on such a simple thing as starting a fire in the middle of nowhere,"
Nyx smelt smoke and saw an ounce of red from within the dry leaves. He stopped spinning the twig and began to blow on the ember, and fanned the smoke. It grew hotter, and then with an ounce of luck, a small flame emerged from the leaves.
Nyx put the twig back into the flame so it could catch the fire. It caught as well, and Nyx began searching the ground around him for a longer stick.
He found a short distance from the original fire and brought it back after extinguishing the twig. He put the stick into the now slightly larger fire and waited a minute before bringing it out. He had made a makeshift torch, for what it was worth. He kicked some uncovered dirt onto the fire to put it out, so it didn't burn out the Elven forest on accident.
He looked around with the help of the fire for any kind of tracks the Elf mother left. He found where he had fallen down and slight indents to the patches of leaves going forward.
'Aah thank Panthea,' He thought to himself, with an audible sigh. He didn't want to get lost in the woods following the Elf Mother.
He celebrated momentarily with a small victory dance before recomposing himself.
'I wonder why she left me behind… She told me to follow closely, but I thought she would stop when I fell… huh. I had better keep my eyes on the trail for now.' He made a mental note to ask later.
The trail led on quite the distance, and Nyx swapped stick occasionally when one ran short. He followed it across a large stream, and the trail became just a tad bit easier to follow with the water marking the path as well.
Following the trail to it's for a while longer, Nyx looked up to check on the current burning stick, and saw it. An overpowering blue-green luminescence was in the distance. He could see structures in the light it gave off.
With a sigh of relief, Nyx made his way to the light. He made out a large archway, and people standing guard at its base. Behind them, he could see foreign plant life, and strange buildings. He swung the flame around, to see if the guards would notice him.
In the distance the guards began to move erratically. One tried to draw a bow in a hurry, but let go of the arrow and it embedded itself in the dirt by her feet. The other made to run towards Nyx, she tripped after making it halfway.
Nyx wondered for a moment if he was at the right place. These two were a stark contrast compared to the elves from before. Perhaps they were just new?
"Uhm… Hello?" Nyx walked up the one that had fallen. He extended his hand to her. "Are you alright?" She looked up at his with a flustered blush written on her face, and tears in her eyes.
She took his hand and stood up.
"I'm fine thank you," Her voice squeaked as she said the words. She continued to grip Nyx's available hand as he walked her back to the archway.
"Strange," Nyx thought, but he would soon get cut off.
"Agh! It's a demon!" The other Elf yelled loud enough to burst eardrums. It sent a chill down Nyx's spine.
"What!?" The Elf gripping his hand gripped tighter and looked up at his horns. She tried to run and ended up tripping Nyx along with herself. The flames on the stick went out as it was hurled in some odd direction.
Nyx landed on top of the her. He tried to get up and misplaced his leg, causing him to faceplant into her face. He was pushed off with supernatural strength and she scrambled behind the other Elf, who now had her bow fully drawn, this time successfully.
"Stop!" She yelled to Nyx. He was too dazed on his back to listen. He struggled and managed to sit up.
"Stop moving!!" She frantically yelled again. Nyx looked up to her, drawing meaning from the words. A Dark Elf walked up and placed her hands on the two's shoulders. They both rocketed at the sudden contact. The drawn arrow flung from the bow and struck Nyx in the abdomen. The blow made him dizzy, and he fell back. Blurs ran towards him as he fell, as the darkness in his eyes invaded his vision.