Chronicles of Asteria was a long game. Longer than I would have expected, or wanted it to be, especially given the current circumstances I was in.

Even after skimming through the prologue and the character creation menu, there was still another four hours worth of tutorial before I’ve made any progress into the main story.

In Asteria, you take on the role of a reincarnated hero whose soul has been flung from the past and into the present, in order to stop the rise of a great evil whose corruption has been spreading across the land for decades.

Fairly typical fantasy story fluff right there.

What wasn’t fairly typical, however, far from what I was expecting, was the name the game gave to the main protagonist.

Leonardo.

The dream I had last night, which was all but forgotten up to this point, started to surface back to the forefront of my thoughts.

Was this just coincidence? I mean, a lot of fantasy heroes have these kinds of names right? Maybe my brain just so happened to like the name Leonardo and used it.

Perhaps… perhaps.

Then it was next revealed that the great evil that plagued the lands was an all-powerful demon queen called Terestra.

Okay, now I’m getting a bit creeped out.

Leonardo and Terestra… What do these two have anything to do with me? Why did I dream about them? And why in the form of my parents? They look nothing like them in the game.

I came looking for answers and instead I ended up with more questions. How far does this rabbit hole go?

For now questions can wait. Finding information in the game took priority above all else.

So far though, information was spread out thin. All I got so far was that the game took place in a world called Asteria, you’re a hero from the past, you’ve been summoned by the king, and he has given his best knight as a companion to you to assist you throughout your journey.

The moment I heard that, I thought it was Ash. It wasn’t… but the best archer throughout all the lands wasn’t a bad deal either. He was a pretty charming party member, at least.

Fast forward a couple of trivial quests later, I finally got my first taste of action. A village was under attack by a servant of Terestra, and it was up to me and the archer guy to stop them.

Slimes, goblins, before the quest, was all I have been killing up to that point.

Not this time.

The journey to the raided village was brimming with all sorts of monstrosities. All twisted, malformed creatures of flesh and blood, making shrieks and curls ripped straight out of a horror game. The general ambiance of the game also took a turn for the worst as soon as night fell over.

Fighting these wicked creatures in the darkness made for some heart-pounding moments, let me tell you that. I couldn’t count how many times I’ve nearly died.

Once we got to the village, I finally understood what all those reviews for the game meant when they said it gets dark.

Asteria does not hold back when it comes to violence and gore.

Puddles of blood spilling over severed human limbs, detached heads skewered onto spikes. Nightmarish creatures feasting on survivors screaming for dear life.

“What the hell?” I heard myself say.

Archer guy suggested to find the servant as fast as we can and put a stop to the massacre. I readily agreed, charging past burnt houses and growling monsters in the dozen. Moving and moving, until suddenly, a cutscene started playing.

I found the servant.

The scene started out with a villager with a sword pierced through his throat, sobbing and pleading for dear life through gurgled words as he choked on his own blood, before the sword shot upwards, slicing his head vertically in half.

Blood from the now dead villager dribbled over to a stop at Leonardo’s feet, his eyes staring with loathing towards the wielder of the blade, clutching his own tightly, fingers twitching in anger.

“I won’t let you get away with this!” Leonardo growled, readying to a stance. “You servant of evil!”

Laughter could be heard from all around. Mad, derisive, laughter. The lips of the servant spread wide from ear to ear, licking the blood that had splattered onto their face.

“Evil?” A voice of a woman spoke out. “Evil implies that the actions I’ve taken were immoral.”

The camera panned to the servant’s eyes. Bright, emerald eyes. I held a breath.

“Tell me, o’ great chivalrous one, what do you find so immoral about death?”

“I could ask the same thing,” Leonardo took a step forward. “Where’s the morality in the unjust killing of innocents?”

“Unjust? No, no, no - everything has their reasons for being.”

“And what reason is that?”

Another cackle of madness, and the servant bared her teeth with an open smile.

“How should I know?” she said. “I’m but a lowly servant after all.”

Faster than the eye could see, Leonardo was sent flying with a single punch to the abdomen, bashing against the side of a concrete wall, and sinking to the floor.

Such speed, such strength… I had a sinking feeling in my gut now, and I didn’t like it.

The servant appeared again, her foot against Leonardo’s chest, slowly placing pressure in increments before the sound of bone snapping could be heard, causing Leonardo to expel out an agonizing scream.

“I know you…” The servant faintly whispered. “Terestra spoke of you.”

Leonardo strained himself to respond, his face flinching with pain. “Did she now? Well tell her… tell her… I’m coming for her.”

“I know you will,” she withdrew her foot, taking a few steps back from him. “It is as she wished for, after all.”

“What do you… what do you mean?” said Leonardo, clutching his chest and sitting upright.

“She wants to meet her equal. The would-be hero that had come to put an end to her. Dying… well, I won’t end you yet, not here, not now. She will meet you first. You, and no one else.”

At that moment, an arrow whizzed through the air and grazed past the servant’s cheek.

“Leonardo!” cried a voice in the distance, footsteps at rapid approach. The Archer guy stopped a few meters away and readied his bow again. “Run now! I’ll keep her busy!”

Both Leonardo and I knew what was coming next, dreaded it, knowing how fast the enemy moved. Wide-eyed, Leonardo raised his hand forward signaling him to stop.

“No, don’t - !”

Too late was his warning.

A snap resounded aloud through the smoke and fire.

Through the eyes of Leonardo, I watched the Archer’s body slump forward to the ground with a thud. Saw the blood spurting out by the stump of his neck.

His head, his hair… swinging limply in the servant’s clutches, dripping a trail of blood as she made her way back towards Leonardo.

On the Archer’s face still lingered the ghost of his last expression - shock and horror.

“Just… who are you?” said Leornardo breathlessly.

Through his eyes once more, I saw the servant flung his head at his lap. Saw the wicked smile still plastered on her face.

For the first time, the servant’s appearance came into full view.

Adorned in armor coated deeply in the blood of dozens, wielding a long silver blade that was all too familiar. Long flowing silver hair tainted in red. Her eyes… those unmistakable green eyes of hers, brimming with malice and wickedness that I have never seen on her before.

But what confirmed it all for me… were her ears. The long, narrow, pointed ears of an elf.

From beyond the glow of the laptop screen, the Elf-Knight from another world stared back at me, licking the blood of her most recent victim off her lips.

“I’m Eshwlyn of the Old Guard. Servant to the Demon Lord Terestra at your service.”

This was Ash. And this was her story.