Otus stood dumbfounded, for a moment he couldn't believe what he had just heard. This man standing before him, was claiming to have just come back to Earth hundreds of years after all humans disappeared. 'No, yes...yes…that would make sense. It accounts for his sudden appearance, I would have heard about a human if they were around.'

He desperately wanted to ask more questions but could tell that Dante was visibly shaken by his most recent revelations. He dwelled on how to best educate Dante, how to fill the gaps in his knowledge, he needed to know what Dante understood of his circumstances.

"If you would, what do you remember? It might help me to understand what information you are missing" Otus asked, he seemed sincere in his attempts to provide information to Dante.

The human’s face scrunched, he stood deep in thought, ruminating on how to best explain the events of the past few days. Flashes of white light as his last moments on earth flickered through his head, Dante was feeling the onset of a memory migraine. He brought his hands to his head, palming at his temples, trying to squeeze his memories out, his hands dropped to his side's. He looked defeated, no matter how hard he tried to jog his memories, to recapture the person who he used to be. All he would experience is pain and vague flashes and images.

"That's just the thing, Otus. I don't remember my life or events prior to arriving here. Well, there was a wall of light, I remember that clearly. I remember…," a wrenching pain pierced Dantes’s head, he dropped to his knees "Arghhh, why? Why can't I remember?!"

Otus watched on, concerned for this human's well being. The man looked tortured, moments before he was fine but his attempts to remember his life began to cause him incredible pain. 'A wall of light? The angels spoke of a rapture, humans had disappeared from Earth. I thought they were being metaphorical about the rapture. My ancestors found information about the weapons of mass destruction the humans used to have. Perhaps they were being quite literal?’

He felt a little responsible for bringing on the mental attack that Dante was experiencing. Otus tried to work with what little information that Dante was able to impart.

He heard Dante speaking again, his head on the ground. "You don’t need to look like that Otus. This just happens, these headaches. Whenever I remember something, the smallest thing that was associated with my previous life,” Dante Stood up and dusted himself off, collecting himself back together, no longer looking like the distressed man he was a few moments before. “I remembered something, just before everything went to shit…I was talking to someone. It's all so vague. Then there was the wall of light, it reached high into the sky, spreading across the whole horizon, it was coming towards me. There was nothing I could do, I remember feeling helpless, frightened.”

Dante looked away from Otus, taking a moment to compose himself before he finished. “When it struck… the pain, it was only an instant but recalling it… so much pain, indescribable. The best I can explain, which barely does it justice was that it felt like my very being was torn to shreds."

Dante went on to explain the events of the past few days, he omitted the time in the cave with F, that experience was too unusual even compared to everything else that happened. Otus was brought up to speed with his adventures in the ascended universe.

Stroking his fingers through his feathered eyebrows, Otus assembled the story Dante had told him. 'Unbelievable, he woke up in the woods naked. He fought off a pack of wolves by himself, even this wolf next to him was part of the attacking hunting party. He stumbled upon the ruins of a town, a town nearby? I should visit there. He fought off Kobolds, saving Waya. Then travelling to Greenhill village he encountered a mutant. Now me…'

He clicked his tongue then placed a hand on Dante's back. "I'm sorry Dante, you've done a good job surviving until now. There's so much more you need to know though..."

****

After Dantes flashback, he re-experienced the moments before the wall of light, he had the distinct realisation that there was someone important to him. It was like he was there in the moment, experiencing it all over again for the first time, the grief and fear of losing that person. He felt like a hole was torn in his chest, irreparable damage that made him mourn the loss of someone he didn’t remember.

Then facing the same fate as the person he had lost moments before. The wall of light collided into him, then pain. That single moment of pain, it felt like an eternity, like his whole existence was torn down to the atomic level. It wasn’t just his body though, if he had to describe it, it felt spiritual like his soul had been torn to pieces and stitched back together. He felt a pressure on his shoulder, gentle comfort emanated from Otus’s hand. A soft pat to remind him he wasn’t alone.

Otus allowed Dante to recover before he told him the wildest story he had ever heard, wild because he claimed it was the truth and Dante would find out himself soon enough.

The war, the one that F briefly skimmed over like it wasn’t all that important. It turned out to be a war between Angels and Demons, which according to Otus, both factions were very real. They both had a presence on Earth, with the Angels being more active and involved in the Evolved peoples lives.

The story began moments after humans disappeared from Earth. According to Otus, all sentient life on Earth began to experience rapid evolutionary processes. Many ended up transforming into intelligent humanoid lifeforms, within a short period of time they had replaced humans on Earth as the custodians of the planet. As the Evolved started exploring the world, they began to understand that they weren’t the first intelligent creatures that had existed on Earth.

Another species came before them, the humans, but no one knew where they had gone. The remnants of human civilization, their technology and teachings were too valuable, allowing them to rapidly advance technologically. Small wars broke out between tribes and communities, fighting over the scraps of humanity.

It was at some point while this was going on when the Angels arrived. They were benevolent supreme beings who took pity on the Evolved. They understood that the Evolved were just starting out in the world, finding their feet and figuring out who they were and what their place was in the grand scheme of the universe was.

The Angels made arrangements with each of the Evolved communities, making them swear to abandon the human technologies and teachings, to never return to the old cities and attempt to retrieve or replicate their technology. Instead, they would insist on providing educational materials, such as the basics of how to use mana, with these tools and skills they taught Evolved people how to establish the first fortified towns and villages. Safe from the monsters of the world.

Then they began to teach them their angelic laws and way of life, how to properly pay respect to Father and Adam. Which without them they would not exist in the first place. Once they had shared all their gifts, they informed the Evolved that they were now under the umbrella of the Angel’s protection. That they didn’t have to fear the Demons, but to ensure that the Angels could continue protecting them, they would be required to pay a tithe. A tribute to assist in the ongoing war effort against the Demons.

This seemed like a fair exchange at first, it wasn’t long before they began to experience the way that the Angel’s would enforce their laws. They maintained their rule of law with an iron fist, any communities that deliberately failed to pay the tithe would be ‘re-educated’, the villagers would disappear for a time, eventually reappearing praising the good name of Adam. Never a word was spoken of the time they spent away.

It was explained to everyone, that the people who failed to adhere to the Angelic codes could be perceived to have joined the ranks of the Demons. They could be accused of being infiltrators and spies who worked to assist the Demons in their schemes, intent on bringing about the destruction of everyone.

They refused to teach people how to fight or protect themselves, but anyone who they perceived to be powerful would occasionally be selected to become candidates to join them in their crusade against the Demons. The bravest warriors of the Evolved would be swiftly taken away, some would return as war heroes but become shells of their former selves.

Dante listened in stunned silence, allowing Otus to explain everything as they continued to walk towards the village. ‘What a load of bull, there’s probably kernels of truth in there but this is what they’re taught by supposed Angels?’

"So the Angels are good? Have you encountered the Demons? Is there proof of this war?" He couldn't just accept the story at face value.

Otus, happy to oblige, responded "Well, the Angels are… They treat us well enough. They never explicitly threaten us with violence, they certainly make their disappointment known if we struggle to make the tithes,” Otus nervously scratched his Feathered hands. Looking around himself, as if to check if anyone else was listening to what he was teaching Dante.

He continued “Everyone has been taught that the war is currently in a ceasefire, a temporary peace. We are told in the scale of an eternal war that peace is a mere moment. The war could erupt again at any time, we had to be on the right side and help them prepare to defeat the Demons."

"Yeah, something about that has been bugging me, what could you possibly give to the Angels as a tithe?" Dante thought about how there couldn't possibly be a currency of value to these all-powerful Angels, if the Angels were so powerful what resources could the villagers possibly offer them?

Otus smiled, he then extended his hand before him. He began to explain what he was doing, "Based upon your stories, you've figured out mana exists, right?”

After getting an affirmative nod from Dante, he continued "What you may not know, is that mana is capable of existing in different forms. Once a sentient being has access to mana, it can’t be used until it has attuned the mana to the frequency of the sentient being. So when the being uses the mana, the way in which it manifests is elementally aligned to that beings frequency, so to speak. uh…I seem to have lost you."

Dante scowled at Otus’s explanation of mana. His face began to change as he watched in fascination at what was appearing in between Otus’s palm. It began as a tiny spec of light, then a green crystal started to form within the palm of Otus's hand, gradually growing larger. At first, the crystal was the size of a small penny, then a nickel, then a quarter. Sweat beaded on Otus's forehead, a small frown of pain.

"This here is 3 units of elementally attuned mana manifested in an inert state, or otherwise known as a form of currency within this universe, we just call them credits," a tired yet satisfied smile appeared on his face. "The angels taught us how to create this currency, and every quarter they expect every individual of age to provide at least 20% of their created currency to meet the tithe. They then allow us to spend the rest of our currency on supplies and knowledge. As the currency is accepted by the Angels it’s generally accepted amongst the rest of society. So whatever we have remaining, we use or spend amongst each other. A Universal currency backed by the Angels, Can’t be forged, everyone is capable of making it."

"Hardened mana? Doesn’t the mana disappear eventually?" Dante was a little confused, his abilities manifested as crystalized mana but they disappeared once he no longer sustained a consistent mana source.

"Disappear? Oh not at all, the economy would collapse if that happened. The mana is manifested in an inert or static state, it's not used to support an actual ability like your claws that you mentioned.”

“So what do they do with it? What do you use it for?”

The index finger on Otus’s hand raised like Dante hit the nail on the head, his eyes lit up like he had been waiting for Dante to ask that exact question, “You can use the mana as an energy source, use it to light a fire, condense water from the atmosphere, and support the use of magical devices. Amongst other things." As Otus said this he pulled out a pair of glasses with a flourish, they appeared to be normal at first glance.

Holding the glasses in one hand and the mana crystal he had just created in the other, Dante watched as fine almost invisible wisps of energy moved towards the glasses. Otus then held the glasses out before him. "Please try them on before the mana runs out."

Dante held the glasses and raised them to his head, not sure what to expect. He looked up and around, his jaw dropped. It was like he was seeing a magnetic storm or an aurora all over the landscape. He looked towards Waya who had a weak glow around her, she was gently releasing an emerald and cyan aura. He looked at Otus who also had an aura but it was a much lighter shade of mint green. Curious he then looked down at himself, his aura raged around him, a spectrum of different glowing colours swirled, fought and devoured each other, they warped and twisted fighting for dominance.

"What the hell? It looks amazing but what is it?"

Reaching a hand out with a pleasant smile on his face, asking for the glasses while explaining. "These are my own invention, they serve a number of purposes but mainly they are for visualising mana; it can also represent the elemental attunement of mana."

Lifting the glasses to his head, he looked towards Waya, "Ah yes, Waya appears to be weak in mana, but her affinity to nature…oh and wind! Well, it’s magnificent. You may have noticed my light green aura, that's because my affinity is wind" he started walking circles around Waya, receiving low growls from her in response.

"And you are…." His words fell dead in his mouth as he looked towards Dante.

Dante was excited to hear what Otus had to say, the glasses seemed broken to him because of what he saw when he looked at himself. He was interested to know what his attunement was supposed to be.

****

Otus was revelling in educating the human, enjoying how someone was actually listening to him. Showing off how he could generate a 3 mana unit of currency in one go. Then he showed his pride and joy, his mana detection glasses. It had taken him years to get them crafted, he had to go to different tradesmen and crafters to get the lenses, frame and elemental filters all right.

As he was explaining mana affinities to Dante, looking at the wolf. Her green aura wasn't strong itself but the affinity was exceptional. If this wolf was taught nature and wind spells, she could be very powerful. ‘Dual elemental affinity, so very fascinating.’

Then realising his staring was causing Waya to growl at him, his growing fascination with her making him forget his behaviour. He wished he could spend more time studying her, not many people got the chance to see a Direwolf up close and live to tell the story.

Realising he hadn't looked at Dante to see his affinity. “And you are…” He moved his studying stare away from Waya, he looked towards Dante, his eyes expanded beyond their already large portions.

The glasses were picking up a moderate mana signature, which wasn't all that impressive. It was the tempestuous colours that raged around Dante that caused him to stop mid-sentence. The different elements collided with each other, they devoured each other, they would be reborn and burst out from the element that had consumed them. The elements clashed and mixed, vying for superiority. No single element stood out as the strongest affinity. It was just chaos, pure elemental chaos. Then his glasses stopped working. Dante politely stared at him anticipating the answer with a warm smile on his face. 'It’s absolute chaos!'

His hand ever so slightly trembled as he removed his glasses. "Huh, would you look at that? It seems that the mana ran out. I'll have to check you another time." A single bead of sweat betrayed his otherwise calm exterior.

Dante who was still looking at him had disappointment written all over his face. "Can you create more currency? Can you teach me how?"

****

Dante was disappointed to not find out his elemental affinity, he didn’t care to explain what he saw through the lenses. ‘Maybe it’s better that he doesn’t see’

“Sure, I’m assuming you’ve mastered basic mana manipulation?” Otus replied to his request to be taught how to create the credits.

“Uh well, I’ve just been fumbling my way through” Dante scratched his head in mild embarrassment.

“No problem when we stop for a rest, I can teach you some basic exercises, then we can see about creating your credits.”

“That sounds great, thank you Otus, really, thank you.” Pleased to finally have someone to guide him in the ways of this world, he was excited about what lessons Otus could teach him regarding mana control.

Dante wasn’t sure if his abilities and the way he manipulated mana were the norm, he wanted to keep his cards close to his chest, it would be safer to not reveal too much about himself. Especially after hearing about the Angels and Demons, he didn’t want to get confused as a Demon sympathiser by the Angels if or rather when he encountered them. Who knows how they would treat an anomaly like him.

“Great, we’re still a few days away from Greenhill. We will have plenty of time to go over the basics”

They carried on walking, following Waya who preferred to lead the way ahead of them, she stayed some distance from the overexcitable Otus.

Dante and Otus conversed as they walked. Otus started asking Dante what some of the ‘artefacts’ he was carrying around were used for. Otus showed him one of his most recently obtained relics, Dante cried with laughter when Otus complimented how good it was as a backscratcher. After telling Otus its real purpose, the Owlish man hooted and threw it away with disgust.

Dante was shaking his head and wiping tears from his eyes, "I can't beleive you thought a toilet brush was a back scratcher!"