Chapter IV: A Knight's Talk...

After going out with Lady Nyx on her pet wyvern, which had black and red scales, Donovan made his way back to his room only to be stopped by a Dark Knight at his door, who had been told to get him and bring him to Lord Lucifer.

Donovan upon hearing this information released a yawn, and had asked if this could wait, but the Dark Knight was very persistent, and said that he shouldn't make the king wait any longer than she already has.

Knowing that the Dark Knight wasn't going to let him enter his room, and that this would most likely get him into some trouble, Donovan decided to go to the Demon King's chambers where she was apparently waiting for him.

Upon arriving at her quarters, Donovan knocked on her door only to hear the faint word. "Enter."

After hearing this, Donovan entered the room, and saw the Demon King sitting down in an armchair drinking from a gemmed chalice. He didn't know what she was drinking, but if he had to guess, then it was wine, for wine seemed to be the thing everyone drinks. Her attire had also changed to a short nightgown.

"You needed me?" Donovan questioned after closing the door behind him, which had caused her to look over at him.

"Yes, come sit with us." She said with a small smile before gesturing to the armchair that was a few feet away from her.

Listening to her request, Donovan walked over to the large armchair, and took a seat in it. Once he was sitting, he spoke. "So, is everything alright?"

"What do you mean?" She asked with a trace of confusion in her voice before taking a sip of her drink as flames inside the fireplace crackled softly.

"Well, you wanted to see me, and it is somewhat late in the night, so I figured you wanted to discuss something with me." Donovan replied as he rubbed his neck with his left hand.

"No, there isn't much we have to say to you, but we believed it is you that had things on your chest that you wanted to get off." She said in response while gazing at him in a solemn manner.

"Me?" He said in surprise. "Oh, no I don't really have anything on my mind-"

"You looked troubled today." She cut him off in a stern tone. "We have also noticed that ever since you had faced the Hero's Party, you have lost much of your enthusiasm."

Donovan had fallen silent, and didn't say anything. Truth be told, he was looking forward to learning magic, and wielding a sword, but after being shown who the Heroes were he lost a good majority of that excitement, and after confronting them he lost it all.

"It's nothing. I have just simply not-"

"Donovan." She said in a serious tone that had made him go quiet again. She would usually address him by his fake name and title, but because he was acting like this, she believed it was appropriate to address him by his actual name. "You are my Black Knight, and I am your King. If there is something bothering you, then I need to know of it."

It was extremely rare for her to refer to herself as one person, but because he was acting like this, she decided to make it clear as she possibly could that at the end of the day he was her one and only knight.

Seeing that she was insistent on this, Donovan let loose a sigh, and said, "Okay, okay, I'll talk about it, if you wanna hear what's going on, then I'll talk about it."

Deciding to ignore the traces of anger in his voice, the Demon King listened to the problems that were bothering him.

At the end of it all, she said to him in a somewhat understanding voice. "I see, so the Hero's Party is full of people you know from your world, correct?"

"Yes." He answered. He had felt better explaining all of this to her, but he highly doubted that it would change or fix the problems he was facing.

"That is truly unfortunate to hear, and I'm sorry for not realizing this sooner. Had I figured this out sooner, then I would have never gotten you involved in all of this." The Demon King apologized after setting the goblet down on the small table next to her.

Donovan didn't expect this kind of response from her at all. If anything, he had expected her to ask him if he still wants to be her knight or something along those lines.

"Why are you like this? I mean you are the Demon King, so why aren't you a little more, evil?" He asked with a troubled expression.

At this, she laughed.

"That is because I was a Goddess before I became the Demon King." She answered with an amused smile. She couldn't remember the last time she had talked about her past, but hearing his question made her want to enlighten him of who she once was.

"You were a Goddess?" Donovan asked with shock in his voice.

"Yes, and so were Lord Arzakol, and Lady Nyx, but that was a very long time ago," Lucifer answered as she recalled some of the joyful times she had back then. "and when I was very young."

"What, what happened?" Donovan asked hesitantly. As much as he wanted to talk more about his problems, he was far more curious about her past and how she came to be known as the Demon King.

"Heh, shouldn't we be discussing how you're going to deal with the Hero's Party?" The Demon King questioned in an attempt to avoid the topic.

"We can do that later. Right now, I would like to hear more about you." He said in response with a tiny grin. He had found her attempt to change the subject to be a little cute, but he wasn't going to allow that.

Releasing a sigh of defeat, she said, "Very well, I will tell the tale, but only once, so listen closely."

After saying this, she began to tell the story of how she was the firstborn of dozens upon dozens of Gods and Goddesses, and how she had been gifted the domain of Wisdom. She told him about her mother, who was the Goddess of Life and Death, and of her father, the King of Gods, Order, and Chaos.

She informed him of many things, and throughout the story, she had a smile on her face, but eventually, her smile disappeared, and she revealed to him that the Goddess of Love and many more had grown envious of her.

She didn't exactly know why at the time, and had thought nothing of it, but her carelessness had cost her, for not long after noticing their jealousy did hundreds of her siblings go to her father, and demand that she be stripped of her divine powers.

Knowing that if he refused his children there would be war amongst the Gods, her father decided to make a compromise, and banished her from Heaven and forbid her from going to any of the human, eleven, or dwarf kingdoms ever again.

With no way to refuse her father, she agreed to leave Heaven, but she didn't go alone. A handful of her siblings who were outraged by this had followed her to the mortal plain, and those were the God of Magic, the Goddess of Darkness, the Goddess of Winter, and the God of Storms.

After they had arrived on the mortal plains, they headed to the far North where they wouldn't be disturbed by any of the Gods or races created by them, and built themselves a kingdom for them to rule with the help of their mother, who had aided them in secret.

"So that's how you became the Demon King, huh? It's not what I expected, but what I'm mainly curious about is why does it matter if you live or die? I mean, yeah dying would be terrible, but wouldn't these other Gods and Goddesses who have come with you be able to take your place?" Donovan stated upon her finishing her story.

"No, because not only would I die, so would they." She said with a crestfallen face. "How the prophecy goes is that the four of them perish in a fight alongside five members of the Hero Party in an attempt to stop them from reaching me. The Hero survives alongside one other, and the two of them confront me and kill me while dying in the process."

"Wait, so all of you die!?" Donovan practically yelled as he stood up from his chair, shock written on his face.

"Yes, but my mother had told me that there was a chance to prevent this, but in order to do so, I needed someone from their world to be my champion. That is why you're here. You are the one who can save me, my siblings, and possibly your friends from their fates." She declared in a calm tone, not even fazed by his sudden and loud outburst.

"B-But how? How can I save you guys and them from death without anyone dying?" Donovan questioned in a slightly demanding tone. He had already planned on trying to do this, but that didn't mean he knew how to do it. He was only a man, and a young one at that, who barely had done anything grand in his life, so he couldn't help from doubting himself.

"I do not know. I only know that my fate, no our fate lies in your hands." She answered with an apologetic look. "It isn't something anyone should bare, especially someone so young, but life is cruel and unfair. However, I believe you can do it."

"But what if I can't do it?" He questioned as he scowled. " What if I fail, and I can't save any of you?"

"Then, we die knowing Lord Fane, our Black Knight, did everything in his power to prevent our deaths." She said with a small smile after getting up and placing a hand on his cheek.

He didn't say anything in response, but a part of him hated the look she was giving him. It wasn't because it was a smug grin, but it was because it was one of acceptance. It was like she had already accepted the possibility of dying, and that was something he didn't want to see. He didn't know why, but he didn't want her to be okay with dying.

Placing his hand on top of hers, Donovan squeezed it slightly, and said in a firm tone. "I will prevent all of your deaths, I may not know how, but I will find a way, I promise."

"Thank you, Lord Fane."