Merina: ‘This man…he is strange. Just by looking at him, I cannot tell anything. Even though his face is not covered, I cannot see his true name nor can I see his past or future. Who…What the hell is he?’

They were sitting across the table from each other.

As a common courtesy, Merina even served her guest some tea which he politely accepted.

Dark Lord: “I find your hospitality to be very pleasing. You have my gratitude. Frankly, I was expecting a far harsher reception”

Merina: “Dark-san…May I please ask you…”

Dark Lord: “Anything, my lady”

Merina: “Are you a demon or an undead?”

Dark Lord: “Little bit of both, actually.”

Merina: ‘How can it be? He has no past or future….only the present. His fate has been severed, utterly and completely. Almost like someone rewrote his destiny’

Merina: “What in the name of Heaven are you?”

Dark Lord: “Just Interference, nothing more, nothing less”

Merina: ‘Interference? What is he talking about? I don’t understand…But more importantly…’

Merina: “How did you know I was a goddess?”

Dark Lord: “The one who has gazed upon a deity’s true form can always perceive them no matter how they disguise themselves”

Merina: “Under what circumstances did you see a deity’s true form?”

Dark Lord: “That would be a rather long story, but if you wish…”

Merina: “Yes! I would like to hear it!”

Dark Lord: “Of course, of course, no need to rush; after all, we do have all the time in the world…”

Dark Lord: ‘Wow, she is one excitable goddess. I guess her daytime job was boring her senseless.’

He began his story from the beginning: starting at how he was kidnapped from his family and was stranded upon the world nine hundred years prior to his own and nearly everything he could recall that happened afterwards.

It took him about three hours to finish his tale; all the while the goddess simply sat there and listened with a wide open mouth.

When he finally finished, she understood one thing.

The culprit behind nearly every calamity that has befallen upon this kingdom so far was none other than this man.

When he finally finished, he sighed and said.

Dark Lord: “I hope you don’t find my tale to be too exaggerated; I tried to stick to the facts as close as possible…”

Merina: “I am not doubting your credibility, Dark-san, but…Are you completely insane?!”

Dark Lord: “Pardon?”

Merina: “What you have done is absolute defiance to the authority of the gods!”

Dark Lord: “Well, to be fair, one of your superiors screwed me over first. I am just paying back the favor”

Merina: “Such arrogance! How dare you! You…”

Dark Lord: “Oh please, don’t begin some cliché rant about how impudent I am. It really will not get us anywhere. In fact, I was hoping that we could have a fine talk, and by the end you can do whatever you want with my corpse”

Merina: “Your very presence in this world has the effect of altering the fate everything around you. Those who should have died lived, but those who should have lived died.”

Merina: “The Goddess of Fate is desperately trying to bring everything back to balance and restore it all back to normal. But the more mess you create, the more off from the original fate the reality becomes!”

Dark Lord: “That was kind of the point”

Merina clenched her fists before taking several deep breaths.

This Dark Lord was truly one infuriating personality.

But then, she thought of a horrifying possibility.

Merina: “Are you the servant of King of Black?”

Dark Lord: “Never heard of him. Who would that be?”

Merina: “The enemy of all deities, the one whose coming has been dreaded for eons. Lord Solaris’s equal and destined arch-nemesis…the king who shall not be born but made…He is the one being whose emergence must be prevented at all cost.”

Dark Lord: “Prevented, you say?”

Merina: “Indeed. I was born a deity, and when we were young, we were told tales that when the King of Black comes, he will destroy everything the gods stood for and bring about an unprecedented change upon the realm. He embodies chaos and transformation, true opposite of what the gods preach, order and stability”

Dark Lord: “Sounds like a great guy, where can I find him?”

Merina: “King of Black has yet to appear, to which I am thankful”

Dark Lord: “Oh well, that’s fine too”

Merina: “Then let me ask you another question. Have you heard the tale of Lucifer?”

Dark Lord: ‘Another unfamiliar name…Is this charade or something?’

Merina: “Lucifer…an angel who defied the gods and led a rebellion against them. She united powerful being across different realms in a stand against the gods of our world. Her rebellion ended in failure.”

Dark Lord: “A rather sad end to a promising villain”

Merina: “As punishment, Lucifer was dispersed. For a mortal it would be an equivalent of being cut into tiny fragments and being scattered across the different realms. Now, she can never be put back together”

Merina: “I don’t suppose you are Lucifer’s successor?”

Dark Lord: “Sadly no. I am not following in anyone else’s footsteps. In fact, I was not even aware I had a predecessor…That was a pleasant surprise”

Dark Lord: “I guess now would be time for me to ask a question. Could you please tell me about Noiluna?”

Merina: “You! How do you know that name?! All the records about her existence should have been erased from the face of this realm!”

Dark Lord: “Doesn’t really matter how I know of her, but could you tell me a little bit about her?”

Merina: “To our kind, she is known as the traitor. It is because of her, we gods, no longer can alter the fates of non-humans and demon-kind. We can see their fate just fine, but the books of fate designated to non-humans and demons have been destroyed by Noiluna. Without those books in the archives of Goddess of Fate, we can no longer alter the fates of non-humans and demons”

Merina: “Why do you think gods have to rely on heroes to exterminate the demon-kind? It is because we have no authority in their fates. I wish we could snap our fingers and make demons fade into nothing, but that is no longer possible. All thanks to Noiluna.”

Dark Lord: “And what exactly happened to this goddess? Is she still around?”

Merina: “No. She was defeated with the combined forces of Lord Solaris, Lord Michael, and Lady Chronos, and is currently sealed away within the netherworld”

Dark Lord: ‘At least what she said matches up with the information Arin gave me…’

Merina: “Regardless, now you understand. The authority of the gods is supreme. Nothing can defy it”

Dark Lord: “I beg to differ. As far as I can see, gods are not about making the stories that have happy ends, but rather about having a complete control over the stories, and the fact that I am altering them is usurping their authority. Pretty spot on, I believe”

Merina: “Not even close! You are an out of control variable! The one character in the story that is not acting by the plan set by gods and is altering the events into something else entirely!”

Dark Lord: “You sound rather mature for a goddess; afraid can’t say the same thing about a certain goddess of time…”

Merina: ‘I am well aware Lady Chronos is a complete brat, but she is still my superior. Why did she make such a huge mistake? Note even thinking about the consequences of her actions, yep, sounds just like her allright. As petty as ever….’

Merina: ‘Cursing someone like him who lacks fate and can cause so much damage with his presence alone…Something does not feel right…Almost like I am missing a part of whole picture….Could it be… She is being manipulated! But who? Who could be devious enough to make a primary Goddess make such a colossal lapse in judgment? No, more importantly, for what purpose?’

Merina: “Yes, her act of cursing you truly is a disproportionate punishment for frankly childish reasons. But I do believe there is a way to rectify it”

Dark Lord: “?”

Merina: “I can request Lord Solaris to remove the curse from your body. You may have been cursed by a Primary Goddess, but the nature of the curse is that of a Primordial Origin.”

Merina: “Chronos became a primary goddess after her father Yakit, the Primordial God of Time had passed on his mantle to her. Only the ones who possess the power of a Primordial Deity can remove your curse”

Dark Lord: “I thought Solaris was a Primary Deity”

Merina: “He is, but he has also slain Tiri, the Primordial Goddess of Life, and absorbed her power. As such, aside from Chronos, Solaris is the only one who can burn away the curse upon your soul and free you without killing you”

Dark Lord: “You seem to be under a misunderstanding, my lady. I am not seeking to remove my curse. In fact, what I intend to do is just the opposite”

The atmosphere within the room instantly changed.

Merina: “I can easily kill you right now”

The air around her started to radiate with unimaginable power.

Even if she was Secondary, she was still a deity.

Merina: “Even if you escape, I will report you to Lord Solaris”

Dark Lord: “Splendid resolve. But what if this meeting never happened in the first place?”

While telling her his tale, he made sure to omit a certain critical fact - what his curse actually does.

Merina: “What do you…!!!”

With a single motion, he drew his crystal dagger and sliced his throat.

As Merina screamed in fear and frustration, Dark Lord’s motionless corpse lay on the ground, covering the carpet in crimson blood.

* * *

Dark Lord: “Now that went much better than expected. A very informative meeting indeed”

He was back in the Sevilles mansion, looking out the window, with a single glass of wine in hand.

It was nighttime, and the moon looked more beautiful than ever.

Dark Lord: “I am sure glad that goddess was a bit of a blabbermouth, he he ha…”

Dark Lord: “I had the my fair share of fun talking, but I suppose it is time to take action”