Dreams are not safe haven for those that wish to forget.

And that happened to be the case for a certain angel….

Morphus POV.

Every time I close my eyes, I see the very same scenery.

My home, my friends, and my Mother Tree… all burning down to the ashes.

It was so long ago….it is a wonder that I haven’t forgotten it yet.

In the realm of my birth.

On a floating island of Anhelium, in the world so different from the one I am currently trapped in.

Back then I was not alone.

Yes, I remember, my closest companion….

Nefirous, ‘Nefi’, my fellow angel and best friend.

The two of us were not born to the same Mother Tree, but we were quite close ever since our creation. We might as well have been brothers.

The floating island had been isolated from the rest of the world for many centuries, so none of us even knew that other races besides our own had existed.

As far as everyone knew and was concerned, there were only angels among us.

But one day, Nefi found an account of a creatures called arch-angels from the great library and without a hint of patience showed it to me.

Arch-angels. A higher class of angels that were far different from the standard angels but still retained their wings.

Since I did not know of any race other than our own, I thought that the race that existed was beyond this floating island were the arch-angels.

During those days, I had next to no dreams or ambitions, or even goals for my own existence.

I simply followed Nefi’s lead, knowing that his delighted smile and warm heart will not lead me astray. I would simply hold on to his hand and follow him wherever he went.

He wanted to see the entire world one day. As for me, I was simply content if I could just be with my best friend.

One day, our island was invaded by ghastly monsters.

They had enormous jaws filled to the brim with sharp teeth. On their backs were enormous fiery wings. Their entire bodies were coated in infernal flames.

On their backs were saddles upon which armored riders sat.

These monsters were nothing like we had ever seen.

They were no angels….back then; the only name that seemed to fit these monsters was the arch-angels.

These monsters started to devour the angels, one after another.

Angels ran for their lives, but there were simply too many of these monsters.

Nefi and I tried to run, but we only managed to reach the Hall of Mirrors.

It was said that these mirrors connected our world to the other worlds beyond. Our elders warned us from ever gazing upon or entering those mirrors.

We thought we might be safe hiding within this secret location.

Oh, how wrong we were.

Within moments we were surrounded by these ‘arch-angels’.

The death seemed to be the only way out.

Then, the monsters grabbed hold of Nefi.

But Nefi had other plans.

“Morphy, you must live”

“Nefi!”

Before I could do anything, Nefi pushed me into one of the mirrors.

In his last act, Nefi shattered the mirror, preventing those monsters from following me.

Just like that, I ended up expelled from my original world.

For a little while, I was lost in the abyss of space and time, weeping for what seemed like an eternity. I closed my eyes, accepting that my end was nigh.

When I opened my eyes, I realized that I was no longer in my own world.

And what’s worse, I was no longer corporeal, a mere ghost-like existence, trapped in this realm for all eternity….

Morphus: “AAAH! *breathing heavily*. That dream again….”

In order to make sure his vessel was in good condition, Morphus made sure to sleep at least for 6 hours each day. But along with it came the burden of having dreams, and in Morphus’s case, suppressed memories.

Morphus: “Nefi…”

A single tear ended up rolling down his face.

Till this day, he was not sure what those monsters or the ones riding upon them were. When asked by Meros, he ended up calling them arch-angels, but even now he was not certain. He only knew that had those monsters not attacked, he would still have his home and his best friend, and would still possess a corporeal body.

His current circumstances were strange to say the least. Living in a mansion, occupying a catatonic child’s body, and serving a man bent on destroying the gods.

Compared to his former meager existence upon the floating island, this couldn’t be more different.

Morphus: “It is probably because he reminds me of Nefi that I became his follower in the first place…”

Then, he imagined Dark Lord laughing maniacally after decapitating his latest victim, holding the poor bastard’s bleeding severed head in one hand and bloody knife in the other.

DL (Morphus’s imaginary version): “LET IT RAIN BLOOD! Mwa-ha-ha-ha~!”

Morphus: “*Sweating*. Probably….Probably…”

In the moments like these, Morphus questioned whether he made the right choice….

* * *

DL: “They are called Celestials. That is, the original ones, Primary and Primordial Deities, they are members of the same race. Secondary deities are just mortals that were given the leftovers, the crumbs if you will…”

Lukalis: “I don’t understand…”

DL: “I know only as much as I could squeeze out of them, but combining their words with what I have learned in Shinigami’s library, I can tell that these Celestials are originally from another world, likely the same world that angels originated in”

DL: “As you know, Morphus, or angels in general are energy based life-forms. Deities possess the power to bend that energy or power to their will. So, it would be logical to conclude that Celestials are one of the two races in Morphus’s original’s world, one race embodies energy while the other is able to enslave and control it”

Lukalis: “How exactly does this make Celestials connected to Deities?”

DL: “Quite simple really. This world, like many others, has elements embodying different types of energy. Life, Time, Death, Light, Water, Fire, and so on. All of them are different types of power. By absorbing the source or should I say, the seed of power, the Celestials became what humans came to refer as Gods”

DL: “That is my hypothesis, for now, at least. If those four idiots are not lying that is. But my hunches are usually correct”

Lukalis: “Ok. But what about the angels? I don’t see this having anything to do with them”

DL: “Well, not exactly”

He proceeded to brandish the crystal dagger.

DL: “Crystal dagger is made from a Mother Tree, a body of an angel. It reacts strongly to the energy that is of Divine origin. It is highly likely that is because both angels and original deities are from the same world, so their powers cancel each other out. If angel embodies energy, god can enslave the angel and may even steal that energy. But, the reverse is also true; the energy inside of a deity can be stolen by a weapon made from angel’s flesh”

Lukalis: “That is rather far-fetched”

DL: “That is the only theory I could come up with that made any sense”

Truth be told, he did not have all the pieces of the puzzle.

He could only work with what he had and that was the conclusion he managed to reach.

As the two of them continued to talk, they ended up teleporting to the roof of the Sevilles Mansion.

Now, sitting on top of the building, Dark Lord sighed.

DL: “What I do not understand is…why are you still here?”

Lukalis: “Pardon?”

DL: “Your vendetta against the Elf King and Elven Kingdom is complete. There is nothing more I can offer you for your services”

DL: “You no longer have any reason to stick around since you no longer stand to benefit from my aid. Come to think of it, so does Jun. The two of you might as well quit while you are still ahead”

Lukalis: “But what about you?”

DL: “What about me?”

Lukalis: “You have yet to achieve your vengeance, isn’t that right?”

DL: “….”

Lukalis: “Right on the mark, am I not?”

Lukalis: “You helped me accomplish what I once thought was impossible. Now let me help you exact your vengeance”

DL: “Vengeance, huh….It has been a while since I thought of it this way. Don’t get me wrong, this reality might as well be hell and I am the devil that has been stranded in it…He-he-he…”

DL: “At some point everything turned into a messed up game that I was forced to play. But now, I am playing to win”

Lukalis: “Against the gods, huh.”

DL: “Think about it Luka. I can put in an effort that will put titans to shame, and then some god might come in, and make it so that none of my actions ever happened. Everything I have created, loved, or cherished can be taken away, just like that. As long as they are in control, this is a losing game. It is pointless to keep playing the game by someone else’s rules. The only solution is to confront the ones making the rules”

Lukalis: “How do you plan on doing that?”

DL: “I need to attract the attention of the Primary Gods, and if I am lucky, Chronos. I will create a situation that gods will absolutely not tolerate and sit idly by”

DL: “To that end, our next efforts will focus on aiding the demon kind”

Lukalis: “Runfar, can you really trust those demons?”

DL: “Trust is not necessary. What I can do is increase the chances of demon-kind’s triumph or something along those lines. Since it will benefit her, Arin is unlikely to refuse my aid. And as long as it enrages the gods, it is a win in my book”

Lukalis: “And this war would also aid them, even if indirectly”

DL: “I am sure Arin is happy with human forces focusing on elves rather than demons. I even get to have more recruits coming in soon…”

Lukalis: “More recruits? Who else would you like to invite to join the Shadow Lords?”

DL: “No, not the Shadow Lords, I think we have enough members for now. I meant more like foot-soldiers”

Lukalis: “Wait, don’t tell me you actually listened to my advice on goblins?!”

Now that was surprising.

A couple of months ago, Lukalis told Dark Lord about a huge problem that concerned the goblin army.

Primarily their crippling weakness to a certain spell that was taught to nearly every elf who attended the magic academy, which was almost all of them.

A simple level 1 spell that affected goblin flesh and blood, causing paralysis and death to nearly all goblins within a 100 meter radius of the caster. Essentially, it was a mini-plague that targeted only goblins.

But that was not the most frightening part of the spell.

Any goblin affected by the spell would cause a chain reaction that would spread to the goblins nearby, spreading far and wide, before all the goblins within the area are either paralyzed or dead. It was a plain and simple domino effect type spell.

During the invasion of Elven Capital, this issue was avoided due to elves losing access to their magic, but had it been any other circumstance, the entire goblin army could have been disabled with a single low level spell.

DL: “It was a miscalculation and complete lack of resourcefulness on my part. Thank you for bringing it to my attention”

Lukalis: “So the new recruits, who are they?”

DL: “The ones who got caught in the middle of the struggle, the demi-humans.”

Lukalis: “Why demi-humans?”

DL: “They lost their homes, their loved ones, and some even lost limbs…Right now; they are running for their lives, seeking a safe haven, which is exactly what I will give them. For price, that is”

Lukalis: “When will you recruit them?”

DL: “Already taken care of. I sent Lake and Jun to take care of it, since the demi-humans are far more likely to listen to one of their own rather than a human or a demon”

Lukalis: “….”

Lukalis: ‘I thought he was doing absolutely nothing for the last couple of weeks, but this…he has been planning everything out so thoroughly….’

Having lived nearly 180 years, Lukalis thought of herself as an intellectual type, spending most of her free time reading, mastering new skills, and gathering information.

Back in the day, she was called a rising prodigy among the elves, with her talent allowing Lukalis to exceed elders who have lived far longer than her.

By the time she was 120, there was none who could think at her level. A ‘genius among geniuses’ that was what they called her.

But now, she was forced to admit that she was inferior to the demon sitting right beside her.

He may be trapped in a weak and pathetic body, but she couldn’t help but admire his intellect.

It terrified her that a monster with such mental faculties could even exist in this world, but knowing someone like that was her superior gave her a sense of comfort unlike any other.

Rather than be jealous of his ability, she wanted to do was follow his lead, to understand him better and maybe one day stand beside him when he finally achieves his ambition.

Lukalis: ‘Only he, is worthy of being my lord’