《Demon Forever》12- Zenith
Advertisement
A man was looking at the ocean’s horizon with a serious gaze.
“I see that you still try to comprehend what you cannot. He is as unfathomable as my king. Something that a mere mortal like you cannot even begin to fathom...The Law Seekers realm cannot be reached so easily...” A raspy voice said.
The man sighed and said: “You again. I wish I could dream peacefully, but that is too much to ask of you.” His gaze was still glued on the horizon.
“Why should I take a breather when there is so much to be gained from my hard work?” The raspy voice was even closer to sounding like the man.
Another being materialized right next to the man. The new arrival looked exactly the same as the man. They both looked at the horizon.
“I wonder. What will you feel like when you fall? A man with so much light like you falling into darkness is something that even I look forward to seeing with my own eyes.” The copy of the man said as it dissipated.
The man chuckled and asked: “You never properly introduced yourself. Your name?”
“Hehe...so you can track me? Sorry, but I cannot give you that chance.” The raspy voice said with a laugh. The voice added: “Just pray that you can only see me in dreams for now. When the time comes that we meet face to face...well...you will know then...”
The man adopted a serious look as he closed his eyes. He said: “Tell the Dark king that I will always side with the humans no matter what. There is no need for him to send you…”
The man slowly opened his eyes as he woke up.
His was the simplest of rooms. A bed and a small table in the corner. A small closet with a dozen of the same raiment hanged inside.
His name was Zenith Vimis.
The last monk of the temple of light.
“Hum?” Zenith felt ripples coming from the temple.
He left his humble house in a hurry and flew to the temple that was only a hundred meters away.
He arrived only to find an unconscious man sleeping on the altar.
“Heavens...the legends were true.” Zenith said before he approached and fed a green light to the unconscious man.
It was Allan Falcon who had just teleported to this unknown world.
As he was fed the green light, he started gaining consciousness.
Allan then woke up while cursing.
Zenith retreated.
Allan then realized that he was in a different place and that there was someone looking at him.
He turned around and asked: “Who are you? Where am I?”
“My name is Zenith Vimis. I am in charge of this temple. You just arrived on the Southhollow continent of the Gray planet.” Zenith said.
“If I remember correctly, from what Arkul told us, there’s no Southhollow continent on my home planet.” Allan thought.
Allan then tried to look around.
He wanted to find the teleportation formation hoping to activate it again an go back home.
Zenith who knew what Allan was doing said: “You won’t find it. There’s no teleportation formation. It was a one way teleportation that only followed the coordinates given to it.”
Allan ignored him and kept looking. He was even thinking of destroying the whole temple and start digging to find it.
It took four hours until Allan abandoned his quest. He then looked at Zenith and asked:
“You said your that surname is Vimis...Any relation to Edward Vimis?” Allan asked. It was the same surname as John’s master.
Advertisement
“He was my ancestor.” Zenith said.
“Was?” Allan asked.
“He died during the great war against the demons three thousand years ago.” Zenith said.
Allan felt dispirited.
He slowly sat down on the floor.
Zenith had a mind filled with questions and asked: “Do you really cultivate the /Light Emissary/ art?”
Allan looked at him then nodded.
“Is Edward Vimis your ancestor as well?” Zenith asked.
“He is the master of my master.” Allan answered.
“Impossible. The /Light Emissary/ art chooses its master. Are you telling me that it chose three different masters in your world when it couldn’t choose even one here?” Zenith said as he appeared shocked.
Allan asked: “What are you talking about?”
Zenith appeared even more shocked as he said: “The /Light Emissary/ art is not like any other art. My ancestor found out the hard way. It chooses its master and once you start cultivating it, you cannot cultivate in other arts. Even when you cultivate it, it can choose to stop your advancement if it is unsatisfied with you. It has its own will and was created for one single purpose: to eradicate the demons.”
Finally, in a desperate situation, Allan started laughing. He laughed so hard that the temple was shaking.
“What’s so funny?” Zenith asked. He had a hard time comprehending the youth in front of him.
Allan just kept laughing.
He suddenly stopped and asked: “My own master was stopped at the 9th tier of the God realm for thousands of years while I am a half-demon. Now are so sure that this art is what you think it is.”
As he heard the words half demon, Zenith radiated bloodlust that filled the whole temple.
“Prove it. Prove to me that you cultivate the /Light Emissary/ art.” Said Zenith as he slowly advanced towards Allan. His eyes had turned green as a staff appeared in his hands.
Allan felt impending doom as he sat there on the floor.
Inwardly, he was too scared to even move and was completely frozen in place.
Even with all his power as a newly advanced God or his Divine body of fire that was comparable to a 9th tier God, he felt like an ant in front of Zenith.
“This...a primordial God? no...he is too strong...he should be an Ascendant god... Then why would such a person be taking care of a simple temple?” Allan had multiple thoughts racing through his mind at the moment.
“Sigh… I finally found a person that can undo the seal that my parents put on me and he is about to kill me… What did the demons do in this world for this guy to want to kill me as soon as he heard I was a half demon?” Allan said.
He did not have a choice.
In a panic, he released his sword, wings and puppets in front of Zenith who looked at him as if he was seeing a ghost.
“This...This is impossible...How could you be a demon then?” Zenith asked.
“I was born like that...say since you do not want to kill me now, can you undo a little seal?” Allan tentatively asked.
“What seal?” Zenith asked.
“My parents sealed my demonic side...I could only cultivate to the 4th tier of the Human realm.” Allan said.
Zenith advanced and touched his forehead. He then closed his eyes.
As he finished looking, he started shivering.
“No wonder they sealed you. You’re a monster. If I unseal you, you might become a danger to me and the human race...I should kill you now but you are the only master of the /Light Emissary/ art that I have.” Zenith said.
Advertisement
“What do you mean by monster?” Allan asked.
“Ancestral awakening. The demon that sired your bloodline is dead. So the bloodline chooses who inherits the power and memories of the demon itself. You are the chosen one. Without the seal, you will instantly become an Ascendant Godbeast. If your human side is not strong enough or stronger, you’ll be swallowed by the memories and completely become that demon. You must become a late stage Primordial god for me to erase the seal.” Zenith said.
Ancestral awakening? Allan then started shivering from head to toe. He finally understood why his parents said they were protecting him. They were also protecting the world itself.
Zenith then returned to his shack saying: “I can’t undo the seal for you if you’re so weak. Now that you are here, demon or not, Since you have the /Light Emissary/ art, you’ll have to pull your weight. The humans need that art.”
He left Allan alone in the temple.
Allan then did the only thing he could do. He started cultivating.
He had finished the soul energy crystals and could only cultivate the normal way.
As a 1st tier God, he had to start making his body one with primordial energy.
He stayed in the temple for a month before a thought crossed his mind: “I’ve yet to see what the third door holds since I reached the god realm.”
Inside the golden palace in his inner world.
The third door opened to a vast room.
“A wardrobe?...No an Armory...” Allan said.
There were clothes that Allan believed to be soft armors, sets of armor and a variety of weapons.
“There’s enough to outfit an army…and I can make even more...they are all on the God level and will upgrade themselves at the same time as me just like the puppets.” Allan said.
“The puppets can wear these armors. If I make thousands of puppets, I could have my own army.”
The second month that Allan had taken the temple as his new home, a young man wearing green robes arrived.
The young man looked as young as Allan, but with an unfathomable cultivation.
The moment the young man passed the temple’s entrance, he saw the cultivating Allan. A face filled with questions appeared on the youth.
The youth asked: “Who are you?”
Allan who was cultivating opened his eyes annoyed and said: “What’s it to you who I am?”
The youth had veins popping on his forehead. He said: “Are you master Zenith’s new disciple? A 1st tier God?...You’re too weak...”
Allan then realized that even a God was seen as a mere twig in this new world he had just arrived into.
“Mind your own business then...If you are looking for a fight, you are disturbing the wrong person.” Allan knew that his divine body of fire in the late stage God realm was capable of matching the youth in front of him in combat.
“Now I am curious how a 1st tier God claims to be my equal.” said the youth as a green aura appeared around him followed by a staff. He looked just like Zenith with the same green eyes.
Allan sighed and then burst on fire.
A fiery man and a man covered in a green light then started fighting.
Allan had been itching for a good fight the moment he had arrived in the new world.
The youth fought with a serious look. It was out of the youth’s calculation to see Allan being a match for him in a fight when the latter was just a 1st tier God and the former a 8th tier god.
“What kind of art allows him to skip seven entire tiers to fight with me?” The youth asked himself.
The two fighters did not notice the shocked Zenith that had appeared out of nowhere inside the temple.
It did not take long for Allan to start gaining the upper hand.
“Enough.” Zenith said.
The two stopped to shield themselves from Zenith’s pressure.
“Master.” The youth said.
“Edris. I thought I made myself clear long ago that there were to be no fights inside the temple.” Zenith angrily said.
“Forgive me, master. I wasn’t thinking clearly.” Edris said.
Allan just shrugged his shoulders and returned to his usual spot and sat down to cultivate. The incomplete God realm core was showing signs of a breakthrough to the 2nd tier before Edris interrupted him.
Zenith was growing impatient. He had originally thought that Allan would seek him out after a few days to gain some intelligence of the world he had been sent in. Allan never showed himself and preferred to quietly cultivate in the temple.
Zenith was now shocked to find out that the weakling of the 1st tier of the God realm could beat an 8th tier god in combat. He asked Allan: “How were you capable of beating my disciple with that shallow cultivation of yours?”
Edris was curious as well and made sure not to miss Allan’s following words.
Allan looked at him and felt smug. He said: “I used my body’s strength to match his cultivation.”
“But you clearly used fire. Also, body cultivation is for demons.” Edris said.
Allan was shocked and asked: “Don’t you cultivate your bodies in this world?”
“Some rare arts can allow one to cultivate their bodies to a certain extent but not compared to yours, but it still doesn’t explain the fire...Let me see.” Zenith then closed his eyes and scoured Allan body.
“Impossible…an elemental core of fire...How is this possible? Only legendary creatures can develop such a thing in their bodies...”Zenith said.
“Ever hear of dragons?” Allan mysteriously said.
Edris shook his head saying: “No.”
Zenith was lost in thought and said: “Is it perhaps a legendary creature? That would explain it...”
Allan then came to the conclusion that even the dragons themselves never made it as far as he accidentally did or else there would have some records left behind.
“The dragons never made it to this world...”Allan thought.
Many ideas then appeared in his mind: “If the dragons never made it here, then some knowledge is sure to be unknown to these humans, yet a simple monk can cultivate to the Ascendant God realm without outside help like soul energy crystals and body cultivation techniques…If I can copy Arkul’s formations here and gather soul energy crystals, it will only be a matter of time before I breakthrough to the Primordial God realm and undo the seal on my own...”
Allan then thought: “I should start learning about this world before I do anything. My knowledge on formation should be a gold mine and it is possible that I attract the attention of some dangerous people and get myself killed.”
Allan asked Zenith: “Do you know anything about formations?”
“No. My ancestor had some rudimentary knowledge of it because of the /Light Emissary/ art but it was only useful to him.” Zenith said. He was trying to understand Allan’s motives.
“Who is the strongest being in this world?” Allan asked.
Zenith finally felt happy that his new potential soldier was showing some interest in his world: “There are three kings. The human king also known as the Golden King. There is the underworld king, the oldest being of this planet that oversees the underworld. Finally, there is the Dark King, the king of the demon clans.”
“What realm are they in?” Allan asked. The names and titles sounded imposing enough. He was curious to know what realm they were in.
Zenith then said: “They are above the Ascendant God realm. They seek laws to advance in their cultivation. That realm is called the Law Seekers realm.”
Allan’s schemes were then shattered as he learned of their strength.
He finally understood that he had to find the right backer for his plans of amassing soul energy crystals to work.
The human king seemed to be the right choice, but Allan was a half-demon. He could already see the king putting his severed head on a pike himself.
As for the Dark King, the king of the demon clans, he had thought about it since he was of a demon clan himself, but he practiced the /Light Emissary/art that the demons hated.
The underworld king was the best choice, but he knew nothing about him.
Allan’s last question was: “Who is the underworld king?”
Zenith then said: “He hails from the galactic alliance. This planet is under his jurisdiction, but he never takes part in our wars against the demons and only cares about souls. He grasped the laws of the soul and every dying human or demon ends up in his inner world. He collects souls and sometimes eats them. Every member of the galactic alliance has the ability to collect souls from dying living beings and they are all given worlds to plunder souls from. No one can go against them as doing so would be counted as starting a war with the galactic alliance.”
Seeing the look on Allan’s face, Zenith continued: “The galactic alliance is an organization that is well versed in the control and collection of souls. No one knows why they are so crazy about souls but they control thousands of worlds. Only organizations of the same caliber can contend with them.”
“It seems as though I have no chance at all...Why would I do business with such a dreadful being?” Thought Allan as he was introduced to the Underworld King.
He thought for a moment then said: “I would like to meet the Golden King.”
Advertisement
Obligate of a Self-Ordained Sorcerer
Come join the Discord! It was a typical late-night friday for Mara, secluded in her apartment in front of a digital expanse, relentlessly mashing code into a keyboard. An introverted workaholic, but this was what she wanted - what she had strived so hard to achieve. So why did she feel so lost? Her life was productive, comfortable, satisfying. Plenty had it worse but she still felt... ungrateful? Stunted? The right word escaped her, but she could feel the general revelation settling upon her. With it came a choice that would set events in motion far beyond the meager scope of a 'New Game+'. So taking an intrusive portal to god-knows-where, Mara will come to find that her new world offers boons and banes with equal abandon. Magic, skills, and unforgiving difficulty. For a frail human shut-in, finding herself stranded in the middle of a sprawling dungeon was one of the least desirable outcomes. Food and water would be the least of her problems, why oh why couldn't she just get summoned by some pervy king to slay a demon army or something? This is a story of magic and adventure with skills and stats galore. A litrpg / isekai epic that I've been inspired to make after years of wonderful works like "So I'm a Spider," "Rimuru the Slime," "Azarinth Healer," "Negima!?," and plethora of other isekai and fantasy novels and animes. Special shout-out to Douglas Adams, a big influence on narative humor that's had a non-insignificant effect on my writing style. I hope you enjoy joining Mara on her journey as I attempt to scratch the itch they left behind.Chapters target 3-6k~ words. Though I'm personally aiming for a chapter every couple weeks, I think I can at least promise one a month with how busy work's been. I made a Patreon due to requests, if you'd like to support me there I'll be using it to fund artwork and RR ads for increased exposure.
8 157On the Road to Elspar (Book 1)
The year is 1329. The Huntress' War has entered its tenth year, inflaming competing nationalisms and pitting the Confederacy of Caldrein against one of the continent's superpowers, the Tenereian Union. Desperately outnumbered, the Confederacy has relied on the prowess of its famed Caldran mercenaries, with highly-trained and experienced warbands returning from foreign conflicts to the defense of their homeland, and it is on their backs that Caldrein has successfully mounted a valiant defense for a decade. But they are losing, and day by day, with all the grace of a sledgehammer, the vast Tenereian armies take one more bit of Caldran territory, one footstep at a time. Sixteen-year-old Neianne from the village of Caelon has submitted herself to Faulkren Academy, one of the centuries-old institutions established to train the next generation of Caldrein's elite soldiers of fortune, to learn the ways of wars for three years before embarking upon the defense of her country. Her dryad family once hailed from reclusive woodland communes isolated from Caldrein's complicated mainstream society, and her upbringing leaves the shy village girl unprepared to suddenly train alongside other apprentices from backgrounds as low as the dirty slums of Caldrein's cities and as high as the halls of aristocratic power. Yet the war is eroding the norms and traditions that the Caldran people have long considered part of their national mythos, and the tensions within the confederacy that have long simmered under the surface - race, class, community, identity - are slowly but surely dividing its people, and Neianne must grow and discover who she really is, even as the war that she is steadfastly training for comes to its inexorable end... On the Road to Elspar is a fantasy quest - a work of interactive fiction wherein readers get to vote on what happens next at critical junctures - that is the first entry in a story that follows Neianne of Caelon, which first began on July 20, 2016. Originally a three-part in medias res prologue to a larger story titled On the Elsparian Road, it was eventually decided that this section - which covers Neianne's three years at Faulkren Academy - become its own independent story due to length, structural, and accessibility reasons. Despite this being a reader interactive work of fiction, due to logistical and verification concerns, voting will only be counted on its thread on the forum Sufficient Velocity, where this story originally began. As such, the content here on Royal Road serves as a story-only archive. You are, of course, entirely welcome to enjoy On the Road to Elspar as a conventional work of fiction, just as you are welcome to comment, discuss, and provide critique. But if you would like to participate in the voting, then I would be honored to welcome you on Sufficient Velocity. To facilitate accessibility and to ensure the best reading experience, this story-only version of On the Road to Elspar will be updated at a periodic pace, even though further content exists, so as to not overwhelm new readers on Royal Road. If you enjoy this story, wish to binge it, and/or want to participate in voting immediately, you may of course read all additional content via the link provided above. This paragraph will be removed once the content on Royal Road catches up with what has already been posted in its original thread. Cover artwork by DreamSyndd.
8 334Fallen from the Moon
What is a person to do when you wake up and find yourself in a totally foreign environment? And worse still, a completely different body? One moment, Elise was in her castle lounging about, and the next, she finds herself in a life threatening situation and stuck in the body of a stranger. How did she appear here? Why has this happened to her? And what is the body's identity? Even though Elise is plagued with questions that she is unable to find an answer to, and forced into a body with a mana amount much lesser than what her original body, she is still determined to find a way back home. However, she will soon find that home is a place faraway and more difficult to get to than she imagined as she gets increasingly tangled up in difficult situations. "You will regret looking down on me." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author's note: Please drop comments or reviews to let me know what you think of the story or how I can improve. :) *On hiatus*
8 119Wrong Side of The Severance
In the waning times of a costly war that spanned several firmaments, one world that was supposed to be cherished by the gods was cast to the wayside, and from everyone’s minds. This world - Berodyl - had flourished under the tender love of the gods for millennia… but no longer. Berodyl stood ready to aid the gods in their strife, but when the time came, the armies of this world never heard the call. They never even saw the battlefield. No. Instead, they found that, once the war had begun, the hierophants no longer heard the whispers of their sacred deities whom they had served so faithfully; only silence now filled the halls of their temples. Some even came from beyond Berodyl’s firmament to take to the sides of those who would fight for the gods. Alas, they soon found themselves stranded in a land abandoned— now, too, abandoned themselves. Now there is but one question weighing down on everyone: can a world such as this - a world once loved, now alone - survive with nought but its own? For an outlander such as Livia, the question seems nearly impossible to answer. The first book of The World The Gods Forgot.
8 72Her Choice | ✓EDITING
A happily married couple, Levi and Aurora.What happens when Aurora finds Levi making out with another woman in his office?You'll have to read to find out...
8 124Midwestern Girl With a Hand for a Map Who Doesn't Even Know What a Lobbyist Is
My favorite stories to tell that might be acceptable for a general audience.
8 138