After leaving the village, we had another day of uneventful traveling. Donte had become obsessed with my stories of the myriad realms, and asked for more constantly. He was not interested in what I did there as much as what kind of place it was. Donte’s enthusiasm was infectious and soon the whole family was constantly asking me more about the realms beyond. I did my best to make them sound fantastical, but most places were not that much different than where we were now, so I quickly started running out of stories to tell.

Throughout the day of travel the terrain began to show signs of change. Greenery began to fade away as more and more giant boulders peppered the landscape. The ground became barren as giant mountains loomed overhead.

“We need to be careful from here on out.” My father stated, looking around his surroundings cautiously. “The southern mountains are home to bandits. They were a major problem in the Novus Kingdom, and I doubt it will be any different here. The rocky terrain makes it easy for them to hide, and difficult to track where they go after an attack.”

“Finally! bandits!” I shouted excitedly.

“How can you be so excited about bandits?” Charly asked, shaking his head.

“Because bandits are awesome!” I replied. “Almost as fun as pirates.”

“Let me guess, you were a bandit queen at some point in Aurielle’s past.”

The excitement immediately deflated, and I immediately became depressed. “No… They gave Samson that role since he looks the part. Closest I ever got was second in command.”

Donte attempted to stifle a laugh, but failed. “He was right? You were really a bandit?”

“Technically we were freedom fighters, trying to overthrow a king. However, we had no supplies and were significantly outnumbered. So, we just robbed every loyalist and military convoy we came across till we had what we needed for a proper war.”

“I cannot say I approve.” My mother said with a scowl.

“That does not explain why you are so happy that we might find bandits.” Said Donte

“Isn’t it obvious?” I replied with a smile. “If we find bandits, I can beat them up, take their stuff, and declare myself the bandit leader for real this time.”

“”Absolutely not!”” Both my parents shouted simultaneously.

“I wonder if they have a bandit fortress… That would be fun.” I mused aloud, causing more outrage from my parents. I laughed at their reaction, and made a few more reckless comments before a glare from my mother silenced me for good.

Despite my excitement, and Sylvie’s reconnaissance, I could not find any bandits nearby. The sun was getting low, and my father decided to set up camp on an outcropping that had a good view of the surrounding area.

Using twigs from the nearby brush we were still able to start a fire in the little stove in our wagon. That stove was my favorite part about the wagon. Each night was getting colder and we had not even reached the northern part of the continent yet. If we did not have a way to heat the wagon at night, this trip would have been miserable.

My father also said it was good, since the stove hid the light from the fire. Without it, any fire we started would have been a beacon for people with bad intentions. This gave me the impulse to start a fire outside, but I managed to resist.

The five of us sat around the outside of the wagon to eat our dinner. Due to limitations in what we could bring with us, every meal was extremely boring. It was always dried meat, vegetables, and bread, then a piece of fruit as ‘desert’.

We did not have a lot of time for cooking with the time schedule Dad prepared for us so all we could do was eat what little food we had at the ready. Fortunately, we had just been in a town and were well stock with supplies, but as the trip dragged on, I knew there would be days were our rations would run thin. Then, the meals would be even more bland. I wanted nothing more than to eat my mother’s stew, but that needed more ingredients than we had.

As I was nibbling reluctantly on a raw green vegetable my mother insisted was healthy, a black and green blur flashed across my lap. In a flash my jerky was gone!

“Nox get back here right this instant!” I shouted at the disappearing blur, but it was too late. My meat had vanished down his throat before I could even take direct control of him. I grabbed the kitten who mewled at me angrily. “You do not even need to eat! Why are you stealing my food?”

As I scolded the cat, there was another blur from above, and just like that my fruit was gone as well. I stared dumbfounded at the small bird prancing proudly with my fruit in its mouth. Meanwhile, Mordere clomped up beside me and with a shake of his mane took a big bite out of the vegetable in my hand.

“Treason! Mutiny! Betrayers!” I screamed at the animals. I could practically hear them laughing. No, that was my family sniggering as they failed to suppress their laughter. I spun on my heels, glaring at them. “Which one of you put them up to this?”

Charly laughed louder, causing me to narrow in on him. I placed my hands on my hips and did my best impression of Mom’s angry voice. “Was it you Charly? What did you bribe them with?”

“It wasn’t me.” Charly protested, raising his hands in surrender. “I did not even know your animals could turn on you like that.”

I frowned, unable to tell if what he said was the truth or not. I looked at each of the other four in turn, but they all shook their head and claimed it was not them.

“It is fine sweetie. We have plenty of food. I will get you another serving.” My mother said.

I nodded while scowling at Nox. He was licking his paw, contently savoring the taste of my food.

While I was waiting for my mom, I stared out at into the distance. The elevated position my father set up camp gave me a good view of the empty, rock-strewn hills. Lit only by moonlight, the hills took on an eerie feel. It was as if something was hiding behind each and every shadow.

I thumped on my leg impatiently while looking out at the scenery, when suddenly there was bright flash of light. Almost like pure white lightning shooting up from the ground.

“What was that?” Charly asked, looking out at the empty terrain. The flash had only existed for a moment, but everyone saw it. What followed was a sound similar to that of glass shattering, echoing through the hills.

“Envy… That is what happens when a new doorway between realms is being forcibly created.” I replied as another flash of white light shot up into the sky. “As Envy gets closer to completing his path to our realm, tears like that will become increasingly more and more common.”

I sighed as I stood up and brushed the front of my pant legs. Tonight was going to be a long night.

“Come on, let’s see if we can enrage a demon a bit.”

My family and I trekked across the hills on foot. Due to the uneven terrain and lack of a road, we had to leave the wagon behind. I left the stallions Mitis and Mordere to guard it in case anyone tried to rob us while we were gone.

It was not hard to see where we were going. The light in front of us flashed regularly, repeatedly filling the air with the sounds of shattering glass.

“If these tears are just a side effect of what Envy is doing, why are we marching all the way out here?” Charly asked as we clambered to the top of another hill.

“Mostly because mending a tear can delay a doorway being created.” I replied. “Also, because if a tear is left alone for long enough Envy will be able to send weaker Demonkin through it. Similar to what happened back at Ater-Albus, every day or two, a dozen new Demonkin will pass through and wreak as much havoc as they can.”

“Is that the reason the number of Demonkin has been increasing the past few years?” My father asked.

I nodded, before remembering it was too dark for him to see me. “That is right. By sending Demonkin over before the war begins, Envy can greatly weaken our realm. Small villages like the one from the other day will be their main targets, as well as travelers and other isolated groups of people.”

“Will there be Demonkin where we are going?” My mother asked in concern.

“That is unlikely. Tears only make sound and flash like this when they first form. Unless the Demonkin was already here and decided to protect the tear, this one is not old enough to send anything through it.”

“Are all tears so flashy when they are created? How did the king not know about the one back in the capital?” Charly asked.

“That is because a traitor is helping Envy.” I growled. “She must have done something to hide the lights and sound beforehand.”

“A traitor? Is it the same person you and Chancellor Otto were talking about, Irene Ultio, the one who created the spark powder drug?” My mother asked. “Do you know her? Why do you sound so angry every time she is mentioned?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” I mumbled angrily, sliding down the opposite side of the hill. Pebbles scattering under my feet.

“Irene Ultio? She created the Drug that killed my mum?” Donte asked with a low, cold voice.

“Irene Corvus.” I corrected. “Only surviving member of the Corvus imperial royalty. Something I plan to change very soon.”

“Corvus?” My mother muttered quietly.

We walked in silence for the next few minutes before the flash of light cracked again. We were close now. I could see the source off in the distance. A small fissure floating slightly off the ground. A red circle surrounded in bright white light that stretched out like cracks in the air.

The small rift pulsated every few seconds followed by a flare of light that lit up the sky. With every flash, the small red circle in the center grew slightly bigger. The sound of something breaking was deafening now, shaking me right down to the bone.

My dad insisted on circling the area once to make sure there were no threats before we approached. It was their first time seeing something like this and my family was fascinated by the floating light at first. However, that fascination quickly turned to horror as the saw the world beyond the small red window.

Endless hordes of Demonkin stretched out as far as the eye could see. A sea of glowing red eyes among the ruined landscape where nothing grew.

“T-this is what we are up against?” My father gasped in horror.

“How do we fight against numbers like that? There must be millions of them!” My mother exclaimed.

Both Charly and Donte were shaking as they peered through the rift, and saw what lied beyond.

“We can’t.” My father replied, his body shaking as he stumbled backwards. His voice was barely a whisper. “No army can fight that.”

This was the first time I had ever seen my father afraid. The realization shook me more than I expected. He was not supposed to be afraid. My father was always the first to charge forward no matter what we faced.

“We will win!” I shouted at him with all the force I could muster. He nearly jumped at my sudden exclamation.

“But-“

“No! We will win because we have to win! There is no alternative. I told you what we were up against from the very beginning. This is a war for survival. It always has been. Did you think the stories I told were fairytales? That any enemy that survived the Endless War for over a thousand years would be weak?”

My father hesitated for a moment, then I saw a steel strong will return to his eyes. “You are right. I always knew this would be a difficult fight. I lost my nerve for a second. It will not happen again.”

“It is not your fault.” I replied glaring at the window. “The presence of a true Demon enhances negative emotions. Isn’t that right Envy?”

A low laugh echoed from the other side of the rift. The window shimmered as a youthful face appeared before us. His bright red eyes glowing with mirth.

“You do not seem to be doing too well Aurielle.” Envy spoke with a smile that would have been charming if it was not filled with so much hatred. “Still so weak after all this time. What is wrong? No Aevus family to help you this time?”

“I do not need their help to take you down. My strength will return in time. It always does.” I replied confidently. “Compared to the archdemon, you are not even worth my time. Do you really think you can take his place? You? The weakest of his seven generals. Your power is nothing more than a pale imitation of Greed’s”

Envy continued to smile, but I could see the fury in his eyes. I reached out my hand towards the small rift as a light green flame ignited. The window shimmered and began to collapse in on itself.

My fire flowed into the rift and raw power flowed back into me. In that moment, my strength grew more than it had from all the training I had done up until now combined. It was a euphoric feeling that made the grin on my face grow even larger.

This only made Envy angrier. “Aurielle, when I get there, I am going to make you suffer more than you can possibly imagine! Everyone you hold dear will suffer and die. I will kill them all, slowly and painfully. In the end you will beg for death.”

“Still predictable as always, you really need to come up with something new to say.” I chuckled, unaffected by the familiar threat. Then, as the rift collapsed, I left him with a single sentence.

“See you soon.”