Returning to the world with an impending holy war, they found that several months had passed. The possibility of time dilation had slipped each of their minds. Even with their absence, there were not too many changes since they left. The new capital was bustling, the flaming pits of mistake were sustaining heat-resistant life forms, and white-winged angels were patrolling the skies.

Memora’s absence did not change how the capital ran. New rumors had risen about how she ran away from being the kingdom’s ruler. Even though that was not true, she had no plans of fixing the assumptions. She already laid out the ground works to allow the capital to prosper without her involvement. The children of the previous ruler were also doing well managing the place without her.

“Does the one-month time limit start when we left or when we got back?” Memora asked.

“If I had a grudge it would have been when we left. Because I don’t the timer starts when we got back,” Sors replied. “But if I have to defend myself… that’s another situation.”

“Causing a world killing explosion out of self-defense…” Memora became lightheaded.

Moving into the capital, via teleportation, they entered the royal castle. Because they entered undetected the servants cleaning Memora’s room jumped in fright. Seeing that their ruler had returned news quickly spread.

“Your Highness, there’s an urgent matter you must attend to,” Spoke one of the servants.

“Lead me to it,” Memora replied.

As she and the four were guided they pondered what the situation would be. Thus another bet was commenced. Desyra mentioned the marriage of her and one of the princes. Looking out of a newly broken window, Menor suggested it could be about informing the public that she returned. Igno snickered and said saying it’s about the empty treasury. From Sors, the urgent matter would be about the heavenly patrols.

Fixing the window, Menor spoke, “All good suggestions but we’re still going to do the usual?”

“Of course we are,” Sors replied.

With nods from the other two, their plans were set. Being too young Memora could not understand the silent agreement. She could only hope the problem was not too troublesome.

Entering a small room, they found the past royalty waiting. When they saw Memora expressions of relief overcame them. When they questioned who Memora brought along, they were greeted with anxiety. She had introduced Desyra, Sors, and Menor as people who were stronger than her. Also putting emphasis on how Menor was her father. She did not introduce Igno due to his natural hiding abilities.

“What’s the urgent matter?” Memora asked, after introducing everyone.

Nervously, the former queen spoke, “Well, you see the situation with the nobles is a bit… awkward.”

“Awkward? In what way? I’m sure that I had clearly explained to them the benefits of supporting me?” Memora asked, feeling an ominous presence.

“You see, its tradition. The nobles had pledged their allegiance to the deceased king, regardless of their stance. But because we rushed the coordination ceremony, you only have a temporary title of ruler.”

“I know that. I persuaded them to grant me the title already.”

“Yes, but that is the problem. In the current situation, our bloodline could be seen as overthrown. As we are working for you, it would have bad implications with neighboring kingdoms. We would have to draft up new treaties and agreements on trade, land, and support. Also, we would need to explain that… explosion. Unfortunately, I do not believe your claim of the greton population nor that the king was killed by a beast would hold water.”

“That’s true, with my recent absence; it would not be odd there would be no trust. Especially since the Kingdom Coalition’s conference is coming up. They probably think I used force to gain my position using the explosion as a basis to plan an invasion. Even if I had greatly improved the living condition and economic power of this kingdom, I’ll be seen as an outsider. At worst I would not be allowed to speak at the conference.”

“Considering the problem there are a few ways to solve the situation, but because you disappeared for a few months our options were reduced. In the best course of action is to prepare for a possible invasion on all sides or give away land.”

“Our current numbers are thin. Spending the little budget we have on defense would be costly. Giving up land would not work, as it would affect our food production...”

“There is one way, to quickly solve the problem,” The former queen spoke. “Memora, would you please marry me.”

Everyone froze when those five words were spoken. It would be expected that the option of marriage would come up but from the former queen? Who would expect it? Turning around Memora had noticed, her father and his companions had disappeared. She did not have enough time to conduct a ceremony. The clock was ticking.

Sighing, Memora replied, “No, we’re going to go to war. Such things would take too much time. The time limit is one month. There have been too many things happening, especially since the faith of the four masters is gaining traction. If we dally, on things such as marriage it would be our defeat.”

With a sad expression, the former queen nodded, “To be expected, it seemed you took that path. Even with your brilliance, it would be difficult.”

“I never said the war was with other kingdoms,” Memora said. “Or anything regarding attacking. It’s a defensive war, a war of survival. We just need to avoid the crossfire.”

“Is that so? What preparations do we need to make?”

“A lot of water,” Memora answered watching the angels in the skies.

Off somewhere from prying eyes, the four held a small discussion. They talked about every possibility that could happen. In truth, they were not afraid of opposing the divine realm. Each one of them had done so many times before while alone. Desyra was the only one concerned. She had staked a claim to the world to harvest. If the upcoming fight went out of hand her profits would take a grand blow.

“Knowing you guys,” Desyra said, “You’ll probably lower the resource quality somehow.”

“Na, I’m here for the fight,” Sors replied.

“Well, let’s meet tomorrow or earlier. It seemed each one of us has little errands to do,” Said Menor.

“Agreed,” Igno nodded.

Desyra had returned to the capital after parting with her companions. Because the capital was moved next to a busy trade route its economic value skyrocketed. With merchants coming from all over the world meant metric tons of currency and valuable resources were traded. As an ocean was nearby, saltwater products flowed in too. How could Desyra’s business sense pass up on the opportunity?

With near infinite experience in trading and her natural talent, Desyra gazed over the capital’s trade market. Her eyes jumped from one stall to the next. A few months prior, she had signed deals with various nobles. As per to the agreements Desyra had delivered vast quantities of minerals and mixtures, In return, she received a large sum of the world’s currency.

She did not care if an extra ton or two were included in the deliveries. Because she owned multiple universe-sized warehouses containing a vast variety of items, a ton to her was nothing. Be it mythical swords or philosopher stones, anything could be found in the warehouse If anyone looked long enough. Currently, she had countless goods automatically removed and obtained throughout her warehouses.

If Menor was rich in knowledge, she was the riches in material wealth. The only thing she feared was Igno discovering the warehouses and eating everything. Luckily the existence of her warehouse was only known to a few. To keep the place away from prying eyes, she would routinely move it from one dead world to another.

After wandering around a bit, she found a suitable target to sink her fangs into. Strolling up to a stand selling gems, she looked for the most worthless piece of the bunch. Muttering a few words she caught the attention of the stall owner.

“How may I help you, madam,” the stall owner asked.

“I would like to buy your business with this,” Desyra said picking up a piece of coal.

“Ha-ha, Madam you joke too well. I do not believe you could buy my business with a piece of coal,” Replied the store owner. “Especially since you have not bought it yet.”

“Then I’ll buy it,” Desyra said handing over a few coins.

Before the stall owner could return the change, Desyra crushed the piece of coal in her palm. Along with the sounds of breaking stone, energy swirled around her closed fist. Opening her hand a single small ball of diamond appeared. Because she had mixed spiritual energy while pressurizing the coal, the diamond became something called a magic crystal. Due to the rarity of magic crystals, they were priceless no matter the size.

Due to the extreme purity of the small diamond, its value leaped a hundredfold. Seeing such a crystal the stall owner was speechless. He did not expect a worthless coal to be turned into a treasure to kill for. Not sell his business for such an object could label him as a madman. Noticing the surrounding crowd eyeing for the priceless gem, he quickly decided to accept the former ridiculous trade. Unfortunately, as they say, “A second too late is an opportunity missed.” Before the stall owner could speak a word, someone barged into the conversation.

Hugging Desyra, she spoke, “We meet again!”

“Ah, you’re the young noble from the party,” Desyra replied.

The girl giggled, “That party was months ago. I was worried since we had not met in a long time. I have something to show you!”

Being pulled along by the young noble, Desyra could only follow. The store owner who almost struck rich watched has his life of leisure slip away. He could not do a thing as he dared not to mess with the duke’s daughter. Word was going around that the Duke’s daughter had fallen into insanity and opened a giant trading business. It seemed like a miracle that the young girl succeeded and now holds control over the majority of the kingdom’s imports and exports.

With Menor, he had decided to visit the capital’s church. He wanted to know how much information was twisted since their last visit. During that time they had done some unworthy things. They had pushed the responsibility of starting an era of war to someone else. Fortunately, the person backed off last minute preventing the war.

The information Menor was truly after was the religion created for them. Knowing Furias she might have glorified their past and powers. Even if the exaggeration may ring true, making sure things were correct is never wrong to do.

Entering the church’s grand temple, he was suddenly approached by a priest, “What brings you here? It is not often we find a new face here.”

“Nothing much,” Said Menor. “Just visiting.”

Taking a second to think, the priest asked, “Would you allow me to ask you something?”

“Go on.”

“A wolf, a chicken, and you with a bag of corn need to cross a river via a boat,” the priest said. “The boat can only hold you and another. The only problem is that if the chicken and corns were left alone the chicken would eat the corn. If the chicken and the wolf were left alone, the wolf would eat the chicken. How would you cross the river while making sure nothing is eaten?”

“That’s simple; you first take the chicken across. Next come back to take the wolf. Then take the chicken back over and take the corn. Finally, you go back and take the chicken across.”

Hearing Menor’s answer, the priest nodded. He requested for Menor to follow. Going deeper into the temple the only source of light became a torch. Taking a few turns they stopped in front of a stone door. Before the doors were open Menor asked for the reason for such a question. Only to learn that the priest was looking for people who quickly answered.

“We have hundreds of riddles we received from the founder,” said the priest. “The chances of someone receives the question twice is low.”

“Why does it seem you don’t ask these questions often?”

“We have a strict rule of asking people who resemble a set description.”

Understanding the intent of the church, Menor followed the priest past the stone door. Within the room, there was a single pedestal with an old book resting on top of it. In the air were faint orbs of light providing lighting to the room. In the corners of the room, small waterfalls rumbled filling the room with a soothing sound. There were more doors on the other walls.

Being told to wait for a second the priest went to one of the doors and quietly knocked. The door slightly opened and allowed the priest to speak a few words. Closing the door the priest returned to Menor. He told him the book would explain everything before leaving.

Skimming through the book, Menor groaned, “When did she do this?”

Menor closed the book and watched as a group of young maidens walked in. With elegant white robes, they stood in a circle around him. Their physical description could be described as above average. If you compare to the people he had met in the past. The eldest of the bunch stepped forward to speak, but before she could speak she was interrupted.

Waving the book around, Menor said, “Dancing. This book is about dancing.”

Hesitating the eldest maiden spoke, “I do not believe it is about dancing.”

“Yes, it is,” Menor replied, “Come here and hold out your hand.”

Obeying Menor’s command the maiden stuck her hand out with her palm facing the ground. In response, he lifted his hand with his palm up. Touching the maiden’s hand he instructed to move the magic power in her body to her hand. Once she did so the magic began to leave her hand as the same phenomenon happened to Menor.

“This is what is called magic transfer through physical contact described in the manual,” Menor instructed. “As the transfer of magic also involves heat transfer through conduction the hand warms up. Direct transfer on a still spot causes inefficient transmission. To combat the inefficiency moving in a circle with our hands as the center would work.”

Proceeding to move in a circle the flowing magic began to swirl. Within the perimeter they walked the amount magic in the air began to multiply resulting in increased pressure. When the magical pressure building up the magic energy eventually became visible to the naked eye.

“It becomes difficult to maintain the flow of magic with only physical actions. So we would use nature as the example to create a path for the magic. In nature, there are ecosystems that allow a balance for life to exist. Plants are created from the nutrients in the earth. In turn, becomes eaten by the herbivores. Then transferred to predators. After which,” Menor continued, “the beasts die and return the nutrients to the earth. This is the reason why the animals and beasts are mentioned in the book.”

Feeling the waves of fatigue and burden washed over her body, the maiden began thinking about Mother Nature’s perfect system. With the influence of her mind, the magic began to form zoomorphism figures.

“To rest,” Menor said, “We stop and moved our hands away. For an example positioning your feet towards six o’clock and arm at nine o’clock with the center being twelve o’clock. This allows a circular glow from our left to our right and back again. To end the dance we return to our starting forms and hold each other’s hand. Once the magic in the air returns to stable levels we separate.”

After the short “dance” the eldest maiden felt rejuvenated. During the process, her body became fatigued and was at the point of exhaustion. The surrounding maidens were whispering to each other. Their faces were tinted red with shame.

“I’m sorry but we may have interpreted the lessons from the manual wrong.” The eldest maiden bowed.

“Its fine,” Menor replied. “Humans are like that.”

“From the recent experience, I believe that it would be impossible for the rest of us to follow through. We all have no experience with this dance. Also, the stamina of the younger ones is not too great. So…” The maiden blushed.

“…”

Pondering for a moment Menor explained how such systems are “better” than the one they know. Seeing that his suggestion was falling on death ears he rubbed his forehead. With a deep sigh, he allowed gravity to take control of his body. Instead of hitting the ground his body phased through it. As if he was a phantom he disappeared.

As Menor was dealing with a horrible tradition, Igno went ingredient hunting. Rummaging through a forest in the middle of nowhere he sniffed out rare and exotic plant life. As a glutinous eater, Igno had developed sensitive senses. Unlike Desyra, who mainly relied on instincts and intuition, he used the small clues in the environment.

Observing every single bit of detail, Igno wandered through the trees. Every so often he would pluck a few leaves, flowers, or a bit of bark. What he identified in those pieces of floral were genetic mutations that could lead to a unique type of plant. Being a gourmet Igno was a gardener. Harvesting and growing all kinds of herbs… for other people to cook.

The garden Igno had was somewhere off in the void. In fact, no one knew if it actually existed. Due to his nature whatever belongs to him would remain hidden. He probably had a farm too, but it was in the same situation. In general, he may or may not have a giant plantation growing and raising all types of edible goods.

While throwing things into a magic satchel, an odd sent touched his nose. Following the aroma, he arrived at a decaying log. Within the log, a blooming, fluorescent flower grew. With a tint of unnatural blue, the flower glowed in the log’s shade.

Seeing the plant he clicked his tongue. He remembered the flower contained a long-lasting poison as a side effect when consumed. In fact, the poison does not act until over a hundred years. The vast majority of short-lived mortals enjoy dining on such delicacies. As they would not experience the pain of such poisons. For the long-living types, death was an option. Yet for the immortals it brought constipation. The flower fetches a high price due to the troublesome nature of most immortals.

Plucking the plant Igno held a mischievous smile. Letting out a giggle he looked up. There were a large number of people who would assist him in testing the side effects. The only problem was finding someone to brew the poison. He had already known the process and recipe, yet his habit got in his way. Remembering the shrine maiden he sneered.

Before he could leave with the flower, a female crept out of the shrubbery. She nervously looked around while approaching the decaying log. Tilting his head, Igno tapped his chin. The person looked very familiar. It was on the tip of his tongue…

“Ah, it’s you!” Igno spoke, making his presence known. “The dead one!”

Jumping in fright, the girl shoat, “DON’T KILL ME! PLEASE DON’T!”

“…” Igno wore a poker face.

Feeling that the threat in front of her held no bloodlust the girl calmed down. Peeking at him, she began to cower in fear. She did not know who the person was, but she did not understand how such a hideous creature ever existed.

Looking at his body, Igno said, “Ah, sorry! This form should do.”

Igno’s current body was that of a humanoid Chimera. He had was using the form foraging flora. With large eyes, satellite-like ears, a literal hole for a nose and an agape mouth, it seemed he had stepped out of a child’s nightmare. Changing his body, he became a she with long brown hair and a soft expression.

Unfortunately the act of transforming planted more fear into the girl. She ran away with all her might. Seeing that Igno could take the form of a hideous creature than to beautiful human did not fit well with the weak minded. It did not help that Menor had tampered her memories causing her to be weak-willed.

Looking between the escaping girl and the rotting log, Igno figured out what the girl was planning. Having nothing to do while feeling childish, she gave chase. Knowing it would be impossible to convince the girl she hid her presence.

As the girl ran two angels, who were in the area, descended down to her.

“Immortal! What’s the matter?” Asked one of them.

“T-t-there’s a doppelganger slime!” The girl cried out.

Looking at his partner, the angel asked, “Was the immortal always this… cowardly?”

“I don’t know.” Replied the second angel.

“You don’t understand!” the girl pleads, “The doppelganger knows the common language!”

Igno held a pained expression while holding her chest. Being insulted was never a fun experience… when she was unable to make a comeback. Listening to the conversation, Igno gave the girl his condolences. Menor was an ass. Before leaving she could leave an idea had struck her as if it were lightning.

Only allowing the girl to see her, Igno approached the angels. Forming a permanent marker out of her hand she wrote on the angel’s backs. The girl who saw Igno’s actions stiffened. She had thought the angels were taking as hostages.

Being unable to hold her laughter, Igno quickly ran away. She had written a magic rune. The effect that was applied to the angel’s armor was “delay”. The effect may seem simple, but delaying the actions of a person was deadly. Even in everyday life being late kills your reputation.

As she flew away Igno realized that the girl was an immortal. Not knowing what type of immortal the girl was, she pushed the thought to the back of her mind. Her priority was to alchemize the constipation poison.

Passed a field corpses a castle of black marble stood. Its grand majestic gates were destroyed and the surrounding covered in blood. Littered throughout the once dark halls, the bodies of hominids called demons laid. Following the trail of death into the depths of the castle, it leads to the throne room. Within the grand room, a battle of legends had passed. With walls of stone destroyed, the ceiling had caved in. The light poured in directing the scene into an air of resolution.

The Gary Stu party, known as the Hero’s Party, was combating the current ruler of the demons. With exhausted breaths, the party held the image of depravity. Cuts and bruises littered their bodies. Their once full-suits of armor laid broken. The swords, staffs, and shields were not spared of their demise. They had fought their way through hordes of demons leaving them with no energy left. It was considered a miracle that none of them had perished. Only the hero, Gary Stu, was able to stand. His holy sword, drawn from a stone, shone brightly. He, himself, was the most impoverished due to his “unluckiness”.

Across from him was the ruler of demons, the queen of demons. She held the power to guide all demons. Under her control, they charged into the lands of humans. Yet in her current state, alone, wounded and paralyzed the former glorious leader vanished. With the shadow of fatigue and death looming over her, she dared not to fall. She could not, no- would not fall. She still had a goal she must achieve. If she were to pass she would become surly come back as a lingering phantom full of regret. But her line of blood seemed destined to be cursed.

With her last breath, the Demon Queen spoke, “Foolish humans, we- no, I did not desire for conflict. Yet you, a puppet of the gods, would not allow my bloodline to be free. The curse my ancestor scorched the earth to find its cure will persist. My death would not be the end. Even if I had no offspring, from my flowing blood another with this cursed blood would rise. The cycle would start again. Hear my plea: our curse, our pain, our restraint. Please beg the gods to exterminate my bloodline, to save those souls from suffering.”

Finishing her speech, her final plea, she awaited her death and the curse to be passed one. Her kin and ancestors held the ability to rally and control all of demon-kind. The ability of kings, dubbed by the wisest, was a curse. Gathering of a race leads to power. From power, fear is born. From fear, conflict will arise. Regret always follows conflict. The Demon Queen desired to cleanse the curse, but it seemed that she failed.

Before the hero could move to conduct the final act, loud steps resounded from the room’s entrance. Walking into the dim sunlight, a figure of braided hair and a long black dress walked in. Sors with a look of pity entered the stage.

When the hero party noticed Sors they recoiled in fear. They still clearly remembered the time where they perished at her companion's hands. With the single event, the party went through a lot of adjustments. The once large party had fallen in number as few of the members valued their lives. Learning life was a fragile thing, the option to abandon their mission became tempting. The party did not know the extent of Sors power. In their current state, the person could easily change the fate of the battle.

Ignoring the hero’s party Sors walked up to the weak Demon Queen. Watching Sors with suspicious eyes, the Demon Queen did not know if she was an ally or an enemy. Because she held no power left she had already lost all hope. Being unable to back away she allowed the latecomer to approach her. To her surprise, she was pulled into Sors’ embrace. The person did not care if her clothes were tainted with blood.

Hugging the Demon Queen, Sors spoke, “You’ve done well. It’s ok now, you can cry. I’m here to fulfill your wish. You do not have to fear anymore. Your painful journey has come to an end.”

Feeling the warmth of an embrace, the Demon Queen burst into tears. Falling down to her knees, while in Sors’ arms, she cried. She could not understand nor comprehend why. The stranger in front of her felt warm. It felt like her mother’s embrace, it felt safe. Being unable to hold back her emotions she let everything out. From her most feared thoughts to the single answer she searched for, nothing stayed hidden. After calming down the Demon Queen looked up at Sors and said: “Thank you…”

Rubbing the Queen’s head, Sors replied, “Its fine.”

“You… you said you can help me… Please…”

“Of course,” Sors replied taking out a small vial. “This liquid has the power to erase. It will allow you to achieve your goal.”

Taking the vial, “Who… who are you?”

“I am no god. I’m just someone who lived too long.” Sors replied with a smile.

Taking the vial in her hands, the Demon Queen drank its contents. Once the liquid entered her body, she began to glow. Around her, the stains, created from her blood, glimmered. Raising out and off the ground, armor, and weapons, the Demon Queen’s droplets of blood flew to her. When all the drops returned to her, she felt her existence disappearing. Feeling, no- knowing her dream was achieved she thanked Sors once more before fading away in a bloom of light. The only thing left of her existence was a single, small, clear crystal.

Letting out a small sigh, Sors picked up the crystal and stored it away. Proceeding to get up she turned and left the room. Before she could fully disappear into the shadows the hero spoke up.

“Why?”

To the hero’s question, Sors simply replied, “Experience.”

Leaving the single word Sors departed from the castle. She was an android. In her body consisted multitudes of machines, parts, and magic scriptures more complex and advanced than any civilization. A single part of her body could revolutionize any world. Being someone who despised their own existence she had long found a way to delete it. Yet she does not.

Walking with the noble girl, Desyra was being shown around the girl’s store. She was given the chance to be the owner of the business, be she declined. Using lust was not something that sat well with her. While talking to the girl, she felt a pain running across her cheek as if she was hit by a book. Rubbing her cheek, she looked around.

SLAM!

A book was sent flying and collided with her face. She had no time to dodge. Seeing the book in her hands it gave her a sense of déjà vu.

“And here you said you held no desire for lust. Why in the world did you write that manual then? Be lucky I mastered blank memories and the Mandela Effect.” Menor said, walking into the store.

Denying the claim, Desyra said “I never did such a-“

“Hey, Desyra time to return the favor. Find the goddess of gods for me!” Igno interrupted.

“-thing…”

With a conflicted expression she held back the young noble next to her. Seeing Sors causally walking in, she prepared for the worst.

“Looks like we’re all done?” Sors asked, smiling.

“Yep,” Igno replied. “Ah, Menor I found the girl you killed. Guess what!? She’s immortal!”

“Already knew,” Menor replied.

“No fun,” Igno sulked.

“Now I’ll have to explain this book… shateal,” Desyra moaned.