The first few days after the war ended pretty quickly with no particular events worth mentioning. The demons in Ragna were busy to prepare for the reception of the many leaders of Astora while other countries were still stuck in a transition period to accommodate themselves with the new world, especially with the idea of a new race now able to join the primes as part of the recognized living beings of this world. Willing or not, they would have to accept it if they did not want to be erased from the courses of history. It would take time for the process to be imprinted in the mind of the people but the results so far were quite plausible.

And yet, there were still those who did not accept this result of a peace treaty between all races and now they were on the move to make sure that the peace talk would not go as planned.

However, their story was destined for later as a certain event took place the night two days before the peace talk. An event that no one was even aware about, not even when it concerned the one person that many was looking for, the person who was responsible for the tragedy a decade ago.

While everyone in the castle was preoccupying themselves in order to finish the preparation in time, no one had time to pay attention to the lonely celestial who spent her whole day locked up in her chamber, for her own safety according to them. Because of her handicaps being both blind and deaf, she was unable to communicate normally and therefore had a lot of trouble to talk with anyone, not to mention her damaged mind which was that of a child. But there was no need to feel pity for her. For recently, she has gained a new friend who would come and see her every now and then. Thanks to his special nature, not even Alastor could detect his presence unless they were in the same room or very close to each other. Still, the Lord of Oblivion was lucky for Alastor has been busy with his 'nightly adventure' so he has paid no heed to some fluctuations of mana around him. And that was a big negligence on Alastor's part, a mistake he might have wished he has done differently.

With no one around, Sinforma decided to bring Ingrid out of her cage for once, not just because he wanted her to have some fresh air after being copped up in that room for days but also because he had something in mind. After a long research, the leader of the Reapers believed he has finally found a way to cure Ingrid or at least reconstruct the lost memories of the celestial. But could it really be done? For a task that even the creator of the soul itself claimed to be impossible, would Sinforma be able to accomplish such unfeasible thing?

After bringing the impaired woman to a lake far from the castle, hidden by the tall trees surrounding it, Sinforma placed Ingrid against a tree as he asked for her permission.

"May I?" he inquired. It was a bit odd for someone like Sinforma to care about someone.

If it was anybody else, he would not have hesitated for even a second to claim what he desired. Yet this youngest child of Alastor somehow was very patient with the broken hero. Up until recently, the only person the phantom would care for was his own sister Odium. In a way, his relationship with her, from his side of view was rather abnormal, to the borders of obsession. What he really felt about her, admiration, adoration, idolisation or even love, no one would ever know. The only thing that mattered was how he felt when Odium died. On that fateful day, he came too late, unable to help his beloved sister when she needed him the most. Alas, he set out a new goal for himself that day, a goal that would later bring on a new age.

"Will this hurt?" asked Ingrid reluctantly.

"No! I promise that you won't even feel a thing. You trust me, right?" spoke Sinforma in an inhuman voice but with a gentle caring tone.

"I do...Alright!" she exhaled deeply. "I am ready!"

"Here I go!"

Reaching his hand inside her chest, Sinforma grabbed her soul into his hand before pulling out a blue flame of her body. Unlike an intact soul, this flame was so tiny and seemed to dwindle as if it would go out any moment now. As the life began to drift away from the celestial, Sinforma used his other hand and froze her body in an unique ice that would put her in stasis, keeping her alive until he finished the ritual.

The reason the soul could not heal was because it was not nurtured in a proper environment that would allow it to heal. So what or where it would? If we talked about the soul, the most infamous place linked to it would be the Abyss itself. One look at the demon lords already showed how well the souls were preserved even after millennia without any sign of deterioration. Could it be that the Abyss possessed a special propriety that could allow such thing? And more importantly, what about damaged soul? Aside from storing it, could it help in the reparation of the soul too? The only way to find out was to test it.

But surely there was no way Sinforma could just bring Ingrid to the Abyss. Not only he could not, Ingrid would die there because of the thick miasma. The dark mist destroyed all signs of life, meaning all life essences and vessels, the two elements linking to Eden and Lilith. In short, miasma was bad for all living beings and being in its proximity would kill anything. However, what about the soul? The special quality of the Abyss was that it contained, or rather filled with miasma. Could it be that the reason for its unique capacity for storing souls actually came from that black mist? If so, that would explain why the Soul Forger Magnus chose that place as his hideout. It would be the perfect place for a God that controlled souls.

All that was only speculations and outrageous ones at that. However, that was the only way Sinforma could think of and he was prepared to do it. But would he risk Ingrid's life just for his own goal? Even though he cared so much about her? What was his goal anyway? And why was it so important to him?

Holding a blue flame in his hand, the lord of Oblivion released a thick layer of dark smoke below him and plunged the soul in the middle of it. Within seconds, the flame enlarged and restored its once glorious form: a large lively flame.

"So it works! Time to read her memory!......

.............

.............

.............

WHAT? IMPOSSIBLE! So that's the killer??? But why?"

Suddenly, Sinforma sensed a presence far from him and dodged to the side. Normally, with such a special body, he would have no need to evade any attack. However, what almost struck him was special as well and he was right to dodge it. Else Sinforma would have been pierced to death by now.

Looking at the ground next to him where he used to stand just second earlier, a blue translucent spear was impaling the ground before turning into dust without a trace.

"Who is there? Show yourself!" shouted Sinforma.

From the shadowy dense vegetation, a pair of blue crystal eyes flashed in the middle of the darkness, staring straight at the dark body of Sinforma as if it was peering at his very core, revealing all his secrets.

"So you are able to restore that broken wench's memories...I assumed you were just playing house with her but who would have thought that you actually did it...I guess it's my mistake for allowing her to live till this day after all." a female voice spoke from the shadow. "But what are you exactly? Even I have only noticed your presence until recently while you seemed to have been around this place for a bit longer. What is your goal?" The tone was so gentle, unlike the actual contents of what was being said. That emotionless voice simply sounded too distant, reflecting the mind of the perpetrator.

"...I know this presence....But...Why do you also share that same presence? ......I see now...so that's how you avoided all the attention after all these years. That's how no one ever found out who the killer was.

It was you! You were the one responsible for what happened at the demon lord's castle ten years ago." Sinforma shouted menacingly.

"So you know who I am? Good! There is no need to play games anymore then. But first, why are you so interested in that affair? You and your shadows should have just continued reaping souls instead of poking your nose in matters that don't concern you." The female voice echoed through the wind, accompanied by a volley of translucent projectiles consisting of multiple types of weapons, ranging from spear to swords of many different forms, all coming straight at Sinforma. "I am afraid I cannot let you wander around any longer. Die!"

"" the child of Alastor raised a large wall of miasma around him to protect himself from the projectiles. He could have dodged with his incredible speed but the problem was what lied beyond him: the frozen body of Ingrid still remained motionless, with her in a slumbering state, unaware of what was happening outside the thick layer of ice.

That attack was deliberated on the stranger's part to target the defenceless celestial, making Sinforma unable to just run away even if he had the chance. But could he? Whoever this interloper was, this was the person who managed to kill both Asgore and Lakyus despite them being the strongest at their time. Sinforma could not afford to make a single mistake if he wished to remain alive from the assault.

In addition to the relentless onslaught, these weapons being thrown were all soul weapons, meaning they could pierce through all types of defence and even fatal to a Reaper. That was right: soul magic was the only thing that could hurt a Reaper and from extension, Sinforma who was their creator. This meant that not only could he not let himself be hurt from those projectiles, he must defend Ingrid all while being unable to run away just like that. In short, the phantom was in quite a predicament.

With each impact coming at the barrier, a crack appeared on its surface and expanded further until the whole thing shattered like glass.

"Well done! It's impressive how you survived my first attack. But what about this? " the female voice declared.

An insurmountable surge of mana manifested itself from the stranger and a blue ray of light fired itself in a straight line, sending all its might again the Lord of Oblivion. Everything on its path was obliterated to nothingness.

"Don't underestimate me!" Sinforma shouted while standing still on the path of the beam. Holding his ground, the shadow took on the beam with his hands, stopping it from touching the block of ice behind him. "Arghh...." The energy quantity of energy was being contained in the hands of the phantom as he condensed it back to the form of an orb. "Take this back!"

From his hands, Sinforma fired the back at the figure hiding in the dense vegetation, forcing them to jump out of the way to avoid it. From the smoke left behind, a silhouette jumped out, wearing a brown cloak and hood and even gloves that covered their entire body in order to hide their identity.

As the person in question landed on the ground and revealing themselves under the moonlight, they looked back at Sinforma, again with those blue eyes but this time with a hint of annoyance. "You are starting to become a thorn in my eyes..."

"Then let me snuff out whatever life that remains in you!" Sinforma shouted as he passed to the offensive side. "Phantoms of the old, answer my call! Destroy my enemies! "

Dozens of white ghost sprites manifested themselves around Sinforma before lunging themselves at the figure. Each of them shrieked a horrifying scream, a testament of their sufferings when they were still alive.

"Insects!" the figure pulled out a blue luminescent sword and destroyed all the souls coming at them in a single slash. "My turn!" Dashing in light speed toward Sinforma, the figure plunged its sword into the shadow, piercing him. "Now, have a taste of what true death feels like!"

A strike from a soul weapon would be fatal to anything. This was especially true and the perfect tool when confronting a being like Sinforma.

" *heavy breathing* No...you are the one who will die!" Sinforma proclaimed as he extended his arms and grabbed the figure closely to his body. ""

From his shadowy shape, Sinforma released a dark smoke that engulfed the entire surrounding in an instant. Miasma was toxic to all living beings, no matter how strong they were. And yet, the figure seemed to be doing perfectly fine, even mocking Sinforma.

"Is this thing supposed to hurt me? Because so far, it has not done its job properly if it is the case." Spoke the figure.

"How? Why is miasma not affecting you?" uttered Sinforma in pain because of the sword impaling him.

"Don't worry! You will have plenty of time to find out in the after world. Though I doubt it is the case since there won't be a single trace left of your soul after I am done with you." The hooded individual plunged the sword deeper. "And after that, it will be her turn too. It's natural for me to finish what I started right?" the female voice spoke coldly.

Blue fissures appeared on the phantom's shadowy body as they began to spread from the wound caused by the sword. As expected, Sinforma's plan to kill the stranger has failed and now he had to pay the price for that failure, one that would cost him dearly.

"Arghhhh...No...this...can't..." uttered the Lord of Oblivion with the cracks reaching all his body.

"Goodbye!"

Bright light shined from Sinforma's body before he exploded into rays of light as nothing of him was left at the scene. The Lord of Oblivion has been reduced to dust.

"An interesting encounter! But in the end, they all died..." The figure turned to the block of ice containing a sleeping Ingrid. "Now it's your turn! Because of the damned old man, I couldn't finish you before. That old man died in the end. So did your protector just now. What a sinful little creature you are, Ingrid, just like everyone else! But fear not since I will let you join them soon!" Raising the sword high, the figure slashed down at the celestial.

.....

'I told you, not to underestimate me!' a voice rang inside the figure's mind.

"What?"

A black portal appeared and from it, a coffin rose from the shadows. It was not the coffin Sinforma would usually have on himself but a smaller obsidian one made from a special material that looked like iron but it was actually not. A locking mechanism that shared the similar appearance as a clock was embedded at the front before the needles starting to turn in a counter clockwise direction.

No matter how much the figure tried to look for the source of the voice, she could not find it anywhere. Unknown to her, her attack earlier has only managed to destroy the corporeal body Sinforma lived in but not his true form. Simply because he had no form at all to destroy in the first place. What seemed to be a handicap at his birth, a lack of being to interact with the physical world turned out to be what saved him from impending death. Or was it his plan from the very beginning?

Suddenly, just when the needles finished a full turn, the door of the coffin opened, letting out a familiar individual walking out. With his blond hair, the man showed his six wings spreading widely in front of Ingrid as if protecting her. One odd thing was that he was missing a hand, a result of his encounter with a certain young demon lord.

"I don't know who you are but you will not touch her!" said the man.

"!!! You are ...Mikael! But you are dead. How?" the figure uttered her surprise and her concern was justified. How was it possible that one of the dead heralds who lost his life during Merkabah's assault could be standing in front of her now? Necromancy? If that was the case then this must be the highest form of necromancy since she has never seen such an undead capable of retaining their full consciousness just like this celestial.

Keeping his sight on the mysterious figure who was still a bit shocked from his sudden appearance, Mikael whispered closely to an invisible entity by his side. "Bring her out of here! I will buy you some time!"

"...My apologies for this blunder on my part! Be careful! This person is capable of destroying souls...And if your soul is destroyed, I cannot revive you like last time....You won't be able to see yours sister again." Said the disembodied voice of Sinforma.

"That is fine. I am already dead. It's against nature for me to even speak with my sister again...But I thank you for giving me that chance. I have no regret now!" said Mikael.

"You are prepared to die for your sister....again!"

"She is everything to me. And I failed to protect her...not this time! God has granted me a second chance to do it now and I shall embrace it. I don't expect you to understand but..."

"No...I do. I know what it feels it too well...." Sinforma spoke in a sad tone. His thoughts about Odium were rekindled by the brave act of Mikael.

"Now GO!" shouted Mikael.

Dark smoke appeared from nowhere and engulfed the block of ice together with the formless one.

"Goodbye, Mikael!" Finishing his sentence, Sinforma vanished with Ingrid, leaving the undead celestial with the figure who was trying to get to them in time.

"NO!" the figure shouted as they lunged at Ingrid but was parried by Mikael' sword.

"You shall not pass me! Not that easily!" the herald declared.

"Get out of my way!" in a single slash, the woman cut off the last arm of the undead. It was too late. The couple was already gone.

But even without his weapon and armless, Mikael did not flinch back even a bit. Charging blindly at the figure who was clearly in an emotional state of bewilderment, Mikael did a body blow on the stranger, knocking her down to the ground.

"What you did to my sister, I will make you pay for that!" Mikael roared as his body illuminated itself.

"What? You intend to...?" said the figure after realizing the intention of her foe.

"You will die with me, right her right now! You have spread too much blood and tragedies for the world already. It's time for your punishment!"

But before Mikael could commit his suicide attack, a sword has appeared from his figure's hand and pierced through his heart.

"DIE!" the figure raged.

"ARGGGHHH!" blue light shined from the sword before the soul and body of the undead turned to dust.

"....." Clenching her fist in anger for the first time after so many years, the figure felt a rising urge to kill everything around her. Her failing to eliminate the witness as well as their protector was an excruciating blow to both her plan and pride. This could not be tolerated, not after all those preparations. "I need to accelerate the plan. It must be done now or never!" the figure uttered before vanishing from the site.

But that was not the end of this fateful night. The gears of fate have started to turn and no one would be able to stop it. The main event of this night had yet begun.

* * *

"Where is our lord?" a Reaper asked the others who have already been waiting for their master's return.

"He has not returned yet. Last time we heard he was going to interrogate that celestial in...."