Many years back, about 1500 years or so, a King, known as Hrucrypt, desperately needed to win a war to keep his throne safe.
He was ready to do whatever was needed to protect his kingdom— whatever length was needed for him to take, whatever actions.
He dug up an ancient book of rituals that he used to summon the goddess of the undead and ghost, Rapulnu, and signed a contract with her which to his benefit, he got as many undead armies as he wanted. Creatures completely at his command, undying,
He used his army to win the battle and many more to come.
But it didn't stop there. The power that came with signing the contract stirred something more in him, something darker.
He lusts for more power.
He dug deeper into the book and signed different contracts with other gods, chaos gods who sought more than they gave. This action tore a hole in the veil that kept the mortal realm, Anaheym and the Divgodian realms (-General name- for any realm that is not the mortal realm) separate.
The gods had created the veil to keep Anaheym safe from the evil that lurked, only allowing inter-realm travels through strict procedures, but it only remained as far.
With every connection the King made with the Divgodian realms using his book of ritual, the keeper of the veil assigned by the gods loses the strength to hold it close.
King Hrucrypt kept conquering other kingdoms, signing many more contracts that granted him and his army supernatural abilities, Energies from the other Realms, and Acts as they came with.
But,
The King sought more than he could contain. This power overwhelmed him and led to his sudden death.
His son, Prince Vryt, took over. The Empire didn't expand, but neither were there any more wars. Vryt led the Empire without the use of his father's methods. While his father used force and strength, Vryt used wisdom and tactics.
But part of the deal his father made with the goddess of the dead and ghost, was that once any firstborn child of his bloodline reaches age 31, their soul and energy shall be granted to the goddess.
This caused the Empire to crumble. Many and all the Kingdoms that had been annexed fought for independence.
While the Kingdom still stood, it was but a shadow of its former glory.
Other humans began to deal with devils, gods, and goddesses and the veil tore even more, large enough for the chaos of the Divgodian Realms to cross over, into the Anaheym, the Earth realm.
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• Somewhere in the Hexagon Mountains.
- Xyxtherous Guild base
A man in a dusty, turned-up robe covering his entire body and face walked into the building. He stopped by the door and whipped the hood from his face. He sighed before walking up to a counter where a lady in her early twenties or so stood.
The lady's face warmed into a smile as he approached her. "Eryth! Good to see you again. Thought you had quitted the Guild," she said. "Or died."
"Ah," the man chuckled. He leaned on the counter, placing his elbow on it and resting his head on his hand. "Fera, my dear. If anything I'll stay in the Guild and alive just so I can keep seeing you."
The girl smiled and mirrored his pose, such that her face was only a few inches away from the young man's.
The lady was of the Banther clan of the Demon race. Like the other Banthers, she had two tiny horns on her forehead, completely dark black eyes, and hair. Her skin was red with a few markings here and there, with the most notable one; seven vertical thick black lines on her cleavage.
She wore a dark brown leather bra-like top that covered little of her huge ample breast, long, leather hand gloves that peaked up to her elbow, and tight brown leather pants. An outfit, both revealing and teasing.
"Really, am I that moon-kissed?" She said ever so softly, her words coming off like a melodic sound.
"Not just moon-kissed, enchanting."
"Ah." She smiled and licked her bottom lips. "Your compliments— they make my thigh tingle.'"
"I bet they do."
He smiled. "As much as I'd like to ride down that road, I'm here to take on the quest, the one that is impossible to complete. I heard the recent members that took on the quest died, true?"
"True that," Fera replied. "It's the main mission of this guild, to find the Ampher stone to fix the veil. Many have taken this mission, and all tragically never make it back. The guild leaders have sought several ways to get it done, but all failed."
Eryth stood up straight and hummed. "So if I complete this quest, I'll be the face of the guild meaning?"
"Not just the guild honey, the entire Realm. Closing the veil will mean stopping all the monstrous beings from entering into this Realm from whatever pit hole they came from," Fera explained. "You'll be a hero."
"Umm. That sounds good. I'll take the mission. Please tell me there's no one on the list aside from myself."
Eryth has always loved the solitude of taking on missions on his own. To his understanding, it takes the burden of worry away, allowing him to fully concentrate on the quest he is to complete.
Fera took a giant book from below the counter and placed it on the table, causing dust to fly around. She flipped through the pages until she finally reached the page she wanted.
"Five others already took the mission, they are leaving in about thirty minutes."
Eryth facepalmed. "Balls. Thought I'd be the only one."
Fera pouted. "Unfortunately, it is mandatory to take a team for this quest."
He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Fine, I'll take it."
"Great." She slides the book to him, pointing to a space. "Sign here would yah."
After Eryth signed it, Fera smiled and returned the book to its place. "They are in the waiting room."
"Alright then. When I get back, I'll take you on this counter, we'll ride down that road for as long as you want," he said with a grin on his face.
"If you get back, if."
Eryth chuckled and turned his heels to the waiting room.
He met the others already equipping their weapons. There were two females and three males. Two of the men were humans and the females were of the Zholm race, the last male was a Demon like Fera.
One of the men turned to look at Eryth. "Oh look, someone else joined." He looked like he was barely twenty with white hair and a few streaks of black.
Another one of the men turned to Eryth with a boiling frown lingering on his face. "Who are you?" He asked. "I don't think I've seen you before." The man had a scar that ran from just below his right eye and down over his lips to stop at his jaw. Another scar was visible on his bald head.
"What does it matter who he is? He is another man who desires the gold for completing the quest, another suicidal fucker." He was darkly skinned with low-shaved brown hair. His eyes were completely black like that of Fera from earlier, only Demons possess that kind of eyes. He was surely a Demon from another clan perhaps.
The two female Zholm both had their face covered. "We'll be on this mission for a long time, so how about we start with an introduction?" One of them stepped forward
"I am Syntera, and this is Merilth, we are obviously both Zholms. Merilth is a Shifter and I am also a Shifter and an Energy Act user."
"Well," the Demon followed after. "I am Ken, a Demon from the Wint clan, and a Fire Act user, and I affirm we'll have a lot of fun together."
"I'm Stewk, and I use the teleportation Act," the bald man said.
"Henryk," the young man waved. "And I use the Self-duplication Act, pretty cool powers, hell if not for energy usage, I wouldn't have gone myself."
They all turned to look at Eryth at the same time with their brows up.
"The name's Eryth," he said.
They waited, but he didn't add anything.
"Alright, let's be on our way then," Syntera said.
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Days passed and the six had travelled even farther away from the Hexagon mountains, progressing in their journey, but nothing close to their destination. They were to travel far into the pits of the Anomal lands, where they'll find the Ampher stone.
The Anomal Lands sat too far, outside Anaheym, a place no one wanders into. A place with very little information on it as no one had returned to tell stories of.
But the six were determined to fulfil their duty as members of the Guild and fix the broken veil shielding their Realm from the Divgodian realm, finally putting an end to the chaos that haunts Anaheym.
Eventually, they were forced into a cave by a heavy storm that caught them by surprise. The six sat around a campfire with their weapons loose, finally having time to fill up their bellies, after two straight days without eating.
"So tell me Syntera," Ken started.
Since they started their journey, the Wint Demon always sought ways to strike up a conversation with the older Zholm.
"What do you miss from your hometown? What's it called again?"
"Zhopidon. And what I surely miss, is the men we have around," she laughed. Merith also threw her head back and laughed.
"Excuse you?" Stewk burst in with his mouth full. He immediately spat out the bush rat meat that filled his mouth and got up to his feet. "That sounded like an insult! What the fuck are you implying?" The short-tempered man pulled out his axe and levelled it at Syntera's face.
The Zholm rose to her feet, staring straight into Stewk's eyes, unyielding. "Maybe I am, Stewk."
She stepped forward. "You act all strong and bold but of all the men here, you are surely the least manly."
Eryth chuckled. Since the journey started, Stewk never got along with anyone, Syntera most of all. The two were always on opposite sides of whatever it was; path to follow, animals to hunt, inns to sleep at, words to say, whatever it was, they never once agreed without an argument.
"Guys stop," the young man, Henryk tried to break them apart.
Eryth glanced at Merilth to see her sitting with her meal in her hand, unfazed. He stared at her for quite some time before turning away when their eyes met.
"Wait," Ken chipped.
"I think I hear something." He stood up on his feet and turned his gaze deeper into the cave.
He opened his palm and created a flame that lit the path ahead. The Demon waited not and immediately started down the path.
"Ken! Stop!" Syntera yelled before chasing after him. The other members chased after the two, leaving their weapons behind.
"What are you doing?" Syntera queried.
"I feel a large amount of energy in here, I need to find it," the Demon replied.
"Gold," Eryth blurted out.
"What?" Syntera asked.
Eryth who was behind the team rushed up to catch up. "Demons, especially the Wint clan have a massive infatuation for gold and can perceive the scent of one from far away."
"How'd you know about that?" Stewk asked.
"Let's not go there."
They followed the Demon further into the cave until they arrived at an open area with piles of gold that brightened up the cave, rendering their torches useless.
"Wow, humans are right, heaven does exist!"
"This is too much gold," Henryk stated. "Someone must have put it here."
"No, not someone, it's Aalik the immortal, we need to get out of here!" Eryth said before immediately turning his heels back the way they came, waiting not for his comrades.
"Fuck me!" Stewk exclaimed.
Syntera, Merilth, and Henryk also ran back the way they came, following in the footsteps of Eryth.
Aalik the immortal, a name that needed no more introductions, a man turned monstrous, a man cursed by jealousy, forced to remain in the form he was, forced to kill.
Stewk rushed up to Ken who had already curbed down to his knees to pick up the gold. The former grabbed the Demon's collar and pulled him with him.
"Wait, just one!"
Ken ripped his clothes and went back for the gold, taking a handful of it. The moment he took the gold, a giant black dragon emerged from the many golds on the ground. It let out a blaring roar, causing the cave to begin to tremble and crack.
The dragon outstretched its wings and launched itself at the two. It threw its body forward, crushing Ken under its weight while Stewk managed to teleport in front of the others, allowing Ken for death.
The dragon drew closer and closer to the five, roaring even louder. It jumped high up, stomping its head to the wall above. Giant boulders began to crash down on the five as they tried to escape through the tiny part they came through.
One of the rocks landed on Henryk who was behind but his body split to create another and he continued to run. Another crushed him down but the same thing happened again.
Henryk became even slower the more he used his Act. Syntera noticed this and stopped.
"Keep going forward!" She turned towards the dragon, jaws gritted, fist clenched.
"No! Syntera, no!" Merilth cried.
Eryth grabbed the Zholm and kept running. Syntera's hand began to glow with green energy as she channelled her powers. She leapt from the ground and landed a punch at the dragon's neck, throwing it backwards.
Stewk who was already out of sight appeared back next to Henryk and grabbed his hand before teleporting himself forward of the other two.
Syntera rolled out of harm's way, dodging the dragon's claws before shooting a ray of energy at it. The dragon staggered backwards again. It tactically turned, using its tail to knock the Zholm back into a wall.
It charged forward and used its claws to smash her into the wall, but as it pulled back, she wasn't there. Stewk and Syntera appeared in the pile of gold with the former on the latter's body. They both got up on their feet and assumed their fighting position. "I'm out of energy, I can't use my Act," Stewk said.
The dragon's eyes turned red and steam began to exude its eyes. "Well, you did well, probably even better than some men from my hometown."
The dragon breathed fire at the two. They had both accepted their fate, ready to die, but Henryk appeared in front of them and released a large number of clones in front of him which took the damage instead of the others. "Why did you come back? You know we can't kill this thing."
A giant bird with Eryth on it appeared. Eryth jumped off the bird and drove his glowing sword into the dragon's head. It screeched loudly and threw Eryth off its back. The giant bird tried to catch him but they both crashed on the ground.
Henryk fell to the ground, coughing out a pool of blood. "Ohh, I'm gonna die…" he cried.
"Take them away!" Syntera morphed into a giant snake and wrapped herself around the dragon. She kept tightening until the dragon couldn't move anymore.
Stewk wiped the blood dripping down his nose and strode to where Henryk was but the young man couldn't even move his eyes to look at him.
The bird transformed into Merilth who lay naked on Eryth's body, unconscious. The dragon roared and spread its wings, shattering Syntera into flesh and blood all around.
"Holy fuck!" Eryth's eyes widened in horror.
Stewk appeared in front of Eryth and the Zholm and teleported them to where they were before the Demon went into the cave. "Complete this mission, for our sake."
Eryth got up to his feet but the bald man was nowhere to be found. He rushed back into the cave to look for his partner but both the dragon and Stewk were gone. The gold was not there either.
Eryth looked around the place, his chest heaved heavily and his hands trembled from the horrifying sight before him. His eyes wandered all around the cave, at the flesh and bones of Syntera and Henryk's lifeless body. It was the most horrifying thing he's ever seen.
"Fuck…"
….
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