In a nightmare....
.... Everything burned.
The leaves of the trees burned to crisps as it sizzled incessantly. The ground was scorched, the houses built on it charred to ashes. People fled in every direction; occasionally the agonizing screams of people tore through their throats as they were devoured by the seemingly overwhelming hunger of the flames. Wherever the survivors looked, all they could see were tall columns of fires, sparing nothing in its wake. Even the inhabitants of the place couldn't recognise their own village which was being flattened by the approaching inferno.
Amidst these, a chubby looking kid stumbled forward, almost crashing on the ground. He was having trouble breathing-- everytime he tried to breath in, his lungs heaved uncomfortably. The kid looked around him with wide eyes that were tearing up both due to the stinging pain in his lungs and the feeling of loss of his homeland,his family...it felt as if his heart was being mercilessly squeezed. In the eyes of this innocent child, it looked as if the entire world was burning.
"Look what do we have here...such a cutie!"
The boy was startled at the closeness of the voice and snapped out of his reverie. Only to find a masked face staring at him intensely. The boy flinched and moved back, feeling a sense of danger from this weird stranger. The masked man then rose up to his full height, while maintaining his eye contact with the kid.
"Ah you even look so much as him...that filthy general." The man snickered, before adding "...It was quite exhilarating to kill him you know."
The boy could no longer control his shaking legs and started running in a random direction while having a look of terror etched on his face. His instincts screamed at him to be far, far away from the vile murderer. However...
"Hehehe boy, can you possibly be thinking that...you can run away from me? So amusing hehe"
The boy felt a shiver hearing the eerie giggle.A second later, a smack to the back of his head sent him hurtling straight towards the ground.
Grabbing a fistful of hair, the man yanked the boy's head and turned his face towards him. Leaning close to his ear, the man whispered, " Little boy, you should be grateful to me that I am not killing you like I killed your father. Do you want to die?"
Moving his face away from the kid's, he looked at the fear-crested face of the boy who was shaking his head vehemently, his face a mess of snots and tears, with a thin river of blood flowing down his chin. Upon seeing this, the man's dark look vanished, replaced by a satisfied smirk.
He then stood up and glared at the boy.
"Stand up bastard. I don't have so much time in my hands. Afterall, we need to make a slave out of you as well, hehehehe...."
________________________________________
Back to the present
On a usual day, in a remote village
Plenty paths forked across the village, all of them filled with people who went on their own ways and yet they mingled in a way that it looked as if they had a common path. The morning sun arose, bringing with it the rise of doubts, insecurities, tensions, pressures...each of them being released in such quantities that they easily blended in the crowd,yet noticeable. Some mentally listed the things they were to do for the day, some seeked to buy products from the markets, some walked towards their shops, some strolled with heavy reluctance towards the construction places just like every other day, some hawked their products around the street corners---- though calling those mud puddled grounds as streets wouldn't be the most appropriate term but these people couldn't care any less. All they wanted was a little amount of money just so that they could afford food to eat and a roof over their head for shelter.
In the grand scheme of events,they are what we call as cannon fodders; ready to be sacrificed by beings who have declared themselves as part of the ...'Higher Order', perhaps?
A man among the hustle and bustle of this daily life nonchalantly smoked and contemplated the unfairness of life...if only he had another chance he could have done great things.
But alas, reality isn't an isekai novel...
While he remained lost in thoughts trying to lower his guilt and regret over his past decisions by blaming his family,his friends, his surroundings and the society, a huge shadow started looming over him. Startled, the man looked above to see strips of black nimbus clouds converging towards a imaginary centre as if drawn towards it. Together, they started formed a massive figure, the huge black clouds looking as if the maws of some terrifying creature had opened up and was now ready to snuff out the souls of the thousands of the people underneath it. These massive sources of thunderstorms and heavy rains suddenly released a bone-chilling pressure that stopped every creature's movements for kilometres around it and brought down the birds to the grounds. The pedestrians could only gawk at it in awe and primal fear.
Even if one of them wanted to run away, how could they? Afterall the pressure that descended on these mortals was so great that let alone moving their limbs,even breathing came at a great cost of energy.
The centre of the clouds started whitening , their forms dissipating and a figure shrouded in nothing but blinding lights descended.
It then hovered just below the clouds.
"Greetings Mortals of the humble world of Zenim!"
A booming voice started which vibrated through the bones and shook even the bravest souls present there.
"Let the voice of this Entity be known to all...May the world know the arrival of people of great power on the 146th solar day of the 177th year of the Era of Peace..."
"These people shall cull all the demons of this planet and give you the true peace which your rulers couldn't. Blessed be them!!"
The Entity gave a moment of pause and let the mortals digest its words. It then continued in a sharp voice this time,
"But be warned. If any of you were to harm those individuals, you would better be prepared to face the wrath of the Entities."
As soon as the voice ended,the clouds started dissipating. Everything happened too fast...
The bluish hue of the sky was once again visible to all. The low clouds hanging and playing gave it a serene presence.
Though the atmosphere of the people beneath it could be said to be anything but serene.
"It's the Entity. They are back again...oh they have even given us warriors this time. We are blessed!"
A woman exclaimed in a shrill voice couldn't hide her excitement, kneeled and prayed while gesturing her clasped hands toward the heavens.
Another chimed in, "The demons shall finally be exterminated. They have killed so many of us. Let me inform my husband."
Such were the words going around; happiness palpable. Even the most cautious of people around here couldn't hide the smiles tugging at their lips. Some even ran towards the nearest guard post to inform of such a turn of events. Surely their King must be informed of this!!
....what they didn't understand was that they have been fooled ....again.
---------------
Inside the royal palace at Pulse, Evenstar
A man walked down the many metres long corridor with hurried steps that almost looked like a shadow passing through that secluded part of the castle. His posture radiated nothing but worry.
He soon came in front of a closed thick, luxuriously decorated door. Then without pausing, he passed through it as if the door wasn't present at all.
"Rein in your aura,old man... you shall probably scare the rest of the castle inhabitants with that" Someone snickered.
The shadow-man didn't need to even turn towards the study table to recognise his king's voice.
A dignified man who stood at 1.86m with broad shoulders which slightly stooped due to signs of a slightly hunched back now looked at him with his piercing black eyes which had already seen all of the world and continued to see more. His matching black hairs and his well-defined physique also accentuated his perceived youth although he was anything but young. This man was Lucas Evenstar, the King of the Evenstar Kingdom.
"So what brings you here,old man?"
Sighing at his king's antics who in truth wasn't much younger than him, he straightened his gait and started "Your Majesty...An Entity..."
The smile at first twitched at the corners and then completely disappeared.
"What did they demand now?"
"They have explicitly hinted at the arrival of probably some of their people...here. It said of them driving away the demons from all over the lands."
"Any specific location of their arrival?"
"Representatives from their sides have been building altar-like structures meant for their arrival."
"Hmm..."
The king absentmindedly drummed his fingers on the table while having a frown stretched on his forehead.
"They probably have ulterior motives behind this...as usual. Last time they arrived here, i was one of them... it's amusing how fast things change."
"Though the good thing is I don't need to deal with this shit alone."
The shadow-man snapped his neck left and right as if checking for any presence before once again turning towards his king "Your Majesty, you should refrain from saying such words. They aren't the appropriate words to be used as a king..."
"You worry a lot, Sebastian. I see nobody here hehe"
Then with a thoughtful look on his face, he asked "And what does the Council have to say on this?"
Sebastian replied, "That's what I am here for...Dark Angel Ally has called for a meeting of the Council members."
The king's mouth went into a slight O and in a tone full of surprise said, "That fearsome woman is actually interfering in this matter...how interesting."
Sebastian promptly followed "i think it's possible she knows more about this 'unexpected' arrival of the Entity.
Your Majesty,what answer should I give them?"
"Obviously I shall attend it....given the recent events...*sigh*"
Sebastian bowed to his king before returning back the same path he had traversed a while before.
Meanwhile the king looked outside through his window, watching the setting sun and pondering over things.
"I wonder which of the major power is scamming everyone..." A smile graced his features as he went on his day's work.