Zac sat at the edge of the bed, map unfurled across his lap, fingers tracing the jagged borders of the known world.
Candlelight danced across the parchment, illuminating the faded ink lines and runes, while Kai leaned over his shoulder, eyes narrowing.
"
So you said you figured something out?" Kai asked.
Zac nodded. "Yeah. This map... it shows more than just roads and cities. Look here.
" He pointed at a corner of the map where ancient script outlined territories beyond the human kingdoms.
"There used to be a war. Not just some skirmish, but a full-on, continent-spanning war—between humans and demons."
Kai blinked. "Demons? In this world?"
Zac gave him a grim look.
"Yeah. And they weren't the only ones. Elves, dwarves, and dragons have their own domains.
The war was mainly humans versus demons, but the others stayed in their lands... watching."
He began listing them one by one, pointing to their locations on the map.
"The Elves live under the protection of the World Tree—Elynthel. It's a living, divine tree that links their cities in the sky canopy.
They're isolationists, but their magic is ancient and powerful."
Kai whistled. "Sounds like something out of a fantasy book."
"Then there are the dwarves," Zac continued. "They live deep in the Thunderpeak Mountains. Masters of forging, they're said to craft weapons strong enough to cut through dragon scales."
"And the dragons?" Kai asked.
Zac tapped the dark green area on the map labeled The Wyldfire Expanse. "They rule the primeval forests.
Dragons don't follow human laws. They're ancient, proud, and territorial. They call it the Dominion of Flame. Not even the gods mess with them without reason."
"So back to the war," Kai said, leaning in, brows furrowed.
Zac nodded. "It ended five years ago. Humans were losing, badly. That's when Ares appeared—the so-called 'God of War.'
But he's not just that. He's also the proxy of Aethon, the god of aura."
"Wait, like the same aura Al was talking about? The internal energy thing?"
"Exactly." Zac rummaged through his pack and pulled out a glowing crystal the size of a fist. "I got this from a merchant in Loranth. It contains a magical memory—recorded during
the final battle of the war. Watch." He activated the crystal, and a three dimensional illusion emerged above it.
Kai's eyes widened as he watched.The skies were black with ash. Crimson flames painted the earth. 50,000 arch-demons stood like dark sea, their twisted armor glinting with infernal light. Wings, horns, and countless snarling faces filled the battlefield.
Then a single figure stepped forward.
Clad in crimson and black armor, Ares walked alone across the battlefield.
His aura flared with every step, pushing back the hellish wind around him. His eyes glowed, not with rage, but with clarity.
He raised a black longsword that seemed to hum with divine power.
From the other side, Lucifer the Fourth descended—wings like obsidian blades, his eyes burning with hatred and power.
He carried the Blade of the Abyss, forged from pure hatred and bound souls.
Lucifer roared, sending out a shockwave of demonic energy. But Ares didn't flinch. Instead, he pushed his aura backward, letting it spiral inward like a hurricane collapsing into itself.
The battlefield trembled. Kai gasped. "That's... backwards aura. That's dangerous! Al told me that could rupture your veins."
"Exactly," Zac said. "But Ares mastered it. And he wasn't always like this.
He used to lose every duel. People called him 'the Fallen Knight.' Until he met Razen the Blade King."
"Who's that?"
Zac narrated as the illusion shifted, showing a massive man in jagged armor, covered in scars and draped in a crimson cloak.
Razen's eyes burned like twin blades themselves.
"Razen's a monster. He only cares about fighting, swords, and proving he's the best. Doesn't care about kingdoms, gods, or morality.
Just pure strength through combat. He trained Ares by beating him to near-death every day. But it worked.
Ares learned to push aura backward—compressing it until it became dense and explosive."
The illusion cut back to the battle.
Ares unleashed his aura in a reverse spiral—an implosion that absorbed all demonic energy around him.
Then he dashed into the army of 50,000, cutting them down like wheat. Each strike from his sword became a shockwave, reducing demons to ashes.
Lucifer charged him, unleashing tidal waves of dark energy. Ares took it all, bleeding but standing tall. Then, with a roar that shook the heavens, he drove his sword into the earth. A divine pillar of light erupted, engulfing the battlefield.
When it cleared, only Ares remained standing. Lucifer the Fourth lay shattered, his wings torn, his body broken.
The crystal dimmed.
Silence hung between them."So how did the war end after that?" Kai asked, still dazed.
"Lucifer's son—Lucifer the Fifth—took over after his father's defeat.
He signed a peace treaty with the human kingdoms. From what I read, he's nothing like his father. Smarter. More strategic."
Kai frowned. "But wouldn't the Holy Kingdom wanted to wipe the demons out completely after the war."
Zac nodded. "They did. But Pope John signed the treaty too. The war had drained them. Half their cities were burned. They didn't have the strength to keep fighting."
Kai leaned back. "So that means there's still tension. This could flare up again."
"Exactly. Lucifer the Fifth seems smarter than his father and grandfather, but... you never know."
Kai stared into the flickering candlelight. "Is there any other information on the demon kingdom's forces?"
Zac shook his head. "That's all I could gather for now. Let's just hope there won't be another war. At least, not while we're still here."
Kai glanced at the map again, then up at Zac. "Yeah... let's hope. But something tells me things are going to get a lot more complicated soon."
Outside the inn, the wind howled as if echoing that very warning.
We'll let go asleep we have a long day ahead of us. Kai replied saying yeah we do, we should go to adventure guild tomorrow and sign up right bro.
Yeah you right we can't stay here forever we got to move around so we can figure out a way home. Kai replied yeah we do he say goodnight to Zac and all you can hear is the sound of steady breathing.