The Land of the Dead was made up of many great and small sections. One of the most important of these was Dragonia, the land of the dragons.
The dragons were Hermes's mightiest creations, stronger even than Zilop, Nebula, and Dante. The dragon who ruled over Dragonia and the other dragons was named Balor. He came to this position after the War of the Crown and had sealed the former ruler, Leviathan, in a prison near the western borders. Balor had a terrifying and colossal form. His skin was interwoven with black scales. His fangs tore through the flesh of any living thing. His fiery breath melted mountains, and his wings were like blades fashioned by a smith, slicing the skin of his foes. His amber eyes had a strange, contradictory beauty to his horrifying form.
"I had not expected the King's advisor himself to come to see me. Is the matter so important that you could not send your ravens, Dainos?"
"You have guessed correctly; the matter is so important that I could not send my ravens."
"Well, well, well, what is this vital matter?"
"Our lord's plans for the future of this land. Our lord intends to restore the Land of the Dead to its former glory. The first step on this path is to eliminate the traitors who intend to rebel against our king. After eliminating the traitors, we shall reclaim Zarix."
"I very much like that you speak so shortly and to the point. The title of Master of Speech truly suits you. What are our lord's plans after eliminating the traitors?"
"To conquer hell, the seat of two of the Firstborn." Balor was astonished upon hearing these words; he had not expected such a thing. With a trembling voice, he asked Dainos: "I do not intend to disrespect the king, but with what plan does our lord intend to defeat Lucifer and Satan? These two brothers threw all five realms into chaos 500 years ago."
"Our lord is fully aware of this. Lucifer and Satan lost half of their power and were weakened after the War of Blood and the duel they had with Hermes and Saulith. Defeating them will not be a problem for Zilop."
"That you speak with such certainty shows that we shall be victorious in this war."
"There is no doubt. The first plan will be carried out today."
"What is my role in this?"
"You must, along with your army, attack Nebula's castle. Your only goals are to kill Nebula and destroy the Star Chamber; in this way, the core of the rebellion will be shattered. As for hell, we will first proceed through diplomacy. If we do not receive a favorable answer, we will be forced to wage war."
"Diplomacy? For what reason would they accept such an offer?"
"The land of the demons is in a state of decay. Our offer will be that with the help of the Land of the Dead, hell will be restored to its rightful place. I cannot reveal the details of this offer."
"Interesting. When should we begin our attack on the rebels?"
"You and your forces should be on standby; as soon as the attack begins, I shall send a raven."
The fires of war were now closer to this land than ever before. We must see who will be victorious.
Five days had passed since Maera's treatment when she regained her former strength. After waking, without wasting any time, she began to learn about the Land of the Dead. To survive, she needed many skills. Aristo taught the girl everything he knew: horseback riding, hunting, sewing clothes, building a shelter, and many other things. She also learned the skills of healing and medicine from Victoria. Her high intelligence helped her learn all these skills in less than two weeks. During this time, the girl spoke no word of her past; whenever she was asked a question, she would say, "I remember nothing of my past." Her words were logical because many foreigners lost their memories due to Hermes's curse. But for the exiled queen, every second of her past passed before her eyes. The wails of the innocent souls would not leave her for a moment. The heavy burden of her sins was so great that she always had nightmares at night. A nightmare she avoided even speaking about: absolute darkness and madness, and a whisper that constantly told her, "Live on until the promised day." What was the hidden secret of this whisper, truly?
"I think she can manage on her own now, don't you, Victoria?" As he said these words, Aristo's gaze did not leave Maera. A bright spark was in his eyes.
"You are looking at the poor girl too much. Are you in love?"
"It is not love; it is a kind of sense of responsibility."
Their bond had become so close in this time that I think Maera would not allow Aristo to go on his journey alone.
"How will you tell her that you are going on a journey? A journey without return."
"I will do it without her suspecting a thing."
"The girl is very clever; she will certainly find out."
"That is why I told you to prepare a very strong sleeping potion for me."
"You are a madman. I hope you don't get yourself killed."
At mealtime, Aristo poured the potion into the girl's food without drawing her attention. They finished their meal and washed the dishes. As was their custom, after the meal, Maera embraced Aristo, and Aristo held her in his arms as if she were his sister. Maera went to her bed and closed her eyes. Aristo, once he made sure she was asleep, rose and loaded his travel gear, which he had secretly prepared beforehand, onto his horse and mounted its saddle. He was slowly moving away from his home when he heard the footsteps of another horse behind him. He looked back and saw Maera.
"You should be sleeping now. What are you doing here?" Maera replied without a word: "I am coming with you." "You cannot; this journey is far too dangerous. There is no reason for you to come. Please, return to the house at once; value the life you so painstakingly held on to." "I am coming with you; I have my own reasons for this journey. I want to find out what that voice in my head is and what it wants from me." "Your reason is in no way logical; to risk your life for a voice in your mind?" The argument between the two became so heated that it was as if they intended to take each other's lives. All the residents of the settlement came out to see what was happening.
As the people came out and their argument grew, a great black spot in the sky drew everyone's attention. A spot so large that it blocked the light of the sun from the town. That blackness was none other than the God of Chaos, Balor, and his army flying toward the northwest, where the Star Castle was located. The war had begun.
Dante and Anahita were sitting together in the palace's green garden. It was a peaceful day. A cool breeze was blowing, caressing the grass and trees. In the midst of this peace, chaos suddenly arrived and descended upon them from the sky. Zilop had broken through the surrounding barrier. He attacked the palace, and Dainos attacked the city. The king landed right in front of Dante and Anahita. The two could not believe what they saw. The barrier was broken, and they were under attack. Blood rushed to Dante's eyes when he fixed his gaze upon Zilop. In a flash, he took up the Scythe of Death and attacked Zilop. The battle between the two had begun. In the meantime, Anahita summoned her stone golems to stand against Zilop's army, and she rushed to aid Dante. Powerful blows were exchanged between the two. Zilop attacked Dante with his hammer, which was as heavy as an elephant, and Dante parried his attacks. In agility, both were evenly matched. They attacked each other from various directions. Dante decided to change his position to land a mighty blow from behind. A dark hole appeared beneath Dante's feet, and he fell into it, vanishing from Zilop's sight and reappearing in the air to attack. His speed was so great that it tired Zilop. Anahita did not dare to get close. Zilop saw Anahita standing defenseless in a corner. Dante delivered a blow from above, but his blow was parried. Immediately after parrying the blow, Zilop attacked Anahita at the speed of light. Anahita saw that she could not parry the blow with her dagger, and she was forced to cast a defensive spell. Zilop raised his hammer and attacked Anahita when suddenly Dante arrived and blocked the blow. The force of the blow was so great that it tore the surrounding trees to pieces. Now the battle grew fiercer. Anahita with her magic and spells, and Dante with his Scythe of Death, attacked the former God of the Sun like madmen. Truly, the title of Champion suited Zilop well. He kept pace with them. Their battle was so fierce that it destroyed half of the palace. In the midst of the chaos of attacks, Dante delivered a powerful blow to Zilop's right side. Zilop's right hand, which was in the path of the blow, was severed below the elbow. Dante and Anahita, relieved for a moment and weary from the battle, lowered their guard—a fatal mistake. In the blink of an eye, while his right arm was severed, Zilop delivered a mighty blow to Anahita's face with the head of his hammer. The queen's head and face were completely shattered. Dante stared helplessly at Anahita's face as it exploded. Her blood splashed onto Dante's clothes, and the upper part of his garment took on the red color of the dead queen's lips. Dante let out a scream from the depths of his heart, a scream that showed what had befallen him. At that moment, Zilop laughed in victory and spoke these words in a loud voice: "This is the punishment for rebels and traitors to the realm." Then he launched a powerful attack toward Dante. Dante, who no longer had the strength to fight, parried the blow with difficulty and fled the place.
"Take my hand, Lucian, we must escape from here. I do not have the power to face all these dragons. Now that the dust of the castle covers the air, this is our chance. Hurry and take my hand." Lucian took Nebula's hand and sat on the horse behind her. Nebula opened a gate through space and, along with Lucian, teleported on her horse to a desert a few kilometers from the castle. The black-winged Balor and his army reduced the entire castle and everyone in it to ashes. Nebula fought a heroic battle with them and even took down three of them, but it was not enough. Of the castle's staff, only Lucian survived. Nebula and he escaped from the castle. Truly, it was fate that wanted Lucian to live…
"What must we do now, my lady?"
"First, we must find a shelter for ourselves; no place in this land is safe for us anymore." They set off in search of a shelter.
Zilop had landed his first blow, and a mighty blow it was, indeed. Queen Anahita had been slain, the city of Zarix and the Star Castle had burned in the flames, a great victory for Zilop. At this very moment, Lucian and Maera had both begun a new journey. What was their connection to these events? Was it related to that whisper? No one knows for now; we must wait and see what the hand of fate has in store for these two.
Satan returned to hell after speaking with Saulith. He had now understood, to some extent, the truth about his brother Hermes.
Let us go to Limbo, the place that was known as the royal chamber of hell. After returning, Satan went there to see Lucifer and to inquire about his well-being.
"Welcome, brother, how was your short journey?"
"It was good. It is a strange feeling to see the world again after 900 years." The two brothers were busy conversing when they suddenly sensed an unusual presence in the corner of their room. A shadow, most dark and ominous, was there. It had no face. It was just a black spot with a terrifying voice. "Greetings to the King and Prince of Hell…"
What was that shadow, and what was it doing there?
Part 1 of the story, "The Foreigners," ends here.
Thank you for accompanying me, Lucian, and Maera this far. Part 2, titled "The Journey," will begin soon.