A shock reverberated throughout Sabaoth as Harut let his core explode. The wave of power coursing through the world made many of the Rank 4 mages take pause. One of the high Ranking angels was defeated, but not in the atmosphere, but on the very ground of the planet.
And his defeat didn't come from being killed, but by sacrificing himself to take out whatever enemy he was facing.
The idea that the demons were still holding onto a powerful card made the motivation of the angels dip as the demons took control of the battle. Starting with the Guardians under Duke Astaroph, they were capable of defeating their counterpart. Slowly but surely, their forces went around the different counties to help with the battles against the Rank 4 angels.
On the ground, besides a few earthquakes and destruction of almost everything standing, nothing much had changed. Demons were being hunted to extinction by angels as they hid in shelters and outposts.
The undead proved to be an invaluable ally in the battle as they rounded up the corpses and grew in size, becoming the prime target for the angels.
The only place where both demons, angels, and the undead steered away from was the endless dessert that plagued the western parts. Nothing but sand and death was available for the daring adventurers.
There were no ancient ruins to explore, no treasures to find, no oasis with special water, there was nothing but rough sand and a scorching heat. Only a desperate or curious mage would bother traversing the desert or explore it. There were plenty of publicly available research papers displaying the barrenness of the desert.
Somewhere in the desert, a small portal opened up as a barely living body fell out. Crashing into the sand, the portal vanished as the mana that supported it was cut off.
The man had a look of disbelief on his face. Small tears fell into the dune below him, granting the coarse sand a small reprieve from the sickening heat before evaporating. Clenching the sand between his fist, it slipped through his fingers.
Screaming out loud, he weakly punched against the sand, creating small waves in the sand. The energy in his body had already been at an all time low and it didn't take long before he succumbed to slumber.
His state could only be described as in tatters as both his clothing and body was torn to shreds. Were his critical injuries not healed, he would've died in his sleep.
Time passed slowly, as his slumber turned from minutes into hours into days. The scorching sun burned his skin incrementally, dehydrating the body ever so slightly.
An unknown time had passed, but the human was still absent from his body.
Over a nearby dune, an old decrepit man slowly made his way over to him. His body was ragged, loose strands of cloth covered his legs and arms. A basic wooden stick served as support for his body, even if he only had a single hand to use freely, as the other one was turned into a stump. A hood covered his face, protecting him from the everlasting scorching sun.
Eventually, the man reached the body lying in the sand and lightly poked it with his stick. A sigh exited his mouth as he turned around and left. Making his way over the dune, he stopped in his tracks. Turning slightly, he saw the body again and let his shoulders slump.
---
Lucas had no idea how much time had passed, but when he opened his eyes to a large dark ceiling, he didn't move. He simply stared at the water collecting on the stalactites that drooped from the ceiling. Once a drop was formed it fell from the tip, landing on Lucas' lips. Licking the drop, it was clear this wasn't the first one since his lips weren't dry.
He felt weak, physically and mentally, as with every beat of his heart, his mind wasn't willing to turn. A strange listlessness took over, a feeling of wanting to shut his eyes again and letting the world pass him by.
But after an hour of waiting to sleep, it was clear his body had slept enough. Checking his body, his core was filled to the brim with mana, ready to move on to the next stage of evolution, but Lucas didn't feel an ounce of joy.
Getting up, he noticed his wounds were still there, but healing them was easily done. Standing up, Lucas inspected his resting place. A small room in a cave, a few candles were placed on the sides to give the room some light.
Having a single entrance, Lucas stepped towards it. He had no defenses, no spells at the ready. His head low, he reached a larger room in the cave. Looking around, he found an old man lying in the dark in the back of the cave. A dark hood covered his face, but the clear lack of horns poking through the cloth made it clear that whoever this was, had circumstances of his own.
"You're up."
Lucas didn't recognize the voice, but cared little. He nodded as he took a seat on the opposite wall. Inspecting the old man, the only hand that was visible was creased, dried out and had turned slightly black, but that might've been due to the lack of light.
"You look more lifeless than when I found you."
The words were clear, the low baritone voice reached Lucas, but he didn't bother reacting. A simple nod was all the man would get.
"Do you feel your feelings are justified?"
Lucas didn't answer, not willing to entertain the man, not that he would stop from him being non-verbal.
"You look ready to die. To pass away. Would you gain any joy from that?"
Lucas rarely ever thought about killing himself. He was never in a position where the idea popped in his head. Whenever his life took a turn for the worst, he blamed the world around him, fueling his hatred and motivation to grow stronger and change things for the better.
"What got you in such a state? Did your lover betray you? Lost your home? A loved one dead? Or have you begun to realize how hopeless this situation has become?"
The man coughed as he chuckled slightly. Lucas wasn't able to join in his laughter as he kept his face cold.
"There are thousands of demons out there that are suffering the same fate and are continuing to fight for their life. Are you just weaker than them?"
"Perhaps."
"Ha- a mage lowering himself below a commoner who can't even use magic."
A silence filled the cave as time passed. Lucas was stuck in his head, unable to get a hold of the emotions that ruled over him. Constantly in debate with himself, his mind got tired from simply discussing. The old man got bored after a while and spoke up once more.
"You're Rank 3, no, you're practically almost 4. Are you telling me you got this far with such a weak mentality? Your body is quite sturdy for your Rank as well. It's clear you've fought plenty of battles."
The sound of dripping water filled the room. The old man slowly got up, the stick that served as a cane barely held him upright. Walking to the exit, the tapping sound echoed in the cave.
"If you're truly that weak, then kill yourself in here. Don't bother coming out."
Left alone, Lucas crawled into a ball as the darkness enveloped him.
---
Outside the cave, the old man walked through a strange bamboo forest. If one were to look up, one would see the clear red sky above through a single hole. A ceiling covered most of the forest.
As the old man took a seat in a dark corner, a young demon came to his aid. Bringing a small table and some drinks, he placed everything like the old man wanted before moving to the center of the bamboo forest underneath the bright sky.
"Sir, is that man awake?"
"His state of being matters little," the older demon didn't want the younger one to be distracted by unnecessary things.
"Why did you save him? Will he become a pupil like me?"
The old man shook his head slowly, "Not worth the effort. Show me your results."
The younger demon bowed before showing a couple of moves, flames and powers danced around him as the older man watched on with a critical eye. A stream of fire and water appeared around the pupil in a stable circle.
Taking a small breath, the rings started to expand slightly and crossed one another. Despite what physics demanded, the rings flowed through each other without any kind of interaction. The young man felt his head heat up as veins started to become visible.
Lifting his stick, the old man commented, "You're focusing on things that don't matter, forget about the world around you and focus on the rings."
The man tried let the rings split up again, giving his head some room to think and prepare properly. A few deep breaths later, the rings crossed once more, but the water was quickly evaporated. A failure, one of many.
"Again," the old man didn't care for his mistake, he succeeded before, he will succeed again. The only thing it would take was time, something he didn't worry about any longer.
A few weeks passed as the young man was trained to perform his exercise to perfection. Conjuring up the rings, he let them cross slightly without any interference between the two. The rings passed through each other for a moment before splitting up once more. The man's head was covered in sweat, but the look of accomplishment was on his face.
The old man wasn't all that impressed, not even giving any grunt or sign of approval. "Again."
It was the only thing he said, a sign to continue his training. Right as the man was about to bring the rings closer, footsteps besides their own could be heard.
From the bamboo forest, a single man with blond hair walked out. "So you're not dead yet. Have you decided life is worth living? Or have you realized that the only way to set things right is to take action?"
The man continued walking until he reached the old man, sitting beside him, he stared at the spells around the man. They didn't seem all that special, simply being two separate rings of elements, easily replicable. He didn't respond, simply watching on in silence.
"Continue, boy."
The man didn't like being called boy, but he had to follow his master. Closing his eyes again, he let the rings get close to each other and let them cross. The fire and water flowed through each other without interfering with one another.
"What do you think?", the old man said as he saw his visitor stare with a strange attention.
He didn't reply, choosing to continue watching. The man had several more attempts and tries before he had to stop or break his own mind.
"You're... thinking too much," the visitor said with a strange confidence. The man didn't like it when his master critiqued him, much less some stranger he never met.
"Excuse me? What would you even know about the techniques of my master?"
"I don't know his techniques, but if you want to let the streams cross without interference, you shouldn't focus on each individual magicule. Your mind's too weak for that."
"If you think it's so easy, why not do it yourself?"
Challenged, the visitor didn't know whether to bother or not, but he always liked experimenting and learning new things. He just couldn't help himself from testing the spells in his head, seeing how they would work.
Raising his palm slightly, two small rings appeared. One of flames, one of water. Letting them tilt towards one another, they crossed and passed each other without any kind of sign of interference. Letting the rings vanish, he stared at his palm.
The man was stunned to see such expertise from someone who barely had any experience with the technique.
"You're also not doing it correctly," the old man spoke up, "small crossings will work, but can you let the rings take up the same space?"
Raising his palm once more, the rings appeared. Slightly touching each other, nothing happened, but when the rings tried to fuse, they turned into a bunch of steam, evaporating. Everyone stayed silent as each had their own thoughts.
The old man eventually directed his pupil to go to his cave to continue his training.
Left alone with his visitor, the man eventually spoke up. "You're the Demon God, aren't you?"
The old man kept his voice to himself for some time before cracking a smile, "I suppose my hand has become quite recognizable. Aren't you scared?"
"If you want me to sign a contract stating I can never talk about what I saw, who I met or anything about this situation, I'll sign it."
"So you do want to live despite what happened? Otherwise you wouldn't have such a thought."
"..."
"I don't care if you spread the word, I'll have to go back out there eventually anyway."
The silence returned as each had their own thoughts to ruminate over. Eventually the younger one spoke up once more.
"You knew this would happen? The Duke's were prepared."
"Yes. This isn't the first time Sabaoth is being invaded. The only difference this time was the scale," the old man was worshipped by many demons, yet he was stuck in this altered cave rotting away.
"What's your name, boy?"
"Lucas."