Tirra sat in the wagon and looked down the road into the distance.
Only a few more days until I return. I was able to sell everything, and Mirok and I should be able to make it through the next year.
Her thoughts were suddenly broken by a loud noise behind her.
Shouting.
"HEY! DID YOU SEE THEM?"
Tirra turned and saw a demonic man galloping toward them on horseback. Dark bags hung beneath his eyes, and there was a sharp edge of anxiety in his voice.
It did not take long for him to catch up, as the wagon slowed to a stop.
"Did you see someone with magic come by here?" the man asked again, his voice tired and strained.
"What? No, we haven't seen anyone. Why are you asking?" one of the men holding the reins replied.
"Someone... someone slaughtered... everyone's dead..."
The man seemed to drift as he spoke, exhaustion weighing heavily on him.
"Wait. Speak clearly."
"My village! My village is gone! Everyone was murdered!"
Tirra's eyes widened.
"The culprit went down the river. There was another village along the way that was also attacked. I need to keep chasing him!"
Without letting them ask more questions, the man kicked his horse and galloped off again in the direction of Tirra's village.
"We need to follow him! We need to see if everyone's alright!" Tirra said, panic rising in her voice.
The men in front nodded and snapped the reins. The horses surged forward into a fast gallop.
No! Mirok must be alright! I was only gone for a few weeks. What are the chances something like this could happen in that time?
Everything has always been peaceful. The villages that were attacked must be a fluke. Please...
The wagon slowly began to fall behind due to the weight it carried. Soon, Tirra could no longer see the man ahead.
Hopefully he gets there before anything bad happens. Mages are strong... but why would a mage want to kill people from a poor village like mine?
***
The tired demon continued riding for some time after leaving Tirra's group.
Dammit... no leads from them either. I won't be able to catch up at this rate.
"Huh?"
He looked up and saw a floating white creature in the distance. It had purple horns and no eyes.
What is that? Wait... that might be the culprit. Magical beasts are more than capable of causing that much destruction.
The white creature opened its mouth.
"Going any further will only lead to your death. You are no match for the one who killed everyone in your village."
It can speak?
"What are you?" the demon asked as he dismounted and raised his fists.
"I am nothing of concern to you. Leave this place, and I will not harm you," the white devil replied calmly.
"Did you destroy the village? Answer me properly, or I'll attack!"
Crystal-like formations began to grow across the demon's hands as he spoke.
"I did not take part in the slaughter of your village, but I witnessed it. I am giving you a warning. Turn back."
The demon immediately poured mana into his hands. The crystals tore free from his skin and shot toward the white devil.
The devil sighed softly.
"If only you had left your village later. Then perhaps I could have helped you."
A giant pelican faded into existence in front of the devil, blocking the crystal shards. At the same moment, a heavy thump sounded behind the demon.
A long black fingernail pierced straight through his heart, killing him instantly. The creature behind him had appeared just as suddenly as the pelican.
It was extremely tall, with scaly, shadow-black skin and crooked, empty white eyes set in a disfigured head.
The creature gave a faint, croaking sound that almost resembled a laugh.
"Good work, everyone... I am sorry I had to put you in harm's way."
The white devil gently petted the pelican as it spoke. Crystal shards were embedded across the bird's wings, and blood flowed steadily from the wounds.
"Rest now. You have done your part."
But before the creatures faded, the devil noticed a wagon in the distance.
"Never mind. This should not be very taxing. You may remain a little longer."
The white devil remained floating beside the corpse. The demon's horse nudged its owner's body but did nothing else.
Tirra and the others had seen what happened from afar and slowed their approach.
"Who are you?" one of the men at the reins called out as they drew closer.
"Leave. Your friends and family are safe. They escaped the village. As long as you go no further, I will not harm you."
"Really? They're safe?" the driver asked hopefully.
The man beside him immediately shook his head.
"No, you fool! That creature is obviously behind the deaths in those villages. Why would it tell us the truth? It's lying. What else besides a magical creature could kill everyone in two villages? And look, that man from earlier is dead!"
He pointed toward the corpse on the ground.
The first man lowered his voice to a whisper. "Then what should we do? We can't stop that thing. There's no choice but to turn back. Look, there are two other creatures behind it."
He shuddered as he stared at the tall creature with the long fingernails.
"Why would I lie to you?" the white devil said calmly. "I could kill each of you effortlessly, yet I have not. That man died because he attacked first in his rage."
The white devil could hear their thoughts clearly, but even without that ability, its hearing was incredible.
"Wait... may I speak?" Tirra asked quietly.
The men glanced at each other before nodding.
"Hello, sir. My name is Tirra. Do you know if everyone made it out safely?"
"Yes. Everyone. Including your little brother, Mirok. They are heading to Ashkara."
"And what about the one who slaughtered those other villages?"
The white devil paused for a moment.
"He... is someone you should never wish to meet in your life. Staying away from him and turning back now is the wisest choice. I am at fault for his sins, but..."
The white devil lifted its face toward the desert sun.
"...I value my own life above all else, and I have submitted to his will. Think of me as nothing more than a bad omen, warning you of the disaster that will come if you follow him."
The pelican lifted its head slightly at the devil's words.
Tirra thought quietly.
There is no reason for it to lie. We villagers are no threat to something like that. If I go to Ashkara, I can meet Mirok... but it's unfortunate that we have to leave the village...
"I think we should go back to Ashkara," Tirra said.
The others quickly came to the same conclusion. They turned the wagon around and departed, heading back the way they came.
Silently, the white devil floated down and looked at the demon's corpse.
"God above, cleanse me of this sin. I commit it for the greater good. To stop a bleak future, the present must be sacrificed."
The pelican used its beak to scoop sand and dirt from the road. Then it lifted the corpse and buried it.
High above the three creatures, a purple glow rose into the sky. It flickered as it ascended beyond the clouds, climbing higher and higher until it passed beyond the confines of the world and disappeared forever.
***
Cecilus looked into the distance. From where he stood, it seemed endless. When he walked forward, his hand struck an invisible barrier.
His soul world felt like a place with limitless space, but in truth, after testing it many times, he had discovered he did not need to walk far before reaching a boundary.
The blood crow, Xena, and the dust elemental were all resting within this realm. At first, he thought the space would not be enough to hold many summons. But as his number of souls increased, the size of his soul world increased as well.
Why do souls from humans, elves, and demons have this power, but the souls of animals and other creatures do not?
It was a question he had once asked the white devil, but even it did not know the answer. Cecilus still doubted whether the devil always told the truth, but the lack of an answer only made the mystery more intriguing.
The soul world was a place he had entered many times since losing his memories. Most often, it happened while he slept, when he would unconsciously enter this realm.
It was also the reason he had survived being knocked unconscious during his fight with the blood crow. Thinking back on that moment, he glared at the crow.
The crow did not react. All of Cecilus's summons had their will stripped away. He had known how to do this instinctively the moment he obtained Xena as a summon.
So much for a peaceful sleep. I'll have to fall back into rest again because of this stupid place.
Suddenly, all of the summons in his soul world disappeared.
Cecilus jumped to his feet. "Huh? Where did they go?"
The usual fog in the soul world began to fade as well.
But Cecilus felt it. One of the barriers in the distance had weakened.
It was the same barrier he had seen early in his journey, the one that held summons from his past life locked behind it.
"Has it finally happened? Are my memories returning? Did I miscount?"
He immediately rejected the idea. He could feel the exact number of souls he possessed at all times, and this time was no different.
His footsteps made no sound as he ran toward the barrier. But when he arrived, he frowned.
The summons he had once seen behind the barrier were gone.
Instead, there was a boy sitting on the ground with one knee pulled to his chest.
He was short, with pale skin and pointed ears. His hair and eyes were identical to Cecilus's.
But they were not the same.
The Cecilus of the present was tall and nearly a grown man.
The one behind the barrier looked exactly like Cecilus had when he first began his journey after losing his memories.
That boy was the original Cecilus.