The words on the parchment began to shimmer with a rhythmic, ethereal pulse, as if the ancient ink were waking up to the heat of my gaze. I leaned closer, the candlelight flickering against my wide eyes as I traced the jagged, elegant script.
> "In the beginning, the gods birthed all forms of existence monsters that roamed the shadows, spirits that danced in the winds, and beings woven from raw magic. To preserve the delicate tapestry of the world and forestall the creeping shadow of chaos, the gods assigned a Rank to every race. Thus, the hierarchy of the realms was born."
> The first illustration depicted celestial, winged figures bathed in a halo of blinding brilliance.
> "The Fairies were crowned the First Rank. Their lifespans stretched across eons, their mana reserves were as vast as the oceans, and their mastery over the arcane was absolute and unmatched."
I turned the page. The art shifted to slender figures with silken silver hair, delicate frames, and long, tapering ears that spoke of grace.
> "Elves stood as the Second Rank, blessed with longevity and an intelligence that pierced the mysteries of the universe. They were the architects of history and the keepers of forgotten lore."
Next came the Dwarves, depicted as sturdy, muscular figures with thick, braided beards and heavy hammers that looked like they could shatter mountains. They stood small, yet they possessed a density of power that rivaled the Elves.
> "Dwarves followed the undisputed masters of the forge. Their anvils shaped the destiny of the world through steel and fire."
A massive, suffocating shadow consumed the next page. It was a creature of nightmares: gargantuan wings, obsidian horns, and a maw that promised a furnace of flame.
> "Dragons occupied the rank beneath mystical titans of insurmountable strength and the stern guardians of the world's ancient, unyielding laws."
Then came creatures with pointed tails, sharp eyes, and smiles that promised a thousand lies.
> "Devils followed cunning, deceptive, and brilliant... yet cursed with an ambition that blinded them to the wisdom of the soul."
Finally, I reached the last page of the prologue. The art here was crude, almost insulting. Dark, horned silhouettes with glowing red eyes clutched primitive clubs and jagged stones.
> "Demons were ranked last. The gods dismissed them as mindless husks, driven solely by the primal urges of violence and hunger."
I scowled, my thumb pressing hard against the page. "Mindless?" I hissed into the silence of the room.
The text seemed to respond to my anger, the letters sharpening.
> "What the gods failed to perceive was the demons' greatest curse and greatest gift: they were the ultimate learners. Their capacity for evolution surpassed any race in creation."
The illustrations began to shift and move. I saw demons hunched over stolen texts, demons mimicking elven incantations, and demons forging weapons from the bones of their enemies.
> "They learned. They adapted. And soon, their primitive hunger transformed into a calculated, freezing ambition for power."
My grip on the leather binding tightened.
> "Their first conquest was the Fairy Realm. The fairies were masters of magic, yes but they were unprepared for the sheer, unadulterated brutality of the demon tide. Only a handful escaped the slaughter."
The following page was stained with a dark, oily ink that looked like old blood.
> "The demons then fell upon the Elven Realms like a plague, harvesting the sacred magic stones of the forests to augment their own biology and amplify their spells."
Another turn revealed the fallen Dwarven Kingdoms, their legendary vaults stripped bare and their knowledge stolen by the very creatures they once looked down upon. My chest felt heavy, the weight of my own ancestry pressing down on me.
Suddenly, the page flared with a golden light. I stared at an illustration of beings in radiant armor, their wings made of pure, blinding white light the very definition of hope.
> "The gods, enraged by the ruin of their order, forged a new race: the Angels. Their purpose was singular and absolute: the total annihilation of the demon race."
Golden figures descended from the heavens like falling stars.
> "Angels wielded Holy Magic a celestial force that disintegrated the darkness of the demons upon contact."
The next scene was one of absolute carnage.
> "The demons were driven to the brink of extinction. Only a few survived, led by a single, peculiar demon a King unlike any who had come before."
My eyes widened. I leaned so close I could smell the ancient parchment.
> "He was brilliant. He was composed. He was the first of his kind to reject the call of bloodlust."
I swallowed hard, my heart hammering against my ribs.
> "To prevent the end of his people, the Demon Lord proposed a truce. The Angels, weary of the endless cleansing, agreed.
The bloodshed ceased, and the demons were spared sealed within their own dark realm to reflect upon their sins."
The pages brightened, showing a world of gothic architecture and sophisticated cities.
> "In the isolation of the seal, demon society flourished. They became a civilization of order and high intellect.
Eventually, they were re-ranked as the First of all races not for their raw power, but for their impeccable discipline and superior mind."
"So that's how we ended up on top," I whispered, a cold realization settling in.
The history shifted again to a more recent era.
> "Eons later, the gods crafted their final masterpiece: Humans."
The art changed drastically. Towering cities of glass and steel, massive gears turning in the heart of mountains a world of logic and machinery.
> "Humans were the perfect medium. They lacked the inherent bloodlust of demons, yet their collective intelligence eventually eclipsed all others. The gods were pleased."
But then, the darkness returned to the pages.
> "But the ancient hunger of the demons stirred once more. The Great Seal fractured."
A chill raced down my spine.
> "The Demon Lord of that era tried to hold back the tide... but even he could not stop the momentum of his own people."
The illustration showed him standing alone a silhouette with massive black wings, standing defiantly before a swirling blue vortex that led to the human world.
> "He declared a law: If any demon set foot in the Human Realm to harvest souls, they were to be hunted and destroyed."
My pulse thundered in my ears.
> "The angels enforced his word, but the demons multiplied too rapidly for the heavens to contain.
In a desperate move, five humans were chosen to receive the gift of Angelic Magic."
Five silhouettes stood tall all female, their forms radiating a divine, terrifying power as they bowed before the winged celestials.
> "These five Saintesses eradicated the stragglers. Peace was restored. Angels and demons found a new, uneasy balance."
The room was deathly silent. The only sound was my own ragged breathing.
"So that's the real story," I muttered, rubbing the back of my neck. From the bottom of the barrel to the kings of the world. "Demons really are something else..." I let out a soft, dry laugh.
I reached for the second book, but it was largely a tactical breakdown of the wars mentioned in the first.
However, two names leapt off the page, burning themselves into my memory: voidborn and Valerius. One was the line of the High Witch, and the other was the blood of the Royal Demon Kings.
I flipped to the final chapters. These were different. They didn't talk about history they talked about now. They detailed the internal ranking of demons: Power, Intelligence, Bloodline, and the absolute mastery of Mana.
I slowly closed the heavy book, the "thud" echoing in the quiet house. My expression darkened as I stared into the shadows.
"Looks like I have a mountain to climb," I said, my voice cold and determined. "I've got a lot to learn before the sun comes up."