I climbed the towering ice mountain alone. It was strange; I did not encounter a single monster along the way, and this deadly silence was what truly worried me. I followed every path dictated by the black sword, using it as an ominous compass, until I finally reached the summit. There was nothing unusual to be seen, except that the air was brutally cold. I felt as though the blood would freeze in my veins.
"Hey, demon!" I shouted, shivering as my words turned into white vapor. "I climbed up as you asked, so show yourself! I don't have time to play games, I am freezing out here! Hey... can you hear me, you bastard? Are you planning to kill me with the cold?"
The demon's earth-shattering voice echoed in my mind, dripping with sarcasm. "Quiet, boy. I heard you. But you will wait a little longer, for you are not in the right place yet. Walk a bit further forward."
"What? Until when?" I complained, wrapping my coat tighter around myself.
"Just walk until I tell you to stop. This is easy for me, as I do not feel the cold, so what does it matter if you complain? Move."
"Ugh... fine."
I walked a little further as he commanded, enduring the biting winds, until I found a strange spot amidst all the blizzards and frost. This place was... warm! And even stranger, I felt an overwhelming amount of energy radiating from it.
"What is this massive energy?" I asked in awe. "It's true that I cannot absorb mana, but I can feel it. I can't exactly describe this sensation."
The demon answered coldly, "Vessel, this place contains dense energy due to its proximity to the 'Dymas' your ice squad is searching for."
My eyes widened in shock. "What are you saying? This place is close to the Dymas? Then, when I return, I must tell them immediately!"
The demon warned me with a serious tone. "Do not do that, vessel. Even if you guide them to a clue, the Dymas located here is already waiting for a specific person. When that person appears, the Dymas will open on its own. Therefore, no matter how hard they try, it is impossible to force it open. Do you understand?"
"Waiting for someone? Who?" I asked curiously.
"I do not know, but this place is called the Site of the First Prophecy."
"What prophecy?"
The demon explained cryptically, "A prophecy that says one day, absolute peace will be achieved when the Dymas located in every kingdom is opened, and its secret is released. Only then will that prophecy be fulfilled."
"Ah... so when the Dymas opens, the prophecy will come true." I shook my head, trying to process the information, then returned to my main goal. "Vessel... I mean, demon, answer my questions now. How do you know my past as you claimed?"
The demon said, bored, "As I told you, I can see your memories."
"Then... you saw the one who tortured me in my previous life too?" I asked, my heart beating with tension.
The demon stopped talking for a moment, as if recalling that memory, then said, "No. I couldn't see him clearly. But... the sound of your screams while you were being tortured was like sweet musical notes to my ears."
I cursed his sadism in my mind, then asked, "Musical notes, huh? Then tell me, how did you know the future of the original owner of this body, Andrei?"
"That is easy, because he is the one who discovered this place."
"What? That weak boy?"
The demon explained, "I used to appear in his dreams, because at first, I thought he was the suitable vessel for me. He would wake up terrified every night. Until a night came when he couldn't sleep, and he wandered up a mountain until he reached this area. Then he entered a cave that contained a magical mirror... and he saw his future. In that vision, he appeared with my demonic power, standing before a person called the 'Lord of Death,' and he destroyed him."
I furrowed my brows. "Wait. Who is this Lord of Death?"
The demon spoke with a tone carrying a strange sense of respect. "I can only tell you that his power is not equal to mine... it is stages higher. And despite that, when I was still considered a humanoid... yes, considered humanoid, for I love myself this way... I faced him. Our battle was devastating to our surroundings by all measures. He is someone whose power I acknowledged, and our battle ended in a draw. But I am not satisfied with that draw. And when I saw that vision through the boy, I rejoiced. But... when I saw the image clearly, I realized that it wouldn't be the boy Andrei who would use my power to destroy him, but you... the new Andrei, or should I say Olaf?"
I said in shock, "And the vision actually came true, and I arrived. Where is that place? Which place has that crystal or mirror? I want to see my future too!"
The demon laughed mockingly. "Listen, vessel. To find that mirror, you must first find the head of the sleeping beast underwater. For that gem is designed to monitor it."
"Wait... that beast the Commander tamed sleeps underwater, and the gem is here on the mountains? How is that possible?"
The demon roared with laughter that shook my mind. "Hahaha! That is because the beast is ten times the size of the entire kingdom!"
Hearing that, I ran quickly, climbed the highest possible rocky peak, and looked around. I stared into the endless horizon and said in disbelief, "I can't even see the end of the kingdom while standing on the highest peak! And you're telling me it's ten times larger than this?! How the hell could the Ice Lord defeat and tame it? That is illogical!"
The demon spoke with a malicious, cunning voice. "You are right, it is illogical. But, Andrei... you forgot one single thing. You should never listen to the words of a demon in an isolated place!"
Suddenly, a thick black shadow materialized from the sword, resembling the form of a terrifying devil. Before I could comprehend what was happening, the demon grabbed the actual sword and struck me! The blade slashed my back deeply.
I stumbled back, crying out in pain, and looked behind me to find that my demon had taken a physical form, and he was now holding my sword, pointing it at me.
"How were you able to take this form?!" I shouted, clutching my bleeding wound.
The demon answered with a savage smile, "I simply gathered the mana from this energy-rich place, shaped it, and here I am."
"Is this your true form?" I asked, backing away cautiously.
"No, you fool. This is merely a mana construct so I can eliminate you."
"But... if you kill me, you will die too!" I warned him fearfully.
The demon sneered as he advanced toward me. "Fool. You and I are like a scale; neither of us should outweigh the other, because whoever's side tips the scale will possess everything! And since you are going to die now, I will be the one to completely take over the body. And not only that... thanks to you and this body, I will settle my score with humans and the Lord of Death! So, thank you, Andrei."
I was in real trouble. "What do I do? I don't have a weapon or anything, and that bastard has my sword!" I thought rapidly, trying to find a way out.
The demon gripped the sword and charged at me, swinging the blade with lethal strikes, trying to cut me to pieces. I dodged his attacks with extreme difficulty, jumping and rolling in the snow, until I tripped, fell, and injured my foot.
The demon stood over me, raising the black sword in preparation for the killing blow.
"So, vessel, this is the end. Thank you for the body."
But before he could stab me, something entirely unexpected happened.
Chains of brilliant light burst from the void, wrapping around the demon and completely binding his movements.
A familiar, mocking voice echoed. "Andrei, you fool! Didn't you know your commander forbade you from leaving until the treaty was finalized? Why did you leave, then?"
I looked toward the voice in disbelief. "Volak?! And why did you leave?"
Volak laughed as he walked toward us. "Stupid even in this deadly situation. We will talk later. But for now, let me deal with this demon."
Volak tightened his grip on the chains of light, violently dragging the demon away from me, and readied himself for a confrontation.
Volak asked, his eyes never leaving the demon, "Andrei... what is this thing?"
I answered as I struggled to stand up, "That is the demon of the sword I carry!"
Volak furrowed his brows. "What? We are definitely talking about this later, but I want to know one small piece of information... that sword demon, was he inside you?"
"Yes."
"Is he the one who fought me at the Twin Mountains?"
"Yes."
Volak smiled defiantly. "Beautiful. But he is not with the same power I felt back there. Gather some mana to defend yourself."
The demon roared as he tried to shatter the chains. "You cursed human! You ruined my plan!"
Volak scoffed. "Thanks for the compliment. But... I thought the one fighting me back there was one of the Great Demon Kings, but I don't see that now."
The demon stopped thrashing, and his tone changed to a terrifying coldness dripping with dread. "I am not one of the Demon Kings, human. I am the King of those Kings... the one you tremble in fear just from hearing his name. But for your bravery and your foolishness... I will show you an entertaining display."
The Demon Lord gripped the black sword with one hand, gathering a massive, dark energy into it. An energy so terrifying that everyone in the vicinity felt suffocated by despair.
Volak took a step back, channeling all his light power, taking a solid defensive stance, waiting for the demon to attack so he could block the strike with everything he had.
But the Demon Lord... did not attack.
The dark energy suddenly dissipated, and the demon looked at Volak with an arrogant smile. "See? I was merely gathering some light energy just to show off, and here you are, bringing out all your power and sweating profusely. So, when you speak to me in the future, know exactly who you are speaking to."
Then he turned to me and threatened, "As for you, Andrei... your body will soon be mine. For I have goals I will achieve. Goodbye for now... and you too, knight."
With those words, the demon's mana-constructed body vanished like smoke, and the black sword dropped onto the snow with a faint metallic clatter.
After he left, Volak sat down on the frozen ground, panting in shock from the sheer magnitude of that power that almost crushed him just by feeling it.
Volak looked at me with wide eyes and asked with a trembling voice, "What the hell is living inside you, Andrei?!"
I sighed, picked up my sword from the ground, and answered with bitter honesty, "Believe me, Volak... I don't know either."