MMORPG : Ancient WORLD



(Demon Hideout)

An unknown amount of time had passed since the demon commander, Wrathahr, started the summoning ritual.

The chamber, once swarming with hundreds of thousands of demons and numerous portals that acted as gateways for an unending tide of demons to constantly arrive, lay in silence, painting a haunting and gutwrenching image.

The large chamber was filled with hundreds of thousands of demons, but they no longer stood with the vitality and malice that had defined them.

Instead, the demons were reduced to lifeless, shriveled husks with their life forces drained, and even the higher demons guiding the new arrivals were not spared from the gruesome death, and no creature except the demon commander stood alive.

In the epicenter of this dreadful scene stood Wrathahr, the demon commander, his familiar human-goat hybrid form standing proud, and even though physically unchanged, anyone who had seen him would instantly know that his very presence seemed different now.

His dark eyes, previously filled with ruthless slaughter and malice, had transformed into tranquil pools of serenity, resembling an undisturbed ocean. 

The dense aura of killing intent and malevolence that had once surrounded him was notably absent, replaced by an inexplicable sense of calm. Yet, the aura around him was unsettling, akin to the instinctual unease one might feel in the direst of situations.

"It's been decades since I last left that wretched island," A deep voice laced with amusement echoed in the entry chamber.

Wrathahr, or more accurately, the entity in possession of his body, raised his hand, and instantly, a pitch-dark cube materialized out of thin air.

"These pests can't even do a thing properly, but their hastiness would only grant them a quicker death," The entity spoke after a moment of silence, his words laced with disdain.

"Let's go greet the newcomer," The man exclaimed, a wide grin stretching across his face. With the cube in hand, he disappeared in an instant, leaving behind a chamber filled with countless lifeless bodies.

-----------------

"I can't have you dying on my watch," Caden remarked, his face still sporting that unsettling, psychotic smile.

'This bastard is playing with me, and It reminds me of some truly bad memories,' Alex thought, his body going through the agonizing pain of melting down and healing simultaneously.

Alex's condition was far from pleasant, but despite the agony he was going through, it was not the pain on his mind but rather a seething anger directed at Caden and the helplessness of his situation. 

However, instead of dwelling on these emotions, he took deep breaths and made a conscious effort to clear his mind, knowing that pride without the strength to back it was nothing but hollow arrogance.

"Don't look at me with such anger. I let you kill my clone, which is very, very precious to me as it is just another me with all my qualities, just so you don't feel that I treated you like a trapped rat hurting your PRIDE," Caden said, emphasizing the last word as laned before him.

"You have nothing to say?" Caden questioned as he leaned closer to Alex's face.

"We will talk in the near future when I will come to claim your head," Alex replied, staring him back in the eyes.

"GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH"

"I will be waiting," Caden said before he quickly looked to his left at the man who appeared out of thin air.

'Wrathahr,' Alex thought as he met the cold eyes of the towering demon.

"You did well, but now you need to leave if you want to live long enough to fulfill the deal you two made," Wrathahr said as he shifted his gaze to Caden, who stood frozen like having seen a ghost.

Caden didn't question and swiftly flew toward the heart boundary of the barrier while it took a moment, but Alex sensed the changes about Wrathahr, his aura, his demeanor, and even the calm way he spoke.

'I will find out shortly what the demons want from me,' Alex thought as he stared at the Wrathahr, who gave him an unsettling feeling, something he couldn't properly put into words.

"Calm Down, we are just going to have a small talk," The demon said as he appeared before Alex.

"My name is Ahrimon, and I am also the individual who Rule over the Demon continent," Ahrimon said as he extended his hand forward.

Alex's head went blank for a moment after hearing the introduction, and when he returned to his senses, he felt his heart drop to the stomach, not because he was afraid but because he understood who stood before him.

Alex understood that standing before him was an individual who controlled unfathomable strength, not only in the form of legions of Demons and Devourer beasts but as an alone individual who stood at the pinnacle of this world.

As the demon king, he was undoubtedly one of the strongest individuals in this world, if not the strongest, and knowing how evil he was made Alex couldn't help but feel a sense of unease in his presence, but more than fear, he was overwhelmed by feelings of disgust and anger toward him.

"I can tell that you don't hold me in high regard, and that's understandable, considering we are supposed to be mortal enemies."

"But your hatred toward me stems from the things you have learned about me, but remember, there are always two sides to a story, so let me first tell you about a short story before I tell you the reason I went through so much trouble to arrange our meeting," Ahrimon said, as he lowered his hand after Alex didn't show any signs of accepting his greetings.

After a moment of silence, Ahrimon began speaking while Alex kept his guard up, his mind filled with the sight of the apocalypse that the man before him would unleash in just a few years.

"Once there were two brothers, two kids who became orphans at the tender age of six, and as they had no relatives and lived in a very harsh tribe, they needed to work to earn their food."

"The kids were talented, and with them needing to risk their lives every day, they grew very quickly both mentally and physically and, at the age of eleven, left their tribe to become travelers."

"For the next seven years, they wandered the large world, learning about the much bigger world outside, with their strength grew to newer heights."

"At the age of seventeen, the brothers reached the center of the continent, where resided a large capital city belonging to the lone kingdom that ruled every big and small clann on the continent."

"They learned that, strangely, the mighty kingdom was not controlled by a big royal family or some mighty figure standing at the pinnacle of strength, but instead, it was controlled by the person who was recognized by the dark throne."

"The best thing was that anyone could go and test his luck on the throne. It was open every day of the year, at any time, with no discrimination in race, strength but you do need to be under the age of maturity of your race to sit on the throne,"

"Coincidently, both brothers were talented in the darkness element, so what do you think they did after knowing about the throne," Ahrimon said, with a small smile as he gave Alex a few seconds to digest the info.

Alex, who at first didn't understand what Ahrimon was trying to do, but he was fine as long as he was not getting forced into using his watcher wishes to save himself from some deep trouble. 

But as the story continued, Alex started to see the bigger picture and instantly understood what Ahrimon was talking about.