The Damned Demon

Raziel knelt solemnly by the freshly covered grave, his heart weighed down with the enormity of his loss. 

It was already the next day when he returned to the place that was once his home and buried all the corpses or whatever was left of them.

The soft earth beneath his hands seemed to absorb not just the physical remains of his loved ones but also the depths of his sorrow and resolve. 

His cold crimson eyes softened as his determined voice broke the silence, "I will build the strongest kingdom to ever exist in our world over your blood, everyone. You can watch me make you all proud and fulfill my promise. I will build a safe haven here, and nobody shall dare bully us again."

The air around Raziel was heavy with his unspoken grief and the absence of Selene, whose presence he missed dearly. There wasn't even anything left of her to bury.

Despite the void her loss had created, he felt her love lingering within him, a comforting presence amidst the loneliness.

His moment of reflection was abruptly interrupted by a subtle shift in the environment. His keen senses, now heightened beyond an ordinary person's comprehension, picked up the presence of others hiding nearby.

He slowly stood up, turned around, and demanded with a calm expression, "Show yourselves now."

Emerging nervously, a group of people of various ages, including children, stepped forward. They all bore expressions of fear laced with hope. 

These vampires along with few other people from weak races, burdened with heavy bags as if in the midst of travel, cautiously approached him.

As someone who had been part of a nomadic tribe, he could guess that these people were from similar tribes and seemed to have traveled great distances.

Raziel's voice, colored with a hint of confusion, broke the silence, "Who are you people?"

In response, the group collectively fell to their knees, foreheads pressed to the ground. 

An elderly woman, her voice quivering with emotion, spoke up, "O Savior, we are nobodies who were tortured or living under fear because of those werewolves and their underlings. But your actions have saved us all. We are willing to follow you and pledge our lives to you. Without you, we would have never lived to see this day."

Raziel was surprised yet heartened by their arrival. He hadn't anticipated such a gathering of people seeking him for protection and loyalty. 

His heart, however, swelled with a sense of purpose and resolve, knowing that his plans to safeguard people like them were now even more crucial.

"Rise and no need to worry anymore," Raziel's voice was firm yet reassuring as he addressed the crowd, "You all are under my protection now, and those werewolves won't ever be seen in our lands again," He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping across the faces in front of him, noting the relief that washed over them at his words. 

A question lingered in his mind, prompting him to ask, "But tell me... How did you people know how to find me?"

"It was us," Suddenly, a gentle and smooth voice echoed, making Raziel shift his gaze to the side.

Two elegantly dressed men emerged, their presence commanding and auras distinctively potent. 

They were clearly peak Soul Devourers, and Raziel had never come upon such powerful people of his kind.

The first, charmingly handsome with ruby red hair and eyes, carried himself with an air of grace in his exquisite red robes and had a clean-shaven face. Raziel felt a pang of familiarity upon seeing him; his features eerily reminiscent of Selene's.

The second man's presence was starkly different. Cloaked in dark blue attire, his chilling aura matched his inexpressive, cold demeanor. 

His ghostly red eyes and thick black mustache added to his imposing figure.

The man in red, with a polite smile, broke the silence, "Forgive us if we were being rude but rumors of someone who can devour flames and the blood of werewolves alike had spread like wildfire. Never before in our lives or in history have we heard of someone as powerful as you. For the first time, we saw hope after millennia of suffering and getting suppressed by the werewolves."

Raziel, intrigued, stepped closer to the duo, his gaze flitting between them, recognizing the power they wielded as peak Soul Devourers, "Who are you?" he inquired, sensing their significance.

The man with the ruby-red eyes winced slightly as he said, "Ah, where are my manners. I am Lord Valentine, and my friend here is Lord Thorne," His expression turned grim as he added, "Our covens are dying, and I heard not long ago my sister died in this very land, slaughtered by those barbaric dogs."

Raziel's eyes widened in surprise, "Selene was your sister?" The pieces of the puzzle were coming together, explaining the striking resemblance and her exceptional talents. He also remembered Tarok mentioning how she was once very powerful but was weakened.

Valentine's expression softened with a mix of sadness, "Yes, she was. It seems you knew her well. Had I known she was here, perhaps I could've saved her."

"I don't understand. She never told me she had a brother. She said she lost everything. So if she didn't, why didn't she ever go back to you or ask for help?" Raziel asked with furrowed brows.

Valentine sighed as he said, "She was married into another coven, which was completely destroyed by the werewolves because of some feud they had. It wouldn't be a surprise if she never came back to not burden her own coven or me since the werewolf clans had a bounty on her head. She wouldn't want to risk anyone associating her with her coven. That is how she always was, looking out for others."

Raziel closed his eyes as he felt it made sense and could imagine Selene making a hard decision like that.

Valentine added with a look of gratitude, "Your act of avenging her death means more than you can imagine. Anyone who went this far for her is like a brother to me. You won't mind if I call you Brother, do you?"

Raziel felt a flow of complicated feelings surging through his chest, and it seemed like Selene had a caring brother. And so he nodded, "I don't. But why did you two come here all the way?"

Valentine and the silently standing Thorne exchanged glances before Valentine looked at Raziel and said, "Since people across Dacrya have come to know the birth of the 'Devourer' who drove off the werewolves from our lands, we were wondering what you plan to do next since I am sure the future of this land will rest in your hands."

Raziel took a deep breath as he briefly looked around and said, "I want to build my own kingdom…a kingdom so strong, nobody would dare cross us."

"Then…you are going to need us," Lord Thorne finally spoke with a narrowed gaze.

Raziel furrowed his brows as Valentine briefly smiled and said, "What my friend means is that even if you are very powerful, building a kingdom is no small feat, even more so if you want it to be the strongest to ever exist. My friend and I possess Deviars that could help you quickly build a strong foundation for the kingdom. Besides that, you can use our experience to guide you about matters that you may have doubts about. You can consider us as pillars of the kingdom who exists to support you."

Raziel fell into contemplation as Valentine raised his right palm and said, "So, are you willing to work together with us like brothers to build a new future for our people?"

Valentine shot a side glance at Thorne, who raised his hand and placed it atop Valentine's palm.

Raziel, his eyes narrowed with resolution, placed his hand atop Valentine and Thorne's, "I will take up on your offer," he declared.

Valentine smiled as he nodded and said, "Very good. So...did you happen to have a name in mind for your kingdom?"

After a moment of contemplation, Raziel subtly raised his chin and said, "I want to name it...the Bloodburn Kingdom. Let our enemies who hear this name shudder as the very mention scorches their blood and withers their spirit."

"They absolutely will," Thorne said as his eyes glowed with a chilling light.

However, in an instant, the world around Raziel faded into darkness. 

A deluge of memories cascaded through his mind, vivid and intense, all that felt like his own.

"What in the name of the...How did I end up here..."

Only then did he realize he was not Raziel but Asher, who had entered the Tower of Torment to conquer it.

But he saw through the eyes of Raziel, felt his sorrows, his pains, and the heart-wrenching loss of his people. 

All of it felt very real, as if he was really Raziel. He could still feel the sorrow and pain of losing those people.

But what shocked him the most was that Raziel's mother had the same face as that of his mother when he was a human, and Selene looked no different than Naida. It just made him feel so confused as it didn't make sense and realizing it only made it hurt even more. It felt like he saw his mother die so many times.

"What the hell did I just go through?" Asher mumbled with a wince, disoriented, as the familiar landscape of the mountaintop returned to his sight. 

He then saw Drakaris' colossal crimson eyes bore down upon him, their gaze piercing.

"You... What did you do to me?" Asher questioned, his voice tinged with a mix of shock, confusion and dawning realization. 

He looked down, seeing his hands returned to their original night elf form, yet the emotions and experiences of Raziel clung to him, as real as his own flesh and blood.

"You have passed the Trial of Torment, Asher Drake," the deep, resonant voice of Drakaris echoed around him, each syllable reverberating through the air.

"What in the devils name…" Asher mumbled as his jaw slacked.