The Damned Demon

Asher's brows raised in curiosity upon hearing Lori's excited voice, "What is it?" he asked, stepping closer, his voice echoing slightly off the damp stone walls.

With a flick of her tail, Lori deftly turned the old book before dropping it into Asher's waiting hands.

He caught it, his eyes immediately drawn to an old drawing of a colossal sword eerily similar to the Void Reaver, cleaving through the skies of a world eerily reminiscent of Zalthor. Below the illustration, the caption read 'Key of Chaos.'

"Key of Chaos?" Asher repeated, the words rolling off his tongue with a mix of awe and apprehension.

"Yesssss, the Key of Chaos," Lori hissed, her voice carrying the weight of mystery, "Some people call the Void Reaver by that name to remind themselves what that sword is truly capable of. After all, it was the very sword that brought life to our once-dead world and...brought about the birth of the First Demons."

Asher's eyes widened, his grip on the book tightening as he processed her words, "Brought life to our world and caused the birth of the First Demons? I thought it had to do with Drakaris or something since many people worshiped him as the creator of our world. Some say he was even a devil in disguise."

Lori let out a mocking hiss, the sound sharp and cutting, "Those ignorant bunch have no idea. The only reason the Supreme One could even exist in our world was because of the Void Reaver. How else do you think a being of such power could exist in our world, or anyone else for that matter? Our world was never meant for the living. With every minute, our world is getting a fraction closer to its own destruction and killing us all. Did you know that the demons that lived tens of centuries ago never needed as many life crystals as we needed to stay alive? I can even remember the small difference from when I was very young."

Asher slowly nodded, his thoughts heavy, "I do know that our world is slowly getting closer to killing us all, and that is why even many races died out on their own or became too weak to get killed off. Even your bloodline is also nearing extinction, and my kingdom's dragons have had their numbers reduced throughout centuries. Hell, the previous Kraken was desperate enough to use me and my consort to birth its progeny."

Lori's expression twisted with a mix of anger and resignation as she hissed, "That is why I say the devils have never been fair to us. We are suffering for no good reason. We were thriving many centuries ago, and the Hunters weren't really much of a threat, unlike now. I bet His Greatness must be teaching a lesson to them in the Seven Hells."

Asher's gaze returned to the ancient book, his mind swirling with questions as vast as the histories it contained, "But how can a sword bring about life and cause the birth of the First Demons? Where is this sword from, and who brought it to our world?" His voice echoed off the walls, a mixture of skepticism and genuine curiosity filling the space.

"Slow down, brat, before you make me dizzy with your questionsssss," Lori hissed, her eyes narrowing slightly in amusement of his bubbling curiosity or perhaps irritation.

She then added, "Nobody knows the origins of the Void Reaver except for rumors that it was forged by a devil and that this very devil used this sword to plunge it into the heart of our once desolate world. This act awakened and transformed the latent mana beneath Zalthor's crust, igniting the fires of life and giving birth to the First Demons. The Supreme One was the first to exist according to my father."

"Sounds like a bit of a far-fetched tale..." Asher mumbled skeptically, his eyes scanning the grandiose depiction of the sword in the drawing.

Despite holding the actual sword himself, the image's scale and the story's magnitude made it difficult to grasp. It was big but far from being a colossal sword more than half the size of the planet.

His attention was then captured by the drawing of a blood moon and a crimson sun alongside the sword, each radiating an aura that seemed to energize the planet, "What importance do the moon and sun have here?" he asked, intrigued by their inclusion in the tale.

"Ohu! I was about to tell you that since our world was filled with only darkness and chaos that couldn't hold life, the sun and the moon balanced the energies in our world, even if it's far from a perfect balance. Otherwise, we wouldn't be struggling to survive like thisssss," Lori explained with a hiss of frustration.

"That... makes some kind of sense, but are you saying it was this devil again who brought about the existence of our sun and moon? Isn't everything supposed to be dead in the vast space surrounding our world?" Asher pressed, his brows furrowed in an attempt to piece together the cosmic puzzle Lori laid before him.

"Sssss... who said such nonsense. Impossible. They must have always been there. The Void Reaver is the main catalyst that brought about life. Without it, none of us would be here," Lori stated emphatically, dismissing the notion of the devil's involvement with the celestial bodies.

Asher shook his head, more puzzled than ever, "Why do most people not seem to know something as important as this, which concerns the very history of the birth of our world? Why would Drakaris not let me know all of this since he must know best? He was the last First Demon to go and yet he didn't tell me anything useful, or that people like Drakar and the Moon Guardian would be willing to destroy my kingdom for it. You said Drakaris must have felt nervous handing this over to me. What did you mean by that?" Asher asked with furrowed brows.

Lori's form slithered with a sense of ancient wisdom as she responded to Asher's concerns, "Brat, why do you think the Supreme One didn't hand over the key to anyone for thousands and thousands of years? He would have handed it over to the founder of your kingdom if not for him having his fill of fun and escaping the hellcrap going on in our world through death."

Asher blinked, his face a mix of disbelief and skepticism, "I doubt Raziel would agree—"

"So, the Supreme One had nobody he could trust the key with. He also didn't have enough time left to wait for the right time and search for a worthy one. That must be why he holed up himself in that tower and let whatever was remaining of his spirit pick the worthy one or the best one he could," Lori elaborated, her voice echoing softly off the cavern walls.

"That is all something I already guessed. It still doesn't explain why he hid all the important details," Asher countered with a casual shrug of his shoulders.

"Ssssshh, let me finish. Have you ever wondered why it's termed as the 'key' and why most people don't know about it or why barely any records about it are left?" Lori asked as she slithered around him, her scales brushing lightly against the ground.

Asher furrowed his brows, a hint of curiosity breaking through his skepticism.

Lori continued, her voice lowering to a conspiratorial whisper, "It is because in the ancient times, when the Supreme One simply watched the world thrive under the rule of the First Demons except him, he saw how the immense power they held, especially the one who came upon the Void Reaver, began to corrupt them, leading to almost the destruction of the world and tearing open the void surrounding our world itself, almost letting in something... very malevolent... very baleful... something that never should be allowed into our world."

Asher's eyes widened, his interest piqued, "Let in what? And what happened after?"

Lori shook her head, the gravity of the tale weighing down her words, "Most myths say it's just a strange chaotic energy not from this world but capable of destroying our entire world. So, the Supreme One finally intervened and sealed away the worst of chaos and erased the memories of the people who knew about this sword. But he didn't erase the memories of all of them, especially the first Moon Guardian who helped the Supreme One seal the sword away. He wanted there to be a few people who would remember the devastation the sword caused, acting as a key to destruction. Then he left behind a prophecy to make sure the people who knew about this would never dare try to use it even if they come upon it."

"A prophecy? What... Never mind. I don't want to hear it," Asher interrupted with a firm shake of his head, his tone final, wanting no part in further bullshit prophecies.

He didn't want any such prophecies to linger in his mind and unconsciously influence him in any way.

Lori hissed in disbelief, almost offended by his abrupt dismissal, "Sssswhat is this, brat? I was reaching the climax of the retelling of this rare piece of history and you just had to abruptly stop me," Saying so, she moved her tail to elegantly adjust her spectacles to exude wisdom.

Asher slammed the heavy book shut and threw it back towards Lori, who was busy adjusting her spectacles gracefully, knocking it out of the way, much to her annoyance, "Sssss! You-"

"If there is nothing important left to tell me other than some damn prophecy, let's leave. I have stored away all your silly stuff," Saying so, Asher walked out before she could vent at him for almost breaking her favorite spectacles.

"Ssss, you didn't store this precious old book, and my stuff is not silly! This arrogant brat, ssss…." Lori hissed in frustration as she slithered after him with the heavy book wrapped within her tail.

But she wondered why he acted so strangely, especially refusing to hear an important prophecy related to the very Key of Chaos he possessed.