The Dawn of the New World

*Read Authors notes*

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Jin Wang couldn't help but interject when the opportunity presented, "Changed...how?"

"Physically, mentally, in whichever way you can imagine," Mr. Hyde shook his head dejectedly. It was obvious the events he was speaking of weighed heavy on his heart.

"At first we thought it was a never seen before alien pathogen but as time went on things got worse and worse. Entire regions of space began to disappear into the darkness. Often times hundreds or thousands of planets would just vanish into the ether as if they were never there."

"And then, when we least expected them, they came," he looked up to meet Jin Wang's gaze, his expression turning ugly, "Demons you call them. Beings from another realm much different from ours. They began appearing one at a time."

"At first there were mere whispers of something otherworldly but soon they showed themselves en masse. Countless armies would materialize out of nothingness. One day they would be in one sector and the next a million miles away."

"We had never fought an enemy like them before. They could corrupt the minds of even the most seasoned warriors, turning them against their own battle brothers. They corrupted and destroyed everything they touched, reaping souls by the planet-fold."

"They were a curse cast upon the Empire because of its evil deeds. You see, we called them to us. Our own greed and neverending appetite for war caught their attention and in a matter of decades the Empire fell apart."

His hateful gaze shifted towards the head of the table, "And where was the Emperor, our father, during all this? When the Empire needed him the most, when WE needed him the most he was nowhere in sight. When my brothers and I were fighting for our lives, for the lives of our soldiers and loyal citizens he was locked away in some faraway place, away from all the brutality that his own actions had caused."

"And it was then, when we were at our lowest, did 'he' reach out to us, when not even our father was willing to help, 'he' did."

Hyde laughed upon meeting Jin Wang's questioning gaze and answered before he could even ask, "Maymūn."

The light suddenly dimmed at the same time as Jin Wang's appalled expression. He turned to look at the window but only saw four pairs of beastly eyes looking at him. They were so big that he couldn't tell where they ended the sky began.

He could feel them looking right at him. This was not a memory, that monstrous gaze truly was fixated on him.

But before it could do anything the scene was forcefully shifted back.

Jin Wang stepped back in a mixture of confusion and anger, disturbed at the mere thought of it.

"What...have you done?! You made a deal...with HIM?!!" he screamed.

But Mr. Hyde was unperturbed.

"We did what we had to. We needed the power to fight against the neverending armies of hell, the kind of power our great father was incapable of providing. So we looked elsewhere," he replied with the kind of calmness that was quite unsuitable for the current topic of discussion, as it was obvious by Jin Wang's reaction.

Nostrils flaring and teeth grinding in unmatched fury, Jin Wang could barely hold himself back.

"You FOOLS! HE is a demon, a DEMON LORD! One so ancient that there are mentions of his existence since the time of the Old Ones! How could you-"

"Because he told us the truth!" Hyde rebuked, silencing Jin Wang at once.

"He never lied to us. He didn't keep things from us. He told us the truth of our existence, of our very nature. And in doing so he freed us from the clutches of our father."

The room fell silent. Mr. Hyde had said all he needed to say and Jin Wang had no words to describe what he was feeling.

He brought his hands to his eyes, rubbing them with some hope that maybe this was a bad dream but...alas.

"How can you...possibly put your trust in a demon lord? Do you truly not see the folly of your actions? Are you so blind by hate for your father that you would do something so inconceivably IDIOTIC!"

When he brought down his hands the surroundings had changed once again.

Now he was standing in an old room. In front of him was the same pedestal from before with the stone disk still attached to it.

There was a weak humming noise coming from the right side which quickly got his attention.

***

Author's notes:-

As I'm sure many of you have already noticed but for those that haven't, I try my best to write from the point of view of each character.

The events, whatever they may be, will be described one way for one character and another for someone else.

For example, if Henrik or Princess Ceni are looking around a room they might see things differently from what someone like Hao Xuan will see because of his abilities.

I.e, two people can look at the same thing and understand it differently.

This stands true for the series of events most importantly. Meaning what you have read in these last few chapters is what Mr. Hyde perceives to be the truth, if he is indeed telling the truth at all.

Later on you might come across another point of view and see things completely differently.

It is up to you as the reader to draw your own conclusion and believe who YOU want to believe.