Chapter 2: A memory, a sin and a witch. Part 1

Part 1

«My head feels so much lighter than before, as if all my problems had been solved in just a few moments.»

Gin didn't quite remember what he was doing just moments ago, or even where he was or where he lived, but at that moment he found himself floating in a space of absolute darkness.

«I don't even know if I'm really floating or moving, whether I'm alive or dead is completely a mystery to me, the only things I know is that this place is relaxing, I don't need to worry about anything, in this place I can rest peacefully.

Still I can't shake this feeling that I'm forgetting something important, something that shouldn't be forgotten.»

As Gin thought about her current situation, a tear slipped from her tear duct to her chin and then disappeared as it fell with slight resistance.

«How strange, I don't remember something particularly sad but still, I'm crying as if it's natural right now.

My heart is squeezing tightly in my chest, as if what my brain doesn't remember is firmly imbued in my heart.»

Almost at the same moment Gin pressed his left pectoral painfully, several pictures with images appeared one after another, each glowing with an intense white light, as he slowly floated closer to the first of them.

The closer he got, Gin noticed that there were people on the other side of those pictures, a boy and a young woman tucking him into bed, both of the demon race.

—Mooth, why do humans hate us so much? —Asked the boy to his mother who was watching him with affection and kindness.

—Mmn? Why such a sudden question? —Asked the mother curiously in response to the child, while stroking his silver hair.

The room they were in was small, and like the rest of the house and the bed was made of wood that seemed to be deteriorated and fragile, although there were no signs of fungus or that it was rotten, most likely simply the passage of time had caused that kind of deterioration.

The lighting in the room was caused by a candle on a small piece of furniture next to the bed, as the room had no pictures or any decoration, a slight echo could be heard during the conversation, and as for the blanket that covered the child, it was made of white wool and although it was a little old, it was quite clean.

The vast majority of demons lived in similar places, since poverty abounded quite a lot in the demonic realms, but quite the contrary to feeling dissatisfied, this fact accentuated the humility of their race, they did not have much, but they were happy with what they had, they were not greedy people unlike humans.

Whether it was because of their culture, way of upbringing or religion, they had that thought, and maybe for that very reason, it was that the demon race was disappearing, but they decided to simply trust and continue with their way of being.

—It is that Faath is always confronting the humans in our queen's army. —Added the boy in response to his mother's question.

—Why could it be... the history is not accurate and the documents from that time are lost... Mmm... if I have to answer you now, I think it's probably because of fear maybe... —Explained the mother with a thoughtful and carefree attitude, and then she answered her son with a smile.

«I see, so these are my memories, at that time I was worried every night about my father, so I decided to ask my mother about the war.»

—Fear? —Asked the boy again with astonishment and curiosity.

—That's right, after all we are different races, they don't have horns and their skin color is a little different, living beings are usually afraid of the unknown, although we can understand each other we are very different in appearance, culture and religion, and then there is the fact that we are much stronger than the average human when we grow up, it must be scary for them to think that we could attack them, and hurt their families. —Explained the mother seriously but in an innocent and playful tone as she settled in the boy's lap on the bed.

«That was one of the reasons why I started researching and reading excessively, I wanted to know the true origin of these conflicts, why no one knew anything about it and why no one was interested, it was something I needed to know by any means possible, however in such a small town, I reached an inevitable stagnation of knowledge.

Between the small library of the village and the books and stories of the adventurers that passed through here, it was all one could acquire as far as theoretical knowledge was concerned, of course I could have gone to a big city and continued researching, but it was practically suicide to leave the village without knowing the terrain or having a strong group.»

—I don't understand, why Faath must fight in this senseless war, I don't want him to get hurt. —Said the boy with anger and sadness in his voice.

Thousands of demons, constantly confronted the humans in this long war, but although they won in strength, the humans had great numbers and strategies both intellectually advanced, as well as crawling, for that reason it was inevitable that hundreds of them and even a large part of an army, lost their soldiers.

—You will see that he will return safely, just welcome him with a smile when he comes back, okay, he will be very happy, besides you must always remember that this war will soon be over, and both races will be able to live together in harmony. —Said the mother while caressing the child with tenderness.

«I remember that too, after all, the war showed no signs of stopping, and on the contrary this one intensified, besides since that day, my father....

He never came back.»

The scene in front of Gin changed about a kilometer from Diyu village, it was an area similar to a small wetland, and in the center of that place there were several mounds of earth arranged vertically in a straight line downward.

«In that place we buried the demons of our people, as our religion dictated, we would gather to perform a burial ritual for those who had fallen in the war.

The ritual consisted of the chief of the village, aromatizing the whole area with an incense made with natural herbs, and that added to the spiritual energy accumulated in that place, caused the souls of their loved ones to be guided under the protection of the demon queen.

To be honest I am not sure if this ritual really worked or if each city and town did the same to its corresponding demon king and even if the souls that reached the kings would really be safe or would be used for other purposes, however those doubts vanished in an instant or in fact did not even reach my head at that time.

That child with a shocked look full of disbelief in front of an unmarked grave, next to a young woman sobbing silently so as not to disturb the other demons who were praying for the ascent of their loved ones, was me...»

«I believe that at that moment it was not a question of believing it or not, but rather of accepting or rejecting the reality that was happening in front of me.

That was the first moment when I asked who was this being who called himself God, who was the cause of this endless war...»

The scenario changed again a couple of weeks after my father's burial.

«At that time I went into a state of depression over my father's death, even though my mother also had a deep sadness, since the third day, she acted normally and performed her daily tasks diligently, it was obvious that she did it to cheer me up and try to say that everything was okay.

But that did not calm me at all, was it the church's fault, the humans perhaps, or maybe it was the work of that entity that calls itself God.

My soul was full of hatred and resentment, but I was weak, I could do nothing even to avenge his death.

And that demon who freed me from that eternal circle of resentment was ....»

—You should leave that angry expression, it doesn't suit you at all, besides you scare the others, go ahead, smile, smile, smile, or maybe you are so clumsy that you don't know how to do it... —Said a girl with short shoulder-length red hair, in a mocking and laughing tone, while she approached the boy from behind.

—Huh?! Who would do that just because...? —Asked the boy in disgust before being interrupted.

—SUPER HYPER MEGA ULTRA FIRE KICK!!! —Said the girl as she deftly gave the boy a flying double kick, sending him flying with spectacular spins through the air in a comical fashion.

«Aki has always been like that, now that I remember, she's always been impulsive and gets carried away easily when someone doesn't do what she says, I don't know how I could forget it, the day she released me from despair outside Diyu village, even so I can't remember beyond what happened now.»

—What the heck was that, and what's with that unnecessarily long name? —Said the boy angrily towards the girl.

The place where they were, was a small hill covered completely by grass, that place was normally used as a kind of lookout, since from that height one could appreciate the whole town.

—I don't know what you mean, wasn't that just a kick... —Answered the girl with an expression of little understanding that had the purpose of making the boy look like an idiot.

—Just a kick? And what about the fire. —Said the boy a little irritated.

—I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm definitely not practicing with fire magic on my legs or anything. —Said the girl avoiding eye contact.

—That could have been dangerous if you had done it with magic, but leaving that aside, why such a long name. —Said the boy by way of reprimand and then asked tiredly and curiously as he stood up with a little effort.

—It's not obvious, it's because it sounds cool, something like the "hyper slash" of the old hero, or the "final sonic rampage" of the demon king of the east, you know the longer the name the cooler it sounds. —Answered the girl with intensity and pride.

—Although I have many things to say and correct, I hope you're ready for the counterattack. —Said the boy as he prepared to ram Aki.

—Then we'll leave the rest for later, come on. —Finished the girl with a smile and then indicated her to attack in a defiant tone.

The exchange of blows lasted about 20 minutes, as expected Aki was stronger, but still the battle remained even as Gin knew Aki's moves better than anyone else and this helped her in the game of hit and dodge.

During that time Gin completely forgot the reason for his sadness and concentrated on the battle with his friend, although the loss he had was not something so easy to remove from his chest at least he felt much more revitalized by the presence of that girl.

Both of them were quite hurt but neither of them was giving any ground, and when the time passed, both children fell exhausted on the grass and then laughed for a while about that senseless fight.

—Gin, do you really think your father would have wanted to see you in such a deplorable state, I didn't know him as well as you did, but I know that everything he did was to protect his happiness, that is to say his family, I think he would be sad if he saw you depressed. —Said Aki seriously so Gin could reflect.

—I know, I still can't accept the fate of the demons in this world, but I know I can move on now. —Added Gin with a gentle smile, while looking at the sky, searching for an uncertain future.

—What made you change? —Asked Aki to Gin while watching him closely.

—A friend... rather stubborn... so to speak... —Replied Gin embarrassedly as she blushed and avoided looking at Aki.

—I see... but is that all? —Said Aki with a slightly blushing smile and then asked in a curious tone.

Gin took a deep breath as she looked up at the night sky as if trying to get a glimpse of the uncertain future that awaited her.

—Aki... I... will become a chronicler. —Gin answered in a slow and serious tone, still looking up at the sky.

Aki's eyes widened at the short and unexpected answer, but after a couple of seconds he smiled warmly at Gin and watched him attentively.

Noticing how Aki watched him without saying a word, Gin got a little nervous and couldn't help blushing again.

—What the heck is that? —Aki asked with complete confusion, causing complete disappointment in Gin for misunderstanding the situation.

—In a nutshell, it's someone who searches for history through books or events that happened and chronicles them, I want to research about the truth of this world and find out the truth about this incessant war. —explained Gin after a deep sigh.

—Is he like an archeologist? —Aki asked with doubt and curiosity.

—He's closer to a historian, but they are similar in their goal of unearthing history, but one searches in ruins and the other in history, I will discover the truth about this world and write it down in chronicles that will be read by the whole world, do you understand? —Gin answered in a tired tone.

—Mmmmmmmmmmmmm... Not at all... —Aki watched Gin attentively as she thought about her answer, which made him blush and avoid eye contact.

—Stop staring at me so much, it's a bit awkward. —Gin said nervously to Aki.

—Huh, but I like looking at you, plus I'm glad to see you're feeling better. —Aki replied to Gin's nervous voice as she smiled flirtatiously to tease him a little.

—Do whatever you want. —Gin whispered as she blushed and tried to hide her face in her shirt.

That memory was getting farther and farther away, it was the same sensation he felt the first time he changed the vision of his memories, so he just had to wait to see what his next destiny was.

The scene was 12 years after his father's death, the day of his wedding with Aki, one of the happiest moments of his life.

The people of Diyu village gathered in the center of the village to celebrate this marriage. Because we don't have a temple nearby, we just had the ceremony with the village chief's blessing.

Everyone was seated on wooden chairs behind the bride and groom's altar, it wasn't a grand event, or a celebration with opulent decorations, but I honestly couldn't have asked for anything better.

—I promise to love you and be faithful to you for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, as your beloved wife, until the end of our time, and to love you eternally even from the afterlife. —said Aki with a smile to Gin, while looking at him with affection.

One of Aki's big dreams was always to get married and say her vows in public as humans used to do, so she studied exactly the words they used in weddings and said them as she had practiced, actually she had planned a much longer speech, but due to the nervousness she felt at that moment, she couldn't help it to be shorter than expected.

Weddings in the demonic lands were a bit different from the one she was witnessing at that moment, since rather than a ceremony where two individuals performed a festive act in representation of their love, the demons performed a ritual where the two individuals joined together and prayed for their eternal happiness to the sacred demonic goddess Lilith.

However on this occasion it could be said that two events were held due to Aki's insistence, and after a long talk with the village representatives, they decided to give in on this occasion, although it was probably simply because they were tired of Aki's complaints.

In most of the villages in the demon territories there is a council of representatives of the inhabitants, including the mayor, and they decide all the mercantile, tourist and religious actions in the villages, besides it is worth mentioning that the mayor of this village is also Aki's father.

That was probably also the reason why the council accepted so quickly, there is also the reason that although the ways of marriage between demons and humans are different, both have the goal of uniting the souls of both individuals with a bond of eternal love, and since we demons can be a little more flexible in traditions, it was also not extremely strange that they accepted Aki's idea.

Gin was currently wearing a short sleeved white t-shirt that covered his shoulders, long brown pants and hemp shoes, which was not a big change from his usual clothing, this was partly because poor villages like Diyu, cannot afford to buy quality clothing, let alone for someone Gin's size, however the main reason for his attire was because of the tradition of villages like this one.

Tradition said that a man should wear his usual attire to show effort and pride in his precedence, and displaying those characteristics was no problem for Gin, as he felt he was with the most beautiful woman in the world.

—Your turn, Gin. —A whisper accompanied by a beautiful smile coming from the goddess in front of him, made him come to himself and look at her with the same gentleness and love that you would give to your newborn child.

In contrast to Gin, Aki's attire looked extremely beautiful, as she was wearing an elegant white kimono covered with red flowers everywhere you looked, her obi was tied to perfection, which made her slender waist stand out, and in her hair she wore an accessory that was made of gold.

Although this dress looked extremely expensive, and indeed it was many years ago, it was currently in a state of wear and tear as some patches could be seen on the dress that were meant to cover the many seams and mending that had been done to the outfit.

This garment, a ceremonial garment since the creation of this town, was granted by Queen Karmilla herself for the small towns of her territory, as an act of good faith, but due to the years and the constant use for marriage rituals and other events, wear and tear was inevitable.

However, according to tradition this dress on the bride demonstrates humility and beauty, in other words the dress was made to accentuate these qualities over the years.

And for Gin, who did not know much about fashion, the woman in front of him had the most beautiful and amazing outfit he had ever seen in his life.

At that moment Gin took a deep breath and as he returned that beautiful smile, he began to speak from the bottom of his heart.

—I was extremely lucky to cross my path with you, you always encouraged me to move forward, even in the most difficult moments of my life, your presence saved me both in body and soul, I believe that from the first moment I saw you, I knew I loved you but I was too clumsy to notice it, for that and for much more, I will give you everything of my being, my existence is yours, and with it I will protect you eternally, I know I am not very good at fighting but I will give my full effort in fulfilling this promise. —Gin spoke with such honesty that it seemed as if time had stopped between them, and Aki was no exception.

Aki had an expression as if she was about to cry with happiness, but a few seconds after she finished giving her beautiful wedding vow, she lowered her gaze which seemed unusually somber, and after clenching her fist tightly, an inadvertent blow landed on Gin's head, which left him completely perplexed and it was a fact that all the spectators felt the same way, except for Gin's mother and Aki's family in the front row, who were chuckling.

This was quite a common scene between this couple, as every time Gin did something that Aki didn't like, he ended up getting hit hard by her powerful fist.

—You're an idiot, how dare you belittle the bride's speech, with such beautiful and gentle words, you're really an idiot, making your wife cry like this. —Aki mumbled those words while wiping the tears on her face with her wrists.

The spectators didn't know if the bride was happy or angry, but that didn't matter to Gin, so she stood up and positioned herself in front of Aki, holding her two small hands tightly.

—I will make you the happiest woman in the world. —In a low voice Gin whispered so that only Aki could hear him.

—Do you promise? —Looking at him with a tender and innocent look, Aki asked that without worrying about her tears.

—Of course. —Gin's last whisper was the signal for the climax of the happiest day of his life, starting a deep kiss that would mark their eternal promise of affection and love.

That day everyone present celebrated until nightfall, and the bride and groom had fun sharing with all their loved ones before returning to their home where they would spend the rest of their lives together.

«I can't believe I forgot my happiest memory, although looking at it as a spectator it's a bit embarrassing, I didn't remember saying such cheesy words, if Aki was here I would surely be upset.»

—«Aki...» —Tears again started to come out as if it was natural at a moment like this, even though it was such a happy moment, why did she feel this deep, suffocating pain in her chest?

But as if this dark world was not interested in his moment of confusion, he was again transported to another moment in his life that he had forgotten, he didn't know what the point of all this was, or if there was really a point in showing him those random memories.

Whatever the reason right now he was trapped in this endless vortex of his memories.

This time it was a scene on the outskirts of Diyu village, five years after he had married Aki, and apparently he was having an argument with some soldiers of Karmilla Draculea's demonic army.

«During those five years or even before, the queen's army was constantly trying to get me to join their front lines because of my great physical strength, but each time I flatly refused without accepting any opinion.

It was not out of cowardice or anything similar, rather it was because I had a dream to fulfill and it could not be completed on the battlefield, plus I could not leave Aki alone, just a few years after we were married.

There were times when I actually considered joining, as I knew the plight of the army, facing such a numerous and hostile enemy, but I had to stand my ground and continue my acquisition of knowledge, reading books, exchanging information with adventurers and searching the neighboring villages, although it seemed that the knowledge I was seeking was far from being found.

But this time the moment they came to ask me was very inopportune, both for Aki and for me.»

—I told them I can't do it, I can't abandon my wife right now. —Gin was losing his patience with the soldiers' insistence, but he still tried to calm down and answer them normally.

—I know it's a difficult time because of your son, but we still need your strength to face the humans. —The soldier tried to gently convince him to agree, but it seemed useless.

—If you know, then please leave, my answer won't change, no matter how many times you try. —Gin sent a furtive glance at the soldier, who was slightly intimidated, but then politely asked him to leave.

«Just as I had said it was the worst moment we had in our relationship.

Aki and I tried multiple times to conceive a child without any success, at least until two months ago of this conversation.

Aki was completely thrilled when she found out she was pregnant, we were finally going to have a child after such a long time.

I made sure to take care of her nutrition and protect her for a little over a month, but....

The fetus died in her womb in that short period of time.

Since we didn't have anything like specialist doctors, we never knew what the cause was, however what happened right after due to the lack of experience of the doctors themselves, was what marked our lives forever.

Due to a poorly treated infection during the brief extraction operation, Aki was unable to get pregnant again.

I felt very helpless, something like that would not have happened if we were not such a poor village, but I could no longer grieve about it, as the one who was suffering the most at that time was Aki.

Those were very difficult times, Aki even once told me to find another woman with whom I could have a child, but it was impossible for me to do something like that, I couldn't abandon her at this time, so I stayed by her side as much as possible, during the day spoiling her and talking to her, and at night just stroking her hair in silence.

And at that crucial moment when I was supposed to be with my wife, the soldiers again came to ask me the same as always.»

—You don't know how our troops are suffering one by one, slowly falling towards annihilation, we wouldn't be here if we didn't need your physical strength, it is your responsibility as a member of the original demon race. —The soldier clenched his fists in frustration and then shouted those words at Gin.

It was a taboo among demons to mention that they were the original demon race because it was too arrogant of them to say that they were the first demons to be created, and besides, arrogance was capable of calling the worst of the deadly sins, Lucifer.

But still the soldier mentioned it in order to emphasize the importance of the survival of his race.

In ancient times, any species that did not have human precedence was called a demon, including all humanoids and demonic beasts, since humans saw them without exception as simple hunting animals.

But with the passing of time, a human discovered some ruins in which it was described that humanoid demons with horns were the first demonic beings to be created from the beginning of time.

Although those ruins were never found again, it could not be avoided that the rumor was heard around the world, which changed the way of naming the demons for humans.

These were divided into humanoid demons, which included the species of ogres, orcs, elves, dwarves, mermaids, among others.

The demonic beasts, which were all four-legged animals of a dark nature and aura.

And finally the demons, who were the supposed original race, although due to the humility of the same race, they avoided accepting it as an absolute truth, and lived quietly as usual, not counting the battles that were fought in different areas of the continent, of course.

Although Gin noticed that the soldier had broken the taboo, she said nothing to reprimand him, and continued to refuse to accede to his request.

—I'm sorry but I can't do it, besides I've never had proper training, and I'd end up being a nuisance instead of someone of help, don't you think? —Gin was adamant in her answer as she shook her head, although inside she felt a slight remorse.

The soldier wanted to tell her that it wasn't true, but it was true that they would need time to train him as a soldier, at least it would take a year, or six months if he was someone gifted.

But he had discussed this on many occasions with Gin, and they knew that this time gap was becoming increasingly inaccessible, due to the fact that the army could lose at any moment.

«No matter what they said, I would never agree, I would always hear their whispers telling me that I was a waste of abilities or that I was a disgrace to our race, but I would simply put their comments aside, and do what I wanted to do, even if it was selfish of me, and even if I received scorn from other demons, I wanted to fulfill my dream together with Aki, is that wrong?»

The soldiers withdrew without getting what they were looking for, and then again the feeling of the change of memories returned, it was very close for this endless cycle in their memories to end in the worst possible way.