Stubbornness

Within a sterile, pure-white chamber, the sound of shattering glass could be heard throughout the entire facility. In an instant, hundreds of cylindrical glass tubes were demolished, mixing clouds of crimson fluid into the flooded space--crystalline shards suspended in the air like infant stars. Without much thought, two individuals progressed slowly down the endless corridor of containers, surrounded by a hexagonal barrier of cerulean light which repelled any and all detritus from the chaotic events around them.

The second of the two men--a black-haired fellow with sharp features, raised his hand into the air, and within his palm conjured an undulant, scarlet mass which seemed to resist his attempts to control it. With an arm extended, the strange object launched from his palm with a piercing howl, shortly followed by the deafening sound of glass shattering as hundreds of the cylinders were destroyed in an instant. The first man, who held a sceptre, looked upon the scene with a tired and unbelieving expression.

"There are too many of them…" He muttered, "Even if we did destroy every last one, just how many more places like these are there in total?"

"The inscription on that monolith seemed to imply that there are well over 4,000." Manyu answered succinctly, "Only, we have no idea just where any of them are. It was only by pure luck that the Elves were able to unearth this one in particular."

"I just don't understand…" Barion sighed, "These glass prisons are filled with… humans?"

"That large pit we saw earlier was filled with corpses. I imagine there's some system in place for crushing their bodies and draining them into these containers." Manyu theorised, "From there, what's left of their bones and organs are… well, dissolved--with some kind of acid, if the monolith is to be believed. It creates a kind of slurry, for lack of a better term."

"Why?"

"I think we've seen enough already to answer that question." He paused, "...To create Demons, naturally."

"That can't be true." Barion denied immediately.

"Put aside your horror for a moment and think rationally. It's not-"

"There isn't anything rational about this, Manyu!" He yelled, "Humans being torn apart!? Dissolved!? Turned into Demons!? Who brings them there!? Why is this place so clean--so sterile and untouched!? Who in the right mind would ever build such a terrible thing!?"

"It's a morbidly ingenious system." Manyu continued, "Corpses from conflicts around the world are retrieved and taken to these places, where they become fuel to create yet more Demons. It's too convenient and too reasonable of a system. It makes perfect sense."

"Manyu…" Barion paused, "Did you know about this?"

"I didn't. This revelation is just as surprising to me as it is to you." He replied, "...Well, I knew about the pillars of flesh, but up until this moment, I had always assumed Demons were products of magic."

"I just can't believe it…"

"Don't allow yourself to be consumed by despair when you've already lived through far worse atrocities." Manyu encouraged, "The dome is manmade--that much is clear. These truths that we've managed to unearth today are worth more than any discovery in the past millennium."

"No, I mean… the idea of it. The fact that every Demon I've ever faced was once a person…"

"They aren't people anymore."

"But, Demons are alive, aren't they?" He continued, "They have brains, and desires, and temperaments… how much of their behaviour is a manifestation of the people they once were?"

"None of it. They're beasts of terror and violence, nothing more. The ideal warriors for a conflict of pure attrition. However many humans or Elves or Beastkin were sacrificed to swell their numbers are gone from this world, and their corpses are nothing but puppets."

"Who created this engine of darkness?"

"That…" Manyu hesitated, "...That, I do not know."

"Demons are manmade… but why? What purpose do they serve?"

"Let's be on our way, Barion. Lashing out in anger against this place will do us no good. It's important that the Holy Alliance learns of this as soon as possible."

"...I'll create a Gate. Next to the cliff at the lake's edge, so the water can flow back in." Sighing, Barion brandished the sceptre, "All this time… there was never any point to fighting."

"Don't be ridiculous. The Sword of Light destroys Demons outright."

"Then what happens now that I can't summon the Sword of Light anymore?" He asked, "Every life lost in this war serves to bolster Demonkind's numbers. Who knows how many corpses have already been dragged underground to birth more Demons?"

As he concentrated the sceptre's magical particles, a rift in the very fabric of space opened in front of them, and the sounds of rushing fluid accompanied its appearance as gallons of fluorescent water began draining into the portal. A shimmering recollection of the lake's endless expanse could be seen at the other end, backed with the sinewy growths of flesh poking out from the water's surface.

"The cycle of Demon Ages has existed for millennia." Manyu commented, "If we presume that the entire farce is wholly artificial, then how can the Goddesses of Light and Darkness exist? I was under the impression that the two of them were responsible for perpetuating this conflict."

"How else could you explain the unnatural perfection of that dome?" Barion replied, "It certainly isn't the sort of thing that comes to mind when imagining the creations of a Goddess, but I just can't believe it was made by anything resembling human hands."

"Then, is it also the will of the Goddesses for the fallen to be transformed into Demons?" Manyu asked, "Something is amiss here."

"Does it matter?" Barion wondered sombrely, "I don't care who's responsible. If whoever--or whatever, created this place is still alive, we're going to stop it. Demons have always been pitiable creatures, but now… their existence is almost tragic. Not only is it our duty to defend the innocent from their wrath, but to now grant the desecrated bodies of those sacrificed to create them the burials they deserve."

"Ever optimistic, as usual." He replied, "But let's not get ahead of ourselves. I'd like to see who was responsible for slaying Leviathan, first of all."

The barrier surrounding them resisted the torrent of water flowing out from the Gate's exit portal, and soon, the two men had begun their ascent back through the twisting corridors of Kahrein-Du'em, retracing their steps through a haze of smoke and darkness, leaving the terrible truth they had unearthed slumbering within the subterranean lake.

Upon their emergence from the mine's entrance, night had already fallen on the Aelven Weald, with a separate group of guards having been assigned to watch over the forbidden caverns. Evidently informed of the duo's spelunking efforts, they were quick to congratulate Barion and Manyu on surviving their trip.

"Please be careful on your way back to the city, Lord Barion." The apparent commander of the guards warned, "At this time of night, the Weald's myriad beasts are sent into an uncontrollable frenzy."

"There's really no need to call me that…" He answered, feeling as if a similar conversation had already occurred, "There's no need to worry, anyway. I still have my warding amulet."

"Is that so. Then, I wish you good luck in your future endeavours."

To the average Elf, traversing a thick forest was like wandering down a marked trail. Avoiding the Weald's various monsters was barely a challenge for them, but any unwary visitor to the forest's perimeter would quickly find themselves lost and overwhelmed by terrible beasts. Even in his prime and with both Dorma and Shilahi in tow, Barion's first foray into the Aelven Weald was a sticky affair.

"All that time ago, did you really never know where Aelf'ahlnohma was?" He posed that question to Manyu, who wandered silently beside him, "The Elves made it sound like they had always been safe from Demons."

"I was never aware of its specific location, no. Of course, I knew it had to be somewhere in Branda, but the peninsula was never a particularly important strategic location, and it didn't seem likely to me that Elvenkind would ever extend a hand to aid in the war effort." Manyu explained, "-If I had known about the archives beforehand, however, my interest would have been piqued."

"What did you even do?"

"...What do you mean?"

"I mean, did you ever leave the castle once you reached it? You've already told us that controlling Demons is beyond you, so how could you have known anything about the war?"

"Scrying, mostly. And, contrary to what you may think, I did leave the castle on more than a handful of occasions, though I never participated in any conflicts personally. Not until the three of you barged into my home, anyway." He replied, "I was still human, you know? Blending in wasn't particularly difficult."

"Then why did you ally yourself with Demonkind if you didn't even understand what they were?"

"I understood perfectly well what they were--tools to aid in pushing you along on your Hero's Journey. Only when faced with such an insurmountable and unfeeling enemy would the people of this world lower themselves to placing their faith in a single man. They committed atrocities I could never dream of, instilled more despair than my hands could ever manage in one lifetime." He proclaimed, "Today's events have only solidified their place in the mythos of our journeys--as unforgivable beasts who exist singularly to oppose humanity and its ilk."

"Then what change does it make if there's a Demon King or not?" Barion opposed, "I don't care about the 'Hero's Journey' or myths. You wanted to be the sacrificial lamb for all the world's hatred, but for what purpose? Did you think you weren't strong enough to resist? If you had allied yourself with us, we could have worked together to accomplish back then what we're only beginning to do today."

"You don't understand a thing."

"That's not true. I understand it even better than you do." He retorted, "Your dream of a heroic romance stopped you from doing what was right. Whether you truly wanted to lash out at the world or not, whether you thought you were trying to help--none of that mattered, because you gave up--and for what? A chance to play the leading role in a morbid tragedy?"

"Be quiet, Barion."

"You were just a child trying to find himself, but ended up settling on the worst option possible." He continued, "-And you haven't changed a bit, even five centuries after the fact, when me and Dorma have spent our time growing up and trying to make a difference."

"I'm a child, you say?" Manyu replied, stopping in his tracks, "That's laughable, compared to the boy who thought to himself that saving the world was just a matter of violence and stubbornness. Just how many people were killed thanks to your complete inability to lead all those years ago?"

"The people killed by Demons you didn't lift a finger to stop?"

"Tell me, Barion--what exactly could I have done to save them from your stupidity?"

"The fact that you could have done something-" He turned to face the former Demon King, "-is already more than most people can say. Soldiers can't contest with Demons. Only the greatest sorcerers even stand a chance."

"Is that so? To the contrary, I've heard that this new metal Gria has supposedly developed handles the job just fine. It seems to me that you're still hung up on your fantasies of saving the poorly and needy from their lowly fates while this new world is already quite capable of rendering you obsolete."

"-A world that could have existed 500 years ago, if you had just joined the right side!"

"I am no Hero. You know that well."

"Don't give me that shit! Being a Hero has nothing to do with it!" Barion sighed, "Why are you still clinging to this archaic belief that the world needs an enemy to unite against? Why can't that enemy be Demonkind, as opposed to some lonely king in a rundown castle?"

"That is the way it is. When you defeated me, the Demons plaguing this world retreated to their subterranean lairs, and a golden age of prosperity began. I was chosen to be that trigger--that martyr. It was my destiny, just as it was yours to defeat me."

"So you embrace the fact that the Goddesses lay waste to civilisation on a whim?"

"Who better to decide the fate of this world than a pair of heavenly beings? Trying to understand their plans is like a mere ant attempting to comprehend the sheer scale of humanity's efforts. Death, despair, famine, violence--all instrumental to the human condition, but to the divine? Pure nonsense. Why struggle against the impossibility of a fate ordained by beings beyond our understanding?"

"I understood perfectly well what we saw in that cavern." Barion answered, "People--corpses, being mulched into lumps of flesh and transformed into Demons. If that's the will of the Goddesses, then I couldn't care less about their plans! They're monsters, plain and simple!"

"Hoh… you would oppose the very Gods if that's what it would take to secure peace?"

"That's what I've always been meaning to do." He replied, raising a hand into the air, "-From the second I heard that voice descending from the sky--the voice of Luna, I understood that there are forces more enigmatic than the Goddesses at play. If I need to ascend to the very heavens and kill the source of that voice myself, then I won't let anyone stop me--especially not you, Manyu."

"Hm." The sharp-faced man paused for a moment, "Do as you please. Only promise me that you won't throw a tantrum when it turns out that you've involved yourself with beings far beyond your power to stop."

Manyu wasn't interested in a fight--he already knew the outcome. As much as he loathed to admit it, Barion was more than likely even stronger than he was 500 years ago. But even so, he couldn't help but oppose the former Hero's dauntless optimism. Perhaps he did so for reasons beyond anyone's understanding, or perhaps the enigmatic camaraderie suspended between the two of them had him somewhat concerned for his old enemy's safety.

"If you want to stay, then stay." Barion turned his back to Manyu, "-And if you want to leave, then leave. But don't go telling me what is and isn't possible. Because unlike you, I haven't given up hope for a better future. And as long as I'm alive, I'll always be fighting for it."

"Hmph." Watching the man pace off, Manyu began trailing behind him after a few seconds, "What a troublesome person you've become."