THE BRINGER OF FAMINE
THE BRINGER OF FAMINE
With a thunderous leap, the god hurled itself toward us, each step shattering the plains and igniting more eruptions. Cracks formed in the very fabric of space, as our Hell was consumed by something ancient and far more deadly.
We descended into a deeper layer of Hell, a place so unbearably hot and suffocating that even demons couldn't endure. Flames roared and danced endlessly on the horizon, a sea of fire stretching into eternity.
The Fortress of Salvation, our only hope of survival, loomed in the distance.
Without hesitation, we sprinted toward it, refusing to glance back at the crumbling nightmare. There were no goodbyes to be said.
We fled that hellish realm, knowing we would never return.
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Our minds entered the Fountain of Salvation as the mistress of the fountain was sculpting her statue. Despite all that happened to us, she remained calm like she knew this was happening.
"What happened to Alfred, can you save him?" Eirot asked Madonna desperately hoping for a response that could save her friend.
"Of all the entities in Hell, why will you choose Xerrus to be your friend?" Madonna asked us in return.
"He became my friend, I didn't choose him", Eirot replied to her.
"Xerrus is the guardian of the Pools of Sufferings in Hell, and his only task was to stop you from capturing the pools. His fate is death if you succeed, that is predetermined. I really wonder how he managed to become your friend given these conflicting positions", Madonna said and asked.
"Can you save Alfred please?" Eirot pleaded with her.
"What is the purpose for us to capture all the pools in Hell? And what did we unleash in Hell?" Rinna asked Madonna.
"What is the purpose of destroying Hell?" I asked.
"You did not destroy Hell, merely breaking its outer mantle to reveal what is hidden", she told us before she clarified, "The Hell that you know of is only the outermost layer of Hell, its Crust. The layer of Hell that you opened is Hell's Crust. This is the first time in a very long time that anybody peeled the layer", Madonna said with amusement.
"Where is Alfred? Can I save him?" Eirot asked.
"Xerrus is gone, sacrificed to the birthing of the new Hell", Madonna replied.
"What is the monstrous wolf that chased us?" Rinna asked Madonna again.
"That is the Guardian of this new Hell, its Crust", she said.
"Is he Alfred or Xerrus?" Eirot asked.
"You may look at him as a continuation of Xerrus, or his reincarnation but this is not him. He is the first Bringer of Armageddon, the Bringer of Famine. The first time such a being has been summoned", Madonna told us with a tinge of worry in her expressions.
"Damnit, it's the Revelations again", I complained.
"Can I save Alfred?" Eirot pleaded with Madonna again.
Out of pity, Madonna replied to her.
"The friend you know as Alfred is gone but his memories, though dissolved remains inside the Unholy Grail. I can gather them into a summon for you", Madonna told her before she pointed to the Fountain of Salvation.
Suddenly, a tiny demon wolf cub with three horns on his forehead leapt out from the fountain, summoned by Madonna. The cub ran toward Eirot before jumping on her shoulders and resting there.
"Is he Alfred?" Eirot asked excitedly.
"You may call him that", Madonna replied to her.
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[Before the fall of Hell]
"How did you find this place? I've been in the northern kingdom for thousands of years but there was no mention of this place with such a mighty gate", General Moravi asked.
"That is because you seldom leave Fortress Gambyra", King Sirroron told him.
"This construction is a magic gate to another realm, well-hidden but accessible. King Zesgumath of the South found this place when he was looking a way to enter the Ten-Kingdoms", the witch told the king.
"I was wondering how you and your people came to Hell, did you get in from this gate?" the king asked the witch.
"Getting to Hell doesn't need a miracle. It is getting out of it that is hard", she replied.
"That Zesgumath is the explorer type. Too bad his exploration ended in his demise", King Sirroron commented.
"Should we escape our homeland into this portal? What lies behind it?" General Moravi asked.
"We go now. This Hell will be gone soon once the bitch captures the last pool of suffering", the witch replied.
"That is impossible. Nothing could destroy our home our Hell", King Sirroron protested when suddenly the sky broke causing an enormous rift to appear.
What appeared on the other side of the rift was an inferno far fierier than this world.
"What is happening?" General Moravi asked.
"How did you know Hell will fall?" King Sirroron asked.
"Now what are you waiting for? Get over the gate or die here", the witch told the general and the king.
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"Orion, so much happened since you went to Hell", Raven said to me.
"I've heard about it but not in details. What happened here while we were gone?" I asked.
"The Saints descended and attacked the Demon Queen and Warlock. Warlock was captured by them and the Demon Queen, and her army disappeared suddenly", he explained.
"Damn, they took Warlock?" I asked.
"What is the problem, King?" Queen Mistral asked me.
"If they caught Warlock, my alibi for the appearance of Malevolence is lost", I replied to her.
"That is not our most pressing matter at the moment, the climate has changed for the worse", Bommurs told me.
"Climate change? Didn't that happen already with the ice creep from Rizea?" I asked.
"Far worse than that. Crops wouldn't grow without the best conditions. Our ice-resistant crop stopped production too. We are going to have a famine", Bommurs replied.
"Famine? Did the Bringer bring this famine to the continent?" Eirot asked while her wolf cub rested on her shoulder.
"What is the Bringer of Famine?" Mistral asked.
"That is another disaster. What is the cause of the climate change?" I asked Asterix.