Visions of the Coming Age Part 5

"What has he done?" One of the avian soldiers gasped in terror, staring at the immense sphere of dark energy that only continued to expand.Before long, the sphere exceeded the dragon's size below, and with each passing moment, it overshadowed every hill and mountain in the vicinity. Its enormity became beyond my comprehension, stretching for miles and making me feel as insignificant as a bug before it.Now that I was no longer at the center of attention, I hastily descended while others were shaken by the growing sphere of darkness before them."Please, let them be safe!" I pleaded to a higher force, a force I was not sure even existed.Below, the streets of Emberfield teemed with demons of all sizes. On the outskirts, in the fields, the dragon left destruction in its wake, setting everything it gazed upon ablaze, from the crops to the nearby forests. The fire spread throughout the village, and despite my rapid descent, I could not prevent the screams of burning villagers."Why them?! Why did the innocent people have to die?!" I screamed, my eyes burning with rage.I landed in the heart of Emberfield. The stench of burning flesh made me sick, but I had to find my family no matter what. Underfoot, the ground was littered with the lifeless forms of familiar faces, good people unjustly caught in this tragedy. Many of them were farmers, souls who never ventured beyond the village to explore the realms of Eldoria."Leave mommy alone, you monster!" A child's voice came from behind.Before my eyes, I encountered a horrifying scene: a demon stood atop a lifeless woman, her face mutilated beyond recognition. Nearby, a child defiantly hurled rocks at the demon's back, attempting to drive it away. The boy was familiar; he was the son of the village blacksmith and his wife, the herbalist. Given the absence of his father, I surmised he may have died in the fire or at the hands of demons. This young child had lost his family and the place he once called home. I couldn't bear to let him meet the same fate as his parents. I had to, at least, guide him in the right direction, as far away from here as possible.I retracted my wings slowly, trying not to startle the boy."Pyke, you need to get away from here. It's not safe," I said in a calm tone.But tears welled in Pyke's eyes as he continued to hurl rocks at the demon feasting on the lifeless body."I can't leave my mom! The monster got her!""Listen closely, Pyke. That is not your mother," I insisted."But I saw her...""Your mother is waiting for you over there, where the sun is rising in the distance. Can you see it?" I pointed to a hill eastward.Pyke hesitated, torn between the familiar sight of the female corpse and my words."She's in danger, surrounded by monsters, and only you can save her! Run, run as fast as you can! Go!" I urged, desperately encouraging the boy to save himself.Pyke threw one last rock at the demon and then sprinted toward the rising sun behind the hill. I could only hope he would survive. There was nothing more I could do for him now.I had no intention of confronting the demon right in front of me. It was too engrossed in its feast on the woman's corpse, and I couldn't afford to waste time. The demons were scattered all over, gorging on the remains of villagers. They were the lowest class of the demonic hierarchy, no better than ravenous beasts, driven solely by their hunger. They all shared the same grotesque features, varying only in size; their pallid skin and white eyes struck terror into the hearts of people.However, they had a significant weakness – their sluggishness, which allowed the villagers a fighting chance to escape. Their malformed limbs and hunched spines made them slow and predictable. I had encountered these creatures for the first time when I initially regained my power in a battle with the crimson-eyed boy many years ago. Could he somehow be connected with all this?As I pushed my way through the hordes of demons, they seemed to pay me no heed, instead, they pursued helpless villagers. It was as if I were invisible to them, but why? One of them locked eyes with me, only to hastily back down."Are they afraid?"It certainly appeared that way; each time our gazes met, they cowardly withdrew.I stretched my wings wide in a menacing gesture so that every demon could see."Begone, filth! Crawl back to the pile of shit where you came from!" I shouted vigorously.I grabbed one of the nearby demons by the neck, snapping it swiftly, causing its corpse to crumple at my feet.Some of the demons now stared at me in sheer terror, their already pale eyes appearing even more ghostly. Trembling, they held their ground, gazing at me with utter loathing. Their high-pitched cries filled the air, almost as if they mourned the fallen demon. One of them, driven by frenzied rage, began to advance toward me, arms swinging violently. I seized its arm and wrenched it off, before delivering a swift strike with my left hand, neatly severing its head from its shoulders.After the first wave of demons, another followed, each attacking with full force. While I initially managed to hold them off relatively easily during the first wave, the second and third waves that followed rapidly transformed this battle into a dire struggle for survival. I found myself increasingly overwhelmed by their sheer numbers. Thousands of them poured in from newly formed portals.In a frantic attempt to fend them off, I swung my fists from side to side, desperately attempting to knock off the demons clinging to me. With every moment, their sharp teeth sunk into my neck and legs, tearing at my flesh as the pain grew unbearable. I needed a solution, or this could be the end of me.I gazed upon the colossal sphere I had conjured, its sheer size replacing the sky itself, leaving only the feeble rising sun from the east as our solitary source of light. A strange, almost beckoning connection bound me to this behemoth. It wanted me to set it free.Raising my arm, I generated a small orb of dark energy. As I did this, my defenses weakened, and the demons took advantage, biting and clawing from all angles. The orb shielded me from pain, but as I clung to it, I could feel my mind slowly fading into oblivion.The colossal sphere began to shake, its shape violently changing as it descended. Sections broke away from the main body, taking on new forms. These fragments rained down around me, and the small orb in my hand greedily absorbed their remnants. As the sphere's energy poured into me, I could sense my flesh healing, restored by its power.As time marched on, I experienced a surge of power, akin to the sensation I felt when conjuring the sphere. But this time, I was absorbing it instead. A shroud of darkness enveloped me, like armor coating around my body, and demons that clung to me were absorbed one by one until none remained.I clenched my fist, severing the energy connection between the sphere and myself. With demons now banished, I continued forward in hopes of finding my family.