The Fall of the Awakened

The air in the room was different now.

There was no more impatience, no playful interruptions—just silence.

Ed swallowed, his mind still processing Arianna's last words.

"Even the Awakened ones fell."

He didn't know what to say.

For the first time, it felt like everything he had known about the world had been a fraction of the truth.

He had heard of demons, of course—who hadn't?

But to hear that they had once nearly wiped out even the strongest beings?

That was something else entirely.

Arianna didn't speak immediately.

She let the weight of her words settle.

And then, finally, she continued.

"The Demon Gates were different from the others."

Ed straightened slightly.

Arianna's fingers traced an invisible pattern on the desk. "Most of the other Gates led to chaotic places—monsters, dungeons, unknown ruins. Dangerous, yes. But those places were… natural."