Videre Cheliyan (Cheliyan - human princess)
This is the day, this is the day that we end this never ending war. I thought, standing in the throne room of the castle surrounded by the king and the king pleasers. This war has already cost us far too much. The meaningless waste of resources and lives on both sides is simply ludicrous and all this for something that happened more than a thousand years ago. I know that they didn't listen to me before, but surely now that our people are facing an impending famine due to unpredictable weather, surely they'll listen…
Finally my turn to address the king came, I stepped forward, bowed and was about to speak when a loud bang was heard from the outside. Then another, then screaming and shouting, a few more bangs, then quiet - a quiet as still as the night.
I swallowed hard, not knowing what was happening. The silence continued for a few minutes until one of the ministers ordered a couple of guards to go and find out what happened. The guards approached the massive wooden doors that separated the throne room from the outside, stopped, looked at each other and were about to push the heavy doors open, when the doors shattered into pieces, sending shards our way and knocking the soldiers back.
What we saw behind the doors made the stomachs of all those present drop. It was a dragon clad in pink scales - a greater dragon - a being capable of destroying a nation, but what I saw with my eyes was even more terrifying, for the being below the dragon's head, while human in appearance, on the inside it was nothing but.
The humanoid being - clad in black and hiding its face behind a golden demon mask exuded the mana of something more, something more than just that of a greater dragon, something grand and terrifying, something godly. Still shaking, but determined, I tried using my skill - 'eyes that see the truth' - a skill that, on the surface, allows me to discern whether or not someone is lying or not, but in actuality allows me a glimpse into the very being - showing me all that someone is.
This skill shows me the person's skills, mana capacity, intentions, dreams and aspirations - all that one is. What I saw was horrifying - two beings, two souls of unimaginable power sharing a single body and vying for control. I looked deeper and realized that the weaker soul was somehow suppressing the stronger one. The stronger - suppressed soul was violently screaming and thrashing, the rage that that soul emitted was so powerful that it almost made me mad just observing it.
Then the suppressed soul noticed me, it noticed that I was observing it and it wasn't happy about it. It peered into my eyes - into my very soul and it showed me the destruction of all things. Horror filled me, I lost control of my body entirely, there was only one thought in my mind, it was screaming, shouting, it was the only thing that I heard, the only thing that I felt, the only thing I obeyed - destroy. I had no more allegiance to my nation, my family or my friends, I was the vessel filled to the brim with wrath, nothing more, nothing less.
I stepped forward and continued walking towards the being housing two souls. I had one intention, one goal and desire - to destroy the seal and release my king, my god. I approached the being, while I wasn't in control of my body, I did see what I was doing, I drew my dagger - a memento - the last gift from my dear grandfather - an enchanted, adamantium dagger that can pierce the scales of a dragon like butter and stabbed the being in the heart, twisting the dagger to ensure the kill.
The being, with its heart pierced, just stood there, watching me with great curiosity and amusement, as if I was nothing but a mere insignificant child causing mischief. Finally, it spoke. "You peered into its eyes, didn't you?" The effect on my body disappeared and I dropped to my knees. "Let this be a warning to not look into things that are not meant to be seen."
The being pulled the dagger out of its chest, played with it in its hand for a while, feeling its weight and handed it to me. "You destroyed my clothes." It said.
Fear took over my body. What have I done? How could I upset something of this magnitude? Just how painful will my death be? Scratch that, this being might just destroy the entire kingdom. I began to speak. "Please… Oh great one, please take my life, but do not touch the kingdom. This is a mistake I alone should atone for."
The fear, the dread were etched on my face, so much so that even the greater dragon took pity on me and spoke. "You'll give the poor girl a heart attack, master. You know as well as I, that it wasn't her fault. Just kill her already and spare her the horror."
Even the greater dragon calls this being a 'master', I knew it, this is the end.
The being spoke. "You talk as if I was some kind of monster that likes to kill for fun." Emphasizing the words 'kill' and 'fun'
"Are you not?" The dragon asked.
"As long as she reimburses me for the clothing she destroyed, I'll let her go. You know that there is someone that doesn't like it when I kill."
There's someone that can control this being? Just what kind of an existence would that be?
My thoughts were interrupted by the king, who was the first one to regain his senses after seeing the dragon. "I am the great, powerful and noble Jogeswar Ishwan Cheliyan the fourth - the current king and ruler of the Chelian kingdom, what does a greater dragon - something almost at my level - want here?" He asked. "Are you here perhaps to pledge you eternal allegiance to me and my descendants? Yes, what a god sent, I knew that the goddess would help us in the war against the despicable demons."
I turned to my father, mortified by what he just said. He really just asked a greater dragon to swear allegiance while the dragon's master - a being far surpassing the dragon in might - is standing in the same room.
The ministers around seemed to come back to their senses at the king's words and began congratulating the king. The cheers and applause were quickly interrupted by the dragon's roar. "Kneel, you insignificant humans!" The command was a hard hypnosis - forcing everyone but the being and the dragon to their knees.
The being started walking forwards, slow, menacing steps echoing through the great hall, completely ignoring me, the ministers and the soldiers. It approached the king, squatted down so that their eyes would be at the same level and said. "I am the current demon king, you may call me Adam and that…" He pointed with his thumb over his shoulder at the dragon. "Is one of my subordinates." He emphasized the word 'my'. "As for why I'm here, I decided to end the war."
The king, still kneeling on the ground, dawned an arrogant smile. "So, you filthy demons, are finally surrendering? Good, here are my conditions, first…" The king's left arm hit the floor. Blood gushed like a fountain. The king started screaming and clutched his wound.
"There seems to be a misunderstanding." The being calmly said. "I just won the war, you guys are the ones surrendering. That is… If you value your life."
The king started shaking. "Dragon! Obey my command and crush this lowly…" The being shoved its foot in the king's mouth.
"I'll give you one week, if by then your soldiers are still at the front lines, I will come again and I will take more than just one measly arm. Do you understand?"
The king, with a boot in his mouth nodded vigorously.
The being retrieved its foot turned around and began to leave. "I won the war, but that doesn't mean that I plan on occupying your lands, killing your people, or asking for a tribute. What I want is peace, this war has dragged on for way too long. As long as you do what you're told, we'll have peace." The being jumped on the dragon's back and they both flew south.
As soon as they left, a healer was called to tend to the king, who was in critical state due to extensive blood loss. The healer was able to close up the wound and restore the king's vitality by a bit. Sadly, the king would remain a cripple. I, while terrified by the state father was in, was also hopeful. The being that came to us, I have no doubt that it was a harbinger of destruction, but this time it brought peace or a way for us to obtain it at the very least.
The king spoke. "Recall our troops and bring the travelers from another world." Yes! They are the ones fighting on the front lines, if father calls them back, it means that the war is over. I thought. "We must discuss how to kill that monster threatening the very existence of this kingdom. If we destroy it, the demons will surely fall."
"What? Father, didn't you hear, the demons want peace! Don't ruin this chance to end a never ending war!" I protested.
"Silly child, the only way for us to achieve peace is by killing every single one of those vile beings." The king retorted.
"If you continue, that being will surely come back and murder not only you, it will destroy the whole kingdom." I shouted. "I've seen it! I looked into the abyss and the abyss looked back, that being isn't something that we can contend with, it has the power to destroy anything and everything, nothing can stand in its way, not you, not me and not even the hero. All will fall, nothing will remain, to it, humans are but ants. Please, I beg of you, reconsider!"
"Guards! Take the princess away, she's delirious." The king shouted.
"No! Father, please, for once hear my advice, the advice of an oracle, do not stand against that being!" I shouted as I was being dragged out of the room.
Before the doors closed, I heard someone ask how the king was going to proceed going forward. The king's answer was simple and cruel. "The hero and his friends will act independently from now on, we'll tell them that the kingdom was threatened by those vile demons to exit the war and that the other-worlders are now the last hope and last line of defense for this world. If the other-worlders win, it will be a great victory for the world, but if they lose, the fact that they were operating independently, will make all the blame fall on them, leaving us unharmed. Besides, the other-worldly weapon is almost complete, with it, no one will stand in my way."
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