1 Prologue: Fallen

Vinetum; a verdant world, graced with an abundance of fruit, the atmosphere brimming with vitality. Flocks of colorful feathered birds flit about the high palms, long multi-colored tail feathers flowing like a cape behind them. Four and six-legged furry beasts roam on the ground, as insects weave their way around their toes and under vines full of grapes ready to burst.

The leaves rustle as a man steps into a wide, sun-lit clearing with berry bushes dotted about. He is tall, handsome, with a dark beard, and a broad smile. His garments appear to be woven from light itself. The clearing is surrounded by a perfectly circular ring of various fruit trees, palm trees, and fir trees. Grape vines crawl between the roots of the trees, with plump, fresh grapes abundant on every vine, more numerous than the grass.

"Triac."

A voice rang out from the other side of the clearing. There, a cloth lay on the ground piled high with numerous berries, nuts, melons, and other myriad fruits, laying out a veritable feast. beside the feast is the one who just called out, a man with long blonde hair, sitting next to a woman with hair blacker than the depths of space. Both were extremely good looking, and like-wise appeared in garments of pure light.

"Edo," Triac, he who just entered, smiled even wider, though it seemed impossible, "My good friend. Looks like you've been busy." His eyes traced over the feast on the ground hungrily, as he eagerly awaited what he anticipated to be a picnic between old friends.

"Ah, so you know about that?"

However, Edo's words, delivered with a bitter smile, threw off that expectation greatly.

"Edo, what's the matter? Is something wrong?" Triac asked warily. He could sense a strange inference behind those words.

Edo hesitated, before firming up his expression and coldly announcing, "Forgive me, my Lord. But some things have changed, yes." Edo then lowered his eyes, not daring to look at Triac.

"My Lord? Edo, we long did away with all formality... we're friends, aren't we? I thought we were."

Edo's eyes flashed with a strange light. "Friends, is it? Yeah, I thought so too. But what kind of friend intentionally keeps the rest of his friends in the dark? What's out there that you're not telling us?"

Triac sighed, a small smile of relief on his once tense face. Is that all? This could be easily explained.

"My dear Edo, you are thinking wrongly. It's not that I keep you in the dark, but the light. The things I hide from you are not truths, they are deceptions; evil, hatred, and all the dark things. You know only light, because I wish no harm upon you. So let us rejoice in the ignorance of falsehood together with this wondrous feast you have gathered." As he spoke, Triac approached the pair closely, and put his arms around the both of them."Eva, you too, you are both beloved to me. Why would I keep anything good from you?"

Eva smiled, and placed her hand over Triac's, as Edo had a face full of confusion. "See Edo, I told you that guy was wrong. Just some misunderstanding, that's it."

Triac started, then looked intently at Eva. "Guy? What guy?"

Eva smiled innocently as she answered, "Oh just one of the animals. He was telling us all kinds of things, but we know you best, after all!" Eva then jumped forward, preparing to indulge in the yet untouched picnic.

"Just a minute, Eva." Edo held out his palm to stop her. "Triac, we've known each other for years now. I want to trust you more than anything-"

"Then do." Triac pleaded.

"However," continued Edo, " I still have my doubts..."

A sound of rustling vines sounded out directly above them. The vines parted, and some grapes fell to ground, as a creature poked its head out from a growth of vines high in a tree.

"As you should, Edo. It's only natural."

The creature had a snake's head, with a human face, and bull's horns growing from its brow. Bat-like winged limbs stretched forward from its muscular reptilian torso. This was a Mino-Wyvern. At least in form.

Triac narrowed his eyes, a white light shining briefly from them. His lips curled up in a smirk, but he kept eyeing Edo warily. Just why was his friend listening to such a person? It's not that he doesn't know the answer, he knows well the silver tongue of the one before him. He just can't help but ask himself.

"Enemy... still grasping for what's beyond your reach?"

The creature grimaced hyperbolically at the barb, before spitting on the ground.

"That's not my name, Father." The creature stretched its human mouth well beyond the boundaries of its face in a physics defying grin.

"You dare call me Father? I do not know you, mad thing. " Triac coldly glared at the beast.

"Say," the creature pulled heavily on the air with its wings, propelling itself up into the sky, revealing its wyvern body, "my... name!"

Its face showed an expression of pure unfiltered hatred.

"Your name is not worthy to pass from my lips. Death still follows closely at your heels, Evil One." Triac stood steady, undaunted at what amounted to a tantrum in his eyes.

Deep disappointment flashed on the face of the Mino-Wyvern form. He slumped and dropped to the ground, directly crushing all the food below.

Eva cried out in dismay when she saw what happened to their feast, but Edo gestured for her to be silent, watching the exchange with fervent eyes.

"Not even... not just once more... Lord?" The creature drooped its head in a humble and somber fashion.

"That is twice you have directed insincere respect my way. Do you recall the rule of three, fallen one?"

The head of Triac's enemy snapped upward, for the briefest moment revealing sincere fear. "Then-" the thing sighed, "at least, could you call me Demon King?" The would-be Demon King looked up with pleading eyes at Triac.

Triac stared at his foe, surprise verging on shock apparent in his gaze. Then, he upturned his head and bellowed out with laughter, a sound that made Edo, Eva, and every creature in the vicinity other than The Enemy to look his way with an expression of pure joy, beautiful to hear.

"Is that worthy of pride? Ruling over non-things? Very well king of nothing, I dub you Demon King."

The newly crowned Demon King glared at Triac. "Gloat while you can Most High. Do not forget we aren't alone."

At this time Edo stepped forward. "Triac, this one you call Demon King, he told me his story. Is it true?"

Triac glanced casually at the Demon King, before turning a gaze full of concern towards Edo. "Whatever he told you, however much truth to it there may be, you can be assured, within the final conclusion will his lies be found. This much is certain. But, Edo," Triac's voice at this moment broke as a tear streamed down his cheek, "I have never lied to you. I never would lie to you. Why do you doubt me? Are the words of a stranger so influential in contrast to my own?"

The Demon King laughed, as Edo once again wavered in his heart, "See Edo? Didn't I say? He doesn't care what I told you, he immediately denounced it as lies. A sure mark of someone with many secrets." The Demon King persuaded

Triac trembled with rage, "or of someone who knows you well, father of lies." He spoke with a low rumbling intonation, wrath creeping into his voice.

"Know me? Did you not say earlier you don't know me? The first provable lie, at least." The Demon King chuckled, and Edo started as if electrocuted by these words. "Eva, you and I have spoken many times. Do you really feel I'm a liar?" Eva looked between the Demon King and Triac, not sure how to answer. "Haha, that's alright. That's answer enough. Edo?"

Edo looked at Triac with eyes Triac had never seen from him. They were filled with distrust and a faint disdain. "Triac...this is where we part. I throw in my lot with the Demon King."

Triac's gaze wavered in pain, anger, and fear. "You... you don't know what you've done. The authority you held..."

"What do you mean? What authority?" Edo looked at Triac in confusion, blissfully oblivious of what was coming.

A dark cloud suddenly erupted forth from the distance, stretching forth like a monster's clawed palm, seeking to grasp everything in this world. Edo and Eva's garments of light darkened and shriveled, becoming ugly rags barely covering their bodies which were exposed for the first time.

Edo screamed in panic and rage, "Triac! Stop this!"

Triac looked at Edo with a mournful gaze. "Its too late. This world was never mine to begin with. I was going to tell you today... this," Triac gestured around him, " was my gift to you. And you just... you just gave it away. To him."

Triac looked around at the clearing, the dark clouds growing ever closer. The memories of joyful times flashed through his mind, every lazy day gazing at the sky, the days spent plucking fruits, walking, and talking of happy things. 'I must save this place,' thought Triac. As Triac was distracted, the Demon King directly vanished from the area.

Triac turned his attention back to Edo. "My friend... you must go. I can't stay much longer myself. Hurry, please." Edo, shaken by everything happening along with the disappearance of his new ally, listened. He grabbed Eva's hand and ran frantically into the rapidly transforming woods.

Triac shouted after them, "Don't worry guys, I'll find a way out of this. I'll do everything in my power to free you from this! I'll be back!"

They vanished into the trees, transforming from gorgeous and peaceful firs and palms to twisted mutated forms, emitting poison, as the vines around them grow thorns. Triac sighed, then spread his arms. A pure white light spread from his chest across the entire clearing, at the borders of which it transformed into a shield of light. When the clouds approached it, they didn't even try to approach, but directly skirted around. Triac turned his eyes to the sky, and tears flowed from them. Then he and the clearing vanished completely, allowing the darkness to consume the vacancy left behind.