6 Heritage

Within the southern reaches of the Silent Desert, the weather never changes, it is always absolutely still, however for the past few days a strong wind has been sweeping the area, seemingly drawn to a certain location.

"A storm is brewing..." Says a deep husky voice seemingly filled with the vicissitudes of life, the owner of said voice belonging to an old wizened Incubus from a local tribe, the Plaga tribe. "Where are they Tick? They should have returned to us by now." Asked the same voice.

"Reporting to Chief, Eleanora and her two guards Durke and Aren left only five days ago towards the northern sand dunes, they are not expected back for another two days at the least." replied a shorter hunchbacked demon, an Imp, with long pointed ears and canines reaching the bottom of it's chin, its malevolent expression always prevalent, however even that doesn't cover the respect this certain Imp carries towards the Incubus Chief. Imps are often kept as slaves by higher ranked demons and used for menial tasks, however Tick was always treated kindly by the Chief, and even given some minor authority within the tribe.

"I can sense that there will be changes soon to the region, I only hope they return safely to us..." sighed the Chief.

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"Aargh! Why does everything always have to hurt so god damn much!" My screams echo for miles around me, driven further by the strong winds and lack of obstructions. I try to hold them in to avoid drawing attention to myself but I can't, the pain is unbearable. First there is the external pain, my body is expanding quickly and it feels as if I'm being stretched apart in every direction, while agonizingly painful it isn't the worst I've ever felt. No, the worst is what I'm feeling inside of me currently, this internal pain is another story altogether, my whole existence feels as if it's being compressed as much as possible, before exploding out in a blazing glory, I imagine if a spectator walked by they would be awed by the sight. I draw Mana in before releasing the unnecessary elements of it out, in, out, it repeats constantly, the only thing keeping me conscious is the thought that I could genuinely die if I give up... I'm not dying! Screw that, screw this pain, I can take anything that's thrown at me, I refuse to die again!

Suddenly I feel the pain begin to subside, replaced slowly by a feeling of intoxicating pleasure, it's almost as if I've jumped from a pit of fire into a nice cold bath, my Mana moves throughout my body, heading towards the chest region where something seems to be forming... an orb, as small as an infants fist, the Mana is drawn to it, before beginning to circle it repeatedly, and finally entering it.

This continues for quite a while until every last drop of Mana within me is gone, slowly the orb begins to spin, occasionally pulsating, *Boom* *Boom* *Boom*, its rhythm so calming, so peaceful. Slowly I start to lose myself, not noticing my Mana slowly returning from the orb, darker than it once was, whereas it used to be a light grey, it is now closer to a dark grey tinted with black, it circles my whole body, making it stronger, firmer and more opaque, comparing my transparency to when I was a ghost, the difference was as if between a smudged pane of glass then and now more like Ice, still able to see through it but the image is distorted.

*DING* Evolution Complete, updating authority... checking authority, clearance to level 2 information granted, relaying information.

What? Information suddenly floods into my head, 666 candidates, Lord ****F**, succession trials, my name... Azazel? So much is pouring in, too much, I can't make heads or tails of everything, just when it starts to seem as if it will never end my vision blurs and darkens. When light returns i'm in front of a building... no it's a throne, the sheer size of it leaving me in awe and having to look up where I see a shadow seated upon it. "Argh!"

"Child, gaze not upon me, your soul is fragile and will be obliterated, to be in my presence alone is taxing upon you, I have brought you before to pass on to you some of your heritage, as is your birthright, firstly before I begin, congratulations of becoming one step closer to succeeding me, although far from your goal, as the humans say, a journey of a thousand miles, begins with but a single step. Now, brace yourself to receive thy birthright!"

*Flash* A bright light suddenly encloses me, I start to lose my vision when it occurs to me, "Wait, I can see now? Finally!" before I disappear from where I stood, leaving behind that unknown figure... "Grow quickly child" it whispers before all falls silent.

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That was weird... the giant shadowy figure is gone, and I am back in the desert, if I even left it at all. Floating in front of me is a ball of light, I feel drawn to it, I feel as if I must possess it with every fiber of my being, slowly I start to move towards it, straight away noticing my sizable increase in speed, where before I couldn't go much quicker than a slow walk, I can now move at a regular jogging pace. As I draw closer to the orb I feel it reach out to me, seeking a connection, I accept, when suddenly it draws towards my head, I feel a weird energy begin to circulate my body, seemingly searching for something within me, until it reaches my head region where I feel is speed up.

*DING* Detected Source of Origin, absorption in process... Source of Origin absorbed, system commencing update, estimated down time, 5 years

"Wha.. What? An update? Wait, 5 years?! Ezra what am I going to do for 5 years before you are back, I don't know enough about this world, also what was that stuff about a heritage and a birthright? What birthright can a human possibly have?"

*DING* "Host, you have been given a chance, an opportunity, to succeed a great lord, you should always strive to grow stronger and complete this goal, also you need not worry, 5 years will pass quickly, demons have an average lifespan of 1500 years, more if they are strong enough, I suggest Host to start working on the quest to establish a foothold, it will be of a great advantage for the trials, also do not worry, your inventory and map functions will be left active."

"Trials? They were mentioned in that information received, but it was too much, I couldn't understand it at all, tell me Ezra, what's going on?"

...

"Ezra?!"

...

She's gone... I feel so empty, *sigh* who would've guessed that I would be so reliant on Ezra, she has been there since I got a second chance at life. Well she will be back, it's only five years, not forever... First step is to begin on that foothold, I wonder why the rewards are so great for it? +5 Levels and so much SP... I should start by finding an area that is easily defendable, as I still have no idea what this world holds and without Ezra I am like a lighthouse without a fire, I am in the dark about what I will be up against.

"Map"

*DING* Map opened

Hmm, I haven't really used the map that much as everywhere I go on it is just a part of the endless desert, the only difference is that there is the occasional stone outcropping in certain areas I've passed, maybe If I can find a big enough one I can turn that into my base of operations. Yeah, that's the plan, I'll start by wandering east then.

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"Eleanora, the wind seems to be travelling to the west, it carries a huge amount of the death element, we should head back to the tribe." Suggested Durke, worried for his mistresses safety.

"Durke, I was tasked with finding out what's happening in this desert, and I refuse to return without results, you can return if you wish but I am going to the west, I will complete my mission." Eleanora replied curtly, not even sparing Durke a glance before continuing on her way.

*Sigh* She's just as stubborn as when she was a child, "Come on Aren, don't fall behind the mistress!", "Yes Durke!" Replied the inexperienced Incubus seemingly just going with the flow.