The Demons

Inside the barrier, Arran kept training for years and by now his body was had become comparable with that of Crassus but unlike the giant dragon, he had many more weapons. Over the years he had killed tens of thousands of demons inside the barrier but could never pinpoint their origins. He knew they were not of this world and most likely came through a portal similar to the one he used to get into the shadow realm so he decided he should find it. He didn't know what he would do once he did but at the very least it would break the monotony of training for so many years.

The mountain range the barrier encompassed was ten thousand miles long from what he knew from Brightblade so the task of finding the source of the demons was like finding a needle in a haystack but was worth it because despite what Brightblade thought, he knew this world would soon be overrun by similar alien beings.

He didn't know if the demons were from the same world as the invaders from Panurge's dream but the similarities between them were many. Years more passed and Arran kept training his magic and insights and the results were obvious.

He could feel the laws of the world and his power to influence reality was getting stronger each year. Then one day he came across a region with thousands upon thousands of demons and decided to observe them from a distance.

His senses had become extremely sensitive by now and his shadow cloak so perfect that not even the demons could sense him while cloaked. After a while, he found it, an inconspicuous cave hidden from view, from where the demons kept exiting in large numbers each day.

He knew now that if the essence remnants didn't keep their numbers in check they would number in the tens of millions if not more.

After so many years killing them, Arran knew the demons varied in size and shape and the ones he faced together with Brightblade were most likely scouts.

It took him a few minutes to kill the thousands of demons around the cave using his strongest spell that combined shadow essence and destruction essence leaving particles of light behind as the demons disintegrated out of existence like some sort of illusion or mirage.

The cave was massive with tunnels going for hundreds of miles, all full of demons but they never stood a chance against Arran.

A few days later he finally found it, de portal to the world of the demons. He wanted to go through it and see the world from which the demons came with his own eyes but knew better than that.

That would be courting death and he could not allow his curiosity to overcome his judgment. When leaving the shadow realm he used the shadow seal from master Zhao to seal the entrance to this world but now he decided to try destroying the portal. He first sealed the entrance to stop demons bothering him and then began the task.

For weeks he studied the portal and then decided it was time. He used his true insights into severing and while far from complete he now had space-time insights. It took him days of failure but finally, he managed to sever the connection between worlds.

He was ecstatic because he now had another weapon against the alien forces that would inevitably come. Creating a stable portal most likely took great resources and time and if he could destroy them it would be a heavy blow to the invaders.

With this task complete it was now time to focus on the war. He wanted if possible to find peace with the Darians because despite their differences they were of the same world and their power was needed in the coming war against the alien invasion but knew even if he told the Darians about the complete annihilation that was looming upon this world they would never believe him and would be even more emboldened, thinking the mages were week and seeking peace only to protect their lives.

He now knew what he needed to be done.

Defeat the Darians in a show of strength and then broker peace from a position of strength and he now had enough power to do just that.