8 Chapter 8: A flash of memories

Arroth heard a bang before he collapsed to the ground.

The pendant hidden inside his lapels glowed a faint silvery shine, illuminating his body. It felt warm, almost calm enough to put one to sleep. The pendant acted as a shield to Arroth when he fell down, covering him with a translucent bluish-gray barrier

His eyes had turned blurry, and not even the silhouette of that giant beast could be seen. His body felt light as a feather, and the resounding shouts around him felt light and warm. The shouts became cheers, and the scene in front of him became apparent.

"Long live the King!"

"Great and all mighty!"

Arroth sat on a golden throne, with women serving his food and wine. To his side a woman, whose face was covered with a thin layer of cloth, yet Arroth couldn't tell who she was. He looked down at his hand, and found the teardrop pendant, with a crack, from the lower left side to upper right. Arroth could have remembered that that crack wasn't there before.

He turned to gaze upon the faces of the people inside but found that each one of them was faceless. They do not have eyes, nose, lips, and any special features. Arroth knew that something was wrong, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was. He stared at the woman to his side and noticed her carrying a child, with a halo in her head, and a tiny tail on her back. She had the same eyes as the woman, but Arroth didn't know how he knew this. But seeing the woman, he felt warm in his heart.

"Your majesty, a letter." one woman handed Arroth an envelope from a silver tray. The envelope was a dirty white color, sealed with silver wax. The stamp used was decorated with puppet strings that Arroth couldn't tell who it was from.

"You may go." Arroth heard himself speak. He didn't know when or how, but his lips just moved on their own.

He took the letter and opened it.

The letter inside was a perfect white, unlike the envelope, it came in, with even a silvery glow permeating around it. It was folded neatly, and a lotus flower was at the bottom, posing as a signature. Arroth couldn't read what exactly was in that letter, but the very first sentence was visible.

'Hey Kid'

Arroth felt his heart sink, his body began to convulse. He noticed the pendant around his neck glowing violently, beeping long and short high-frequency tones. Arroth felt his head twitch and spasm and his eyes looked bloodshot.

The faceless people before him started to melt, still cheering his name. Their voices turned deeper, more husky and dead. He turned to his side and found the woman and child cracking.

"My king, I know we'll be together forever."

The scene in front of him shattered and he found himself floating in a void place, before a consciousness that he cannot see.

"We've already begun." Dayan's calming voice sounded in Arroth's ears before he felt his body fall into an endless abyss.

Arroth woke up to the sight of Zulta's face coming closer and closer to his. His eyes widened in retaliation, and he almost killed him. If it weren't because he was still shocked about what just happened, he would have stabbed him already.

Zulta was about to perform CPR for him, but thank goodness he woke up!

Araya pulled Zulta to the side and took Arroth's hand. He felt his pulse, before heaving a sigh of relief. He then let his Qi flow inside the other, trying to fully check on him.

Arroth felt the other's hot energy flowing inside him. He stared at Araya's face and thought 'Anyone who will become this man's wife would be so lucky!'. He then thought about that woman he saw in his dream. She looked beautiful, regardless of whether he saw her face or not.

"Done. There's nothing wrong with you now." Araya stood up, taking out a liquid bottle, and pouring some in his hand. He put the bottle back into his lapels and rubbed his hands clean. "Let's go." Araya walked towards the center.

After the fight with the massive bull, the beam from Arroth's hand opened up a path that directly led to the very center of the maze.

Danaya and Mu Yunda kept their eyes on Arroth, staring as if he was a pariah. Zulta, on the other hand, was looking at Arroth's gauntlet without any hesitation, or care for the other person's thoughts. "You're born with this?" He asked

"Yes." Arroth felt uneasy about Zulta's closeness and was afraid that the other was just messing with him. But he did like how he was being close with him. It's the first time anyone has tried being close to him.

Zulta hummed, eyes still focused on the other's hand. "It compliments your halo!"

Arroth stared at Zulta as if he was looking at an idiot. The demon gauntlet isn't something that can be found near any kind of Halo. The gauntlet is a weapon of mass destruction, and matched with a halo that says 'I am not bound by worldly desires', doesn't look good. "Su...sure.."

They soon arrived at the center of the maze, where a large translucent globe floats lazily above a golden stage. The globe shows all parts of the continent and how it wraps around the lower realms of humans. Around the globe are thousands of mountains of books that were never placed inside the shelves.

Araya walked past the globe and through the mountains of books. "His record should be in any of these books."

Arroth and the group felt their eyes twitch.

******************

Record of Mark Rowan. Record of Phil Hawkins. Record of May Thu Khin. Record of Hajime Riota. The Record of the Bruman war. The Atlas of old Kings.

Those were some of the books Arroth found, but none of them was the one they were looking for. He dived into the sea of books, trying to see if there was any part of it that had Dayan's name on it.

"What's his name again?" Zulta asked, throwing away a cheap book, infested with termites.

"Dayan N'tior," Araya answered, still digging through the books.

Zulta hummed, before going back to searching. "He sounds familiar."

"He was a palace attendant before."

"No. I mean I think I've read his name somewhere before…"

Araya: ...... What?

Zulta: ……..

Zulta quickly fished out the book from the pile which he had thrown all over. He found the book stuck in between two books that doesn't seem appropriate to read.

Record of Dayan N'toir

Chapter 1 page 1: Introduction

Name: Dayan N'toir

Birth: Year Phoenix on the third day of the second lunar month.

Occupation: Gardener at the palace.

Chapter 7 page 67: Sacrilege

Dayan N'toir had forsaken his worship and ripped apart his halo in front of the great lord's statue. His eyes were bloody at that time, and many angels were lost from his deviation.

Dayan N'toir stole the royal artifact and has been found guilty of all crimes in heaven.

*********

Arroth felt that there was not much information where he could be found from this record. It only held all of his crimes, and some pages were even ripped. He turned to ask Araya but found the other staring at the book, unmoving.

He didn't know what he saw, but there was something in Araya's eyes when he was looking at Dayan's record. It wasn’t anger… more like disgust and annoyance.

He stood up and walked to search for more books, but for some ungodly reason, he tripped over a pile of books and fell directly into the global stage.

His eyes turned dark, and he found himself being sucked back to 50,000 years ago. This was the third year of the Heiyaoshi Era… if Arroth could see, he'd find that the pendant around his neck began to glow.

During the Heiyaoshi Era King Vhiniel reigned over the Kingdom, attacking fleets of angels, during the War. They had thousands of demon troup, lurking in the dark, finding the right time to attack.

The war between the two sides has been going on for thousands of years, with no sign of stopping. Vhiniel wanted the Angels' part of the continent and made it apparent that he wouldn't stop his attacks if they didn't surrender to him.

History had said that Demon King Vhiniel violated many angles, and killed them on the spot to warn the others about what he can do. He was a vile beast that can never be satisfied.

During these times King Xienein watched as his army grew little by little, afraid of the demon's vile tactics. He didn't know how else to help, but if he didn't, their kingdom would end up in the hands of the demons.

"Your Majesty, those people are here.." A cherub knocked on his door, before turning the door handle and entering. "They brought that person."

********

Arroth woke up to the sound of footsteps entering the room. He turned his head left to right and found that he was no longer in the labyrinth. When he turned his head back, he noticed that 4 people were sitting on the couch, with a child eating the biscuits on the table.

These were the four princes of hell and the new king Zionell.

Lucirio gritted his teeth and watched Zionell stuff his mouth with food. "They're taking too long!"

Levian tied his hair into a high ponytail, before starting at the door. "They just left."

Belis laughed. "These angels are a bunch of melon heads."

"Can you guys shut up!" Seirian rapped Belis' head and flicked Lucirio's forehead.

Arroth stared at the younger version of his king and found him rather adorable before he became the King of Death. Zionell was only 15 years old, his body was still thin, and there was nothing about him that screams prowess. But he was special in some way.

Zionell was born at the exact time that the Solaris Meridian star exploded. Solaris was considered the star of the devil in their Kingdom and was the one with the most Yin energy stored inside it. When the princes found out about this fact, they quickly searched for the boy and gave him a home to live under and a life he can be proud of. But that was just the beginning of the plan. The princes wanted to overthrow the King and make Zionell a living legacy.

They waited for a couple of minutes before Xienein knocked and entered through. He scanned the surrounding, and his eyes fell into the boy, munching his way through the snacks. "That's him?" Xienein kneeled in front of Zionell. He raised the boy's head to meet his and examined his eyes, nose, and all other features. "How lovely."

"So, are you gonna help or not?" Lucirio said, with no beats or takes. "We want that old fart out of his throne and into the dumpster."

Xienein felt his eyes twitch. He didn't like how demons speak, but they are his guests, so he shouldn't yell at them. "I'll have to check his body type more. And we'll go as planned afterward."

Arroth watched from the side, not knowing what was going on. He stood up from his side and bumped into someone.

His eyes widen in shock to see a familiar annoying face in this dream. He saw Xienein call Dayan, so he was sure that the man was in the illusion, and not with him. But something about it shook him.

Dayan turned around and winked towards Arroth, meaning 50,000 years ago, Dayan knew he would be there, in that spot.

……

Or

He could just be overthinking it.

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