Inspiration

Caesar immersed himself in his thoughts, examining several volumes of paper. He carefully set them aside and took a deep breath, feeling inspiration filling his mind. After a short pause, he surveyed the room, and suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Caesar said respectfully, opening the door for the guest.

A man entered the room, carrying a stack of papers in his hands. He gently placed them on the table in front of Caesar and expressed his doubts.

"Why do we still adhere to this old-fashioned and inefficient method of information transfer?" the man inquired.

Caesar, without interrupting his reading, replied, "Because this method requires little magic, my friend." He continued flipping through the papers and added, "Apparently, the witches didn't heed my advice." One of the papers caught his attention, and he continued reading, "All the other witches have turned to stone, and their souls have descended into darkness."

The man shared his concern, saying, "They tried to curse him, using the remnants of their soul purity, but…"

Caesar interrupted him, "No need, my friend. I know they wanted revenge for the boy, the last brother of the current Spider Queen. But without our help, she will start bothering us and seeking Vallynor."

Setting the paper aside, Caesar heard a knock on the door. The door opened, revealing a woman with white hair resembling dragon scales. It was Mirinth, who elegantly approached and made a bow.

"I just woke up after cleansing my soul and accepting your gifts. The former Lady of Ice thanks you," she said.

Caesar smiled and asked, "No need for formalities, Mirinth. How about teaching Vallynor your art?"

The man who had expressed doubts earlier stepped aside. Mirinth could be the Ice Woman, but her coldness could freeze even the soul. She was known for her pride and rarely allowed anyone to get so close.

"I…" Mirinth began, quickly changing her appearance to that of a voluptuous woman with long white hair. Everything related to dragons disappeared in an instant. "…promised to talk to him and even have some fun with him." Her words were accompanied by girlish giggles.

Caesar smiled somewhat awkwardly and said, "It seems Vallynor's special circumstances make even such personalities interested in him."

Mirinth was lively and joyful, surprising Caesar. Lately, she always seemed gloomy.

"What happened to Vallynor?" she inquired.

The man watched Mirinth attentively, pondering why she reacted so joyfully. He answered, "Nothing serious. He's just forbidden from engaging in sexual activities. Did you manage to catch the pests?"

Mirinth quickly explained, "Yes, with the help of Egregius Sanguine, whom you gave me as bait for mating. I caught the other parasites resembling him. Turns out, there were not one but four of them."

Caesar smiled, listening to her story, and was glad that this woman didn't ask more questions about Vallynor.

The man began to understand why Mirinth had been so gloomy lately and why she was now so joyful. Egregius Sanguine was a dangerous parasite, and its defeat brought relief. These parasites could cause irritation and pain, and Mirinth was one of those who suffered from their attacks.

Caesar posed the next question, "So, when will you start teaching the boy?"

Mirinth, smiling playfully, replied, "Perhaps, after some time. First, I want to have a bit of fun."

Caesar concluded the conversation, smiling and bidding farewell to Mirinth, "I understand. Then, let's end it here."

***

Lia woke up, opened her eyes, and left her bedroom. There, an unpleasant demon awaited her, taking the form of a crack in space.

"Tell me what happened over the last few weeks while I slept," Lia irritably asked, summoning a table with a bottle of red wine, then sat down on a chair. She expected new jokes from her servant-jester.

The demon, named Typhius, thoughtfully began, "Finally, the sleeping horror has awakened. Was your dream filled with the wrong men's members?... Uh, during these weeks, the witches have completely disappeared, turning rogue, attempting curses…"

"Continue," Lia said, waving her left hand as if shooing away an annoying fly.

Typhius continued, "A new Spider Queen emerged. What..."

"Continue," insisted Lia.

"...Cæsar…"

"Continue," she repeated.

Typhius fell silent, just staring at his 'mistress.'

"Why are you silent? Keep talking," Lia snapped, waving her hand irritably.

"And what should I say to avoid being silenced? Maybe about the boy?"

"Not interesting," Lia said.

"Why? What happened? Are you not interested in him anymore?" Typhius asked, sincerely wanting to know what was going on in the woman's mind.

"It's not about him. He's fine! The one I love is starting to forget me... Cursed worlds!" Lia erupted, shouting what had been festering in her soul.

"Forgetting? It's normal for mortals - to forget! Perhaps you need a new love! Forget about it..."

"Shut up!" Lia shouted, followed by Typhius's cry, surrounded by a painful aura.

Suddenly, there was shaking and rumbling. The world around started to move and hum. Unhappy, Lia changed her clothes and opened the gates, from which a black tentacle emerged. At the end of the tentacle, an eye and a mouth appeared.

"Greetings, Mistress of Nightmares. You are summoned to a conference tomorrow," a demonic voice said.

"Did it hasten the demise of this world?" Lia asked, looking serious.

"Unfortunately, yes," replied the black tentacles and left a letter hanging in the air before disappearing.

"This world is dying!" Typhius said, laughing. Watching Lia shatter a wine glass in half. Wine spilled on the floor and quickly dried, mushrooms started growing on it, emitting terrifying sounds.

Lia gathered all the mushrooms with her power and then, opening her mouth five times larger than usual, ate them all. Typhius watched her, shrouded in fear, recalling dreadful days.

"Prepare everything for tomorrow," Lia said coldly, looking into nothingness and contemplating how much time was left for this world and why the inevitable was dragging on.

***

Gabriel, leaving the brothel, slightly intoxicated, headed towards the tower. On his way, he encountered many of his former students who indulged in lust and enjoyed the bodies of their partners. To his surprise, there were fewer such couples than before. Previously, almost everyone engaged in some peculiar adult entertainments, such as orgies and the like.

Now he even encountered people and creatures playing musical instruments and starting to compose new stories. And all of this was thanks to one guy. Inevitably, this incident made Gabriel remember the arrival of this guy, who brought prosperity to this world. And everyone expected that it would all end like this.

Continuing his path, Gabriel noticed Minker. He walked up to each musician and invited them to play at the bar "Nadya," or as they called it - "Hope."

***

Victor tried to stab Vallynor in the heart with his spear, but Vallynor blocked it with his knife. At the same time, Kamado struck him in the shoulder from behind, and Vasilii hit him straight in the leg. Vallynor, blocking one spear, jumped, trying to evade all three attacks. Vasilii and Kamado instantly changed directions, and instead of a stab, Victor struck from above, attempting to bring Vallynor back to the ground.

With a click, Vallynor, using Victor's strike, dodged Kamado's blow, but Vasilii managed to wound him in the abdomen. Grasping Vasilii's spear, which had not been withdrawn yet, Vallynor pulled it towards him. Victor and Kamado immediately attacked, seeking to interfere, while Vasilii, smirking, instead of pulling towards himself, exerted all his strength to push it further, enlarging the wound.

Using all his strength, Vallynor leaped to the side, trying to wrest Vasilii's spear away and evade the attacks. However, avoiding Vallynor's knife, Victor stabbed him in the leg, and Kamado managed to pierce his arm, twisting the spear, and tore Vallynor's arm off.

***

Caesar, resting, watched the battle from his window. Even though Vallynor was far away, an ordinary person wouldn't see him, even with binoculars or a phone camera to zoom in. But for beings like Caesar, the world presented itself before him as if everything was happening two to three meters away. Next to him was a small goblin dressed in mechanic's attire, slightly crumpled but perfectly clean.

"Do you want to teach Vallynor?" Watching as Vallynor slowly played catch-up, trying to find a way to accelerate time for everyone not under the influence of the time artifact, Caesar could see the battle in accelerated mode.

"Hmm, you said not to burden the guy with science. But we want him to start learning magical mechanics and technologies that use mana as fuel. We just need your permission."

Caesar looked at the goblin in front of him, weighing all the pros and cons. But knowing a few secrets of the future, he somehow didn't want to grant permission. However, if allowed, it could aid in future development. Of course, a problem would arise that the guy would have to solve, but until that moment, this issue would only bring inconvenience.

"Alright, but only in small quantities," Caesar finally decided to push Vallynor onto the difficult path but with a significant reward.

"When?!" the goblin eagerly asked, envisioning Vallynor writing new books on programming and computers, perhaps even on advanced physics. Unfortunately for this world, these technologies are already studied. However, what Vallynor showed was completely created from simple resources and used cheap electricity that could be generated with a single spell. Isn't this a dream for all goblins, some gnomes, and other creatures who dedicated their lives to these technologies?

"Tomorrow he'll have more free time. I would like him to use it, exploring this city and seeing all its aspects. Then you can snatch a few precious hours, which will be multiplied fourfold."

"Alright, alright!!! Tomorrow it is!" The goblin joyfully left and ran to his kin.

"I have a bad feeling, but I can't understand why. My predictions show that everything will be fine. However, the future of the assembly looks somewhat murky. Maybe something will happen at the meeting," Caesar mused aloud, moving to the throne room. He began surrounding it with various spells to separate it from the future assembly.

***

Forkas and Isda flew invisibly through the accursed forest, carefully surveying the surroundings. Occasionally, they encountered fallen flying creatures that attacked them, eager to steal their souls. However, with a single strike from Forkas, the fallen creatures perished.

"Isda, what do you think of Cassiel?" Flying in complete silence, Forkas broke the silence, addressing Isda, who silently gazed around.

"I climax from just one look at him!" Isda responded lasciviously and made an obscene face.

"Vile demon, don't interfere in my conversation with Isda!" Forkas angrily spoke, his inner world burning with envy.

"I have a name, pitiful rooster. What couldn't win the heart... Ena, please, don't interrupt my work. And you, Forkas, started to doubt our leader?" The cunning voice of the girl, who mocked Forkas, quickly changed to an innocent tone but filled with malice.

"No, of course!..." Forkas quickly denied and continued, "It's just that in the last two weeks, he's too focused on that soul and tasks related to gathering resources in the form of bodies of mighty beings. It makes me wonder."

"After what you said, you made me think. At first, I thought it was Ena trying to fool me with her observations again. But after you yourself confirmed her words, I, too, began to wonder. Until this time, we just observed and that's it. And now we've become more active... See, little fool? Even this pure stick, which hasn't tainted anyone, noticed oddities in my beloved, who should have punished us long ago with his... Ena, please, be silent. You make me feel embarrassed." Isda burned with shame for the words spoken, which seemed to have come out on their own.

"Oh, you, sinful one..." Forkas felt humiliated, doubly so because of Ena's words and the fact that Isda uttered them.

"And now seriously, all the materials we collect are used in rituals that you call unholy, but essentially, you yourselves benefit from them."

"Slander, we never use such disgusting rituals and ceremonies as sacrifices or..."

"Hahaha, who are you trying to deceive? If you are so pure, then what do you do with fallen angels you've imprisoned or with the killed colleagues from work, service, or slavery? What do you call yourselves there?..." Ena interrupted Forkas and laughed heartily, then continued, "You, having caught a fallen comrade who could become like that involuntarily, try to redeem yourselves. Tear his wings so that he no longer resembles you. And in the end, you lock him in your dungeons for eternal torment. But with the slain angels, you... use them in rituals, extracting the remnants of their power from their corpses. This is essentially cannibalism. And you consider it purity and righteousness? Everything you do is considered right! But if a demon does it, it's a sin and must be punished. Even demons who just want to live alongside the humans who love them and not harm anyone. You torture and..."

"Shut up!... I can agree that there are a few among us who are too fanatical."

"Few? You are all almost the same. All of this after your entire race swore to serve the gods. You are merely their instruments. Even this poor girl. If she weren't here on a mission, she would have long become some god's toy (Ena)... Ena, please, don't defile my lords with my mouth (Isda)... Poor thing! Over all this time, while I was inside you, my hatred for you turned into pity and a desire to help. I just want you to open your eyes (Ena)... I... I don't know what to say (Isda)."

"Isda, don't believe this accursed demon. She's just deceiving you," Forkas could no longer watch Isda and Ena's conversation.

"Thank you, Forkas, but... living so long with Ena, I can tell when she's trying to sow discord among us for the sake of amusement. But after what you said, I'm starting to think about the reasons for all of this. Because until now, we've just been observing and that's it. And now we've become more active (Isda)... Ooooh, I'm so glad, my little chick" (Ena)... Don't call me a chick! (Isda)"

Forkas bit his lips until they bled, not knowing whom to believe and what to do. He initiated this conversation himself, and now he was at an impasse.

"Forkas, let's better follow orders and observe. And when we finish this long mission, we'll report to the higher-ups about these oddities. Fortunately, it won't be much longer (Isda)..."

***

"So, so, let me see what you've done this time," Horkim pushed Vallynor away and looked at the object he had created. Before him was a scythe made of magical steel, infused with mana that had been in that state for a long time. However, this steel was permeated with necrotic energy.

Horkim recalled how Vallynor brought this steel a few days ago. They say he bought it from necromancers for some necro-coins.

"Hmm, not bad, not bad... and what's this? Very bad... You've done mostly well, but here and here, you did it too poorly," Jumping, Horkim hit Vallynor on the head and made him redo it.

"But..."

"No 'buts.' You must create the perfect weapon, not just a good one..." Horkim was ready to leave, but he stopped and looked back at Vallynor, asking, "How... how are the lessons with that fool Dokod going?"

"Huh? Dokod? He taught me how to sew properly..."

"Sew? You were supposed to learn that from a tailor. This idiot should have taught you how to craft armor."

"Well, he taught me to sew leather so I could create light armor and so on. After that, he taught me a few techniques for crafting armor..." Vallynor spent many days in blacksmithing under Dokod's reluctantly accepted apprenticeship.

"Is that so? If he's teaching you, then it's fine. It'll be softer in the evening... Right, before I forget, don't come tomorrow. You're free tomorrow."

"And you? After training and sparring. Alexander said he's also free tomorrow. Is something happening?"

"Not that something will happen. But tomorrow is a big meeting of big shots who will be addressing current issues. So stop chattering and start working." Horkim happily walked away, holding a huge piece of iron. Vallynor continued his work.

Horkim placed the piece of iron on the table, sat on a chair, and pondered what he could create from this marvel. Taking a sip from his beer mug, he began to contemplate.

"Garbage, as always." Sighing, he reminisced about the old times when this world was not sealed yet. Back then, bars had so many diverse and quality drinks, and he recalled his achievements as a blacksmith and how everything had changed. Finishing his beer, he tossed the mug into the ring and started to feel the piece of iron with his hand, a vision of Vallynor coming to mind, reminiscent of...

Leaving the piece of iron on the table, Horkim quickly returned to Vallynor. Opening the door with great effort, slamming it against the wall almost breaking it, Horkim looked at the puzzled Vallynor who had stopped and stared at him.

"That's enough work for today! Finish up what you have here!"

"But..."

"No 'buts'... Now you'll come with me, and we'll have a drink. A blacksmith who doesn't value himself and his mind cannot be a good blacksmith. Trust me, as an experienced blacksmith."

"But how can one become a good blacksmith without training and creating things?" Vallynor asked, contemplating what was said.

"Boy, blacksmithing is like an art. An artist finds inspiration by going outside and observing the world to create their masterpieces. Similarly, a blacksmith can find inspiration by traveling and observing the world. That's why apprentice blacksmiths often set out to wander the world." Vallynor listened attentively to Horkim's words, who spoke with enthusiasm.

"Understood?" Vallynor pondered for a while, as he had heard many times about apprentice blacksmiths embarking on journeys. Horkim's words seemed truthful.

"Then follow me!" Horkim turned and headed towards the kitchen. Vallynor, finished with what he was doing, quickly cleared his workspace and followed Horkim.