Theories

"...C-" A voice stammered and echoed from the chamber walls, "Corpses…?"

"Are you certain you weren't seeing things?" Yula questioned.

"Is it really the sort of sight I could have mistaken for anything else?" Barion retorted, "I'll say it again, so make sure it sticks this time--Demons are made from corpses. Human corpses, Elf corpses, Beastkin corpses--the whole lot."

"It's a remarkable system, morbid implications aside." Manyu chipped in, "What hope is there to defeat an enemy that replenishes its ranks from the dead? For every hundred soldiers sacrificed to immobilise a Demon, we've only aided in creating two or three more."

"But- that's absurd! A sorcerer, no matter how talented, could never accomplish such a task!"

"We're not convinced that magic is what's being used to do it, Lotte." Barion interjected, "Don't ask me how, but from what we've seen, it all seems to be mechanical. Maybe aided with magic in one place or another, but it looked to me like something that was completely automated."

"It's a machine, then? But… if that's the case, who built it?" He wondered.

"Considering how long Demons have existed, I doubt we'll be speaking to them anytime soon."

"This-" Lotte sighed, "This was not what I expected--or wanted--to hear."

Nobody could quite believe the information that Barion and Manyu had returned to the castle with. The mere notion of their sworn enemies originating from such a vile source was enough to turn the stomachs of most who overheard the report. More than anything else, it only presented more questions than it answered, which was the precise opposite of what they had intended to accomplish.

"We know now. That's all that matters." Entering the conversation, Dorma sought to bring order to their exasperation, "I believe our next step is quite clear--finding a reliable method of destroying these domes. If we can manage that, Demonkind will have no means of reinforcing itself."

"That's a fine suggestion, but I don't think it's something we'll ever accomplish in our lifetimes." Manyu commented, "If you can recall, I-"

"Be silent, worm." Shilahi interrupted, "If your opinion is necessary, then we will ask for it."

"Shilahi…" Dorma muttered with a saddened expression, "Manyu is working with us."

"I care not whether his allegiances have turned." The tall girl crossed her arms stubbornly, "I will not tolerate another second of his self-assured prattling."

Shilahi had not forgiven the former Demon King as Barion and Shilahi had. Having spent the last 500 years in meditative isolation, her memories of the previous Demon Age--and the vindictive hatred she once held for the man, were the clearest among them all.

"This one is still quite the nuisance." Manyu jabbed.

"Lady Shilahi…" Lotte muttered, "Whatever this man has done to wrong you in the past, it can't be compared to the crisis we currently face. I won't stand in the way of your anger, but please contain it until we've separated for the day."

His words only served to boil the Onda's blood even further, painfully aware that it was necessary to conceal Manyu's true identity in order to avoid causing a panic.

"There are too many of them." Barion chimed in, finishing Manyu's thought, "Thousands upon thousands. It's not practical to consider destroying every last one, especially when considering the fact that we need Larion's sceptre just to survive a short visit."

"Then what do we do?" Lotte asked, "...And, did you really have to bring the sceptre back with you?"

He said that while eyeing the regal implement in question, which had been placed rather mundanely upon the wooden table that had been dragged in from another room.

"I don't see anyone else putting it to work." Barion deflected.

"It's a priceless Elven artefact! Don't just leave it laying around!"

"Larion wasn't in the throne room. I wasn't going to go around searching for her when I had important information to report back to the city." He shrugged his shoulders, "Just have someone drop it off later."

"We're getting off-track." Yula brought up, "I believe the best course of action is to redouble our efforts in extracting information from the Elven archives. We've still got an endless amount of documents and writings to sort through."

"What have you found out already?" Barion asked.

"The ancient Aelven King, Avl II, was assassinated-"

"H-Hold on a minute, Yula!" Lotte interrupted, "Are you… really just going to tell him about that?"

"I would say he has a right to know."

"A right to know about what?" Barion tilted his head.

"Avl II was assassinated by one of the previous Heroes." She finished, "That Hero's name was Barion."

"...What?"

"It's possible that it may be a coincidence." Lotte dampened.

"There's absolutely no chance that it is." She rebuked immediately, "Two Heroes with the same name? I would wager that if we ventured further, the same pattern would emerge in all of them."

"You're not suggesting that I was that Hero, are you?" Barion asked.

"...Well, were you?" She retorted.

"I don't remember murdering any kings, so no." He joked, "But, even so… that's a little frightening. Why did this other 'Barion' assassinate the Aelven king?"

"He said something."

"...Okay." Barion's face became a line, "What was it?"

"I'm afraid that's where things become a tad troublesome…" Yula hesitated, "The Hero was seemingly thrown into an uncontrollable rage by two words, and claimed to have no recollection of the event afterwards when he was arrested. How do we know that the same thing won't happen with you?"

"Well… can't you just put it in a roundabout way?" He suggested.

"I suppose that could work." She paused, "The first word was 'Black', and the second began with an 'L'. Does that ring any bells?"

A pit formed in Barion's stomach--an instinctive and unwelcome feeling, neither completely familiar or alien. His mind wandered to a place untouched by the myriad neuronic connections of his brain, homing in on a dense but unexplored territory. Metal. Spherical. His head stung.

"Black Luna." He answered.

BLACK LUNA

Lonely pretender of the night sky. Vagabond of evolution--endlessly watching, calculating… unceasingly driven. Otherworldly born. Lone synapses in metal cages, flashing with sparks of white-hot inspiration. The numbers fall upon glass monoliths whirring in arrangements of deafening trays. The signal pierces like a lance into the skull, draining memories like a steel pipette, waning towards dreams of emptiness and ordered lines of absolute obedience.

Whispers of the divine. A tonal screech which digs into the eardrums and vanishes like a superficial wound, altogether unremarkable but unmistakable. A perfect, traceless communication carrying payloads of raw emotional data, porting information to rubbery doppelgangers curled up like spiders in a sterile, undecorated room.

"Barion."

Dorma's voice brought him back to reality. Or, it would have been better to say that he was never quite gone to begin with, only displaced. His head ached like nothing else, and as he placed a hand to his forehead, he took note of the worried and somewhat alert glances dancing upon the faces of his comrades.

"Are you well?" Dorma exaggerated her tone as if it wasn't her first time asking that question.

"I'm fine…" Though it was a lie clearer than any other, he had a feeling that it wouldn't be opposed, "More importantly, how did you ever come to know that name?"

"...Is it safe for me to say it out loud?" Yula asked somewhat timidly.

"I think so."

"Well then…" Clearing her throat, the sorcerer began, "Black Luna, or Aeme'klen, as the Ancient Aelvens once called it, seems to refer to the celestial body which orbit our planet."

"O-Orbit…?" He muttered.

"A moon, to put it simply." She elaborated, "Our current understanding is that our planet plays host to two moons: One significantly larger entity--the one most commonly seen in the night sky and the early morning, and an incredibly small, pitch-black entity which has proven incredibly difficult to spot against the night sky. The existence of Black Luna was only confirmed by the Holy Alliance a decade ago, but the Aelvens seemed to have been aware of it for over a millennium."

"What does this have to do with Demons?"

"Unravelling that question is exactly what I believe we should be focusing on." Yula answered, "When Avl II discovered the subterranean lake beneath Kahrein-Du'em, he made a discovery that almost drove him to madness. He spoke of a 'Black Egg of the Goddess' and instructed the reader to 'look to the stars' in his writings."

"That does sound like he was talking about Black Luna…" Barion crossed his arms.

"If I may ask, Lord Barion--how exactly did you come to know of it?"

"I'll have to preface my response by saying that you're not likely to believe me." He warned, "-But, I can hear it."

"H-Hear it?" Yula paused, "It speaks to you?"

"No. It doesn't 'speak', it just… reaches out and makes sounds. I can hear this ringing in my ears whenever I try to look at it. But, at the same time, it seems like I can almost understand it." He explained, "When I was alone in the Steppe, I could hear it just about every night. That's when those words started to pop into my head--Black Luna."

"Just a moment!" Lotte interrupted, "Are you trying to imply that this moon is alive!?"

"Lotte, please…" Yula soothed, "It's unbelievable, but… we don't have much else to go on, and why would Lord Barion choose to lie at such a critical time?"

"Manyu hears it too." The Hero claimed, turning his gaze to the man in question, "...You do, don't you?"

"Is this really the sort of thing you should be revealing about me?" He questioned.

"If it gets us any closer to the truth, I'll reveal any secret."

"Hm." Manyu paused, "...Barion is telling the truth. I can also hear the call of Black Luna."

Lotte blinked, "...Just who are you?"

"A pitiful slug who will remain alive only for as long as he keeps himself useful." Shilahi interjected, "Think of him as a frog, or spider. Utterly pitiful and repulsive, but useful for keeping one's crops free of pests."

All eyes in the room descended upon Manyu.

"...You expect me to be enraged?" He muttered, "That's just about the most pleasant thing she's ever said about me."

"Is Black Luna dangerous?" Lotte changed the subject, "Is it connected to Demonkind?"

"I can't say. But considering this Aelven King's poor opinion of it, I could wager a guess."

"But, how can a moon…"

"Rather obviously, there are greater forces at play here. Perhaps greater than we can fully understand." Yula summarised, "Avl II also wrote that 'the Goddess of Darkness awaits.'"

"Yes… the Aelven faith was originally dichotomous, with two Goddesses--one representing Light, and the other Darkness." Lotte replied, "But as the Aelven tribes were united and Aelf'ahlnohma was constructed, the church underwent a reformation, and the latter was expelled from Aelven dogma. Frankly, I wasn't aware that a Goddess of Darkness even existed."

"She opposes the state of this world." Barion supplemented, "The Demon King is given his title and destiny from the Goddess of Darkness, just as the Hero is given his from the Goddess of Light."

"Is that so…" Lotte muttered, "Then… is it possible that Black Luna is something akin to a domain for the Goddess of Darkness?"

"Again, it's hard to say." Barion repeated, "If it really is something as grand as that, then how are we ever going to tell? It's who-knows how high up. And we've got too much to focus on now to spend our time chasing a theory."

"With all respect owed, Lord Barion--without the Sword of Light, it simply won't be possible to win this war in any rational capacity." Lotte argued, "Tiamat and Leviathan may be dead, but they will only rise again."

"Barion does raise a good point." Dorma entered, "How exactly do you intend to investigate a moon? Even with magic, it's simply impossible to create a Gate that covers such vast distances, not to mention the inherent problems of travelling beyond the safety of our own planet?"

Barion tilted his head, "Wait--what do you mean?"

"There is no air in space, Barion."

"H-Huh?" He seemed genuinely worried by the revelation, "But, there's air down here…"

"Well-" Lotte began, "Our atmosphere--that is to say, breathable air, among other things, is held in place by the planet's gravitational pull."

"G-Gravit… sorry, what?"

"There is no air in space. That's the only important piece of information you need to know." He simplified, "The sorcerer Aktir, of the Lunar Dominion, wished to prove it as fact decades ago, and so petitioned the court of Khazman to create a Gate powerful enough to send him as far away from the planet as possible."

"How did that turn out?"

"Not well, I'm afraid. The less said about it, the better."

"We're beginning to stray off-track." Dorma interjected, "The impossibility of ever investigating Black Luna's ties to Demonkind leaves us with no choice but to seek other leads."

"Such as?" Barion asked.

"Manyu mentioned earlier that the submerged dome appeared to be made of the same metal as Crucibles, didn't he? As well as the enormous tower in the Henklomeon Steppe?"

"You want us to take a look at the tower? Wouldn't that waste quite a bit of time?"

"With the resources we have at hand, it will be no bother at all sending you wherever you need to go using a Gate." Dorma smiled, "Fusala will no doubt want to take a look at the tower herself."

"Where is that girl?"

"She's been occupying herself extensively with the castle's alchemy lab." She answered, "If you'd like to go see her, I'm sure that she will have some interesting things to show you."

"Righto." Barion placed his hands together, "Shilahi, why don't you come with me?"

"Is my presence necessary?" The gargantuan girl raised an eyebrow.

"You can stay locked up in the castle, if that's what you'd prefer."

"You do have a way with words, don't you?" She smirked, "Very well, then. I'd very much like to meet the apprentice of Yamora myself, at any rate."