But I digress

" Very well then." 

The demon looked away and into the distance where the city stood.

" All that I am about to say is simply conjecture. However, I am certain that I am right about most things here. If you're fine with my version of events, then shall we proceed?" 

Rumius nodded, expressing his accord.

" This story goes back quite a long time. Do you know of the First Great Calamity? Ah, it is also called the First Great War. Or the War That Birthed All Wars. This story starts all the way back there." The overseer said in a dreamy voice. His face wore a little mischievous smirk.

Rumius struggled to keep a neutral face. ' The First Great War? That's more than 500 years ago!' The feeling of being in over his head inevitably crept over him. 

" Hahaha! You look shocked." The demon noted mirthfully. 

" Well…500 years is a long time, your grace. If this plot is so deeply woven, then it feels a little as if I'm in over my head." Rumius replied truthfully.

" Don't be! It is a blessing. You are young, maybe even younger than I thought, yet possess a steady intellect and strong heart. Like I said before, I am delighted to have you as one of us." The overseer chuckled and smiled.

The Rumius couldn't help but feel butterflies flutter in his stomach from the overseer's praise. 

" Thank you, Your Grace." 

" No need to thank me. Let's get back on track, shall we? And try to focus. For if not, we shall be here till nightfall." He teased. 

" Now, like I said, this story begins 500 years ago. At that time, this city wasn't even here yet. This was just a barren wasteland, rampant with discord and war and death. I think it was a human army that laid siege here once. But they're unimportant."

His eyes became faraway as he looked into the distance. " Agravoss is ancient, but the building strife that has led to the events of today go back even further." 

" Exactly 500 years ago, do you know what happened here?" 

Rumius shook his head. 

" 500 years ago, we demons manifested Kontraak into this world." 

Rumius's eyebrows shot up high as he heard the demon's words.

" I was… about 200 years old during that time and I ended up fighting in it, the Great War. And I saw the eventual victory of the humans which occurred at the end. It was a terrible defeat. One we never expected. Heh, perhaps that was why we were defeated in the first place." He shook his head as he recounted. " Our territory was halved, our lands robbed. It was a dark time." 

"I remember the land being barren and black because the leylines were being destroyed. There was no food, and water sources around were all contaminated." 

" But we did not cede an inch of ground here. Do you know how?" He probed, finally with a hint of vigour. 

Rumius shook his head.

" Pray tell, Your Grace."

The demon showed a strange smile and continued talking.

And talking.

And talking.

But it was strange, because although his mouth moved, no sound came from it. When Rumius realised that, it happened in an instant. It was like a hole had been opened in his body, and a pressure was squeezing out all the air in his lungs whilst robbing him of his senses.

He couldn't breathe. He felt light-headed, and terrifyingly so. But inexplicably, the feeling was also familiar.

The overseer's eyes held no animosity or hatred, but a third emotion that felt scarier than either former option. But it wasn't obvious, not at all. If not for the very slight change in the timbre of his voice- that could've passed for a product of imagination-, or the nearly imperceptible razor-like glint in his still neutral eyes, or subtly more pronounced wrinkles in his skin, Rumius wasn't sure he would have noticed that anything was wrong at all. Even then, he wasn't even sure what was wrong, or if anything was wrong at all. 

" Humans are marvellous creatures. They have a set of values which they place even above their lives. Can you imagine it? Truly! Once in a while you would find some who act selfishly, yet they are shunned by the rest like black sheep." He said animatedly. 

Pausing, he looked over to Rumius, awaiting an answer. 

Because he had zoned out what the overseer had said prior, Rumius could only nod his head hurriedly in agreement. His head was still spinning, and registering what the overseer had just said brought him confusion. 

The old demon smiled. " Have you met one of them before? Humans?" The overseer asked as he turned to Rumius. His eyes were filled with curiosity but also depth. 

' I can't possibly tell him that, well yes, I'm human myself!' Rumius thought. 

" Y-Yes Your Grace. I've been to a number of h-Dwarven cities during my travels. There were humans there. Adventurers mainly." He stuttered.

The old demon nodded rhythmically and slowly, as if digesting the information. " That's good, it's always a good experience to have." He paused for a moment, before asking another question.

" How did you find them?" 

Trying his best to ignore the hollow feeling in his stomach, Rumius felt cold sweat bead his forehead as his mind drew a terrifying blank. ' What are we even talking about? Well, we are talking about humans, but why? ' Rumius thought in a panic.

Feeling the weight of the overseer's gaze still on him, it made Rumius even more petrified. He hastily covered up his true expression by looking down as if thinking. 

Eventually, he was able to hesitantly squeeze out a fabricated answer. 

" They were…how should I put this….they were...different?" Rumius offered. He felt pathetic, and was already spinning another lie to elaborate. 

" A very acute answer!" He praised. " You're like me in that sense. We both have the same image of humans! " 

Relieved, Rumius laughed politely. " I suppose we do. You honor me with your words, your grace." 

The old demon revealed a kind smile. Then his face suddenly turned serious. 

" They really are…different. From us, I mean." He suddenly spoke in a hushed voice, emphasising the word ' different.' Again, the feeling of hollowness struck, opening a pit in Rumius's stomach. He leaned forward to better hear the overseer's words. " Don't you feel…such a sense of curiosity when it comes to them?" He probed.

His words made Rumius jump slightly. " C-Curiosity? Your grace?" 

" Yes curiosity. Before I applied to be an official, I was a traveller. I used my earnings as a soldier to fund my journeys, just like you do now. I didn't like doing odd jobs for money for money, you see." The overseer joked. " I think I saw my share of the world in that time." 

" You must have noticed as well right? The unusual habits that they have and yet we don't. I can't help but feel as if they know something that we demons do not."

" For example… what is this concept of…friend? Or companion? Have you seen these links between humans? And what exactly is this 'Justice' they brandish when they fight?" He asserted. 

" Humans engage will engage in vices for these 'friends'. They would lay down their lives for these ' friends'. Yet what do they do they get return? Often entropy, death, nothing." He spread his hands with a bewildered look as he spoke. But his voice was suddenly like that of a child speaking about a toy they wanted. Full of fascination. 

Rumius wasn't sure to feel conflicted.

He listened on attentively. At moments, he would nod, at moments he would smile or laugh, but he largely stayed silent. He purposely let the demon talk, even when they were going off topic. Because for some reason, everything this demon said seemed to add new perspective to his master's words. And it also gave him a new and more concrete perspective of this world which he wanted to one day explore. 

Whether she had said it in passing or if she actually meant it, Rumius wasn't sure. But did that mean that they didn't want one? Who didn't need family? Even the highest flying wanderers would at least crave a home to go back to. 

The old demon smiled. " I used to travel with a human, you know? But he died. A long time ago. His body must be nothing but ash by now. And I barely even remember how he looked like." 

" When I was traveller, I used to travel the world with this human. To see new things and new lands. When he withered quickly over just 30 years, I continued journeying while he. His words caught Rumius by surprise, and even more when he recognised the wistful look in the demon's eyes. 

" I still remember. How he said I was different." 

Then seemingly in an instant, the demon seemed to snap back to reality. 

" But I digress." He said, apologetically with 

" And actually, that might just be it." 

For a moment, Rumius could hear the high winds howling again. 

" Be…it?" He asked, confused. 

With a voice full of fascination and wonder, the overseer said. " Humanity, as a concept, holds untapped power. If we can tap into it, militarily, socially, economically, in all aspects, demonkind can improve. We are superior to humans in all ways. We are blessed with stronger bodies, greater minds, more powerful magic, yet in this one way they surpass us."

The demon smiled. But it was a different smile from all the once he had shown Rumius prior. And for some irrational reason, the pit in Rumius's stomach seemed to open up deeper, wider and more abyssally than ever before. " Can't you see my child? This is no revolt. It is a revolution. And in this revolution, by seizing power, I think that my children wish to surpass humanity by embracing it." 

" In doing so, we shall surpass the humans, expand our dominion, and fulfill his majesty's millennium long ambition of conquering Aüserst." 

" Think of our civilisation as a river, we've been going the wrong way the whole time. Every river flows to the sea, but right now we're just bleeding out. From here, we shall introduce a fresh stream, a new path, that ultimately leads to the promised ocean." 

The overseer shrugged his shoulders lightly. " If you think of it that way, then I begin to wonder if I should be fighting against this at all."