The fallen

When they were first banished from their kingdom, the people cursed their ruler. Calling him names and saying terrible things. The ruler felt he was too merciful, as the people he showed mercy to were badmouthing him instead of being grateful and remorseful. In his anger, he placed a curse on their bloodline: if his name was ever mentioned by any one of their races, be it man, woman, adult, or child, their souls would be sent into the nine hells, where they would undergo different tribulations and torment for a century.

After a century, their souls will be returned to their bodies, but due to the agonizing ordeal they have faced, they will become useless and practically become mad people.

The early fallen thought nothing of it, and several of them disregarded the warning. Several dozen of the fallen fell into a vegetative state. The elders watched them and tried to wake them up. They used different techniques and tried different medicines, but nothing worked. It was then that they finally feared the curse. After a century had passed, those people awoke, but all they could do now was mutter frenetically. The fallen tried to make sense of what they were saying, but they just could not understand.

In the entire history of the fallen, only one person returned less insane. He later became the second king of the fallen. The torture and tribulations he faced were more of a blessing for him than a curse.

Or so he thought. The people of the Daemon continent know him as the mad king. He felt he was stronger than everybody, as he had survived a century in hell, but what he did not know was that that kind of torture always leaves a mark. After ruling for about five years, he snapped and went on a killing spree around the Demon continent, and when people of his race tried to stop him, he killed some of them in a fit of rage. The elders banded together to take him down, and from then on, they decided that if anyone fell into a vegetative state after triggering their curse, they would be killed to prevent something like the mad king from happening again.

Surprisingly, before they even attempted to kill the returners, it seemed they all woke up from their comatose state and ran rampant around the village. It was at that time that a vampire chose to wander around, causing her to feel threatened. She killed every single returner that attacked her, making the fallen that were about to foul their hands with the blood of their brothers and sisters feel relief but, at the same time, anger. Yes, they felt anger towards the vampire who just killed their former people like they meant nothing.

Tenebrea, who did not know she had done them a favor, only saw their angry expressions and felt she had killed several scores of a new race just because of a misunderstanding. She managed to leave and later brought back several materials as a peace offering. Once again, she did not know that the fallen had realized they overreacted and were on the verge of looking for her to apologize. Seeing the vast amount of resources she brought to them like it was nothing, they decided to fake it and make it look like they were still vexed at her act, so she would bring more to try to appease them, but after Tenebrea saw they were still being unreasonable, she did not bother and just left them.

They had already said they would be neutral towards her budding race, so she did not worry over them, and if they chose to attack, then she would not be merciful. This would not be the first time she had destroyed races.

The elders were almost done with their meeting after one elder almost mentioned "his name". As the meeting concluded, they started to leave the tent. As light shone into the tent, all the elders had wings as black as coal.

"Let's go welcome our visitors." The sage looking old man said. Several elders harrumphed and kissed their teeth, but they did not dispute what he said. The sage looking elder was the head elder. He hovered as his wings beat in the air, sounding like thunderclaps.

Finally, Tenebra, Anastasia, and the others reached the end of the peak, and everyone except Tenebrea, as she has been here before, was surprised.

The peak that could be seen from afar was not really the key. It was a dome that was placed around the actual peak. The fallen had fallen on the tallest mountain in the entire world and caused the peak to cave in, forming a bowl like crater. They chose to live there because it was the highest place and very solitary. They then built a dome around the peak that formed from the debris of their descent. From afar, it looked like nothing had happened to the peak, but when you climbed the mountain, you realized you were sorely mistaken.

There was an entry point from where they climbed. Clearly, Tenebrea still remembered this. At the huge opening that was supposed to house a gate, several old, winged people stood. Some of them had sneers on their faces, clearly not interested in visitors, while the other group had smiles on their faces. They wanted to meet new people because they felt they had shut out the outside world for too long.

Before going up, Tenebrea had told Anastasia to disguise herself as a peak-red-rank vampire. Now the elders scanned through the people in front of them, and the highest rank they saw was peak red.

"What do you want? Why did you climb all the way to our peak?" One of the hostile elders asked

"My master was interested in some sightseeing. We mean no harm. We'd just pass through and be on our merry way." Julius came forward to speak.

The fallen knew the barbarians and vampires were not really on good terms. Most races on the Daemon continent weren't on good terms. After all, it was the law of the jungle here. Only the strongest will remain, but seeing five individuals of different races move together made them wonder what was going on, especially after hearing the barbarian call the tall vampire his master.

"We don't allow other races in our territory. Leave or face the consequences." The one eyed elder threatened

"Oyyy cyclops, calm down. He clearly made it known that we meant no harm. If it's a fight you want, you'll get a fight," Tenebrea threatened.

Her disciples looked at her, and the way she spoke made her look like a thug.

The one-eyed elder almost fainted in anger. He was already folding his sleeves, getting ready to fight this thug-like vampire for seven hundred rounds. Tenebrea also stepped up, ready to tussle. Anastasia had to pull her back while the other elders pulled back the one-eyed elder.

"This is her majesty, Queen Tenebrea. As the sovereign of the vampires, we demand passage through your city, and if a single hair is harmed on her head or the heads of her disciples, there will be war against the fallen. That is the vow I make as the Blood rose, Anastasia." As Anastasia spoke, her aura rose until it reached its peak.

The aura of a peak gold rank being was pressed upon the elders that were at intermediate gold rank. After eating the fruit that gave Anastasia and Vlad their youth back, her progress in cultivation drastically increased. She had risen all the way to the peak gold rank now.

The elders were in shock, but it was partially because of the aura. What caused their awe was the fact that the tall, thug vampire was a person their ancestors told them to treat with respect.

They remembered the tales about how a vampire killed the ones that returned, and her name was later known as the one who fought god. The fallen wanted to meet her again, but they heard she perished during the fight. They were saddened and did not see any potential in becoming the vampire allies as their progenitor was dead, but that did not mean they would want to become enemies, so they instead chose to keep their neutral stance, and now they are hearing that the queen of over five thousand years is still alive.