Aurora's Plight

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Aurora was stuck in a void inside her mind. The everlasting breeze connected to one's psyche touched her skin and moved elegantly. She saw nothing but a void, devoid of color or light. Without light, there is no color and without light, there can be darkness, only a void. A bottomless pit was her mind, blinded by her aspirations to know the secrets of magic.

She was the one who introduced dark spacial magic to the sect. She knew this well, she knew those demons were her fault and she knew that her sins will perform retribution upon her like a gauntlet. In the void, she did not float, in actuality, she was being pulled down.

Her naked feet touched what could be described as the ground. She saw a faint splash appear after she landed. It felt like she was stepping on a puddle of water. She then strode through the void, she acted like a child.

She felt peace, something she never again experienced the day she took on the vow to serve the God of Death. The God of Death, a once ethereal and benevolent deity whose vision and mission was corrupted by the temptations of magic. A temptation he passed on to one of his most loyal follower, Aurora The Sorcerer.

In the world of magic, there was the universally accepted 'mage' they were the backbone of the magical community of the continent, led by either a Demigod or a religious authority figure. But, there were also outcasts, scorned individuals who have fallen to the ill-will and temptation of magic. These were the sorcerers and witches.

A sorcerer was a person who had taken upon themselves the wishes of the deity they follow and worship to explore and gain ever more magical power. With the help of their masters, they gain immense magical power in only a short amount of time. Although these persons are powerful and can even outmatch those of the powerful Demigods, they were restricted by the blood pact they form with the deity.

And thus, if they stray from what was ordered or agreed upon by their deity, they will die. And so, they tend to be more conservative and secretive.

Witches, yes, unlike the sorcerers, witches are only limited to the female denizens. They do not form a blood pact with any deity nor do they serve any master but they have the same will of a sorcerer. They explore the land to learn more about magic, the more they learn, they are further enamored and corrupted by the alluring power.

Without anyone to guide them, they stray from the path of righteousness and often commit acts of malevolence. Over the history of Fordalt, after the continent eventually settled after the Second Great War, these witches ran amok. Massacre after massacre, they would leave a trail of blood behind whenever someone stood in their way, even if those they killed did not even realize that they were blocking the path.

Eventually, a combined effort of sorcerers, Demigods, and archmages eliminated the witches, massacring them by the thousands before eventually, they went into hiding. Ever since then, mages, sorcerers, and witches have been caught in a silent struggle and so far, the mages are on top.

Aurora was one of those sorcerers after she formed a blood pact with the God of Death a hundred years ago when she was on the brink of death, she was never the same. She inherited the will of her deity, a cursed will.

The void in which she now was walking upon, reflected how blind she has been. How, after all these years of searching for the true nature and reason for magic has made her devoid of any self-satisfaction or will of her own. Under the control of a deity who sought to overthrow the very foundations of heaven, she was a lost cause.

If anyone were to know of her true self, they would ask, "Then why did continue serving the Blue Goddess?". There is a simple answer; because the blue goddess was the youngest and one of the most powerful of the deities. The downside was, she was an idiot, and her intelligence is far beyond average.

"Hm," Aurora smirked at the thought. She was unwavering in her ways and never did she regret. For she hated death most, and to be offered by death itself to serve him in exchange for what could be called eternal life was something so extraordinary yet appealed her.

"What are you doing?"

A hard and low voice echoed across the void.

Aurora stopped. She stood still and looked around. An ominous wind blew around her causing her hair to stand and a chill to run down her spine.

"What do you think you'd accomplish if you stay here?"

The voice asked.

"I know, but what can someone like me do, I am trapped here inside my mind, in other words, I cannot wake up," In other words, Aurora, you're in a temporary coma.

The wind blew furiously, the voice was angered.

"You dare? After I went and gave you eternal life in exchange for your allegiance and compliance, you dare fail? At this time and place? Where even the Gods up there heaven are shaking their feet,"

Aurora heard those words and was confused.

"They fear the metal demons?"

The voice suddenly laughed. The laugh echoed through the void and Aurora was bombarded with a burst of laughter.

"Of course they are! To think that the world(s) they destroyed themselves a thousand years ago would suddenly travel here and have their revenge is certainly something to be afraid about,"

"They aren't from our world?" Aurora was amazed.

"No, they come from a different world, a different existence similar to ours but only consisted of humans,"

Aurora was hearing all of this for the first time, it was a wonder why the God of death only decided to tell her this now. The wind calmed and went back to its original state, it breezed around.

"That's why I told you to gain a position in the council, this is why I told you to spread the teachings of dark spatial magic to the underworld,"

The voice seemed resolute and satisfied.

"This is part of your plan to overthrow heaven, huh?" Aurora realized.

The voice chuckled.

"Of course, but we need to be certain that they can be of use,"

"What do you mean?" Aurora asked.

"We need to be sure that they have the power to kill the gods themselves,"

Aurora was shocked.

Kill the gods themselves? How could mortal beings even match such a feat! Not even the most powerful of Demigods even in Apotheosis level in the past, those who declared themselves above the heavens did not survive the might and power of heaven! So how would a collection of metal demons accomplish something like it?

The wind then began to blow again in a fury.

"I know your thoughts, I can see them, do not underestimate the beings that wiped the floor clean with your sorry excuse of a crusade,"

Aurora was insulted.

But she decided to keep her cool or else she would get punished or otherwise, killed.

She sighed and said.

"Death, how will they accomplish such a feat that not even the most powerful of demigods couldn't do?"

The wind stopped in front of her, she felt the figure of death itself touch her right shoulder.

"They possess a power beyond your comprehension, gods are immune to most magic and could only be matched by magic of beyond super tier. These metal demons, however, I was there that day when I visited their world(s), disguise as a mortal to experience whats it like to be there. Heaven had been brutal, they had slaughtered trillions of souls and these souls flowed through me, it gave me pleasure, so much pleasure. But, what they did next, that I could not forget,"

Aurora then felt Death himself quake in fear.

"The horror, the power they showed. It was not magic, no, they did not need magic. This power, they discovered an element that could harm a deity and crafted powerful of their creations and required not the blessings of any god nor goddess,"

Aurora felt the god's fear also flow through her.

"Tell me, Aurora, have you ever wondered that there may be few deities up and below heaven?"

Aurora thought for a while.

"No, were there more gods in the past?"

She felt death's hand suddenly soften and his grip loosen.

"Yes, I had brothers, I also had sisters with me and..... a mortal that I... fell in love with,"

Aurora caught off guard hearing Death's words, a deity in love with a mortal? That was unheard of, but she stay silent and hear Death's next words.

"They all died that day,"

At that moment, Aurora realized that even deities could die, they were not completely immortal.

"Then, how did you live?"

The wind suddenly shook her and she felt the hand shove her and she was thrown afar.

"IT'S BECAUSE I AM DEATH AND BECAUSE I AM DEATH, I CANNOT DIE!!!!!"

The God of Death was angered. But, Aurora felt something unusual.

"I WATCHED THEM WITH MY OWN EYES DISAPPEAR IN FRONT OF ME, I FELT THEIR SOULS FLOW THROUGH ME, MY BROTHERS, MY SISTERS, MY LOVE! THEY WAVED THEIR GOODBYES WITH THEIR SOULS. THIS IS WHY I WISH TO OVERTHROW HEAVEN ITSELF, THAT IS THE REASON WHY I CONDEMN EVERY SINGLE DEITY THAT STILL LIVES! IF THEY HAD NOT MEDDLED WITH THE AFFAIRS OF THOSE PEOPLE, IF THEY JUST LET THEM BE! I WOULD STILL HAVE MY LOVED ONES WITH ME! I WOULD STILL HOLD THE HANDS OF THAT BEAUTIFUL MORTAL AND MADE HER BLESSED ETERNAL LIFE SO WE COULD BE TOGETHER! BUT THAT WON'T HAPPEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The God of Death emitted a wave of despair and anguish. It lighted the void of her mind, she was blinded by a sudden light.

"THIS IS THE LIGHT, THIS IS THE LIGHT THAT DOES NOT GIVE HOPE! NO! THIS LIGHT IS THE PRELUDE TO THEIR DEATHS!"

The light was immense. Aurora felt a sudden pressure envelope her body until she fainted.

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Strange sounds of wheezing and crumbling caught her attention. She slowly opened her eyes and saw the smoke-choked sky. She has finally awakened. She felt her magic had depleted a large amount and that she could no longer perform another summon. She could not hear clearly but the muffled sounds of popping in the distance and screams she could still hear.

She moved her right hand to touch the back of her head. She lifted her head up despite the pain and touched it with her hand. She then placed her hand near her face and saw it stricken with blood.

She moved her head and looked around. Rubble of houses and stone buildings that once stood surrounded her, accompanied by bodies of those unlucky. There was the body of a child, judging from the size of the boy, he was just a few years old, supposedly 4. His body lacked two of his hands and the entirety of his chest and face had been burned.

"This is cruel," Aurora whispered. She felt a bit of remorse but what can she do? The boy's soul has now flowed through the God of Death and brought to the afterlife.

And then, there was an explosion. The ground shook and dust fell on her face. She turned to the side and saw the cloud of dust and out came one of her bodyguards, Fery. She was thrown out of the cloud of dust with immense force. She painstakingly landed on her feet, her body bruised and magic almost depleted. She held her rod of fire tightly, clenching her fists hard around it.

She was grinning at the direction of the smoke, a silhouette of a person could be seen. The silhouette slowly made itself through the smoke and revealed himself. He was a tall man with long hair that went down his forehead and was wearing a black uniform, something she had not seen before.

His body structure was refined and what skin that was not under the uniform he wore had cracks that glowed red. His eyes also glowed red, despite his appearance as a human, his expressionless face could only mean one thing.

"Metal demon!" Fery shouted. She suddenly felt a searing pain in her gut prompting her to back off a few steps.

The man did not reply. He only continued to walk towards her.

"Shit!" Fery tried to lift her rod to block but was too slow for the man. The man suddenly appeared in front of her.

"Sleep," The man said.

A sucker punch to the gut was all it took, Fery vomited blood before collapsing onto the floor.