Rafael was breathing hard as he looked seriously at the last obstacle blocking his return to the surface of the Shadowlands. A real Demon with an appearance almost identical to Josiah was blocking his path… His completely black eyes stared at Rafael with nothing but hatred and fury, and he roared and growled like an animal.
If it were another monster, Rafael would kill it on the spot without hesitation, but now that he knew the truth about the Demons of the first Calamity, all he wanted was to calm this Demon down, and send it back to the depths, maybe one day Josiah could bring it back to what it was, or at least bring its mind back to what it once was…
After all, this was his new teacher's life goal. Before leaving, Rafael insisted that the old Demon come with him to Asshai, even offering him a position as a Sage in the Order of Sages, but Josiah said that he would just continue his research in the same place they were, but said that he would appreciate sending some magical resources and other materials if Rafael wanted to support his research…
"ARGH"
"ROARR"
Rafael dodged another 2 blows from the Demon, when he finally used his strength to jump on the Demon's back and use his powerful Gravity to place him face down on the ground. He then took out a soul stone, whispered unknown words, and pushed the stone into the Demon's mouth. When he did this, the Demon finally calmed down and stopped struggling, losing consciousness.
Rafael then cut his hand, gathering dark red blood on the ground, and chanted strange words again. Suddenly, a dog-sized creature made of rocks and blood rose.
With just one look at Rafael, the creature bit the Demon by one of his arms and dragged him back into the depths…
Relieved, Rafael finally saw the sky again in over 30 years. He approached a small puddle of water accumulated by the rain and went to get rid of the blood and all the dirt on his previously cut hand, which had already healed on its own, thanks to his new innate spell.
When he crouched down near the puddle and saw his reflection, he realized that he was still the same, having not aged at all in the last 30 years… One of the few advantages of being a Half-Demon, but now his eyes were completely black, just like the Demon he had just defeated. Rafael didn't care much, and could even do an Alteration to change his eyes back to normal, but out of respect for his teacher and his people, he decided to keep this trait.
After washing himself, Rafael continued his journey back to Asshai. A few days before arriving, he had also passed by Stygai… When he looked at Corpse City, he swore that he would take revenge on those monsters when he recovered his spells and got rid of his current weaknesses…
***
Asshai still looked the same, the towers, the houses, the streets, it was possible that even in 100 or 200 years the city would still be the same… It was still daylight and close to lunchtime. The first place Rafael visited upon returning was his shop, the Sage Store. This shop had been in existence for 43 years, and he wanted to take the opportunity to eat a decent meal after so many years of eating monster meat underground…
But before arriving at the shop, Rafael's eyes observed one of the many temples in the city… He was now fully aware of the identity of these "gods"… But it was not yet time to deal with them, on the contrary, such a threat was above even the events of the Eternal Night and the Night King himself…
Ignoring the temple, Rafael finally arrived at his shop, and saw everything dusty and closed… He frowned and tried to enter the place to see if there was anyone inside. But there was no one there besides furniture and other dusty items.
Seeking answers, he immediately set off for the Tower of Distortion. He hoped that his companions had conquered it after so many years. But since he no longer felt his connection with the tower, he needed to go there personally.
Arriving at the Tower of Distortion, the flag with the symbol of the order still fluttered in the center. Rafael passed by some apprentices and human guards, revealing his seal as one of the Sages.
And inside the tower, he finally found someone he knew again, this person hugged him tightly while shedding tears…
"Master, is it you?"
She was a mature woman in her 40s or so, with white skin, eyes as black as night, and black hair now mixed with some gray...
It's good to see you again, Aisha...
***
A hasty meeting was called, and all the Sages of the Order attended. The only one who was not present was Omar, but a bluish doll that looked like an ice statue was there, allowing Omar to communicate even from the distant new base...
After everyone greeted Rafael and celebrated his return, he observed everyone in the room, noticing all the changes they had undergone. Unlike Aisha, who had signs of aging, everyone in the room had not aged at all. Laura was still the same, but now had longer hair. Jack was young and wore the same traditional face that he always revealed during meetings. Yuri, Vitarys, and Jhon were the same, without any difference. Zaya was the one who had the most unique change; her pale white face now had black stripes on both sides of her cheek, whose shape resembled the black streaks of a feline…
Liza was the one who had changed the most; her long silver Valyrian hair was replaced by long purple hair, which matched the also purple color of her elongated nails, the color of her lips, and of course, the color of her Valyrian eyes that were also close to a type of purple…
After finally observing everyone's change, Rafael finally asked the first question:
"So, can someone explain to me why the Sage Store is closed?"
Zaya stood up and was the one who answered while bowing:
"I'm sorry, Master of the Order, but we were forced to close the store…"
****
Special thanks to the Patreons:
Sage's Supporter: Jan, Vinnie, frimorigo, Leery Falcon, Parsa, Scott Robertson, and Pato Senalima!
Magic Apprentice: Axel Bour, Gabriele Sulpizio, Takatchi, mandeep singh, Austin, Kobe Robertson, Paul Gaslac, Niteo akuma, and 704Corleon!
Senior Magic Apprentice: Cole Bromley and Avacus!