Liam stood alone in the Oakhaven graveyard. He stared at the thirty-seven fresh mounds of earth. Each one was a reminder of his failure as a General.
"Isn't it beautiful?" a voice spoke from behind him. "I mean death. It is the only true justice in the cosmos. Everywhere you go, something is dying at this moment. Stars, humans, monsters, rich, poor, powerful, or weak."
Liam spun around. His hand gripped his sword hilt, but his eyes widened. He checked the System immediately, but the screen was blank. It didn't detect a single soul. Liam's heart hammered. How is he here? Even the System is blind to him.
The man standing there was the Demon Lord. He watched Liam and said, "Don't worry, I came here just to talk. Don't bother checking me with your skill. You won't see anything."
Liam stayed frozen. He forced the System to open again. The System flickered and failed. It didn't even register a danger level. This race was unknown to the System.
The Demon Lord said, "I cannot use force to make you believe me. I will let you check a bit of my stats so you understand who I am. I do not have time to talk or to make you believe me. Check again."
Liam obeyed. This time, the System read the data:
Name: Astaroth Title: The Demon Lord Magic: Infinite Mana Everything else was an error. Liam was terrified. He thought about how to survive, but his mind was a blur.
"I showed you my stats so you would know me," the Demon Lord said. "It is amazing that you are alive. If a human or monster were nearby me, they would explode. Nothing can hold my radiation. Only my true subordinates can stay near me. The fact that you are alive... I am amazed."
In an instant, the Demon Lord stood beside Liam. "Come with me. Let me show you something."
A magic circle opened in the air. Liam knew this was absolute power. He followed. In a second, the graveyard vanished. They were in the space at the beginning of the cosmos. Billions of stars were before them.
"Let's visit some of them," the Demon Lord said.
They moved through ten worlds. In every world, Liam saw different races living in harmony. But the Demon Lord showed him the dead worlds too. The buildings were still there, but everything was vaporized.
The Demon Lord explained, "When the creator god, Zingard the World Dragon, created this cosmos and all these stars, he thought if everything was perfect, everyone would be happy. Humans lived 250 years. But after some generations, no one was happy. It failed. There was nothing to make them love their lives. Everyone was equal. No one was hungry or poor. The worlds were dying. Zingard saw the problem and he created the other side of life."
He looked at Liam. "He created me and the Light God. He gave us power to influence these worlds, to make them better to live in. My master was right. That struggle made these worlds flourish. Do you know how much a soldier in a war loves his life when a blade is on his neck? He would give everything just for one second to say goodbye to his family."
They returned to the graveyard in a flash. Liam shook his head. "Then what? What does this have to do with me? I am nothing in this game you play with the gods."
The Demon Lord laughed. "Ha Ha Ha! You are different. This is the first time someone has spoken to me with that voice. I like you. Let me do you a favor. I will free your system from both of us—me and the Light God."
The Demon Lord pointed his hand at Liam's face. The System screen appeared, screaming: [DANGER! DANGER! DANGER!] For the first time, the System detected the Demon Lord's presence. The chains were gone.
"Ascend, Liam," the Demon Lord said as he began to fade into the wind. "We think you will be better than us. You can do it better."
The Demon Lord was gone. The graveyard was silent again, but everything felt different. Liam stood there alone, looking at his hands.
He finally understood. He remembered the snake in the cave from his early days. Now I understand why that fucking snake was in a cave, Liam thought. The snake could stay there for eternity or until it died because it had no one to save and no one to care about. It didn't want to face the gods or be anything. It could just hide.
Liam realized he couldn't do that. He couldn't stay in a cave like that. He couldn't put everything to one side because he had to protect those with him—those who were waiting for him to go back to them. He had to protect his friends.