Prologue – Uriel, the Archangel
Seven worlds, seven protectors. In some realms they are worshipped as goddesses, in others they are called archangels. My story is about the world of Neptunia, one of the Seven Worlds. This is the realm of Sword and Sorcery. Its protector—or goddess, if you prefer—is Archangel Uriel.
They say Uriel is the wisest among the Seven Archangels, the greatest tactician. Her elements are water, lightning, and light. In this, we are alike—except for the light. My master once told me that if I train hard every day, perhaps in five hundred years I might master the element of light as well. But what truly counts as hard training?
Elisabeth—or Eli, as everyone here calls her—barely trains fifteen minutes a day. Most of her time is devoted to crafting magical devices. Of course, she is a mage, and a true genius at that. No prodigy like her has been born in a thousand years. She was the mage of the Hero's Party a millennium ago, hailing from the Kingdom of Riel. She died fighting the Demon King, but before drowning in her own blood, she blasted a massive fireball into the Demon King's face. I believe her—just the other day she nearly blew up the Sky Island. My master scolded her thoroughly for that.
She has long golden hair and blue eyes. If she weren't always so messy, like a haystack, you might mistake her for a princess. Among the valkyries, she is the only one with a sense of humor. Well, sometimes even my master can joke—when she's in a good mood.
My master, Sakura of the Dryveil „Sakura Dry", is a swordmaster from the Cezare Empire, from its far eastern reaches—an island. She trains two hours a day, spending the rest of her time meditating and reading books. Her abs are bigger than her chest—but don't mention that to her, or you'll end up in more pieces than there are petals on a cherry blossom tree. She has long dark‑brown hair and hazel eyes.
She was a member of the Hero's Party five hundred years ago. According to Eli, my master was an even better swordswoman than the Hero himself. She cut off the Demon King's left arm, but unfortunately the Demon King was right‑handed, so in the end she paid with her head.
The one who trains the hardest, without question, is Elcres. The strongest martial artist ever born in Neptunia, and its greatest training fanatic. She hails from the Hero's Party fifteen hundred years ago. She is the only one, apart from the Heroes themselves, who fought a Demon King one‑on‑one—and survived. She never got over the fact that in the end it was the Hero who defeated the Demon King, even though she wanted that victory for herself. Since then, she has spent every single day training—for fifteen hundred years.
I've been on the Sky Island for two years now, but I still haven't seen her. No matter, there will be plenty of time for us to meet. Elcres is Uriel's strongest valkyrie.
By the way, the valkyries. They are the chosen warriors of the archangels, heroic souls drawn from their own worlds. Every five hundred years, one warrior is selected from the Hero's Party. Interestingly, none of the three chosen were ever the Hero himself.
I am certain Uriel had her reasons for not choosing the Hero as her valkyrie. It is no accident she is regarded as the wisest of the archangels. From the very first moment I met her, she gave the impression of being an incredibly intelligent being.
She wore glasses. At first I couldn't understand why an angel would need them, since their vision surpasses even that of an eagle. Later I learned she didn't wear them for sight. The glasses were in fact a magical device, one of Eli's creations: a portable supercomputer disguised as spectacles.
In her left hand she held a book. On its cover gleamed a magical crystal—another of Eli's inventions. This crystal contained Uriel's entire library: every work ever written in Neptunia, even those lost or destroyed over the millennia. This was Uriel's Library, the sanctuary of knowledge.
Uriel's long pink hair was braided in the style of a warrior maiden. Though more mage than swordswoman, she was skilled in martial arts as well. Her eyes were blue, like the most beautiful earthly sky, her wings pure white, shimmering in the sunlight. I cannot guess her age. Eli claims she is over ten thousand years old—yet it does not show at all. The beauty of angels truly surpasses all human measure.
In the world of Earth there were beautiful women, maidens, and girls, but Uriel's beauty represents an entirely different level. It is as if God Himself had shaped her face… and every feature of her being.
I originally come from Earth—or rather, my soul does. My body has long since perished, burned away, or who knows what became of it. I lived thirty‑five years in that world before Uriel summoned me into the world of Neptunia.
Neptunia, the world of Sword and Sorcery. One of the most striking differences compared to Earth is that here three moons shine in the sky. The night sky is breathtakingly beautiful when all three illuminate the darkness at once. The other great difference is Magic.
If I had to compare the two worlds in terms of development, time, and era, I would say Neptunia resembles Earth's Middle Ages. Yet it is a better world than Earth. Nature is pure; you can drink fresh water even from a puddle after rain, and the rivers run crystal clear. Magic is wondrous—but like all good things, it has its dark side.
When too much dark energy, evil magic, gathers together, it condenses into a single point. This is the Dark Seed. From it is born the Demon King: a jet‑black demon whose only purpose is destruction.
The Hero's task is to defeat the Demon King and save the world. This repeats every five hundred years. When the Demon King is reborn, Uriel chooses a newborn and blesses them with the power of Light. The Hero is the only one in Neptunia capable of wielding the Light element. It is always the Hero who must deliver the final blow—otherwise the Demon King will never truly die.
Across the continent, the Hero is revered as the savior of the world. Eli, of course, just calls him a "janitor."
Neptunia is divided into three great continents. The smallest lies in the center, where the heart of the world is found. The Demon King is always reborn here, and the Hero is always chosen from here as well. The people of this continent have never reached the other two: to the west, a colossal Sea Dragon guards the ocean, while to the east the Kraken smashes ships to pieces—if some other sea monster doesn't finish them off first. Though there are always reckless adventurers, pirates, or explorers, none have ever returned to tell the tale.
This world teems with monsters. Not only humans and demons dwell here, but also elves, dwarves, beast‑folk of every animal kind, orcs, goblins, gnolls, ogres, undead, dragons… and I could go on listing them until nightfall.
On the western side of the continent lies the Kingdom of Riel, the land of knights. It is inhabited by humans, though scattered half‑human tribes also live here, often turning to banditry for survival. To the east stretches the Empire of Cezare, likewise a land of humans, but filled with countless half‑human tribes forced into slavery. The two powers are locked in constant war: the emperor seeks to unite the continent, while the knights defend their king, their noble houses, and their freedom.
In the north stands Elindor, the kingdom of the elves. The Paladin Order protects the queen and her people, while fighting against the orcs who raid villages and towns from the northern cave systems. The lands of elves and humans are divided by the icy mountains of the Frost Dragons. There has never been war between the two peoples, for both avoid the dragons' territory at all costs.
To the south lies Bargon, the kingdom of the dwarves. Mountains and endless cave networks dominate the land. Though the dwarves are the dominant race, battles with goblins, kobolds, gnolls, and other beast‑folk are a daily occurrence. The lands of humans and dwarves are separated by the volcanic mountains of the Fire Dragons. Fear of the dragons and the multitude of monsters keeps both races from crossing into each other's territory—thus no war has ever broken out between them.
The beast‑folk live scattered across the continent. Cat‑folk and dog‑folk are enslaved in the Empire, while wolf‑folk plunder as bandits in the kingdoms or serve as mercenaries in the Empire. The other tribes each have their own place: some hide and hunt, others raid, or flee from the chains of slavery.
It has already been five years since the newest Demon King was born. At the same time, Uriel chose the Hero of this era. Yet no one on the continent knows of this. Only a few sense that something is wrong: monsters are multiplying too quickly, demons are growing restless.
I am spending my rest day in an empty space. Everything is dark; I see nothing. This is my first day of rest since arriving on the Sky Island two years ago. Tomorrow morning my mission begins. My soul is slowly merging with my new body.
Why did I end up in this situation? Let me explain…
Elisabeth—Eli, the Valkyrie Mage—created a magical device that allows one to glimpse the future. A mage can see at most five minutes ahead. Eli tested it, and it worked. This caught Uriel's curiosity as well. And that is where the trouble began.
Uriel looked into the future too. An archangel. She saw twenty years ahead! Terrible visions appeared before her: the Demon King driving the world to the brink of destruction, the Hero dead, hope lost.
For three days she could not sleep. On the third day, however, she calmed herself and resolved to set things right. She withdrew for two weeks and learned how to adjust the device's time. She named it the Crystal of the Future. She rewound the twenty years and carefully studied the future that had not yet come to pass.
It took her three months, but at last she discovered why the chosen Hero lost against the Demon King. There was only one reason: the White Witch.
A half‑elf sorceress from the Kingdom of Riel, one of the Demon King's four generals. The Hero fought her at the age of eighteen. She defeated her, but paid a terrible price. Before her death, the White Witch cursed her. It was a curse so powerful that even Eli had never seen its like. The Hero lost two‑thirds of her magical power. The strength of Light was reduced to a third, and with that she had to face the Demon King. She died a heroic death at the age of twenty.
But nothing is lost yet! This is only the future that has not happened. It can be changed.
And this is where I come in: an ordinary soul from Earth. Uriel cannot interfere directly in the events of the world. The only thing she can do is bless the Hero—and she already did that five years ago. The valkyries, meanwhile, have no physical bodies, only forms of spirit. Because of their immense soul energy, no human body could ever be compatible with them. Even if they wished, they could not return to the world of Neptunia.
So what can be done in this desperate situation? Well, this is Uriel we are talking about—the wisest archangel, the greatest strategist. To her, the entire world is like a chessboard. And most terrifying of all: she was able to deliver checkmate by moving a single, ordinary pawn.
What was her brilliant move? That is a long story… but I will try to tell it to you, even if it takes a century.