"This must have been the space in the Realms connected to our little Earth. I had to say, I did not like it. It was paradise of the mind, even the thin substitute for air was making all of us relax our tense muscles.
It was not beautiful, and neither was it horrendous, it was simply quaint. But I'd never want to live anywhere near it. It gave me the kind of feeling I did not feel I wanted to feel until the Earth is free of destroyers – peace of mind.
Right then, we were all covered by a thin blanket, conjured by the tokens collective work, enveloping us in a thin layer of existence. Giving us just the minimum bit of comfort, and somehow deceiving this world of the Realms, or at least this section of it, into believing that we were not alive.
I looked again at the scene, and now, it looked like a scavenger jungle, nothing the Earth did not used to have plenty of. Probably my minds own manifestation of paradise, an earth without darkness. I inspected the expressions on the other's faces; they too now visualised the emotionally confusing scene before them as it changed into a kind of paradise they wished for dearly.
As we walked, I realised, though our realities were distorted, they had a similar layout for all of us. It was then I realised what that earlier feeling of peace was. The world was trying to turn us into spirits, because living flesh cannot be allowed to be in the Realms—before just now, we were dying!"
The Knight took an instance to think about what Laurel Do, had just said. If the spirit dome it had run into whilst in the Nhoils continent, that would have meant that all those spirits it saw used to be living flesh and bone monsters, mad flesh, but living none the least.
'If I had gone in, I would have turned fully spirit, of which the dome around was only created to stop from leaving. Keeping those that fall into its unsuspecting trap as its eternal captives. Even worse for those unable to see spirits or the dome. I doubt it would work as easily on those of the void, still, I am just part void, would this make the rest spirit?
What about the one who plays with fate, are they the one who made the done or just another who got trapped in it? Is the dome a dungeon or a doorway to the Realm? Either way, I'm going to have to bump it further down my to-do list, too many unknowns.'
Laurel Do continued, privy not to the thoughts raging inside the Knight.
"With the dragon tokens keeping us safe, we would not dissolve and become a part of the residents of the Realms, which were nowhere to be seen, and sooner rather than later, we found out why.
Before we had time to fully digest our surroundings in order to determine if they were safe or deadly, a single being decided to answer that question for us. Eight beating wings, flapped in the skies, adorned on a being that could only be described as grotesque. We all felt it might just say to us at any moment 'do not fear'.
Instead, a horrendous wail left its mouth. Its disturbing screech filled me with an unforgettable rage. I was then washed over with so much love. In this loss of control, the being approached us, thinking on instinct, knight Bachelor Kol, swiped at the being before us. His massive swing ripping through the air.
He had struck too earlier, probably unable to judge any distance correctly. It seems, even the dragon tokens had their limits, there was only so much living sensory features and physical laws it could drag along with us.
One thing had dawned on all of us as we saw Kol so easily miss that slice. Afterall, Kol was attuned to facing the destroyers, in a place that deprived him of all his godly senses. Yet, in this world, he missed so horribly.
The thing we came to realise was that the Realms truly were no place for the flesh of the living. Maybe even the darkness wasn't, we only could fight in there because it was intruding upon the world of the Living, where Earth was not even a spec. But in here, we were like to it as the destroyers are to us, the intruders.
Arulli seems to have figured this much out too. The tokens had their limits, the world of the Realms was rejecting us as the world of the Living rejected spirits and ghosts, and this place could not be likened to our experience in the darkness because whilst the darkness had intruded upon us, in here we were the intruders.
Keeping these three lessons in his heart and hoping that the dragon token could at least make sound travel moderately enough, he screamed at us.
"Go back!"
One look back, we realised once more, we could not go back, at least not now. The tokens had their limits, but they made sure we knew only darkness and destroyers waited for us beyond that gate. Stuck between an unknown adversary and the darkness, we had no second thoughts on who we would rather face.
Not only that, but the darkness was a reminder for us. Why we were here, and the fact that we never backed off from a fight, whether it be against an unfamiliar foe in an unknown environment, we would defeat them despite it all. No adversary could stand before our might – philosophy one for every knight.
Kol swung again, extending himself further. The blade stopped for a bit before phasing through the being of which we could only assume was divine. Arulli learned another thing from this second interaction which he was more than happy to share.
"In here, we must be as the spirits are on earth, we must exert our presence. We must have an even stronger sense of being in order to force this world to recognise us, just as the vengeful spirits do!"
In this, the entire regiment of knights all surrounded the being, using a strategy I recognised. I had not constructed it, but I do remember Laurel Egnism explaining it to me. They fought, making sure to keep their power's area of effect from conflicting with someone else next to them.
We later learned that this was no ordinary divine, it was a divine spirit, an Angel. Even worse it was a trainee who had wandered too far from the academy training grounds before it spotted us. He was one of the two types of divine spirits, he was a normal spirit that trained to become divine, and the others were born divine and overpowered, of which we had to learn later.
The fight waged on, and this one encounter took almost half of all of us out. At this moment, Kol's sword had deeply went through it, using his power over destiny to make sure even the divine could not dodge. And through him, were the chilling claws that had manifested from its tenebrous hand like appendage, piercing him all the way through.
After the spirit vanished, Kol's body collapsed to the floor, still protected by the tokens. Instead, before our eyes, a formless blue mist floated out of him as had with all the fallen knights before him done in this battle. We then realised, we were already in the Realms, so his spirit just came out. He had no lingering memory of what he was supposed to look like or who we were, so a formless and confused mist he remained.
We had to leave him. We had no time to even observe his spirit start to accept and join those of the Realms. I had been assigned to collect his memories too, and just then they stopped rolling in. Later we found out, those of us who died in here just popped out of our bodies. They could not leave through the portal, those who kept their forms and memories had tried to walk out showing us only living flesh was allowed back in.
Our haste to abandon the spirit of our dearly departed was not dumbfounded. Just then, before us, a single golden sphere about two centimetres wide, spawned right where the spirit had died, and around it, thin whisps began forming around it.
If our friend here just became spirit, what happens if a spirit from here died?
Simple, it came back. We had to go, because in the Realms, the concept of death did not exist. If we died in here, we became spirit, but everything in here could not be killed.
For the next millions of years, we travelled the Realms, learning and growing. Some of us turning into formless spirits. Those that remained lucid and kept form and mind continued the march along with us, as if nothing much had happened."
All this talk of spirits made the Knight think back to Romeo, the divine spirit/Angel that had heeded the call of a mad demon monster, Juliet.
'It was probably because Romeo had some personal reason to follow her behind. Makes me wonder though, which type of angel was it? Regardless, one thing that is clear from this story, Romeo let itself die at my hands, it must've known that to destroyers, no soul could escape the oblivion of which we offer.'
"Our numbers had been whittled down, but not by much due to those turning into spirits with form. This year was going to be our last in here, our tokens were not eternal and were running out. They had lasted longer because Arulli tweaked them, and the twins supplied them with power, but it wasn't enough because they only supplied existential energy for four out of the seven elements.
Arulli had become quiet because of one thing, in all this time, he had not broken the third seal, and he wasn't any closer to finding out why. And he felt that he had let all of them die for nothing, because he was the one who pushed for the motion to begin all of this, against all of Lerva's expressed disapproval.
In time we returned to earth, even more ravaged as ever. The dragon dome around the Realms doorway was thinner every time we came, many dragons having been wiped from the skies.
On Earth we spent only a few ages. Many things had to be done. The first was making tokens of even stronger resistance, we wanted to go even further into the Realms.
Over and over, we repeated this pattern, for another fifty million years later, until the day I went to speak to Arulli.
"I see that we have to go back soon."
He ignored my attempts at small talk.
"I broke the third seal a few thousand year ago."
"You what!"
I saw his memories but not read his mind, or even his physical or soul related changes, none of it. But honestly, that is not what struck me as odd. It was the fact that he did not tell any of us. We had noticed he got stronger, but never this, we thought he would explain. I had assumed he was quiet because he failed at these attempts, so why is it that had made him keep all this to himself? I asked myself before he explained.
Sitting on what looked like a lonely stone in my reality of the Realms, Arulli sat in silence. This is the reason I even came to him, not to hear something so absurd.
"I broke the seal long ago, but now here I am at level 399, stuck on another of these stop gaps in our levelling. This should be good news, because it means this is not a seal since it is ending in 9, but this also means there is a seal at level 450, and another semi-seal at 499, before finally reaching 500."
"Go on."
"From how I feel now, I can tell you straight, level 500 is the level of which I am sure is the last."
"This does sound like good news."
"So many have died over all those years, only for one of me to reach this. How many more will have to die for me to reach level 450, and even more to reach 500? All just so we can get One single being, just one of us to compare against the destroyers‼!
The spirit Realms have taught us many things, but this one Angel guardian told me something that rivals all that knowledge. It said that all the darkness we face comes from a place as large and endless as our worlds, that's as large and infinite as both the world of the Living and the Realms combined.
Can you believe that? Our world, and the Realms, both as infinite as they are, are still less than all the darkness that exists?"
He waited for me to answer, but what he spoke was news to me, I was having a pretty hard time accepting any of it myself. Arulli was just a chatter ball today, a huge contradiction to the mute he had become millions of years back, so he kept speaking.
"And in here, there are so many guardians, so many of them, each operating on a type of existence exempt from levels, can you believe that? And whilst humanity has only one of me, both the Realms, and the darkness has an infinite number of beings this strong.
As I am, I could tare a hole through this part of the Realms, something that took all seven elemental dragons, alone. I don't even have to use either of my powers."
"Powers?!"
"That's right, I have two right now, but I'm sure my soul can afford to bare just one more. If my calculations are correct, once I near or reach the final level I should have it in me to get one more power.
And even all that power isn't enough, when will it ever be enough? Maybe I should learn a third power, right? I can, but even that will still not be enough. we live in a world where even surpassing the heights that a god could never even dare to dream of reaching is not enough. I mean really, who are these destroyers? And why do they have to take it all?"
I and all other Laurels had hoped that the numbness of power would never make even Arulli so numb, but there he was, the strongest human to ever live, and he still felt he was not enough. Before I could say anything, he spoke.
"I'm going to tell you one thing though mother, I'm nowhere near done! If we only have one, then I'll just have to make it more, don't I? FeveR! Jixon! Andersi! And you too Do! Come here right now!"
"You didn't have to scream my name too, I'm right here."
"I know, I can't exclude you, can I?"
They all gathered.
"Listen up guys, we are going to become the destroyers of the Earth.""