...
Oh, Great One.
why must you do this?
to throw one's own words on one's face.
say, what human memory do you still have left
...
the memory of sorrow.
still as fresh as the days of my humanity.
no matter how many millennia pass, such memory will never fade from one's memories.
did you regret not being able to accomplish that memory?
one does not.
to this day, one still feels it burning inside.
...
but.
even if one had the opportunity of accomplishing that sorrow, one will not.
one does not have any memory of happiness left, nor of joy.
i know
but, if you had the opportunity of being human again
living as such, accomplishing that which left undone
then dying as such
not as a dream
but as human
would you still want to waste that opportunity?
one never did once wanted to be what one has become.
one did not wish for heaven's acceptance.
one saw hell as one's repentance of one's own mistakes and failures.
so tell me, Mighty Lord of the Visionary, for one is incapable of intuiting your Mighty plans
Lord is the least fitting name for me
then, one will say as you please, O Mighty Vision Dreamer.
...
...
...
—10 years after the disappearance of the prophesized unknown hero.
a Dark Mist shrouds the higher skies.
trapping the sunlight from reaching the ground forever.
this dark mist was not here just 2 years ago.
after the fall of the old Emperor, and many of the past heroes, except one, this has been like this.
Calamities.
unknown Calamities started appearing out of nowhere and started eating everything.
not a single country remained unscathed after those that fell on them
one such Calamity roamed freely at the Capital City of Nolin Empire, Nod Yunin.
outside the City walls, far ahead, something shrouded in mist like a veil, roamed freely.
as if waiting for something
and that was
"it's here."
-ding ring ring ring!!! -ding ring ring ring!!!
inside Yunin City, at the watchtowers of Nolin Castle, overlooking the whole of the state, and everything past walls.
stood two guards watching over.
one watching the mist no scop, eyes glowing
the other, a woman, ringing the bell.
"you sure it's the real deal?"
the guard, male, turned his face.
"not a chance, it really is the Wandering Mist."
and turned back to the mist again.
"and if it's the same thing we are searching for. we might be able to lift this fog covering the skies."
the woman took out a scope, even tho she could see a mist like thing far away from the city walls, she couldn't see what the other one was seeing.
something was wandering inside that mist like cloud roaming around.
something he couldn't see clearly or identify.
but that something, he felt like, it was as if it was looking at him.
even though he felt no fear or pressure from it's presence or gaze, he knew better.
the women, looking at the mist with a scope, as if trying to see something invisibke.
"what if they fail? what if their plan won't work this time? i am having this weird thoughts right now."
she said, albeit calmly. but the statement being anything.
"don't say that, we should have faith in them. after all we are still alive to see till this day again."
"..."
"..."
"right. we should have faith in them."
...
...
...
below the castle walls, inside an office
-ding ring ring ring!!! -ding ring ring ring!!!
sitting on the office chair, an mid aged man with absolute buffed build, 6.8 height, closing the documents he was reading.
Grand Marshal now
"sir, the bell."
"let's go."
'let's go? where the hell are we going? do we even have left somewhere where we can go now?'
'i knew something was wrong the moment my crippled father tried dragging me here. but throwing me in the same room with a brute like this!'
-son, come here, just listen to me for a sec.
as the memory surfaced again, of his father
-dad, you take me for a fool? i know you want to send me to the emperial army. i am not some labubu as to not even understand that.
-you aren't? here i thought otherwise
as his father tried grabbing him, but him being the superior in agility and with both legs still attached, dogded with ease.
-dad, quit trying to grab me or you will hurt your leg again. oops, forgot there's nothing left.
-you little! i am your father. just come here while i am being nice. or else if i get my hands on you later, i am going to break your leg too!
-dad, at the end of the day, you know you can't reach me with just one leg
as the scene of his father and him running around their backyard came together
-you know, son? you are right. age is getting to me now. you can go ahead, do what you mu- wait, son! is that an ant nest on the ground over there!?
-where where!?
only for his father to tackle him from behind and flipping him over.
-ants don't make nest, you fool. that's birds' job
-daaaad! i think my vertebrae just got broken!
-really! now leg too! here i go!
'father, you have made one hell of an enemy with me. i will not forgive you. i will take my revenge when i get out of this hell.'
as the Grand Marshal stood up, so did the boy.
"yes sir!"
standing upright and following the Grand Marshal.
as they turned left and down the stairs, just up ahead the way outside.
instead, the Grand Marshal went straight ahead, skipping the door to the outside.
now the boy conflicted about where were they going, not knowing anything beforehand.
looking ahead, a metal door as thick as the Marshal's biceps, slowly opening.
"Grand Marshal!" saluted the guard, with others following soon on the way inside.
the boy, looking around at the rusted cells, unmaintained for a while now.
'what are we even doing here? there are only criminals and whatnot. what else are we even gonna find here?'
'wait a minutes, maybe we really are here for a criminal'
as his thought ended, so did their journey through the prison cells, although no criminal was in the cells to begin with.
at the end of the way, stood a single door, full metal, maintained and cared for, unlike the others
'huh, finally'
as the door opened, a wall at the end, painted white, not looking like a part of the prison at all.
as the boy entered with the Grand Marshal ahead of him.
the room walls painted white, a bed, a desk, two chairs, a separate bath, looking like a hotel room than a prison cell.
'what the hell, this room is even better than my quarter room.'
but the person, quite the opposed than the room.
pink hair, pink eyes, fair skin, but a total mess too.
sitting on the bed, legs down, and gaze too.
"cuff him. he's coming with us."
'huh, wait what?'
the Grand Marshal turned around while two soldiers lifted the bind chains and hand cuffed him.
the Grand Marshal said without looking "it's time you do some work instead of free loading."
the eyes that looked up for a sec and then down again.
as if interpreting acceptance, the Grand Marshal started walking out while the two guards dragged the pink haired man, although he followed without looking.
now making their way outside.
the Grand Marshal called out to the soldiers lining.
"four of you, follow me. the rest, on their assigned duties."
"yes sir!"
now the Grand Marshal, the rookie, 6 soldiers and the man behind, 9 in total, made their way outside the city doors.
the boy, niw being a bit nervous "sir, should i really be here?"
"it's alright, and don't worry. we will be back after dealing with whatever is there."
"sir, i hate to say this, but we are talking about a Calamity, right?"
"we also have a Calamity with us." as the Grand Marshal looked back "kill whatever is inside that mist."
Grand Marshal hoped to see the light again in this man's eyes, for even he knew what this man was worth.
to the world, and to humanity in it's current state
"maybe the Empress might forgive you for your past deeds." Grand Marshal hoped this words could reach him.
after all, this were Empress's own orders
the man looked at him, just for a sec, then back at the ground again.
the Grand Marshal, knowing full well how complicated this man's relation was with the Empress.
as the boy thought to himself 'right, heard there was someone very dear to the current Empress here. it was him.
but again, there wasn't anyone in that prison to begin with. should have pieced it together'
walking in a Field, now destroyed till plain sight.
after half an hour, they reached their destination, the Mist.
now outside, not actually knowing the dangers ahead.
"everyone, prepare yourself. in the worst case scenario, you might have to defend yourselves alone."
as he looked back, all the ones following readied their mana, prepared for whatever lay ahead.
"let's go."
as the Grand Marshal passed through the haze, as if entering a barrier, everything darkened around him.
but fortunately all the other soldiers with the boy and the man entered together behind him.
he nodded, looking at them.
they nodded back, and started advancing forward.
now it was time to find the thing, the Calamity, inside this Mist.
after walking for a while, he sensed they had all reached the center of the Mist.
and did the thing inside this Mist.
looking at them.
slowly the mist started rising from the ground.
"start the barrier." the Marshal said while looking around, trying to find even a glimpse of the monster.
six of the soldiers stood together and started chanting, as a flash of light rose upward, they thought the barrier was cast over the mist, with their mana becoming stable than before.
suddenly "Grand Marshal, something is wrong."
everyone looked in his direction, the one soldier that had the chains in his hand, now dangling, as if eaten like a virus.
the soldier, face pale, standing in one place "i am sorry." slowly turned to dust in front of them.
a soldier of honor, a higher rank, vanished in seconds before their eyes helplessly, swallowed by the mist.
"what." it was then the Grand Marshal realized and looked toward the man in chains.
falling on his knees, with blank eyes, no chain binding him at all, completely turned to dust.
the mist slowly rising from the ground, as if realizing everything.
"this whole mist!"
as the Grand Marshal turned and ran toward the six soldiers maintaining the barrier.
"is a part of the monster itself!"
before his eyes, they vanished, without getting even a chance to scream.
not even half a second.
"sir."
what
as the Grand Marshal looked back, before his eyes.
the boy, now almost on the brink of his death "i really wanted to-" vanished.
nine people, eight fully fledged, just disappeared.
without a chance to strike back at which had swallowed them.
the Grand Marshal realized this too late.
as he ran toward the place the boy had vanished, and toward the man now on his knees.
"NEON!" before he could even reach the man being swallowed by the mist, he too turned to just.
and just like that, ten people, turned to dust.
in that moment, the mist around the man, disappeared into the ground.
a while later, it appeared again, at the front of the man, a bit further away.
it took form, slowly transforming it's face from just particles into a face that of a wolf, materializing it's whole body, floating in place.
for a minute, it looked at the man, a mess, not even responding to it's gaze, one of the phenomenal Devils.
but oh well, it won't matter.
it turned into dust again and vanished.
a while later, all that mist sorrounding the man, slowly vanished.
maybe it had gotten the confirmation it wanted.
regarded as one of the most beautiful beings in the entirety of human kind.
also the most cursed being to have ever existed.
it saw no reason to stay here any longer.
the man, sitting on his knees throughout the whole ordeal, didn't even lift his gaze anymore, let alone a finger.
for he too was a human once.
not anymore.
such reality shattered years ago
________________________________
author here.
i am a sick person, so it takes time for me to write, and partly because of a job that i do
i am new, i make mistakes.
if you have any questions regarding this novel, pls don't hesitate to ask.
(The Mist Hound, a Phenomena even among Devils, is the cause of the Mist covering the skies of this world)