The_hEDS_Rambler t1_itqih7b wrote on October 25, 2022 at 3:51 PM

My name is Esther, and this is the story of how I died.

When I was a young woman, I had a wanderlust that couldn't be slaked, and I was full of natural magic. I would travel town to town and use this gift to heal anyone who needed it, to take on bounties, to take on monsters. It was during this time that I met a man clad in heavy armor. A holy knight. Braedyn.

When we met, he had been trying to defend his town from a horde of monsters. And he was gravely injured for the effort. I healed him. I brought him back to life. And then I helped him reclaim the town. We bonded. We learned we were better together. He could protect me, and I could protect him. I'd made many bonds throughout my adventures, but this one felt special. He decided to travel with me.

During this time, I taught him how to cast magic. And he taught me how to wield a sword and shield. We both knew a little about each thing, but with each other's help, we grew fast. He could never heal like I could, but he took to learning offensive magic fast. His fighting style was aggressive, and mine was defensive. But that didn't mean I was a slouch in offense, or that he wouldn't occasionally defend.

We saved lives. It was how I met my wife. But at last, I'd had enough. I wanted to settle down. I told Braedyn and he told me how happy he was for me. . . . But I sensed some sort of bitterness there. I just brushed it off as jealousy. While I found what brought me peace and happiness, he was still searching for his own.

There were so many points at which I could have altered my fate, if I had but known what I do now. But I never would have chosen to let him die, despite everything. I still would have healed him. I still would have liberated his home.

And when he turned up on my doorstep, bleeding profusely, many years after I'd retired, I still would have healed him, just as I did then.

After Braedyn had rested and recovered his health, I asked him what happened. He told me it was a powerful monster, the likes of which he'd never seen. A gargantuan demon that radiated corrupt, dark energy. It had turned the forest into a barren wasteland. Its goal was to make the human realm just like the demon one. That's what he told me.

He then told me that he wasn't powerful enough to stop it on his own. That he needed my magic. He got down on his knee and begged me . . . begged me to help him. He said he knew a spell to banish him back to the demon realm, but he wasn't strong enough to cast it. If we both cast it together, it might be fine. I knew what spell he meant and frowned.

"You know not the forces with which you tamper," I said. "If I help you with that spell, both of us will die. And though it might seal the demon away, it is unclear how long it will last. It could be for nothing, especially if the demon is as powerful as you say. There are many other spells that -"

"No. No other spell will work. He's immune to anything short of it. Believe me. I tried."

"Well . . . ," I sighed deeply. "I'm not even sure I can help in the first place. I know the theory of the spell, but in practice, I have not cast anything in a long time. Magic is like a muscle. The longer you go without casting, the weaker you get. Surely, I am too weak."

"No. You are the best spell caster I've ever known! It's why I came to you, because I know you are, even at your worst, better than anyone else I could ever meet!"

I managed a smile.

"Going for flattery, huh?"

"It's not flattery if it's true."

"Okay. I'll tell my wife and children." And so, before we headed out, I said my goodbyes. My wife held me.

"I wish it didn't have to be you. But since it seems like it does, you can't half ass it. Go save the world, honey. I know you'll find your way back to us, whatever happens," she said. We have had many kisses over the years, but this one seemed so much more urgent. Our last one. It was the most passionate out of all of them.

And so, we set off to save the world.

"So, what have you been doing all these years?" I asked after we'd long set out on our journey.

"Fought, mostly. Saved villages and the like. I learned a great deal of things. You'd be amazed at what I can do now."

And he was right. I was certainly amazed.

We reached the demon's lair and prepared the magic circle. The idea was that it'd be lured into the circle, the spell would trap it, and then we can cast the banishment spell. Braedyn offered himself as bait, and so, he set out. The demon chased him as planned. It got trapped in our circle as planned. He was right. It was full of chaotic energy. More than any demon should have.

But I noticed something wasn't right. It was just an intuition, but . . . I decided to mind link with the demon. And that was when I learned . . . the truth.

"Braedyn, stop," I said. He had started chanting the banishment spell, but stopped when I said to. He looked at me quizzically.

"Why aren't you chanting? I thought we were doing this together."

"No, listen. This demon isn't what you think. She's pregnant."

"So?"

"So! She escaped the demon realm in the hopes of finding a better place for her unborn children. She has no desire to take over the world or start an apocalypse or anything like that! She just wants this place to be as close to her realm as possible so it will be safe for her children - this realm can be toxic to them if the environment isn't prepared properly. And she attacked you because you're a threat! Don't you see? We can find a way to get along! We don't have to do the spell."

He scoffed.

"Of course that's what she wants you to believe. That's how demons are."

"But it's not just what she wants me to think. I saw her memories. They weren't altered. I explained the difference to you before, between genuine and false memories. I think it's all true. So, we can't -"

Before I could finish, he pushed me into the magic circle and then sealed it back up, trapping me with the demon.

"H-hey! What are you doing?!"

"This is the only way," he said. "I'll take care of your wife and children." I banged against the invisible wall keeping us in place.

"Not if the spell kills you!"

"The spell won't kill me . . . if I sacrifice you," he said. And that's when I saw it. Something I'd never seen in him before. Evil. Absolute evil. Worse than any demon. And he started to chant. And I started to sink.

"What happened to you?" I asked. But he had already turned his back to me. My last words . . . and no one gave a damn. I grabbed the demon's claw, in an attempt to comfort her . . . and then I sank deeper and deeper into the darkness.

The_hEDS_Rambler t1_itqwf19 wrote on October 25, 2022 at 5:21 PM

But my story doesn't end with my death. It is instead where my story truly begins.

Because of my heroic deeds in my life, one would think that I would go to the heavens. However, the spell he cast not only killed me, but it corrupted my soul. And when that happened, I was dragged to a place called Oblivion. This is the place where either you become a demon or your soul dissipates. This is worse than the nine hells. In the nine hells, there is order. There is hierarchy. There are ways to earn less suffering. In Oblivion, there is none of that. Everything is chaotic all the time, everything suffers greatly, and no matter what you do, you only go deeper into it until there's nothing left. But the worst thing of all is that, Oblivion has a way of wiping all memories.

I tried to escape without turning into a demon. I tried to find my pregnant demon and leave with her, but I couldn't find anything. I was brutally attacked . . . I fought. I fought and fought and fought, but . . . my soul was barely held together at all. And I had to make the choice. Do I allow myself to disappear? To have no chance of reincarnation? No chance of knowing love or joy again? Or do I turn into a demon? Preserve what little of me is left? Hope for a better life in the next cycle?

I decided to turn.

My form was truly monstrous. Fitting of one with such corruption. Long horns. Fangs. Deep purple skin. A hulking mass. Glowing, red eyes. I would never be the same again. Could never be the same. I had forgotten everything except that I knew I wanted out.

Thanks to turning, I did have time and strength. And eventually, I managed to break out of Oblivion and enter the Mortal Realm. I had come in just outside a village, and I blinked, trying to get my bearings. Where was I? Why did I want to come here again?

"Demon!" someone cried. The people armed themselves and attacked me, chasing me out of town. I ran. I ran only to run into more people and have to run again. Running, running, running . . . I finally found a dense forest where I could rest. As I settled down there, some of my chaotic energy warped one of the trees. And that's when a flash from my death came back to me. My first memory regained.

I didn't stay in one place too long. If I stayed, the environment would start to become corrupted in a way that wouldn't reverse with time. So I wandered. And as I did, my memories started to return. I realized the world I knew, it was . . . different. Demons wouldn't be automatically considered evil. People wouldn't automatically attack them. People wouldn't automatically try to kill them. We would only go after the ones that actually did evil things.

And then . . . I remembered my wife. My kids. I decided I would try to go back home. If I could just show my wife my memories, she'd help me. We could find a way to turn me back. That was what I thought I needed.

I took the long way home so I wouldn't be spotted on the roads. I thought the whole time about how joyous a reunion it would be. I knew I'd be attacked if I went in the village and anyone saw me, so I decided to sneak in at night. I managed to get home undetected . . . only to find an old, dilapidated building no one had lived in for many years. I managed to keep my tears in. But now I had no clue how to find my family. I decided to try a locator spell.

It led me to the cemetery, to her grave. She'd died of old age while I was away. I wept softly. And then, I saw it. A statue of Braedyn. And at the base was writing. Casualties of the War with the Demons. My name was the first listed. My blood boiled and I let out an enraged cry. We weren't at war with them when I was alive. That's what my death was all about. This is what he wanted. War with demons. And propping me up as a victim of them was how he got what he wanted.

And how I was run out of town again.

I had nowhere to go. So I wandered and wandered. I found myself in an enchanted forest. I could stay in it for a while without having to worry I would corrupt it. The magic within cancelled my own. So, I set up a home there.

And soon, I had adventurers finding their way through the forest, to me, trying to kill me. But it wasn't new and I would simply knock them out without hurting them too badly. Then I'd move their unconscious bodies to the edges of the forest where I could cast some magic. When they'd wake, they'd find a path. The path home. Courtesy of me.

But things change.

One day, as I was gardening, a young man drew his sword at me.

"Hear me, demon!" he declared. "I will strike you down! So when the last thing you see is the blinding light from my blade, you will know I have avenged my mother! This is for you, Mom. I love you." Tears streamed down his face. He trembled with righteous fury. And I knew who he was.

"Wait," I said. Too late. He attacked me. My own son attacked me. I let him. His form was terrible. I was obviously the first real demon he'd ever fought. Still, I let him practice before I finally got in close and mind linked with him, showing him my memories.

"Mom?" He dropped everything, fell to his knees, and wept. "I . . . I almost killed . . . my mom . . . ? But, no. This can't be. Uncle Braedyn said . . . but . . . you . . . how . . . ?"

"It's okay, Jasper. Take your time to process."

"No, it's not! It's not okay! I thought you were dead! We all thought you were dead! And now . . . now you're here . . . like this! My mom, the kindest person I ever knew, is a demon! That's sick!"

"I'm still her . . . you know. I'm right here."

"I'm gonna kill him!"

"No, you're not. What would it accomplish? The war with the demons is still on. If anything, that would make him a martyr and bolster the cause."

"Yeah, but it would make me feel better! And wouldn't you feel better, too, knowing the despicable person who betrayed you is dead?!"

"It wouldn't make you feel better," I said with a sympathetic smile. "Nor would it make me feel better. Because the path to healing doesn't start with murder. He may face the consequences of his actions, or he may not. Perhaps he already has. In any case, it is not on us to impose that. Regardless, I doubt he can ever find himself as happy as I do right now, in this moment! I love you, Jasper."

"I love you, too."

"Besides, he is a stronger fighter than both of us combined."

"I'll expose him, then!"

"Who would believe you? Or me? Besides family."

"So we do nothing?!"

"I never said that." I smiled again. "I think there is one course of action to take. We have to show people that demons aren't some evil monolith. That demons can be good, just as people can. And the only way we can do that is if we enter towns together and stand in solidarity." I then frowned. "But, that will come with its own share of problems. You will face much scrutiny. People might do horrible things to you. On second thought, I'd rather not -"

"That's my choice to make, Mom! And I will! I'll stand with you!"

". . . Okay. If that is what you want." I winked. "I suppose we'll start with our home town . . . later! After you tell me all about what I missed while I was gone! You've grown into an old man, I see!" I laughed.