Chapter 1:

The Embodiment of Ignorance

Deceit


It all started with dust in this barren world, no greenery in sight... all gray rocks and ashes fall. The dust gained sentience after wandering around for years in this hopeless world... It glowed bright it took on a humanoid form; lit up the area with its blinding radiance. It split itself up to 11 with each one operating to make this barren world alive again. One brought rain, another brought life into the soil... Until finally, all of the 11 worked together and gave birth to humanity.

We worshipped these dusts and gave them the title 'Gods'. 

-Grand Priest Hin, the first leader of 'The Church of  Dust'

NEXT TO THE FOREST OF JAINA

The sun is slowly setting, two guards set up a campsite next to the forest and called it a day. One cooked the food while the other set up the tent,

"Hey, is there any salt?" The guard asked,
"Here..." Throws a bag of salt, "Don't use too much."
"Yeah, yeah..."

Thunder echoed throughout the forest, a storm is coming, they thought. 

"Oi! Supper's ready!"
"Just a second..."

They both sat near each other as the thunder echoed multiple times,

"This is the fucking worst..."
"What is—"
"Being stationed near the forest!"
"The scouts said that it's safe you know..."
"You can't get rid of this unease, I know you feel it as well."
"I know, but they said there's no demons here."
The guard sighs, "I hope your right"

A flash of light lit up the forest, and thunder echoed loudly throughout the forest,

"The hell?! That's so loud!"
"Did you know?"
"Know what?"
"Another summoning is going to happen?"
"Another?! Are they crazy?! When?!"
"Tomorrow, looks like the king wanted to win this war no matter what..." he says in disappointment
"Aren't the heroes from other countries doing a great job?"
"I can understand the king's decision because our hero—"
Interrupts him, "Shh! Do you hear that?"

A grotesque blob appeared from the forest, it had eyes— multiple eyes throughout its body, its features are hard to make out, it looks slimy, bloated,

"◻︎︎●︎︎♏︎︎♋︎︎⬧︎︎♏︎︎ ♒︎︎♏︎︎●︎︎◻︎︎ ❍︎︎♏︎︎✏︎︎ ❍︎︎⍓︎︎ ⬧︎□︎■︎ —" It spoke,
"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL?!"
"KILL IT!"
"◻︎●︎♏︎♋︎⬧︎♏︎ ■︎□︎✏︎"

They took their spears and stabbed the creature, the other guard then goes near the fire and fires fire magic,

"♓︎⧫︎ ♒︎◆︎❒︎⧫︎⬧︎ ♓︎⧫︎ ♒︎◆︎❒︎⧫︎⬧︎ ♓︎⧫︎ ♒︎◆︎❒︎⧫︎⬧︎ ♓︎⧫︎ ♒︎◆︎❒︎⧫︎⬧︎ ♓︎⧫︎ ♒︎◆︎❒︎⧫︎⬧︎ ♓︎⧫︎ ♒︎◆︎❒︎⧫︎⬧︎ ♓︎⧫︎ ♒︎◆︎❒︎⧫︎⬧︎ ♓︎⧫︎ ♒︎◆︎❒︎⧫︎⬧︎ ♓︎⧫︎ ♒︎◆︎❒︎⧫︎⬧︎ ♓︎⧫︎ ♒︎◆︎❒︎⧫︎⬧︎" The blob screams in agony,
"FUCK THE FIRE RAN OUT!"

It suddenly rained hard on the forest, the rain extinguished the fire on the blob,

"FUCK! IT HAD TO RAIN!"
"CAN YOU CAST WATER MAGIC—"
"NO! I DON'T KNOW HOW!"
"DAMMIT! LET'S RETREAT AND WARN THE OTHERS!"

The guards ran towards a nearby village, to alert the guards.

"◻︎●︎♏︎♋︎⬧︎♏︎ ♒︎♏︎●︎◻︎ ❍︎♏︎ ♐︎♓︎■︎♎︎ ❍︎⍓︎ ⬧︎□︎■︎✏︎" the blob shouts.

KINGDOM OF XIRN
THE DAY OF SUMMONING

While going towards the summoning room, Albert the king's subordinate pleads the king,

"MY KING! We should refrain from summoning more! The lives of our people are at st—" 
"ALBERT!" he turns towards him, "I know, what's at stake here... my people know the risks." he proceeds towards the summoning room,
"My king, I know that our newest hero; Arthur has gone rogue... but we can let this summoning happen in another country! Our people can't handle this!" he pleads,
"Tsk... I know..." he punches the wall, "Isn't there another way?"

A person in wearing a black robe appears in front of the king,

"My king..." the mysterious person speaks,
"Hm? Kai? You're rarely outside your tower... is something wrong?"
Kai smiles then bows, "My king, I have... a suggestion..."
Albert interrupts, "My king! We should refrain from listenin—"
The king puts his hand up, gesturing to keep quiet, "What is it Kai?"

Kai snaps his fingers, and teleports the three of them into his tower. Kai looks exhausted, he takes a potion in his robe and drinks it.

"My king..." Kai points them towards two demon,
"❍︎□︎❍︎ ♒︎♏︎●︎◻︎ ❍︎♏︎" the small demon speaks,
"Hm... why did you bring a demon here Kai?" the king asked,
"As you can see, there are two of them... I suggest to sacrifice one... to lower the burden our people has to take..." Kai smiles then bows,
"What difference does it make? And why not sacrifice the 2 of them?"
Albert interrupts, "MY KING! It is forbidden to use a demon's life force to use as a catalyst for the summoning!"
"My king... by using all of the life force of one demon can reduce the life force of our people by 2/3... as for the other demon... we can use it..." Kai whispers to the king,
"I'll approve of it... get it ready now!" the king said,
"MY KING!" Albert pleads,
"Albert... no cost is too great..."
Albert with a pained expression and a wavering voice replied, "Yes... my king..."

SOMEWHERE IN JAPAN

"Hana! Imma get going now!" I said,
"Okay! Be careful!"

I go to work very early in the morning, we live near a city but it still takes hours to go from point A to B. We never moved places. I think Hana should leave when she gets independent, and me? I'll never leave that place.

The morning bus comes by, and at this time; only very few people use it and the sun won't rise for an hour.

After some time, I go inside the restaurant I work in. The manager is talking to someone in a suit... he looks suspicious. I change into my uniform... they're still talking. The girl I work with looks at them suspiciously, I talk to her,

"Hey Ayame, what's up with the guy in the suit?" I asked,
"Hey, since I came here he's been talking to the manager. I can't help but get a bad feeling about this." She said,

The manager and the guy in a suit looks at us then breaks eye contact.

"Keep your guard up." I said,
"I'll do just that."

And so, another day at work starts. Serving customers, washing dishes, cleaning tables... but there are a lot more customers than usual.

The guy in a suit sits at a table and the manager talks to Ayame. I took the guy's order, I look at the manager and looks at me with scowl before breaking eye contact... What did I do?

After some time, Ayame goes to serve the guy but trips and falls the food towards the guy.

"What the hell?" the guy said in anger,
"I— I'm sorry! I think someone tripped—"
he interrupts Ayame, "Where the fuck is the manager?!"

Customers are looking at the two, the manager comes out and inspects the ruckus. You're not really discreet when you're watching and expecting something to happen this whole time. 

"What's wrong?!" the manager said,
"Look at my suit!" the guy said,
the manager bows "I'm so sorry! What can we do to make it up to you?!"
"I— Someone tripped—"
The manager interrupts Ayame, "You messed up!"
"Hm... maybe Ayame and I should have a talk." the guy said,

I don't want to be a part of this, I'll just wait until someone interrupts. The guy I work with, Eito, interrupts,

Eito pulls Ayame's arm, "Hey, hey! Let's not get ahead of ourselves!"
I also decided to join in, "You should leave this place." I whispered  to Ayame,
"What are doing?! Don't you see we're trying to negotiate?!" the manager said,
"Don't want to hear that from someone who just looked at it happen." I said,
"What did you say?!"
I whispered to Eito, "I think you and Ayame should leave this place."

My heart beating so fast I feel like backing out, but I need to get them out of here. I continue to argue with the manager and the guy, until the guards and the manager force me out,

"HEY! YOU CAN'T GET AWAY WITH THIS! GET THE FUCK—" my manager throws me out,
"YOU ARE NO LONGER WORKING FOR THIS RESTAURANT! YOU ARE FIRED!" he said,

He shuts the door... I guess he's not letting me back in, another job butchered. As I was walking on the sidewalk going toward the city to buy some food. I reached out my pocket... shit... not enough. Suddenly, it rained hard, fog everywhere, the gray sky enveloped the city contrasted by bright colored LEDs from buildings and billboards... multiple colors of umbrella's filled my vision as I walk without one.

"Unlucky..." I thought, "It will all get better..." I thought, it feels hopeless, but I need to keep going... I haven't fulfilled my promise yet... I haven't supported Hana enough... I open the door at a nearby shop... A light blinded me.

◻︎❒︎♏︎❍︎□︎■︎♓︎⧫︎♓︎□︎■︎

I slowly my eyes, I found myself in a white void... nothing for miles and miles. Water suddenly enveloped my feet; stretched out as far as the eye could see, the sky also suddenly appeared; cloudy... like it's about to rain. I look behind me...

The moon is red, it's getting bigger; it's slowly falling down towards the Earth. The moon looks different, it looked like a being than a something inanimate. It has many forms yet none of it are true nor false.

"♒︎♏︎●︎◻︎ ◆︎⬧︎" symbols came flowing into my mind, 

I felt a severe headache, yet it's painless. It feels like my mind is tearing itself apart... my skin feels everything yet nothing inside my body at the same time... I close my eyes and screamed in agony, "IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS!? IT HURTS!? IT HURTS!? IT HURTS? IT HURTS? IT HURTS?"

KINGDOM OF XIRN
SUMMONING CHAMBER

Breathless, I suddenly find myself lying on the cold, hard ground. I opened my eyes trying to look for someone.

"My king... he has awoken..."
"I know Kai..."

Hm? King? What is this? Did I get isekai'd? What a stupid notion. My head still hurts...

"Guards... help him back up..." the king said,

People in armor helped me stand, I look towards the king. He looks like in pain...

"What's your name?" The king asked,
"My name's D— Aghh... Das... that's my name..." I replied,
"Das, you might have a lot of questions but right now I'll get straight to the point." the king bows, "Please save this kingdom..."
"MY KING! You don't have to—"
"It's alright Albert."

It must've been shocking to see your own king bow to a stranger... some look at me with animosity, I should do something.

"King... uhh..."
"Aaron val Lawrence" He said,
"King Aaron, please lift your head..."

The king lifts his head and the looks are slowly easing. Knights are around me, a mysterious person behind the king and someone else beside him I think Albert is his name...

"Will you help us Das?" King Aaron asks,
"I— I can't help you..." I said,

People exclaimed, "Blasphemy!" one said, "How dare he!" another said. What did you expect? I need to go home! I still have a promise to fulfill!

"Can you explain 'why?' Das?"
"I—" I stayed silent,
With a pained expression, he said, "I see..."
"Can you take me back?"
"I wish there's a way..."

My heart feels heavy, I collapsed on my knees, are you kidding me? Please tell me you're joking! ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME?!

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU WISH?!" I shouted, "YOU PULLED ME HERE IN YOUR WORLD, RUDELY, THEN ASKED ME TO FIGHT FOR YOU?"
"YOU ARE TALKING TO THE KING—" Albert said,
I interrupted, "HOW WOULD YOU FEEL TO BE SEPARATED FROM YOUR FAMILY?! NOT BEING ABLE TO SAY GOODBYE?! KNOWING THAT THE LAST WORDS YOU HEARD FROM THEM ARE—"

My vision suddenly darkened, my legs felt incredibly weak, I collapsed not feeling anything, I cannot move my body, their voices are muffled... I'm... losing... consciousness...

KINGDOM OF XIRN
DAS' ROOM

I felt something soft, it feels comfortable... I slowly open my eyes, I'm in a bed. I look around me, a maid is standing there. She comes towards me,

"Good morning, Master Das." She said,
"G— Good morning..." silence briefly fills the room, "How long was I out?"
"Five days..."
"I see..."

I look outside the window, sigh, looks like this is not a dream. Am I stuck here? Forever? Is there really no way back? No... no matter what, I need to go home! Can I really go back home?

This is another world right? Is some kind of status window like in the mangas? Let's think... 'Status!'... huh... nothing appeared... 'Inventory!'... I suddenly feel stupid now. I think it's stupid to treat this world as like the mangas or LNs.

How was I brought here? Why me of all the people who are more willing to be in this situation? And that red moon... what was that? Thinking about it gives me a headache.

I look at the maid, she smiles back... this is awkward... after a moment, someone's knocking at the door, the maid opened it then bowed to her. A girl wearing princess-like clothes comes into the room, she looks gorgeous... after a moment of staring, I break eye contact.

"Good morning, Das... how have you been?" she asked,
surprised by her incredibly soft voice, I try to find the words to reply, "G— Good morning... I'm fine."
"That's good..."

A moment of awkwardness silently enveloped the room. Hm? Now that I look at her, she looks like a princess, at least someone important.

"Pardon me asking but... are you a princess?" I asked,
she chuckles saying, "No, I'm not... what gave you that notion?"
"Well, you look like one." I said with confidence,
her cheeks are a little red, "My... what a smooth talker you are~ Do you always talk like that?"
"No, but I have my moments."
"My, my, if I was not careful, I could've fallen for you."

The awkward atmosphere is slowly lifted... but to the maid, it looked like I was making moves on this girl. 

"What's your name?" I asked,
"Claudia." she said,
"Nice to meet you Claudia,"
"The pleasure is mine, Das." she smiles, "Well, let's meet later... take care." she leaves the room, the maid bows to her.

Meet later? Who is she? It wouldn't be a stretch to if she's someone important. After a moment of thinking, I get out of bed. The maid comes to me,

"Master Das, let me help you."
"Thanks... uhmm..."
"Ida." she said,

Ida helps me get up as I stumble multiple times, I eventually stood up without her help. We left the room and it seems that she's guiding me somewhere. As we walk along, more and more guards starts to show up, until we reach a big door with ornaments and symbols... the two guards open it.

KINGDOM OF XIRN
THRONE ROOM

A big room with a red carpet along the floor stretching out from here to the other side of the room. From the other side, I see the king with Claudia right beside him. I knew, she was someone important.

As we go towards the king, there's a side full people who dressed fancy; they stare at me with contempt. What did I even do— oh, yeah... I refused the offer to help them.

On the other, only two boys and three girls are standing. I assume that they're prince and princess.

The maid, Ida, kneeled and bowed. Am I supposed to do the same thing? Regardless, I also kneeled and bowed; I don't want to stir up more trouble for the king.

"Das... you don't have to..." King Aaron said,
"It's an apology for being rude." I said, as I realize my poor choice of words.
King Aaron smiles with warmth, "Stand up!"

I stood up along with Ida, the king gestures and dismisses Ida. 

"Let me ask of you again... will you help us Das?" the king said,
"If I help you... can I go home?" I asked,
"That's..." a cloudy expression filled the king's face.

I already know... still, I asked. I know there's no way home... "Am I stuck here forever?" I thought, "What about the people who're waiting for me to come home?" I thought... I gripped my chest... tightly... it hurts my heart. I KNOW! I KNOW! But I still wished you could've said otherwise.

Wait... this is a world of magic right? There has to be a way! I will find a way no matter how long! Whatever it takes!

"I'll do it!" I said,
"Das, I don't want to force you—"
"King, I will help you." I look at him,
With a bittersweet smile; the king said, "I see... KAI!"

The king shouted a name, the mysterious person from the summoning chamber appeared next to me, kneeling. He stands up and drink some-kind of potion as he steadies himself.

"My king... shall I?" Kai said,
"Yes..." the king said,

Kai the mysterious person, takes out a cage with something inside of it. It looked like a human child, but it has bones as its skin, it can't move very well... like it's stuck standing up. It looked grotesque, with symbols running along its body.

"💣︎□︎❍︎✏︎" it screamed, "☟︎♏︎●︎◻︎ ❍︎♏︎✏︎"
"Das... this is a demon..." the king said,
"A demon?"
"Yes... we've been fighting them off for centuries. Their numbers, grotesque appearance, their ability to wipe out big villages, and the mystery of where did they come from; has been pushing us to near extinction."
"So how did you fought them?" I asked,
"By the grace of one of the gods; The god of magic... we've been able to fight them off. Yet, their numbers grow and their intellect seems to grow. Cornered, our ancestors thought of enlisting the help from other worlds..."
"Summoning heroes."

The king nodded. Where did they come from? It feels like something that shouldn't exist yet it's here... in front of us.

"Das, take a sword... and kill it." the king said,

A guard walks towards me and gives me a shortsword. It's heavy but can be wielded with one hand. I walk towards the demon, it tries to stay far away from me. Kai pulls it out of the cage and restrains it on the floor with a chain.

"♑︎♏︎⧫︎ ♋︎⬥︎♋︎⍓︎" it shouted, "◻︎●︎♏︎♋︎⬧︎♏︎ ⬧︎□︎❍︎♏︎□︎■︎♏︎ ♒︎♏︎●︎◻︎"

I ready my sword... the demon suddenly gives off red and black fluids. I don't want to do it... I DON'T WANT TO DO— 

♌︎●︎□︎□︎♎︎❍︎□︎□︎■︎

My vision is suddenly filled with the red moon that I saw... is this a dream? Someone's memory? Or is it something else?

My hand feels heavy, it feels like something's enveloping my arms... I hear something... someone's crying? 

KINGDOM OF XIRN
THRONE ROOM

My vision clears up, I'm still gripping the sword but... I swung it on the demon without me realizing...

"♓︎⧫︎ ♒︎◆︎❒︎⧫︎⬧︎ ♓︎⧫︎ ♒︎◆︎❒︎⧫︎⬧︎ ♓︎⧫︎ ♒︎◆︎❒︎⧫︎⬧︎ ♓︎⧫︎ ♒︎◆︎❒︎⧫︎⬧︎ ♓︎⧫︎ ♒︎◆︎❒︎⧫︎⬧︎ ♓︎⧫︎ ♒︎◆︎❒︎⧫︎⬧︎ ♓︎⧫︎ ♒︎◆︎❒︎⧫︎⬧︎ ♓︎⧫︎ ♒︎◆︎❒︎⧫︎⬧︎ ♓︎⧫︎ ♒︎◆︎❒︎⧫︎⬧︎ ♓︎⧫︎ ♒︎◆︎❒︎⧫︎⬧︎" it screamed, as if it was crying in pain. It sounded like a baby being beaten, crying... but it also sounded like an adult in immense pain,
"Finish it Das..." the king said,

My hands, and arms move like something's controlling it... I stop myself but the control is too strong! My eyes tear up, I can't shout 'STOP!'... my hands force the sword out of the demon... and dealt the final blow... splitting the demon in half...

"♓︎❍︎ ⬧︎□︎❒︎❒︎⍓︎ ❍︎□︎❍︎"

My hands are shaking... I cannot understand... what is this feeling? I don't understand...  I'm going to puke... but I can't...

The king pats my back and smiles warmly, "You did well." he said in a soft tone,
"Y— yeah..." I said,

The cries, the screams... fuck... the demon stares at me and I stare back. It looked sad, angry, happy, confused, afraid and yet none of it are present... they're empty...

I break eye contact and look at the king. He smiles warmly, I don't know what he's thinking... I can't help but think that it's all hypocrisy.

"With this... I think that no one can say that he's going to betray us... no?!" the king said,

The looks from other nobles lifted, some still stared at me with contempt. I look at Claudia, she smiles. The princes and princesses look at me curiously. I'm being put on the spot! My stomach doesn't feel good, I need to hold it in...

"What's next?" I asked,
"Next, you learn magic. Being an otherworlder, I assume you know how magic work?" the king said,
"I have some notion, you have mana that you expend to fire some-kind of magic, right?"
"Not exactly... I will have Lexia, my eldest daughter to teach you the basics."

Your eldest daughter... you mean a princess? A woman comes towards us... god... she's beautiful. She bows and introduces herself.

"Pleased to meet you, my name's Lexia val Lawrence, I will be the one to teach you magic." she said,
"Likewise, I'm Das."
"And with this, we're done here. In two days, I will check upon you, and send you out with a party. Everyone dismissed!" the king said,
"This way sir Das," Lexia said,

I follow her, as I look back... the demon is still there... fuck...

KINGDOM OF XIRN
PRIVATE TRAINING GROUNDS

A big room with swords and books on the side... Lexia comes in after saying she needs to change. She looks gorgeous... She smiles at me, I smile back.

"I heard that there's magic from your world," she said,
"Ah, no... people came up with the concept of magic but we were never been able to use magic."
"Is that so... well then, I know you have some notion at least... I'll teach you the basics of magic, but let me demonstrate first."

A guard with a torch goes near Lexia, with hand gestures; she takes the fire from the torch and fires it at a dummy. What?

"What do you think?" she asked,
"I think it's amazing!" I said,
"Magic is everywhere in this world, everyone can use magic. It does not pick and choose who can use it."
"So, even a regular guy can use one?"
"Yes, but only if he trains himself to use one."
"Can a person use different types of magic?"
"Any elements will do, but you said types... you must mean alchemy, or summoning."

I kinda get the gist of it... I guess...

"To use fire magic you need to be near a source to use one. Fire for fire magic, water for water magic." she said,
"Hm, ice for ice magic and something along those lines..." I said,
"Yep, magic draws upon what is real but this is only limited to elements."
"So I can't use glass as magic then?"
"That's right! Let's say I want to use water magic, that means I need to be near a source of water to use it, right? Then what if there's no water?"

What if there's no water? That's an easy answer...

"Then you can't use water magic." I said,
"Right and wrong! You use the water inside of your body. This includes blood, urine, and the like. You can die if you use too much." she said,
"So basically magic is dangerous if you use it too much."
"Yep!"
"What about fire magic?"
"Then you use your body heat, but it does not use fire magic but instead it gives out warm air. When you use any type of magic that gives out heat; you can burn yourself if you use it too long even if you have an abundant source of fire."
"Got it! also, if I use too much of my body heat then I die from hypothermia... right?"

She looks at me curiously,

"What's hypa— hypothy—?"
"Hypothermia? Hm, it means that you lost all of your body heat; leaving your body cold. Hyperthermia is the opposite."
"Huh, that's certainly makes things easier. You otherworlders sure know some unique words."
"Thanks... I guess...?"

Hm, I would've thought that afters years of summoning heroes; they'd know more words by now. 

"Now you know the basics! In total, there are 5 kingdoms and every kingdom has its own major element, for example, the Kingdom of Tubic is a kingdom underwater and they are adept at using water magic. the Kingdom of Holloway is a kingdom surrounded by volcanoes and they're adept at using fire, heat, and magma magic." she said,
"What about this kingdom?"
"We are adept at using life magic, and it's the one of the most dangerous magic to use. We are trained to resist the its side-effects but it's only the bare minimum."
"What are the side-effects?"
"It includes reduced intelligence, growth, life-span, reduced immunity to diseases; when a child is born it might have blind-eyes, stumped growth, and more... worse... stillbirth..."
"But how are you all still okay?"
"From trees, leaves, animals; since we are a kingdom surrounded by life we can use their lifeforce to use life magic, but it also uses a fraction of our life as well. Using life magic can suck out the life force of 10 trees, or 15 small animals like chickens."
"Life magic is scary."
"Tell me about it."

A mysterious figure enters the room. I think his name is Kai. Flashes of the small demon I killed haunts me but briefly... I don't like it...

"Great timing! This is Kai our Grand Wizard." Lexia said,
Kai bows, "Greetings Das,"
"You too..."

He looks ominous, mysterious, and plain weird.

"Would it kill you dress appealing for once?" Lexia said to Kai,
"My apologies Princess—"
Lexia cuts off Kai, "I TOLD YOU TO ADDRESS ME CASUALLY WHEN WE'RE ALONE!"
"How aggressive..." Kai said,
"Hm, I'm sensing some history behind you two." I said,
Lexia blushes, "We're just childhood friends... that's all..."

Man, I can't believe what I'm seeing. I really am getting old.

"Anyways, can I speak with Das? Princ— I mean, Lexia?" Kai said,
"Sure Kai! I still have some business to attend to." Lexia said,

Lexia leaves the room... I feel like I'm the one who should've left.

He bows, "Sorry for the unsightly—"
"No, you don't have to apologize. It feels nice to watch some lighthearted fun after... coming to this world." I said,
He smiles, "Let's get going."

Kai does hand gestures, and chants. A white light envelops us... 

KINGDOM OF XIRN
KAI'S RESEARCH QUARTERS

Next thing I know we are in an unknown place full of books, and things I've never seen before. The white light, it reminds me of when I first saw that... red moon...

Kai looks exhausted, his skin turned pale, he takes out some-kind of potion and drinks it. He very slowly turns back to normal.

"Where are we?" I asked,
"Where I conduct most of my research. It's in a secluded place in the castle, there are only a few ways to get in... teleporting is the safest one." he said,
"Why did you brought me here?"

Kai takes out a seat and brews tea,

"Das... I think there's a way you can go back home." he said,

My heart stopped, what? Is he serious? Why didn't the king told the truth? His kindness... is it all really hypocrisy? 

"Wait! You're saying I can go home?! Was the king lying to me?!" I said,
"The king doesn't know about this. Only a few others including me..." Kai said,
"What?"

Why didn't he told the king? Why tell me though? What does he gain from it? I don't know what he's thinking...

"Why didn't you tell the king?" I asked,
"I can't tell you the reason..." he said,
"Why tell me though?"
"I also can't tell you."

He's not really making it easier, I see a little bit of something dark behind him.

"You need to go to the Kingdom of Doi. I believe there you'll find a part of your answer..." he said,

He gave me a lead, but there's not much after that. What happens when I go to that kingdom?

"Can you tell me more?" I asked,

He stays silent...

"That's all for now, I'm going to teleport you to the town and don't worry for getting in and out of the castle, every guard knows you." he said,
"Sure."

A white light blinds me,

KINGDOM OF XIRN
TOWN SQUARE

Next thing I know I'm at, what feels like, the center of the town. People in different colors, shapes, and sizes... laughter, happiness, positivity fills the town. Dammit... the lead that Kai gave me is too little, guess I can ask for more information around here. I check my pockets and a few coins are inside. Well, I guess time to sightseeing.

A girl in some-kind of armor bumps into me, "The fuck? Look at where you're going dumbass!" she said,

She keeps going, what a very rude person. She looked like some-kind of adventurer... not that it matters to me. 

I proceed to buy some food from the nearby shops... so this is the start of my journey, to go back home. I will go back, no matter how long it will take me! Hana... wait for me!

To be continued...

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The look of the demons are inspired by lovecraft and real life diseases/disorders. Like,

Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, is a disorder in which skeletal muscle and connective tissue, such as tendons and ligaments, are gradually replaced by bone (ossified). This condition leads to bone formation outside the skeleton (extra-skeletal or heterotopic bone) that restricts movement.

I made it so that it also grows on the skin of the small demon, if you look at pictures of it (and I suggest you should NOT) it's incredibly terrifying!

Emycetoma, Madura Foot, a persistent fungal infection of the skin and the tissues just under the skin, affecting most commonly the feet, although it can occur in hands and other body parts.

and this is for the grotesque blob in the beginning, and made so that it covers the whole body of the blob... and (Don't even try to search it up) it's also terrifying!

I already scarred myself looking at real diseases so you don't have to, but if it helps you visualize the terrifying appearance of demons in this world that I made... then it's your choice to look at it... I'm not responsible for anything.

Thanks for reading this far! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did making it! And with that... I hope I see you in the next chapter!

Deceit

Deceit