Two years.

Two years since the Independent Alliance had collapsed.

Two years since the city of Onigas had vanished.

Two years since Evelyn lost her family. Again.

Evelyn still saw that nightmare every time she closed her eyes.

She still saw her sister push her out of the way. Saw her fall. Saw her die to an arrow that was not meant for her.

That alone would have haunted her dreams.

But it was not the core. Only the prelude.

She remembered it like it was yesterday.

Her brother had told her about the 'creature' he had locked up inside him. Something that scared even the Demigod and Demon that he had within his soul. Something that even the System itself feared.

One late evening together, he had told her how it was always trying to convince him to use it, either through tempting words or attempting to force its use. But never to escape.

She had forgotten that evening, until she saw it for herself for the first time.

Still, it haunted her.

He was constantly pushing it back, refusing it, fighting it. But when his fiancé died in his arms…

He gave in to its desires.

He let it loose.

His skin changed to charcoal black, his eyes transformed into circular disks of Necrotic Mana that cried Death.

Wings of black liquid, thick like blood, oozed into existence, sprouting from his back like splinters.

His clothes burned away to cinders and ash, revealing more black that seemed to infuse him.

Something about the black ink caused her body to scream and recoil out of fear and repulsion. As if its very existence was an insult to creation.

But it was what happened next that truly haunted her.

The creature, for Evelyn refused to call it her brother, raised its arm, pointing to the Devil that had shot the arrow. Evelyn could hardly see it, but when she did, she knew it was the Demon that had killed her sister.

And clearly the creature did as well.

A feather of blank ink fell from its wings, drifting softly to the ground for a moment before it shot past, impaling the Devil to the stone behind it. The Devil hung there, several feet above the ground, a look of terror etched on its face.

The Argalon standing next to it was next. Dressed armor that displayed its importance, it was clearly the one who gave the Devil the order.

It attempted to flee, crashing through its own soldiers in its desperation.

It did not get far.

The feather struck it, yet instead of impaling it, the Argalon exploded, painting the surroundings with gore, leaving the Demons around it dripping in the blood of their own General.

That is when the nightmare truly began.

Chaos erupted, with all the Demons scrambling to get away from the Creature. And the feathers kept coming, never seeming to run out or tire. Dozens at a time.

They zipped through the field, seeking a Demon before either nailing it to the nearest surface, or causing it to explode. There was no reason to it.

The Humans panicked, but were untouched, until one accidently stepped in the way of a feather and exploded.

Then it was as if a switch had been flipped in the creature's mind, finally able to see the Humans around it as well.

The feathers stopped caring.

They flew around without reason, sometimes aiming for someone further away, sometimes aiming for someone closer. Injured or healthy. Strong or weak.

Some tried to fight it, Demon and Human alike, yet it just stood there above Lunaria, its feathers effortlessly deflecting the blows before weaving around the weapons to strike the user.

Evelyn found herself whisked away by Belgroth, carried over his shoulder like a child. She screamed and fought, but it was pointless against an Argalon. As he ran, he called for the Humans to flee to the tunnels.

Whatever had possessed her brother, the Argalon did not think he could defeat it, at least not without Mana. And as she continued to watch the scene as she was carried away, she did not think anyone could defeat it, even with Mana.

Uncaring who gave the order, the Humans headed for the tunnels, leaving the Demons to flee out of the city or perish to the Creature.

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As the victims got further away, the feathers turned to the structures around it, either cutting supports or blowing out chunks.

It wanted destruction, and it was getting it.

Belgroth was one of the first to reach the tunnel entrance. He put her down and told her to get to Galmore while he got the City Lord away.

Just as he turned to do so, Evelyn saw the Inner Wall collapse, its rubble no doubt crushing many Demons while trapping the others.

"GO!" He had shouted at her when she froze.

Yet how could she? How could she leave when her brother was still there, if he even was still there? How could she leave the body of her sister-in-law?

Harper finally caught up to her then, alongside some of her other friends, and pulled her into the tunnel with them. She had not let go of Evelyn until they were at the bottom of the stairs.

Without Mana to power the spells needed to power the trains, the Humans jumped onto the rails and proceeded on foot.

Again, Evelyn hesitated to leave. Her friends surrounded her, trying to convince her that they needed to go. But when the feathers reached the mouth of the Station Entrance, accompanied by the screams of terror, Tyron picked her up and ran.

The feathers followed the Humans into the tunnels for nearly two miles, picking off any who slowed, until they dissolved into nothingness.

It was only then Tyron put her down, exhausted from the run while carrying her right after an intense melee. He had long since ditched the heavy armor he had worn, leaving his heaving chest bare and bleeding.

The fleeing soldiers walked through the tunnel slowly. None of them knew quite how to process what had just happened.

As they walked, they came across the regular checkpoints, where any attacking force would have to fight past the narrow point armed with Mana Cannons. The soldiers stationed at each checkpoint watched them pass, confused, yet still they turned their Cannons towards Onigas.

When they finally reached Galmore several hours later, Iris was there to meet them. She quickly got the soldiers looked at and squared away before ushering Evelyn and her much smaller group of friends into a secluded room where Evelyn told the story.

That had not been easy, but it was much easier than when she had told Azamar about his daughter's death.

When she told him, he had calmly listened to the entire story before he calmly stood up and left the room. She did not see him again for several days.

It was only several hours later, when the Galmorian City Lord heard the reports and sent scouts to Onigas that she learned that the entire city had been destroyed. There was not a single standing structure.

It was nothing but a ruin of rubble and bodies.

The City Lord of Onigas, Keylan, and his close men reached the city just an hour after the first scout returned. Wounded and exhausted, but alive, much to Iris's relief. Even Lord Siphas found his way to Galmore, reuniting with his family.

She gradually found most of her friends over the next several months, but eight of them did perish in the battle, as recounted by the others who had seen them die, one way or another.

During those months, the ruin had been combed through, the bodies burned, the valubles recovered, the weapons and armor repaired or melted down. Yet they never found Alaster's or Lunaria's body.

The Demons did not press the Onigarian Front again, steering well clear of the area to attack other lands.

Which they did with fervor.

Galmore continued to send material and supplies to Zalar, which when coupled with the technology and Golems allowed them to hold back the Demons. But all the other nations had suffered greatly.

The Kemore Dynasty had collapsed, unsurprising since they were almost constantly in a state of civil war even before the Invasion. A few of its people managed to both escape and make it through the Monster infested forests to reach Galmore.

Without aid, the Republic of Athera fell to ruin with barely any interference from the Demons. They always been on a state of ruin because of the excess of Monsters in their region.

Taria had put up a fight, but each battle cost so many Human lives that it was not long before they couldn't sustain it anymore. They retreated into Celarn, where their fortresses helped even the playing field. Still, Celarn was on its last legs, only still standing due to the extensive supply from Hason and Xedora, who sent massive amounts of gear, supplies, and soldiers.

Even Tauras had suffered, confident in their fortress cities, they had attempted offense, to very minimal effect. They had even lost three of the cities they were so proud of due to such tactics. Now, they were much more cautious. But the Demons seemed to know how much the Diarchy struggled to grow their own food, and were content to simply starve them out.

Evelyn suspected the Taurans would resort to cannibalism before they opened their gates. They were a proud and stubborn people. Opening their gates and surrendering, even if the Demons let them live, would be a disgrace that would haunt them for generations.

Despite all this, the Demons sent the majority of their forces North, towards the Savage City States and the Empire. According to the rumors that reached Galmore through various means, the Prince of the North, the Lissurian King's brother and rightful heir to the throne, had he not given it up, still lived, even if his fortress had crumbled.

Backed with the power of the City States, and the vast number of trained soldiers from the Empire, the Demons fought hard for every inch of ground they took, but inches they marched.

Only in Zalar had they been stalled completely. The Demons had taken two of the Zalarian Cities but had paid in blood for each one. Even then, while the cities had been lost, the defenders largely remained intact. They moved through their tunnels to other defenses, collapsing them as they moved.

Bolstered by the defenders of the fallen cities, eager to purge the shame from their records, the remaining two cities, one of which was the Capital, fought hard, until even the frenzied Demons realized it was too costly to continue.

Galmore remained the only city untouched by the Demons, but that did not mean the war did not reach them.

Refugees come in as a slow trickle. Everyday a handful more. Usually from the sea, where they had sailed close to the shore, skirting around the continent to reach Galmore. Yet the number built, and as it did, so too did the tensions between the groups.

By the Gods, even Luke had managed to reach Galmore, escorted by some hero named Richter, an apparent friend of Alaster. Evelyn had cried herself to sleep in Luke's arms more than once since her brother disappeared.

In the years since, the Galmorians had enforced a strict training regimen, training everyone how to fight, even without the System.

Evelyn had focused on her Soul Seeds. Spending entire days breaking apart her Soul into small pieces which she would then inject into the willing, following the same set as before. Finding someone willing to follow and obey her before injecting it into them while they slept.

In this way, she grew her unit, taking them out to Hunt both for food and levels while training them in large battle tactics.

As an Adept, she could have one hundred Seeded, each one granting her a single Stat Point each time they leveled. She filled the ranks, and when she became an Expert last year, and her limit grew to one thousand Seeded, she continued to grow the ranks, as quickly as her Soul allowed.

Now, two years after her brother's disappearance, her Seeded numbered at over two hundred. Her stats were higher than any other Expert, rivaling that of Masters.

Everyone knew that soon, they would have to fight against the Demons, so they all preparing for it, day after day.

But today was special, because today was the day she received news of her brother. The first news since he had disappeared. The first news in two years.

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