Chapter 498: Totrya

"Don't be startled," said she calmly.

'That was stupid of me,' thought he ungripping the ceramic flower-pot.

"I understand the confusion," said she, "-it's perfectly normal."

'You're wrong,' thought he, '-there's nothing normal about it.' He maintained eye-contact for the lady was beyond the realm of what he'd imagined. Her hair, instead of being dead, we're alive to end with snakeheads. Each actively moved hypnotically, her arms and legs were scales. The reflection of the purple sun against the lady assumed to be a retainer, felt closer to home than usual. The way she gently had her elbow around a chest-high drawer wasn't in the least formal. Rather, she showed friend-like familiarity. 

"My," said she, "-are you perhaps mute, or did the lady take thy tongue to?"

"No," he spoke slowly in fear of offense, "-perplexed is all," he turned to the landscape, exposing the back.

"Are you sure that's wise?" in what seemed to be a blink, "-exposing the back, I could kill you right here and now," the snakes moved close to his ears and murmured disgustingly. 

"Sure," said he, "-dying here might not be such a bad idea," both arms rested against the window-frame. The support allowed for a risky peep at the ground below, "-we're quite high. Besides, if you were going to kill me, why go through all this extent," said he. "I woke up in a bed made for the nobility, the landscape outside isn't normal by my standard. The people down there, I mean no offense, are not demi-humans nor humans. What is this place?"

"Astute," she stepped away, "-we're in Totrya."

"Impossible," he refuted, "-why is there two suns and why is the sky purple!"

"Let me finish. Have you wondered where monsters come from, why they appeared, how they breed, what is their purpose?"

"Never," he gave the fullest attention. 

"Why would you," she openly ambled to sit on the bed, "-monsters are meant for killing, and getting rewards. In a way," her never-blinking eyes struck true, "-that's the purpose of the minions. I'll explain all of it, are you interested?"

"Yes," he moved to sit at her side, '-her face is oval, the nostrils are small but sharp, the eyes don't blink. What is she… a snake?'

"Good, then let me take you down a trip in history. The monster kingdom as is now, began far before this dimension's infection. Our founder, Scifer Rethem, the god of Time, went about the dimensions, killing, merging, and amassing an army to fight the gods. Hailed as the god-slayer, the divines were scared. The underworld couldn't have been anymore happier. Heaven, as is told by the priest, isn't that giving. They take more than they give, the grace bestowed is selfish and with the intent on taking twice the amount given. Demons isn't far from them either – they take, but more forcefully and garnered the hate of most. The God of Time became an independent party, his arrival had the higher-realm shudder. He's killed and absorbed the power of mid to high tier gods. Don't get me wrong, the goal wasn't to be powerful, he wanted to reunite and resort the god's pride and honor, he wanted for a father and son to make peace. He wanted for Kronos to be given the place of Supreme god. He who ate his children is projected as the antagonist… the reason was to hide the kids from the charms of 'mighthood'. I won't go into much detail about the history since it was lost at the passing of Scifer. Needless to say, the gods didn't take lightly to the amassing of power. Our founder was killed and dishonored. Before death, a friend of his mentor, the lord of death, proposed to safeguard his will and transfer the symbol of power to his heir. Yes, it's confusing, but bear with me. The Lord of Death had an heir, a being that rose to power in a short amount of time. The one thing holding him back was the curse of the death reaper. In the end, the symbol of power from three gods was bestowed onto him. Fate sadly proved to be a heartless lady, as he would meet with the supreme god Zeus. Together, the gods sent a spy named Cleopatra to find who inherited the symbols of power. Zeus wanted power over time. The operation would not have been possible without the help of another party, an unlikely alliance, the underworld, the ruler of demons and evil – Lucifer. He wanted to control Death to rival Hades in his attempt at entering the Eternal Abyss. Yet, it didn't go as planned. The heir was found out and killed by his daughter no less. The conspiracy and betrayal sent him into a fury of which none can imagine. Before breathing his last breath, the symbols of power were scattered for

Mystified at her words; the feeling of nostalgia – it felt good, thinking back, pieces of the locked memory cleared. The images of how he died, the feeling of the sword running through his chest and heart, the promise made, the decision to save the companions until the day rose again, "-it's worked," said he in a monotonous voice, "-my plan, my way," the voice and visage changed, the brown eyes turned crimson red, "-I remember. I remember. My name is Staxius Haggard, the heir to the god of death, and the inheritor to Scifer's will."

"I knew you would come back," said the lady,"-King Haggard."

"Don't get me wrong," he added coldly, "-I'm not Staxius anymore. That personage has long become a myth and woven into history. Bring death to life only brings the misfortune of the past home. I'm Igna Haggard, a boy who loves cooking. The personalities were never different, I lost my memories to give birth to a boy who believed in humanity."

"Then who are you?" asked she, "-what happened to the boy I sensed a few minutes ago, did you kill him?"

"No," he laughed, the crimson eyes returned to brown, "-Staxius and Igna Haggard were never different. They're both me, and I am me. No one defines who I am, for I am what is, and what is, is me."

"Confusing much?" she paused.

*Inhale,* '-I know I'm Staxius. The past, the people I met, the dynasty I built isn't relevant. It's a new world, and Igna, rather, I, have friends, a family, and things to do. Today forth, with my memories awakened, I shall bury them to start anew.'

"You look resolved," said the lady, "-care to hear the rest of my tale?"

"Please do," said he with an innocent smile.

"Resuming from where I left off, we come to Monsters. Scifer wasn't a fool, he'd known one-day Demons and God would cooperate to fulfill their narrative. Tis the reason for the heavenly spell of World Break. The previous dimension he merged to build the monsters and their variant species, the drops, and the new way of fighting was for a single goal. To gather and raise an army of God and Demon killers. Humans are weak but resilient, the dimension closest to Origin harbors more strength than any other. Living beings here are blessed by the gods who regularly intervene in worldly matters. What better place to set-up a training camp; yes, it's true. Monsters being killed isn't for naught, they grow, evolve, and gather experience. Those who surpass a threshold are forced into Totrya, though, some monsters often escape the system. That's how bosses are born, they're in no way bad or disobeying orders… the resolve to become strong is important for us. The stronger the world become, the better we get. Soon, when the humans gain the power of gods and break into their realm, the experience from those battles will elevate our army until the next king is ready to fight the heavens."

"It's a well-thought-out plan, making the world into a training area for his army. If only Scifer were alive to take the fight to the gods."

"What do you mean?" she paused, "-aren't you the inheritor of his will?"

"The inheritor went by the name of Staxius Haggard," he stood, "-mine is Igna Haggard. Allow me to be bold, fighting the heavens and demons as is now is foolish. The army is weak, I don't need to see to tell."

"Are you going to forsake us?" she stood menacingly.

"No, of course not," he headed for the purple night, "-I might have said the past is buried, I still have a few words to speak to Zeus and Lucifer. They conspired to have me stripped of what I gained. Time will bring their downfall sooner or later. I need to gather the Symbol of power and become strong if I want to lead the monster army."

"Good," she smiled, "-the heavens move at a slower pace than the human realm. They're not going to make a move soon." 

"I have a question."

"What is it?"

"The bosses and monsters we killed, what happens to them, do they have memories?"

"No," said she simply, "-I mean, they know what's happening and are quite alright to dying. It's no matter, they're working to become stronger, we have the advantage of immortality, no matter the strength or the might of the blow, the monsters will always respawn until they've reached their goals."

"What of the bodies?"

"Not to worry, the body is temporary, it's the soul that holds their power. Once killed, the body is nothing than a stone, unaffected to us nor them." 

"Good," he slumped onto the window, "-I was worried about my future goal."

"Huh?"

"Dungeon Style cooking."

"Please don't tell me," she facepalmed, "-are you cooking monsters?"

"Yes, and they are damned delicious when prepared right."

"Honestly, Lord Haggard – for the future god who wages war onto the heavens, you sure are eccentric." 

"Thank you for that."

*Knock, knock,* she quietly pulled the handle, "-Vesper," said a lady dressed in a simple dress with horns protruding out her head.

"Lady Kul," said she, "-he's awake."

"Vesper, Kul?"

"Good," she entered to hold his hand, "-I'm sorry for abducting you earlier."

"Wait," the eyes narrowed, "-I'm sorry for you being sorry," he bowed, "-aren't you the demon of Coria?"

"Yes," said she proudly, "-I'm close to becoming a high-ranking demon. I need to kill a few people. Anyway, how was the sleep, the recovery spell Vesper cast must have worked."

"Healing spell?" he turned to Vesper.

"No, a reversal spell. I turned back time on the wounds and unlocked most of the memories. I do hope it's not inconvenient. You see, we need to know there's someone out there who's going to lead one day. Following the words of the founder religiously isn't good for anyone."

"Excuse you?" the windows dismantled into black hovering boxes to reform into a balcony, Vesper gave a quick push sending him onto the newly built platform. The purple night and darkened horizon flickered into light; the drop below gave onto a mosh pit. A whiff of cold air slapped across the face, the building behind was a massive castle. 

"Hear me, people of Totrya," voiced Vesper, "-I, the steward of the Founder, deem Igna Haggard, suitable to rule us onto tomorrow. He also has lost all to the hands of the gods and demons, he also has a vendetta against them, and he also wants to become strong!"

"YEAH!" the screams exploded into his ears, "-KING HAGGARD!" 

"Vesper," the face flashed in horror, '-what?' he motioned.

"It's a formality," *snap,* wings flapped and a beam illuminated his face. The cacophony kept on growing, "-speak a few words."

'Really,' thought he, '-it comes down to this,' breathing deeply. "-Hear me, people of Totrya, I will be truthful. I'm weak, the will of Lord Scifer was bestowed onto my previous self, King Staxius. I was reborn as a new man, a weak man. Leading a campaign against the gods is the least of our worries, the people of Hidros are getting strong, monsters need to be stronger, and so do I. Therefore, I make this promise, I will not accept the honor of kinghood until I've proven myself!" a strong gesture silenced the crowd. Vesper and Kul smiled, '-he's worthy.'