"Who knew the underworld would smell so bad?" Caiden commented, his nose scrunching up as he stepped over a crumbled piece of rock, the blanket around his shoulder slightly dragging across the rubble. He squinted his eyes, glancing up at the moons dancing around the sun, probably not able to believe what was happening. I just chose to ignore it, knowing that the world was made of some type of magic meant that Zing could do whatever he wanted, which included having two moons dancing around a sun. I wasn't sure if he was doing it for fun or if there was a real reason to have them.
"Well, I guess it's what you get with a world created out of magic," I muttered back as if he were asking for an answer. However, I too was curious about what was happening. Since I started to learn magic, I was taught that even people who studied it for hundreds of years couldn't do some of the things that I or Romand would deem as simple. To create an entire world out of nothing as Zing did seems so impossible that it felt fake. If Akan and Iban had led me straight here instead of beating around the bush with the stupid notes, they wouldn't have had such a difficult time trying to get me to come to the Underworld. I would've simply come just to try and understand how someone could be powerful enough to create an entire world out of thin air and yet still choose to die.
Out of the corner of my eye, I was taking note of Caiden's behavior, watching him try to take in the world around him. Then, I reached forward quickly, watching Caiden as he was glancing up at the sky, the tip of his left foot skidding across the asphalt causing him to stutter a step. My hand found its way across his back and gripped onto his right hip. He turned to me, giving me a smile as thanks, before standing up straight and shaking his shoulders, his eyes now watching his steps as he skidded around the broken rubble scattered across the ground. The blanket that was once wrapped around his shoulder fell to the ground in a heap, and we left it behind, opting to discard it in the slightly warm Underworld air.
"What happened here?" I asked, turning to glance at Iban who was trotting beside me. I bent down to offer to pick him up in case he was struggling, and he happily took it, crawling into my arms. I rubbed off the grey concrete stuck to his fur as he nestled into my inner elbow.
"It relates to what I was telling you before we entered here," Iban muttered, then he took a deep breath. "Once Zing died, the demons barely managed to hold themselves together. Luckily, they had a common enemy, and they were working towards making the place safer and better for the demons. But it was still difficult for them to continue forward without a solid person instructing them." Iban let out a slight grunt as I had to make my way around a large piece of rubble, his body clinging to my arms as I jostled him around. "Then, when Melan came around, they started to look up to him. Of course, Melan wasn't that great a leader. He was doing the best he could given that he didn't want that role, but..." Iban glanced over at Akan, who didn't seem phased at the conversation. In actuality, he looked happy to just be here, his eyes glittering as he looked up at the two moons. "Anyway, after that, there was a fight to figure out what was right and what was wrong in the demon society. This idea of right and wrong started with Zing, who wanted everyone to just work together to rebuild and continue to live here, without exacting revenge on the humans. There, of course, were some that wanted to go against him, and some who believed in him and his idea of being united. That only deepened once Melan rose to power. Some wanted Melan to be a leader because he didn't hover over them and allowed them to be more flexible compared to Zing. On the other hand, some wanted a more structured King, this led to not only his death but the start of fighting amongst the demons as they wanted some to gain more governmental power while others did not. This was part of the reason that led to the wasteland that you see today."
I glanced around us, stepping over more cracks erupting from the ground. We were walking along a long gravel road, surrounded by trees. It looked like the highways you would see back on Earth, but if only it was a one-lane road and no guardrails for cars. It was simply a long wide road with trees lining the side. I couldn't imagine what it would be used for but considering the portal that Akan and Iban lead us through was at the "beginning" or "end" of the road, it was probably only used for one thing: to travel back and forth from the Underworld to Ekalen.
That meant that the fight was strong enough to cause bits of an extremely unused road to be badly uprooted. So, who knows what it did to the homes and the thousands of demons living here? However, the ending of Iban's sentence didn't quite sit right with me. And, I guess, it didn't with Caiden either.
"Only part of the reason?" Caiden asked, kicking a rock, and sending it flying in front of us, skidding to a halt a few feet ahead. "What's the rest of the reason?" This time, Akan spoke up, his words grim.
"What do you think would happen to a world once its creator dies?" We didn't speak up after that, the answer hanging in the air. After Zing died, he would no longer be able to uphold the world with his magic. Since his magic was the sole reason that this world was created in the first place, his magic would be the only thing that would keep it together. However, that also didn't quite sit right for me. Since Zing was such a benevolent king, wouldn't that mean he would try everything in his power to ensure that his people would be able to live and prosper long after his death? There had to be another reason why this world was slowly starting to crumble.
"How long does it take to Zing's place?" Caiden asked, the silence probably making him uncomfortable. Akan tilted his head, his hands in his pockets as he continued walking.
"Probably 30 minutes up on Ekalen?" He said like he also wasn't sure. Iban nodded in my arms.
"So, maybe two hours here?" Iban answered. Caiden let out a noise of surprise that I had never heard before, causing me to grip Iban a little too harshly in my arms, which was repaid with a little nip at the skin of my inner elbow. It stung as Caiden continue to sputter.
"Two hours?" He asked incredulously. Iban nodded, causing him to groan.
"Time is different up there compared to here. It moves a lot faster, so I'm not quite sure about the exact measurements. But a full day here is a little less than half a day on Ekalen." I cocked my head, but Caiden spoke up.
"I didn't realize that the worlds would be different." Caiden mentioned, his voice a mumble as he still thought about the long journey ahead of us.
"Of course. Zing wanted to show others that there wasn't a need to keep up with the humans. That we could be different. So, he created not only this world but a time management system that functioned differently. It was like a demonstration to the humans that we would outlive them, even if, for some reason, a demon would suddenly die at relatively the same age as a human." I nodded, my eyes skimming the tree line to my left.
"Zing really didn't like humans, did he?" I muttered, not intending anyone to answer. However, Akan cleared his throat.
"Not... necessarily." He replied, glancing back to meet my gaze briefly. "I would say that he actually enjoyed the humans. He felt that they had a lot to offer and that they had potential."
"It was the humans who messed up." Iban finished, his eyes glazing over and he thought about something else. Something that I, once again, wouldn't ever understand. I found my own eyes losing focus, my movements becoming more robotic as I pondered over Zing. I had so many questions for him, not necessarily just about his magical abilities, but about his thoughts in general. It was rare that I was so interested in a person, but his optimistic nature confused me. If he genuinely believed in humans so much, why would he go through so much to separate them from the demons? Even creating an entirely different world with a different time management system. From the sounds of it, the humans didn't deserve to even be alive after what they did to the demons. In all honesty, if I were living when Zing was, I too would think that he was wrong. I wouldn't want to live here either, because the demons did nothing wrong. The humans did the entire time. So, why would Zing be so willing to relocate, especially if he was powerful enough to create an entire world? He was, and is, quite possibly one of the strongest beings that had ever lived on this earth. And he just allowed himself to live here and then die at the hands of humans? The answer could be one of two things, either he was truly optimistic that one day the humans would see how wrong they were and be willing to apologize and live with the demons again. Or...
My eyes traveled to the right, watching as Caiden laughed at something Akan had said, his smile causing his eyes to crinkle at the ends.
...he loved someone on Ekalen too much to harm them.
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Hey guys! Saph here! I'm sorry for the long wait, but I graduated college, which is kinda scary. I really have been in a bad mental state these past few weeks, so I haven't felt that motivated to write. However, I'm really excited to write some extras that will come out once this story is finished, so I wanted to bring out some more updates! I hope I continue to write more because I would really love to work on some extras for this book once some more information comes to light. We'll see what happens.
I don't really have much to say, other than, if you watch anime, have you been watching Spy x Family? I absolutely love the show and I've already read the manga, so I wonder what you guys think of it as well? Also! I've started to play Project Sekai and even though I'm really bad at rhythm games, I'm quite obsessed with this one. Do you guys play any rhythm games?
Regardless, thank you all for reading! As always, if you have any comments, questions or concerns don't hesitate to leave them or contact me! I'm so happy that you are reading my book and I hope you continue to enjoy it even if I have slow updates! Please remember to stay safe and to work on your own mental health. Have a wonderful day/night and see you next time!