An almost blindingly intense shade of crimson infested my vision, coating every surface in sight - the lake in front of me, the grass beneath my feet, the sky above my head, even the dust particles floating through the air that filled my lungs - all red. This was now the third time that I had visited this area, yet it still felt just as surreal as the first. The scarlet paradise well-known for being a place that no adventurer ever returned from unscathed - the Demon Plane.
It's beauty was so breathtaking that to a normal person, it would be easy to forget that it was under the control of grotesque beasts that derived pleasure from one's pain. It was the last stretch of the war. The Seven Cardinal Kings of Sin had all been finally slain by the two other members of the Infinite Party, along with myself - the third and final member. Ever since then, the Demon Plane had been in a state of pure chaos - every one of it's inhabitants going mad at the prospect of their defeat.
It had been 983 years since the battle had originally begun, and if I could destroy the last remnants of their armies here and now, I could clear the path for their species' extinction at the hands of the other members of the Infinite Party. I say at the hands of the others, as I never planned on exiting the battlefield. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I planned on sacrificing myself for the betterment of humanity, - to be completely honest, this battle wouldn't even require a self-sacrifice, due to it's rather lackluster difficulty - I simply didn't plan on leaving. Well, not as myself anyway.
I scanned the horizon one last time, assessing the situation - just beyond the lake that stretched out horizontally in front of me, there were around 10,000 demons, all prepped to attack me. A slight frown slipped across my features, as I pushed some indigo strands of hair out of my face. Really? Was this really all the power that the demon armies could muster without their precious leaders?
Saying that it was underwhelming would be an atrocious understatement, but I suppose it was better this way, as it meant I could progress with my plan quicker than I would have. I unclipped the dark purple cloak that encompassed my body, allowing it to slowly float to the ground. It was useless to waste it's potential on this child's-play, so it made sense to leave it for any lucky soul who may wander upon it in the future - they'd get more use out of it than I would. And finally, I began my walk.
I crossed the lake, walking upon the water, before reaching the other side. I was no longer in safe territory - well, not that the safe territory would've been safe for much longer.
The demon army seemed to notice my approach and sped up - although, I wasn't sure what they thought speeding up their march would do for them. Finally, we met at the middle.
I stared at them, they all stared at me. No-one made a single sound. I was going to give them the privilege of the first move, but it seemed they were rather unreceptive of my generosity. Oh, well - the only reason I was being so kind as to grant them the first strike was under the slim hope that they could provide me with some entertainment, but I knew that I was simply being optimistic, and it was impossible for them to do so.
I raised my arm far above my head, palm facing the sky, and my yellow pupils began to glow. The deformed creatures finally began their charge, but it was already too late. Five massive globes of flame floated far in the sky, under my command. I dropped my arm, and pointed to the army. The five spheres began shooting down thousands of fireballs each second - each of rather medium size. However, their size didn't prepare for the impact. Every single fireball had the same power as an entire meteor. Screams erupted from the beasts, but I wasn't done yet.
Truth be told, I definitely could've simply used that one spell and won, but I wanted to play with them for a little longer. I ceased my assault, dissipating the five flames in the sky, and unsheathing my blade. Due to the fact that I was born with the Mage crest, one that gave it's user a natural affinity for magic, my swordsmanship wasn't on the same level as my magic, but I was far from weak - still being within the top 3 swordsmen to ever live - the only two capable of outperforming me being my companions in the Infinite Party, both born with the Sword-Spell crest, one that gave it's user a natural affinity for both magic and swordsmanship.
My blade was a dark black colour that seemed to emanate an aura of unfiltered fear onto any who viewed it - given the name of Void. I held it in my right hand, admiring it for a second, as I was unsure when I would see the weapon again. It's hilt crept up the blade like tree roots, wrapping and tangling with itself, until it formed the hand-guard - which was rather ineffective due to it protruding in only two directions, however, this was more of a design choice than an actual defense mechanism. The blade itself gleamed with an otherworldly beauty, stretching far, yet remaining thin. Despite it's delicate appearance, it was nigh indestructible - being completely magic resistant and absorbing all physical damage applied to it in order to increase it's own power. It truly was the perfect blade - and by the time I saw it again, I would make sure that I was the perfect wielder.
I sped across the battlefield, cleanly slicing through the necks of any opponent I encountered on my way - every enemy body that lay on the ground was either burnt to the point of near disintegration or completely beheaded in one single strike.
One more. Out of the 10,000 enemies I started with, there was now just one after only 30 seconds, even if it had felt longer. I could've wiped them out even quicker if I hadn't ceased my original assault with magic, or if I had actually put any effort into the spell or my swordsmanship, but the cretins were simply too inferior for me to even consider trying.
I approached the last soldier and my arm disappeared from visibility for just a second as I swung my blade. Just like that, the last demon fell to the ground before me, head and torso separated. With this, the only demons remaining in this world were the weak non-soldier ones. And the other members of the Infinite Party could handle them easily.
I looked around at the carnage I had wreaked and gave a pitiful smile. This is it. The end of my journey as Ato Aywrath.
I hoisted Void high into the air, before bringing it back down with all the power I could muster. An explosion echoed out across the lonely territory, massive cracks forming that extended out to the depths of the Demon Plane. Void was now trapped inside the rock of the ground, only it's hilt and a partial glimpse of it's blade sticking out. My eyes glowed for a single second again, as I cast an entrapment spell that made it so no matter who tried, the blade would only allow me to remove it from it's imprisonment. I would definitely find it again. No matter what it took.
And just like that, I no longer had anything to do. I stared up to the scarlet sky, feeling slightly sentimental over the people I'd be leaving behind. Oh, well... They all knew that I valued power over everything, so surely they wouldn't be too distraught.
Alright.
My eyes began glowing their yellow hue one last time, as I stood perfectly still. I was going to reincarnate myself. This was a technique I had been working on for around five years now. Still, it was far from perfect, as I had no way of testing it. There were two main problems - the first was that I didn't know how much time would've passed by the time I'm reborn, so I could be reborn multiple eons in the future, or I could be reborn tomorrow.
The second and main problem was that I wasn't guaranteed to be reborn with the Sword-Spell crest, which was the whole reason I was trying to reincarnate myself. The Mage and Soldier crests both have very set limits, while the Sword-Spell crest would allow me to become a true deity. But if I was reborn without it, my new life wouldn't be much different from my current one. However, I didn't care. I had long since decided that even if I was reborn without the Sword-Spell crest, I would just keep reincarnating until I eventually get it.
Perfect... For me, even if it was eons, it would simply feel like a small sleep, so I just needed to let the dreams take me away. Darkness surrounded my vision, and I succumbed to sleep.
Goodbye, to Ato Aywrath.