Azel closed his eyes.
'It's warm.' he thought to himself.
He felt as if he was in a mix of being drifted away by the wind and floating in a calm river.
With his thoughts all to himself, Azel thought it'd be a good way to pass time by reflecting upon his past life.
First, he imagined a wide, blank canvas spreading across the empty space. Next, he slowly begun to fill in the little bits and details surrounding the story of his life, just like how they did a picture book.
He became embarrassed as he recalled his life as a noble.
Sigh.
If he could go back to punch himself for all the things he did, then he would.
As the son of a high ranking noble, he mistreated everyone who was around him. Whatever it was that his heart desired, he would do it without a second thought. If he wanted to eat and sleep, then that's exactly what he would do. If he wanted to cause a ruckus, then that's exactly what he would do. And if he wanted to beat someone up for no reason, then that's exactly what he would do.
No one had ever been able to stopped him throughout his entire life as a noble. Whenever there was someone who got in his way, he'd threatened them with his family's reputation to get what he wanted. If they refused to step down, then he would use his authority as a high ranking noble to threaten their friends and loved ones.
It was only after his father had finally had enough of his actions that lead to his change.
Back then, he held a grudge against his father for taking everything away from him. His father had stripped him of his privilege as a high ranking noble and had exiled him from the family, giving him no protection from all the people he had wronged.
Yet, when he thought back about it, he was glad his father did it.
Without that push, he would have never learned that there was more to the world than just being a spoiled brat. Without that push, he would have never learned that so many people with kind hearts are suffering in this cruel world. Without that push, he would have never learned that he can be the person to change those people's lives.
After a few years had gone by living as a homeless person while begging on the streets, the King's daughter, Princess Celia, was assassinated. Though as ironic as it is, the demise of the Princess, led to my success. Following the tragic events, the King fell into a rampage and begun to forcefully recruit every able bodied men into his army.
The training that he put them through was tough, but thank to that, he was able to recognize his own hidden potential. Before he knew it, he was leading people in the front lines of the King's army and lead the people to victory.
However, that victory only lasted momentarily.
As it turns out, the true bastards behind the whole thing were the demons.
With the King's army weakened, the demon hoard easily tore through their entire defenses.
Many lives were pointlessly lost that day, but their sacrifices were not in vain.
With the death of many people, came the birth of a hero who protected and guided the remaining squads to safety.
And under the new threat to mankind, came peace as the people united against a greater threat.
It was at this point where Azel felt that there was something slightly off.
'Why did everything about that fit so well?' he wondered.
In each disastrous events that occurred, he was always there to solve it.
When the demons invade the Harlwood City, he was there. When there was an demonic outbreak of the demon virus that turned vulnerable humans into demonic beasts, he was there. And during the battle at the Lake of Helmzloathe, he was also there...
It was almost as if...
'....someone had been controlling me the entire time?'
When he thought of it that way, everything made a lot more sense.
How could he have not noticed the coincidences?
'But who?'
Then, the face of the wretched bastard flashed into his mind.
"Nolan." he muttered.
Although he had no evidence to proof Nolan was the mastermind behind all this, it was the only person he could think of that fit the picture.
In all of the events that happened, Nolan was also there.
Thump! Thump!
Azel could feel his heart beating loudly.
A wave of heat spreads across his body, yet he shakes uncontrollably as one word came to his mind.
Revenge.
Suddenly, Azel forced himself to snap out of it.
'Was I always like this?'
Although he had no recollection to a large majority of his time as a demon, the did remember his final moments.
And with that, a scary thought came into his mind.
'What if there was still a demon hiding inside of me, and it was slowly, but surely, corrupting my soul?'
Azel brushes away the thought.
The was no point in worrying about anything anymore.
After all, he is already dead.
[No...]
Suddenly Azel hears a voice.
At first, he thought it might have just been hearing things... but that's when he heard the voice call out again.
[This wasn't he way how things were supposed to go.]
Azel opened his eyes.
There shouldn't be anyone else in this empty space, yet he could hear someone.
"Who are you!?"
The voice, however, does not answer his question.
Instead, a bright flash of light struck his eyes, forcing him to once again, keep his eyes shut.
[This time, I shall guide you so that you can live a different life.]
When Azel heard these words, more specifically, when he heard 'guidance', he was immediately reminded about the thoughts of being controlled the entire time.
"Y-you bastard!"
But when Azel opened his eyes, this time, he found that the scenery around him had changed.
Instead of the empty space from earlier, he now found himself in a very large room.
There were many other people as well, mostly those around the age of a sixteen to seventeen, who were there with him. However, they all were mainly seated from a distance as they all watched him on the stage.
As he turned to look, in front of him, was the Marigold Sword of Calamity, Nastja.
'What is this?' he thought to himself. 'Is this some sort of joke?'
But soon, the familiar voice of an angry old man brought him to reality.
"You are now exiled from the family!"