The hand that brought salvation. Damon heard the Unknown God refer to himself as such and those words lingered in his mind long after the world beca whole again.
When the distortion finally settled Damon found himself standing on a familiar street except it looked far different from how he rembered it.
From the void a soft voice echoed around him.
"Inequalities are a constant part of life. Even places you think are perfect and fair are ruled by unfair circumstances. So are born into misery."
Then the voice of the Unknown God spoke one last ti, distant and calm.
"Only your choice can lead you to the path you seek or to damnation."
The voice faded slowly into silence.
Damon looked around carefully. He was certain he had seen these streets before. The stone roads, the distant crystal lamps, the towering buildings with silver banners fluttering in the wind.
This was Lysithara.
Only... younger.
Less broken.
Less scarred by war.
He lowered his gaze and noticed a young woman standing beside him. She wore a faded head scarf and patched clothes that barely looked wearable. Her hands were rough and calloused and there was visible exhaustion in her eyes.
She frowned slightly when she noticed him staring.
Damon had never t this girl before yet the mont she frowned sothing about her felt painfully familiar.
Not just her face.
Not just her posture.
But her mannerisms.
The way she narrowed her eyes.
The way she tilted her head.
Apart from that there was sothing else that was familiar.
Damon slowly opened his mouth.
"Lilith."
When he said her na the young woman blinked once then looked him up and down.
Damon finally noticed his own appearance reflected faintly in a nearby window.
Blond hair.
A gaunt haggard face.
Bruises across his jaw.
Thin ragged clothes.
He looked like soone who had spent his life starving.
"Hmm what just happened to us?" she asked slowly.
Even though her appearance had changed she clearly knew who he was.
Damon rubbed the back of his neck with a tired sigh.
"Hell if I know. But I can say we are in Lysithara for sure..." he muttered while crossing his arms over his torn clothing.
He glanced around the bustling streets and then toward the distant crystal tower still under construction.
"...Yep. Everything always cos back to this place."
Lilith slowly lifted her gaze toward the city center. The massive crystal tower reflected sunlight like a divine monunt while countless workers moved around its foundation.
"I didn’t know it was this beautiful," she whispered softly.
"Hmm this is not good at all. If I were you I would stop admiring the view and start making my peace with whatever gods I believe in."
The voice ca from below them.
Damon lowered his head.
A tiny black dog stared back at him with an incredibly hostile expression.
It looked like a chihuahua.
Damon blinked once.
Then twice.
"...Hmm. Is this a chihuahua?" he asked before slowly grinning. "Ashcroft the Chihuahua of Domination."
He burst into laughter.
The dog imdiately growled viciously, tiny fangs bared in outrage.
Honestly it was fitting.
Damon had to admit the Unknown God possessed a terrifying sense of humor.
Ashcroft, one of the greatest demon lords in existence, had been reduced to an angry little dog.
"You want to die?" Ashcroft snarled furiously. "I have a body now. I can kill you if you dare disrespect Ashcroft Demon Lord of Domination."
Damon crouched slightly and pushed the tiny dog’s head down with one finger.
"You an Demon Lord of Dog-mination."
Ashcroft nearly exploded from rage.
He lunged forward trying to bite Damon who quickly pulled his hand away while laughing.
"Ahhh can you two stop already," Lilith muttered while pinching the bridge of her nose. Then she looked toward Ashcroft and bowed her head slightly. "Ashcroft, it is a pleasure to properly make your acquaintance. I am Lilith Astranova."
"Yes. The priestess of the Unknown God. I see you."
Ashcroft snorted before glancing away with visible irritation.
"Thanks to you we were found out by Unknown. Your stigmata and this fool’s shadows made it obvious what we were planning. However..." he paused briefly. "I cannot berate you too much since you coming along likely saved our lives. Unknown finding us in the taverse was inevitable. He already knew about the Lake of Tears."
His words ca quickly and sharply as he analyzed everything at once.
Lilith nodded slowly.
Then she glanced around the unfamiliar streets again.
"So where exactly are we?" she asked quietly. "Do you have any clue?"
Ashcroft took a deep breath before nodding.
"Yes. He broke a cosmic rule." Ashcroft’s tiny eyes narrowed slightly. "You prayed to him to help us defeat him... and he answered your prayer."
Damon imdiately felt a terrible feeling in his stomach.
Unknown was frighteningly good at riddles and gas.
The worst part was that the answers were either painfully obvious or impossibly obscure.
There was never anything in between.
"This Unknown is helping us," Ashcroft continued slowly, "but not without passing his trial. His riddle if you would."
"What rule?" Lilith asked carefully.
Ashcroft lowered his head.
"Its not really breaking a rule if your actions beco part of the very thing that allows the rule to exist."
Damon frowned imdiately.
He already hated where this was going.
Ashcroft continued.
"Ti is linear and simultaneous. Past, present, and future all exist at once in a straight continuous state. Because of that the consequences of future actions can beco part of the reason that future occurs in the first place."
Damon narrowed his eyes slowly.
He had encountered concepts like this before.
This was not the first ti he had heard such maddening logic.
"Then..." Damon spoke carefully. "Are you saying what I think you’re saying? Are you saying we are in the past?"
Ashcroft shook his head imdiately.
"We aren’t. The people whose bodies we inhabit are the ones truly living this mont. We are rely influencing their actions." He glanced toward Damon. "Did you not hear what Unknown said when he first brought us here?"
Lilith spoke first.
"Inequalities are a constant part of life. Even places you think are perfect and fair are ruled by unfair circumstances. So are born into misery."
"Only your choice can lead you to the path you seek or to damnation," Damon finished quietly.
"Exactly." Ashcroft nodded slowly. "Only our choice."
He paused before continuing.
"It’s a riddle. Our reward for success is likely an audience with the Goddess of Doom."
"And failure?" Damon asked.
Ashcroft smiled darkly.
"Utter despair."
His tone grew colder.
"The Keeper of False Truths despaired before his own riddle. So did everyone else who was tested. Unknown designs these trials personally. They are crafted to beco your unique hell. Sothing another person might overco easily may completely destroy you."
Damon listened carefully while unease slowly crept into his chest.
Then he whispered quietly.
"If that’s the case... then who exactly are we supposed to be in this place? And if despair is the goal then why these bodies? Why a dog?"
His gaze subconsciously shifted toward the half completed crystal tower.
Then realization struck him.
Damon lowered his head and chuckled bitterly.
"Oh... I see."
He recognized this point in history.
This was shortly after Mugu had returned to Lysithara under the guidance of the Unknown God.
That crystal tower...
It would eventually beco the structure used to summon most of the Outsiders.
Once summoned the city would provide vessels for them to inhabit while reconstructing their physical forms.
Soon after that...
The city would descend into war.
"I see the Outsiders have already begun arriving," Ashcroft muttered darkly.
"Yes." Damon nodded slowly. "Mugu must have already found a way to communicate with them before their arrival."
Lilith placed one hand on her waist thoughtfully.
"So what are we supposed to do? Destroy the tower?"
Damon crossed his arms before shaking his head.
"That would be nearly impossible. Even with our true bodies at full strength I’m not sure we could destroy it."
Ashcroft snorted.
"Not to ntion you don’t even possess a class right now. You’re weak." He glanced at Damon mockingly. "Not that your power would help much regardless."
Lilith bit her lip slightly.
"What happens if we fail?"
Ashcroft slowly smiled before looking toward the tower again.
"Gods really love testing people." He sounded deeply annoyed. "That is why I prefer being a demon. With demons its always a deal. No tests of faith. Just your soul on the line."
Damon was about to reply when suddenly sothing smashed directly into his face.
Splash.
He staggered backward in shock before collapsing hard onto the stone road.
Pain exploded through his skull.
When he raised his head he saw several well dressed citizens staring at him with open disgust.
"Trash," one of them spat coldly.
Damon frowned.
He didn’t even know these people.
"Why do they always allow filthy vagrants into our beautiful city?" another woman sneered while covering her nose. "People like you contribute nothing. All you bring are sicknesses, curses, and misery."
Her eyes shifted toward Lilith.
"And that filthy witch beside you is even worse."
Before Damon could react the woman grabbed Lilith violently by the neck.
"What was your na again? Bel right?" she mocked cruelly. "Disgusting little witch. And here I thought you used to be a priestess."
She threw Lilith violently against a nearby wall.
Damon’s expression darkened instantly.
He charged forward and swung a punch.
But before he could even touch anyone one of the n kicked him upward effortlessly.
His body flew several ters into the air before crashing into the ground with a sickening thud.
Crack.
Pain exploded through his ribs.
Blood pooled beneath him as several stones shattered under the impact.
Damon coughed violently unable to breathe properly.
His vision blurred.
He tried forcing himself to stand but dizziness overwheld him imdiately.
"Hey! What are you doing?!"
A voice suddenly shouted nearby.
Several knights rushed toward the scene.
When they arrived and recognized the group attacking Damon they visibly hesitated.
Damon noticed that hesitation imdiately.
One knight finally stepped forward awkwardly.
"That’s enough. Leave."
The citizens scoffed before slowly walking away.
The knight then glanced toward Damon and Lilith.
"You..." his tone softened slightly. "And the witch with you should go receive treatnt."
Then he paused before adding quietly.
"Sander."
Damon froze slightly.
Sander.
So that was the na of the man whose body he inhabited.
But more importantly...
Why were they being treated this way?.
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