______Verrion before The War's End_____

Deep inside the jungle, there were trees that grew closer to the sky. Their thick leaves spread out covering the sky, the jungle was pitch black like the night. However, this was not new as the skies had turned to night for a decade. Darkness filled the whole of Verrion, it was no longer possible to see the moon and stars.

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The endless nights had driven both the people and beasts to desperation and madness. Humans at first tried their best to survive as some fought the darkness but it was all in vain. In the end, they could only place their hope on the last Lucient King as they prayed for his return.

Back in the jungle, a giant white bird lay beneath a tree with a woman, in a tattered dark green hunter suit, leaning against the bird. She looked as comfortable as one would look at a leisure camp. A small campfire before her illuminated their surroundings. She could faintly hear beasts horde screaming, scratching, and tearing everything in sight.

It almost seemed like beasts had gone mad or were controlled. The beasts had become more vicious and violent as time passed. She could guess what had caused the change but she wasn't worried about being harmed as she had put up a strong shield, nothing could get through it.

"You are sure you are gonna do this?" The white bird broke the silence.

"Sure enough…" She calmly responded.

"Things will only worsen once we are inside the Quercus jungle. The beasts that reside there are much stronger than those around here," The bird reminded her.

"I know…" She sighed. "It is the only way to get there… Djevelskrin."

"You know the druid priestesses won't let you in?"

"You think they can stop me?"

She giggled softly. She liked his arrogant attitude. Girsha had been with her for as long as she could remember. Whenever she felt lonely, sad, or lost, he would be there to accompany and guide her. He was more than a guardian as he was also a friend, a companion, and her family. He was the reason she remained sane despite everything she had been through.

"Girsha, are you sure about this?" She looked up at the bird's head. "What I'm about to do… It will not only affect me but it will also affect you."

The bird was silent. He looked up to the sky but the grey leaves above him hindered him, "Do you remember what you promised me the first time we met?"

"I do…" She said softly.

The bird repeated what was said in the past, "You will stay with me. You will never let me be alone again. Wherever you go I'd go. I promised you the same as we became family. A family never leaves a member behind... That is what we promised each other."

Lory gave him a bitter smile. She knew he wouldn't let her go no matter what happened. This made her feels happy and sad at the same time. The path she chose to take was a path with no return. She already made peace with that fact but Girsha… she was still reluctant to let him follow her.

"Then you can come with me to Djevelskrin."

Morning came but the sky was not different as the days and nights looked the same. She woke up and continued her journey. She was finishing her last chocolate bar when she reached the cliff. The cold wind blew her face and her hair flew behind her back. The thick mist covered everything; she couldn't see what lay below. Only a lush tree covered with white fog stood out.

"Are you ready?" Lory teased Girsha.

"Try to keep up with me, little girl" He teased back.

Lory leaped off the cliff edge and dove towards the bottom. She conjured a spell and multiple translucent circles with runes appeared from the thin air. She used the circles as a springboard as jumps from one to another before she landed on the ground. She could feel the beasts watching her. She lifted her hand and staff appeared on her palm the moment she landed. She swung the staff and it transformed to a long sword.

A pack of wild beast attacked her like she suspected they would. She easily dodged the attack cut off one of the beasts' heads which dropped with a thud sound. The other beasts tried to attack her from behind but Girsha used his claws to rip them apart. Lory used a thick branch to swing through the trees at a lightning speed as she slashed the beasts near her.

One of the beasts raised its head and screamed in agony. Lory knew she had to shut it up as such a scream was like a beckoning call for other beasts. She transformed her sword into a bow and cast a wind spell forming arrows. She placed three arrows in the bow and release them in one go. The arrows pierced the beast's head but it was already too late as more beasts started running towards them.

"What are we gonna do, girl?"

Lory clicked her tongue, "Charge…?"

"Sure!" The bird transformed into white orbs and emerged with Lory. A pair of giant white wings sprouted on her back. She leaped from the ground and fly through the dense trees, but this didn't stop the winged beasts from chasing her. Lory's escape was also slowed by the thick trees.

Lory transformed her staff into a gun and shot at the beasts closing in on her. A beast flew past her and tried to punch her from above, but Lory quickly grabbed a tree branch, twisted around, and landed on the branch. Her moves were too fast for the beast to follow. She cocked her gun and turned the beast into minced meat by shooting at it multiple times.

"Lory, I can see a river ahead!" Girsha shouted from within her.

"Good!" Lory sprung forward and took off. Her sudden move surprised the horde of the beasts as they struggled to keep up. The river wasn't too big but enough for what she wanted to do. She landed on a stone in the middle of the river as she transformed her staff back to its original form, the Trinity staff. Lory conjured up a spell as she stomped the Trinity staff onto the stone. The water beneath her feet rose above her head taking up the form of a thousand giant thorns. The beasts dropped into the river as the water struck out at them. The water receded back to normal swallowing the grunts from the dying beasts. Tranquillity followed.

Lory panted hard as she gripped her staff. Girsha who was still inside her could feel her mana draining, "Lory, are you okay?"

"Yes!" She reassured him.

"We should leave now as more will come.

"Okay," Lory spread her wings and flew away.

An old shrine made of grey stones with a big dome in the middle lay behind the mist. Lory saw the dome and surmised she had reached Djevelskrin, a forbidden shrine protected by druid priestesses. Many suspected the druids guarded something but they couldn't easily decide what it was as many things were touted. The protected item was said to either be an ancient spell, a sacred weapon, and a mountain of treasure.

Lory, however, was different from the rest as she knew the word 'Djevelskrin' secretly translated to 'Devil Shrine'. Many wouldn't believe it if she told them the thing the druids had protected for thousands of years was an ancient demon. The demon known as Lazarus, the king of serpents or the abomination, was as old as the world itself. Legend said the first Lucient king trapped the demon in the depths of the earth and locked him up with the strongest seal in the world. The seal could only be broken by a god.

Lory landed in front of the shrine's gate. She could see a dozen women donning white cloaks with the bluebell flower insignia on them. They stood like statues as they watched her like a hawk."

Lory became vigilant as she waited to see if they would attack her. She was surprised when the front gate swung open instead. A frown touched her face as she was unsure if they were trying to trick her or they were really letting her in.

The druid priestesses remained still. Although their stance was hostile, none of them attacked her. Lory retracted her staff and wings in the spirit of fairness. She took a deep breath a slowly walked towards the gates. The priestesses kept watching her like they were waiting for her to make a mistake. Lory cautiously looked at them.

The gates automatically opened for her and slowly closed once she stepped inside the shrine. The sound of the colliding metal doors was all she could hear as the room darkened. Lory exhaled loudly as the room was suddenly lit by a hundred small lights forcing her to squint her eyes to adjust to the glow. It almost seemed like daylight has ascended.

The lights dimmed to accommodate her eyes. It took Lory a few more blinked for her to make out what was in the room. The room was oval in shape with intricate symbols carved on the wall. The big dome above her head had a painting of a giant black snake fighting with a silver armored man holding a sword. The painting was majestic.

"What is this..." Lory murmured to herself.

"The image of the first Lucient..."

The voice surprised Lory who drew out her sword to the person speaking in reflex. A girl with long silver hair, snow-white skin, and grey eyes stood before her. She looked to be about fifteen years.

"You… Who are you?"

The girl smiled sweetly, "I'm Arthea, the seeress…"