“Hey.”

I nudged the one beside me, Alrod Darkscythe, the father of Laianne Darkscythe.

While we were walking earlier I took the liberty to ask him. Don't worry, I already asked if he was an Anime junkie the moment I heard his name. But according to him, there's no such thing as television in this world, let alone Anime.

Apparently, cringe surnames like that are common here. Like ‘Correus Nightwind’, the name of the current king. The laughs I got from that one were many, which is bad since according to my pal Alrod, all Asterians are, in a way, my descendants. The current king wasn't an exception. Even Alrod.

He said there's this one human chick the past me fell in love with, that gave birth to our offspring, the Asterians. Demigods that can harness the essence of darkness called Aster. Which is, supposedly my element but I can't do much at the moment since my power wilted while I was dead for eons, along with my memory.

From a virgin to a racial ancestor overnight? Talk about rushing things up a few thousand years.

“What is it, Lord Alrion?” he lent an ear as we walked through the hallway.

“Why is it that evil strongholds are always dark and creepy?” I asked, my index pointing forward.

Like the rooms I have entered prior, the hallway's walls were made from black stone bricks. Gas lamps hanging on the walls were the primary source of light, but the flames inside them were purple, which meant that the light they emitted wasn't as strong as a normal gas lamp so yeah, dark and creepy. I mean, I kinda get that I'm called the God of Darkness around here... But my castle doesn't have to be a horror mansion, right? It's all about individual preference.

Not all Dark Lords like dark places. Or maybe it's just me.

“Oh... Are you talking about the walls, or the lighting?”

“Both?”

“Hmm...” He held his chin and closed his eyes.

“The walls are made from a durable type of stone called Aridia. Though they are naturally black so we cannot do much about it.”

“What about paint?”

Alrod tilted his head. “... Paint? As in painting, like art?”

“No no... In my world—or rather, my ‘dream’, people use colored liquid to change the color of things, like houses, by letting the liquid dry stuck on the wall.”

“Interesting... How do they make this, this ‘paint’?”

“Hmmm... Not sure, but most likely they mix water with chemicals.”

“I see I see, chemicals.” Alrod nodded. “If I have time, I guess I will ask the local alchemist about it...”

“Yeah, try to get white, or pink, or blue. Just not black, okay? We're creepy enough as it is.”

“Understood.”

While we were walking at a leisurely pace, we came across two hooded fellas walking the opposite direction. When they saw Alrod, they bowed down as a greeting, which Alrod returned by doing the same.

“Have a great one, Lord Alrod.” Said the Asterian to the left.

Lord Alrod? He must be a big shot.

“Have a great one too, Renius, Delbin.” Alrod said.

“Who's that new face with you, Lord Alrod? Acquaintance?” The other Asterian asked.

“Uhhhh, greetings.” I bowed. “I'm—”

“—Yes, he is a friend from central kingdom.” Alrod cut me off.

I wondered what was up, but I played along. In this world where danger is real and a godzilla laser can hit you anytime, a little extra carefulness won't hurt.

“I'm Bruce.” I smiled. “Bruce Darknight.”

“That's a weird name.” One said.

“But he said Darknight... Oh? Are you perhaps a relative to one of the councilmen?”

What? This world has a Batman?!

“Not quite. He's just a commoner and an old friend of mine.” Said Alrod. “Well, we should get going. Again, keep up the good work you two.”

The two hoodies bowed farewell and passed by. We resumed the walk through the endless corridor, but something felt different. Alrod's middle-aged face was on serious mode.

“What's that about?” I peered at his face. Somehow I easily got used to his creepy appearance. Was it because I'm not human? Or was it because I'm supposed to be their God? I honestly don't know which.

“Lord Alrion.” He said as he took a step forward.

“Yeah?”

“For the time being, I think it'd be best if we keep the fact that you have already returned a silent matter. Well actually, the entirety of Asteria already knew the moment you returned, but they don't know how you look like or that you're here so...”

“Oh... Okay. Though I'm curious, why?”

We slowed down the pace, and Alrod leaned closer.

“My lord, remember when you were attacked, how the culprit was not inside the chamber?”

“Yeah... There was a hole in the wall, right? That means that the beam came from outside. What about it?”

“Well... I wouldn't dare say with certainty that the human we caught wasn't the criminal but...”

“But?”

“There is this chance that the intruder to be executed soon isn't the real assassin, and the real one could be hiding or has escaped.” Alrod said, a somber shadow falling on his face.

“What? Then if that's the case, shouldn't you postpone the execution until we know for certain that he's the culprit?”

“Well no.”

“Why? That's not right.”

“Lord Alrion, humans are our mortal enemies.” He said. “So even if she's not the criminal, we still have to kill her.”

She? So the one they caught was a girl.

“I don't know, that doesn't sit right with me.”

“Of course, we're not killing her just because. She may not be the one who attacked you, but she's a spy of the human kingdom.” Alrod stated as we approached a turn.

“How can you say that with certainty? She might be just a random villager that happened to lose her way home.”

“Lord Alrion, no ‘random’ human can get past my guards and climb the castle all the way up to the ritual chamber where we found her. Added to that, Asteria belongs to the Nether Plane, while the human kingdom is from the Aether, so before a ‘random’ villager could even step on our world's soil, she would need to cross an ancient dimension gateway first. A random villager simply doesn't have access to a portal, she had to be a spy sent by the human king.”

“Oh, so wait, humans are from another world?”

“That is so, my lord.”

That's weird. I thought it was a golden rule for isekai stories to have all races in one big world. Also, the protagonist always gets summoned as a hero. While me I got summoned as a villain? So unfair. But then again, all of those turned out to be nothing but my colorful imagination.

I can't say I'm getting used to thinking that.

“So, Where are we going now, if the one to be executed isn't the assassin?”

“We don't know that, my lord. I just said that I found certain holes at the investigation. When you collapsed, I carried you to safety so I didn't get to see the whole story. A guard said that they found the intruder inside the chamber right after we fled, so naturally, she was deemed the assailant.”

“Because she's a human?”

“That is so.”

“Okay... So the reason why we should maintain a low profile is that there's a chance that the assassin is still around?”

“Yes.”

“But aren't I a God?”

Gods are supposedly those cheat bastards who can't be killed by a mortal, right? But then again, that beam of light destroyed my arm... I wonder, are Gods actually not as strong as I imagine, and they're just glorified majestic mascots?

Alrod sighed. “Yes, although you just came back from the grave, so your divinity is still wounded from the damage the Goddess of Light Nariad inflicted upon you centuries ago.”

“Oh, Nariad? Is that the one who kicked my ass two-hundred years ago?”

He silently nodded.

“But why? I'm curious why the bastard killed me, though I could guess...”

Yeah, it's the light versus darkness cliché, right? where the evil one always ends up dead, or sealed in a can, only to be revived by the surviving evilmons. Which is Alrod by the way.

“Nariad is your sister, Lord Alrion.”

“Eh?”

“She is also your first spouse.”

---

Two-hundred years ago, a great war took place. It ended with the humans winning, their mighty heroes had prevailed against the Dark Lord, and managed to seal him away for good. Peace returned to the land, but this peace proved to be fragile, as the loyal right hand of the God of Darkness succeeded in releasing the tyrant from his prison to plague the lands once more.

BUT apparently, that's not what happened.

“Wait, so you're saying, this Nariad and I are in an incestuous relationship, and that she killed me two-hundred years ago only because I cheated?!

No, that can't be! I'm a good boy! I'm not a bastard, and wait, cheating or not, isn't death too much for a punishment?”

Besides, why can Zeus get away with philandering, while it's the certain end of the line for me?

“No, my lord.” He shook his head. “Indeed, she killed you once when you mated with the human, but that was thousands of years ago.”

“Oh so I've died more than once? Why did she kill me recently then?”

“Hmmmm...” He pondered as he took a step. “The exact reason was unclear but, it must have had something to do with the fight between you and her twin, the God of Light Nariod.”

“I see...”

Nariod, Nariad, I get it. Still, the God of Darkness and the Goddess of Light together? What a weird pair.

“By the way, Alrod.”

“What is it?”

“Why do we have to walk? This hallway is endless! I'm a primordial God, right? Can't I just pass through walls, or run super fast, or teleport outside?”

“Yes, but, for now you can't. At least not before you remember how to use your power.”

“That sucks...” A sigh escaped me as we made another turn to left.

“Don't feel so down now, Lord Alrion, because the gate is already upon us.” He pointed forward, at the end of the hallway where an enormous ogival door made from steel stood.

---

“Woah...”

In front of me was a goth village. A real life goth village! Filled with noble vampires? No. Filled with dark-clothed Asterians? Yes. The houses numbered hundreds and all of them were at most two storeys each. They were all made from that black stone called Aridia.

The streets were lit by light-emitting purple crystals nestled on top of wooden poles. Like lampposts, but cooler. The citizens were not wearing robes of course, but their tunics and sarongs and skirts were black, all of them. There must be an explanation for that, but the boring stuff can wait.

The dark sky on the other hand, can't.

“Woooah...” I must've looked like a kid entering a planetarium for the first time.

The sky was a mixture of empty black space and purple blobs that looked like clouds. There were no stars, no moon, but there was a dark crack in the middle. A rift that split the heaven into two, from pole to pole. A literally broken night. It was quite the sight, too bad I didn't have my smartphone with me. Or did it even exist?

Alrod explained that I and Asteria are one. The soil symbolized my power, gray when I'm weak while darker when strong. Right now... You guessed it, the grains of dirt that formed the ground were gray. The sky of Asteria on the other hand, symbolized my divinity. Whenever my immortality is scarred, the sky breaks, and it will remain broken until I'm as good as new. It was interesting to say the least, but still...

“I'm really a God, huh...”

I still can't believe it.

“Yes. And you could also say that you're Asteria itself.”

“How long will it be before my divinity heals?”

“There's no telling us, Lord Alrion. It depends on the enormity of the damage received by the Deity.”

“A rough guess?”

“Hmmmm... A year or so, before your condition reach its peak.” Said Alrod. “But fear not, the process is progressive so technically you will get stronger everyday.”

“I see.”

Our feet resumed forward, further inside the village.

Citizens filled the streets, buying from the rows of wooden stalls on the roadside that sell almost anything I could think of. Clothes, sandals, dark drinks inside glass bottles, that last one might not be human-friendly, but hey, I'm not a human right? There's also a stall that sells knives for skinning things. And a stall that sells... Meat. Yes, gray meat from the carcass of a leopard-sized purple wasp.

A God might be immune to food poisoning, but fuck no I'm so not going to eat that. Even with a barrel of gravy.

In a few strides we reached a clearing, where streets intersect. In the middle of the plaza stood a temporary gallows. Dense crowd gathered around it, their clamor drowning the sound of the whip that tortured the back of the human girl whose hands were tied up. When my eyes zoomed in on the bound girl's face, my heart began to race.

“She's—”

“She's the apprehended intruder. The spy, my lord.”

“No! She's, she's not a spy!”

She was someone I remembered seeing. Cold blue eyes, long blonde hair, youthful face. She wore jeans, but her upper has been stripped to only her white bra. A dark-robed Asterian was behind her, flashing a whip against her arched back.

The noise that surrounded me faded into the background, and all I could hear then was her high-pitched groan ringing each time the whip connected to her back. A strike. Two strikes. Three. Strength left her body, and she couldn't keep her legs straight anymore.

Unable to stand the twisting feel in my gut any longer, I rushed forward.

“My lord!” Alrod's hand coiled around my arm.

“Let me go, Alrod.” My voice came out, cold and deeper than usual.

“She's a human spy!” He protested.

“How can a part-time counter girl at a local convenience store be a spy? Let go.”

The girl's scream rang yet again. I took another step forward, to which Alrod responded by pulling harder.

“I said let go, didn't I?”

“But...!”

“Alrod!”

The sky roared and a dark lightning descended, hitting a distant mountain. The thunderous sound made everyone look up, and Alrod to soften his grip. I took the chance and shook my arm free, then I parted the sea of rattled plebeians and climbed up the wooden platform.

The girl's wilted eyes widened when she saw me.

“Wh-what?” She stuttered an English word.

“Shhh.”

The robed Asterian behind the girl raised his whip, but she wasn't the target.

It was me.

My head screamed danger. I brought up my forearm in a reflex. The whip lashed down, and I closed my eyes.

There was a sound of shattering glass, and not a thing felt on my arm.

I opened my eyes. A dome of purple glass covered me. A small part of it was broken, where the whip was supposed to hit me. The Asterian gasped, the crowd clamored.

The robed Asterian let go of the whip and channeled purple flame—Aster, in his hands. But before the flames enveloped his hands, the sky roared once again, and a dark pillar of energy engulfed him from above.

Drowned death throes after, the energy dissipated, and what was left of the Asterian was a pile of black ash.

When the danger faded, the dome shattered into a swarm of purple particles. I turned to the bound girl and took a step forward, but she tried to distance herself from me. In vain, of course, since loops of rope were coiled around her wrists.

“P-please don't kill me...” She pleaded.

“I said quiet, didn't I?” I said in English so she would understand. “And while you're at it, don't move.”

Her eyes widened, but she didn't say anything more and zipped her mouth.

I grabbed the ropes, but then it hit me. I didn't have anything to cut them. This sucks, I thought, but then Aster sparked from my hands. It burned the ropes nicely. Then, like having outlived its usefulness, the purple flames snapped asunder and disappeared.

The weight of the girl leaned on my chest—she could barely even stand. Her back was a wreck, crimson blood flowed out everywhere, from the trace of lashes she received, and she had light bruises here and there. She was shaking. It was a cold night, and on top of that she was almost topless, save from her underwear.

How can a girl this frail be a super spy that shoots out goddamn lasers? That doesn't make sense.

Exclaims came from the citizens who have watched the whole scene, while a squad of marching footsteps rushed towards us. It was a tens group of hooded guards, they joined us on the platform. They drew their swords, long and gleaming, they pointed them at me. Or us.

One of them spoke—the one on the middle, probably the captain.

“Speak your name, Asterian!” The guard said.

I shot him a death glare “Im—!”

—Alrion? The God of Darkness? Am I really? My eyes wandered down to the trembling girl in my arms. She exists. She wasn't a product of my imagination. And that meant nor was Arenson Randall, the college student.

Then just who the fuck am I? More than that, what am I?

---

“Stand down you fools!” A voice among the crowd. It was Alrod's.

The men turned around, there was an Asterian pushing aside the crowd.

“Lord Alrod!” The captain said. The whole squad bowed down, and Alrod stepped in.

“Sheathe your swords,” Ordered Alrod. “or would all of you rather have Lord Alrion turn you into piles of ashes?”

The crowd hushed and gossiped.

“A-Alrion?”

All of them looked at me, then at Alrod.

“Yes, the God of Darkness is here, in front of you all.” He pointed at me and addressed the citizens.

“Now all of you better show your respect, or suffer the consequences.”

Alrod then turned to the squad of guards and shot them a glare. “That goes double for you impious idiots, kneel!”

After the hooded men knelt down, Alrod rushed to our position.

“Lord Alrion, are you hurt?”

“I... I'm not.

Though she is.” I peered at the girl's face. “Can you stand?”

She nodded quietly. However, her legs were still wobbly so I supported her by the shoulder just in case.

“Hey Alrod.”

“What is it?”

“Get her a coat or something. Fast.”

I would've done something about it myself, but the robe I was wearing isn't exactly what you'd call a convenient attire you can take off with one hand. On top of my robe being hard to take off, I also got the feeling that I wasn't wearing any underneath.

“Understood.” He turned to the kneeling guards. “You heard him, give the human girl clothes.”

The men also wore robes, so they scurried off to find clothes.

“Can you walk like this?” I asked the girl and took a step forward.

“I-I think so...” She demonstrated by taking a step, although she was still shaky and seemed like she would fall to her knees if I wasn't by her side.

“Okay, we'll take it slow.” I said and brought forth my right foot.

After the sole of my toe met the wooden planks however, my vision started to drift.

“Ugh, this is bad.” I muttered.

It was the shield, wasn't it?

My foundation crumbled and I hit the floor. The girl soon followed, crashing on top of me.

“Hey!?” She exclaimed, her frantic face mere centimeters away from mine.

Now that I got a closer look, she didn't look so bad. Or maybe it's just my blurry vision.

Damn... why did that dome have to be so mana-expensive?