Finally, I’m back. I’ve been waiting for this all day. I am back in the black and white confined space, seeking the knowledge of my family’s past I’ve been promised by my other half. Calling her that doesn’t feel right though….A name, I will have to think of a name for her.

“Welcome back, Yuuna.” Says my imprisoned other half with a soft voice, from behind my back. As I direct my gaze upon her, a rather apparent change on her body can be seen. Her left thigh, her right cheek, her left arm and a chunk on the right part of her torso - these parts are now free of the black matter dripping off of her and now are instead replaced by a bright, white color, resembling skin of a very pale color. I stare at her with confusion as she gives me a gentle smile. “Oh, this? It seems the curse’s effect is finally wearing off.”

All this time I was under the impression that this was her real body. Now I’m curious to know what she truly looks like, but that will have to wait, today I’m here to discuss different matters. I snap my fingers and release the prisoner from her chains, then my throne from my last visit emerges and a chair for her. I once again seat myself on its surface. “Let’s get straight to the business.” My other half looks down at her hands before sitting down, most likely from the surprise of being released, but she swiftly reacts to my words. “R-right! Where do I start? I guess I could start from the very beginning.” Sounds like a long story….hopefully this will end before the night does.

“It was the year one hundred forty-three - a time before the ancient war, when the human and demon races were still on good terms. When nations were still a thing and supernatural abilities weren’t, a time of peace. Back then lots of different creatures roamed the world, most of which are now extinct due to the war. From three headed wolf-like beasts with sharp fangs to humanoid life forms with six arms reaching up to ten meters tall. Hunters killed these creatures for sport just like demons are today, but there was one huntress that stood above all. She had many nicknames, but the one that stood out the most was the Valkyrie of Rannad - Rannad being a small village that she has been born in. A slim woman with a light blond colored hair and blue eyes. Her personality was timid and her kindness knew no bounds. It was a miracle that she achieved what she had, as she would trust almost anyone that would show her kindness. It is also said that she had the power of gods.”

“I assume she is the reason nearly everyone has some kind of an ability?” I question, interrupting my other half’s story telling. “That is right. She was adored by everyone for her heroic acts, one of which was slaying a dragon and saving a kingdom. She even tamed one - that’s how another nickname of hers, “the dragon queen” came to be. One day, a large festival had been held. This festival had been held once every decade, on the border between the land of humans and the land of demons, close to where the Valkyrie lived. This festival lasted for days, even weeks, it resembled today’s festivals, but it also had various games where both races competed against each other, and at the end of it was a tournament involving combat between the mightiest of all. This tournament was what everyone was looking forward to the most. The clueless Valkyrie had no plans of entering, it was her first time experiencing this festival as she was only nineteen-years-old, but the people wanted otherwise and managed to convince her into entering the tournament.”

“Did she beat everyone up?” I would guess she won the tournament since she had abilities others didn’t have. My other half giggles. “Hehehe, I’m afraid not. She fought her way up to the very last match that would end up changing all life. On this fateful day, the Valkyrie had experienced her first loss - a loss against who happened to be the son of who at the time was the demon emperor. A handsome prince with short black hair and eyes of the same colour, his skin could have almost been considered pale. Back then all demon and humans looked alike, it was nearly impossible to tell the difference apart from some minor details. During this battle, the prince took interest in the Valkyrie, after which they would begin to see each other, and a new feeling was born within her - the feeling of love. Shortly after the festival ended, the two would begin to see each other regularly. Months went by and their love grew stronger and stronger, but there was a problem. The law of both the demon and human races strictly prohibited intimate relationships between the two, as it ran the risk of a half human-half demon child being born.”

“Why was that a problem? Did they want their blood lines to stay clean?” My other half shook her head in denial. “Demons and Humans have different energy sources and unlike humans, demons were often born with supernatural abilities. Think of it as yin and yang - demons as the darker side and humans as the lighter. When a child with both sides is born, the energy sources within it begin to fight over superiority, causing the child to go out of control once it awakens its power and very often there are large numbers of casualties. That’s why the two had to meet in secret every time and soon enough, they made a child of their own, by the name of Daemelin. They were confident that they would manage to keep their child under control and get rid of the problem within it, but things didn’t go as they were meant to. As the Valkyrie would take care of the child at her own home, the prince would come visit her every day, but that soon ended. One day the prince didn’t show up despite promising he would come that day. The Valkyrie, despite worrying about her newborn daughter’s father, continued with her day, looking forward to seeing him the next day.”

“The Valkyrie, now a mother, did not get to see him the next day either. The days passed by and soon enough a week without her husband has passed. She began to seriously worry and decided to pay a visit to the demon emperor’s home, but on one morning, as she was about to leave, she found a demon standing on her doorstep. It was a messenger of the Demon Emperor, and his message wasn’t good. What it contained was an announcement of her husband’s execution scheduled for the following day. At that point, the Valkyrie was running on borrowed time. She knew that, but her power alone wasn’t enough to save him, so she rushed with her sleeping child into a nearby forest where she hid two of her tamed dragons into a cave. The baby was left in the protection of one dragon while the other was taken by the Valkyrie. As she soared the skies above her home, a large amount of people, with torches in hand, were already occupying her little house. The word spread out quickly, she was no longer safe in her hometown and it shattered her heart. The people she trusted so much have turned against her without a second thought, but she understood - she knew the risks of having a child of its nature. Despite that, the Valkyrie wouldn’t stop her attempt at rescuing the prince, and then, with her dragon, headed straight to the imperial residence of the Demon Emperor.”

“The flight was a short one and her destination was in sight very soon. The Imperial Residence contained four towers on each corner, which were believed to be prison cells, and she had confirmed that once she spotted the prince through one of the iron barred windows. She immediately jumped off the dragon, leaving it behind and pierced her way, with a jousting lance she wielded, through the roof, which of course had guards, and straight into the cell. The dust that rapidly spread around the cell, temporarily blinding most of the guards, bought her time, but the prince had a ball chained to one of his feet. The Valkyrie made quick work of it by using her borrowed power of the fire god and melted the chain. But as they made their way through the prison door, four paths, leading from each cell into the building’s center, operated by no walls nor ground and at the center stood a group of soldiers in dark armor with a single one sticking out, he was much bigger than the rest. The prince informed his wife about the man before them, he was the warden and only second to the demon emperor in power. The two fled to the floor below them and began to run, but the warden was on their tail.”

“As the two attempt to run away, the overseer cut them off from their path by landing before them with a large war axe in hand and the Valkyrie was the only one that could do anything about him as the prince’s powers were sealed away with an indestructible collar around his neck. The only way to remove it was by having the warden himself do it or leaving the land of demons and with their current situation, she saw only one option possible. The warden began his offense and with little time to think, the wife tossed her husband that was standing before her to a nearby staircase while giving him instructions on how to get out together with an amulet he was meant to show her dragon. And with that, the fight between the two came to a start. The prince ran down the stairs with a goal in mind, to leave the land and return once his powers come back to him, but first he needed to leave the structure. The battle was taking place on the third floor and on the second floor another group of soldiers awaited him. As he stood at the bottom of the stairs, his fastest way of exit was a window right next to him and he took the chance. He launched himself through the window and landed in a bush that has been growing all around the building. He used the opportunity to summon his wife’s dragon by blowing into the whistle and successfully escaped.”

“Meanwhile, the warden and the Valkyrie were crushing the walls and floor as their seemingly equal battle raged on. As the Demon Prince fled further and further from the Empire, he noticed his collar loosen up and finally falling off. He turned around in an instant and rushed back to save his wife, but unfortunately, he was too late. By the time he got there, the Valkyrie was on her knees as her hands were held by the guards behind her back and the warden was winding up his axe. With no time to get to her, all the prince managed to do was call out her name to which she responded with slight tilt of her head and a smile - “Goodbye.” With these last words, the warden swung his axe, slicing off the Valkyrie’s head and her long hair together with it. He couldn’t believe his eyes before which his wife has been executed in cold blood, but before he could think straight, the dragon he was riding reacted first and jolted straight into the building, knocking the prince off its back. All hell broke loose within the Residence and the dragon inflamed anything that moved while protecting the body of its owner. The prince, saved by the bush once again, laid on the ground in despair. His emotions were overflowing but he knew what he had to do.”

“He knew this day might come and so he prepared in advance. While the dragon was holding everyone’s attention, the prince ran into a nearby cave, located within the cliff where the dragon earlier rested. In that cave he hid a book he worked on for years, the prince controlled the power of curses, and this book was full of them, containing great power that could turn the world upside down. He grabbed the book and ran as fast as he could to the location his wife earlier that day instructed him to go, as if she knew beforehand that she wouldn’t be able to make it herself. The cave where she hid their child. He ran and ran, sneaked through villages and passed through dark forests until he finally made it to the cave. It was the middle of the night, he was worn out expecting to pass out any moment, but he couldn’t. He didn’t want to run the risk of losing his child too and so he moved on into the cave, soon meeting the guardian dragon face to face. He knew the child was well as he could hear it laughing while hidden behind the lying dragon’s front limbs.”

“The father showed the dragon its owner’s command whistle and was let free to hold his daughter wrapped in thick cloth. He began to weep tears while holding onto the only thing he had left in the world, and he knew he would soon have to say his goodbyes to it too. He placed the happy child back before the dragon and chanted a spell on it - a spell that would imprison it in an indestructible crystal shell which would break only once a pure hearted soul touched it, leaving his daughter once again in the dragon’s care. He then used the whistle and gave the dragon a final order, to keep the child safe no matter the cost. And with that, the father left his daughter behind. He was hungry but there was nothing to eat, he couldn’t enter the village as he knew the people were after him but even if he tried, he had a bigger problem on his hands - the demon emperor’s soldiers found him. He was not expecting them to come this soon and as he watched them approach from afar, between the tall trees, he pulled out his book and placed in on the ground. The page he opened it on contained a magical circle with instructions on how to use it.”

“The prince wasted no time and got to work, he placed his palm on the circle and began his incantation which gave away his position due to all the rumbling and lights caused by this spell, but it did not matter as it was already too late for everyone in the demon race. Upon activating this curse, most of the demon race would turn into a mindless bunch of monsters, mutating their bodies in the process, except for those with great power. Nobody saw it coming, it was a disaster. Thirsty for blood, they turned against their own people as well as the human race, leaving only bloodshed in their paths. The human race took it as act of aggression from the demon race and responded accordingly.”

“It was the year one hundred forty-four. The birth of the ancient war.”