Demon's Virtue
chapter-280

Eiro took a step forward toward the enormous tree that stretched out beyond the clouds. People were walking past him, everything was just so noisy and incredibly hectic. Not only that tree was huge, but so were all the buildings surrounding the Demon, as if he had suddenly been shrunken down and that's why everything seemed so large. But that obviously wasn't the case, seeing how nobody seemed to be that much taller than him.

It was a woundrous sight, but at the same time frightening. Eiro had never heard of a place like this, but he was seeing it with his own height.

The Demon stared up at the sky, before he suddenly heard someone speak something that was completely out of tune with everything else that was being said by all these people.

"An incredible sight, is it not?" A sweaty man in a dark gray suit pointed out, smiling at Eiro as he walked past the Demon. The moment that Eiro looked at him, it seemed like he already stopped acknowledging even his existence. And then, another person spoke. A young girl, maybe twelve or thirteen, looking down at some kind of thick card in her hands while walking next to a girl of similar age, "Oh, this is not real, so there is no need to attempt to speak to anyone but me."

The Demon turned his head toward the girl and frowned deeply, "And who are you, exactly?"

"You already know, don't you?" An elderly man spoke with a weak voice from right behind Eiro, and the Demon turned around to look at him, but was already being ignored again.

"You know, this is pretty annoying. Even if you're this very world, I think it's still a bit rude to play around like that." The Demon pointed out. It didn't take long for the Demon to hear a voice from all around him.

It was neither a feminine voice, nor a masculine one, while at the same time being both. As if two completely different voices, or every single voice there was, or just the voice of a single ambiguous person, was sounding out all at once. Eiro was confused over what he was hearing right now. He was neither able to pin-point what exactly it was no matter how hard he tried, even with the abilities that he had.

"You are right, I was quite rude. I apologize. It has just been a while since I have truly spoken to someone in this fashion." The voice spoke, and a few moments later, Eiro noticed that everything around him just stopped. He didn't know when, just that everything was currently stopped, as if time had been frozen.

And right from the center of the crowd of people walking through these streets, Eiro could see a man step forward. Or at least Eiro thought it was a man at first. The next moment, he thought it might be a woman. A child, to be exact. Or maybe an elderly one. This being's appearance was just as confusingly chaotic as their voice was.

"I assume you have a question or two for me to get out of the way before our negotiations?" This ambiguous figure in front of Eiro pointed out. The Demon looked back at it and slowly nodded his head, "I do. I was just told that you weren't sentient, but that seems to be false." Eiro pointed out, and the figure in front of him nodded its head. At this point, Eiro noticed that the crowd that filled out this whole huge street before now suddenly disappeared completely, although he didn't notice them ever leave after being frozen in time.

With a laugh, the being in front of Eiro started to speak, "Sentience is something hard to determine for some. Mostly, I simply am and know. The assumption that I am not sentient is true during those times, simply because it is unneccessary for me to show myself in my true capability. It is rare for me to show myself to others, but you yourself are just as rare, so I thought it to be fitting."

"Should I feel honored?" Eiro asked, and the figure quietly laughed, "You can feel insulted or honored, it matters little to me."

"Then can I ask you what makes me so rare that you would show yourself to me?"

"You already kno-"

"Fine, let me rephrase." Eiro interrupted the being in front of him, "What am I? Why am I in control of my monstrosity without the interference of magic or others' abilities? Why does my bane affect me differently to other creatures? Why do I have abilities that no others have?"

"Those are excellent questions. Allow me to answer them to a certain amount. You are a Demon that has been artificially created by the Monster King, which currently has an ability that it has copied from me and which it uses to expand its army and own power. During your creation, a mistake happened to the Monster King, turning you into a variant monster. Although, even then you would have been special compared to others of your kind if that did not happen due to the nature of your soul. It seemed to have worked in your benefit nonetheless, however."

Eiro looked back at the figure in front of him. Those are things that he managed to figure out himself, with the exception of the bit about the nature of Eiro's soul. Before he could speak, the being did so instead, "You have control over yourself to that extent due to your own power. Your will was strong enough to break through the fickle boundaries created by your birth. And now to your last two questions, which can be answered in the exact same way." The being explained to Eiro, and he immediately understood what it was trying to tell him before it even finished speaking. This being's voice was simply so full of intent that it was hard not to realize after hearing just a single one of its breaths.

Eiro looked at the being with a deep stare, and it stared back just the same, or that's what Eiro thought at least. It was hard to tell. The being stood there and slowly opened its mouth.

"I do not know." It said bluntly, and Eiro looked back at the being confused, "What do you... Aren't you supposed to be all-knowing or something?"

With a laugh as if what Eiro just said was completely ridiculous, the being shook its head, "Of course not, what gave you that idea? I am neither all-knowing, nor all-powerful. I simply am what I am, and know what I need to know. I am not a god, I am simple the amalgamation of the forces of nature. As you can see, I am not one. I am many, taking form as one. An intricately woven net of laws that each exist as their own entity, creating the bigger picture. I am that bigger picture. There are a myriad of beings that are more powerful or more knowledgeable than I am. I was able to tell you what you are in the simplest form, what your physical body tells about you. I know your soul is special, but I do not know why or how it is special. I apologize."

"...No, don't apologize. I was still able to learn a few things... I think at least. I might forget them sooner or later again."

"Truly so, but you must be aware that nothing is ever truly destroyed. What is lost can always be regained in one way or another." The being explained, and Eiro looked at it with a slow nod, "I understand."

"I knew you would."

Eiro turned his head and looked up at the giant tree, "Now, can you tell me what this is? Where this is? You wanted to show it to me, right?"

"No, I simply helped out an old friend with a favor. See this as a message that has been relayed through me to you. I cannot see inside of you, my child. I can tell you where the first flower of spring will bloom, I can tell you how many spirits matured during our conversation, or I can tell you just what I love about what all life did with every aspect of my being. But I cannot tell you what this is. All I can tell you is that it is not a part of me."

"...Not a part of you..?" Eiro asked confusedly, "What do you mean?"

"I meant what I said. Ah, but it is different to that child of yours, that much I can tell you. This may not be a part of me, but it does not feel foreign, you see?" The being in front of Eiro explained as it stepped up next to the Demon and look at the crown of the giant tree together with him.

"Now, I think it is time that we finally do what you came to me for. We have trailed off for long enough." It explained, and Eiro looked at the world in humanoid form with a nod on his, ready to face whatever was about to happen.

"You wish to form a bond with me to make a gateway to the Spirit Realm, a gateway running through the elemental planes as a brdige of sorts, a part of you?" This being asked, and Eiro slowly nodded his head. This being seemed to word things in peculiar ways, but as far as Eiro could remember, that was exactly why he came here.

"Then I must warn you, this experience will be a rather grueling one. It will become yours, but it will take a long time until it will truly be a part of you. Like you, the gateway will shift and change. It will be shaped according to what you are, and you will in turn be shaped by what it is. Are you aware of this?"

Eiro looked back and bluntly nodded his head, "Now I am, at least."

With a smile, the being in front of Eiro nodded its head as it approached the Demon. It slowly placed its hands onto his chest. And then, Eiro felt a deep force hit him, and he was pushed back at an incredible speed. But soon, that force was stopped when he hit a tree, obviously stopping him for now.

The Demon was in pain, but for now, it wasn't that bad. He slowly stood up and rubbed the dirt and leaves off of his clothes, before taking a look around. Instead of that town, he was suddenly inside of a deep forest.

And right above him, Eiro saw a sun darkened through an eclipse. But something was weird, simply off.

The rays of light that were shining through the cracks of the seemingly recently shattered moon didn't illuminate the world somehow.