The Kind of Evil

Erglade groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, not remembering what had just happened to him after he met with the two Orthias. He was lying on the ground, and his body was aching in pain and numb at the same time, making him unable to move his body. He slowly turned his head around and saw nothing but snow falling in front of him.

"What's your name, human?" A woman's voice came from behind Erglade.

Erglade slowly turned his head and saw Aristoria staring down at him with her bright blue eyes. He stared at her braided silver hair that was whiter than the snow itself. He then looked at her white dress and her white pale skin, seemingly unbothered by the extreme cold.

"Erglade Blackheart..." Erglade answered in his raspy, groggy, and weak voice.

"Blackheart? Never heard that name before," Aristoria sat down beside Erglade and kept staring into Erglade's eyes. "You're not from the north, are you?" She asked.

Erglade shook his head slowly, and didn't have the strength to speak again.

"We saw that you came here with a lot of humans, and you must have realized it by now that you're the only one alive. You came here to investigate what had happened to the village, and you ended up being betrayed by one of them. Seeing that you were being targeted, meaning you're an important person," Aristoria said as she flicked her index finger and created a warm dome to keep Erglade warm. "Why did he target you? Why did he want to get rid of you?" She asked.

"I know too much..." Erglade answered weakly.

"You know too much? About what?" Aristoria tilted her head.

"Demons..." Erglade answered simply, his eyes heavy from the exhaustion.

"Demons? Is this what you humans believe in? The beings that your creator made to mislead and guide them astray from your creator?" Aristoria asked with her head tilted.

Erglade furrowed his brows, finding it weird that Aristoria had to define it in such a way. But then he realized that he wasn't talking to a fellow human, someone who had existed for thousands of years. He then gave a small nod to her without saying a word.

"Demons..." Aristoria hummed as she looked up into the night sky where an aurora began to appear, decorating the sky. "Long before you humans came to this world, many of the civilizations believed in something similar, about beings that existed with the sole purpose of punishing or to mislead them from the right path. Yet, in the end, it was always themselves that made them extinct," she continued and slowly looked down at Erglade.

Erglade could only respond with a smile and nodded his head in agreement. Aristoria stared at Erglade's smile, seeing something that made her intrigued.

"You don't believe in demons? Because it's actually real," Aristoria said with her brows raised. "They do exist, long before humans came here. They're all the same beings that have been causing extinction to every civilization that has ever existed in this world," she revealed with a straight face.

Erglade furrowed his brows, confused and in disbelief by the revelation. He would brush someone's words off when they were talking nonsense, but not this time. He stared at the being who was called the protector of Neva, the one who had witnessed the rise and fall of civilizations.

"They exist... long... before... Humans?" Erglade muttered weakly.

"Yes, they have existed perhaps as long as Orthias and even the age of dragons," Aristoria nodded her head and glanced at the fireplace, making sure the fire was hot enough for Erglade. "They're parasites. They feed on emotions and corrupt the minds of the host. They grow stronger the more they have more control over the host's mind and body," she explained and tossed a log into the fire.

"They're weak and powerless when only dragons and us exist in this world. They couldn't feed on our emotions or corrupt our minds. However, the moment mortals came down to this world, they feasted. The moment the blood spilled and murder happen everywhere, that's when the gate is opened, bringing more of them into this world."

"Every civilization, they always opened that gate, the only path that led into their destruction and extinction. But you humans, you have gone too far, worse than all of those civilizations combined. You killed each other in the name of the creator that made you, believing it was for a good cause. The only way for those demons to exist in this world is through that gate, through the blood of the living, and yet you brought those demons into this world in the name of your God?" Aristoria tilted her head, finding the logic behind human history and mind was confusing. "Are the believers who believe in God to wage war and kill others count as following God's words or do they fall for the demon's temptation?" She asked with her brows raised as she stared at Erglade.

"If it's obedience, then God is responsible for the bloodshed? If it's demonic temptation, then believers cannot distinguish between God's will and evil influence? Does faith excuse violence, or does violence corrupt faith? If war in God's name is truly sanctioned, then God is complicit? If it isn't, then humans are deceived, worshiping demons while thinking they worship God?" Aristoria asked, her gaze searched for an answer to the contradiction and the paradoxical nature of human beings and their moral sense.

Erglade was never a believer in the first place, and he had read countless history books. He had seen that nothing was right or wrong, and none of them were completely righteous or evil. He slowly shook his head when Aristoria wanted him to give an answer to her questions.

"That's just... we humans... are..." Erglade answered weakly.

"Doesn't that make you humans the worst mortal that has ever lived in this world? Your kind butchered my people in the name of faith, then killed each other to take control over the majority, then killed each other for oppression. Humans are the worst kind of being, perhaps worse than the demons themselves," Aristoria concluded as she nodded.

"Yes... perhaps... we are..." Erglade nodded as he slowly closed his eyes as the exhaustion began to take over his body.

Aristoria watched Erglade slowly unable to resist the exhaustion and the sleepiness. She looked at his body with so little life energy that he had left after it was being absorbed by Antonius.

"You don't have much time to live, Erglade of Blackheart. Your days are numbered," Aristoria revealed with a straight face. "What are you going to do with the life you have left, Erglade of Blackheart?" She asked.

Erglade who was about to drift off to sleep suddenly felt the blood was rushing through all over his body, overwhelming the exhaustion that had been gnawing on his body. He slowly opened his eyes and looked into Aristoria's eyes, finding nothing but the truth in them. He slowly looked at the sky where the aurora moved slowly above him, giving him a sense of peace.

"My hatred and wrath are bigger than the life that I have left," Erglade said as he slowly clenched his fists. "If they wanted me dead, then I wanted to die by my own choice," he answered as he slowly turned to look at Aristoria and unclenched his fists.

"And that choice, what could that be?" Aristoria asked with her brows raised.

"To kill the ones who put me in this situation, the ones who wanted me dead," Erglade answered with a cold expression. "You're right about us, we are the worst. But again, that's who we are, and I'm not going to pretend that I'm different. I want bloodbath, I want death..." he continued, his eyes filled with rage and hatred.

Aristoria stared at Erglade's eyes, seeing those rage and hatred for a solid minute. She watched as Erglade's eyes became heavier and heavier to the point he finally allowed the exhaustion to take him to sleep. She slowly got up and stared at the sky, her blue eyes reflecting the green and purple aurora in the sky before she turned around and walked away.

"What's in your mind, Aris?" Sanya asked, leaning against the tree with a fire above her finger, reshaping them into a dragon. "You seem to be interested in that mortal," she glanced at Aristoria.

"I'm not interested in him, but his resolve and his plan to bring death to his own kind," Aristoria answered as she looked at the dragon-shaped flame above Sanya's finger. "We Orthias want the same thing, but we can't get ourselves involved in the destruction or the extinction of mortal civilization. However, don't you think this will be the same as before? Do you think we will be able to stop what those humans have brought into this world?" She asked.

Sanya flicked her index finger, watching as the dragon-shaped flame flung away until it dispersed into nothing in the blink of an eye.

"You're this close to becoming a true dragon. Are you sure you want to let it all go?" Sanya asked, glancing at Aristoria.

"What can a single True Dragon do in the future that awaits us? We saw hundreds or even thousands of True Dragons being turned into corpses in that place. You think I alone would be enough to face that threat?" Aristoria asked back as she leaned against the tree beside Sanya. "If I could prevent that from happening, or at least delay it further, that would be good enough."

"That means the history will repeat itself once more," Sanya looked down, crossing her arms. There was a hint of sadness in her eyes. "This is a goodbye?" She asked.

"This is a goodbye, Sanya," Aristoria nodded, her expression didn't show any sadness, regret, or uncertainty. "I'm sorry that you have to witness another Aristoria to leave your side once again," she muttered and looked at Sanya.

"I'll speak to the elders, and I won't tell them where you go," Sanya nodded.

"Goodbye, my friend..." Aristoria held Sanya's hand and held them tightly before she let go.

Sanya closed her eyes and smiled as she pushed herself away from the tree.

"Goodbye..." Sanya said without looking back as she walked away.