17
"Who do you think I am, apprentice?", Yang started out, "I want to hear your thoughts about what you think you felt"
Her new apprentice, thinks for a moment and hesitantly replies, "A Demon, Master?". After a small pause he adds "You certainly felt like what I think a Demon would feel like".
Yang laughed, amused slightly by his answer.
"No, no, no", she reassured him, "I am not a Demon of any kind."
She waited for a moment, and with a teasing smile she added "I'm not a Succubus either if that's what you're thinking~"
"Wasn't! Honest!", he protested with a small blush. After some consideration he inquired further. "So, are they…you know…real?"
"Demons?"
Yang received a nod as an answer.
"Many kinds exist, sure.", she replied in an affirmative, "Succubi with a talent for Mind Magic and Necromancy, Wraiths of the Infernal Abyss -the undying servants of the Infernal God-, and the rest varying somewhat by power and talents"
"Wow…", he said impressed, "to think there is Magic, and even mythical creatures like Demons…seems so hard to believe even with that strange experience I just had."
Yang extends her hand, and from her palm -facing upwards- a small flame burst into life, as her drink magically floated up to her lips, allowing her to drink some of her beverage.
"That too, one day I can give you if you show loyalty..", Yang said as she finished taking a sip of her drink.
Her apprentice nodded, clearly satisfied with the vision of what she could offer. Still, she could sense he had many questions, and she motioned for him to make his thoughts clear as she withdrew her hand.
"So...who are you?", he asked. "Master", he added as he remembered the need to be respectfully polite to the terrifying presence before him.
"Ah, right, I didn't really answer that did I?", Yang said with a nod. His question made sense afterall.
"I am...hmm...", Yang thought carefully about how to best word it, "I was born a human in the Kingdom of Vale, island of Patch. And then, years later, I became something more...An Overlord is a title -one with great meaning-, but it is also something that I am now. Through many years, and Evil Magic, my body was reshaped, reborn into what I am now. I am neither exactly a human, nor am I something as detached from humans are the Demonkind or the like."
"I believe people call this a non-answer, Sire", Gnarl whispered in her mind, to which she replied with "It's hard to give an answer that I don't have"
"Overlord?". the apprentice inquired, "What is exactly the 'great meaning' of this title, Master?"
"An Overlord is who is destined to achieve great things. An Overlord is one who conquers and rules. An Overlord is one with a flair for Evil. There's not many of us in history, and only one of us can exist at a time. There is something within us that drives us to greatness. No Overlord has ever failed in their conquest."
"I haven't ever heard of any", Finster said with confusion. "If they are so great, why haven't I ever heard or seen any of them?"
"You are looking at one of them now", Yang said with humor in her voice before it turned serious. "Our conquests leave a scar in history, and a horrifying reign as well. History hurries to forget us, like one does after a bad nightmare."
"What have they done that was so massive?"
"The Black Baron had cruelly enslaved the entirety the entire of the Kingdom that was once known as Greenvale nearby to what is now the Kingdom of Vale. During his rule, the people, all of them, were forced to worship him, but in return they were made trouble free. After his death if anyone ever spoke of him, they did so only in hushed and fearful whispers. Their fear of him surpassed even his own death. The First Overlord to officially use the title later succeeded him, used his cunning to start a war between the neighboring Kingdoms of Illirium -a massive forest serving as a home for the Elves- and the Golden Hills -where Dwarves lived-
"Dwarves and Elves?", her apprentice interrupted her.
"Yes, both of those races existed back then, among many others, and still do in more or less isolation.
"But why-"
"Why hasn't anyone seen them?, Yang interrupted him guessing his upcoming words, "We don't tend to venture far out from established communities. Not safe due to the Grimm. Not much chance to explore. And anyone who has found them and disappeared -either from getting lost, or dying- has been likely just written off as a Grimm death. The Dwarves are a violent race and would no doubt be fine with murdering any visitors, while I'm not sure the Elves would do that. While certainly capable of fighting, they probably would be wiling to offer sanctuary to those willing to convert to the worship of Mother Goddess."
"Mother Goddess?", he inquired. Yang sensed much frustration from all the information he did not know.
"Four Gods exist that we can confirm. Mother Goddess worshiped by the Elves who represents nature, motherhood, fertility and creation. Infernal God who rules over the Infernal Abyss, or Hell if that's how you prefer to think of it. And the Brother Gods, one of Light, and one of Darkness, who long ago abandoned this world."
"That's so hard to believe...here you are claiming you know the true answer to all religious debates..."
She could see from his face that he did not believe her. That was fine.
"I can prove to you the existence of the Infernal God. I imagine if you met an Elf, they might be able to prove to you the existence of their God, perhaps."
She extended her hand, and with some hesitation, he placed his hand into hers, and she covered his hand with her other one.
"Close your eyes, and relax", she commanded, "and above all, let me guide you. This won't be a walk in the park".
She didn't wait for his response, instead drawing a deep breath and relaxing herself, casting her senses outwards, seeking not something in the waking, mortal world, but parallel to it. Soon both she and her apprentice felt, and heard in their mind, screams, deaths, and tortured rebirths of millions of souls. With a snap of her fingers, Finster's eyelids slowly opened and he saw a fiery nightmare that he would never be able to forget.
He saw a mostly barren and burnt wasteland, with blood red sky who against all reason and sense seemed to be ablaze. There were mountains, and bones of a long dead Draconic creature, bones of which there were quite a few sets. In fact, everywhere he looked there were, at least, some bones some human, some most clearly not. Long towers of blackish metal could be seen in the distance, metal that he could not recognize. Looking closer to himself he saw rows upon rows of chained Humans, Dwarves, and many different other races he could not yet recognize. He saw walking skeletons with armor and capes, easily a head taller than even the tallest Humans, and he saw them torture and kill the rows of prisoners, only for them to painfully come back to life to be tortured even more. He even saw what he could have sworn was the Grimm Reaper himself walking around with a scythe and a dark cloak.
He could sense the suffering of every single of the millions of souls there, and he could feel the thickest Evil in the air.
His senses were suddenly jerked in the northern direction, and as his Master guided his senses even further northbound, he began picking up on a single presence. His Master's Darkness felt like a tiny mist compared to what he could feel from the Figure. The figure's mere existence, he could feel, warped the very air around it. His lungs in the waking world threatened to seize up from merely sensing the Figure. His continued sensing threatened to now rip apart his body, and yet he could not even begin of thinking of retreating.
He was jerked back into the waking world, and where he once saw Hell, now he again saw his Master's office.
"That, my dear apprentice, was the briefest glimpse at the Infernal God"
Her apprentice said nothing remaining in a fear-induced shocked state for several minutes. Yang allowed him that time for she knew firsthand how awful this sort of first time visit could feel.
"If it will make you feel better-", Yang suddenly said with a flash of inspiration, "I can show you a sight much more pleasant for you."
He weakly nodded, and she grabbed his hand again. Once more she granted him a ride on her senses, and where once they visited the Third Overlord's fiery domain, now she didn't even have to make her senses move at all. Instead she focused on the sword at her hip. She hissed in pain, as the sword's power flared and it released the full blast of its pure Light Energy.
"It's...so beautiful...", Finster breathlessly said.
Yang commanded the sword to once more hide its power, and with a bit of disappointed reluctance, the Sword obeyed.
She downed the rest of her drink, and shook her head trying to shake away the nausea that the light energy of the sword caused her.
"What is that sword, Master?", her apprentice asked, his mood clearly improved with a big smile on his face, "I never ever felt so good! Nothing at all troubles me anymore! It washed away all fear, all pain, and I never felt more energy-full than now! And, that light! It felt so pleasant!"
Her apprentice had the gall to even give out a sigh of contentment.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it. I wish I could say the same"
"You didn't?!", Finster asked her with a clear surprise in his voice, "How could you not? That was the bestest of things ever!"
"Focus!", she commanded him with a tinge of annoyance, "Remember what you sensed about me with my own senses. What am I made out of?"
He thought back for a few moments before giving his answer "Darkness?"
"Close. Evil Magic remade my body, as I already explained to you. Light Energy, especially one of such purity and amount, makes me nauseous. It hurts too, and when the sword wills it, it could even start burning me"
"It's sentient?"
"Seems that way.", Yang confirmed, "but to answer your question, this sword was created by what I can only assume to be the God of Light, one of the Brother Gods I told you earlier about."
"Where-?", Finster began to ask
"Underneath the school in a very well protected vault. It was sitting there, and I tamed it and now it is mine."
"Won't the Infernal God get mad?", he inquired, "That you are using a artifact with such...contrary energy?"
Yang seemed surprised by the question.
"Did I give an impression that I actively worship him or something?"
"Well...", Finster said with a slight embarrassment, "he does seem to be the God of Evil, and you are Evil, clearly...and so I figured..."
Yang shook her hand in amusement.
"I respect him for what he managed to achieve, and cautiously respectful of his amazing powers.", Yang began explaining, "I think his story is cool, and he is certainly badass. I don't particularly like the torture part that he does in Hell, but I suppose that does come with the position, and it does have it's own benefits"
"Benefits?", Finster asked disgusted.
"Later, when I teach you more about Magic you will understand.", she explained before moving on, "But anyway, I don't actively worship him. Not any more than when you exclaim 'I hope to God this happens'. I mean, if I ever needed genuine help, I'm sure he'd be the most willing God to help for quite a few reasons, but yeah, I don't really worship him. And besides, I'm not particularly sure he'd care what I'd use. Evil is practical like that."
"Do you worship any of them?"
"The Gods? No. But feel free to if you want to."
She talked with him a bit more, before sending him away. She had work to do, and she needed him rested for the big day ahead tomorrow. She had received an important letter, and a long journey would be upon them.
Authors Note: Chapter 12 has been updated to fix a few mistakes.