In a village, the name of which I have no desire to call to mind

The castle.

A place sovereign and majestic, known to any and all that live in the Isles as the place that made this land what it is.

The coven system, modern technology, society itself, the end of the savage ages and the ages of war. It was from this buildingthat what we all now call "The Boiling Isles" was born.

This building that stood empty.

No longer bustling with the sounds of the guards.

No longer home to the arguments of the coven heads.

The barracks barren.

The dormitories, void of life.

The throne room empty.

Lilith walked the abandoned halls of the once mighty castle, now an effigy of sorrow, pain, and disappointment. Her thoughts running wild, as she inspected the place after the battle of the day of unity had finally taken Belos down.

Was it all a lie?

He built so much, he did so much for us all.

Our lives were so much better.

Even those older than us said so. Those all enough to remember what the savage ages were like.

The wars, the death, the misery, it was all real.

And he stepped in, like the hero they all waited for, and set the land in a path of peace.

Was it all just a part of his plan?

But why save us if he hated us?

He was human all along…

Perhaps, even in the most wretched darkness of the human heart, the ability to see the suffering of others and feel the desire to help is always present.

Luz once said that: "Those who we call "evil" never see themselves as evil"

Perhaps he truly thought he was doing the right thing.

After being defeated, he confessed that he believed all magic to be the source of evil in this world, not just wild magic. The he wanted to get rid of "that foul, esoteric existence".

Maybe he truly did want what he thought was the best for witches, after all?

But then…

What he last said…

What did he mean?

"I merely wanted to take the next step, I just wanted to be sure this disgusting magic was gone before I did."

This is why Lilith Clawthorne was back at the castle. She had tried to get answers directly from Belos, or rather, Philip. But all she got from him was silence.

But his silence was odd. He didn't seem angry, or even upset. He seemed… disheartened, like all of his will to move forward had been killed when his plans were foiled. He did not speak, not out of spite, but because he no longer had it in him to do so anymore.

He fought furiously, and with a conviction that no one understood. But alas, Luz was someone beyond extraordinary, and beyond brilliant.

The revolution's plans had fallen flat on their face before they could even begin, as Belos had seen them all coming for who knows how long. But Luz's plans were always 2 steps ahead of the emperor.

First, a frontal attack, which was a distraction. He had seen that coming.

Then, an ambush directly on him. Luz had hidden where he was supposed to stand during the draining spell process. He figured she would do that. Their battle was fierce, but devastatingly one-sided. She did not stand a chance.

But he did not know how much tactics and strategy had evolved in the 300+ years he had spent away from his homelands.

So he did not realize that the ambush was a distraction as well.

He did not see Hunter and Kikimoora placing explosive glyphs on the base of the tower that would cast the draining spell, or all over the portal he had built.

He had spied on the owl lady and on all of Luz's friends for months, but never heard of this part of the plan, because they didn't know about it either. Because Luz hadn't told them, because she had figured Belos would spy on them. She lied to those closest to her, just so she could lie to Belos without him knowing that she did. He never had control, she just made him believe that he did.

These were called "misinformation tactics", and they were but a blink of the terrifying warfare capabilities the modern human race was proud of. Lilith shuddered at the thought of what humans were truly capable of.

She opened the door to the throne room. She had been here before countless times, only now noticing how massive it was. On the side of the room, next to the throne was the entrance to Belos' personal quarters. Lilith forced the door open and started to rummage around, trying to find anything that might answer her questions.

Most of what was there didn't help. Schematics for the draining spell, some gadgets he would use, research on his illness that had concluded there was no real cure, etc. The most notable things were 2 books.

One was his personal journal, and while this one seemed promising, it turned out nothing in it was new to her. It was full of his hatred and his plans for the Day of Unity. Notably, there were some parts that were scratched out and even some pages that were torn to pieces. He didn't even mention his human name in this journal, perhaps there were more somewhere else, or maybe he got rid of them.

The other book was rather strange because it appeared to be written in an unknown human language. Lilith scoured the pages of the shockingly well-kept book to see if she could find any words she recognized, but there was no luck. The book appeared to be really old, older than even Philip's diaries. She figured her best course was to give it to Luz, maybe she had something to say about it.

Right before she left the room, she noticed another book, this one hidden over the doorframe. It was also written in that same odd language, but it appeared to be printed rather than hand-written, although it was still exceptionally old.

She took both books as the only thing of relevance she could find and decided it was time to walk out of the gates for the last time.

As she reached the other side of the chasm, she took a moment to look back. Everything in her life had led her to this place. She had lived here for so long.

It felt like one big lie, but there was no use in lingering back here anymore.

"I'm back!"

"'Sup lilly, find anything good in that old castle?"

"No, not really. It was all pretty much the same as it used to be when I left."

"Aw shucks. Don't feel too bad, I don't think anyone could ever get what was in that nutjob's head, anyway."

"I guess, I found his diary, but there was nothing new for us in there. Trust me, I spent all day on that."

Lilith was exhausted and frustrated, so she laid down on the couch.

"I'm guessing the search didn't go well?"

"No, Luz, it did not."

Luz had just come back from her first date with Amity ever since the Day of Unity. They had been insanely busy since then trying to help what was left of the Emperor's Coven to maintain the structure of the Isles and have it not collapse in on itself. Turns out Belos did a lot of heavy lifting running the place. Having a day to relax and spend time together was badly needed.

Before Luz headed to her room, Lilith remembered the books she had found.

"Oh, Luz, I almost forgot. I found these books in Belos' chambers that appear to be in some strange human language. I couldn't figure out what they said at all, so I was hoping maybe you had an idea or two."

"Oof, I can try, but the guy is from the 1660's England. If it's not English, then it's probably French, or latin, or…"

Luz stopped in her tracks as she grabbed the books, but Lilith was too tired to notice. She just plopped back on the couch.

King decided to try his shot at cheering up his aunt

"Well, look at it this way: you no longer have any pending business with the emperor! You can finally move on with your life and start over like everyone else is trying to!"

"Hm-hm! Oh, King… you're right. After all these years, I guess I wanted to feel like it wasn't over… but this is for the best. I am never going back to that- "

"WWWWWWWWWWHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTT?!"

Everyone's ears hurt because of how loud Luz had screamed.

"LUZ, WHAT THE TITAN?!"

Eda's sensitive ears were ringing after that, but Luz was not responding.

She could not believe what she was seeing. She was reading it over and over again, but she could still not believe it.

King started to get worried.

"Luz?... is everything ok?"

"…. This… is a diary… but… not Philip's diary…it's…."

"It's not? Well, whose is it?"

Luz was not moving an inch, shocked beyond reason.

"… There was another human here… BEFORE Philip."

What read on the first page of the journal was this:

A quien tenga la fortuna de leer esto, os sugiero que prestéis mucha atención.

He de contaros una historia: mi historia.

La historia de aquel que viajó por estos mares y vivió aventuras inimaginables.

De aquel que descubrió secretos deslumbrantes y navegó un mundo sinigual.

Llegué a este extraño lugar por pura casualidad, en un navío destinado al naufragio y al desastre. Me encontré solo en una tierra fantástica, llena de criaturas bizarras.

Tierra de magia, y tierra nacida en el cadáver de un titán.

Eso ha de ser de hace casi 20 años, y el día de hoy, he de resignarme a mi destino final. Escribo en mi lecho de muerte, esperando a la dulce y cruel mano de la parca para que me lleve ante los ojos de dios. Pero no sin antes dejar mi legado para aquellos que lo encuentren.

Es decir, este diario.

Aquí has de encontrar los detalles de las tierras que visité y la gente que conocí. Pero me temo que no he de deciros todo.

Los secretos que desenterré, la magia que utilicé, y la historia que aprendí. Nada de eso habéis encontrado por leer este diario.

¡Si tanto queréis saberlo, pues os animo a llevar a cabo vuestro propio viaje!

Adjunto encontraréis los planos del navío que me llevo más allá de los horizontes del mar hirviente. Lo he llamado: "Rocinante". (pero a lo mejor vos has de construir uno más apto para la tarea).

Así que dejadme empezar mi relato de esta manera:

En un lugar de la Mancha, de cuyo nombre no quiero acordarme, no ha mucho tiempo que vivía un hidalgo de los de lanza en astillero, adarga antigua, rocín flaco y galgo corredor. Dicho hidalgo me ha contado el relato de su gran aventura, la aventura que nunca sucedió.

El pobre diablo quiso perderse en relatos de fantasía que bien sabía nunca ha de vivir, y en solidaridad, he escuchado al pobre viejo y he anotado sus palabras en mis hojas y en mi alma.

He escrito su relato y lo he compartido con la gente, sin duda, mi obra maestra.

Y he ahora yo aquí, el que ha vivido la fantasía que aquel viejo no pudo ni podrá.

¿Preguntas por mi nombre? El nombre con el que he nacido ya no me sirve.

En este nuevo mundo, en esta nueva vida,

¡Me han conocido como Quijote!