Ed woke up.
"I see… the beginning of a dark prophecy. That must've been the nature of my vision just then."
He couldn't remember anything about his dream. He dragged himself out of bed then went to apply his makeup, looking smugly into the mirror as he did it.
Revel lay next to his bed, asleep. Ed shook him a little, having no effect. He paused and shook him some more. Revel still didn't respond. Ed shook him violently before ducking to avoid to avoid a tail strike that cut into the wall behind. Revel landed back on the ground, woken up now.
"Shall we begin our conquest of destruction once more?" Ed asked. Revel nodded. The two headed outside, ready to hunt.
"Hey I need ya ta help this woman find someone." Sean ordered him.
The hunting was over for today.
Sean had gathered a few others. Josh, Vert and Callum.
"She said she'll pay whatever we want. So y'know. I'm gonna shake her down for everything she's got. The usual. But ya gotta do the job first.
With that Sean walked off to take a hunt, leaving the four in a slightly awkward silence.
"Why are we even doing this?" Vert asked.
"He'll give us a cut." Callum explained before pausing "...Hopefully."
"Are you sure?"
"Not really, but hey. He might. Maybe. Ideally."
"Are you going to help me?" The client asked, interrupting their dread.
"Uh, yeah sure. Who is it ya need us ta find anyways?" Callum asked.
"I need you to look for my son."
"That sounds important."
"It is."
"When was the last time ya saw him?"
"Around twenty years ago."
"...Got it. How old is he?"
"Around twenty."
"...Got it. Ya know what he looks like?"
"No."
"This is gonna be difficult." Vert muttered.
"It's fine, I'm sure he'll know what he looks like when I see him."
"...We'll be here a while. How do you even know if he's here?"
"Feels like it. Well if he's not, I guess I'll never find him."
On that somewhat ominous note, the group set off.
"So how're we even gonna do this?" Callum asked.
"Gather every foolish mortal 20 year old male in the area and bring them to her." Ed replied.
"How would we do that?"
"Knock them out and drag them away." Vert answered.
"Look through the list of everyone in the area, pick out all males of around that age, then go around in alphabetical order and have her check each one."
The others stared at Josh in silence.
"How is what I said the suspicious thing!?"
"Well it's just… blame it on context."
They went ahead with his plan anyway.
"Do you got any way of recognising him, beyond just guessing?" Vert asked the woman.
"...He has the same eyes as me. I'm sure of that." She responded, drawing attention to her deep blue eyes.
"Both of your eyes are here though?"
Everyone stared at her in silence.
"What? You're acting like what she just said makes sense. If she has her eyes then he doesn't. She only has the two."
Vert maintained this stance for a few more seconds, before suddenly turning to leave as quickly as possible.
The group continued on their way for a while, unable to find anyone who matched. A few hours later, they hadn't gotten any results.
"Why don't we just get contacts and have some random guy play the part?" Vert quietly suggested.
"Maybe…" Callum started to wonder.
"Wait, you guys. She's kinda… staking everything on this."
"That's her problem."
"Hey, Ed, ya good?" Callum suddenly changed the subject.
"O-of course, buffoon. I was just preoccupied with planning out my conquering of the world."
"Well ya were also super quiet while doin' it, so I figured something was up."
"Nothing. It's the same destruction as usual."
"Sure thing."
They continued on their way.
"We must've checked everyone in the city by now." Vert thought aloud "You really sure he's here?"
As she turned she noticed the woman was collapsed on the ground.
"Wait a sec. That shouldn't be happening."
The group had to carry her to a nearby hospital.
There was nothing they could really understand from the diagnosis other than she didn't have long left.
They now found themselves waiting around, unsure where to go from here.
"So that's why she was willing to pay everything, huh?" Josh thought aloud.
"I don't get it. Wouldn't it have been better if she just rested? All this did was give her less time." Vert replied in a somewhat frustrated tone.
Josh smiled a little uncomfortably before replying "There's some things that you wanna do so much you don't really care about whether you live or die. For her, I guess seeing her son is one of those things."
"Hahah, what utter foolishness. Going around in circles like that, without any point. What meaning is there in that? The past is gone, there's no reason to reconnect when you're already almost done. Buffoonery."
Ed started to walk away, refusing to look back.
He was outside when Callum caught up to him.
"Hey, Ed."
"Edward."
"Not important."
"It is. Anyways, what is it? I have a lot to be getting on with."
"Ya only live once, ya know that?"
"Well, I suppose that applies if you're not removed from the mortal coil."
"So, if ya see a chance to do something ya never can again, ya should take it. Even if it's difficult, it's better to do things that it is ta do nothin'."
"...Such words are meaningless to one such as myself."
Ed turned to walk away, not having much more to say. Callum waited until he was out of sight before turning back, trying to ignore the sound of sprinting nearby.
The woman lay down in the hospital.
"So this is the end, huh? In the end, I wish I could've just seen his face one last time. What a… waste."
She heard the sound of the door opening, turning her head to see Ed. He walked to a nearby chair, failing to hide his heavy breathing.
"Woman. You're going to be leaving this realm soon, correct?"
"Yeah, I guess. Sorry for wasting your time like that. I'll pay whenever that guy shows up again."
"Well, first, tell me your story. It would be a waste if it just disappeared from this world with your death, yes?"
"...Sure." She was uncertain why, but it wasn't like she had much else to be doing.
It was 20 years ago in Dundorma. As a woman without a family or place to stay, being taken in as a maid for a rich wyverian family was more than ideal. It was still far from perfect, but I wasn't able to complain.
Despite this, it wasn't long until this life came crashing down.
I ended up pregnant, the child turning out half-wyverian. Somewhat similar looking to the head of the family. It wasn't as though I had a choice in the matter, if I'd refused I'd have been kicked out, regardless I was still branded like a criminal. In the end, I had to leave either way. The only difference was that now I was leaving behind a son whose only resemblance to me was his eyes.
I was fine with that, though. I didn't want to see that child anymore. That entire place was a painful memory. But even as she drifted around, she couldn't escape the curse of it. The words spread about her, they were inescapable, it didn't matter how true they were. 20 years later, I could definitely feel it. This was the end. The woman with no attachments desperately searched for some meaning. I decided on that son. It's not as though the boy himself could be blamed. Even if it wasn't what I wanted to happen at all, at the very least I wanted to see the impact I'd left upon this world.
"And that's about all there is to it. It's not a very fulfilling story."
Ed paused on this for a little while, before finally looking up.
A few more seconds of pause.
"What was the name of this family?"
"...Steele."
"I see." Ed paused a few seconds more before poking himself in both eyes.
The woman was confused, until he pulled away, revealing that he'd been wearing red coloured contacts this entire time.
His eyes saw the light of day for the first time in a while, in all their deep blue.
The woman was in shock for a good few seconds before she could even manage to let out a gasp.
"So you were the one I was looking for all along, then."
"...Yeah, I guess I was."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"What a foolish question. A demon lord acts not when there's uncertainty. I had to confirm everything was in place before moving. All that can be achieved without planning is simply floundering around."
His lines were slightly rushed this time, causing his disguise to slip a little, but he still continued.
"Now then, I've already heard your story. A simple rambling, nothing else. It's only fair that you receive something in reward. So, here begins another story. Remember it well, for it shall be the last one that falls upon your doomed ears."
Even from a young age, that boy found himself being isolated.
He always had that feeling of being slightly different. Looking different. Treated different.
Whenever someone important was over he'd get pushed out of sight, he was never allowed to be outside much.
He eventually got the answer from one of his siblings during an argument.
"Why are you even thinking you're on the same level of us? You're just the son of some servant who left you behind here! You're not even fully Wyverian!"
When he asked his parents about this afterwards, they refused to talk. His siblings also never mentioned it again.
That boy realised then what the true reason behind everything was. He was cursed. So, he just had to act the part.
The demon lord was born on that day.
It was a little while later I ran away from there, looking for somewhere else to go. It wasn't as though a being of pure evil such as myself had any use in staying in a palace of buffoonery.
Still, with no destination in mind I ended up wandering this realm for a while. Travelling from place to place, learning to adjust to the rules.
Hunting seemed to be the only path I could take to pass the time while I plotted world destruction. Still, this life was unfulfilling.
It was a little while later that it changed. As I wandered through the forest on a gathering quest, I noticed a Yian Garuga that lay there wounded.
The vague recollection of what their species was like entered my mind.
Rather than raise their young themselves, they instead decide to destroy Kut-Ku eggs and replace them with their own. The Kut-Kus raise the eggs on their own, somehow none the wiser. Or perhaps they just don't care?
Either way, seeing this scene, I decided to just put the monster out of its misery. It had spent its entire life fighting for some unknown reason, it could at least have a peaceful death.
But, as I moved forwards, it got ready to fight once more. Barely able to stand, it still had the intent in its eyes to take me out.
Was I interested by this?
The will to live the monster displayed, even when it was unlikely that life would continue much longer. Even when it was alone in this world. Even when there might not be a meaning.
I suppose it moved me.
I managed to help it survive using some potions, even if I was wounded and poisoned more than a few times along the way. After a while the Garuga seemed to drop its suspicions towards me, no longer attacking me when I approached. That was good enough.
It was a little while later that I encountered someone with a similar tactic to me for the first time.
As I moved through the forest, I heard the sounds of a large wyvern fighting nearby. Giving into curiosity I went to see what was happening.
A Rathalos roared while a hunter and a Great Jaggi circled him at high speed.
The Ratahlos snapped his jaws towards the hunter and missed completely, leaving an opening for the Jaggi to bite at his neck.
The flying wyvern swung its tail around, the Jaggi ducking in response to the hunter's yell of "Behind ya!" As the Rathalos finished its attack it took off into the air, looking to retreat.
Both the hunter and the Jaggi's eyes met for a second, coming to an agreement in that moment followed by the Jaggi sprinting towards the hunter. He hopped into the air and braced himself. The Jaggi spun around and knocked him in the direction of the winged monster with its tail.
The hunter tensed up some more until the last possible second, before slashing away with everything he had.
The Rathalos dropped to the ground. The hunter heard the impact and celebrated his victory, his expression making it clear he had barely expected that to work. He was so caught up in this he forgot about everything else, leading to a rude awakening as he crashed into the ground and rolled a few metres before being stopped by crashing into a rock.
The hunter tried to get up, but the Jaggi roared in response, so he stayed collapsed for a little while longer, appearing relieved. The Rathalos didn't move anymore.
It was a few minutes before I decided he was worthy of my presence.
"Foolish mortal! Your fighting spirit has amused me! Teach me your style!"
"Who even are ya?"
"The great and fearsome demon lord who will one day conquer the world, Edward!"
"...I see. So, whaddya want, Ed?"
"I said my name's Edward. Anyways, inform me of your secrets."
"What?"
"...Tell me how you fight alongside a monster like that."
Callum paused for a few seconds, looking into the sky. "Sure, why not."
"Perfect. Then let us immediately go so you can assist me in taming a Yian Garuga."
"Wait, that's too far."
"...Didn't you just say you would help?"
"Yeah but Garugas are real dangerous, y'know? Not really the types you can work alongside."
"I know that, but I'll be fine."
"Sure thing."
We approached the Garuga. I followed Callum's advice of trying to establish contact first. I was slashed and poisoned without hesitation.
After a few more failed attempts Callum stared at me knowingly as I lay on the ground.
"See? It's like I told ya. Ya should just quit now, it's not worth it."
"Don't care."
"...What?"
"I don't care. I'm gonna tame this Garuga, like you do. That's what I've decided. It doesn't matter if I die trying, I'm not gonna be living any other way."
Callum paused to think about this for a while.
"Sure, then. Let's work something out."
I was somewhat surprised, but the feeling of happiness overwrote anything else. Of course, not that a demon such as myself can feel that. I was just saying it so you could understand.
Still, that made it no less of a gruelling process. In just the first day I'd had to go through who knows how many antidotes. After that we decided it'd be easier to just build some Gypceros armour, so we spent a few days on that before trying again.
A while later, there was a breakthrough.
I reached out to touch Revel's head. This time he didn't react violently, uncaring. This was a success.
As I celebrated Callum reminded me of the next stage. "Now we've gotta practice fighting as a pair."
Revel heard this and didn't react for a few seconds, before slashing me. We were back to where we started.
It was a while further into the process when Callum suggested something.
"Hey. I've noticed somethin'. Have ya ever really thought of the two of ya as equals?"
"What?"
"Well yer always talkin' about tamin' it and stuff. That's not how these things work. Yer equal with the monster, not above 'em. Partners. Without that, it won't work. Yer just gonna be givin' orders, not fighting as a team."
"...I see."
This seemed to work, as shortly later we were working more effectively together.
Another short amount of time passed.
Callum looked up to the sky, vaguely grinned. "Looks like you've got the hang of things. Then I guess it's time for us to get goin'. Didn't mean to stay around here this long here anyways."
"Wait a just a moment, mortal."
"What?"
"Allow us to accompany you."
"...Sure. Depends on that guy though, right?" He pointed to the Garuga.
I was silent in response, before turning to confront the monster.
"You. Come with us."
The Garuga didn't respond, so that approach was out. I sighed and started to speak more quietly.
"Alright fine, that's too much, huh? Then I'll ask you honestly. I… trust you as a partner. So I wanna keep fighting alongside you. But I also wanna go travelling with those two. Well really, it's up to you? What do you want to do?"
The Garuga shrugged and got up, seemingly liking that better than before. I turned back to Callum. "Hahahaha, that task was nothing to me. Let us go."
As Callum turned he suddenly had a thought.
"Have you even given him a name?"
"Good point. Then in that case… Revelation."
"Isn't that too much."
"Fine then, Revelation-Beast thirteen."
"That's the opposite of solving the problem.
"Revelation-Beast XIII, the twenty-seventh seat of the wyverns of the first circle of the unchained ones"
"Yer not even listening, are ya? Why not go for something shorter? I doubt yer gonna be able to shout all that out during battle if ya gotta."
"You underestimate my ability, mortal. But I suppose in that case… Revel should do."
"Yeah, good enough."
Revel also seemed fine with this name. The beast who had just a few months ago been attacking everything he encountered could hardly be called tamed, but he had definitely changed, in the same way he had changed me.
"And that's my side of the story, bringing me more or less to this moment." Ed finished explaining.
An awkward silence rang out between the pair. Neither felt they could blame the other for not searching for them.
Ed came up with the solution of telling more stories about his hunts, having the woman's full attention the entire time.
The rest of the group were still outside. Callum and Vert had their ears against the door, trying to pick up on anything important, while Josh started out the window, not wanting a part in this.
"Ah, it's Sean." Josh muttered as he saw him approach down the street.
"Wait, that's kind of a problem." Vert replied "If he collects payment now the scene's gonna be completely ruined."
"Someone's gonna have to go stop him." Callum thought aloud.
Both of them looked to Josh, who sighed in anticipation.
"We've gotta pay attention to this, it could be important, so yer the only one who can stop him."
"Yeah, sure, sure." Josh replied, not being bothered enough to mention that they were currently listening in on Ed talk about the time he severely underestimated a Redhelm Arzuros.
He jumped out of the window, running across some of the rooftops until he was near enough to Sean to jump down.
"Sorry, you already know the deal. Can't let you past."
Sean drew his gun "I was expecting your betrayal any time now."
"This is a boring running joke, wasn't it already done with him before?" Josh thought.
A few hours later, it was clear that the pair didn't have much more time left to talk.
"I just realised," Ed thought aloud "Did we even tell each other our names? You didn't know mine, but it's Edward."
"Then it's nice to meet you, Ed."
"...And what's yours?"
"Iris. Iris Robinson."
"I see." He had no clue how to respond to the information he'd been wondering about for so long being dropped so casually.
Iris continued anyways "In the end, I'm not even sure what brought me to try finding you. It was just something to do with the feeling that it was almost over. But… I'm glad I did."
Ed still had no idea how to respond, so he just went with a "I'll see you again soon, then."
"Mm. Good luck."
Without particularly questioning what that meant, Ed left. The two stood outside the room showed some slight panic as he exited, but he didn't even take notice of them. He passed the signs of a great battle without any concern. He just straight back home, back to Revel, unfocused on everything else.
"This was a pretty long day." Was all he muttered to his companion before collapsing on the bed, not even thinking.
Still unthinking, the first thing he did after getting up was return.
"Oh, Iris Robinson? I'm sorry, I'm afraid she already passed away in her sleep last night."
The sun that had just risen had already set.
Since she had no relatives, it was up to Ed to set up her funeral.
"She really didn't have anyone to grieve for her other than me, huh?"
Revel carried the coffin on his back as they approached where she was supposed to be buried.
To his surprise, a great number of people were waiting nearby.
Seventeen hunters and fifteen monsters.
"What brings you here, mortals? I doubt that any of knew this woman personally."
"Of course a hunting crew's gonna show up to the funerals of the parent of one of its members." Callum explained "Yer one of us, remember. This is the place ya belong, Ed."
Ed paused for a good few seconds before regaining his usual attitude "Hmmph. I suppose you want me to be thankful. Then I shall acknowledge this. You have my gratitude. Your kindness may not be repaid by this cruel and destructive world, but it has the approval of the one who goes against the world's schemes. Though you forgot that it's Edward, not Ed."
Callum understood what he was covering up.
The coffin was buried, marked by the finest gravestone Ed could find.
Iris Robinson
1309-1350
Even with this, Ed's spirits were still overall down from this.
As he walked home with Revel by his side he passed that hospital again.
He saw the same person who had given him the news before, now staring him down in return. Feeling incredibly uncomfortably, he started to walk faster, but the person sped up. This cycle of both speeding up continued for a few more seconds until he was out of breath and had to stop, Revel silently offering a wing for him to lean on.
"You're the one who was asking about Iris Robinson before, right?"
"What importance is it?"
"I forgot to ask. Is your name Ed?"
"...That is so."
"She left this note addressed to you by her bed, asked us to give it to you if you showed up."
The person handed him a folded up piece of paper with his name written on the side.
"Then I thank you." Ed took off once more with that line.
On the top of the rooftop, above all the crowds, he finally had the courage to open it.
The writing was quite messy, Iris was clearly rusty. But still, he was able to understand her message, somehow. It helped that it was straight to the point.
"Ed. Thank you for being the person you are. You make me incredibly proud. Please continue living the same way you have until now. I love you, my son."
Ed finished reading, completely frozen. He noticed that he could barely see anymore.
"What is this? Some kind of enemy curse? For some reason… I can't see a thing. Everything's... blurry. This is truly... a fearsome... attack."
Revel stayed in place, not caring about his feathers getting wet, as Ed lent on him face-first, not wanting to show the world his face for the minute.
They stayed like that for a while, before Ed finally moved again. Revel looked at him without making a sound and started to lead him home.
The sun rose as always. Ed woke up, speaking of dark prophecies, as always.
Revel slashed at him as always when he tried to wake him up.
It was a completely unusual day. Truly, there was nothing special about today's beginning of the conquest of destruction.
But, that was all they needed.
The world had changed, but the demon lord and his hell beast continued to walk.
TO BE CONTINUED