Note: Major edit - 31/05/23

-Completely rewrote chapter

-Fixed spelling mistakes and grammar issues


{…} = Changing POV

(…) = Short amount of time has passed

(…) (…) = Large amount of time has passed

Italics = Character's inner thoughts


"Please, you have to sell it to me! She needs it!" A young boy said.

"Bah! Shut up! Get out of my shop!" An angry, older man said.

Just because we're outsiders, he won't sell it to me!?

"P-Please!" The child pleaded.

"I told you to leave! You and that hag you call your mother are a plight on this village! Go back to her and die together!" The man said as he kicked the boy out the door.

N-No! Sh-Shes going to die…

The boy returned to his mother's bedside. His mother was always smiling in his memories. He remembered the day she taught him some of her cooking skills. She was smiling so brightly when he made his first meal, and he was more than happy to learn.

Mother…

The boy looked at the thin, frail woman now lying where his mother once slept. She was pale, her eyes looked tired, and overall, she looked sick.

"Luka…" She said.

"Mother, the shopkeep refused to sell me the medicine! I don't know what to do… I could try to steal it, but-"

"Luka, I don't think anyone can help us now," The mother said "But… It will be okay. I know-" She paused to cough "I know you'll grow to be a fine hero…"

"Mother?" Luka said. Lucifina laid back on the bed, and stopped moving "Mother! Mother!? Wake up, please! Please mo-"

"Haaah!"

Luka shot up in his bed.

A dream… just a dream…

Luka let out a prolonged sigh of relief. He had built up a bit of sweat from the dream too. It had been a long time since he dreamt of his mother's death.

I haven't had a nightmare like that since that war with Ilias…

Luka's breathing slowly returned to normal. He laid back in the bed and looked at his wife, sleeping peacefully. Her beauty was the same as it had always been, just like when he first met her outside Iliasville. It felt like he had known Alice his whole life, and it just wouldn't be the same without her. The two had adventured throughout the world together, solving problems wherever they appeared. Over that time, the two grew close. Alice pointed out Luka's hypocritical beliefs, with him being a follower of Ilias and believing in coexistence at the same time. When Luka had tried to be a martyr for coexistence, Alice had shown him that it would solve nothing. Luka did the same for her in the Monster Lord's castle. She had wanted to follow in her mother's footsteps and bring a new age of coexistence. She believed the only way to do this was for her to die at the hands of a hero. Luka helped her snap out of these beliefs, and together the two, after a long war, took down Ilias. Many had died to carve their path, and Luka would never forget those that helped him along the way.

It had been seven years since the two were officially wed. The marriage had come as a surprise to Luka, but Alice told him he was an idiot for not recognising her love for him sooner. The two admitted their love for each other and made children immediately afterwards. Luka felt as though he would never fully recover from that session. Alice had grown in this time, in all aspects. Luka, on the other hand, had not. He had, at most, grown about an inch in height, although the others all said he was delusional for believing it. Other than height, Luka had not physically changed much either. He was still young-looking, and had even been mistaken for a child multiple times over the years. He was often teased about this by Alma Elma, who said he would always remain a little boy, much to his annoyance.

Once he decided it was time to get up, he moved through Alice's tail, which was coiled around him. It was not so tight that he could not move, but he still would still have to struggle a little to escape. Thankfully, the hero had learnt an easy method to escape the tail. He would pull a pillow down with him as he slipped from the bottom of the coils. This meant Alice would stay comfortable, and Luka could leave to do his daily tasks. He went over to the wardrobe and pulled out his old, nearly vintage now, signature cape.

Hmm, I think ill need to get a new one soon. But… It has sentimental value. Mother did make it for me, after all. I think I'll keep it for a while longer.

Luka walked over to the sword rack which was beside the cupboard. Hanging on the rack was the world's most famous sword, Angel Halo. It had been used by not Heinrich in his fight with Ilias's army, but also Luka during almost his entire adventure. It was also highly valued for its sealing ability, which had been very useful to Luka during his journey.

Luka took his Enrikan shirt had been thrown on the floor after last night's… activities. Luka picked the shirt up, dusted it off, and put it on. The shirt had been with him for a long time, too. Micaela had once offered to make him a stronger, higher quality version of the shirt, as a thank-you for all he had done for them, but Luka declined. This too, had far too much sentimental value to replace. Micaela was now leading Enrika, and had been taking in many of the angels who began to live among humans. Most of them accepted the end of Ilias's reign. Micaela said it would take a while longer for them to start truly coexisting with humans, but it was a good first step. Of course, many of the angels despised Luka for what he had done, and he could not blame them. He had slayed their goddess, who used to also be his goddess, after all.

Luka finished getting dressed, and looked over to his still-sleeping wife. On the bedstand beside her was a book. Luka recognised it instantly. It was the book entirely made about him and his journey. 'The Legend of Hero Luka' had been a best-seller, although Luka saw none of the profit. He and Alice would read the book together, reminiscing about the times they shared or laughing at the exaggerations riddled within the story. Luka had a soft smile as he left the room.

Outside of the door, he was greeted by one of the passing succubus servants, who were always very formal with the Monster Lord's husband, which Luka had never really gotten used to.

"Hero Luka, I have a message for you. Tamamo wishes to discuss something with you, you should find her at the training grounds"

"Really? Well, Thank you for the message" Luka said with a smile.

"Of course," The servant said. She walked away, leaving the hero to think about the news.

I wonder what Tamamo wants to discuss…

(...)

Once Luka arrived at the training grounds, he was greeted by the sight of an explosion. It seemed Nero and Neris had been training with one of the knights again. When the smoke cleared, Luka saw Tamamo No Mae standing alone. Her opponents? Luka and Alice's children. Today they were learning how to properly use the power of the earth. They had been making steady progress so far, and if their lineage was anything to go by, they would grow to be among the strongest monsters ever. Luka couldn't be prouder. His children had also shown good hearts, just like their parents.

Luka looked at his son, Nero. He was currently holding a small scythe. Luka had initially found it strange that he preferred it over a sword, but decided to just let him do what he wanted. Nero had always been bright, and had received an excellent education from none other than the Kitsune ancestor herself. He was also quiet and reserved, unlike his parents and sister. He and Erubetie got along in that way, and spoke often.

Luka turned his attention to his daughter, Neris. She was holding a short sword and was currently doing her best to dodge Tamamo's attacks, even though the point of the training was to endure them. Luka sighed. It seems Nero would get ahead of her in skill. For now, though, they would remain equal. Neris had always showed an incredible talent with a sword, and was quick on her feet too. Compared to her brother, she was far more extroverted. She loved to use her body, and was a fan of dancing. She had picked up a few things from Alma Elma, and had got along well with her. She would also learn sword skills from Granberia from time to time. Neris had also always been quite clingy with her father, a phase which she had not yet grown out of.

Luka walked into the training grounds to get a closer look at the fight. When Tamamo spotted the hero, she called for her right-hand kitsune, Yao, to take over. She then walked over to Luka, with a look of worry on her face.

"You called for me, Tamamo?" Luka asked.

"Yes, there's been a troubling development... We received this letter a few hours ago, it was addressed to you... normally, this wouldn't have been an issue, until I saw this" Tamamo said. She pointed to a seal on the letter, made with red wax, it had the symbol that Alice also had in her hair, the symbol of the Monster Lord, or the Fateburn symbol, in specific. It looked similar to a vertical red eye.

"This is Alice's symbol, but why would she send me a letter?" Luka asked.

"Well, Alice isn't the only Monster Lord. I initially thought it was forged, but the magical signature is correct. Only a Fateburn should be able to replicate it. So that means, it really must be from a Monster Lord" Tamamo explained "I have no idea who, though, they should all be dead already"

"I guess we should just read it," Luka said.

Luka took the letter and sat down on a nearby bench, Tamamo joined him and leaned over to see the contents. He opened the letter and began to read.

'To the Hero Luka'

'Been a while, hasn't it? I hope you didn't miss me too much! This letter is a formal invitation to a tea party! I'll be waiting here at the Naval of the World. Make sure you come alone, though, and no spirits either! You wouldn't want to spoil the mood, would you?'

'PS: I see you and Alipheese got married. And I missed the wedding... Well, good for you. It's up to you whether you get to see her ever again! Don't make the wrong choice…'

'Black Alice'

"...This is..."

"How… How can she be back? I thought you and Alice killed her in heaven"

"I thought so... but now that I think about it, I was too distracted by Ilias emerging from her corpse to notice. Maybe she survived?"

But, no matter what she should've at least been sealed...

"Well, she always did have a knack for barely surviving fights. I don't get it though, why would she only show up now? Was she gathering energy to unseal herself, and why did she tell us where she is?" Tamamo asked.

"I don't know. What should we do?" Luka asked.

"I'll have to talk to Alice, for now, we should alert all the leaders of the world of her return if we even have time for that…" Tamamo said.

"Right, what should I do?"

"I guess you should do some training, if this does turn out to be true, and not some elaborate ploy, then we'll be in for a fight"

With that Tamamo left, with the letter in her hand.

Tamamo… I've never seen her so worried before. But I get it. Black Alice should be dead. Even if she were only sealed, it would take decades to unseal herself. How can this be?

Haah, we'll figure it out later I guess. For now, I better take up Tamamo's advice. Maybe Granberia would be up to spar, or I cloud see what Nero and Neris have learnt.

{...}

How is this even possible? Nobody can just come back from the dead like that!

After her conversation with Luka, Tamamo went to inform Alice of the news. With the Monster Lord's help, they may be able to do something. Said Monster Lord was currently a breakfast worth four portions.

"Alice," Tamamo said while watching Alice eat. Her breakfast, which had been a whole pile of food previously, had been made to look like a light snack by the ravenous Mosnter Lord. Her hair had not been straightened, hinting that she had only just woken up.

I thought I taught her to take pride in her appearance. Am I going to have to teach two Alice's at once?

"Tamamo," Alice said in-between bites. It seems Tamamo would also have to re-educate her on her manners.

Jeez, thank Alipheese little Neris didn't inherit her gluttony.

"There is something that requires your immediate attention, it has to do with Luka," Tamamo said. Alice stopped eating and looked at the kitsune at the mention of her husband.

"What is it?" Alice asked, her hand still prepared to grab one of the cakes.

Tamamo handed her the letter, Alice looked at the seal and touched it. Her eyes went wide in surprise.

"This... This is a genuine signature!" Alice exclaimed.

"Yes, please, read it," Tamamo said.

Alice took the letter and began to read. Her eyes widen as she reads the last part.

"This, Black Alice wrote it... Why does she want to see Luka? What are we going to do about this? She should be dead!" Alice said, Tamamo noticed her hands shaking. Black Alice had just threatened her husband, after all.

"I was hoping we could discuss that, follow me to the war room," Tamamo said.

Alice does as the kitsune said. She was sad to leave a meal unfinished but knew that this was far more important.

(...)

After much discussion about the issue, Alice, Tamamo and two other heavenly knights were gathered around a table. Eurbetie was currently busy in Grangold, negotiating with the king on how to best protect the environment. Luka was also there, sitting down beside his wife. On the table was an electronic map of the world, a recent addition to the room. Thanks to work done on reverse-engineering Promesteins designs, they managed to upgrade much of the castle to a more modern age.

Tamamo told those present information about the current situation. She then handed the letter to Granberia, who began to read it. Alma Elma looked over the dragonkin's shoulder and also began to read.

"I know it's hard to believe, but Black Alice has somehow returned. Now, we're not just going to send Luka alone to the Navel of the World, not without some backup at least. We have to deal with the fact the eight monster lord has revived, and ignoring the letter is out of the question; she could slaughter thousands until we comply" Tamamo said.

The rest of the attendees looked at her, hoping that she had some sort of plan. But Tamamo knew there was little they could do, even if all of them went, Black Alice would likely defeat them, after seven years of having Ilias's and Alipheese's power, she would be at God-tier strength at least, if not even more.

Tamamo uncharacteristically sturred a little before speaking "Well, the plan is, we have to send Luka there alone. Neither us nor the spirits can accompany him. We still have no idea how she came back, or why she wants to see Luka, but we're sure to find out soon. We will be nearby, in case she does try to do anything to Luka, but hopefully not close enough as to tip her off to our presence" Tamamo said, feeling guilty as she did. Luka was one of the greatest warriors Tamamo had ever seen, but without the spirits, or his mother's power, he would consistently lose to the knights. The boost in power they gave him was astounding. Tamamo also knew overuse of his mother's power would kill him. If used in moderation, however, it should be fine. But even then, even with all that power, she doubted he would be able to stand up to Black Alice alone.

"That being said" Tamamo continued "We can help him in other ways," She said. Tamamo held out a small makina. It had been a prototype Promestein made long ago, and had been recovered after the fall of heaven. It had taken a long time to get it working again, but Tamamo managed it. Work on replicating the design was ongoing. "This device can send us information on Luka, allowing us to know if or when things go awry. It gives us a transcript of the local dialogue, lets us see Luka's vitals, his location, et cetera" Tamamo said "Overall, it should let us know what's happening, even when we're not there"

Then again, what could we do even if we were to intervene? If we had all our power combined, we may be able to hurt her, but defeat her? Its… unlikely.

This was the best the small kitsune could come up with, but if Black Alice wanted, she could kill them all and the rest of the world and they would be powerless to stop her. The thought terrified her. It had been only seven years since the last evil deity had tried to destroy the world, and it was far too soon for another one.

Luka himself was looking at the letter, re-reading it, he seemed unusually quiet. Perhaps he was considering what Black Alice wanted. Tamamo looked at the still young-looking hero. Over the years she had grown attached to the still young-looking man, and he was now one of her closest friends.

"Even with that, Sending Luka-boy right into the enemy's hands isn't the best plan I've ever heard," Alma Elma said sarcastically.

"I don't like it, not at all, but, there isn't much else we can do," Alice said while looking at her husband, a look of worry on her face.

It's only natural. Luka is being sent into the hands of one of the most dangerous-No, by now probably the most dangerous being alive, and we can't do anything to help him.

After some further discussion and finalization of the plan, everyone except for Luka, Alice, and Tamamo had left the room. They either went to train or to survey the area surrounding the Navel of the World and bring people away from danger.

"Luka," Alice said. Tamamo heard the worry rooted in her voice.

"Yes? -Ahh!" Luka shouted in surprise as Alice snatched him with her tail and brought him into a hug.

"Make sure you come back, okay? Don't let her hurt you" Alice muttered, much more timid than she usually acts. She always acts differently when surrounded by family, and Tamamo was always happy that Alice considered her part of it. Tamamo had always considered Alice as her surrogate daughter, as she had raised her herself. She was glad to see Alice do the same.

"Yeah, of course! What? Do you think Black Alice would be enough to take me down? After all, we've been through? We already beat her once; we'll just do it again!" Luka said as he returned the hug, confidently stating that. Tamamo, however, knew it was just a brave face he put on for his wife.

Alice chuckled slightly and held him tighter, Tamamo felt a little bit out of place and decided to leave the couple alone, she had more to do, after all.

{...} {...}

Luka was sitting on the back of Galda; he had the Makina on his left arm, wrapped around his wrist. To Luka, it just looked like a fancy metal watch. It had an electronic screen in place of where the clock would usually be, however. This screen displayed all the information he could ever need.

Thankfully Tamamo showed me how to use it. I'd be fiddling with it for an hour before I'd have figured it out.

'Nearly there, a minute or so away'

The Makina beeped as it sent the message. It only took a few seconds to receive a response.

'Understood, Be ready for anything'

Luka was happy to see the device working, the technology was incredible, and Promestein was to thank for it, she, along with the other seekers of truth, brought huge advancements to science and technology advanced incredibly fast thanks to humanity, monsters and angels working together to understand her technology, the ones that survived the fall of heaven, at least. Luka was always happy whenever he thought about how far they had come over the past few years. Thanks to him, Alice and all the other world leaders, coexistence had successfully spread almost everywhere, save a few minor and secluded locations.

After arriving a little outside the navel of the world, he dismounted Galda and sent her away. He walked down the same path he did seven years ago, he looked at the now deactivated thermis traps and wondered why they were there in the first place, why keep humans away from the gate of heaven? He would have to ask Tamamo about it later.

Eventually, he arrived, but he saw nobody. He reminisced about the battles fought here, with the gargoyle girl, Rapunzel, the gate of heaven and the Doppel version of himself.

Speaking of what happened to her? If word got out that there was a clone of me, that could change gender at will, I'd fear what would be done to her. Even after all these years, the world still has plenty of dangers.

"Fufufu, I was wondering what was taking so long. I was worried you were never gonna show up!"

-! That was her! She really is here!

Luka turned to where he heard the child-like voice come from and saw her, Black Alice. But she looked different. She had two large wings, one demonic and monstrous, and one angelic and feathery. She also had two different hair colours, which split in the middle, and a large, demonic tail which opened and closed threateningly. Time had not been kind to the eight Monster Lord.

"Black Alice! How are you alive? And why did you call me here? Tell me!" Luka said. He nearly drew his sword, before remembering what Tamamo said earlier.

'Try not to provoke her, if we're lucky, she might just want to talk... maybe'

"Fufu, relax won't you, you'll get the answers you seek soon enough, but for now, come here, won't you?" Black Alice said. She motioned towards a small table she had clearly just created and placed there, out of thin air. On the table was a tea set, and a chair was on either side.

"Fine..." Luka grumbled. He sat down in the admittedly comfortable chair and watched Black Alice do the same.

"Oh? I see you didn't bring those little spirits, that's good, I would've had to punish you if you did~" Black Alice said with a giggle.

"What do you want Black Alice?" Luka said in a neutral tone, trying his best not to show his fear or hatred towards her.

"Quick to the point, hmm? Your no fun... but anyway, I want to try something new, and I thought you would be the perfect doll for my fun" She giggled again.

Doll?

"Really...? And what would this new thing be?" Luka asked. Whatever it was, he knew it couldn't possibly be good news.

"Let's call it a... Test! Yes, a test of your strength, but this won't be any normal trial, this one, I'm afraid, is not straightforward at all! Don't worry, you'll understand soon enough, or not! It doesn't matter much to me; you always were a little slow" Black Alice said while laughing at her own joke.

Luka frowned at that last part, but did not object to it, he hadn't been formally educated after all, so maybe she was right. Anyways, it wasn't relevant.

"And? Do I get a choice here?" Black Alice laughed at that, clearly exaggerating her movements and the volume of her laughter, this too annoyed Luka, but he endured it.

"Hehehe.. ahh that was a good one! I didn't know you were funny!" Black Alice said.

"How are you even alive? You should've died in Heaven" Luka said.

"Fufu, A good magician never reveals her tricks! But I don't mind if you want to try to force me to tell you~" Black Alice said.

Of course, I can't do that, I might have gotten a fair bit stronger since our last fight, but I'm alone, with no spirits either. What do I do? What can I do?

"Anyway, I can sense some people approaching, I mean, I could sense them the whole time regardless, so I might as well speed this up" Black Alice as she flicked her wrist with a smile.

"Huh? Woah!" A Black hole appeared beneath Luka, and he began to fall through it. Luka saw nothing but never-ending darkness appear around him, and started falling into the void he was now surrounded by, he couldn't see anything, but thankfully he could still breathe, and he still had everything with him, including the watch Makina. The watch displayed a message which was hard to read as he was falling, he barely made out 'We're coming in' and 'Run away'

Luka then saw a hole open up beneath him, and he fell right through. Light filled his vision. Hitting his head on the wooden floor beneath him, he blacked out.


Notes

This is my first ever fanfic, so I hope it doesn't come out too bad. I plan to complete it before Part 3 of Paradox comes out, but it's not the end of the world if I don't. The story will be updated consistently (I hope) Unless some IRL issues get in the way. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it.