I open my eyes. I feel as if my head has been smashed with a hammer. Pulsating, the pain spreads through my joints as if I were sick. My senses don't adapt easily—my ear picks up the loud ringing and my vision blurs. I feel cold and hot at the same time. So hot.

  I exhale. Beside me, my left arm itches and tingles in numbness. Swathed in green leaves with Faeric runes written on them, the seal contained the arm from harming me any more than it already did.

  To be honest, I don't know how much of the arm is what's hurting me or how much of everything. With my mana depleted, wounded and exhausted from walking while sleepwalking, this is the most expected reaction.

  Below me, the stone plank almost burns my skin from how cold it is, but it cools the heat I feel. The walls of the cave are made of the same type of stone, and a fire is burning a large thigh of meat a few meters away from me. I stand up and feel my body crackle. My legs throb, and I fear what my feet have become.

  I'm well-dressed and groomed. My feet are bandaged, my wounds healed or surgically closed as if I'd been in hospital.

  I feel mana inside my bones—shadows stick my organs together to stabilize them. I must have healed myself on the road—in a worse and much weirder way than with healing magic -- while on the road, but the incessant walking didn't allow me to rest properly. In any case, I wondered who had taken me into a cave and, in particular, why.

  Then I hear a bang.

  The weight makes the ground shake. At the end of the cave, almost dazzled by the sunlight, a giant man stands over a fallen troll.

  The great green beast has two mammoth teeth and is four meters long, its skin like thick armor. Its strength must be immense—but it is useless in the face of the man holding it by the neck against the ground.

  “Ah, you're awake!” He says in a powerful, strangely cheerful voice.

  Snow-white hair is followed by a full, close-cropped beard. His skin is white, and his eyes shine a glittering gold. Huge and frighteningly strong, the man is bigger than Morgana by a good margin -- something I thought impossible for a mere human.

  Wearing only a golden belt and leather pants, the man throws the troll away from the view I have of the opening in the cave. I don't know where he fell, but I felt another crash spread across the floor of the cave.

  The man slaps his hands to clean them, and I notice that he has never dimmed the big smile on his face. He moves closer, then turns the chicken leg on the fire.

  “How are you?” he says.

  I can't feel his mana. Even if he hid it, I could see something with my eyes—but the man seems invisible to me.

  “… Who are you?”

  “I'm Hoffstein. Hoffstein Morningstar.” He says and puts each thigh on a plate. The man walks over to me and hands me one of them, then sits down on a wooden log that he uses as a stool and bites into his thigh.

  Hoffstein. Where have I heard that name before?

  I frown. “You're the Hero.”

  “In the flesh!” He says with a smile. “And you must be Sieghart Morningstar, right?”

  I breathe in. He doesn't look bad, but I can't trust him. For all I know, he could kill me before I know it. Even if I could cast a spell, it would be useless.

  “… I'm Sieghart. I don't know about any Morningstar.”

  Hoffstein stops before taking another bite. “Is that so? That's interesting. Well, I can feel your mana, so I know who you are. Your surname is Morningstar, if you didn't know.”

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  My eyes wander around the cave. “So you know me? You know what I am? Who?”

  “I've already answered your question, it's your turn now. How do you feel?”

  “… My body hurts. Did you close the wounds?”

  “Your body doesn't react well to healing spells, so I had to take matters into my own hands. I apologize if it wasn't very good, medicine isn't my strong suit -- primarily, I use biology for fighting.”

  “… No, they were fine. I'd be much worse off without your help. Thank you.”

  He smiles. “Good. When you ask, you're the Demon King, aren't you?”

  “Why are you here? Are you going to kill me?”

  “If I wanted to, we wouldn't be eating a giant chicken, would we?”

  “Then why are you here?”

  Hoffstein takes another bite. “Eat up. It's a long story.”

  I shrug and eat it too. It tastes much better than anything I've ever eaten—but I've never been a good cook.

  “You and I have a certain history.” He says. “My ancestor was the Hero who destroyed the First Demon in his revolution. When he made the unholy trinity, it was another ancestor who stopped him from destroying the world. But something different happened. Instead of dying, your remnants were sealed with the Hero's power, and you escaped.”

  Hoffstein raises his arm to a wineskin beside him and bows, drinking wine from it. He points at me. “Would you like some?”

  I turn my head away. “I'm fourteen.”

  Hoffstein shrugs his shoulders and continues to drink.

  “You say I escaped… Why?”

  He holds in a burp. “Whew.” He says and asks for forgiveness with his hand. “Nobody knows. I was hoping you would know, actually. Humanity believes you got away with it and is planning to destroy the world. They're hunting you everywhere. Part of them believes I'm going to turn you in.”

  “… And what are you going to do?”

  “… You have three choices. The first is to surrender to the Lion and destroy the world. I don't suppose you're going to do that, or we'd have fought already.”

  “What if I'm lying to you?”

  Hoffstein's eyes widen. “Are you lying to me?”

  “No.”

  “Okay then.”

  “…”

  Hoffstein spits out a laugh. “Right. I'll answer you with a question: why did you save the village?”

  “… It's the right thing to do. How do you know about the village?”

  “I saw the destruction and helped the villagers relocate to the nearest kingdom. Don't worry.” He smiles. “Yes! The village you saved! I'd know if I were the Lion. He's capable of making many lies, but he's too proud to submit to mere humans.”

  “… Thanks for doing that. About the Lion… it sounds right. What's the second option?”

  “His efficiency with magic is also pretty bad. He'd be better. Anyway, back to humanity--”

  “Hey--”

  “If humanity captures you, they will torture you, lock you up and kill you. There are cults out there calling for your return, but the vast majority of the world wants you dead. And when I say humanity, I don't just mean humans. Fairies, elves, dwarves, bestials and, essentially, all civilizations.”

  “Good to know. What's the third option?”

  “Come with me.”

  “What?”

  “Look… I don't think you escaped by accident.” Hoffstein leaves his thigh on the plate and wanders around the cave. “I think the old Hero knew about your horrendous past and let you start your story all over again. He sealed the demon instead of destroying it, because he knew that the cycle would begin again. He foresaw a destiny where the demon could be destroyed once and for all instead of fighting endless wars.”

  Corruption, death, or victory.

  “… Last time, humanity fought against the army of darkness and the Hero against the Demiurge. I see. You want me to help you.”

  Hoffstein nods. “Since my ancestor sealed the Demiurge, the Hero of the next generation or someone from his family keeps the seal with his own power. I feel my power returning to me little by little. It strengthens me… and weakens the demon's seal. You may have noticed the strangeness in the wind and the feeling of unease. That something is changing.”

  “… Yes. All the time.”

  “A few months from now on, a Blood Moon will surge, and evil power shall return to this world. The Lion will try to corrupt or possess you. If you wander around, I’m unsure if you can handle It alone.” He breathes in, then continue:

  “Demons come out of their seals. Ancient evils return to the surface. Something will happen soon, Sieghart. Something bad that I don't know if the world is ready for. It's our mission to stop this evil from consuming the world. The Blood Moon is only the beginning. If you help me, we can weaken the Demiurge and put it at a disadvantage. Then we can destroy it once and for all.”

  The man nod to himself. “I'm sorry, Sieghart. I wasn't there to help you when you needed it. But I'm here now. I can help you. We can make a difference. What do you say?”

  I nod to myself. I had already made this decision when I destroyed Aldwyn. The pieces weren't clear, but now, in front of the Hero, I can see where this path leads.

  Destroy the most powerful demon in the cosmos. I feel a chill run down my spine and up my stomach, and I have to breathe in to stop myself from feeling sick.

  “Yes. Yes.” I say and clench my hand. “I'm going to destroy the Demiurge. I'm going to save the world.”

  Hoffstein smiles, “Great! That was easier than I thought. Now… Do you want to tell me why you have two fairies sealed in you?”

  I inhale. I walk over to the wineskin Hoffstein left on the floor and drink it down. I hear the man's surprised laugh as I slam the wineskin down on the table and wipe my mouth.

  “We're going to need more wine.”