Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Another Beginning

Within a temple of the former mining town, Eastcliff, a pair of clergywomen busied themselves with the care of an infant unexpectedly delivered to them. With a towel dipped in warm water, they wiped the child's small body before wrapping him in a clean blanket.

Wrapped in the warm blanket, the infant slept soundly and no longer cried. Even so, the clergywomen were troubled. The child was incredibly thin for a newborn. It was evident that he had not been fed for many days. It was a miracle he even survived.

They would feed the child as soon as possible, but unfortunately, the closest ranch was three days away and as such, milk was not something available to them, though they do have butter and cheese. As they furrow their brows, trying to figure out a solution, the elder of the two recalled that a woman had recently given birth in town and could act as a wet nurse.

With haste, the younger was sent out to fetch the new mother, returning shortly after with the woman in tow, quite willing to feed the starving child just in time for the baby to wake and start crying for a meal.

That night, the child slept soundly for the first time. The temple had no cradle and as such, he slept in the arms of one of the clergywomen. She held the child beside her all night while barely sleeping herself, fearing that she might smother him accidentally in her sleep.

Unbeknownst to the priestess, a dark shade floated over them, a cluster of corrupted Aether, now but a wisp compared to when it floated over the battlefield. Not only had much of its mass dissipated within the Corpse Eater's body, but it had also expended much of itself to maintain the infant's life.

It was a shame as the Demon Lord had hoped to impart at least some of the powers they had mastered during their long lifetime to their next incarnation. However, it appeared that only the memories and experiences would be passed down. It had taken everything to both bring the child here and to preserve those precious memories. There was simply not enough Aether left to grant him anything else.

Perhaps in the grand scheme of things, it would not matter. Powers can be obtained at a later time through the child's own body. So long as he possesses the memories, he shall know what to do. Certain memories and experiences, on the other hand, aren't so easy to come by. They were things that occurred by chance, whether it be people encountered or lessons learned, each was a small miracle on its own. In the eyes of the Demon Lord who had existed for far too long, nothing could be rarer and more precious.

Discreetly, in a thin mist-like thread, the corrupted Aether entered the child's body. As the body had been previously injected with the Demon Lord's Aether in order to lengthen the child's life, this time it offered little resistance towards the same Aether.

Without realizing anything, without understanding anything, the child had become the Demon Lord reborn.

***

Soon after taking in the child, the former mining town experienced a boom in population. This was due to the flood of refugees fleeing towards the central regions from the ravaged countryside. A number of those refugees chose to settle down in the former mining town. Along with the flow of refugees, there were those who had lost their families, some of which were children. They too were taken in by the temple.

In the years that followed, the town began to slowly develop further. With the death of the Demon Lord and the dispersal of their legion, the land formerly held by the demonkin had been made free to settle and had since become the new frontier, attracting bold settlers and adventurers alike. Due to this, the small town that had once been on the verge of becoming a ghost town was turned into a popular rest stop for travelers, allowing it to flourish.

As for the demonkin that still dwelled in the former territory of the Demon Lord, they were not treated with the same regard as the other sapient races. For their origins and for siding with the Demon Lord, they were viewed in the same light as monsters and beasts.

For the moment, all seemed well for mankind as they enjoyed their long-sought peace. Yet, darkness still lurked where there are shadows. As the world sat idle, basking in their ephemeral prosperity, sprouts began to grow from the seeds planted and roots neglected. As it had been with previous cycles, once more, beneath the world's attention, darkness began to rise.

***

End of Chapter 3

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