Chapter 1: Chapter-0 The Return of the Fallen…

Night-Time.

Ethan groaned from exhaustion as he slowly opened his eyes, there, he saw clashing men in armor. specifically, medieval knights in full armor, he could identify at least a few dozen. they seem to be protecting him, but from what?

King-Ethan: ooh... that's got to hurt...

Ethan muttered to himself as he saw a head fly and land next to him. he slowly got up, rolling his body before lifting himself from the soil he laid on with his hands then his knees before he got up and stood.

from what he could tell these knights were from a game he played a week ago, it was already long dead when he first played it. however, given the circumstances he saw himself in, he accepted the fact that he was in the game, and immediately exploited it from the archives of his mind. remembering every single detail he could recall, he wasn't going to die here, no way.

these knights that surrounded him, seem to be Palitia Knights. some of the capes on a few of these knights he could identify, he remembered that the one with the blue cape stitched with a tree surrounded with thorns was House Mona, one of the first to bend their knees during his conquest to unite the kingdom, although the armor was a bit different.

he could recall the knight that swore fealty to him, Sir Almen Delu.

???: Black Flames!!!

just as the spell was casted, Ethan turned to see black flames that burned a dozen men, mainly the ones on his side. even with the gruesome deaths of the people around him, Ethan barely reacted, he found more gore in games than this storyteller.

Ethan then looked at himself, he recognized the armor he was in, it was his own. made from a material exclusively made by him, this armor, though impenetrable, made him a living fortress. made from a material he called Godwill, this armor only had one color, since it reflected the emotions of the wearer, now it was red and grey. anger, sadness and confusion.

Sir-Almen: the king lives! fight onward knights! fight to the last!!!

Ethan could hide his emotion with a single word, and so he did. 

King-Ethan: Negative.

the color of his armor turned dark grey, as the night sky roared with thunder and rain poured like a flood.

King-Ethan: now then, let's see here... [ Inventory ]

hollow glass shards formed a panel before him, and as he predicted, his inventory was filled with all sorts of items. but the question at the back of his mind still remained, how did he get into this situation?

Ethan swiped his hand, and just like that the hollow glass shards vanished like the wind around him, he turned around to see a king, with a short black beard, long black hair, brown skin and red eyes. it was none other than King Armenius, ruler of Yi Arma.

armed with a steel sword, and wearing titanium armor from neck to toe, the king approached Ethan before stopping a dozen feet away. Armenius looked up and down before smirking.

King-Armenius: what seems to be the matter your highness? having trouble breathing from the carnage?

Ethan did not respond but muttered to himself as he casted a spell to create a sword made from the blood around him. this made Armenius's face sour, with a bit of disgust and disbelief.

King-Armenius: knights to me! show this fool not to taunt your king!

dozens of black knights rushed towards Ethan, but with each swing of his sword, they were cut down with ease.

King-Armenius: what is this... sorcery...

Armenius gritted his teeth and walked towards Ethan with rage and fear. swing after swing strike after strike Ethan parried each attack of the mad king, however, he was caught by surprise when Armenius twisted his blade and hit Ethan's helmet, and what Armenius saw shocked him in place as the helm of a wounded king fell.

instead of a man, he found a younger one, one with bandages wrapped around the face, white skin, blue eyes and blond hair. a younger version of the man he once fought, but the eyes, it was cold, lifeless.

crap... that would've killed me. Ethan thought to himself as he casted over a dozen protection spells with only thoughts. lights glimmered from his body while the armor he wore seeped black and purple liquids and smoke. though, the liquids never touched the ground even as they reached the feet, seemingly attached to the armor.

???: your highness! we're here to support you!

a knight called out to Ethan, followed by other knights who quickly rallied to support his flanks, Ethan once again recognized the voice that called out to him, a woman this time. in silver armor, even though the face was covered by a helmet, the insignia stitched to the sides of her skirt made Ethan realize it was his cousin, in this game of course.

Illia Ester Helmes, or simply Illia, a supposed future queen of the kingdom, until she was outpaced and stolen of her future title by Ethan, they looked identical, except for the difference in eye color and the fact she was a woman.

but as the princess turned around, she realized something was wrong.

Princess-Illia: E-Ethan? is that... you?

Ethan did not respond to the young girl's question, instead, he slowly picked up his helmet and placed it back on his face before blinking behind Armenius and stabbing him in the back.

Yi Arma-Soldier: argh!!! stay away from the king usurper!!!

Ethan quickly removed his sword from Armenius's back before beheading the soldier that tried to attack him, in a simple, slashing motion. the force sent the soldier's head flying in the other direction.

Armenius tried to stop the bleeding with magical spells, but he lost too much blood. thus he fainted, but the wound was healed. Ethan on the other hand was busy slashing away at the Yi Arma soldiers, each strike killing one or two depending on how many were in front of him, he even killed the ones that tried to flee, with no mercy.

the soldiers of Ethan's kingdom watched as their king butchered their enemies, one by one they fell, using all sorts of twisted ways to either kill or simply tear the bodies to shreds.

Estera-Soldier-1: i-is that our king? h-he can't be...

Estera-Soldier-2: so brutal... I don't ever remember him fighting like that.

the Estera soldiers watched as the massacre continued until one brave knight stood to stop the carnage, a knight in red armor, carrying a red sword. Ethan remembered the man, it was Sir Wilmont, the Lord of Blood. but the thing was, Ethan spared the knight during his playthrough of the game on multiple occasions, on fair duels.

Sir-Wilmont: fight me King Ethan of Estera! end this bloodshed at once! spare my men your madness.

Wilmont? isn't that the guy who kept losing? what's he doing on Yi Arma's side? Ethan thought to himself as he let go of the unfortunate soldier he was about to rip apart. the soldier ran as fast as he could until he reached the other Yi Arma soldiers who watched the upcoming duel between powerful warriors. a battle worth remembering.

thunder rumbled the air as lightning lit the land aflame, the stage was set, powerful forces were watching from distant lands. the rain grew heavier but the land did not flood, Ethan approached the knight with sword in hand.

King-Ethan: Enhance Blade, Inferno.

Ethan's sword burned with fire, intimidating all who watched from a distance. but Wilmont stood firm, raised his blade and took his stance, prepared to die in an early age of war.

what the hell is he waiting for? I don't even know what is happening anymore. Ethan thought to himself as he stood there, a few hundred feet away from the knight across the field they would soon fight on.

then, Ethan noticed that a spear was quickly approaching, he tried to dodge, but before he could move an inch it hit him. although it hit him, it did not pierce the armor, but instead stuck to it and formed into chains that wrapped around him as it forced him to kneel. a figure approached from afar, a man shrouded by darkness.

Ethan quickly broke the chains that bound him before standing up.

King-Ethan: neat trick, Auros...

Ethan murmured to himself, unheard by the figure known now as Auros who continued to approach him. but Ethan had enough, he dashed towards the figure and landed a powerful blow that created a powerful shockwave.

but the attack was blocked by another sword, Set Autumn, the Sword of Despair.

Auros: something has hanged you... king of Estera, or am I speaking to another being?

Ethan ignored the taunt of Auros, he knew the man like he read a book. instead, he continued to slash away at the cloaked figure, slowly but surely chipping away at the very powers of the sword he wielded.

Auros: *huff* *huff* your strength has increased, however, *huff* I will not falter.

his breathing said otherwise, each of Ethan's attacks draining his strength and outright burning the land around them. the spectators themselves thought that god himself descended and took the body of the king. powers thought to be myths were happening right before their eyes, but the battle only lasted for minutes, and Ethan had many tricks up his sleeve.

Auros: *cough* *cough* where did you get such powers...

damn this guy is tough, this is probably still the version where he didn't get nerfed yet. Ethan thought to himself as he tried to find a way to kill Auros, who was being a hard pest to break.

Ethan quickened his pace as he used more strength to attack, his stamina seemed to be limitless, and so he exploited it to the last. and with one final strike he used all the strength he could physically muster and broke the sword Auros wielded, the land shook as Auros was thrown back a hundred feet away. but the land below Ethan parted, and devoured him as he fell.

realizing there was no such thing as cheat flight in this game, he accepted the facts and silently fell while his allies and enemies watched him descend into the abyss. fortunately though, there was a newly-formed river below which cushioned his fall. splashing and flowing with the direction of the river, Ethan floated with sword still in hand.

the river led him somewhere, passed caverns and caves Ethan was forced to wait until he reached the end of the river, unfortunately his blessings suddenly ended as he realized where rivers normally end. a waterfall.

King-Ethan: oh you've got to be... goddammit!!!

Ethan fell from a magnificent height, over a thousand feet in the air. Ethan quickly collected his thoughts and looked down, spiked were waiting below, but with a clever mind he used a fire spell to propel him from such dangers and on another river below. but even then there were other dangers that were lurking beyond.

Ethan dived into the surprisingly warm water of the second river, this time he did not plan on staying as he quickly navigated towards land. standing up he now found himself in a forest, specifically as he recalled it, the Asure Forests. meaning there were more than one, this was the place where he found the caring elves that nurtured him into power.

he then looked at the very large tree ahead before sitting on a nearby tree, relaxing his body as he placed his sword next to him, this time it was not burning like before and he lost all of his magical defenses due to the fall.

King-Ethan: this is exhausting...

Ethan murmured but the words barely matched his thoughts.

and as he closed his eyes he suddenly heard growling demons, dozens of them. mainly the Skinless, literally skinless abominations of flesh and bone, without any true form.

Ethan sighed as he silently casted a spell on his left shoulder, the Mark of a Demon Lord, a simple red circle. and on the right the powerful and dangerous Mark of Death, a black eclipse with a purple skull at the center. in an instant, the dozens of Skinless all stopped their aggressive behavior and started talking like obsessed worshipers.

Skinless-1: the demon lord! the demon lord!

the tall Skinless praised.

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Skinless-2: lead us... lead us...

Skinless-3: bring us madness! bring us pain!

more and more demons approached Ethan as he sat there motionless, but he was quite aware of what was happening and watched as new types of demons appeared on the other side of the river.

Marauders, big humanoid and faceless demons in dark red armor, red skin, burning yellow eyes and massive horns. they all wielded massive shields, halberds, axes, maces, swords and flails. while the other demons were Infernals, the mages of demons, with a long tail, red skin and yellow eyes, these looked like reptiles but with wings. 

more and more demons surrounded him until there were over a thousand of them. suddenly, his mind shrieked which made Ethan flinch in pain, his vision changed as numbers and letters appeared within his field of view.

but after a moment of agony, which felt like an eternity what he saw made him feel the pain was worth it, he could see the exact number of health and mana he had on the left side of his vision. but on the right, it was filled with distortion, black numbers with white outlines that constantly changed every millisecond, like an enormous crack or tear on a broken screen.

LV: ??? HP: [ 282,400/840,000 ] MP: [ 78,000/80,000 ]

but just after that brief moment of happiness, the pain started to appear all over his body. Ethan writhed as he internally groaned, he held himself from ever shouting or screaming. and with the strength he had left he stood up and looked at the first demon he saw and stared at it, Ethan gripped both his hands into fists but refrained from tearing the creature apart.

a strong silence loomed over the group, a deathly silence. and with one word Ethan commanded.

King-Ethan: follow.

every demon heeded the command and gathered behind him, the pain went away however the damage was done. Ethan then turned towards the waterfall, determined to climb back up. then he had an idea, why not use these demons?

Ethan walked towards the giant mountain of stone and began to climb back up, followed by the army of demons he now commanded. after what seemed like an entire day of climbing Ethan reached the top, of a mountain that is, and lo and behold, a battlefield was before him. though it looked smaller from atop the mountain.

Ethan looked at the ground, there a sword of iron stood, with its blade firmly placed on the stone where it pierced. Ethan picked it up not knowing his previous sword vanished when he did.

isn't this the Dull Sword? what's an unbreakable item doing here on a mountain? Ethan thought to himself, a white dragon appeared on the edge of the mountain, the size comparable to that of a large factory. Ethan recognized the dragon, a tough trial he once bested with ease, the Great Dragon Cryo. a bit of a tough dragon to slay, but how did she survive?

fortunately, she did not see Ethan or the army of demons and returned to her lair in a cave nearby. Ethan looked at the massive crack he created, hundreds of thousands of demons were below there, munching on the corpses of the fallen, he could even recognize a demon lord below, but far weaker than him. far, far weaker.

Ethan then replaced his demon mark on his left shoulder with an even stronger one, this time it was something that even demon lords themselves would find a myth. the Mark of a Demon Sovereign.

instead of a plain red circle, it had a few new features. inside the circle was a cross surrounded by small blades that formed rings three around it, the cross itself was formed with swords, each was familiar to him, since he was the one who made them.

at the top was Centurion, the Sword of Faith, Duty and Honor. at the left was Hyperion, the Sword of Power and Skill. at the right was Eternity, the Sword of Fracture and Immortality. and at the bottom was Infinity, the Sword of Creation and Death.

and at the center of those swords was Ethan's prized creation, the Orb of Paths. though it had an odd name it was intended to create entire worlds. when Ethan was still on Earth, he made this orb to create another world, with the permission of the developers of course. with this in his inventory even now, he was immortal. no hunger, no thirst, and no aging.

he was a god, not to the extreme but what at least the game considered a god was. although, even with such powers at his disposal the fact that the game's rules still applied meant he wasn't safe from everything, he still had a health bar, a health bar that barely matched that of the strongest dragon. but his damage and speed made up for what he lacked.

and so he descended the mountain with confidence, followed by the same amount of demons who had followed him up the same mountain he was about to descend. and once he arrived at the bottom, the number of demons that followed him once again increased with every step he took as he got closer to where he once fell.

Ethan approached the demon lord, the demon's form became much closer as he approached from behind. black skin, like the armor it wore, massive horns, and long wings. the demon lord looked like an average Marauder but taller by a foot, and wielded an enormous longsword twice the height and nearly as wide. with a hundred runes carved onto it.

the demon lord turned as Ethan met his golden eyes.

Lord-Ignis: What brings the demon sovereign to greet Ignis with his presence? 

woah he's tall, very tall... I think I know how to deal with him. Ethan thought to himself as he commanded the demon lord with three words to bind Ignis to his will, one he cannot break.

King-Ethan: Kneel and Obey.

the weight of an entire mountain forced the demon lord to kneel and bow his head. this satisfied Ethan who then ordered the lord to follow him as he walked towards the nearby fortress city of Ironwall, home to House Mona.

King-Ethan: follow.

Ignis stood and followed along with the other demons, an entire army of them marched as they followed their sovereign. a being far more powerful than a king in their standing.

Ethan could literally feel it without trying, the ground was rumbling under the pressure of that many demons marching in one direction, though he was used to it due to his abnormal amounts of levels and his high stats. an entire week passed without eating or drinking, thanks to his aura, the demons did not need any other sustenance.

upon arriving, Ethan noticed the walls seemed empty, the tall and wide stone walls that were a hundred times higher than him stood quiet. that was until he brought down the iron gates with a single punch making them fall and split as he entered the city's once impenetrable walls, but what greeted him was not armed soldiers, but rather civilians.

together with his demon army, Ethan walked towards the crowd of people as the same knight who once protected him made his way passed the crowd. Ethan stopped a few feet away from the knight as he analyzed the one before him.

oh! isn't this guy Evan? now I know why the armor's so familiar. Ethan thought to himself as the knight took off his helmet and knelt. but the man before Ethan was older, so old he had white grey hair and a grey beard. the brown skin was darker and the eyes were orange. this was the same knight who used to look up to him, even now he still does.

Sir-Evan: my king... no matter how low you have fallen, I will follow you until the end of days... 

the knight bowed and waited for a response, Ethan then thought to himself for a moment, if there were indeed still knights or people like this guy still loyal to him, maybe the reconquest of the kingdom will actually be easy.

and so he placed his sword's tip on the knight's shoulder and knighted Evan once more as a knight of Estera, then and there the people knew, history was about to repeat itself. with a twist.

the sun shined brightly upon the city while Ethan created a sheath attached to a belt on his right hip before sheathing his sword and waited for Evan to stand, but when he did Ethan created a golden sword and gave it to Evan.

Sir-Evan: m-my king... you... you are not corrupted?

Ethan did nothing to respond to Evan's question but instead waited for the man to take the sword.

Sir-Evan: whatever it may be...

Evan took the sword from Ethan's hand as he continued.

Sir-Evan: I will be by your side.

Ethan nodded, this moment felt epic for him. and for some reason, the crowd cheered, not out of fear but out of happiness. Ethan became confused as to why they would cheer, but then he remembered why this was a fortress city in the first place. this was once a village that was constantly raided by bandits, and he alone made it into what it is today.

Ethan then approached the castle of House Mona, this time not followed by the demons that were with him, they took the hint and waited outside while their sovereign soon entered the castle with his knight.

oh wow, I didn't know this place was actually this big. Ethan thought to himself as he looked around, it was just as before. chandeliers decorated the painted roof, ornaments hung from lamps on marble walls, the floor decorated with stone carvings of Ethan's conquest, and at the very end was a silver statue of him, his family and friends.

but the thing was, Ethan's face was cracked.

Sir-Evan: we did not know how it happened, we assumed you were dead... yet-

Ethan took off his helmet and looked at the statue, Evan's eyes widened the moment he saw his king's face, it was identical to that of the statue but far younger than he imagined. younger than when they first met.

Sir-Evan: m-my king! y-your face! it is, i-it is younger!

Ethan didn't budge one bit, even when he didn't smile Evan knew he was happy.

Sir-Evan: I will have my men fix that statue my king, do not worry.

while the two stared at the statues another knight watched from behind, not seeing the king's face. but Ethan already sensed the young woman but chose not to budge. a new day awaited Ethan, tomorrow may yet be another story, a story he himself truly participated, one he had full control of, and not bounded by a few select options. so many paths.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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