The Star, The Demon, and The God - 1. Same Situation. A Different Outcome

The Ancient Ones - Servants of Raiyo

Master Raiyo has been called by the Mother Goddess, Drulai.

Normally he would never answer to such callings. He does not like the other Gods. He hates them.

Lately, Raiyo has been planning things. Things he will not share with us. We think we have some idea of what it might be. Of course, we will never ask. Raiyo does not really speak to us like he used to. Not how he did before he died.

He does things without ever discussing them with others. He likes it that way. He is used to the loneliness now.

We are just simple slaves for him to use now.

It hurts something inside us. Something big.

Nevertheless, we will serve the Master no matter what happens. It is our duty.

As soon as the Star and Demon had left eight days ago, Raiyo received a whisper from the dark wisp messengers.

Drulai herself had personally spoken to the wisp, asking for an audience with Raiyo.

Again, he would normally ignore the call and carry on with whatever planning he has been making as of late.

This time however, he chose to answer.

Drulai never asks to meet with anyone. She is almost on par with how Raiyo keeps to himself. Of course that does not mean that Raiyo particularly likes her.

We do not know why he decided to listen to her call. Perhaps it was because she is the Mother Goddess? Maybe it was because she was present at his rebirth. For all we know, Raiyo could have been bored and decided to just say, ‘why not?’

Whatever the case, he is headed to her realm today. Even if the last time they met was that fateful night where Yinx became Raiyo.

Drulai stays in the mortal realm. Technically everything there is made of her, but that does not mean she likes to keep a home to herself.

She lives in a grand palace that floats above the sea.

None are allowed to enter without her permission. Due to her blessing, Raiyo will be allowed for now.

Raiyo walks out of his castle, ready to follow the trail leading to the black water that surrounds his island.

Before he sets off, he stares down at a glowing blue jewel attached to a bracelet. A bit of seaweed is stuck in the chain. The jewel seems to have captured a spec of light for itself.

It is a rather nice prize to be given.

Raiyo smiles and flicks it into a small portal, sending it into the rest of his hidden belongings. We are not even sure as to where that could be.

The sand on the coast is black.

There is a lot of black here now. Black and orange. Not only on the land and sea, but also on Raiyo.

We remember when his hair was white. Or even his eyes. Now the whites have turned black as night. His orange eyes forever glowing like a two candles burning in the darkness.

We still wonder what happened to him. We are aware of what he has become. A mixture of a God and an Archdemon.

Yet, what has that done to him physically? What has made the whites in his eyes turn black? What makes his eyes glow? Is it the Archdemon inside him or is it the God part?

It makes watching him hard to handle for long periods of time. Even after all these years, it is still disturbing to see how he has changed.

There are things he does now that really makes him seem like a walking corpse.

He never seems to blink. Sometimes he will not move at all, as if he is like one of us. An automaton that can be frozen in time.

The most bizarre thing would be that he does not breathe anymore. Has he forgotten how to do that? The only time he does is after he has eaten a soul, but even then, he only breathes in a handful of times before stopping.

The special effects of taking a soul seem to get shorter and shorter as the years go by. Not at all as long as it used to be.

We used to worry that he would possibly drop dead at any moment. That he would pass out from possibly becoming light headed.

No such thing has ever happened. He has no reason to breathe. He does not feel the strain on his lungs. He does not feel the need for air. His body knows that it will not die.

Perhaps he has simply forgotten how to breathe entirely?

Either way, it is still rather disturbing.

Like most Gods, Raiyo could easily teleport himself to Drulai’s realm, but also like most gods, they would rather take their time. What rush do they have to make?

None. Especially one that has been cursed to never be able to embrace the kiss of death.

A boat materializes out of thin air. It is big enough for us and the master.

Two of us steady the boat to keep it from moving, the last offers a hand to Raiyo. He places a hand on our large finger, nods his thanks and steps on the boat.

After the three of us stand behind him, Raiyo waves his hand.The boat pulls away from the shore and moves further into the dark water.

“I trust you all have everything you need?” He says, his voice echoing about three times over.

We nod our heads.

“Yes, Master,” We say. “We are prepared to protect you at all costs.”

He chuckles. Everytime he does that, his voice seems to bounce around in our heads. Not sure how he is able to do that.

“Cute.”

If we had lips, we would have frowned right there.

We are aware that he is unable to die. It does not mean he must think our protection is unnecessary.

True, we have not shed blood or taken part in any violence in over a thousand years, but that does not mean he will not need us soon enough.

We do not voice our opinions of course. We are simply servants for Master Raiyo. Even if it leaves us with nothing to do. Our oath to the Dunbrali family still stands strong.

When we are pushed out a fair distance, we reach into the water and row with our hands. Due to the width out our palms, this makes moving rather easy.

Everytime we glance down at our master, we see that his gaze stares off in front of him. His chest does not move so the familiar dose of anxiety festers in our chest.

He does not blink. Does not fidget when the boat dips along the waves. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Thankfully, some life comes back into the master when he holds his hand forward.

A great portal opens in front of us. It looks like we are looking into a mirror, except the other side is shining with daylight on a beautiful blue ocean.

If only we had this type of magic before Raiyo had changed. That would have possibly prevented all of this from happening.

Oh well. There is no point on brooding over the past.

Two of us row with our hands, the third stands tall behind Raiyo, an immovable guard that is ready for anything.

We must say, the Dunbrali family has never given us gifts. None have ever tried to improve us in any way.

Raiyo has.

He has infused us with his dark magic. We are stronger, faster, bigger, and definitely more powerful.

While we keep to our usual appearance, Raiyo’s magic has allowed us to take shape in many forms. We could look like the average human. We could split into thirty birds each. We could even mimic the form of Raiyo.

They are great skills that we are eternally grateful for. It is the kindness that Raiyo still has kept that keeps us hopeful that maybe, just maybe, we could have the old Yinx back?

“For a bunch of servants who claim they will protect me at all costs,” Raiyo speaks, “You all sure do have a lot of opinions.”

Of course. He can hear our thoughts.

“Yes,” He speaks again. “Yes I can.”

We bow our heads in respect. “Forgive us, Master. We should not have thought such things.”

He hums in response. “Just think quieter next time. Perhaps about other things going on in the world. Constantly hearing about myself is rather tiring.”

We do as we are told. We take in our surroundings to distract us from thinking such things again.

The bright blue ocean surrounds us. It is rather calm. Clear skies. Hot sun. Perhaps a tad too hot.

Lucky for him, Raiyo will not have to worry about getting a sunburn.

The corner of his mouth quirks up.

Far across the water, around half a mile, a moving island sits on the surface. It is a somewhat small island, but it holds a great palace.

That would be Drulai’s home.

Trees of many colors circle around the rocky ground. The palace is made of a white stone and gold. They shimmer in the sunlight.

It is rather far and should take a bit of time to bring ourselves there. We could simply teleport there if we wanted to, but that is the thing. Raiyo does not want to. He prefers to take his time.

Everywhere else is surrounded by the blue sea. No land can be seen on the horizon. Nothing at all. We are just in the middle of nowhere.

We imagine that any humans on ships who happen to sail by would not be able to see Drulai’s home. Perhaps it has the same magic that once hid Raiyo’s human home back in the Serendian desert.

There is...something strange about this place. Not coming from Drulai’s home, but something else.

The air feels as if it is buzzing. It drums along our metal plating but what is the source? Is someone watching us?

We look to Raiyo, wondering what his thoughts are on the matter, but he just stares on, watching the water move.

He reaches over and trails his claws along the surface.

Of course. He would not be able to feel the buzzing. He cannot feel anything.

“Master,” We say. “There is a disturbance in the air. Something feels out of place.”

He smirks and looks ahead of us.

“That must be nice,” He says. “I am sure we will be fine with whatever comes our way.”

We stop rowing as the buzzing grows.

As soon as we stop, a white light pierces the sky in front of us. A familiar golden scar pierces the sky. Instantly, Angels begin to pour out of the scar.

For a moment, the Angels look as if they were sent by Drulai, but her home summons an icy shell to protect itself.

The Angels begin to fly straight for us. They wield their golden swords and bows, their warcries can be heard.

We immediately stand in front of Raiyo, ready to lay down our lives to protect him.

He chuckles behind us.

We ignore him and ready ourselves. We each summon a large sword and shield, gifts from Raiyo himself.

This is giving us flashbacks to the day the Angels had attacked the desert city. This time however, there are only four of us.

Gripping onto our swords tightly, we get into our battle stances, ready to lay our lives if need be.

Looking back at the Master, we see he is just sitting on a chair that he summon out of thin air. He smirks as he watches us.

How could he be like this at this moment? An army of Angels are coming our way and all he is doing is watching?

Turning back to the Angels, two of us swing our blades forward. A thin line of fire flies forwards. It travels far into the air and cuts through six Angels. Their faint cries can be heard.

We swing multiple times, the third of us, keeps his shield ready, blocking any arrows aimed for Raiyo.

Who has sent these Angels? Surely it was not the Sun God. He has not even spoken once to Raiyo. What other god sent them?

A shimmer of light shines beneath the portal. That should be the Archangel.

How are we supposed to get to the Archangel if we are stuck here?

A hand drops on our arm.

Looking down, we see Raiyo. He steps on the edge of the boat, his eyes glowing more than before. His leather outfit begins to give off large amounts of smoke. This causes it to not be as solid as it usually is.

Because of this, we can see the tattoos that he hide underneath his clothing. Not perfectly, but we can faintly see the glowing orange lines.

The one over his heart that is shaped with a wolf head glows the brightest. We imagine it is in memory of Laneer.

Does Raiyo even remember who Laneer is? We never told him about his dead lover. We never had it in us to tell him. That does not mean that others may have told him without our knowledge.

Raiyo steps forward and off the boat. He does not sink into the ocean. In fact, he does not drop down at all. Raiyo steps onto the air as if it were solid ground. Ripples of fire and smoke come from the bottoms of his boots. They swirl around like ripples on water as he takes another step forward.

Strangely enough, he does not even touch the ocean’s surface.

The energy around him vibrates. It echoes in our heads as if it is inside a cave.

Our Master gives a bit of an sinister smile before he starts forward, straight for the army of Angels. Even now and then he would take a step higher, as if he is climbing stairs.

The Angels keep coming, they drop closer to stab and cut at Raiyo. Before they can even touch him, they burn. They burst into flame and they instantly disintegrate into golden dust.

Smoke and fire erupts from Raiyo’s body. All the Angels burn and scream, their bodies dropping like flies.

Even after all their brethren have fallen before them, the Angels still keep coming down on top of him. Why? It is as if they are asking to die. Who is their Master and why are they making the Angels sacrifice themselves for nothing?

No, of course it is not for nothing. Someone sent them to attack Raiyo. What other reason would they be here? As soon as Raiyo leaves his realm, he gets attacked? It is not a coincidence.

Raiyo does not stop with getting closer to the Archangel keeping the portal open. Raiyo spreads his arms out and his power surges forward. A line that causes everything it touches to wither away into dust.

Our Master is doing this as if he has always done it. It is making us nervous now. We are simply standing on the boat watching him. What is the use of us if he can do all of this without any effort?

Master Raiyo has not been in combat for years! The most he does is execute the ones who truly deserve it, but never an army.

How has he managed to gain this much power? He truly does not look like he is straining himself with this power. We know the other gods can hurt themselves, but that does not appear to be an issue for Raiyo.

If only we had this during the Serendia attack. So many lives could have been saved. That would include Raiyo’s parents, Laneer, and Raiyo himself.

Another pang in our chest fills us with guilt at our incompetence.

The Angels have apparently decided that their lives now matter. They try to fly away. Some even manage to make it back through the portal, most do not.

Of course they couldn’t. They chose to go against a god who truly can not die.

A few try and fly off into the distance. That was a grave mistake on their part.

Thin, swirling lines of crystallized smoke materialized out of Raiyo’s cape. They swirl behind him like snakes before surging after the Angels who try to fly away.

They strike out and impale the poor Angels. They never even had a chance. Their dust gathers onto the growing line of golden dust that sits on the surface of the ocean.

Raiyo keeps his unrelenting chase after them. More and more continue to die to his magic. None of them could have possibly expected this much power.

We did not even expect this and we are always at his sides!

Just as the Archangel moves to make his escape as well, Raiyo creates a gigantic blade that is three times the size of us.

As he pushes his hand forward, the blade flies forward as unremarkable speed. Before the Archangel can even touch the portal, the blade splits right down the middle of his body.

Golden blood spills out for a moment before the Archangel explodes into a raining cloud of dust.

At the death of the Archangel, the portal closes.

How...how does Raiyo have this much power? We have been with him for the entirety of his lifetime. Where has he gained this power?

When he was Yinx, He and his family and friends had all struggled with the attack of the Angels. The entire Serendian army had to be there to defend itself. Now he could simply wipe them all out in minutes?

It is both amazing and terrifying. Amazing because we have never seen someone with that much power, but terrifying because we are not sure where this all came from.

Raiyo slowly drifts back down to us. His clothes solidifying back into the usual leather.

He sighs and sits back in his chair.

“You may continue rowing to Drulai,” He smirks. He says that as if none of this just happened. As if his display of power did not matter.

If he wishes to play it off as such, we will oblige.

“Yes, Master Raiyo,” We say.