The trolls proved to not be a major hassle. With no leader, the trolls were disorganized and fought only with their instincts. They often shoved each other as they struggled to reach Yuki as he ran circles around them. Trolls were also stupid. Yuki managed to get the trolls to hit each other, causing them to attack one another. Then he cleaned up the rest.

The next wave proved to be the hardest one of all. He was faced with the task of killing an adolescent giant that was almost fifteen feet tall. This was a monster that Yuki had only read about during his research. Though the giant was still a child, the boy’s strength rivaled that of the trolls and his mental capacity was that of a normal adolescent elf. 

Yuki didn’t know where Sophie had obtained a giant child or why she was using the boy for a task like this, but it mattered little to him. That fight took the longest for him to complete. He spent most of the match dodging the giant’s attacks that ranged from punches that could crack the hardened walls of the arena to massive fireballs that glazed the floor. But because of the giant’s young age and inexperience, Yuki was able to tire him out. From there, it was a simple task of binding the giant down and striking the vital points. 

“Is there another wave?” Yuki asked, wiping his daggers with the dead body of the giant. “Or maybe a surprise?” He glanced up at Sophie who was smiling.

“No, just three waves,” she replied. “That’s all I need for now. Are you ready for the next game?”

Yuki shrugged and Sophie clapped her hands. The walls of the arena collapsed and sunk back down into the earth. The box that Akira and Sophie were in slowly floated down to the ground and they walked out. Now that Yuki had a closer view of Sophie, he found that she was a bit taller than him and was quite attractive. She had warm mud brown eyes and Yuki noticed a few wrinkles around her face that made her look to be in her late thirties if she was a human.

“The next game is not really what you can call a game,” Sophie announced. “It’s more like a test. A mental one.”

“Was the last one not a test?”

“Well, yes,” she admitted. “But it was also a game. This isn’t so much a game and is more of a test.”

“So what’s the test?” Yuki asked. 

“A very simple one,” Sophie smiled. “We’ll just be talking. One on one. Think of it as me seeing if you are truly worthy of being the one that defeats me. Ready?”

“Is that it?”

“Yes. It’s just a talk.”

“Alright then. I always enjoy a good conversation.”

“I do as well,” Sophie nodded. “But first, give me your hand.”

“Are you going to tell me why?”

“No.”

Yuki shrugged and put his hand out. Sophie cupped it gently in her hand and closed her eyes. 

“Since you’re here in the flesh, don’t you think that maybe you shouldn’t close your eyes in front of your enemy?” Yuki said. “I might try to kill.”

“I believe you won’t. You’re curious aren’t you?” she replied, not opening her eyes. “And I can see you just as well as if my eyes were open.”

“Mmm.”

“Now be quiet.”

Yuki stood there quietly as Sophie held his hand. She had a look of intense concentration, her brows furrowed and her mouth in a frown. What she was doing, Yuki didn’t know. He glanced over at Akira who had sat down. She waved at him but said nothing. It seemed that she was still following the single player rule Sophie had set up. Then he felt Sophie’s hand begin to warm and when he blinked, he found himself inside a small cozy home. 

“Mind explaining where I am?” Yuki asked, turning to look at Sophie was sitting in a wooden chair. She held a mug of something that looked to be hot tea. 

“This is my retreat,” she smiled. “My safe place. You have something like this as well.”

“This is a mana dimension?”

“These places do not have a specific term,” she replied. “But I do understand how you named it. The most common word for this place was home.”

Yuki pulled out a chair and sat across the table from her. “But what exactly is this place? How was it made? And why?”

“This is a space created by your mana to house your soul,” Sophie explained. “At least, that’s the best I can explain it. Why it was made or how it was made, I don’t know. But that wasn’t why I brought you here.”

She waved her hand and the entire world around Yuki changed. He was suddenly standing in a wide grassy field, the wind blowing and the sun shining. 

“Let me tell you a story about the world,” she said. “It’s a beautiful one. Luscious fields of forest green grass. Trees taller than the sky rises in Junction. Creatures of all kinds, unique in their own way. Demons. Dwarves. Elves. Beastkin. We all live in this world.”

The sun dimmed and Yuki looked to see clouds rapidly forming, blocking the sky as the wind picked up. The grass around him began to whip violently and Yuki felt tremors resonating in the ground. He looked to his left. Dust was billowing into the air as a shadowy mass approached the land he was standing on. He glanced to his right. Another mass, moving just as quick as the first.

“This is the land where the Kienva War was settled,” Sophie said quietly. “A war that saw the elves, dwarves, and beastkin teaming up to defeat the hordes of monsters that were being held under the control of a demon.”

The two masses clashed, metal meeting claw. Yuki saw elves, dwarves, and beastkin fighting together. They looked nowhere near as technologically advanced as they did modern day. They wore a mishmash of armor and wielded weapons of different shapes and sizes. The monsters they fought were diverse, ranging from goblins to trolls to giants. Their only similarities were glowing red eyes and the purple seal that was emblazoned on them.

“It was a bloody war. Tens of thousands of fatalities. The allied species had no experience fighting such an organized mass of monsters. They were used to the lonewolves and nest. But in the end, the allied species triumphed. In the battle that is. It was not them that won the war.”

The scene shifted and Yuki found himself inside a stone castle. The roars of monsters echoed around him. On the throne was a seven foot tall being with horns jutting out from its head and a black tail swaying behind it. Its skin was scaly and purple while its eyes smoldered red. In front of it stood three beings. One wore shining armor, with massive bright white wings on its back. Another wore no armor and had purple lightning racing around himself. The last was a woman who had wings as well, but wings whose feathers were a various shades of red. She held a sword that radiated heat, the air around it shimmering.

“Here is where the real battle was fought. The castle of a diablos. The strongest one that the world had seen at the time. The perpetrator behind this entire war. Three beings band together to remove him. An archangel, a raijuu, and a phoenix. They fought for almost the entire day, trading blows that would have leveled any city. The three were successful and defeated the diablos, marking the end to his control of monsters and the end of the war. This was eight hundred years ago. Fast forward two hundred.”

The world blurred and Yuki found himself some place new. It was a dimly lit room where a congregation of people were talking to each other. Yuki knew they were speaking because of the movement of their mouths but he couldn’t hear any sound. 

“Tensions had been rising between the three species of Ethros over the last hundred years leading up to this. But no real conflict had occurred. For the most part, the demons have kept to the shadows. Until a few radicals felt that the world was falling apart. These are the demons you see here.”

The scene changed again, this time high in the sky. Yuki could see almost the entirety of the four main countries of Ethros. 

“So what was their plan? They decided that everyone should rebuild from scratch. That when faced with disaster, these beings will be united. And so they incited conflict. First they killed the elven king while disguising themselves as a dwarf.”

Yuki suddenly was in a vast chamber made of marble and gold. In the middle was a bed, the sheets stained red and a single pale arm limp to the side. Then it shifted to farmers who were sweating profusely as they worked the land.

“Then they went to the beastkin. At the time, the beastkin were experiencing a shortage of food and so the demons managed to convince a few well meaning farmers to cross the river and use a bit of that land. Land that belonged to the dwarves.”

Next was a plaza in the dead of night. Torches lit up the streets and illuminated the faces of elves that wore angry and sometimes maniacal expressions. 

“Their next actions were more violent. They infiltrated a group of elves that discriminated against beastkin, calling them animals. They encouraged their beliefs and this eventually led to the killing of dozens of beastkin that lived in Junction. The demons were successful and all three nations declared war on each other.”

The scene cut to a three way war. Magic spells were being thrown everywhere and technology seemed to have improved to the point where it took multiple strikes to kill a person in armor. But the armor didn’t seem to prevent pain.

“Initially, the other demons took no mind of what was happening. They saw it was a fight between those three races and only those three. They had no right to interfere. That was until they discovered that the reason the war began was because of a few of their own.”

Yuki watched as what looked to be a trial was being held as demons yelled at each other. Their anger was so prevalent that even he could feel it despite the fact that everything he was watching was only an illusion.

“And so, the demons took it upon themselves to stop the war and broker peace among the nations. They infiltrated the military, governments, civilian organizations, anything they could that would give them a wide audience and power. With this, they managed to convince the nations to sign the Trinity Treaty. And with their work done, they returned home. But there was one unfortunate side effect to the abnormal amount of work the demons had to do to preserve peace. The work of the radicals were later discovered by the elves and soon the whole world knew of the demons’ role in starting the war. This began the long hatred of demons that only continued to grow until it hit a tipping point four centuries later.”

The scene shifted and Yuki watched as people were being dragged out of their homes and thrown into electrified cages. Other people ran away as their homes were being burnt.

“The Demon Purge. A time where all of the races decided that they no longer wanted demons to live in their nations. They hunted down any demon, no matter who they were or what they have done. Many decided that it would be easier to just abandon their homes and escape. Others weren’t so lucky and were captured or killed. And from this time of chaos, a demon race that had long lived in the shadows came out to fight. The dragons.”

The air shook and world darkened. Yuki glanced up and saw a gigantic beast that was as large as the halls in the Academy. It roared, neon blue lightning crackling around it and the light reflecting off of its golden jeweled scales.

“They have had enough. They wanted no more of this persecution. And so they fought back, triggering another conflict called the Demon War. But to call it a war was exaggerating the conflict. Is it truly a war if only one side actually fought? The dragons went about freeing their fellow demons but they never attacked for any other reason. If they had, the elves would have been destroyed and the dwarves would have to hide. Eventually, the dragons had completed their task of freeing and protecting all those that they could. They withdrew and went back to the shadows as the demons settled what is now named the Gaeto. The nations took it as their victory and declared that all demons shall be banished from their lands.”

Yuki returned to the small and cozy home. Sophie was still sitting in her seat. She looked at him with sad eyes.

“We never wanted this,” she said softly. “We wanted to live just like everyone else. This world is as much ours as it is everyone else's. But now we live in the outskirts. The wastelands. But it was partly our fault. We brought this upon ourselves.”

“How so?” Yuki asked.

“We prefer to stay out of the spotlight and affect things behind the scenes,” she explained. “Demons like for things to occur naturally and with minimal outside influence. We only intervene when necessary. But because of this, the only experience that the majority of people have with demons are never good. Be it the diablos or any of the wars. Even though we normally fix everything we caused, we are seen as evil because that is all they see.”

“That’s how the world works, Sophie,” Yuki replied. He sat back down in his seat. “People always remember you for the things you did wrong. Rarely for what you did right.”

“I know,” she sighed. 

“But you said we?” Yuki asked, changing topics. “What kind of demon are you?” 

“Me?” Sophie smiled. “Why don’t you take a guess.”

“I rather not. I don’t know much about demons.”

She laughed and stood up. With a wave of her hand, the house disappeared and they were on a grassy hill. White capped mountains rose up from the scenery. And before Yuki was a dragon, two houses long, with brown scales that shone like jewels. It was more muscular than the electric one Yuki had seen when Sophie was retelling history and had a broader jaw. And it was beautiful.

“Not scared? That’s the normal reaction I get,” Sophie said, baring her teeth in a smile. 

“Is there a reason why I should be?” Yuki replied, eyebrow raised. “I’ve already seen Akira. If anything, you’re more beautiful than you are scary.”

“Aww, thank you. But normally you would be scared because I’m a giant dragon than can kill you. Albeit, a beautiful dragon.”

“Good to know.”

“That’s not important anyway,” she said as she changed topics. “Mind if I speak in this language? It would make communicating much easier. Modern elvish gives me headaches.”

“I didn’t know that communication was possible using the magic tongue,” Yuki replied. 

“It was. But now no one knows it any more,” she explained. “It used to be the common language between all races. Now, everyone has their own dialect and that only increases the divide between them.”

“I see.”

“But that wasn’t what I wanted to talk about. Tell me what you believe about the situation of the world.”

“That is a good question,” Yuki said. He fell silent for a moment. “To put it short, the world will soon be thrown into chaos. It’s the natural order of things. How it will happen, I do not know.”

Sophie laid down on the green grass and made her head level with Yuki.

“You are correct; the world is falling into chaos. And it will happen because of two reasons. One is that the patterns of history are starting to repeat. Tensions between races have been rising rapidly and they will continue to rise until it reaches a tipping point. Demons are slowly returning to the mainland, under disguise, but soon they will be discovered. The second reason is the Shikaku.”

“About them,” Yuki interrupted. “Why have you joined them? If your aim is to help the demons, why join an organization that plans to destroy you?”

“Because they are the only option I have. Do you believe I want to help them? But sadly, they have the resources I need and the power I need for me to do what I want.”

“Then what was the plan?”

“The plan was to help them so that the organization survived, but not enough to advance their aims. Eventually, they will realise that their slow and behind the scenes approach is ineffective and will transition to a more direct and physical one. Once they have succeeded, I will strike at this time of transition where they are weakest and destroy the entirety of the government and with it modern civilization.”

“And then you will lead this new beginning.”

“I wish,” Sophie laughed. “Sadly, I have realised that I will most likely die before I can even strike.”

“How old are you?”

“I have lived for over a millennia. I am reaching the end of my lifespan, but not because of age. I’m fairly certain that the Shikaku will come after me as a loose end. Not now as I’m still valuable to them as a resource and because I can watch over the entire forest. But eventually, they will come. Normally, I would pass on my goal to another dragon. But all of my allies have either given up or have died.”

“I see.”

“This is why I wanted to test you. To gauge your skills. I wanted to see if you were capable of doing what I cannot. The only question is, will you?”

“Will I destroy the government and lead the new world?” Yuki asked. “If that’s what you mean, then I wouldn’t know. I have no reason to yet.”

“No, will you fix this world you live in,” Sophie clarified. “I do not care how you do it, but the question was whether or not you will.”

Yuki stayed quiet as he looked at Sophie with a contemplative eye. Then he sighed.

“Do I believe this world is falling to ruin? Yes, I do,” he said. “But what does it have to do with me? The struggles of others are their struggles. If they cannot survive them, then they were never meant to survive. Intervening can do more damage than it can fix.”

“Do you not live in this world, Yuki? Maybe the struggles of others is not your problem. They certainly aren’t mine either. But to make the world you live in a better place, is that not a noble goal?”

“Noble? Yes. Necessary? I do not know.”

“Then think of it this way. Maybe you aren’t willing to protect those who do not deserve your protection. I can understand why. But why not try to make this world better for those that do deserve it? Like Akira.”

“And I protect her,” Yuki replied. “I protect her has much as I possibly can. I do not need to change the entire world to do that.”

“No, but what use is it to protect her if she has no world to live in? Why make her survive in an environment that rejects her? That persecutes her?”

Yuki said nothing. 

“And beyond her, think about someone you wished you could have saved.”

‘My parents.’

“Don’t let that ever happen again. Regret is one of the worst emotions a person can have. Save what you have now. Because that is all you are guaranteed to ever have.”

He closed his eyes and he thought. He thought about Sophie’s words. He thought about what he had. Who he had. 

“And what if I say yes?” he asked quietly, not opening his eyes. “What would you do?”

“I will help you,” Sophie said without a pause. “I swear it.”

The air between them crackled and a surge of mana passed between them. Sophie had made a promise that could not be broken.

“Then help me. But just understand that I will do things the way I want to. And when I want to.”

“I understand. I will be leaving you with two things. One is a gift. But you know the rules about gifts, don’t you?” Sophie smiled. “It’s a rule that follows everything in life.”

“What’s the drawback?”

“It’s a curse. One that you will have to live with for the rest of your years. But how you live with it depends on you. Whether you let it become a weakness or draw from it to gain strength, you must decide. Are you ready?”

“No one in life is ever truly ready. They just believe they are,” Yuki replied. “Do it.”

“Then I bid you farewell. And I bestow upon you a blessing as the fifth Archmage of the Earth, Ruler of the Dragons of Gaea. May the gods hear my words,” Sophie said, growling the last line. An emblem on her head shined and she let loose a thunderous roar that shook the land and Yuki’s soul.

The world around him was ripped away and he found himself back in the Libra Forest, Akira still sitting beside a tree. But now he felt nothing in his hand. It was still there, in the air, right where Sophie had held it. Sophie, who was nowhere to be seen. 

“She became mana and was scattered away,” Akira said. “Whatever you did, you won.”

[Earth Dragon’s Blessing Has Been Received. Ancestral Knowledge Has Been Updated. A New Title Has Formed: {Gaea’s Chosen One}. Earth Magic Has Been Upgraded To Master.]

“No, we reached an agreement,” Yuki replied. “One that I do not yet know the consequences to.”

Pain. Hot searing pain struck Yuki in the chest, causing him to let loose a muted groan. He fell to his knees as the pain spread along his body, following the same trails his mana did. 

[I bid you good luck,] the voice of Sophie whispered in his head.

“Yuki?!” Akira cried, racing over to his side. She took his head and cradled it in her hands. “What’s wrong? What’s happening?”

Yuki didn’t reply. He couldn’t. The pain grew stronger and stronger as he felt as if he was being ripped apart. He couldn’t take any longer. The world faded and the last thing he saw were the soft brown eyes of one of the last things he had in this world. One thing that he would never let anyone hurt.

And the last thing he heard was the familiar chime of the UR. The sounds of a notification.