The forest was burning.
Not with fire — with steel, magic, and the screams of the dying. Two armies clashed: humans in shining armor and demons in black plate. Blood soaked into the earth, and the air rang with spells and the clash of blades.
General Ragnold fought in the front lines.
The old general was a legend — gray beard, a face covered in scars, and eyes that had witnessed hundreds of battles. His sword sang as it cleaved through demons like rotten logs. Beside him fought the summoned heroes — four people from Earth, wearing unfamiliar armor and wielding magic this world had not seen in centuries.
“Forward!” Ragnold roared, cutting down another demon. “Don’t let her escape!”
“She” was at the center of the enemy forces.
A succubus in black armor, with long black hair and horns curved like crescent moons. Her smile was predatory, her eyes burned with crimson fire. She commanded the demon army, and as long as she lived, the enemy would not retreat.
“Cover me!” Ragnold shouted and charged forward.
The four heroes followed. Yagami — a young man with cold eyes and a sword glowing blue. And two knights — twin brothers, the general’s loyal hounds.
They carved a path through the enemy ranks. Demons fell like grass beneath a scythe. The succubus retreated, but she wasn’t fleeing — she was deliberately leading them deeper into the forest, where the trees closed in, forming an impenetrable darkness.
“Stop!” Ragnold bellowed as they burst into a clearing.
The succubus halted. She turned around. And smiled.
“You are brave, human,” she said. Her voice was soft, seductive, and dangerous. “Brave… and foolish.”
“My bravery is my honor,” Ragnold raised his sword. “And your foolishness is your death.”
“Honor?” The succubus laughed, a low, melodic sound. “You speak of honor while your kings sell their own subjects into slavery? While your priests rape children? While your heroes kill in the name of ‘light,’ without ever understanding what darkness truly is?”
“Lies,” Ragnold stepped forward. “You’re trying to plant doubt in our hearts.”
“Doubt?” The succubus shook her head. “I’m trying to open your eyes. But you humans have always preferred to remain blind.”
“Enough,” Ragnold raised his sword high. “With me, heroes!”
The battle was brutal.
Yagami and the two twin knights had slaughtered the succubus’s personal guard — a dozen demons in black armor who fought like wild beasts. The twin brothers had fallen, but they took half the enemy with them. Yagami stood over their bodies, breathing heavily, his sword dripping red with blood.
General Ragnold fought the succubus one-on-one.
She was faster, cleverer, and far more dangerous. But he was stronger, more experienced, and far more stubborn. The old general blocked her strikes with his shield, parried with his sword, took a hit to the shoulder — and answered with a savage cut across her legs.
The succubus fell.
Her armor was shattered, black blood poured from her shoulder, yet she didn’t scream. She simply looked up at Ragnold with those crimson eyes — without fear, without hatred, only with a strange, almost curious glint.
“Is that all?” she asked, licking her lips. “I expected more from the great General Ragnold.”
“Shut your mouth, demon,” Ragnold stepped closer, raising his sword. “Your army will scatter without you.”
“Scatter?” The succubus laughed — a soft, velvety sound. “Do you really believe that? That demons are just like humans? That we’ll abandon each other at the first sign of danger?”
“You are evil. And evil is always cowardly.”
“Evil?” The succubus pushed herself up on her elbows, ignoring the blood running down her arm. “You dare speak of evil? You humans who burn witches at the stake? Who murder children in the name of ‘light’? Who betray your own allies for a sack of gold?”
“We fight for justice.”
“Justice?” She smirked. “For whom? For your kings who rot on their thrones? For your heroes whom you discard like trash once they’re no longer useful?”
“Silence!” Ragnold raised his sword higher.
“I will not be silent,” the succubus’s voice grew quieter, yet sharper. “I want you to die with your eyes open. To understand that your ‘justice’ is a lie. Your ‘honor’ is a lie. Your ‘faith’ is a lie. Everything you believed in — it was all a lie.”
“You won’t break me,” Ragnold gripped his sword tighter. “I believe in the Light. And the Light will defeat the darkness.”
“What Light?” The succubus shook her head sadly. “The one that burns in your soldiers’ eyes when they rape prisoners? The one that burns in your priests’ hearts when they pray over the bodies of the innocent? The one that—”
“I said — silence!” Ragnold swung his sword down.
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But the succubus was faster.
She twisted aside, rolled across the ground, and sprang back to her feet with a grace that didn’t match her wounds. Black blood still poured from her injuries, but she paid it no mind. She was smiling — a predatory, terrifying smile.
“You thought I was weak?” she asked. “Thought you actually hurt me?”
“What…”
“I was playing with you, old man,” the succubus stepped forward. “This whole battle. This entire campaign. I wanted you to come here. I wanted your heroes beside you. I wanted you to believe victory was within reach.”
“Why?”
“So you could watch everything crumble,” she smiled wider. “So you could feel exactly what demons feel when you slaughter their children. Helplessness. Despair. Agony.”
“You…”
“And now… goodbye, General.”
She moved faster than he could react.
Her blade — thin, curved, and pitch-black — sank into his side. Not the heart. Not the throat. The side. Where the pain would be slow, excruciating, and inevitable.
Ragnold gasped. His sword slipped from his fingers. He dropped to his knees, clutching the wound as blood gushed between his fingers.
“Yagami…” he wheezed. “Help…”
Yagami stood just three steps away. Watching. Not moving. Then he smiled — a wide, manic grin.
“Yagami!” Ragnold cried out. “What are you doing?!”
“Watching. Enjoying the show, you piece of shit,” Yagami said calmly. “I’ve always wanted to see what happens when your kind finally loses.”
“You… you traitor! You bastard!”
“Traitor?” Yagami chuckled. “Don’t call me that. I’m just tired. Tired of your lies. Tired of your Light. Tired of your precious ‘justice’.”
He walked over to the dying twin knights. One after the other. Slowly, almost lovingly, he began slitting their throats with a smile on his face.
“You fuuuucking baaaastard…” Ragnold rasped, collapsing onto the ground. “Why are you doing this? Stop!”
Yagami stepped closer to him. He leaned down, looked into the general’s eyes, and smiled.
“Because I’ve seen this story a hundred times,” he said. “Heroes arrive. Heroes win. Heroes return home as legends. And demons… demons always lose. Even when they’re right. Even when humans are wrong. Even when all this ‘Light’ is nothing but rot.”
“You… you’ve gone mad…”
“Maybe,” Yagami shrugged, deliberately twisting the blade inside Ragnold’s wound, causing him as much pain as possible. “But I got curious. What happens if the demons win for once? What happens if the hero betrays everyone? What if…”
“Enough,” the succubus’s voice rang out behind him.
Yagami turned.
The succubus stood there, slowly licking the blood from her blade. Ragnold’s blood — still wet on her lips.
“He can’t hear you anymore,” she said, nodding toward the general.
Ragnold lay motionless on the ground. His eyes were open, but there was no life left in them. Only surprise. And pain.
“You killed him,” Yagami said.
“We killed him,” the succubus corrected. “You helped too, boy.”
She approached him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and pressed her body against his.
“You’re interesting,” she whispered. “Very interesting.”
“I’m not a hero,” Yagami said, remaining still.
“I know,” she smiled. “Heroes don’t kill their own.”
“I’m not a demon either.”
“You will be,” she trailed a sharp claw gently down his cheek, leaving a thin red line. “If you want to.”
“Why do you need me?”
The succubus pulled back slightly and studied him for a long moment, her crimson eyes piercing.
“You betrayed your own people,” she said. “You killed them just to see a different ending. You’re unpredictable. You’re uncontrollable. You’re dangerous. I need someone like that.”
“And what if I betray you too?”
“You will,” she smirked. “Sooner or later. But until then… we’re going to have fun.”
She kissed him.
Long. Passionate. Dominant.
Right there, in front of Ragnold’s corpse. Surrounded by the bodies of the dead knights. Amid the burning forest.
Yagami stood completely still. He didn’t move. Didn’t respond. Didn’t pull away.
“You’re not kissing me back,” the succubus said, drawing back.
“I don’t know how,” he replied.
“I’ll teach you,” she smiled, her fangs glinting. “We’ll have plenty of time.”
“No!”
Amanda woke up screaming.
Her body was drenched in sweat, her heart hammering in her throat, and her hands were trembling uncontrollably. She didn’t know where she was — in the tent? In the city? In Eichenwald?
“My lady!” Torglin’s voice cut through the darkness.
The dwarf was already on his feet, twin daggers gripped tightly in his hands. Beside him stood Leo — her ever-present, nearly invisible bodyguard — tense and ready.
“Are we under attack?” Leo asked, his eyes scanning the shadows for any threat.
“No…” Amanda wiped her face with a shaky hand. “No… it was just a dream.”
“A dream?” Torglin lowered his daggers, frowning. “What kind of dream makes you scream like that? Have you lost your mind, girl?”
Amanda sat up in bed and stared at her own hands — warm, alive, real.
“I saw… I saw a battle,” she said quietly. “Not here. Somewhere else. In another world.”
“Another world?” Torglin’s frown deepened. “My lady, did you hit your head?”
“No,” Amanda shook her head. “I saw a forest. Armies. Humans… and demons.”
“Demons?” Leo exchanged a quick glance with the dwarf. “You mean… actual demons?”
“Yes,” Amanda looked at him. “With horns. Tails. Black blood. They were fighting humans.”
“Nonsense,” Torglin spat on the ground. “Demons don’t exist. There are dwarves, there are beastfolk, but demons…”
“I know what I saw,” Amanda interrupted. “There were heroes there. Summoned from another world. From a world similar to ours, but without magic.”
“Summoned heroes?” Leo furrowed his brow. “Those are just legends. Fairy tales.”
“I thought so too,” Amanda said softly. “But I saw them. One of them.”
“Who?”
“His name was Yagami,” Amanda spoke the name, and a chill ran down her spine. “He was cold. Empty. He killed his own…”
She fell silent.
“Girl?” Torglin took a step closer.
“He killed his own people,” Amanda continued. “Two knights. He helped the demons. He betrayed everyone.”
“Why?” Leo asked.
“He said he was tired,” Amanda shook her head. “That he had seen the same story too many times. That he wanted a different ending.”
“Bullshit,” Torglin spat. “There’s no way that—”
“And then she kissed him,” Amanda interrupted. “The succubus. The demon commander. She kissed him right there, surrounded by corpses.”
A heavy silence fell over the inn room.
Torglin and Leo exchanged glances.
“My lady,” Leo said carefully, “it was just a nightmare. Because of exhaustion. The war. All the stress…”
“It wasn’t just a dream,” Amanda shook her head. “I felt it. Everything was too real. The smell of blood. The screams. The cold touch of steel in the wind.”
“And what does that mean?” Torglin asked.
Amanda looked at him. There was real fear in her eyes — not the fear of battle, not of the Khan, not even of death. It was fear of something far greater.
“I don’t know,” she said quietly. “But I think… I think our world isn’t the only one. And somewhere out there, in another reality, something is happening that could affect us.”
“So what do we do?” Leo asked.
Amanda stood up. She walked over to the window and gazed at the stars.
“We need to be ready,” she said. “For the possibility that one day this Yagami might appear here. Or someone like him.”
“Do you think he’s that dangerous?” Torglin asked.
“I think a man who kills his own people just to ‘see a different ending’ is more dangerous than anyone else,” Amanda turned to face them. “Because he has no goal. He has no principles. He has nothing except curiosity… and exhaustion.”
“And hatred,” Leo added quietly. “You said he hates humans.”
“Yes,” Amanda nodded. “He hates humans. And that makes him the perfect weapon for anyone who wants to destroy humanity.”
She fell silent for a moment.
“We need to return to Eichenwald,” she said. “Faster than I originally planned.”
“Why?”
“Because if this dream was a warning,” Amanda looked back up at the stars, “then we don’t have much time.”