The day had finally arrived.
For centuries, the world had been divided.
Humans had their kingdoms.
Elves had their forests.
Demons had their territories.
Beasts had their tribes and scattered nations.
Dragons had their ancient domains.
Each race had its own rulers.
Its own laws.
Its own history.
Its own enemies.
But on this day…
Something changed.
For the first time in recorded history, the armies and citizens of multiple races gathered on the same ground without preparing to kill one another.
A massive field had been prepared outside the capital.
Its size was enormous.
Millions could stand upon it.
Hundreds of banners had once decorated the field.
But today, almost all of them were gone.
Instead, one enormous banner stood at the center.
It flew high above the stage.
It did not represent Humans.
It did not represent Elves.
It did not represent Demons.
It did not represent Beasts.
And it did not belong to the Dragons.
It belonged to something new.
A nation.
A future.
An ideal.
Its name was Elysara.
The flag of Elysara moved gently with the wind.
Below it stood four great powers.
THE FOUR NATIONS
The first group entered beneath the banner of House Vesper.
Thousands upon thousands of Elves filled the eastern side of the field.
High Elves.
Forest Elves.
Battle mages.
Archers.
Noble families.
Common citizens.
Children.
The entire Elven nation had gathered.
At the front stood the leadership of House Vesper.
They looked toward the enormous stage in silence.
Then came the Demons.
The forces of House Erebus marched onto the field.
Their armor was darker than that of the Humans and Elves.
Their presence was intimidating.
But today they were not marching toward an enemy.
They were marching toward an alliance.
Behind the military stood Demon civilians.
Families.
Merchants.
Children.
Elders.
For generations, Humans had taught their children to fear Demons.
For generations, Demons had taught their children to distrust Humans.
Today, both stood only a short distance apart.
Then the Humans arrived.
The banner of House Augusta moved through the wind as soldiers and civilians filled the western side of the field.
Royal soldiers.
Knights.
Mages.
Nobles.
Craftsmen.
Farmers.
Families.
The Human Kingdom had come.
And finally came the newest faction.
The Newly Formed House of Beasts.
Its arrival caused perhaps the greatest curiosity.
Demi-humans of countless types filled the field.
Fox demi-humans.
Wolf demi-humans.
Cat demi-humans.
Rabbit demi-humans.
Bird demi-humans.
And many others.
For centuries, Beastfolk had been scattered across the world.
Some lived in tribes.
Some lived inside kingdoms ruled by Humans.
Others lived under their own leaders.
Today, for the first time, they gathered beneath a single political banner.
Four powers.
Four peoples.
One alliance.
And above all of them…
The flag of Elysara.
THE DRAGONS
There was, however, one race that did not stand with the others.
The Dragons.
They had refused to officially enter the Peace Alliance.
They would not take a side.
They would not swear loyalty to any kingdom.
They would not submit to any political agreement.
The Dragons had chosen neutrality.
But they had also made another promise.
They would not participate in wars.
They would remain outside the conflicts of the other races.
And for Nihil…
That was enough.
He did not need every race to kneel.
He simply needed them to stop killing each other.
The Dragons remained silent.
Neutral.
Watching.
THE STAGE
A massive platform stood at the center of the field.
At its highest point was a single position.
A place reserved for the person who had brought everyone together.
Nihil Mora.
The crowd waited.
Millions of eyes were focused on the stage.
Humans watched.
Elves watched.
Demons watched.
Beastfolk watched.
Even the nobility and military leaders waited in silence.
Then…
Nihil appeared.
He stepped onto the stage.
No army marched behind him.
No divine light surrounded him.
No grand display of magical power announced his arrival.
He simply walked forward.
Yet the entire field became silent.
Nihil stopped beneath the flag of Elysara.
He looked across the enormous crowd.
Then he spoke.
“HEAR ME!”
His voice carried across the entire field.
“My subjects…”
He paused.
“My nations.”
Another silence.
“We all gathered here together for only one reason.”
“Peace.”
The word echoed across the field.
Nihil continued.
“As you all know…”
“We have been at war for centuries.”
“Centuries.”
“Generations have been born into war.”
“Generations have died in war.”
“Generations have grown old without ever understanding what peace truly means.”
He looked across the crowd.
“And yet…”
His expression became serious.
The crowd remained silent.
Nihil continued.
“Think about that.”
“Why did Humans begin fighting Demons?”
“Why did Demons begin hating Humans?”
“Why were Elves taught to look down upon other races?”
“Why were Beastfolk hunted, feared, or treated as lesser beings?”
“Why have generations continued the same conflicts?”
He spread his arms slightly.
“Can anyone tell me?”
Silence.
Nobody answered.
Not a single person.
Nihil waited.
Still nothing.
He nodded.
“Exactly.”
“We don’t know.”
“For centuries, we have inherited hatred without inheriting the reason for it.”
“We teach our children to hate people they have never met.”
“We send soldiers to die against enemies whose faces they have never seen.”
“We call it tradition.”
“We call it duty.”
“We call it justice.”
His eyes hardened.
“But perhaps…”
“We have all been deceived.”
The crowd shifted uneasily.
Whispers began spreading.
Nihil raised one hand.
“Listen to me first.”
The murmurs slowly disappeared.
Nihil continued.
“I finally found the answer.”
He looked toward the sky.
“And the wars were not started by Humans.”
A pause.
“Nor by Demons.”
Another pause.
“Nor by Elves.”
“Nor by Beasts.”
He looked toward the distant horizon.
“And not even by Dragons.”
The field remained silent.
Nihil’s voice became heavier.
“Then ask yourselves…”
“Who benefits the most from war?”
The crowd began thinking.
Nihil answered.
“Immortals.”
Shock spread through the field.
“Yes.”
“Our dear gods.”
The reaction was immediate.
Thousands of whispers erupted.
“Gods?”
“What did he say?”
“Is that possible?”
“He’s accusing the gods?”
Nihil raised his voice.
“PLEASE LISTEN TO ME FIRST!”
The crowd slowly quieted.
Nihil continued.
“Wars create death.”
“Death creates DE.”
He paused.
“And DE…”
“…gives immortals the power to preserve their immortality.”
The field became completely silent.
Nihil continued.
“For centuries, we believed the beings we worshipped created existence itself.”
“But what if they did not?”
He looked directly toward the crowd.
“What if the beings we call gods…”
“…were never gods at all?”
A wave of disbelief spread through the nations.
Nihil’s voice remained calm.
“They are powerful warriors.”
“Beings who evolved beyond ordinary life.”
“Beings who became powerful enough to stand above mortals.”
“And eventually…”
“They began calling themselves gods.”
The crowd stared at him.
Some looked frightened.
Some looked confused.
Some looked angry.
But Nihil did not stop.
“So please…”
He lowered his voice.
“Stop this meaningless bloodshed.”
“Stop this hatred.”
“Stop teaching your children that another race is their enemy.”
“Stop praying to false gods who benefit from your suffering.”
His expression became painfully serious.
“I don’t want anyone to lose their brother again.”
“I don’t want anyone to lose their sister.”
“I don’t want families waiting for soldiers who will never return.”
“I don’t want mothers crying.”
“I don’t want children growing up surrounded by graves.”
“I don’t want another blood war.”
He looked across Humans, Demons, Elves, and Beasts alike.
“I want peace.”
A pause.
“I want perfection.”
Then Nihil extended his hand toward the crowd.
“So help me.”
“I will not ask you for wealth.”
“I will not ask you for worship.”
“I will not ask you to kneel.”
He looked directly toward them.
“I ask for only two things.”
“Trust me.”
“And trust each other.”
Silence.
Absolute silence.
THE FIRST CHOICE
For several moments, nobody moved.
Some people looked at their neighbors.
Humans looked at Elves.
Elves looked at Demons.
Demons looked at Beastfolk.
Nobody knew what to do.
Then the whispers began.
“He is a monster himself.”
“He’s immortal too.”
“If anyone can know the truth about immortality…”
“…it would be him.”
Another voice replied.
“Then why would he lie?”
“He has no reason to.”
More whispers followed.
“He could rule us.”
“He could conquer us.”
“But he isn’t asking for our worship.”
“He wants peace.”
“Maybe…”
“Maybe we should trust him.”
One person slowly raised a hand.
Then another.
Then another.
A Human soldier raised his hand.
An Elven mage raised hers.
A Demon merchant raised his.
A Beastfolk child raised hers while standing beside her parents.
Then hundreds.
Thousands.
Tens of thousands.
The field transformed.
Hands rose across the entire crowd.
One by one, people accepted.
The Peace Alliance was no longer merely an agreement between rulers.
It had become the decision of the people.
The four races stood together.
Under one flag.
The flag of Elysara.
Nihil lowered his gaze.
For the first time that day…
He smiled.
The era of endless war was ending.
THE HIGH HEAVENS
Far above the mortal world…
The High Heavens were silent.
Then…
They exploded into chaos.
The High Rulers had heard everything.
Every word.
Every accusation.
Every revelation.
And they were furious.
Nihil had not simply rejected their so-called divine authority.
He had done something far worse.
He had endangered the system that sustained their immortality.
If wars ended…
Deaths would decrease.
If deaths decreased…
DE production would decrease.
And if DE production collapsed…
The immortals would eventually begin losing their power.
The first signs had already appeared.
Several lower-ranked immortals had begun to age.
For the first time in countless ages, immortality was no longer guaranteed.
Panic spread throughout the heavens.
An immortal looked toward another.
“My power…”
Another held his hands in disbelief.
“Why am I weakening?”
A third trembled.
“I am aging.”
The High Rulers watched in silence.
Their anger became uncontrollable.
Nihil Mora had become a threat to Heaven itself.
Not because he wanted Heaven.
Not because he wanted to become a god.
But because he wanted to end the wars that fed them.
The High Rulers finally gave their order.
“Eliminate Nihil Mora.”
The Celestials bowed.
But they would not descend personally.
Instead, they chose another method.
They sent their messages downward.
THE SEVEN CARDINAL HOLY CHURCHES
Across the mortal world, messages appeared.
Ancient symbols materialized inside temples.
Golden light filled sacred chambers.
Clergy members looked toward the impossible phenomenon.
Then they heard the command.
“Nihil Mora has rejected the divine order.”
“Nihil Mora threatens the authority of the gods.”
“Nihil Mora must be stopped.”
The seven Cardinal Holy Churches received the same message.
Across the lands of the four races, their leaders began gathering.
Councils were called.
Secret meetings began.
Ancient scriptures were opened.
Heroes were summoned.
Knights were selected.
Powerful mages began preparing.
The churches began constructing a plan.
A plan to kill Nihil Mora.
But there was one problem.
They needed time.
Nihil was no longer merely a Human prince.
He was the leader standing at the center of the greatest alliance the mortal world had ever witnessed.
Humans stood behind him.
Elves stood behind him.
Demons stood behind him.
Beastfolk stood behind him.
And even though the Dragons remained neutral…
They were still not joining the war against him.
The situation made Nihil incredibly difficult to eliminate.
The heroes knew this.
The churches knew this.
The High Rulers knew this.
So they waited.
They planned.
They prepared.
And the world entered a strange period of silence.
TEN YEARS OF PEACE
The plan to eliminate Nihil took time.
And that time changed the world.
One year passed.
Then another.
Then five.
Then ten.
For ten years…
Elysara experienced absolute peace.
No great war.
No race wars.
No mass invasions.
No kingdoms burning.
Trade flourished.
Cities expanded.
Children grew up without hearing armies march through their streets.
Humans and Elves exchanged knowledge.
Demons participated in international trade.
Beastfolk gained recognized territories and political authority.
Magic advanced.
Technology advanced.
Agriculture improved.
Medicine improved.
Roads connected nations that had once been enemies.
Families traveled across borders without fearing soldiers.
And slowly…
Hatred began disappearing.
Children who had once been taught that Demons were monsters began meeting Demon children in schools.
Elven merchants traded with Humans.
Beastfolk entered cities that had once rejected them.
Demons established businesses alongside other races.
The idea of permanent war slowly began to feel ancient.
Something that belonged to another age.
And at the center of it all stood Nihil Mora.
He did not rule through fear.
He did not demand worship.
He simply continued his work.
Beside him, Eleanor eventually took on more responsibilities.
Under her rule, the peace established by Nihil continued to grow.
The people prospered.
The nations prospered.
And for ten years…
The world experienced something it had nearly forgotten.
Happiness.
Meanwhile, above them…
The heavens began to decay.
Immortals who had once believed themselves eternal began losing their power.
Some grew weaker.
Some began aging.
The divine order they had built over countless generations was beginning to collapse.
Because the mortal world had stopped feeding it.
And the High Rulers finally understood the truth.
Nihil Mora had done something none of them had ever expected.
He had discovered the weakness of Heaven…
By giving the mortal world peace.
The war had not ended.
Not yet.
It had only changed sides.
And for the first time in history…
The heavens were afraid of one Human.