The Prince of Demons

I took a deep breath, wondering what fresh nightmare this was. Quite unfair for another Lord to protect their representative like that rather than let them fight fair and square. Not that it mattered, why should the odds being stacked against me change now? Hopefully Lord Nyx's plan was not foiled by the last-minute intervention of a hostile Lord; realistically Lord Kron was not aware of the extent of which Lord Nyx planned to deal with Nil. It might even be Lord Kron who helped Nil learn to reset and destroy timelines. That didn't matter to now; now was for figuring out how to proceed forward.

"Luckily, we are here. What is the process moving forward?" I asked Lord Nyx calmly.

"You need to sacrifice Praecan to activate my structure, which will allow access to what I have been preparing." Lord Nyx informed me, sounding depressed by the news. An unfortunate, but necessary, price to pay.

"What have you been preparing? Can it deal with something like Krahinn?" I inquired. Krahinn was the most problematic being I had to contend with, shortly followed by Nautilus.

"Krahinn is a highly problematic being, but I have faith in my construct to be able to inconvenience even the great Krahinn." Lord Nyx assured me. I would imagine a Lord could easily destroy a non-Lord.

"What does the construct do?" I checked again. Lord Nyx had an expression flash for a second that I didn't recognize, it almost looked like a twisted smile for the briefest moment.

"I have been allowing you to pass experience and information to yourself as you retain memories between each life as you are aware, but I also have stored the you of each time and created a <Homunculus> copy of each iteration, making a true army of you to fight alongside. Now, each is not as strong as the original, but not even Krahinn has infinite <Mana>." Lord Nyx explained. Wait, an army of me?'

"Why couldn't I use this sooner? When Nil did not have Krahinn helping him? When Nautilus was not on his side?" I probed. Lord Nyx shifted a bit, thinking of how to phrase her answer.

"Because once you open the box there is no closing it; this is a one-time use construct, so might as well use it when it would have the maximum amount of juice behind it. Additionally, until the time reset was turned off, it could be used in vain. Now, you both are forced to succeed, or die trying. It is unfortunate we lost the element of surprise; Kron is a duplicitous one." Lord Nyx clarified for me.

"You needed the time to stop Nil from being able to undo what happens? How can a child cast it? Like me, he is a kid currently." I pointed out, not following her point.

"The <Spell> is in the compendium, meaning any <Totem> can cast it for him. Sealing a <Spell> from being cast is quite difficult, especially when I am not allowed to directly interfere." Lord Nyx told me. The world really is stacked in Nil's favor.

"Now, time with a Lord is quite precious, so I will show you the past copies of yourself now so there is no confusion. Let you all have a little strategy meeting before the excitement starts." Lord Nyx stated as the void around us bent around us, showing me to a truly massive battleground.

All around me were myself, training, practicing, sparring, and talking. Now this is an army I can trust. This was phenomenal; Lord Nyx was truly a genius. It was great to see them all diligently working and training. They had been preparing this entire time, working towards the grand future Modinar deserved? A small wave of joy washed over me as I knew Lord Nyx had truly been helping me all along, and even prepared something to greatly assist me turn the tide against Nil's family. They all noticed us, forming files as they began walking over. One materialized as I smiled at myself, enjoying the scene before me. Nil would finally get to face the fate he deserved.

"Have they all been training? Getting stronger?" I inquired excitedly, making sure I understood what I was seeing.

"Somewhat, but even the earliest iterations will have the knowledge and skill of the more current copies of you. They might be a little lacking in comparison on <Mana> and body training as there are limits to what <Homunculi> can do." Lord Nyx explained. This was truly astounding.

"Hello current me Welcome to the training grounds." One of my past selves told me.

"Hello previous me. How do we refer or distinguish between the various copies? What is the proper protocol for talking to each other?" I asked, admiring the dedication to the cause.

"Just Ryker. We are all Ryker, working together to kill Nil for the greater good of Tenebrae, to give Modinar the deserved happy eternity. You staying alive is more important than anything else as even if we win, you dying means we do not get to enjoy the victory. Regardless, we will not stop until Nil is dead on a pike." Ryker informed me. I really liked what I was hearing.

"So, what is the plan?" I probed as I wondered what all these copies came up with.

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"We need to fight Nil and his comrades on their home territory first and foremost. You will likely need to be debriefed on the counters to several of his nastier <Magics>, but forcing them to fight in Umbra alleviates the worst of them." Ryker explained to me. I had come up with numerous counters myself, but being able to confer with versions of me that had decades to centuries to think it over? Priceless.

"To stop him from casting <Cosmic Alchemy>; it is a massive area of effect <Magic> that he'd have to be willing to exterminate the entire city and inhabitants to cast it." I agreed. I dreamed and planned for the day I would lead an army on Umbra, but to think it was an army this prepared and dedicated to my vision.

"Be careful, Nil may not be willing to cast <Cosmic Alchemy> on Umbra, but Krahinn sure would if it was his best option." Lord Nyx interjected. Krahinn was going to be a massive hurdle to overcome, wasn't he?

We discussed the logistics of our upcoming fight, and the several plans drafted for dealing with the various foes ahead. Krahinn was a massive, obnoxious question mark that stained them. From the insight Lord Nyx provided, we should imagine Krahinn as a much more ruthless, vastly more experienced Nil with access to all the <Magic> Nil ever used and then some. That was not an overly comforting piece of information, but we would have to make do. It was truly unfortunate having to wait until this point to fight against Nil as I imagined Ori would be vastly easier to overcome, but Ori stopped being his <Totem> shortly after Luna started being on his side. This kind of fight would be nigh impossible to inspire a normal army for; luckily, I am not using a normal army. Once I was back in Temple, it would all begin. That was not a large amount of time to put space between Nil and me. The time I had to discuss with my copies was at most ten minutes before Lord Nyx pulled me aside. Time must nearly be up.

"I need you to know, you are the chosen one to help Tenebrae, to save it from the demon scourge. As much as I believe in you, once you are back in Temple, I can no longer help. My assistance will end there as more will risk way more than just Tenebrae. Lords can only intervene so much, hence why Kron is only removing the element of surprise." Lord Nyx explained to me.

"I understand. I appreciate you helping me this far and creating this opportunity." I told her, mentally preparing myself for the chaos that was about to unfold.

"You have sacrificed so much for this moment, now seize it. This is what all your preparation has been for." Lord Nyx assured me, giving me an assuring hug.

"What is the delay between Praecan dying and the ability of my copies being able to flood the Temple?" I checked as I imagined that was the most important fact in the immediate future.

"None, once she is dead, they can immediately move in." Lord Nyx informed me. That was good; I just needed to be ready once I was back in Temple.

"Are you ready?" Lord Nyx checked. I took one final deep breath.

"Yes." I confirmed for her, preparing myself for the events about to unfold.

The void slipped around me as I began moving back to Tenebrae. Hopefully I would be back before Nil, which would give me the time I needed to unleash the army of me. In a matter of moments I was back at the Temple and able to see Nil was still praying. Good. I discretely began pulling out my sword, getting ready to stab Praecan for the final time. Nil shot up as his <Mana> rapidly scanned the Temple. Wish I had a little more time than that. In the blink of an eye, he formed a <Void Magic> spear and threw it at me. He launched it through time with it being stopped by Praecan less than a foot from me. Wow, he can already use that <Magic>. The Temple seemed stunned the Crown Prince tried to kill someone, but why was that shocking? Nil always was a monster; he was just letting his true colors show. By his expression I knew he was nowhere near done in trying to kill me. Nil already began forming his next attack which was fruitless because Praecan already had a protective barrier around us. You know Praecan, you did one good thing in all of these attempts. I guess it was good for her to end on a high note at least.

"What are you doing Nil?!" Emperor Azzeck yelled in shock as seeing the mask of his son finally slip.

"Ryker! Kill him! NOW!" Nil ordered. Succinct, but far too late. None are going to act on just your word.

That thought was quickly proven false when Emperor Father Nil perked up as he began to realize something. I have no time to waste. Praecan had begun to move me behind her, so she was between me and the Imperial Family. Countless of the people within the Temple were looking appalled at the turn of events. Not surprising as I imagined seeing the true colors of those who thought their blood made them special was a wild concept in Tenebrae. As Praecan had all her attention focused on them, I made my move, plunging my sword into her heart. Praecan gasped blood, turning around in shock as she faced me. Emperor Father Nil tried attacking me with <Astral Slash> which was stopped by the remnants of Praecan's <Magic>. She really did decide on her final time to prove she wasn't worthless. She looked at me, clearly trying to ask why I did this. As the last dregs of color faded from her, I felt the construct unlock within my mind.

"I am sorry Praecan, but your sacrifice is necessary for the greater good, as you dying is the key to construct. I, and Tenebrae, thank you." Past me, Ryker, thanked her as the first stepped out of the construct. Several more began filing out into the Temple, weapons at the ready.

"Everyone, get out, now!" Empress Senna declared. Do not worry, the civilians are only here to stop the nasty area of effect <Magic>, until they try to help you all.

Several copies of me rushed the Imperial Family, ready to fight them. More and more began filing out and began crowding the Temple; several grabbed me before hauling me away to get some much-needed distance between me and the Imperial Family. Before the first line of copies reached halfway towards the Imperial Family, the space within the Temple twisted as a portal opened up. Several feathers shot out an impossible speed, detonating the heads of the <Homunculi>. A wrathful, inky, dark miasma began pouring into the Temple as a malevolent <Mana> crushed the area. Manifesting at the edge of the portal were nine, bright red eyes with countless <Spells> being cast directly at me. Several copies tried dispelling the <Magic> as they threw themselves in the way while others cast protective barriers, stopping the <Spells> from reaching me at the cost of a few clones. Standing there was now the greatest hurdle: Krahinn.