Peter was standing above the body of Edgar. The demon he just killed had a human soul, he was more or less like him. Someone who lived a life on Earth and was sent to Hell at his death. And Peter just ended his demonic life in Hell. Peter was feeling the soul of Edgar, shattered, flowing out of his body and dissipating in the ambient environment. An instant later, Edgar’s body became dust and was spread out by a small wind. This was the true end of the warrior and the goat demon.

  “People of Tol’Osa ! ” Donero announced. “As it was said before this fight, the judgment passed against Tianne and Peter is now void. And we also have a new member at our council. Please welcome Peter, Earth Demon and Primordial as one of our three leaders.”

  The crowd was applauding but the mood was not really in. Peter understood them. Killing a leader and a protector was not going to be well appreciated. On the other hand, the behavior of Edgar against Tianne was also not acceptable. And Peter did not have a choice. There was no good ending to this situation and Peter just went for the least bad option.

  “Please, now, go back to your occupations and obligations.” Sophie said loudly, covering the noise of the crowd. ”There is still a lot of work to do and we lost quite some time with this topic. I will help Peter with the transition.”

  The crowd dispersed and Peter was now standing with just Tianne, still lying down on the ground, Sophie, Donero and Lucas.

  “Well, well, well. I can only thank you for saving my love, Peter.” Sophie said. “I’m pretty sure becoming a council member is not what you wanted but here we are. For now, bring Tianne back to her bed. Lucas, you will help him and tend to her. Peter, please come back quickly. You have a town to manage. Donero, prepare a crash course for Peter and help him understand the town. I have to talk to everyone else, especially Edgar friends, to smooth the transition. Although, I don’t think anyone would defy our new council member.”

  Peter was too exhausted to talk back so he went to Tianne and took her with the help of Lucas, and they started walking back to the house.

  “Hey, Lucas, did you know I’m a Primodial ? ” Peter asked.

  “Yes, Tianne told me when we recovered you but I didn't even really know what that meant. For me, you were just going to be a big and powerful Demon. Tianne told me there was some sort of taboo about it and to not talk too much about it but I didn’t expect to go this far.” Lucas answered.

  “Well, I guess I’ll discover more of it when I’ll talk to Sophie and Tianne later. By the way, thanks for the gun back then against the swarm.” Peter said.

  “Well, thanks to you. Without your power, we would all be bird chop. That played a massive role in the survival of both of you.” Lucas said.

  “By the way, what happened when I went unconscious ? How did we go from the swarm to a court judging a council member ? ” Peter asked.

  ”Well, Edgar was going to kill you the second you went unconscious but Sophie opposed him. And at that moment, Tianne came back with most of the West team and the situation kinda went nuclear in the council, with both Sophie and Edgar wanting answers. I think the only reason it did not explode in a full fight was because everyone was out of power. At the end, Tianne agreed to be judged but she probably did not expect Edgar to reveal all the stuff he had about Primordials. Sophie did not agree but a large part of the population was feeling unease by the situation and killing and destroying stuff is usually an universal answer in Hell so Edgar punched Tianne to punish her and wanted to execute her. Sophie said we should at least hear what you had to say even if Edgar had already made a decision. I still don’t understand how you were able to stay so calm during all of this.” Lucas said.

  “I wanted to be an astronaut when I was younger. Staying calm is kinda mandatory. But Edgar really went on my nerves. In a way, he was not wrong. That power is corrupting me. I feel more sanguine and aggressive than before. I never thought I could kill someone.”

  “Nah, this is just Hell mood. Don’t forget you are with the worst of Humanity.”

  They arrived at the house and Lucas pushed the door.

  “Her room is there, put her in her bed, I’ll look from her medicine bag.” Lucas said, indicating a door.

  Peter opened that door and entered into a small room with a bed sculpted in the wall and a small desk on the side. He dropped Tianne in the bed and put a blanket over her.

  Peter looked at the person who chose to save him. She was sleeping, her face and her body had lost almost all their feathers. He could now see that her face and her hands were marked with a few wrinkles.

  Either she was not young when she died or she sees herself older than she is, Peter thought.

  “Hey, I’ve got the bag.” Lucas said, entering the room with a satchel. “I think Sophie awaits you at the council hall.”

  “Yeah, I’m not really ready to lead a Hell town. I arrived less than a week ago and all I did most of the time was to sleep.” Peter retorted.

  “Well, you’re gonna have to see this with our favorite snake demon. I will be quite busy trying to heal and help Tianne. Can you go ? ” Lucas said with a little aggressivity in the tone.

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  “Fine. See you later.” Peter said. Clearly, Lucas did not appreciate that Tianne got hurt. And it was more or less Peter's fault even if he could have done nothing about it. So Peter walked out of the house and went back to the plaza.

  ******

  Outside of the council building, Peter saw Sophie, apparently waiting for him.

  “So, are you ready to be killed by Donero’s boredom ? How are you feeling ? ” Sophie said.

  “I do have one simple question. Why would I stay ? I don’t want to be a council member. I’m apparently strong enough to survive outside of the town and I have Hell to discover. I mean, I still have to thank Tianne for what she has done for me but beyond that ? Can you tell me a good reason why I should stay ?” Peter asked.

  “Follow me, Peter, I’ll show you.” Sophie simply said.

  ******

  They were sliding for approximately an hour. When they were at the limit of the town, Sophie had asked Peter to use his power to move them faster. Peter had created a 10 by 5 foot stone hollow oval on which they were now riding.

  The control of this improvised vehicle was a good experience for Peter. It was not burning a lot of power but it needed a lot of concentration. And around 25 miles per hour, the wind was not helping to maintain his focus.

  Sophie was guiding him toward a very large hill on the side of a distant hill range.

  “Do we really have to go this far for you to show me what you want to show me ? “ Peter asked.

  “You'll understand when we'll be there. Be ready to burn more power, it's at the top of the mountain.” Sophie answered, indicating the large hill.

  “Oh shit, those hills are mountains.” Peter realized seeing them larger as they were getting closer.

  “Yeah, your long range depth perception is kinda fuck up because the sky is not blue here.” Sophie said with a smile.

  The ascension took quite a while and Peter was very exhausted when they finally arrived at the top. Peter discovered that what he originally thought of as a hill was not just a mountain but a dormant volcano. And the view was clearly worth the effort as it was by far the highest point around.

  On the side they came from, the best part of that view was the changing colors of the plain. Cycling from a bright red toward a deep brown, the plain was slowly evolving, like waves would move on a sea with little wind. In the distance, Tol'Osa was a small square in the huge plain, almost an anomaly, like a mole on a skin. Around the town, there were some fields accentuating the trace of the town on the plain. And that was it. Nothing else until the horizon. Tol’Osa lost in the middle of a solid sea.

  But the real spectacle was on the other side. Behind the mountain and volcano range, there was a forest quite dense and alive from down the volcano to the horizon. And it was not just alive because of all the different creatures Peter could see moving in between trees but because trees were also moving. Large and huge black conifers were slowly moving around, their branches swinging with each of their steps.

  “Woah ! ” Peter exclaimed.

  “Yes, it’s a nice spot for those of us who can get here and come back in one piece.” Sophie said. “But for me, this spot is more than just a nice view.”

  “What do you mean ? ” Peter asked.

  “It’s where I landed. I shouldn’t have survived. The site was infested with beasts from the forest.” Sophie started to explain. “But, someone came and saved me. It was Tianne. Back in the days, Tol’Osa was saving everyone, sending a team each time it was possible.”

  “What happened ? ” Peter asked.

  “We had some casualties. And Edgar was becoming more and more paranoid.” Sophie continued. ”When Tianne and I started to clash, he took the opportunity to drastically reduce the number of teams, sending them only after the rare Choosers when he could. It was not a good thing for our town. I want the will to save the maximum number of people to come back. I want a new direction for Tol’Osa.”

  “Okay, it’s nice, but what’s in it for me ? I still don’t see what’s preventing me from just leaving the town and trying to cross that nice looking forest.” Peter asked, creating a small rock stool before sitting on it.

  “I’ll teach you how to go back to Earth.” Sophie said.

  “I’m pretty sure that’s impossible.” Peter retorted.

  .”There are legends and rumors. And you are a Primordial. Nothing is really impossible.” Sophie said.

  “If I really want to go back to Earth, I think I can ask for some help from Denaelle.” Peter said. “Sophie, what is the real reason you want me to stay at Tol’Osa ?”

  “The town is basically doomed if you’re not there to help us.” Sophie begged, falling on her knees, forehead against the ground. ”Edgar was really a true monster in terms of power and our town is now defenseless from real menaces. We need you. And I know you don’t need us but you are our only chance.”

  It was a tough choice for Peter. On one side, there was adventure, exploration and freedom but he would leave the ones who helped him to their death. On the other side, responsibilities and obligations but he would be with other demons including some of them he appreciated. Of course, all of this supposed Sophie did not lie to him and he was not totally trusting the demon but he did not really have a choice.

  Peter thought of what each option would mean for him and went with the more logical one. The one where people who were nice to him mattered.

  “I really hope you won’t make me regret this choice later, Sophie.” Peter said with a serious tone. “I accept to become a council member. Let’s go back to our town.”

  “Thank you a lot.” Sophie said, raising herself. “Without you, we were dead, again.”

  Peter was looking at the town and the plain. High above in the bronze sky, he could see a couple of comets, both red.

  “So, I suppose you want me to save those two poor souls if they land.” Peter said, looking at the scale demon.

  “They won’t land, the one on the left is too small, the soul is almost already destroyed and the one on the right is too slow, the soul can’t probably endure such a long Fall. We still have to watch it but I wouldn't bet on it.”

  Peter started to focus on his power recreating the sliding oval. Sophie jumped on it and they were ready to go back home.

  “I’m sorry you had to do all of this and choose this path, Peter. But it was the best choice for the town.” Sophie said.

  “Well, this was a hell of a beginning, that’s for sure.” Peter said with a smile.

  ****** End of the first arc : Beginning ******