Child of Destiny

Shin watched as Doran reminisced about his past, particularly after seeing the eyes filled with emotion.

Not long after, the latter continued. “Despite the huge amount of war merits and battle achievements that I achieved, I am still unable to get any acknowledgement from my own kin.”

“Instead, I am further ostracised and even sent to do an even more dangerous mission one after another.”

“It did not take that long until they saw me as a mere tool to eliminate their enemies,” he sighed, feeling bitter whenever he tried to recall those experiences.

“A Dark Elf, who is skilled at assassination, but can’t communicate with the Elemental Kings of the Shadows and Darkness – that is how everyone else thinks about me.”

He then paused for a moment, thinking about a turning point in his life that also became the trigger for what he had become today.

“Later, when I am in a solo exploration mission, I stumbled upon a certain ruin that seems to be a part of a certain forgotten era, where the gods and immortals still walk the land along with the mortals,” he continued.

“Inside those ruins, I discovered an ancient history about a certain Queen. A Queen, who rivals the prestige and honour of the ancient kings and gods, is worshipped by the masses.”

“The records say that she is the Ancient Queen of the Shadows, or most commonly known as the first Shadow Elf, the Shadow Queen.”

Hearing this, Shin could not help but recall the time he, Leonard, and Diablo fought against the Grand Centipedeus, where they each got a quest related to demons and the so-called ‘Devil Ancestor’ of the Devildom and the Underworld.

(Reference Chapters 1315 – 1324)

‘The Shadow Queen? Isn’t it the ‘Ancient Being’ that granted Diablo his current shadow powers? I seem to remember that she has already ascended to Godhood and become a goddess or something,’ he thought while recalling the bits of details that he had gotten from Diablo.

Along with the timeline that Doran had mentioned, Shin suspected this so-called ‘Ancient Queen of the Shadows’ was from the same era as the Sea Kings that he had encountered during the ‘Trial of Primordial Waters,’ which was also known as the Era of Gods and Immortals.

(Reference Arc: Chapter 1506 – 1541)

It was an era that took place even before the ‘Ancient Era’, which everyone in the current generation knew.

While Shin was somewhat lost in his thoughts, Doran continued. “That is when I realise that the true ancestor of the Dark Elves and Shadow Elves has never been the Elemental God, but the Ancient Queen of the Shadows herself.”

“Of course, despite this revelation, I am still unable to disclose it to the other members of my kin since it can be considered as blasphemy to our ‘god’.”

“However, I have learned quite a lot from that ruin, particularly from the records that it has. I also learned that some of the ancient monsters of that era are among the Ancient Demons before they are cast out of our world and forced to return to their original land.”

“The Shadow Queen is among the rulers who have led their forces to fight against these evil beings, which is why she has become an archenemy of the Demon Race.”

Shin briefly nodded when he heard about this, since it coincided with the information that he had gotten from Diablo.

“There is also an inheritance that the Shadow Queen have left behind, which also happens to be her true teachings,” continued Doran, seemingly not noticing the little actions of the latter.

“I managed to pass the trials that the Shadow Queen has set and become the official successor of her legacy.” Reaching this point, Doran could not help but pause and wear a bitter smile before continuing. “Unfortunately, I do not expect that I will fall into a trap set by someone at that time.”

“The inheritance that the Shadow Queen has left behind is not meant to be received by anyone since it is supposed to be a seal trapping one of the most dangerous Ancient Demons that the Shadow Queen have failed to kill during her time as a mere ‘mortal’.”

“As for the so-called trials, they are nothing but a trap laid by a subordinate of that Ancient Demon to trick whoever tried to get that inheritance.”

“However, the Ancient Demon has been sealed for an extremely long time. Given that it was fighting against the sealing powers left by the Shadow Queen, its strength is not as powerful as it used to be.”

“Unfortunately, I have already made a contract with that Ancient Demon right after I got the inheritance left behind by the Shadow Queen, which also happened to be lifting that seal.”

“As for the so-called trials, they had become the necessary process to form that contract,” with a helpless sigh, Doran wore a bitter expression. “Thus, I become what they know ‘The First Drow’ – the first Elf to form a contract with a Demon.”

“However, after realising my mistake, I immediately took action and killed the Ancient Demon before he could even regain his strength while the contract was in the middle of taking effect.”

“The struggle is real during that battle, which also causes me grievous injuries in the process, especially with my soul. This then forced me to stay in the ruins for an extremely long time before I could even recover and regain my peak.”

“Unfortunately, this period lasted for more than a few centuries,” he added, along with an even bitter sigh, which made it sound as if it was the worst possible experience that he had in his life.

He then raised his head and looked at the fake sky before continuing. “When I came back, the world was already plunged into chaos due to the sudden invasion of the Demons, who are claiming that they have returned to reclaim what is rightfully theirs.”

Hearing this, Shin seemed to have gotten a brief clue about what had happened during the previous eras. If he had gotten a few more of them, then he would most likely get the exact timeline of the game.

From his estimate, Doran was most likely one of the legendary figures of the Elven Race, who had lived through the Ancient Era.

At the very least, it could be the time right after that era, when special creatures and other beings were just being born, like Hanzo and others.

However, he leaned more on the thought that Doran was most likely an ‘ancient relic’, who had lived through the Ancient Era.

While Shin was having these thoughts, Doran continued. “When I come back, one of the ancient lands of the Elven Race is currently under a major crisis.”

“I do not have to think about anything else, and I helped my kid. Alongside the ‘mission’ that I have inherited from the Shadow Queen, which is directed to the spawns of Devil Ancestor, I slaughtered all the Demons that I have come across and spared no one.”

“Through this, I become one of the heroes of the Elven Race alongside our race’s Royalties and Transcendent Beings.”

“Unfortunately, it was later discovered that I currently possessed tainted powers, which are closely related to the Demons.”

“It is the consequence that I have gotten after my contract with the Ancient Demon. Even if I have killed him, the residual energy of the contract is still corrupting my powers regardless of how powerful I have become.”

“Even the powers that I have inherited from the Ancient Queen of the Shadows, the corruption still reached the depths of my soul and integrated itself into my entire being. Hence, purification is impossible.”

Hearing this, Shin could not help but recall that Diablo most likely had a similar situation to that of Doran.

From what he could remember, Diablo was a Demonic Elf who had inherited the Ancient Powers of the Shadows, which also came from the same source, the Shadow Queen.

It could even be considered that Diablo had a much stronger version since both of his powers came directly from extremely powerful beings.

His demonic powers came from a contract with a Great Demon King, which was equivalent to the Divine Beings of the other races. The Shadow Queen, on the other hand, had already become a goddess in this era.

‘Unfortunately, Diablo is no longer using those demonic powers and sealed them through special means. He is now only focusing on mastering the Ancient Powers of the Shadows,’ he thought before looking at Doran. ‘Maybe he can learn a thing or two from this guy.’

Having this thought, Shin decided to tell Diablo about this matter and let him decide later.

With yet another powerless and bitter sigh, Doran continued. “In the end, the Throne of Elves and the Elven Council have decided to get rid of me despite all the merits that I have accumulated throughout my life.”

“However, those merits were not wasted since they still considered my side of the story.”

“Unfortunately, it was still not enough to ease the minds of everyone. They are not willing to keep such a ‘dangerous’ individual like me on their side, even with my achievements, especially when the invasion of the Demons has caused a lot of grief and terror around the world.”

“The only good thing is that they have decided to throw me into the middle of the ‘Ocean Terror’, where the four great seas of the world converge.”

“The harsh environment there is more than enough to imprison anyone with extreme power. Even the Fishmen and other Sea Creatures refused to venture to this place due to it.”

“It is a perfect prison for someone like me, who wields such a dangerous power,” he added before looking at Shin. “Thus, I have become the ‘Exiled One’ or the ‘Exiled’ wandering the Terror of the Four Great Seas.”

Right after hearing these words, Shin, who was attentively listening, suddenly got a notification from the system.

*DING*

…