Iskara

## [source]

**Iskara** was a demon god of the Annihilation Plane. He had infiltrated the Forest Plane with the aim of assimilating it into his own domain. However, with Tzu's presence, the plan halted until he was able to slowly kill her with a curse.

## Description

Booming laughter rang out as a mountainous figure appeared on the horizon. The creature had a reptilian lower body with a demonic upper one, possessing a pair of tattered wings so small it was almost laughable. The four stout legs were extremely small, but they managed to carry its weight without issue.

The creature stood nearly ten kilometres tall.[6;110]

## Plot

Richard felt like Iskara wouldn’t pose too much of a problem for those present in this room. While the demon god was certainly far stronger than most priests and priestesses, the emissaries of the Eternal Dragon were far beyond their peers. Flowsand wasn’t very high-levelled when she set off for the Darkness, but she was comparable to an entire squad of clergymen on her lonesome. Even combined, the upper echelons of the churches of the three goddesses in Faelor could not compare to her.

Facing a demon god of the Annihilation Plane was certainly dangerous, but the priestesses here looked eager to take on the challenge. Even if they would face his incarnation or apostles in the spiritual realm, those able to cross the threshold of sainthood all had strong wills.

However, Ferlyn kept her head bowed from start to finish, her thoughts unknown. All the priestesses present knew of her special relationship with Richard, and that made her attitude today seemed rather strange. Eventually, the hushed whispers quieted down as everyone awaited her words.

She eventually raised her hand and pointed forward, the timeforce dancing around the offerings condensing into a thick, ancient book, “All our records of the demon gods of the Annihilation Plane are in this book. Do you know the name of the one who cast this curse?”

“Iskara,” Richard said confidently.

Ferlyn nodded, passing the book to Noelene who grabbed it from the air and flipped through its pages. Her expression changed as she read it, and eventually she raised her head and sighed, “Iskara is not on the list.”

Most of the priestesses were stirred up. An unknown demon god also implied an unknown level and type of threat. It was one thing to face one of the twelve known demon gods of the Annihilation Plane— the Church had records on their weaknesses— but dealing with a random variable was entirely different. They had originally wanted to try purely on the assumption that Iskara would be amongst the known demon gods; this new information changed everything. 6;104

### **War of Illusion and Reality**

When only a dozen enemies were left on the battlefield, Iskara’s voice sounded once more. He actually started with applause, “How exciting, little whelp! You’ve been such a delight. Your minuscule army dealt six times the damage of that elf over there, even I couldn’t accomplish that. You will be resurrected after death, given the position of general in my army. Under you, my chessboard will be complete!”

“Huh… What kind of rights would a general have?” Richard asked as he swept through the last few enemies. He had no interest in the position, but the troops in this battlefield could still grow fatigued. He needed some time for his surviving mages to recover.

“You will have up to fifty legions subordinate to you, and your life will be tied to mine. So long as I survive, you will as well. You can also choose one of my subordinate planes and declare yourself its ruler, and there are other benefits as well….”

The conversation lasted nearly fifteen minutes, and Richard came to know that every plane Iskara was trying to conquer had a ‘chessboard’ like this one. It was used to erode the plane’s crystal sphere so his conscient could descend upon and possess all life within. He also learned of all the other benefits Iskara offered to those who bound themselves to him willingly.

### **Assimilation**

“Behold.” The black-robed man didn’t move, but the elders felt a chill running down their spines as his gaze swept past them. The shrine itself started trembling violently, compressing and expanding like a throbbing heart. The mist remained for a few minutes as unknown changes took place within, dispersing only when four figures walked out.

These four mutant elves were starkly different from the other beasts; consisting of two males and two females, each one was utterly gorgeous yet much larger than the ordinary elf. Their bodies were flawlessly smooth, black skin and crimson eyes almost shimmering with a mysterious charm of their own.

The biggest difference between these four elves and the rest was the existence of another eye on their foreheads, the pupil vertical and the same crimson colour. The shrine quieted down in an instant, the blazing flames atop it dying out as the black beam from the sky vanished as well.

The black-robed man was almost slobbering as he looked at the four new mutants, “These are my master’s creation, the seeds of your new era! They are the origin of greatness, the primogenitors!”Book 6, Chapter 129

Next, my master’s army will trample the invaders and turn this plane into his herd. The new elves with godsblood will spread throughout the plane, becoming His sword as they pass through the gate and conquer the world beyond!”

This was a grand ambition, but the elders could not feel a shred of satisfaction from it. They didn’t see their own positions in this new order at all.

### **Final**

He spent half a year combing through nearly a thousand different planes, even landing on three other battlefields of despair. Every time he redeemed countless souls, gaining renewed understanding of and familiarity with the foundational laws of order. The man who had blocked him in the depths of the abyss had already grasped everything Arbidis had to offer, and in this aspect the two were at most equal. For even the slightest advantage, the laws of existence itself were the only way to move forward.

Another half-year whizzed by as he wandered the void, not visiting a single new plane. His perception had grown to the level of near omniscience, and he could teleport wherever he wanted in mere moments.

The half-year following that was spent exploring the countless lands of danger in the void. Places like the Celestial Palace, Star of Destruction, River of Comets, and the Grave of the Titans were no longer secrets to him. He even tried to approach the current of time, only giving up reluctantly once he realised that it was not a place that living beings could enter. Along the way, he paid a visit to the Plane of Annihilation and enacted his vengeance on Iskara, repaying his debt to Tzu once and for all.

At this point, he had come up with a new conjecture about the Dragon of Eternity and Light. He was starting to suspect that the old dragon wasn’t a tangible being but a will birthed by the current of time itself. This will would thus be driven by those given into it, namely all of the Chosen across history. Unfortunately, he couldn’t verify this theory at all.

## Subordinates

**Goat-headed Sorcerer**

He was the representative of Iskara on the Forest Plane. He had allied with the Duskword Alliance, slowly assimilating the plane. He was likely the person who cursed Tzu with Iskara’s mark. This was the person who had coordinated the assault on the Evernight Tribe, the one who had killed the Evernight tree in cold blood.

Although Richard had never seen the goat-creature before, he had noticed that its aura was similar to Iskara’s; this was almost certainly the person controlling the elves from behind the scenes. With the death of the mastermind and half of the elders, the alliance had been dealt a heavy blow.