Rupture: Rise of the Demon King Read Online Free

landscape felt somewhat soothing to him.
    Eventually, a large shadow quickly crossed the grasses. Seeko jumped as he looked up to see a giant bird soar up into a cloud. “Um, are there giant birds on Endetia?” he asked Kazuma after his heart had stopped racing.
    “It’s a thunderbird, most likely. It also could be a demon that looks like a thunderbird … but I doubt it. It would have attacked us, a demon that big.” Kazuma smiled, then asked, “Where ya from, Seeko?”
    Seeko didn’t know what to say. Would he believe him if he told the truth? “I’m from … I’m from … I guess, another world—a world that was being attacked by demons when I left.”
    Kazuma cursed. “They’re everywhere. Nowhere is safe.” He scratched his head. “So ya came through darkness to get here? Why did ya come here?”
    “I have no idea.” Why had he come through that portal? For answers? His memory showed that he had been though one of those dark portals before … It didn’t seem worth it now. His rash decision had likely permanently stranded him on this insane world.
    His stomach flipped. He was stranded here, he just realized. Stranded and alone. He began shaking again and couldn’t stop.
    Kazuma didn’t seem to notice Seeko’s rattling. “The world works in strange ways, the gods say. Emperor Physis says you’re here to save us. Says you’re going to be a hero.”
    “Save you? From what?”
    “The demons.”
    “What? How could I do that? I don’t have anything—and you have magic.”
    “Beats me. Wait, ya don’t have magic? Everyone on Kismetia has magic!” Kazuma conjured a weak red fireball in one hand. “How are ya going to help us?” Kazuma dispelled the fireball with difficulty. “Maybe ya have something else to offer.”
    Seeko had no idea how Kazuma had materialized fire from nowhere. “I’m no hero. I’m just a scared kid. Sorry to trouble you.”
    Kazuma laughed. “Come now, that mopey attitude will get ya nowhere! You’ll be fine if ya stick with me, okay?”
    Seeko had nowhere else to go, so of course he was going to stick with Kazuma. But even with Kazuma’s cocky attitude, Seeko’s trembling stayed. He thought of that monster that almost ate him—the monster that did eat someone. The screams rebounded in his head.
    Why did he go in that portal?
     

3: Hero
    22 Agen, 112 AV: Day 1
    On the first day at dusk, the hundred-man company set up camp in a copse parallel to the road. The group consumed a light meal of bread, cheese, and fruit. Kazuma started a campfire and ordered several soldiers to take up guard positions around the camp. Seeko was situated in the center for the most protection.
    When Kazuma finished prepping the camp, Seeko pointed to the heavens. “What is that?”
    Kazuma looked at the boy. “What? The Wall?”
    “Wall? No, the ring in the sky! Why is that there?” Sure enough, there was a thick band of light curving across the night sky, looping around the horizon from east to west.
    “That is the remnants of Ava, the creator. She sacrificed herself to create this planet, Kismetia, and Avaroda, the Wall, is how she shields us from her evil twin Yedra, even in death.”
    Seeko stared in wonder as dusk fell across the land. The ring grew in brightness as the evening faded. The ribbon of light soon shone brighter than any star in the sky.
    “Why do you call it a wall? It’s a ring around … what did you call it? … Kismetia.”
    Kazuma smiled. “You’ll see if you’re up later tonight. Avaroda is born every dusk, dies in the dead of night, and is born again at dawn. It remains faint throughout the day, but always protects us. It shows that we are at our most vulnerable in the night, and that is why the second shift has twice the number of soldiers.”
    What could happen to the ring in the middle of the night? How could it die and be reborn? Seeko changed the subject: “Does Kismetia have a moon?”
    Kazuma cocked his head to one side. “What’s a