A fragment of the song that I would choose for the opening from 0:34 to 1:58

https://youtu.be/hgZ0-kdyY5A

Time and place of action unknown.

 Darkness filled the room for centuries, until today... suddenly it was illuminated by a red light coming from the sheets of paper, which were consumed by a magical flame giving the light a red color.

— Once... I observed the history of this world. — A male voice spoke. - Now... I will observe the fight for its survival. The man struck the ground with his staff again, and a portal the color of blood opened in front of him.- Cruelty... the inhabitants of this world are in danger of something monstrous. The spirits of dead heroes have returned. They have come to save him!

Another blow of the staff activated the portal, which began to spin, and then four figures emerged from it, four souls who were to weigh the fate of everyone.

— What's going on? Where am I? I was... — The blue-haired man spoke, who was clearly confused, just like the others who stood next to him.

— Dead. — The stranger finished. — Just like those standing next to you, I opened the passage for you, but it was fate that decided that you were the ones to go through it. — He explained briefly and concisely.

— What kind of magic is this? No human, elf or demon can resurrect the dead! — The woman standing next to him shouted.

— Where did you get the idea that I am any of them? Appearance doesn't prove anything, and you are the best proof of that. Your frail bodies contain power that this world hasn't seen in a long time. Each of you has left a mark in your time. - The stranger seemed slightly amused by their confusion and looked at the four of them with a searching gaze. - I see I have quite a team, Himmel the man who took part in the slaying of the Demon King, the most famous human witch Flamme, the powerful elven healer from ancient times Fauna and the infamous Menno known among elves and demons as the Shadow of Death.

When Flamme wanted to ask something of the mysterious stranger, an angry cry full of insults was heard, which belonged to Fauna, who as soon as she heard who was standing next to her, threw herself at Menno, who was a bit distracted, but not enough to be surprised by the elf and thanks to the movements he had learned and the fact that the elf wanted to beat him with her bare fists, and he could fight quite well in hand-to-hand combat, which allowed him to pacify her, and when he did so, he saw in her eyes a huge hatred, which was justified after all, the amount of elven blood he had shed was connected with the anger that the kinsmen of the dead had for him. Fauna kicked, trying to break free, but Menno turned out to be stronger, he was impressed by her physical strength. He could now take a better look at her. She was about half a head shorter than him, with brown hair that perfectly matched her brown eyes, eyes that held pure anger and hatred.

*Anger is a powerful fuel.* He thought and not wanting to let the roles be reversed, so the most reasonable thing to do is to neutralize her, but not kill her. The moment he wanted to stun her, the stranger reacted and hit the ground with his staff, which caused them both to lose control of their bodies. Menno moved away from her against his will, while watching as Fauna tried to break free from the spell that was cast on them, but fortunately for him without results.

— Enough! — the stranger shouted, his voice making everyone's blood run cold. — You weren't given a second chance to kill each other for no reason.

— No reason!? — Fauna hissed. — That man murdered my entire village and killed me too! He killed countless elves! As far as I'm concerned, that's reason enough to pay him back, and the best way to do it is by sending him back to the hell he crawled out of.

— True, but at the moment you are on the same side and have a common enemy, who has directly and indirectly influenced your fate. — The Stranger freed Fauna and Menno from the magical grip. — I will tell you a short but important story. Some 2500 years ago, an organization was born among the demons, which called itself the Shadow Blades, whose greatest power was not only their power, but the mind and the ability to manipulate events so that they unfolded according to their plan. Demons, as you probably know, used to be more like animals than thinking beings, but even among them there were exceptions, demons endowed with reason and the ability to speak, it was some of the "Awakened" who created the Shadow Blades, they knew that mindless hunting and killing would not change anything in the long run, so in secret from the Demon King and their brethren, they created their own plan for this world. You must know, my dears, that these demons have learned that words are deadly weapons, a whisper in the right place or a long tongue at the right table. Wars can be won or lost even if the victor never strikes a blow. Despite this, the Shadow Blades did not hesitate to get their hands dirty when necessary. And unfortunately for the world, they were excellent at what they did.

The stranger's words aroused curiosity in the group, which for a moment drowned out Fauna's thirst for revenge.

—The first stage was to get rid of the elves, because they were a race that was an opponent to be reckoned with, even if it was a single elf, even one living too long could threaten their plan. When the Demon King's minions went hunting, the Shadow Blades decided to act in a slightly more sophisticated way. They knew that they needed kindred spirits, ones that could be easily manipulated and at the same time had the potential to fulfill the task they wanted to entrust. A fortunate coincidence meant that they managed to recruit a group of humans from the south to work for them in exchange for power and protection. They agreed to this and thus the Shadowbrand clan was born, who carried out every order of their demonic masters without question, and about whom your companion Menno can tell you more. Back to the point, the plan worked much better than expected and the elven population was greatly reduced, but unfortunately the fame of the Shadow Brand quickly spread throughout the world and reached the ears of the Demon King, and when he learned of the pact that the Shadow Blades had made with humans, he had to punish them, after all, sharing demon magic with humans was one of the worst crimes. He was aware that the Shadow Blades were not entirely loyal to him, but they were also too valuable to destroy, but they deserved to be taught a lesson, which was an order to destroy their human puppets, which they did, because they knew that even with the help of their puppets they had no chance against their brethren, of whom there were simply too many, and the power of the Demon King himself was considerable, so they had to carry out the king's order, but very reluctantly, mainly because they had spent a lot of time strengthening this clan. This made the Shadow Blade hate the Demon King even more, but for their own good they maintained a pretense of loyalty, and now that he is dead and some of his generals have fallen, they put their plan into action. Which is simple: they want to resurrect him and use their magic to dominate him so that he does their bidding. Because they themselves do not have the same obedience from their brethren as the Demon King, and with the Demon King and all the demons at their command they can sow chaos like this world has never seen, and that is why their servants have begun to raid human settlements, collecting every, even the smallest amount of manna they need for their purpose.

— Why us? — Flamme asked.

— I have no idea. — The stranger shrugged helplessly. — Fate chose you. That means nothing less than that you have everything you need to succeed.

— Where should we start?

— I don't know that either, but I'm sure you know places or people who can point you in the right direction... and one more thing I suggest you hurry, because if my calculations are correct, you have a year, at best two, before the demons gather enough manna and achieve their goal, but just to be clear, I know that five demons are responsible for this project and maybe, I emphasize maybe killing each of them will buy you a little more time. What I'm sure of, however, is that when the last one dies, the Shadow Blades will die with them.

— At least we managed to find out something. — Menno sighed, slightly disappointed with the meager amount of information, but it's better than nothing.

— Why am I young again? I died of old age, so I should come back to life as an old man, right? — Himmel asked, who couldn't get over the fact that he had regained his youth. He still remembered the end of his life, and what he was witnessing now was like a second chance.

— This spell brought you back to life and restored you to the age of your greatest glory. This gives you an advantage. Wisdom and skills that will be useful to you in your mission, because your enemies are incredibly powerful and to defeat them you must remember: "individually you are amazing, but together you are invincible." — After these words the stranger struck again with his staff and the entire room flashed with a bright light.

— Wait! — Menno shouted, but it did nothing and instinctively covered his eyes.

When the light disappeared, it turned out that all four of them were on some road, who knows where.

The sun is high in the sky and a warm wind is blowing, moving the surrounding branches.

— Do you know what he meant? — asked Himmel, for whom everything was happening too fast.

— If I had to guess, it was not some elaborate metaphor and he literally meant that in order for us to succeed, we must learn to work together. Otherwise, there wouldn't have to be four of us, and as you saw, that could be troublesome. — Menno replied, looking at Fauna, he knew that cooperation can be difficult, especially if your companion is someone you killed and that someone really wants to kill you. *Very troublesome.* He thought.

— There's something here! — Fauna shouted, waving her hand from under one of the trees.

— Our things — Menno deduced and reached for the white mask and sword and a piece of material in which something was wrapped that he wanted to hide from the others' view. The things he took were more than just objects to him, they were part of his life, his past, but he tried not to show the emotions that the sight of them caused, so he decided to subtly change the subject. — We should choose someone to lead.

Menno bared his teeth in a contemptuous smile.

—I've always been annoyed by your sense of superiority, elves, but in the end it turned out that you bleed and die just like humans, and I have this knowledge first-hand." He retorted in such a way that his words would touch her, and as he was about to find out, he succeeded.

— Oh you! — Fauna's face reddened and when she was about to throw herself at Menno, Himmel blocked their way.

— Get a grip! — he said firmly. — This is a new beginning for all of us, you are both on the same side now... Fauna, killing him won't change anything, you might feel better for a moment, but it won't fill this void. Revenge is nothing more than changing the roles of victim and executioner. Except that this new executioner calls himself just, because he is the answer to the wrong done. It is easy to take revenge, but much harder to forgive.

— Should I forgive this butcher?! — Fauna couldn't believe her ears that someone who knew her fate and that of her brethren would deny her just revenge.

— If you don't want to forgive, that's your choice, but at least give him a chance. The fact that you're both here shows that you have a common goal, and coming back to life is a second chance that's better not to waste. Also remember that we need Menno alive, and when our mission is over, you'll do whatever you want. — Himmel knew that the crimes Menno had committed were simply impossible to forgive, so the idea of ​​a temporary non-aggression pact was better than nothing, and who knows, maybe something would change between these two by then. He only hoped it wouldn't be for the worse.

Fauna took a deep breath and after a moment calmed down a bit, willingly or unwillingly she had to agree with his arguments, although reluctantly. — I will cooperate with him — She replied firmly and looked at the object of her anger. — Remember, however, that you will never be my friend. — She spoke the last words with undisguised contempt.

— It suits me. — Menno replied, without a shadow of emotion, he had heard many worse words in his life, but he was quite impressed by Himmel words — Returning to the previous topic, I have always worked alone and that is why it seems to me that Himmel will be the best for this role.

— Yes? And why him? — Fauna did not give up.

— He defeated the Demon King and lived long enough to learn a lot and he was already a member of a group like ours and just a moment ago he showed that he had a good head on his shoulders because we didn't tear each other apart.

Fauna reluctantly had to agree with Menno's arguments, who irritated her with the coldness he radiated. It was as if the slaughter he committed was a completely normal act, and on the other hand he gave the impression of an intelligent person who doesn't lose his cool even for a moment, which aroused her admiration.

*This is just a temporary alliance, and when it ends, our paths will have to "part forever"* She thought, smiling inwardly, returning her thoughts to the current discussion.

— And you agree?— Fauna and Menno turned towards Flemme.

— Why not? I won't say, but I'm excited about my return and at the same time curious about how much has changed during my absence. And you, Himmel, agree to lead us?

— Freiren would be better suited for this because she could see things that others couldn't see, but she was pretty bad with others — he laughed at the memories of the adventures they had together. — I think I'll be able to handle this role with your help.

— Do you know my Feriren?! — Flamme asked, surprised and at the same time happy that she was still alive, she was curious about what she had been up to since her death and what she was planning now and if it weren't for the mission she would go looking for her.

— Quite well for her human life, but I'll tell you about it on the way. A good story will make the time go faster, as they say.

Fauna and Flamme giggled, amused by Himmel choice of words, and Menno smiled modestly and pressed the piece of cloth he had picked up earlier.

— What's this? — Flamme asked, who noticed Menno's joy at having something with him.

— This? — He replied, slightly embarrassed. — The flute (Shakuhachi) that my companions made for me when I was just a novice, how old must I have been then... about 10? And this, and the mask and sword, are the only mementos from those times and I'm surprised they were just lying here.

True, but it was probably the stranger who left these things for us because he thought they might be useful to us. — Flamme paused slightly, but she had to ask.— Will you play us something? Something to match Himmel story, after all, this type of story requires a suitable setting.

— I think I have something appropriate and with a name that fits the theme. The melody is called: A Story You Won't Believe In. — Menno pulled out his flute and quickly remembered the movements, and after a moment the sounds of an energetic melody filled the air.

https://youtu.be/LvwDPlcuh6M

Even the reluctant Menno Fauna had to admit that the killer could play really well, which didn't change the fact that her grudge against him remained dormant.

And so the newly assembled team, with the story and music that accompanied them, forgot for a moment what was at stake, but took the first step on the road to their greatest adventure in life. Because every journey begins with a single step.

To be continued...

A fragment of the song that I would choose for the ending from 1:22 to 2:51

https://youtu.be/4jA3c2uSinI