The merchant

The merchant is an all-powerful creature that has traveled through time and remembers the multiple times everything failed to destroy the Ancient Evil. His goal: He wishes to stop the ancient evil, but without dying himself, and he also tries to gain as many soul fragments as he can, to be able to safely travel back in time and be able to retain his soul, now as a greater old one.
His game plan: By selling cursed items, he empowers the people and has an easy way to pull out the rug from under them, if they choose to attack.