***Dimensional Fissure, The Lower Planes***
***Amon***
Sozzudon shook his head violently in reply to my suggestion. “What you have to understand is that Ostreios is here with what remains of his army after you played that little trick on him. Suffice it to say, he isn't happy. You have to get out of here, preferably without triggering any more of Amon's so-called 'contingencies'!”
I crossed my arms in front of my chest, outraged at the suggestion of simply complying with Sozzudon.
We had no clue how powerful the man truly was, but it was clear that this mansion changed the status quo between the two of us. The good old me apparently turned this place into a trap and I had no illusions about what would happen if someone made a serious attempt on my life.
For some reason, Sozzudon had some leeway within this building. But the mansion stopped his weapon from firing and I had no doubt that there was more to come if the right trigger was applied.
I had a strange feeling that it was questionable whether there would be any more answers once I left this place. “Nope. Certainly not, because I am going to get some answers now. First, I am going to find out how my predecessor came to know of Ostreios. Are they related?”
The ghost flickered and laughed. “Most certainly not. I just happened to know his parents.”
There was no more information forthcoming, but I almost wanted to perform a little dance of happiness. That comment about Amon being there when Ostreios was peeled out of his egg was seriously off-putting. I had no interest in inheriting any complicated relationships from my predecessor.
On the other hand, pulling information out of this ‘ghost’ would take time which I didn’t have. A large part of the problem was that I didn’t exactly know which questions to ask, or how to trigger the important bits of knowledge.
“Okay.” I gestured at the ghost, pleased that I was at least getting some little answers. “How is he doing that?”
I intended to learn how my predecessor had crafted such a detailed recording, but this time, the magical apparition remained annoyingly silent, as if it hadn't heard me at all. It was exactly what I had feared. The ghost wasn’t so much ‘smart’ – as that my predecessor had simply taken a lot of recordings in anticipation of various scenarios happening within his home.
Did I truly want to know how much time had gone into this project? Maybe Sozzudon wasn't wrong in not thinking much of the previous me.
Across from us, Sozzudon wasn’t pleased with my decision to play a hundred questions. “Amon had centuries to allow his fantasies to run wild and think of all the stuff he could come up with. He even went out there,” Sozzudon waved his hand, apparently indicating the Chaos that surrounded the mansion, “to explore and learn! The man was a loon by the end. He seriously thought that he could strengthen his soul to the point that he would become a god. As if that had anything to do with it! And who knows what he came up with due to his paranoia. You have to get out of here before it is too late. We are talking about my home here.”
“Isn't it Amon's home?” Isabella interjected, pointing out a little detail that clearly irked Sozzudon.
She had been glancing out of the window while we were talking, but now she turned to face me. “But he has a point. We probably don't want to get caught by Ostreios. I heard about him. Rumours are that he has a tendency to do bad stuff to people who piss him off.”
“It can't be helped,” I waved my hand. “Listen, Sozzudon, I am kind of torn here, given our past relationship. You didn't exactly betray me, just stuck to the letter of our contract instead of its spirit, so I will extend you an olive branch by doing the same. And it might be that my ‘former self’ anticipated this to happen all along by letting you live after trying to fire a weapon at me. At the same time, I am really not happy with the situation. I will offer you a deal: How about we call it quits once you get me my inheritance? You can even have this mansion! I will walk out of here and we will never have to see each other again.”
Sozzudon narrowed his eyes, clearly considering my proposal. But since there wasn’t anything he could do aside from causing a senseless ruckus which would surely bring down a Demon Lord on our heads, he conceded, “It looks like I have no choice, do I? You have clearly grown since I took you from the hatchery. Unfortunately, I think that if we fought it wouldn't go down without drawing Ostreios’s attention.”
He sighed deeply and gestured for us to follow him. “Come with me. Ostreios was expecting my presence when you arrived, so we don’t have much time before he comes looking. I am honestly surprised that you didn’t run into him on your way here. Was it intentional that you came in through the warded side-entrance?”
“Side-entrance?” Isabella replied, puzzled. “I thought we got in through the front of the mansion. We just followed the single path from the Anima Stone. There weren't even any crossroads, so I doubt that we could have erred at some point.”
Sozzudon growled. “Cursed Chaos! I am sure that it somehow diverted you without you even noticing it. Amon's safety measures must have recognized his soul's signature while you were on the stabilized path and ensured that he would reach his destination safely.” He glared at the ghost, but creepily enough, it only smiled in reply, as if to say that there were a lot of things which Sozzudon didn’t know about his own ‘acquired’ home.
Our unwilling host led us out of the room, glancing up and down the corridor before he warily sneaked further into the building. The central corridor was long, far longer than I had expected it to be.
After what felt like a few dozen metres, I decided to ask Isabella about it by leaning closer and whispering, “Did you also get the impression that the mansion’s insides don’t fit the outer dimensions? Is it spacial magic?”
She nodded absently while she studied the many glass cases along the corridor which had various artefacts on display like in some exhibition. “It’s definitely spacial magic. Does that surprise you, given your own abilities?”
“It probably shouldn’t,” I admitted. Given my primary soul’s magical knowledge, it would be hardly surprising for me to create something similar in the future. Still, my ancestor’s Chaos Magic was something I definitely wouldn’t want to lay my hands on.
It was then that the ghost flickered and approached one of the cases, laying a hand on it as if it could touch the object. “Take this sword with you. It will come in handy.” And with a hiss of displaced air, the case opened, revealing a fancy rapier. It had an intricate design of a skull made out of golden wire as a basket guard for the hand. As I took a step closer, runes flared up along the blade, giving the weapon an unholy green glow of what was undoubtedly necromantic energy.
I looked towards Isabella, who only shrugged. But it was Sozzudon’s annoyed expression that moved me to take the weapon with me. Everything that annoyed the man was a positive point in my book, even if I didn’t want to play my predecessor’s games. If the weapon turned out to be a hassle, I thought that I could always discard the weapon later on.
Reaching into the case, I gripped the handle which caused the skull’s eyes to flare up with green light. For a moment, I felt empowered with whatever strange magic the weapon wove around me.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
When the feeling went away, and it was clear that I wouldn’t explode, I gestured for Sozzudon to lead on, which he did with more than a little resentment. Along with the spear, I'd now be taking two pieces from his collection.
We finally reached a large hall at the end of the central corridor and my mouth dropped open in appreciation of the various items on display. This place held a substantial number of weapons that surpassed everything I had seen in the warband’s armoury.
Aside from weapons, there was armour, accessories, and entire vehicles, each item unique in its purpose and design. At a glance, I guessed that I could have spent a few centuries studying all the enchanted items on display in an attempt to learn how they worked, and I wouldn’t even be close to getting halfway through the collection.
There was a tremendous amount of wealth and knowledge gathered in this place. I couldn't help but start to consider how I could break my promise to Sozzudon. It hadn't felt like the Infernum had accepted a verbal contract between the two of us, but the issue with Isabella had taught me that it wasn't always that simple.
“Is this all yours?” I asked Sozzudon. “Or did you just ‘inherit’ all of this from Amon?”
The other demon opened his mouth, but apparently thought better of his answer when he saw that the ghost was still following us as a silent judge. “It’s… mostly mine. Some of the… better… items belong to you.”
Isabella ran a finger over a ring that was displayed on the nearby manikin of a female figure, clearly appreciating its design. “Is that the reason why the reports said that you were broke most of the time? As soon as you manage to gather some souls, you spend them on your collection? If I am not completely wrong, that case over there holds a complete set of soul jars. Those cost a pretty penny.” She pointed towards a glass case that was polished to perfection and holding a set of golden vials.
Somehow, Sozzudon managed to look ashamed and defiant at the same time. “You won’t touch any more of my collection, aside from the saber and the spear that is…”
“Which didn’t really belong to you in the first place,” I pointed out.
The demon grumbled, but he led us further into the hall towards its centre, where the spear was displayed on a pedestal like a trophy. Given the arrangement in a central place, I doubted that Sozzudon was truly bothered by the fact that the spear didn’t work for him.
He was a real collector, and as such, an item’s value came primarily with its rarity and not with its power.
I was about to go and get the spear when someone clapped his hands to our left and Ostreios stepped out from behind a large display case with a futuristic armour inside it. “I wondered how long it would take you to come back for your inheritance, Amon.”
Several more demons gave up their hiding spots all around us and Sozzudon groaned, making it clear that these weren’t his minions.
I cursed myself for not sensing their presence. But with all the magical items in this room, picking up on someone else's aura was next to impossible. Even now that I knew, I could just barely make out their magical signatures if I concentrated on them individually.
“It has been a while. Did you really believe that I wouldn’t find you after a proper investigation?” Ostreios continued. “My spies were watching all of the contestants, and had I known that you were planning to blow up half my city, I would have stopped your little scheme to regain your former power before you even started it!”
I blinked, not understanding why a Demon Lord as powerful as Ostreios had the need to pose like this in front of me. “But you didn’t,” I pointed out the obvious. “Though I congratulate you on finding me. I honestly didn't expect you to send spies after the contestants. How did you trace me back to Sozzudon?”
The Demon Lord waved his hand. “You were a nobody who came out of nowhere. Once we started paying attention to the reports, it was clear that you were fairly new. But a nobody doesn’t rise to power just like that. I had my men research all the possibilities and look into everyone of note who entered Gluttony recently. Sozzudon might think himself clever, but he wasn't completely thorough in wiping his tracks. My intelligence staff retraced his movements around Baaar and found the crypt. We analyzed the magical signatures and compared them to yours. From there, it was just a matter of putting the pieces together. Imagine my surprise when I realized that you managed to crawl your way back from death!”
Sozzudon looked mortified, but there wasn't anything that could be done at this point.
I returned my attention to Ostreios. “I am sorry, but I have no memories of the former Amon, just so that you know. The new me is a blank slate.” I gestured towards the ghost. “I am just following the former me's breadcrumbs to find out what my ancestor left behind.”
The corpulent Demon Lord narrowed his eyes. “You are telling me that a mere imp without any experience dared to blow up my competition? Do you really think, that I would believe you such a lie? To have no recollection of Amon? Do you have any clue who I am?”
I raised both hands in a gesture of innocence. “Sorry, was a total coincidence. None of my actions were aimed at your person specifically.” Not that I thought pleading for forgiveness would help much.
That’s when the ghost decided to spit into my soup. “Actually… saying that the little me did it on purpose isn’t too far from the truth. I anticipated myself to go after the nearest concentration of souls as soon as I regained at least a bit of power. Placing my tomb close to Baaar was only a logical conclusion. After all, large demon cities rarely change their position, even if millennia pass by.”
Ostreios’s left eye twitched and he slowly reached for his belt, where a simple gladius materialized out of nowhere. “I am going to kill all three of you, and then I am going to eat whatever is left!”
“Oh, no!” The ghost pulled down the corners of his mouth. “Little Ostreios, you really shouldn’t eat that much. The surveillance system detected that your girth already outshines your mother’s, and she was a well-bestowed woman!”
That apparently did it for the Demon Lord. Unwilling to listen to the recording any longer, he screamed and swung his sword at the closest bystander. In this case, Sozzudon.
Several things happened at once at that moment.
For one, the room suddenly turned pitch black, with the ghostly figure of my projected alter ego being the only thing that still gave some orientation in this unnatural darkness.
While Sozzudon screamed and tried to fight off his attacker, I could already imagine Ostreios’s minions advancing on us.
And then another problem took me by surprise. The sound cut out, and I thought that I had popped my eardrums, but I put that possibility quickly aside when I felt no pain.
The real problem was that this darkness wasn’t the simple absence of light, but a magically created one. No matter what I did, I couldn’t orientate myself. Not even my mana sense managed to lift this darkness.
Then I felt a soft hand interlacing its fingers with mine and pulling me to the side.
I was half-tempted to rip the offender’s arm off but realized just in time that it was Isabella who was holding my hand. In magical terms, she gently knocked against the connection between us, offering me access to her mind. There wasn’t really much choice, aside from stumbling around blindly just like the others, so I took the offer.
And then I saw it. The flailing, reddish outlines of figures all around us who were attacking the spot where I had probably been a few seconds ago. But thanks to Isabella’s intervention, they were now fighting each other in an attempt to find me.
The rest of the world seemed faint and muted, like a blurred picture that didn't give me any sense of the dimensions. But it was enough to know where I was.
“What is this skill?” I whispered to myself.
“Life sense,” Isabella explained coquettishly through our link. She was definitely more focused on our goal than I was at the moment since she pulled me with her towards the pedestal, where the spear was waiting. “I suggest that we make a run for it as long as the mansion’s security system keeps fooling them.”
I had nothing to reply to that and grabbed the spear while we ran past the pedestal. It felt warm and right in my hand, but there wasn't any time to consider it. The two of us were weaving through Sozzudon's collection while we tried our best not to draw any attention from the Demon Lord’s fighting minions. It was actually hard to find our way through the mess, but then the ghost appeared in front of us and made things much easier until we reached another exit.
Time wasn't on our side, and the longer we took, the likelier it was that Ostreios would decide to do something drastic.
We were running down another corridor, led by the ghost when my fears became true. There was an explosion that caused us to stumble and an agonized scream that sounded like Sozzudon's. But there wasn't so much pain in his voice as a sense of loss. Likely, Ostreios had just decided to blow up the entire room.
Trouble was definitely on our heels now in the form of numerous pounding footsteps.
“We have to get out of here,” Isabella suggested while running next to me. “And it will not be easy!”
“No joke!” I laughed. “What did you say, a little army is camping outside the mansion?”
“Probably more than just a little,” Isabella admitted. “I tried to count them while you were reconnecting with your old friend.”
I only scoffed in reply. “How many?”
“Oh, a little over a legion at the very least if I am not completely wrong,” she replied between huffs. “I think he brought all of his elites.”