"Is this what you call the Planes of Creation?" Senon asked, lifting her gaze to the myriad stars above in the nightmare night-sky of this desolate place.

Four moons were visible in the sky, and the clouds partly covering them whirled into themselves as if great vortices of cosmic cataclysm. Of the four moons, one was red, one was blue, one was pure white and the other blacker than the space around it. The red moon in particular seemed cracked, with chains of blackened fissures running across its surface.

"No," Ain said, staring at the sky.

Other objects occupied the dark sky, not just moons. The distant glimmers of light were visible, though it was unclear what they belonged to. A strange refraction washed over the sky, warping space itself seemingly, but it was difficult to spot clearly.

"These are the Exoplanes," Ain said. "You won't find the Pillars of Creation here; we are too far away."

Senon couldn't wrestle her gaze away from the broken, desolate sky. "Is there a difference? All the Planes are supposed to be strange, chaotic realms."

Ain nodded. "The Planes of Creation still have the Logos in them."

"The Logos?" Senon asked.

"Fate, destiny, the Pattern. There are as many definitions as there are opinions. The Logos is Creation itself, navigating us through an endless sea of Chaos and imagination," Ain explained. "Whether it has a Will or not, that is debatable. What you are looking at is Chaos itself."

Senon pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Isn't Chaos evil?"

Ain burst out laughing. "Evil? No." He shook his head. "Chaos is just Chaos. An infinite field of infinite potential and possibility. Here, the principles of Reality converge and diverge, and you won't be punished for using Source magic. In fact, everything here uses Source magic, and you won't be able to use any other type of magic."

"I can't use normal magic here?" Senon asked.

"Of course not. There is no Radix here either."

"Are we going to be all right?"

Ain rolled his shoulders. "Radix magic isn't really my specialty. We'll be fine. Come," he said, beckoning to Senon with a gesture of his hand. "Stay close."

"Where are we going?" Senon asked, hurrying to Ain's side, but still staring at the sky as traceries of flickering fire of indescribable color webbed across the firmament like lightning.

"We are looking for something. An Idol."

"An Idol?"

"There are many classes of creatures here; an Idol is one of them," Ain explained.

With each step, under their feet, crystallized bursts of colors expanded outwards, going through the electromagnetic spectrum of color in its entirety - and then some - before fading into nothingness.

To Senon this all appeared like she was dreaming. There was so much to the world that she didn't even know about. Ain's statement that 'Radix' magic wasn't even what he was good at dealt a blow to her confidence, but at the same time inspired a sort of curiosity within her and a desire to improve herself. To think that there was a place where Radix magic - her specialty - was not a relevant factor was almost inconceivable. But she was staring reality - or whatever this was - straight in the eye and in the reflection she saw she was like a newborn babe; weak and clueless.

She obeyed Ain's word to the letter, even going as far as to thread her arm under his and pin it against her, albeit flat, chest. At first, she wasn't even aware of what she had done, but within moments, color rose to her cheeks, but she persevered anyway. It wasn't the time for romantic thoughts.

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In the distance, thunder roared, but it wasn't an ordinary sound. It sounded reversed and distorted, flickering in and out of the human - and demonic - hearing range.

"How far is this Idol?" Senon asked, casting a wary glance about herself. The more she thought about it, the less beautiful this place seemed. To consider it beautiful, to begin with, was a stretch. It was a desolate plain, and the ground was made of dirt with the hardness of diamonds. The ground sparkled at the fraying edges of perception, and what flora could be seen was a twisted and withered approximation of what one might find in Creation itself.

"You are misunderstanding how the Exoplanes work, Senon. There is no distance here; every direction extends into infinity, unless you were a hyperspatial creature." A pause. "Maybe even if you were such a creature, it would still be infinite."

"Then how are we supposed to find this thing then?"

"We just walk towards it. It is that simple," Ain said.

Senon scoffed. "How is that simple? Just walk towards it? How do you even know in which direction it is?"

"It doesn't matter. There is no such thing as directions here either."

Senon shuddered, eyes wide open. The explanations flew right over her head. She could not even comprehend their meaning - things like direction and distance were extremely important to a creature used to normal physics of existence.

"So, you just... walk towards it?"

"Yes," Ain said, nodding his head. "You walk, desiring to reach your intended destination. Does that help?"

"And it doesn't matter which way you walk?"

"Not one bit."

"For how long do you walk?" Senon asked.

Ain shrugged. "Could be seconds. Or maybe centuries."

Senon blinked. "How do you know you are getting closer?"

"Like I said... there is no..." Ain trailed off and then shrugged. "You don't. You just have to be stubborn."

Senon nodded, apparently done with the interrogation.

Ain was just glad Senon didn't ask him how time worked in this place. Not even Ain was sure on the specifics, if he had to be honest.

On the other hand, Senon didn't mind the idea of spending a few centuries alone with Ain. Even as a pride demon, she was aware of the vulnerability in her heart which was entirely dedicated to him; why she felt the way she did about him, she didn't really understand. But she couldn't help it either. It was not something she could decide or even change. She resented that part of her, but at the same time, she was ecstatic about the idea that Ain could finally come to see her as more than just his first disciple.

Senon had just began enjoying her stroll through the chaos realms with Ain. She closed her eyes, and for several minutes traveled with him, enjoying the distant sounds and faint scent of a sea breeze combined with the freshness of snowy, ice peaks atmosphere. It was all a whirlwind of sensation, and through her closed eyelids, she could see bursts of color in the distance, blooming like fireworks and fading into the infinite blackness. She imagined herself spending eternity here with Ain; she even allowed herself to imagine building a house here, for the two of them. In her imagination, there even was a calm, blue pool reflecting the colors of the four moons, and the myriad stars around them.

Then Ain stopped suddenly, and without warning.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Ain's expression first - horrified - and then she saw what Ain saw.

A butterfly.

Senon looked back at Ain, trying to discern if perhaps she was looking at the wrong thing - but no, without a doubt, Ain's eyes followed the butterfly with an expression she never saw before - terror.

The butterfly had multicolored violet-red wings, with darkening, shifting splotches of darkness, sparkling in such a way as if they were diamonds, scattering light in all colors.

"Is that the Idol?" Senon asked warily.

"No," Ain said, regaining his composure and gently pushing Senon away. "That is not the Idol."

The butterfly flew towards Ain, and he casually extended his hand forward, palm turned upwards for the butterfly to land in. And despite his casual motion, there was something very formal about Ain - as if he was in the presence of a superior. His back was entirely straight, and there was an invisible energy to his tension.

"We are only seeking the Idol," Ain said, inclining his head to the butterfly on his palm. "We do not wish to disturb You."

"There are no Idols here anymore, Child," the voice came from everywhere and nowhere at once. It echoed from within Senon's mind and, in that moment, she felt the gaze of the creature upon her, and that gaze felt as if it belonged to an inconceivable entity. In a way, she understood why Ain was so formal.

"Then we will depart and leave You in peace," Ain said.

"No." The butterfly launched off of Ain's palm and flitted towards Senon, landing on her shoulder instead.

"What is it You want?" Ain asked, without moving a muscle - not even to turn around and look upon the butterfly.

"I want this Child," the voice replied. "She will be My Fragment."

Ain narrowed his eyes. "No," he replied defiantly, turning to face the butterfly. A crackling sheet of energy appeared around his body, as he exhaled. His formal demeanor disappeared, replaced by open hostility.