After Velvet said those words, the second petition was made, with eight remaining. Even when they were inside a dream, the deal went through.

Since pronouncing Andras’ name provoked a reaction in the dream, it made sense His authority reached inside too. Lothrigern had warned her from saying it too much, after all.

Frenese didn’t move, but Velvet could hear his skin leeches wriggling around. “First, you need to acknowledge the situation in this dream. Why was he chained and not killed?”

Velvet spoke. “He doesn’t need food or water, and, even when the chains are digging in his body, he never bleeds out.”

The meaning behind her words were clear. Immortality.

Humming, Frenese continued. “The only reasons something can live once totally suppressed are: usefulness or True immortality. For someone to be sealed by the Father of Devils and others, usefulness can be discarded. Leaving immortality in its place.”

Hm, as a devil, he only made sure to mention Andras’ title. Velvet took note of that, but didn’t say anything about it. "Like a chosen one?"

"Chosen ones don't have True immortality. Once their fate is fulfilled, they die like normal humans. True immortality is exactly what it sounds like. Someone unable to die. Someone who holds a position above the conceptual Goddess of Death, becoming unable to have their existence severed.”

Velvet listened in silence.

“That category belongs to Higher Beings. Higher than deities and higher than conceptual gods.” Frenese stopped, waiting for her to understand him.

"Like the Father of Devils and the Father of Fairies?" She said, not using Their names, but Their titles, as to not activate the dream’s formation.

Or summon Lothrigern.

"Exactly. But there are more aside from them. For example, the Primordial Devils."

Primordial… Velvet mused over that word. Frenese called himself a devil, not a Primordial Devil. "What's the difference?"

"Primordial Devils were the first prototypal creations who would become devils in the future. Immortal, they represented the evil, dark and cruel side of creation, inhabiting the material realm together with primordial demons before humans were created."

"And what happened?" She asked. Since their contract implied that the information obtained from using a petition had to be satisfactory to her, Frenese was giving some unrelated but useful information as an addition.

"Humans happened. Humans had no possibility of survival with Primordial Devils and demons around, and, after two human extinctions, the Creators killed all the primordial demons, and sealed all the Primordial Devils for eternity.”

Velvet’s smile twitched at that. “That… does differ from the Tales of Creation.” The Tales didn’t mention any extinction, and that humans were created by the terrenal gods, like Dodon and Arhontissa, not by other entities.

“Our Deal prevents me from lying, so either what I believe is a lie, or what you’ve been told is a lie. Or maybe both are right at once, who knows?” Using a rather sarcastic ‘I am right’ tone, Frenese continued. “After that, they created Hell, and put the newest species of devils and demons inside."

She sighted. As a human who had seen a devil in action, her feelings about the idea of a more dangerous, unkillable version of them were more than unnerving. "Do you think the chained man is a Primordial Devil?"

"Of that, I'm not sure. Primordial Devils aren't the only immortal beings permanently sealed who exist. The Creators never were picky about sealing what cannot be killed, and killing what didn’t need to be sealed."

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“Then why make them unkillable?” She asked.

“That’s something you should ask Them, not me.”

Velvet pondered for a bit. "Apart from the Father of Devils and the Father of Fairies, how many Creators exist?" She had never heard that term until Frenese used it, but it didn’t take too much brainpower to connect the dots as to who Frenese was referring to.

If she were to ask him now what the Creators were, he probably would say something like ‘Knowledge mage, did you even listen?’.

"Eleven. Calling them Creators is simplifying it a lot.” Frenese let out a deep sigh, who resembled a growl more than any other thing. “They are the harbingers of life, the surrogates of creation itself, the stars of continuity.”

“They are the Deriliam."

…

“Deriliam…” Velvet repeated to herself. That’s what Andras and Lothrigern were. She didn’t have a name to refer to Them before, but now she had.

She started thinking, her brain connecting everything Frenese was saying to what she already knew, starting to drag out some conclusions.

For starters, Frenese said that there were only eleven of them, so the idea of the Chained Man being a Primordial Devil could be discarded. Why?

Because Lothrigern showed up without a summoning chant. For a Deriliam known to have the ability to show up anywhere His name was said, corrupting whoever said His name, causing their death, He had allowed Velvet to use His name a few times, one of those with a summoning chant.

And she was still alive. Chanting His name only made Him send a pixie for protection, who didn’t even ‘ask’ for a gift before leaving.

That could only mean one thing. Lothrigern wanted something from the Chained Man, something He had been unable to get after all the years he was chained, and was using Velvet as a way to get it.

What will happen to me once He gets it? She wasn’t really optimistic about her future if Lothrigern obtained whatever He was after.

But, that also meant that her chances of eventually reaching the Chained Man weren’t zero. If Lothrigern putting some ‘trust’ in her meant something, that was the biggest possibility.

Of course, that came with another question.

“Why do you think I can enter this place?” That was one of the things she still had no answer to, and hadn’t obtained a single clue.

Frenese’s silence didn’t give her any hope, and he soon confirmed her suspicions. “To know that, first we should know who the sealed one is, why he was sealed and how he was sealed.”

Sure, just lemme ask Lothrigern real quick. Velvet wanted to say. “Do you have the name of another Deriliam? This place reacted to the Father of Devils’ name, showing part of its formation and almost making me lose control.”

Frenese stared at her in silence. She didn’t see him stare at her, but she felt it. “And you want me to say one to see what happens?”

“No.” Velvet shook her head, even when she wasn’t sure if Frenese could see her, or was simply pretending to. “The deal prevents us from trying to harm one another, which I’m sure will happen if you do that. Just give me the name in pieces.”

“Ha.” Frenese started. “Every name costs one petition.”

Velvet thought he was mocking her at first, but she soon realized it wasn’t a laugh.

“Ah. This one is included on the petition you just did.”

“Shi. But the next ones won’t be.”

“This Deriliam… what did They create?” She interrupted to ask, feeling the dream darkness shift, even when the name wasn’t fully being said. Was it the intent?

Even so, she still wanted to know. Andras created demons and devils, while Lothrigern created fairies. Which Creator was this one?

“Mor. What did She create, do you ask?” Frenese let out a single chuckle.

“Ga. You should know already, after rejecting your chance at reincarnation.”

Mages were unable to reincarnate. Once a human soaked their body, their mind and their soul under the Primeval Sea, becoming a mage, their chances of a next life ended.

In some way, mages progressively abandoned their humanity, until they died or the corruption became too much.

Velvet was already aware of that, having taken that step in the known.

“Nia. And choosing to carry Her eye.” Frenese stopped talking, which meant he was done.

He didn’t explicitly say what the Deriliam created, but gave enough clues for Velvet to get her own answers.

The Mother of Witches, Haashi Morgania.