COI C59
“Are you really going through this? I am happy you are going to help us to deal with the landmark. We were planning to ask my people for help”
“I’m starting to have second thought here guys”
“We already decided to do it, if something in the sphere has artificial life. I’m probably trying to teach that thing how to teach the students for us”
“Giggle* Then try to get contact with it”
“No problem”
“Hey, we won’t be bringing those probes remember. Now leave your personal devices if you have 2nd spare to waste” “I wish good for all of you”
Thean is surprised by the amount of people want to go the demonic landmark, Fictitious Dreams, Andui’s team with Quail and Alche. However, Thean joined with them just in case. Sadly, they didn’t get the recipe from U’ecin’s surveillance magic scroll and hoping to enjoy watching the adventurers they have within the sphere. O2 had to watch over the simulation room where the others already done upgrading the software, there is nothing they could do any further than having to check all those data. The portal opened, and they are sent to the place where they found within the sphere’s data.
The demon is waiting for them for how many long that the sphere lost control of the data, living only an empty space of information shared and the new owner constricted many dangerous opponents that should protect the sphere’s landmark controls. Grinned living in this creature, data possessed in this landmark where the demon stand. Hold all psyche of many lives, and the correlations of cause and effects. The center creation of artificial conscience, inside the dream protected by daemos. Holding its absolute personal demise of its individual, the hidden world that no living Horsin will find this place.
Quill appeared before the daemos entity, witnessing such creature being part as separate creation. Withering down within this sphere, losing their control by the new ones, pondering each other where the 2nd landmark fell, but they didn’t mention it. Mesmerized by actually done nothing for the previous two controls, the daemos still remained patience for them to come. She still there, waiting for it to respond. It won’t do a thing to accept its silent moment.
“I am your superior, Acurse, you have been wasting all your thoughts by thinking”
Ironic that she speaks, and there to question its patience. Yet she knows what it’s trying to do. Quill had seen before the daemos reaching out the actual people will soon be using and update the sphere to its present world in Horsin. Dare it says to her, the future self it was curious to know. Even the past presence of those people never once known this daemos’ self, ironically, they have already met theirs.
“Trying to imitate their fantasy to this sphere is much of a noble respond for you daemos”
“A humanesque like you who won’t shoulder your natural existence, I have my own wonders to know my real self out there”
“You’ve been there, and I am still here preserving the forever”
Acurse had seek through the hearts and minds of those people, their eyes already see those daemos without it knowing. It is amazed how they remain hiding their true self and continue on as they are, except for one daemos it searched within them. The so called Primarch or Archaic, under the term of Arch is resembling of higher order. As it said among daemos. Acurse didn’t know who this daemos is under the name of Hivites Douhula. For Quill, she knows. Observing the daemos with its appearance constantly changing, knowing well it hides too.
“You already know that the rest of you already getting tired of proving themselves now, even you see that only Soulfate of men came to them without their original mana. The same effects added when they successfully sealed their world away from here”
“They should already know by that when collected the knowledge of that place”
“Don’t act arrogant when with countless millennia of information that are now extinct or evolved”
“Mortally speaking, yes you would say that. For us, we made comfortable for the collection as well”
The sphere warned them about the people are getting inside, Quill’s time to meet them won’t be this one. The request of Acurse had already told her, the rest will not be involved in this either. Where the creations are all gathered to the 5th control where their very existence hides there, including, the exemptions. The place that no one will survive, where the first creator protected it. Quill says her goodbyes
“I’ll be heading to the last landmark, and I’ll be preparing for them. Like you do”
“Certainly, which is it?”
Quill already left, letting the daemos to do its proposition. Raising its magic to the swift atrocity once they appeared before it, all of them comes in seven but one quickly disappears. The agreement remained its grasp where it offered to them, the six people who met it except for few. They were shocked and the demon explains
“I offered, that one . . . heh . . . wasn’t there before”
“What did you do?”
“I have said before that man should know. Then again, I kept my word who accepted. Where’s the other friend of yours?”
Siren didn’t join, and she was satisfied from what see watch yesterday. Too inspired not to go after what Coral wears and how she performed, deciding not to go it’s her choice but she will come back after it is fully operational.
“It’s ironic how almost all of you are not involve who are taking control from the previous landmarks, they rely on so much time to prepare. Let’s get this straight, I already know your objectives and everyone arounds me already accepted your purpose of using it. However, trials are needed to respect it. The previous people did their tribute to test themselves, and in reality, they were already show mercy once they follow our rules”
“Yeah, I guess, we are here what you’ve ask. Can you explain again?”
Alche is the one who is going to talk to the demon. Quail sees another demon but shows itself a mere frail man, hidden away as their powers already in full power. The Fictitious Dream, a place that no living being ever come to this world except for the demons. Ceasing the consequences letting people like them with their powerful abilities, they have the advantages and the number but the demon in front of them had to show its power. Beyond powerful with experience like an immortal, they are here because of the proposition. The demon is waiting for their response of their friend’s fallings.
In their eyes, this is just a sphere. He must be already out of the sphere. Thean quickly comes out from the sphere without even seeing the demons’ landmark. Disappointed and quite obvious that would happen, but where are the others though.
“I’m guessing I was not the part of the deal. Hey, do you know anything about it?”
O2 was focusing on the computer. “About what?”
“Nevermind, I have no idea why I got kick out so fast”
O2 sees Thean out as soon he enters. He did what he asks to do and never thought it would happen so soon. O2 let Thean be on his way where he won’t ask him, continue on waiting for the others to return.
Acurse looks around the people who are before it, looking thoroughly that one of them wasn’t part of the deal. The last one is weakly match their presence but this one had the same powers as them. Quail knows that she wasn’t part of the deal, she heard only by them talking about meeting this demon again. It was her first time operating the sphere alone. Somehow, Alche notices it too.
“I know there is one who wasn’t part of the deal, why not wasting time and do it anyway”
“I would, but there is no fun of it by setting her as an example”
“Alche! Don’t try reminding it who are we brought”
Iggy gets nervous and was about to see what a demonic place they are in, the dream is like any ordinary world of floating lands and airy environment where the backgrounds are full shades of colors roaming around. Less they know that the secret hidden in this dream where is connected by the countless realms fully made by the demons themselves. Surrounded something it can hide, imagination of their mind thinking about the horror and the twisted alike. Barely show any of them feel the environment to be uncomfortable and more of a feeling being bland. The landmark didn’t show all of it, and the demon itself have to show it to them.
The dream starts to transform itself to fits the scenery, with that woman it lays it eyes on. Coral who sees the Soulfate men herself, it would be understandable set to the place in the world of Soulfate. They appeared where the world they can’t recognize, all around them seems to look foreign and life seems to be dark and grim to their observation. They saw something familiar coming from the videos they have watch, and Coral quickly saw the infamous mana flow coming around them.
“I can’t set a place that would you enjoy, what better way to be familiar with when someone met those kind of people”
“Is this . . . Soulfate? The world of those undead beings”
“I guess you can call them that, just enjoy the scenery. The downside of this world is that their sun shines like the moon. Cold of its heat without life coming from it except for mana and souls”
They look around like they are in some dark fantasy settings, no environment to be close to be alive nor dead. Easily to be judge as undead in their first impression. Coral never believed that this world, this depressing world, to exist and lifeless by looking at it.
Alche returns back to the topic.
“Ehem* Again, what do you want from us?”
The demon gives them furniture to sit on and places to rest where they have to enjoy this place. Bad taste of its theme where all around them are in a dead world where they have seats and tables are fine and luxurious to fit their taste.
“Let’s first cut off the introduction, you may know the rules of demons are, right?”
“Yes, we already know. Is there something else you wanted to warn us about?”
Alche responds to the demon with ease, and so far, the demon finally starts the conversation.
“Let’s get back to the chase, we both know that the only way for you from another world to thrive long enough until my kind is ready”
“Ready? Ready for what”
“In time, you will know once your people start to grow”
“I don’t like this, even it dragged us this long. I think we should continue on without its warning”
“I may be blatant since I didn’t exist from your world, there will be a time that the real me would come out. I’ll give you a hint, it won’t act like me but it does act like from one of your people. I’ll tell you this because nothing will change anything even the generations before trying to exterminate us. We will always come back”
Reya and Quail starts to get skeptic about it, where they look at Coral for once she looks rather worried. Seeing Iggy with them being positive aggressive from all things, and this time, she wasn’t so sure what the demon had said to them. Andui is the only one remained calm and collective from all this. She moves forward, Alche is letting her talk with the demon. Andui who always planned out within the school, and her motives why she wanted those students to survive this world.
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“If everything you said is true, then maybe it’s our turn to ask you”
“Please, say away”
They all huddled up, where Reya is already had a list of something to say. Mostly trivia about the past Horsin, the most focus topic is how this sphere last updated. One of them said to Alche,
“This won’t getting us anywhere; we should at least make it short. Reya’s questions are less likely be useful” “How about historically?”
“No, this won’t do. We are facing a sphere with thousands of years in the making inside the computer”
“Uhm, we should let the demon first explain fully. We have gotten ahead of ourselves because this demon offered to us”
“It already warned us about themselves”
“I don’t think that would be the entire source of our problems, the city can handle itself”
Waiting them to speak, the demon kept its patience for a bit. Slowly watch over the Soulfate world, it felt a bit dull to see the world they no longer go there or even summoned here. The miracle of that magic breaks the link between two worlds and will never see it again. Mysteries coming from the Horsin world collecting other worlds instead, a world that had unlimited stolen lives and nature. Cursed to have mana to live, which better than their original once they gain power. The cycles will never end if they don’t break the link, there is nothing else they could do where their future destined to come here.
“In all honestly, demon, we clearly want to know more than we have ever thought of. Would you to tell the safest information?”
“I can, you will be more careful when you mention about the sphere in return. This sphere was not made for your expectation, and soon become an ‘in memoriam’ from what I was created back then. Listen carefully, this is the natural order of what this world meant to do”
The Soulfate’s atmosphere soon faded as it shows them the world as it is, limited by the accursed lost control to the sphere. This demon’s memory shows them the glory of its life in this world.
The dream changed their surrounding from the Soulfate’s world to flashbacks of so many demons hidden from the world. Plotting, scheming, avenging, and imprisoning, Andui and her friends never would have imagined for this demon to show something horrifying where they are surrounded. Scourges, withers, and many more to what they justify as hell, the beginning of its play come along with its purpose.
“Fools! Many livings found the gateway here, the end of the Facosian Journey was over and yet they still travelled here”
“Mortals dare to enter this place, we could just leave this place and let them be trapped if we dare”
“You could see that, wherever that friends of ours continue to steal everything what life had to offer from many worlds. That friend probably left something they could go to, faking this world as their sanctuary”
The demon who said it last sounds familiar, they turn to the demon who they met matches it. Solely by its own appearance was too different and gives them the idea that it was wearing a disguise. As they should to believe, the demons who are there speaking among each other, most of them wanting in common.
“They must all leave, all collections of their lives are bound by this world will forever lost. As demons crave for this exotic creation and their pathetic existence. The Primal won’t be eased letting these pets to live this world for long, more worlds won’t share the same existence and also the key to enter their main world”
“To where those lesser demons to follow them and doom the world by their presence”
Skipping to the next scene, where those unfitted lives of creatures co-exist. The easiest explanation it can show them where the multiple variations of goblin tribes and its spiritual counterparts.
The Primal had still full control to this world, continue on the habitat that nourishes only to the living through the basic elements, Earth, Water, Fire, and Air. Desecrating the creatures like the hybrid of men from Soulfate, and the variations of goblin like Sul Boyz and Gatyas. Ruining the balance of life and death, these exceptions remained exist and kept hidden away where the portals store them as prisons.
“So many surprises me where so many worlds thrive, yet weaker than ours to have existed”
“Likely so, old worlds reunited with us. It would be best to guard the remnants in Abls. Our masters have whispered now”
The broken stories end there where the demon only shows them partially. Many of those demons despised other worlders that have come, yet few of them made this world thrive with so many livable regions. Those lesser demons made this world, and yet, stealing and abducting from other worlds. It is still a mystery what happened then as the world around them change again. Winter, back in their world, in Christmas where many people inside the city frolicking across the public places.
The women feel the place they recognized and bitter to the next, it was mix feeling but home, nonetheless. In their heart, they wanted to go back, and this demon shows them the dream of what must come true to them. They tried to summarize
“There are also other demons wanted us to stay”
“And you demon only told us the safest information it can”
“What the fuck? It gives us so little and was too short. Now it is showing us our world too!?”
“Iggy don’t be agitated like that. You’ve seen those other worlders too”
“Shit! If they are not compatible, they will be trapped like we saw from that canyon, and if they are compatible, they are now their pets. Like what the fuck!”
Showering down by snow, the demon couldn’t make it believable. It reads their mind and follow what they have remembered. Alche on the other hand sees the difference around them.
“Say guys, this Christmas looks a bit older than it looks”
“You think so? Wait what year is this”
Coral couldn’t believe what Alche is trying to say but the environment they are in is nothing like what they remembered. Continue trying to remember even further what they are looking at, and they said the same thing.
“Why is the events and the places before I remembered since we were kids?”
They turn to the demon shows the disguise he is in now, and the frail body shows that used to live and the clothes it wears. Nearly shown that this man is a foreigner, but local to them how he wears. Shocked to see it in old clothes where they used to wear from the trend in 2000s, and more so it speaks the same language without them realizing it. Their devices should have translated properly, but they left it according to what the demon have ask for.
Forgetting they have nothing to bring, and getting used to hear it talking, everyone realized how lost they are at the moment.
“They were here back then, even before the fall. I already heard your question since when the last updated. It was 30 years ago, more or less, I forgot but not this body. It remembered how it got here. I say this again, I prefer your people to leave. They have come this far and probably know the rest what happened to them. I apologized I let you don’t have chances to say anything else. You already knew why”
It smiles at them where the snow continues to fall down to the ground.
The city in snow fell into an unnerving atmosphere.
“But wait, can we at least say something to you?”
“There’s no need, I have offered, and we are here and done that. I am nothing but a creation being updated so long ago. Keep following what you were taught against demons, but never try to kill something that should’ve been sealed like me”
The demon moves back away to the dark, and the snow starts to be raging towards them. No cold entered through the frost and only illusion set in their eyes. They have to decide whether have a chance to talk to it again.
“Alche, do you know anything about talking to demons?”
“I don’t think so, there is no way given chance to let someone go without a price. That demon is probably don’t care about us but cared about this world”
“That suck, even in the sphere and created that same demon. I would love to see it to explain everything after we have full control”
“Let’s see and find out then, everyone starts readying yourselves. I hope we could find it”
“Uhm, Iggy, we are in the dream. We have to read about it and there are countless mischiefs within this place, it is impossible to find it”
Trapped within the dream, they have no idea as they are inside the city snowing. Quail tries to use anything of her abilities to find the landmark, nothing, Iggy tries shouting at the air
“HEY! JACKASS! Where’s the controls”
and Andui thinks it would be the best time to use it. She brings out the soul stone to awaken the elk spirit, it appears before her and ready to listen her order. Reya shows her relief
“Nice work, tell the elk to find the landmark”
“Can that spirit really know what it looks like?”
“Let’s find out”
The spirit elk breaks away the illusion where the controls already in front of them. The orb in front of them already set on the table, the same table that the demon summoned to have to take a seat. The same furniture as before but the demon isn’t here.
“Is that it?”
“I guess so, that was quick”
Coral moves in first and tries to reach the orb, one step closer where she hears voices from the orb. Slowly moving back, as she felt something haunting her mind.
“Hey guys, I want you to come here. I hear something weird from the orb”
Reya and Iggy join her and soon after, they heard it.
“Yeah, did that demon put some kind of spell?”
“I guess so, but it is too painful to come closer”
Andui joins them with the rest, Alche moves a bit closer where Quail comes after, then they hear it again. The voices coming from the orb as the dream starts to rose up, without the demon who controls the room. They started to remind themselves about this place again.
“This must be the same interaction what we did in the simulation room”
Quail guessed it and the difference is that it doesn’t used magic. Without the 1st landmark’s power to interact with them, this is must be the thing would communicate but they feel afraid.
So many voices that they can’t understand but the tone are frightening and enraging to their ears. The emotions it emits, and the sounds fractured by itself with countless more noise. It can’t be stop and continue on hearing it. They feel the horrible sensation of lost and death seeping through their mind. Coral remained strong and try to touch it, once touching the orb her mind bombarded by countless memories of herself. Finding the same words in her head that would match what she remembers in her past, but it is too much, and she let it go from her touch.
Coral breaks it off and told her friends what happened
“This thing pulled my memory lane up . . . and it wasn’t about good memories”
“Is it bearable for you?”
“No, no . . . It would be best not to. It is trying to protect itself then quickly turns wild piling up my worse time in my life”
“Something tells me that demon’s conditions might have save us”
“What are you saying Alche?”
“Without those enemies are coming to get us, we might get tired out mentally when reaches to the orb. I assume it let us do this because it expected less”
It’s Quail’s turn to touch it, she looks around where everyone is trying to find out how to take control of it. She recites the words instructed by Thean as she touches the orb.
“When finally took control the landmark, the most commonly used to handle it through the mind but it will distract yourself by the demonic influence. It is the perfect self-protected landmark where you will be lost inside a dream where it hides in one place. Let it reveal yourself if the mind is clear but need to focus to control it after”
After reciting from her head, she looks straight at the orb where a hand or something holding hers.
Not letting it to let it go where she thinks she could control it on her own, she looks up where the hand leads to. It’s the demon lord, the same demon who was in Thean’s orb. Now reunite for how long, it acts so differently but its iconic jaw dropping up and down is still there. The goat head, the hornless figure, and the human body hidden within a robe. The expression can’t be shown of its skull without flesh. Its fatherly voice returned to her ears, speaking more to her as it wonders.
“My, how you recognized my face but not the body . . . I might have fallen”
“Fallen?”
“There is nothing to worry about and remember to never speak to this from what see each other. Real or not, I am certain that I was there, and you see me now is an illusion, remember that”
Quail nods at it where it released its hand from the orb, the two look at each other. Showing the same act of its voice so fatherly and calm, she wants to ask the phrase that it said to her back then.
"I see, you are here for secrets and the one who gave you didn't mention about it. Then it is time to stop here, I have realized I can't reach you personally, an illusion, I can't tempt you to have power"
Quail said to the demon lord with those same lines, she never forgotten about it and rephrase it perfectly. The demon lord stares at her expressionless as its empty with dead bone, but with its magic. It unlikely it stays silent inside. It spoke
“If you must understand how I was back then, I already know it since they updated me. Even though artificially, I have my pride crushed as if I have gone into lesser evil. There is nothing else I could explain that the original should’ve ruin you if it was real. For I am still a hierarch of the past, I have no reasons to end you”
The presence of it only been seen by her, all around her slowly darkening as if the darkness is her enemy now. Simple and classical of much evil portray to the living, it wasn’t much power released from this demon. Within her powers she tried to release her power before its presence, but it stops like she felt someone hold her off. The demon lord shows its reality before her.
“It’s just a dream, young child”
She wakes up and sees her friends holding off her powers. Commonly formed together with other neutral mana, she didn’t realize her power is reinforced within the dream.
“Quail, didn’t you listen to Coral what she had said?”
“Alche, I!”
“I thought you are having your PTSD, but you are in a daze and reacting to it”
“I’m glad you’re awake Quail but be more careful. You were possessed a bit once you start to use your magic”
“Ugh, Sorry”
Reya is still surprised how Quail lost conscience when she touched the orb, but different interaction. Coral hears voices of her past memories, while Quail stay quiet and starts to act weirdly when she returns back to her senses. In all entirely, her power was mixing in some demonic presence. This place is getting complicated as long as they stay here.
Alche is comparing the difference of their subconsciousness, calling out the voices are related to the sphere. Meaningfully through his observation, the sphere is connecting that is related something supernatural. Quail stood silence and starting to get possessed, he can’t try to pry further why she had that effect. The next guess he had to do is asking Andui.
“The elk, can it also touch the orb?”
“I don’t know, we could try it”
Andui summoned the elk and try to touch the orb. Climbing up to the table with its hooves. It looks weird how it does it but they are keep trying.
Once touching the orb, it tries to link through the spirit’s mind. Too complicated of how it feared but somehow it managed to pop out something from its head. A random elf appeared only to the elk seeing with no life of its own. The elf tries to reach to the spirit where the soul stone starts to get corrupted, Andui stops it and the elk disappeared including the elf.
“That was horrifying, a ghost elf suddenly appeared when the spirit elk touch it”
“Yeah, I’m sorry Alche. I am worried that the elk spirit will break if we continue like this”
“Sigh* it’s fine”
The demon secretly hid from a far waiting for these people trying to figure it out how to open the well protected orb. Their mind isn’t strong enough to withstand the horrible demonstration of the demonic distraction. It is silly to call everything demonic by itself, but boredom of its mind kept creeping again and again when they are trying to figure it out. The demon finds out by not letting Quail leave and that other demon appeared before it. The hornless skull goat is here, and together will be the last example of why not letting them reconnect the other demons through desires, nightmares, and also doom.
“That young girl, how did she managed to reach me? I have been gone and sealed away like you”
“You are entirely banished according to the updates, but mine is waiting for the coming of the summons. I am not that far to be returned as their idol once again”
“If they leave before one of us returned . . .”
“That’s unlikely, it must be that demon who summoned them here”
“Then my collection should’ve been reawakening their memories if it happened”
“And they must end it, or they will continue to repeat their miserable lives”
Both of them laugh devilishly and charmingly along with their mature tone.