It was a typical morning in the largest kingdom in the Underworld – the Demon Kingdom. The sun didn't shine. How could it? After all, it was a world set below the surface. The wind wasn't blowing. Because once again, there was no wind in the Underworld. And there were no blue rivers or vast oceans where one could cool down their body or quench their thirst.

Instead, darkness spread everywhere, like a thick blanket covering every nook and cranny. Lava rivers flowed like an ever-present reminder of doom and death, while vegetation died due to a lack of sunlight. But even in this dark place, there was life. And there was also happiness.

In the very center of the Underworld stood a tall, black castle. The light from its windows shone like beacons in the vast dark, illuminating the city around it. At the foot of the castle there was a yard filled with dark hedgy bushes with an occasional pathway that was illuminated by a magical orb light. In the middle of this yard stood four figures.

First was a demon girl in her late teens. Her eyes, hair and horns were just as black as the darkness around her, but she wore a warm smile on her face that seemed to repel the gloom away. Second was a young elven boy with hair that shone like sunlight and eyes as red as rubies. His eyes spoke of the suffering he had endured but also of hope for a better future. Third was a dragon with shimmering red scales and eyes green as lush meadow grass. It wagged its tail in excitement while looking at the final figure.

The final figure was a little demon girl about the same age as the elven boy. Her hair flowed like fire down her shoulders while her silver eyes were focused on the canvas in front of her. She held a brush in her hand and was painting meticulously, paying attention to every small detail on the canvas. Her brushstrokes were measured and precise. Nothing that she painted was out of place.

However, as the painting on the canvas neared completion, her eyebrows began to furrow and sweat started beading on her forehead. All three figures watching her, including the dragon, also tensed as they noticed her strain. But the girl kept painting. Her hand began to tremble, but she persevered until the very last brushstroke when she collapsed.

"Morri!" Deziara called out in shock as she watched her sister collapse. However, Haku had already sensed that she was nearing her limits and had jumped forward to cushion her fall.

"Thank you, Haku," she said weakly, her body slumped over the dragon's neck. He gently shuffled his body underneath hers, propping her up on his back.

"Are you alright?" Deziara ran up to her, making sure that Morrigan was secure on Haku's back and wouldn't slide off.

"Yeah, I'm alright. It just takes a lot of energy," she said with a smile.

"T-This is incredible. You really can create stuff you paint," Galandir said walking up to the round fountain which stood in the middle of the Demon Castle yard. The middle of it was made to look like a dragon, Haku specifically, and it was spewing out water which then fell down, creating a gentle mist around it.

Deziara turned to look at the fountain and exclaimed in admiration. She ran up to it and reached out her hands to feel the little water droplets fall. Haku also walked up to it, making sure to move slowly so as to not drop Morrigan. He sniffed at the falling water and then sneezed as it got inside his nostrils. His tail began wagging enthusiastically and the only reason the dragon didn't jump around the fountain was out of consideration for Morrigan.

"It's astounding that you even created water for it. I wonder if it'll run out at some point," the elf wondered, examining it left and right.

"I believe it's reusing the same water it is spewing, but since some of it is going over the edges, we'll probably need to refill it occasionally," Morrigan said, finally gathering enough strength to look at her creation properly. It was just the same way she had envisioned and drawn on the canvas, down to the very last detail, albeit a bit smaller.

She was still in awe of the power she acquired through the Burmese Ruby. Anything she could paint on a canvas, she could turn into reality. Of course, such an ability didn't come without any drawbacks. Each time she attempted to create something it would drain nearly all of her magical energy, making her unable to create anything else or use any magic for that matter until she recovered.

It's been a month since she acquired this ability and yet she had only used it four times, including the fountain she had just created. First time, she turned the floor in her and Alphegor's living room into grass. Her father was beyond elated about this ability. The servants who had to scrape all the grass off and replace it with a new floor were not.

The second time she used it to create a simple rubber ball. It didn't have nearly as much energy to create and made a great toy for Haku, who loved chasing it around. Granted it only survived for about three days, before being torn to shreds. Then she tried to create an oak tree in the yard, but apparently, that proved to be too much as she fainted and in the end the tree wasn't complete. It was much shorter than she had drawn and didn't have any leaves. Azrael guessed that she didn't have enough magical energy to create it.

However, this fountain seemed barely within her capabilities.

"How did you come up with something like this? I've never seen such an unusual thing before in my life. It's like a bath, only too shallow and too cold to actually bathe in," Deziara said as she watched the water droplets fall.

"There's no fountains in the Underworld?" Galandir asked.

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"No, not really. The closest thing we have to something like this is a volcanic eruption," Deziara explained, and Morrigan realized that she had once again created something that did not exist in the Underworld. Everyone was really surprised by the rubber ball as well since rubber as such didn't exist in Doppelta.

"If anybody asks, you gave the idea for it," she said to the elven boy who nodded absentmindedly while dipping his hand into the fountain.

"But this is great! You could paint and create those wonderful human things that you've told me about. Like smart pone and lap topper," the black-haired girl cheered.

"You really should have started with those," Azrael spoke up, suddenly appearing next to the fountain.

"When did you get here?" Deziara hissed at him, taking a step back.

"I sensed a large amount of magic gathering in the castle yard and came to check it out. This is pretty neat, Princess. But a laptop and smartphone would indeed be a much better choice," Azrael hummed.

"I don't know if I can create them in a working condition. Perhaps it would be no better than a plastic brick. And if by some miracle I am able to create a working laptop, you wouldn't be able to watch any of your videos either way," Morrigan said.

"Huh? Why not?" Azrael gaped at her in shock.

"Because there is no Wi-Fi in the Underworld," she replied blandly.

"What is this… waifai?" Deziara cocked her head curiously.

"It's like an invisible network that allows computers and phones to connect to the Internet," she said, but then realized how useless that explanation was for people who have no idea what radio waves or Internet or even electronic devices are.

"What is enternet?" Galandir asked.

"It is special human magic that allows them to find whatever they want on laptops and smartphones. Music, books, live performances, and long-distance communication are all possible because of it," Azrael said sagely and both Deziara and Galandir looked impressed.

"It is not magic at all. It's just too difficult to explain. Can we return to this some other time?" Morrigan said, exhaustion taking over her body.

"Yeah, you seem rather tired. I'll help you get back to your room," Deziara went up to Morrigan, helping her get off Haku.

"Come, Haku. We'll have to return now," the elven boy tapped on the dragon's shoulder. Both of them returned to the stables.

"Here, let me help," Azrael suddenly went up to Morrigan and lifted her up in his arms, princess-style.

"Hey, I'll get back to my room with Deziara's help," she protested and tried to squirm out of his grasp.

"Oh, shush. That'll take forever. Besides, there's no need to get embarrassed now. I used to carry you all the time when you were small."

"But I am not small anymore," she objected.

"You still look small to me," Azrael grinned and began walking.

"Take proper care of her now, Azrael. I'm going to show this fountain to Mom," Deziara said excitedly and in a matter of seconds disappeared within the castle. Morrigan grumbled, being left alone with the demon, but at the same time, she was just too exhausted to resist.

Before long, they had gone up to the highest floor of the Demon Castle where all the royals lived. Morrigan and Alphegor's room was at the very top. Azrael knocked on the door before entering.

"Who is there?" Alphegor asked from behind the door.

"It's Azrael, Your Majesty. I have brought your princess back," he said with a self-satisfied smile, while Morrigan pouted. The door opened, and Alphegor's face filled with worry as he saw her weakened state.

"What happened?" the King asked and hurriedly took Morrigan in his own arms.

"It's nothing serious, Father. I merely exhausted all my magic while creating a fountain," she said awkwardly.

"But it was successful this time. I believe the Princess has found her upper limit for the ability," Azrael explained, and Alphegor's expression relaxed.

"That is good. It means you won't be exhausting yourself to this point in the future," Alphegor looked sternly at Morrigan, who blushed and looked away from her father's strict gaze.

"I'll make sure that she stays within her limits," the white-haired demon said with a smirk.

"Good. You're dismissed," Alphegor said. Azrael gave a quick bow before disappearing into the shadows. The King then closed the door and brought Morrigan into their shared living room.

Her side of the room had turned even more colorful and messy than before. Morrigan had been busy thinking about what sorts of things she could create and how to properly create them. She had a feeling that she needed to fundamentally understand the thing to properly create it. So she was sketching many mundane objects from every possible angle to better understand them.

Alphegor carefully set Morrigan down on the sofa and she instantly sunk into the cushion, letting her body relax and recover. He put his hand on her forehead, and she felt a bit of magic flow into her body. It was like a breath of crisp, fresh air and she instantly felt much better.

"Thank you, Father. I'm sorry for pushing myself so hard. I'll be more careful next time," she said, sitting up on the sofa.

"It's alright. I understand your curiosity about this new ability. It is certainly worth developing it and strengthening it further. What did you create?" he asked, and she pointed towards the window.

"A fountain. I think you can see it from here," she replied rather proudly. Alphegor went up the window and looked down. For a minute he disappeared, probably having gone to take a closer look at her creation. Then he returned with a satisfied smile on his face.

"That is a very nice creation," he hummed with satisfaction.

"I know right!" she cheered in response.

"But you'll have to be careful with what you create. You cannot start creating things from Earth or even the Overworld," Alphegor said sternly.

"Huh? Why not?" Morrigan felt shocked, after all, she had been looking forward to recreating things from Earth.

"Because somebody could realize that those things are not from this world. People from other worlds exist in Doppelta so somebody could figure out that you were a human before. And if that were to happen, I could not let you remain as Crown Princess," Alphegor explained. Morrigan's shoulders slumped, and she nodded.

"I understand, Father. I won't create things from Earth," she said dejectedly and quietly wondered whether it really be such a bad thing to lose her title.

"Good girl!" he patted her head, but Morrigan felt no relief from the gesture.

If only I could create some things to make stay in this castle more bearable. Because I feel like I am suffocating from the neverending dark.