I’d never seen anything like it. Certainly not for a while.

I stood upon the stage, illuminated by the overhead lights. A warmth and familiarity energizing me. Before me, the largest crowd I had the pleasure of performing for. At least, since joining this world. A packed venue - I was growing in notoriety. This couldn’t be denied.

Sure… the glowing yellow eyes didn’t seem too excited for what they should be expecting, but perhaps in time they would grow to enjoy proceedings. Actually, that was unlikely.

My eyes fell on the special guest sitting dead center in the front row. I smiled at my choice of phrasing there. Syther looked awe-struck, and I hadn’t even begun. He knew as well as I did… the power of my Domain. The spectacle of a grand show.

But… I wasn’t here to make friends. The demonic power within me had granted me early access to the stage, and it was that part of me that was running the performance. Still, old habits died hard.

I removed my hat and threw it across the stage. It landed and slid across the varnished wood before popping up into the air atop my cannon.

Three blasts of confetti, one after the other. Knowing the mechanics took some of the lustre out of the gig, but the audience didn’t deserve my best.

The hundreds of captive faces twisted and groaned as painful Dazzle icons erupted upon them. Damage for everyone - and the upgraded cannon was merciless. Scores of the audience burst, their heads like gore-laden fireworks. The aisles ran with a thick river of viscous blood and liquified internal organs to pool down close to the stage.

The VIP struggled and squirmed, unable to escape the show.

“Please remain seated, sir,” Roger said, my pact demon stepping through the gathering muck to chastise Syther.

It was amusing to see him in his proper rabbit form. Nice to know I wasn’t alone in this show - I could always rely on him.

Still. My opponent was insufferable and unworthy of a decent showing.

“Allow me to end you, just like I did your brother.” My smile widened, and I held my gloved hands up into the air.

This was my Domain. Not even the System knew what I was supposed to be capable of. In some ways, it was a captive of my power, just as I was under it. White gloves soaked through with crimson. Purple electricity arced around my body as I drew forth on my demonic power. Mana reserves totally tanked and I dipped into what health I still had. It… didn’t stop at the usual percentage. I could go beyond it, as my body began to twitch and split.

A crawling feeling inside my skull waved a warning flag. Pressure built up on my scalp, as if two horns wanted to burst through my skin. I tempered the power to prevent that from happening. The whole Domain shook as the timer started to run out on Syther's restraints.

But it was too late for him.

Dust and debris started to fall from the shadowed ceiling. A few zombies were crushed by falling stone and wooden beams. All eyes went upward, before being blinded by the bright red light that bathed the scene. Painted a hellish picture.

A single magic card, easily fifty feet wide, and close to double that tall, cracked through whatever passed as a roof of this faux hall. My hands trembled, the amount of force in trying to control it almost snapping my fingers clean off. Health slowly trickled down, exhaustion started to hit.

The demon was frozen in fear.

“Become ashes,” I growled, pushing the card down on those present.

There was a flash, and the air was knocked from my lungs. Some feeling of vertigo, but little else. Darkness. Something of a close friend at this point. Pain… another awkward companion that I had little choice but go along with.

The patter of rain on my back, and I gasped for air.

Eyes blurry, I tried to push myself up from the hard stone road, immediately vomiting up. Beneath my hands, thick mud or… no, it was the mulched undead. My grip tensed against the thick sludge of the long deceased. Blinking away whatever clouded my eyes was difficult, but I could clearly hear the approach of footsteps against the slick cobblestone.

Eyes of glowing purple leaned down in front of me. Bright white fur that looked so soft and cozy.

“You’ve fucked your left leg, Boss.”

“Is… he…?” I found it a struggle to get enough air into my lungs.

“Yeah. Dead as shit. Here, we need to get out of this place. Where’s the elf?”

My heart did a leap, which was painful given how fragile my insides felt. With little ability to object, I was lifted to my good foot. Roger held me up.

“Go west.” I felt his fur brush against my face as he looked back and forth. Made me feel like it was time for a nap.

“I’m… shit at directions, Boss.”

“Roger… you’re a demon. Just use… our natural overconfidence…”

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

With a grunt, he set off, assisting me through the slippery path that I could still barely see. I should probably let the others know that I was not dead… or at least at present I could state as much. The blue of the STAR menus hurt my eyes and shifted around as if I were on a rollercoaster.

[Max: ren demonm dead]

[Max: sorryy, injurs]

[Fiona: What are you on about?]

[Max: rgr help s hel]

[Fiona: Are you okay? Max?]

A job well done. I allowed myself a smile, which also hurt. Darkened shapes passed and then we stumbled across softer ground. Greenery brushed across me, and I assumed we had headed out of the village and into the woods. Although Roger was pact bound to me, I was humbled by his actual care for my well-being. Could just let me die and he’d be free… or stop existing - it wasn’t clear how it really worked.

We both knew that this was a temporary thing. He’d never been in his full form out in the real world before, and he had a time limit. The goal was to get me far enough away from the scene of the crime that any lurking Crimson didn’t find and finish me off.

“Here… stop a second,” I requested my demon.

He did. It took three tries, but I withdrew a healing potion out of my Inventory to hover in the air in front of my face. Cork out and tilted towards me. Most of it missed my open mouth, but a slight amount of warmth went through me. Ren’s healing charm was already broken. Perhaps in my… fall? Some of the pieces slotted together with the help of the potion. We had been on one of the buildings before my Domain cropped up. After it went away, I must have dropped and landed poorly.

Any further deliberation faded away as darkness enveloped me once more.

A familiar dream, but different. Ahead of me, the demon of crimson, now split in half and fading away. The thrum of energy from his substantial wound reverberating my name. Behind me, the radiance was… distant. Fading too, but a sliver of it snaked through the abyss and connected to me like a tether.

I willed it to be stronger, but it wasn’t improving. Everything was becoming pitch black, threatening to leave me alone with nothing. I had to hold on. Necromancer and Lady weren’t dead yet. I needed the strength.

Slowly, everything ceased to be.

----------------------------------------

Footsteps. My eyes cracked open, and the dim light burned at my eyes despite my current grave being shadowed. Waving green shapes surrounded me as the pace of the soft beats of whoever approached increased.

The rustle of leaves and someone grabbed at the collar of my shirt and lifted me up slightly. Roger hadn’t taken me far enough, and Syther’s group had tracked me down. Oh well, at least he tried his-

Soft lips pressed against mine, an act that resonated with frustrated desperation. They parted away.

“Fuck you. I am this close to breaking your neck myself, Dickbag.”

Another intense lock of our lips.

My brain cycled through all the people I had met in my life. Chances were, this was slightly more likely to be Ren rather than any of the Crimson Shadow.

The pulse of warm healing through me helped that conclusion bear fruit. My eyesight was still blurry, but I blinked away enough gunk to see radiant hair and soft blue clothing.

“Ren?” I croaked.

“Who else, dumbshit?” She ran her hand along the side of my face and tried to help me sit up. “Unless you wanted Fiona to come rescue you?”

“Fiona?” My brow furrowed. “Where’s everyone?”

“About a minute behind, because apparently cardio is a sin.” She brought me in for a hug, and her hair covered my aching face. “I’m still so mad at you, Max. You can’t do that to me. You want to break my heart?”

“No.” I closed my eyes and sighed. “I’m… I’m really sorry, Ren. I’ll make no excuses.”

“You hurt me,” she said quietly. “And you’ll need to earn that trust back. But…” the elf leaned away from me so that she could look me in the face. “I love you, and we’ll get through this. Understand?”

Pain radiated through my heart, remembering the messages she had sent me when the Siren had snatched me away. Don’t leave me. I need you. Guilt was a new thing that my gusto didn’t seem to be able to wash away.

I nodded. After all that she had lost, I was her rock. Protection and guide. I had abandoned her and flaunted a potential death over her own aching heart. Our flame flickered from the gust I had invited, but wouldn’t go out. Time and time again, risking it all... and for what?

“Good. Let’s get you healed up and then you can explain to the others why you’re such an asshole.”

“We have that much time?”

She sighed and held my chin gently. “You look like you’ve been beaten to death by an ox. Even your eyes have been bleeding. Yet still you persist with the humor.”

“Coping mechanism, maybe. Or mental illness.” She was clearer now to my improving vision. Obvious that she had spent the last… however long completely stressed. My heart continued to ache. “How did you find me?”

Her bright blue eyes relaxed. “I will always find you, trickster.”

I chose to take that romantically, rather than as a threat. The simple answer would be her Oathwarden ability. She knew when I was in trouble, and so knowing where I was in trouble wasn’t that big of a leap.

“How did you get out this far with this leg?” She prodded my broken limb, causing a flare of pain to snap up my body. Deserved. “You’re a little way from the village.”

“Roger helped.” I glanced around at my surroundings. It seemed as though he dumped me in a bush when his time was up, maybe hoping it would hide me. Before the elf could reply, a gathering of footsteps came from behind her.

She gave me one quick peck before standing, holding her hand down to me. “Let’s get you out of the shrubbery and into a chair, dickbag.”

I took the extended hand and groaned as I righted myself onto my good leg - or at least the best of the two. A short hop from the grasp of the bush branches and I sunk back into a summoned chair. Ren crossed her arms and gave me a tired glare, as the rest of the Party crested through the grouping of nearby trees to find me.

Relief washed over their faces immediately. Wolf bounded up to me ahead of the others, pushing up beside me before giving me a worried glare.

“Reckless, brother.”

Tanya looked almost as tired as the elf and immediately stepped in front of me to put her hand on my forehead. “High temperature. Report other injuries.”

“Fever. Fractured left leg. Lacerations. Broken ribs. Moderate blood loss. Exhaustion. Trauma.” I read the laundry list of things from my Status menus, skipping over the minor cuts and bruises.

She handed me an idol. “If I see you use Shuffle on any of those maladies, I will break your other leg personally.”

“I’ll help,” Ren offered.

Quinn just shook his head and crossed his arms. “How am I meant to die in your stead when you leave us like that?”

I was humbled, in a way. The fact that this group of strange people cared this much for me. Never wanted to be a leader, but I fit the role because I was a trailblazer. Told Roger about the overconfidence of demons, and perhaps that’s where I got it from as well. Just fated to see how close to the edge I could get, and always believe I could win.

“Firstly,” I began, sighing and looking down at the ground. “My apologies to you all for the worry and betrayal of not teleporting to safety with you.”

I was met with murmured acceptance. They hated it, and would hold it against me, I was sure. But we needed to continue what we started, and they’d soon have bigger problems than how much of a jerk I could be. Still… I had won. The edge was further away than I thought.

“Put on some coffee.” I raised an eyebrow up toward the elf. “And let me tell you all the tale of the most disappointing show I have ever put on.”