Eskion sat with a start. He yawned and crawled out of bed, slipping into his slippers he sauntered over to his mirror and stared, Grey eyes stared back at him, he styled his hair in a faux with the tips dyed blue, he closed his eyes and once he opened them he wore a frilled white shirt and a black long jacket and black breeches, being god was useful for things like this, he cleansed himself ten paused and rubbed his eyes a few times.

A knock on the door startled him and he walked over to the door, throwing it open with a grunt, His new teacher stood beyond the door

"Sensei?" Eskion blinked surprised

"Lord djaka wants you" His teacher said in his monotone voice

"Why?"

"I have no idea" Volkia shifted uncomfortably

Eskion furrowed his brows, his teacher was skittish at best but he had reason to be, eskion had come to understand he hated any form of interaction; well interaction with people at least, the desserthound beside his teacher yipped and eskion squatted to pat the dessert hound who licked him

"Heya Aradon" The hellspawn grinned and looked up when his teacher cleared his teeth

"Oh yeah, i'll see him immediately" Eskion said

"You should" His teacher said and turned on his heel, Aradon went with him

"Sensei, won't you come in at least?" Eskion called after his teacher

"No" Volkia said without looking back

'The people in this place aren't exactly social, i wonder why?' Eskion thought as he stood and then sighed, he conjured some boots and donned them on, tossing his slippers into his room, he shut his door and locked it then started off, he walked calmly through the halls, thrush be told, he had no idea where he was going but he felt a thread pulling him through the maze that was the darkspace, he paused in front of the huge double doors that stood at least a hundred foot tall, he couldn't quite tell the kind of wood that was used in constructing the masterpiece, he exhaled as he grabbed the brass knocker

"Come in" He heard a voice say from beyond the door and the doors swung inwards in response to it

The ask boy stepped into the dim room and the doors shut behind him, he remembered the last time he had been in here, it wasn't different; candles still illuminated the room, his Dematrix sat in a corner where the light could't reach, a tea table lay in front of the man, a teapot sat on it and eskion was sure the man was sipping tea

"You called for me… Dematrix" Eskion said

"It's still Hereclea" His dematrix said genuinely

"Of course Hereclea" Eskion exhaled

"By now, you must have heard of the others such as you - " Hereclea started

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"The hellspawns?" Eskion interrupted

"Them too" Hereclea smiled

"What gives? You said i was the first" Eskion said peeved

"Sit down" Hereclea said and a chair materialized beside the ask boy who sat

"I lied" He said simply

"W-what?" Eskion let his jaw drop

"Everybody lies" Hereclea shrugged " Tell me, how did you come to know?" He continued

"E-Erdna said so" Eskion stuttered

"It's a mystery how quickly you gather pawns" Hereclea said

"She is not a pawn" Eskion growled and balled his hands into fists

"I suppose so. She is special" Hereclea said

"How can you talk to you talk about your daughter like - like she's some toy?" Eskion grit his teeth

"She is my creation" Hereclea said non comitally and then added "she is useful"

"Is that it then, she's just a time glass?" Eskion hissed

"I admit at first, it seemed advantageous and now, it's troublesome" Hereclea said

"You're scared of her" Eskion blinked

"Tell me something, why would i be afraid of a gift that i gave to her?" Hereclea asked calmly

"… Are you a god then?"

"A god, why in the world would you think that?" Hereclea asked amused

"Well… You're a creator" Eskion said matter of factly

"Anybody can create" Hereclea said and then smiled "What am i?Something i've asked countless times, once i was human"

"Eh?"

"And now… I am pure unbridled power" Hereclea said

Eskion felt the pressure in the room steadily rising, the teapot cracked and he felt his muscles tear

"Demitrix" He gasped and it was gone, just vanished.

"I had potential like you did, i stood where you are now" Herecea said

'What a monster' Eskion thought as he healed himself, he was almost crushed from a small release of essence 'Was this what Erdna meant when she said she had been around people that could kill her with a thought'

"Where i am now?" He asked

"A tool in the hands of someone much more powerful than i was" Hereclea said

"I am not your tool" The Esk glowered

"Oh?" Hereclea grinned and once more the pressure in the room began to mount

'C-crap'

At first Eskion withstood it and then was was overwhelmed, the chair beneath him splintered and then broke into pieces, he fell face up to the floor, cracks covered the floor and the ask boy couldn't breathe, his ribs were being crushed underneath the pressure

"Your unrepentant behavior, your inability to bend to others; it was amusing when you stood on your own but now you stand in my shadow, You are mine to do as i see fit and YOU WILL BEND, and if you still refuse - i will break you" Hereclea said detached

"D-" Eskion chortled as blood spewed from his mouth

The pain was gone in an instant and once again he was sitting across Hereclea, the room was back to its original state, Eskion blinked shocked, he grasped at his chest and then let his eyes wonder, the crack on the tea pot was gone too

'D-did i just fucking imagine that?'

"Another perk" Hereclea said calmly

'It was real' Eskion thought wide eyed

"You are special, dare i say; a prodigy. But you are, like every other thing in the Ather, you are replaceable" Hereclea said

"Is that why you called me here then to remind me of my place" Eskion glowered

"Partly" Hereclea said "I wanted to formally welcome you to the inner fold" He added

"The inner fold?" Eskion arched his eyebrows

"The outer plane is where you reside, a place drifters and such reside in exchange for a small price, the inner fold is where my people reside" Hereclea pause and set his teacup on the table in front of him

"Did you plan this from the start?" Eskion asked

"Perhaps" Hereclea said

"You're not very straightforward" Eskion thought out loud and gulped, he had spoken his mind without thinking, he was rewarded with a chuckle

"Only one other person has said that to me" Hereclea said amused

"S-sorry" Eskion stuttered

"You are quite the popular one, you'll be on team 1" Hereclea said

"I'm on a team?" Eskion asked surprised

"You didn't think i'd let you act out alone, did you?" Hereclea asked

"I-i guess not"

"Find Erdna, she'll introduce you" Hereclea aid and refilled his cup, eskion stood and turned to go, the conversation over, he felt faint.

He blinked and like the last time was teleported out of the study, he stared at the great door and sneered then sighed and turned on his heels