"Greetings... Demigods."

These words confirmed to Klaus that the two demons before them were the expected guides Sage had mentioned before their departure. The female demon maintained a smile as she addressed the demigods.

"We were instructed to meet you here and welcome you to our reality," she began, capturing the attention of all the demigods present. After a brief pause, she continued, "Pardon my rudeness for not introducing ourselves sooner."

Clearing her throat, she added, "My name is Xhin, and this is my twin brother, Jhin. Welcome, once again, to Nyxia."

As Xhin concluded her introduction, Klaus noticed something odd and unfamiliar, prompting him to question it. "Nyxia?" Klaus asked. "What's that?"

Xhin's smile widened as she turned her attention to Klaus. "Well, similar to how humans refer to the Main World as Earth, we call our reality Nyxia," she explained.

Her explanation seemed satisfactory to Klaus, who decided not to press further. Noticing his understanding, Xhin smiled warmly at him.

Before any further conversation could unfold, Jhin spoke up for the first time since their arrival. "If you're done with the small talk, can we proceed to the destination?"

Everyone turned to Jhin, who remained stoic and unyielding.

"Where exactly are we headed?" Arthur asked, curiosity evident in his voice.

Instead of answering, Jhin turned his attention away and began walking off. Arthur's expression turned to one of annoyance, which Xhin quickly noticed.

"I apologize for my brother's attitude," Xhin said to Arthur. "As for your question, we are to accompany you to a hotel where you will stay temporarily until the preparations for your welcome are completed."

After her explanation, Xhin bowed slightly and followed her brother. The demigods exchanged glances before following the twin demons.

As the group made their way to their destination, Klaus took the opportunity to analyze the situation. He observed that it was nighttime in Under World, which was strange considering they had just departed from Higher World at daybreak according to Earth time.

"I'd expected it to be daytime right now," Klaus mumbled to himself.

A few meters ahead, Xhin turned her attention back to him as if she had heard his quiet remark despite the distance. "Daytime?" she questioned. "Oh, you mean the time of day."

Klaus glanced at her as she slowed her pace, momentarily separating from her brother's side as they continued walking forward.

"A fun fact about Nyxia is that it is always nighttime," Xhin explained. "Though we don't really call it that since it’s a permanent state."

Klaus' eyes widened briefly upon hearing her explanation. It made sense, considering that Higher World was always daytime and Main World alternated between day and night. It wasn't entirely surprising that Under World was solely night.

As he processed this information, Klaus noticed a surge in his powers. He hadn't realized it earlier, but his speed and the heightened sensation of light particles coursing through him indicated that his abilities were significantly enhanced in Under World. Despite this realization, the increased power felt meaningless to him at the moment.

"What good ever came from this power I inherited," Klaus thought to himself.

As they continued walking, Klaus observed their surroundings and the demons guiding them. Based on their appearances and what he knew of Drake, Klaus guessed that Jhin and Xhin were around the same age as the demigods, or perhaps slightly older. However, he wasn't particularly interested in confirming this detail.

He also noted the contrasting behaviors of the demons. Jhin seemed strict and aloof, while Xhin appeared more approachable and friendly.

The walk to their destination was devoid of demon pedestrians, which made sense to Klaus. Their presence would likely seem strange to the mortals residing in this reality.

After a few more minutes along the empty path, they arrived at a large, luxurious building; the hotel that was to be their temporary residence. The opulence of the place suggested that a significant amount of money had been spent on their accommodations.

Upon arrival, the demons instructed the demigods to wait outside while they confirmed their bookings and arrangements for separate rooms. After a short wait, the demigods were granted access through a backdoor, ensuring they wouldn’t encounter any civilians as they made their way to their rooms.

Before Klaus could enter his room, Xhin remembered to relay important information.

"By the way," Xhin began, "if it isn't obvious already, I would advise you all to remain in your rooms briefly until summoned."

This did not seem to be an issue for the demigods, considering they were not exactly close to one another, excluding the Knight brothers.

As Klaus got into his room, he sat on his bed for a bit, wondering what to do for the brief moment until he was called. He knew he could use the chance to relax, but considering he had only woken up barely an hour prior, he wasn't exactly craving comfort. And if he was being honest with himself, Klaus definitely did not want to face his thoughts.

As he rested his back on the bed and stared at the ceiling for a brief moment with his feet still on the ground, Klaus suddenly heard a sound from outside his door. Initially, Klaus ignored the sudden noise, but after a few more seconds, the same sound repeated.

Klaus immediately began to worry, recognizing the sound as sobbing. A lot of thoughts instantly flew through his head as he was conflicted between obeying the instructions given to him or risking the chance that someone might be in trouble just a few meters away.

Instinctively, Klaus knew the obvious answer was to aid the person in need, but after only three steps towards the door, Klaus felt that hollow chill once more.

"Is it really your choice to help people, or are you just a slave to your genetics?"

Klaus' thoughts felt like they were getting the best of him. Suddenly, he was unsure if helping was truly what he desired despite his instincts. However, Klaus decided to ignore his thoughts and live on autopilot, allowing his body to choose what to do.

As Klaus roamed the floor in search of the sound, he realized that it was coming from farther away than he had thought. It had felt like the sound was just outside his door, but as he continued to follow it after leaving his room, he recognized the intensity of his heightened powers in Under World, allowing him to hear cries from so far away. Finally, Klaus reached the location of the source of the noise.

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As Klaus turned the corner, he was met with a young demon girl in a dress. The girl appeared to be about six or seven years old in human age, but since he was unsure of how demons aged, he didn't want to assume. The girl had her hands around her eyes, but after hearing Klaus' footsteps, she immediately looked up, locking eyes with the demigod.

Klaus, upon locking eyes with the little girl, immediately grew cautious as he realized he was not supposed to be seen, especially by a child. The young girl focused on Klaus for a brief moment, staring at him with confusion. Before she could say anything, Klaus stretched his hands forward, pointing his palms at her before finally breaking the brief silence.

"Calm down," Klaus whispered. "Whatever you do, don't scream."

Klaus' worry was understandable since the girl making a scene would draw unnecessary attention to him, which he naturally despised. But to his surprise, upon hearing his statement, the young girl responded calmly.

"I won't," the girl said. "It's fine."

Klaus' reaction changed immediately from concern to confusion. The girl's nonchalance was extremely odd to him, despite the fact that it was what he had wanted from her.

"Are you sure?" Klaus asked. "You're not frightened?"

"Why would I be?" the girl replied. "I do admit that it is quite strange to encounter a human for the first time, but your existence isn't awe-inspiring."

Klaus was genuinely stunned and had nothing to say. He immediately retracted his hands and maintained a natural stance as he witnessed the young girl speak fluently and clearly despite her appearance.

"However," the girl continued with a curious expression, "I truly am curious how you were able to make it to Nyxia, since I don't think I've heard of any encounters with humans before."

As Klaus relaxed himself, he decided to respond to the girl.

"I'm here on a trip with a few of my... allies," Klaus said. "It should be the first time a human has traversed your world, so it makes sense why you haven't heard about it before. Though I don't think being called a human is completely accurate."

Despite his words being somewhat complex for a child, Klaus saw the girl immediately understand him and continue the conversation.

"Your last statement," the girl said. "Care to elaborate?"

"Well," Klaus replied, "I'm only half human since I'm a demigod."

"Interesting," the girl responded, staring at him critically in astonishment. "I couldn't tell."

"You believe me?" Klaus asked. "Even as ridiculous as that sounds?"

Klaus was genuinely baffled by how the girl was not fazed by his statement. But as he thought about it, the girl proceeded to confirm his theory, understanding why Klaus had made his recent statement.

"Well, every demon is already aware of the existence of all the gods, and we all worship and respect Lord Nekro as the guardian of our realm. So your existence makes a lot of sense, especially since you somehow managed to make it here to Nyxia. Though I am guessing you are not really aware of that knowledge?"

Klaus was honestly impressed. He didn't bother anymore trying to treat the girl like a child since she was clearly wise enough to understand so much.

"One more question, though," the girl suddenly said to Klaus. "How is it that you are able to communicate with and understand Nyxian fluently?"

Klaus took a second to understand what the girl meant before he realized her statement. He had subconsciously ignored the fact that he had just had a full conversation with another species using basically the exact same language. This felt odd to him at first, but the girl's question seemed to make things clearer.

"I'm guessing Nyxian is what you call the language you're currently speaking, right?" Klaus asked.

"Is it not what you would call it as well?" the demon girl responded with curiosity.

"Not really," Klaus replied. "Back in Main World, we call what I'm currently speaking English."

"Eng... lish," the girl said with further curiosity after hearing Klaus' words. "Interesting."

"There are many other languages, though," Klaus continued. "Is that not the case here as well?"

"Not really," the girl replied. "To be sincere, I do not see the necessity of that since it may cause division between us."

"That's fair... I guess," Klaus replied, stunned by how accurately the girl had explained the complexity of multiple languages on Earth.

Klaus was very impressed by the girl and how smart she was despite being so young. It made him very curious if this was just how every demon truly was at that age, and if they were just mentally superior to the human race. This made a lot of sense to him after he had seen the buildings around the area and how beautiful he thought the interior of the hotel was compared to everywhere he had been back on Earth.

After his brief moment of thought, Klaus immediately remembered the reason he had met the girl in the first place: her sobbing. He told the girl that he had heard her crying, which was why he had approached her.

The young demon girl explained that her mother had instructed her to meet her in the hotel, but she had been searching for her for hours without success. She admitted that she was frustrated and probably deserved it since she had pridefully told her mother she didn't need any help finding her way.

Klaus was puzzled by how dangerous it seemed for a parent to allow such a young girl to move around without a guardian. However, he decided not to pry into the ethics of the demon race and ignored his concerns. Instead, he offered to help the girl find her mother. The girl smiled with appreciation upon hearing his offer.

Despite his positive experience with the girl, Klaus still didn't want to be seen by any more demons, so he remained out of sight. He had offered to help the girl only to act as a guardian until she found her mother.

As they continued searching, the girl apologized for not formally introducing herself and then did so. She introduced herself as Jinx, and Klaus introduced himself in return.

After a brief moment, Jinx's eyes widened upon seeing her mother, who had walked out of her room, concerned about the time it had taken her daughter. Jinx rushed to her mother and hugged her, and her mother did the same upon seeing her child. Jinx apologized for taking longer than expected and explained that she had received help from a very unfamiliar person. As she turned to introduce her mother to her new strange friend, Klaus was nowhere to be seen.

Klaus, back in his room, stared at the ceiling above his bed, having already made himself comfortable once he realized Jinx had found her mother. He was still haunted by the idea of being alone with his thoughts, so he desperately awaited the call from the twin demons for their departure.

A few minutes later, Klaus heard a knock on his door. As he got up and opened it, he was met by Jhin, who stared at him with a straight expression.

"It's time," Jhin said before walking away to gather the other demigods.

Klaus watched Jhin for a moment as he continued down the hallway. Jhin's attitude was arrogant, but it didn't matter to Klaus since he didn't care enough. Eventually, all the demigods were summoned, and they regrouped.

As the group gathered, Xhin headed to the receptionist, instructing the demigods to wait for her return. After a brief exchange at the front desk, she returned and beckoned the demigods to follow her.

"What’s happening?" Arthur asked, voicing the question on everyone's mind.

"Well," Xhin began, "since the facility is quite far from here, it would be best to use the teleportation pod to get there."

"Teleportation pod?" Lance echoed.

"That’s correct," Xhin replied. "Though it's not exactly teleportation. The device allows for transportation over long distances by dematerializing a person's body, moving them through cables, and then rematerializing them at the destination. It’s not instant, but it’s very effective."

"That sounds painful," Lance remarked.

"Oh, don’t worry," Xhin reassured with a smile. "It’s completely safe and harmless."

After a bit more convincing, the group made their way to the teleportation pod in the hotel. The absence of other civilians in the area made it easier for the demigods to prepare for transportation. Jhin approached the system and confirmed their destination. With preparations complete, the group was transported.

Upon arrival, the demigods took a moment to ensure nothing odd had occurred during the transportation. As Klaus looked up, he was met by multiple demons who greeted them with bows. The demigods felt a bit uneasy but followed Jhin and Xhin as they led the way into the building.

Klaus observed the various demons, all dressed uniformly, moving around the facility, confirming they were workers. This surprised him as it indicated that the demons were assisting the gods who guarded their reality. For a moment, Klaus wondered if it was the same back in Main World since he had never met its guarding god. He dismissed his thoughts as the group stopped in front of a large door.

Jhin and Xhin opened the massive door, and the demigods walked in, meeting a certain figure. The force enveloping the area felt different. It was less aggressive but it clearly indicated a divine presence. As the demigods gazed at the divine being ahead, he gradually turned his attention to them.

"The God of Fire and the Guardian of Under World," Klaus thought to himself before whispering the name he was already familiar with.

"Nekro."