With Alaster’s soul in the Divine Realm, Belgroth was finally able to address the pervert. He dragged the spirit into his mind room. Basically just a fake room that existed only in the mind and could have furniture and such.

Sedall appeared, shocked and confused. He spun around, wondering where he had ended up. Before he settled on Belgroth, in his human sized form, sitting in a comfy chair.

“Sit. We have much to talk about.”

Sedall was cautious, did sat down. He could had believed he knew of all the being capable of forcing his exposed spirit around, but the man before him was completely unknown to him. That worried the Demigod.

“What are you?” He asked.

“Someone with a keen interest in keep the boy alive. His own motives, which are likely to get him killed, so I am assisting him. What I want to know, is why the self-pretentious fools calling themselves Demigods, care enough to trap one of themselves in a piece of jewelry, just to keep an eye on him.”

“I have my own situation, making me suited to such a task.”

“Ah yes, your body is trapped, but they couldn’t trap your soul.”

Sedall’s brow furrowed, “What do you know of it?”

“I don’t know who you pissed off, but I do recognize the Magic of those disgusting Dwarves. Nor do I care. What I do know, if that the Magic might as well have been made by a child. Yet apparently that’s all it takes to stump a Demigod.”

“Enough with the insults. What do you want?”

Belgroth just stared at the spirit before him, “I want you to stop reporting anything about the boy to the other Demigods. I want you to assist the boy as I do.”

“With all this knowledge, surely you would be better suited to such a task.”

“Oh, you misunderstand. If all your Magical Knowledge was but a tiny seed, mine is an entire Galaxy. You have nothing to teach him about Magic that I can’t do much better. You might even learn a thing or two. But, I have been… out of touch with the world for a while now.”

“How long is a while?”

“Since before your damnable Gods walked among you. So you see, I want you to teach the boy about the world.”

“My entrapment hinders my own knowledge of the current world.”

“It does. Only a single year in fifty. Must be torture for someone who enjoyed traveling. But even that is much more recent than my own knowledge.”

“What’s in it for me?” Sedall didn’t trust the being before him, but he wanted to see what sort of angle he was playing.

“Two things. One, I will release you from your prison. And two, I will release you from your shackles.”

Sedall chuckled, “My shackles?”

“Tell me man who pretended to be a God, how long have you been imprisoned?”

Sedall tried to ignore the slight, but it still stung, “Several centuries.”

“And you think in all that time, not one of your fellow pretenders managed to locate your body?”

“None even tried.”

“None but one, I’m assuming?”

Sedall scowled, “Yes.”

“Have you never found it strange that the Dwarves were able to trap you at all? Surely, someone of your power must have been strong enough to resist any such traps they could employ.”

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“It wasn’t that simple.”

Belgroth chuckled, “It never is, and yet, you held enough power to eradicate their entire culture. And they managed to imprison you. Such a thing would be unheard of. Their enchantments alone wouldn’t have had the strength to hold you. Unless of course, they were boosted by the power of a being of similar strength to you.”

“You are implying one of the Demigods.” It wasn’t a question.

“Better, I am saying that the one pretender that has been searching for you, is also the one who imprisoned you to begin with.”

“That is such an obvious lie. I would have thought that a being such as yourself, with as much knowledge as you claim, would have been able to think of a better one.”

“Perhaps it is a lie, and yet, you can’t stop thinking about it.”

Belgroth was right, even if Sedall would never admit it. Certain things fell into place from memories long before.

“I feel that the ring you are bound to was a recent development. I imagine that once your so called ‘friend’ became interested in the boy, he just so happened to have discovered ancient documents, describing how to bind your soul to a ring, even through all the enchantments binding you.”

That is what happened. Evros did claim to have learned of such a technique. And it had seemed strange that he would have revealed it just as he had a use for it.

“That is…not enough to make me betray my friend.” Sedall hesitated.

“Perhaps, but in the many centuries you have been trapped, not one of you ‘Demigods’, self-proclaimed defenders of the world, have managed to find your prison? Its not like the Dwarves would have built such a costly prison so removed from their own cities.”

“And you claim to be able to free me?”

Belgroth grinned, he had successfully hooked the spirit, “Yes.”

“How? You are even more bound than I.” Belgroth was not the only one that had been examining his opponent. Since Sedall first appeared in this mental room, he had been studying the strange man before him.

“Freeing you of your prison will be a two-step process. However, freeing you of your shackles, cannot be done without alerting the man who placed them on you. If you accept my terms, I am able to remove the enchantments binding your soul to your body.

No longer will it be so tiresome to explore outside of your body. It will however still scramble the locations your spirit appears.

Once the boy is capable, I will lead him to you’re the physical location of your prison, freeing your body.”

“What of the shackles?”

“Only once your body is free, will they be broken. Once your so called ‘friend’ feels them break, he will come. The boy is still too fragile for such a fight, but hopefully, you are not. And perhaps its will also be a chance for payback.”

“And your terms?”

“One, until your body is free, you will assist the boy, in a similar way as I do. You will educate him about the ways of the world. While I teach him to grow stronger, which will also be a favor to you, as you will undoubtedly learn something as well.

Two, once free of your bindings, you will not harm the boy or myself in any way, as well as prevent any such actions from the other Demigods, or similar beings.

Three, you will not report anything related to the boy to anyone or anything. You will also, to the best of your ability, uncover knowledge relating to him.

These conditions should seem light considering, if you agree, you will soon be free once more.”

“As it stands, there is no limit, no set date. You and the boy could simply wait for several more centuries before releasing me when it suits you.”

“Don’t play dumb. You have seen the power behind the boy. His raw potential. With my guidance, he will grow to become a true powerhouse of this world. And with your guidance, he might just be able to survive such a tragedy.”

“Tragedy?”

“Power comes at a cost. Power draws attention, those who will attempt to take it. The boy will be able ready to travel to your prison in, at most, five years. What you do after, I do not care. So long as it does not affect me or the boy in any way, you can go on a genocidal bloodbath for all I care. But until you are free, you will, to the best of your ability, assist the boy.”

“But I cannot speak to him in the same manner as you.”

“Once I release the restrictions on your soul, you will be able to mentally communicate with both he and I through the Ring.”

Sedall thought about it for several moments. By now, he had realized that the man before him was a Demon. Making a deal with a Demon was not as concrete and one sided as the stories claimed. The Demigod admitted that the deal was mostly in his favor.

All he had to do was continue watching the boy, which he was already interested in doing. But if he took the deal, he would be able to add his own opinion. That alone could have been considered a benefit, not a requirement.

However, his thoughts also ran back to Evros. Sedall considered everything. He had known the old man since before he ascended to partial Godhood. The elder had always been of great help. Offering assistance when needed, and guidance when asked. Sedall considered the old man having a good reason for imprisoning him.

‘No. Fuck that. I don’t care if he had good reason. If he truly did betray and imprison me, I am going to rip him apart, and anyone who stands in my way.’

“Five years?” Sedall questioned.

“At most.” Belgroth confirmed.

“I have a rule of not entering into any deals without first knowing the name of the person I am dealing with.”

“You may call be Belgroth, Elder Guardian of the Argalon People.”

“I am Sedall, the strongest of the Demigods. I accept.”