“Oh, stop it.” The Demon said with bored eyes, “If I wanted to kill you, not even all your Minions, and every Devil up there, could stop me.”
The Demon walked to the center of the room, becoming more Human sized with each heavy step, the very earth moving to form a table and two chairs.
“Sit. We have much to talk about.”
“I’m on a time limit.” Alaster countered, not trusting the Demon enough to sit so close to it.
“Yes yes, your sister.” Alaster’s eyes widened, “Calm down, I can’t read minds. But your soul is so weak that when it shouts something that loudly, of course I would hear it. I know little else. Just that you care for her, and she seems to be in danger of some sort.
But you needn’t worry. The moment you stepped into the cave; time warped even futher. You could spend a whole week here and not even a minute would pass in the Dungeon above.”
‘Meaning not even a fraction of a second would pass in the real world.’
“Of course, there are side effects. Your soul can’t stand such a drastic change and is rejecting it. You couldn’t spend a week here without becoming similar to one of the Devils above. However, a few hours will be perfectly fine. Sit.”
Alaster tried to contact his Undead above but found that he couldn’t, or at least it felt like his orders were sent but would take days to arrive. Instead, Alaster cautiously stepped forward and sat down.
He grinned, “Good.”
“What about the man who trapped you here, and why I apparently smell like him?”
“For that, you should know a bit more about the massacre your people caused mine. They called it the Holy War, but it was anything but. A group of one hundred Humans, including a few of the Sub-Races, calling themselves the Divine Pantheon, led the attacks.
They proclaimed themselves as Gods, sent to protect and guide Humanity on this new and hostile world. Back then, your ancestors were struggling so much just to survive, and every day, many didn’t. Most likely didn’t believe this Pantheon to be actual Gods, but they were willing to follow anyone that offered them hope.
This Pantheon was comprised of the few who had taken to the new System the best, at least at the time. Back then, that System that Humans lauded as their greatest invention, was still learning. It caused just as many deaths to the Humans as the world and its creatures did. However, in return, the power it was able to bestow was much wilder and great.
The Pantheon first began by teaching other Humans how to properly harness the System as my People protected the struggling Species by holding back most of the creatures. We believed that if the Humans, a People of technology and science, and the Argalon, a People of nature and equilibrium, could work together, we could achieve great heights.
We were naïve then.
Your people didn’t see the possibilities, only the death and destruction the few creatures that slipped through us caused. Soon, they began to think we had caused it.
A belief that was reinforced when the Pantheon and their army of Novices attacked us, forcing us to defend ourselves, and causing the collapse of the net preventing the creatures. The collapse allowed the animals to reach Humanity, and they thought we had sent them.
More of your people rallied to the Pantheon. We fought back, but we were always a People of few numbers. What could we do against millions, even if they were so weak that even a sneeze could wipe out hundreds? Hundreds of my People were slaughtered, children included.
I was part of a faction meant to protect my People. I joined, thinking I would just occasionally redirect the animals away from the villages, not fight in a war. But the Pantheon seemed to take pleasure in killing our children. Laughing about ‘easy levels’.
In an attack on a village I was protecting, one such member of the Pantheon was killing the fleeing children one by one with a bright smile on her face. Like she was walking through a flower meadow on a warm sunny day. Her smile only grew brighter as each one begged for their lives through tear-stained faces.”
The Demon gripped the table tightly, shattering the stone and causing a shockwave through the cave. He took a deep breath before continuing.
“I confronted her, knowing the battle was already lost, but hoping that it would allow more of my people to escape. Even at the cost of my life. It was a mighty but short battle. In the end, I managed to kill the woman. Not the first of the Pantheon to die, but it was rare.
I crushed her heart just as another of the Pantheon returned, with the heads of more children. He saw me and I saw him. We were both consumed by rage and recklessly attacked each other.
But I was already injured and weak from the battle against the woman. I dealt plenty of blows against him, but he was the one who emerged victorious.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
But instead of killing me, he instead bound my weakened soul to that Obsidian Throne, and left me, trapped within twenty meters of it for eternity.
Eventually, the Elders of my People transported the land into another dimension, turning it into a Dungeon as you call it.
That man, called himself Ebris, God of the Dead.”
Alaster didn’t know what to say. He removed his helmet and placed it on the table but hesitated to speak.
“And I have similar Magic. Why didn’t you kill me?”
“Because you are also my only salvation. It took me thousands of years, but I finally managed to unbind my soul from that forsaken throne. Doing so, unleased a stream of mana, carving through the rock, creating the tunnel you entered from. But it also caused the dimension to surge, since then you are the first to enter.”
“You were the cause of the Dungeon Break!”
“I do not know what that means, nor was it intentional. Though if it caused the deaths of Humans, I am only sorry more weren’t killed.
“And you say you didn’t kill me because I am somehow your salvation?”
“It took a great deal of self-control to not skin you live, yes.”
Alaster suppressed a shiver at the image, “How could I possibly be your salvation?”
“Because despite becoming free of the Throne, I am still a prisoner of the dimension. I cannot leave. To gather enough strength to leave would take another thousand years, at least. Even then, I would be weakened, in a world currently under control of the Pantheon. I would be quickly found and killed.”
“How do you know Ebris didn’t feel you unbind yourself from the throne?”
“Because it’s a different dimension. Had it been in the world, he would have, and I would already be dead. That bastard seemed to enjoy fighting weakened opponents.”
“So, you are trapped. That doesn’t explain how I can help, or if I should. You just said you are only sorry more people weren’t killed by the Dungeon Break you caused. How do I know you won’t simply start killing everyone once you’re free?”
The Demon took a deep breath, “I would have no moral issue with your entire Species becoming extinct in the worst ways. But I have lived for many years, even before my imprisonment. I know enough about our two Peoples to know that a true war between us would at the very least destroy the world we are fighting over, and more likely wipe out both Species.
As much as it pains me, the Species much stop fighting, or at least doing so in a more organized way. Reckless war will destroy everything.
As for your involvement in my escape? I will bind my soul to you, and you will take me out of this dimension when you leave.”
“So, you spent thousands of years unbinding your soul from a throne, and now you want to bind yourself to me?”
“Unlike the throne, I will be willingly binding myself to you. I will have a lot more freedom, both in my actions while bound, and when to free myself. Of course, it will still take many years before I can gather enough Mana to rebuild my Body.”
“It’ll take years?”
“Yes, depending on the Mana Quality in the world and the areas you are in. Argalon bodies are much more complex than Human bodies, and to make one that will fit perfectly with my soul, it will take time.”
“During that time, what will you do? What will it be like for your soul to be in my body?”
“I will be a spectator. Unable to take control unless you allow it, and even then, only for as long as you allow it. It will also be a much more pleasant experience.
Having your soul bound to an inanimate object is a very cold and painful experience. My soul was still connected to my body, but not bound to it. It would be best if you had some way of preserving my body until you exited the dimension, taking it with you, then I could simply transfer back. But you do not.”
“I do have a Ring of Holding?”
“You mean the ring with an artificial dimension bound to it? An Argalon body, even a dead one, radiates such power that it would shatter it.”
“So, since your body would have to be left, what would you be doing until you can rebuild another?”
“Watching, conversing with you, perhaps giving advice if I wanted to. In the end, not really much of anything but learning about your world.”
“And you would do what with your knowledge when you finally created your own body?”
“Use it to convince my People to pursue a more peaceful avenue.”
“With all your hate for Humanity, you would still advocate for peace?” Alaster scoffed.
“No. A more peaceful option. Not peace. Instead of all out war, causing the deaths of millions, perhaps it could be a war of champions. I do not care. This world is ours, and we will not stop fighting for it. But I would prefer to do so without destroying it.”
“So, besides the occasional bit of advice, at your leisure, what do I get out of this?”
“Besides your life?” He pulsed with Mana, throwing Alaster’s Undead into the walls, destroying the Archers and Longbowmen. However, just as quickly, the Mana vanished.
“I will grant you, my bloodline. You do know what a bloodline is, don’t you?”
“Yes, I know what it is, but is it worth the risk of releasing a Demon in the world?”
“A shrewd negotiator I see. If only your ancestors preferred such tactics over cowardly attacks on children. An Argalon’s bloodline is powerful, at least for a Human. My Species is several millennia older than yours, the vast majority of that time was spent adapting to and using Magic.
I do not know what the exact effects will be. There has never been a Human with an Argalon’s Bloodline. Any time one tried to forcibly consume one, the blood rejected it, killing the Human.”
“What’s the use of a Bloodline that will kill me?”
“Because I will be willingly granting it to you. I do not know the effects will be, but I do know that it will be painful to acquire, but you will live. I also know that you will only benefit from it.”
“Only one Bloodline my be consumed in a lifetime, what would make yours better than any other I could find.”
The Demon sighed in amused frustration, “Because we found the Bloodlines of Elder Dragons to be weak.”
Alaster’s eyes widened, despite his best efforts to control himself. He had only read about one person with the Bloodline of an Elder Dragon. That man was the first Emperor of the Gilaen Empire, and the reason it was so large. The Bloodline was so powerful that even generations later, it still allowed the current Emperor to keep the Nation that large.
Alaster shook his hands under the table and took a shaking breath, attempting to calm himself, “You previously said that you had no use lying to someone as weak as myself. Well now you say you have a use for me. A vital use. How do I know you aren’t lying?”
“Because binding my own soul to a willing person is much easier and much less costly than not. Magic considers withholding knowledge as an unwilling person. So, the more knowledgeable you are about this deal, the better it will be for both of us.”
“For such a serious deal, surely you can tell me your name. Or do names hold power?”
“Of course, names hold power, but not in any physical or Magical sense. My name is Belgroth.”