It was a space of my own creation. A home within an unseen world, a crack nestled within the world’s many folds. It was dark, cold, and dry with ground that felt like rock, but it had an eerie sleek smoothness. I slipped inside through a portal. It was time to check in on it.

A creature sprawled out along the floor. It boasted ravenous sharp claws, its body was durable and made for constant battle, but it remained completely silent and still upon seeing me. I would’ve felt appreciated if not for the utter disdain it held in its eyes. Still, it did not strike out in anger upon seeing me again.

Not long ago, the creature had tried to murder me even as I had tried to spare its life. This must’ve meant that it was learning. That, or it was still too weak to move after I had crushed every single of its bones under its own weight. It was genuinely hard to tell. Demons healed quickly, but there were certain points of the healing process where the bones were still fragile.

I leaned close to the creature and opened a portal. On the portal's edges was a churning gray mist. Tiny arcs of purple lightning danced along it. It was a warning. If I ever pushed my magic too far, too brazenly, I could face the fury of the world itself. Its hatred came in many forms for my kind, but the lightning was particularly deadly. These kinds of abilities were less risky for me than gravity was, but I kept it small and steady. I didn’t want to accidentally hurt the fiend after all.

I pulled vines and plants and dropped them in front of the demon. It lunged and tore into them violently and scarfed them all down.

Ahhh, adorable… I thought.

I could’ve fed it a more hearty meal, but I’d thought maybe feeding it other demons too early would probably teach it the wrong lessons.

I brought some more plants in and gave it some space as it ate. I had to resist the urge to pet it with all my might. This was the time to give it some peace and respect. Being too close would only make it more afraid. And so I just watched it eat.

It gave me a strange sense of satisfaction. To help it. To see it grow. To simply have something to be kind to. However simple it may have been.

The heavens are a hostile place. Demons are cruel and fighting is constant. But this creature. It was mine. So I could be kind. I could be kind in a way I couldn’t with others.

Warmly, I thought of a name, one in relation to my own,

Reazihl.

A demon's name was an important thing, and I said it very softly, “Reazihl.”

It twitched slightly at my voice, but it mostly seemed to ignore me. I was patient though. It would understand soon, one day, I felt sure. And I watched it with an excitement that bubbled deep inside my very chest. Reazihl. I repeated to myself. Reazihl.

When it had finished eating, I summoned a portal and slipped back into the Dygarlands. My eyes lingered on Reazihl for a moment before I tore myself away. I had soldiers to lead, a domain to return to, and glory to claim. I wished though, I could tell it somehow that I would be back. I hoped it wouldn’t be lonely.

I thought of Mevakiel. Maybe the best thing was to let Reazihl go. But I couldn’t really know what was good for it yet. What it wanted. Because I hadn’t yet gotten to know it…gotten to know her. I’d have to wait for her to grow. I’d have to wait to know. Like I’d waited to know Mevakiel.

I steeled myself and faced my many soldiers. It was time to go home.

It was a long journey, but with the end of genesis in the heavens, the Dygarlands had become much less active. The plants lacked the soulwater to grow and many of the fiends would die as dry husks. I could still provide for Reazihl with my unique skills, thankfully, but I vibrated with excitement thinking about all the things I could give her when I got home.

The landscape flattened out, the plants thinned. We passed small towns composed of towers and walls. Devil villages. There were no roads on the outskirts of the Blood Devil’s Domain, devils could fly after all. Instead, there were spread out and very tightly packed outposts that could be accessed through perches on the towers. Devils could cover a lot of land this way and protect it easily. There was one major exception though. Blood Castle

It could be seen in the distance as an enormous spiraling series of towers. It was surrounded by many demon villages and within the walls of the castle were the domain’s only roads. As we approached the gate, we landed to walk the rest of the distance. It was seen as disrespectful to fly in the presence of the Devil king here. And any who violated the sentiment wantonly here, would be swiftly killed. Our histories are filled with many assassinations. So my great-great-great-great grandpa, King Vergrihl had made it a rule.

I trotted along the road confidently. My soldiers marched just behind me, holding fearsome looks as the denizens of the outer city glanced at us. This was one of the few places that demons of other varieties mostly congregated in the domain. Some with enormous lizard tails, others sporting two heads, chitin armor, and long elongated bodies. I didn’t pay much mind to them, but the lack of roads elsewhere must’ve made it pretty impossible for them to leave.

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I dropped off my soldiers at the front of the castle and made my way through the corridors. I sneakily teleported up the stairs until I made it to the front of his hall. It was far too heavy and I didn’t want to put in all that effort, so teleported through the door too.

Sitting upon a throne, sprawled over sideways, was a sleek red demon with upturned horns and dark red wings. He was completely alone and sipped a black liquid from his chalice. Demon blood. A harp floated in the air and played a song all by itself. It stopped very suddenly when I came in.

He sighed, “I thought I told you not to do that, Marzihl.”

I knelt.

“And what of the search party?” he asked.

“We found the dead rangers.” I smiled. I dropped the crystal encased bodies onto the floor from a portal. They held some pretty horrific looks on their faces. “We even slew the spirit that did this!”

“Hmm, a crystal lotus spirit. I haven’t seen such a thing for the better part of 50 cycles,” He leaned in a little closer. His demon's blood sat on the very edge of his cup, threatening to spill. “Did you find anything… interesting?”

“No,” I lied. “There’s still one member of the ranger party missing though.”

“Pahhh! Boring! It’s all so horrifyingly boring.” He sat up and slammed his clawed fist. The floating harp fell to the ground, shattering into pieces. “I remember the days when rangers would bring down the very mountains. When the spirits would consume the sky and the rangers would slaughter the stars back into view. When the vortex had to call upon its own monsters to slay their kind. I remember all their attempts to stop us, all in their attempts to spit on us.

“Now, our enemies need not do such things. It takes so much less. And no secrets are gained, no keys are found. We have been stuck in His game far too long. Do you not understand, daughter, what have we lost? Maybe I should just slaughter all the rangers for their blood.”

I turned around a little to obscure my face, and I rolled my eyes. I hated when he got like this. There was no reasoning with him. Demiurge this, Demiurge that. He sat upon a throne, sipping demon blood all day and spent every moment complaining about “existence” and being unable to stop it. Ridiculous! I thought he’d at least enjoy the crystal statues of gruesomely murdered rangers, since they’d been making him so angry. But it meant nothing.

I shrugged and spoke slightly sadly, “I talked and got to know an angel. Its name was Mavekiel.”

“You spoke with one of the tools of that vile god Ira? Fascinating,” He put a hand to his chin. “Tell me more.”

I nervously, but excitedly explained, “She told me about being given a name by Ira, being thrown into a small room, and ‘finding work’ as an angel, all kinds of very strange angel things. Did you know they grow metal from some kind of ‘wheat’? Bizarre.”

“That is strange… all demons know the best metal is made from the souls of the eternally tortured. I’ve never heard of such a thing,” he sighed. “None of that seems particularly useful though. Be gone Marzihl.” He waved one hand dismissively.

I turned my heel and began to leave—

“For your careless teleporting earlier. You will be made to bring me the heads of 5 demon princes. Do not disappoint me.” The doors swung open and a mysterious force pulled me out of his chamber and flat onto the floor.

I was going to kill some anyways, I thought, angrily. And the door slammed behind me.

I fed her the pieces of rich flesh. And she enjoyed them greedily. It was her first taste of meat, of demons, since I’d adopted her. It was kind of off putting for me personally. I would have preferred to offer a more wild variant of demon. But after killing those demon princes for their heads, there was a lot left over. And she needed to grow strong.

I sighed, petting Reazihl.

She was much more accepting of me. She never attacked me. She was less wary of being close. There was still a certain suspicion in her eyes. But even if we cannot speak, food speaks kindness.

There were other changes as well. Kept in peaceful activity, her shell softened, her figure changed. Her form seemed less sharp, less focused on murder. What she would grow into I didn’t really know. But I was accepting of her, just as she was accepting me.

She didn’t know who I was, what she was to me. But she was at least learning she wasn't prey. She would come to know though, that she had so much more. She wasn’t just a pet. She was my daughter.

I would show her so much. Teach her so much. Very soon, I could take her to the wider world. There she could begin to learn her first words. I would be so very patient.

I stepped back from her. And she seemed ever so slightly sad that I did.

I pulled something out of a portal. It was a dagger, black, and chaotic in form. The edges of its form were wrinkled in shape, small gems lined the handle and guard, and its blade was sleek and sharp. I had thought it might be a key of the Demiurge.

When my soldiers were searching that crystal cavern, I tossed aside every knife and blade and called them useless, but I very slyly had dropped this one into a portal. To me it had the faintest hints of a spatial distortion, which fed into or was used by a power that I could not fully comprehend. I thought that unknown power could be divine in nature.

Rangers are always looking for these kinds of things. I thought maybe if they’d sacrificed their lives to not lose track of the spirit. They must’ve been really sure they’d found something.

If I could find a way to use this. I might be able to dislodge my foolish father from the throne one day, lest his ambition and spite against the Demiurge bring us to ruin.

I twiddled the dagger between my fingers and Reazihl gave me a cute, but utterly blank look. I turned around, walked far away from her, and began the start of many tests.