Ged and Manduka arrived in line for the Mountain Gondola.

Some demons recognized Ged from the Possession Obelisk. Though they didn't openly protest his arrival, they still cast sideways glances, letting him know of their disgust.

Ged frowned.

The line moved slowly. At the front stood a human-bear demon, acting as the Gondola’s gatekeeper. His sharp eyes sized up the demon before him.

"One mid-quality experience. Anything less will get you ejected," the human-bear demon said to the approaching flower demon, holding out an orb in his hand.

The flower demon gave a wry smile. From his forehead, a stream of thoughts emerged, flowing into the orb in the gatekeeper’s grasp.

The stream gradually weakened, tapering from a steady flow to a slow trickle.

"Keep it flowing," the human-bear demon ordered, narrowing his eyes.

The flower demon’s expression grew strained. His ethereal body began to fade, his form turning nearly transparent. Eventually the flow of thoughts came to a stop.

"Not enough. Get out of line," the gatekeeper spoke cold.

"Please, make an exception! I have to travel to the slopes of Mount Existence, or else I will assuredly perish. If you turn me away now, how will I be able to gain experiences without demonic possession?" the flower demon begged, refusing to leave.

The human-bear demon's eyes narrowed.

With a violent kick, the human-bear demon sent the flower demon flying out of line, pocketing the orb of experience in the process.

"Have you no heart?" The flower demon’s voice was weak, his form nearly disintegrated, but his cries were not acknowledged.

Sighing, he got off the ground and turned to face the human-bear demon once more. "At least let me have my experiences back. I—"

The human-bear demon's expression turned dark.

A stream of thoughts emerged from the human-bear demon’s forehead, condensing into a red line before shooting toward the flower demon with the intent to kill.

The flower demon didn’t even have time to scream before his existence was obliterated.

The line of lesser demons watched, expressionless, as if this was just another routine execution.

"Consider this my mercy." The human-bear demon spoke coldly to the obliterated flower demon. "Next."

Ged narrowed his eyes. After witnessing the flower demon’s fate, Ged couldn't help but worry about his own. He needed to form a thought stream to pay the toll, yet he still hadn't grasped how to do it.

During their long journey from the Possession Obelisk to the Mountain Gondola, Ged had asked Manduka for a more detailed explanation.

But Manduka’s explanations had been cryptic and largely useless.

What would happen to me if I can't pay?

He stared at the human-bear demon, unease creeping over him.

Thirty demons stood between him and the gatekeeper. He looked at Manduka. I can't rely on this beaver to bail me out and pay my fare. I need to figure this out for myself.

He steeled himself.

"Hey, Manduka," Ged spoke in a hushed voice. "Can you show me once more how to create that thought stream?"

Manduka sighed. From his forehead, a stream of thoughts emerged effortlessly, swirling in front of him.

"You still haven’t figured it out?" Manduka asked, exhausted, as if he had demonstrated it a thousand times already.

Ged didn’t respond. Instead, he watched Manduka's head as thoughts swirled on the surface of his skin, intent on uncovering their secrets.

"Swirl the thoughts in your mind, like this," Manduka instructed. "Find one of the many pathways outside your conscious skin. Keep at it and eventually, you’ll find some success. It's best not to try too hard. Instead, let your thoughts flow naturally. Everyone's pathways are different. Keep trying and find whatever works best for you."

He had heard these instructions countless times before and had some success circulating his thoughts within his mind, but he had never been able to release them outside his body.

But Ged was not one to give up. Relaxing his mind, he closed his eyes and once more followed Manduka’s cryptic instructions.

His thoughts began to swirl, channeling through his mind. His head bulged and warped like a shaken water balloon, distorting his face in unnatural ways.

Time passed. Only twenty lesser demons now stood between Ged and the gatekeeping human-bear demon.

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Ged hadn't moved a step, still fixated on creating a thought stream. He felt he was incredibly close to grasping something. He feared that even a single break in concentration would erase all his progress. Blocking out distractions, he entered a transcendental state.

"Try rotating it counterclockwise," Manduka suggested. "No, actually, oscillate your thoughts in an accordion pattern."

Ged followed accordingly.

Taking a break from his instructions, Manduka glanced around.

"Ged... the line moved."

A group of demons stood behind them, frowning. Their irritated glares made it clear they needed them to start moving.

"Just move forward. We don’t want to step on any toes. We can always start the flow of thoughts all over again," Manduka urged.

Ged didn't respond. He refused to risk breaking his focus.

Manduka clenched his jaw. If Ged didn’t move soon, they’d both be in trouble.

Anxiety churned within him.

Ten demons now stood between Ged and the gatekeeping human-bear demon.

"Zig-zag! Shake it!" Manduka instructed with a hurried expression. "Still nothing?"

Desperation crept into his voice.

"Uh.... fuck it. Force out your thoughts. It doesn't matter! Just hurry damn it!" Sweat poured down Manduka’s face. "Come on Ged, figure it out already!"

A vein bulged on Ged's forehead as he tried his best to concentrate and block out Manduka's annoying words.

Someone in the line had finally had enough.

"Move, assholes. This isn’t a rest stop. We’ve all got places to be, people to possess," a newly arrived ape-fish demon spoke coldly.

"We’ll move, we’ll move," Manduka pleaded. "Please be patient… my friend, he’s trying to understand something. We’ll move once he’s finished."

The vein on Ged’s forehead swelled further at the mention of "friend." Brushing off his frustration, he continued to concentrate, his thoughts spinning faster, desperate to grasp the ability.

The ape-fish demon scowled. "Fuck off. I ain't waiting for you assholes to finish shit."

A stream of thoughts flared from his forehead, coiling into a deadly attack.

Manduka braced himself.

"Wait!" A voice cut through the tension.

But before the attack could fully form, a lesser demon, one who had seen Ged at the Possession Obelisk, rushed out of line and intervened, whispering something that made the ape-fish demon hesitate.

The ape-fish demon’s face twisted with frustration.

Exhaling sharply, he shot one last daggered glare at Ged and Manduka before backing off.

Time passed.

One demon lay between Ged and the front of the line.

The human-bear demon had now taken notice of Ged and Manduka while collecting the experiences of the final person in front of him.

"What are you two doing? Move forward!" he growled, glaring menacingly at them.

Manduka’s fur bristled.

"Ged, we need to move. Now!"

Ged's mind rippled with flowing thoughts. His eyes remained closed. He was one final push away from releasing his stream of thoughts.

Anxiety mounting, Manduka looked desperately around.

The crowd behind them was growing larger, filled with angry-looking demons glaring fiercely at Ged and Manduka.

The human-bear demon had just finished with his last patron. Seeing that Ged and Manduka still had not moved, his expression darkened.

A cold sweat dripped down Manduka's back.

There was no more time. He needed to salvage this situation and fast.

"Wait, can we not resort to violence? My friend has a very good reason for holding you all up. Please, listen to me! There is no need to act rashly," he said, desperately stalling.

The human-bear demon moved closer, Manduka's words doing little to slow his advance.

"You have five seconds to give me one good reason not to disincorporate your existences," the human-bear demon sneered.

Above his head, a large sphere appeared. Inside, an ungodly black cloud began to take shape. Its sheer presence forced those in line to step back. Their expressions twisted in fear of its destructive might.

Manduka gulped, panic flashing in his eyes as he looked at Ged’s still-silent expression.

Damn it!

"... My friend... he's... uh..."

Manduka stammered, trying to come up with a way out.

He had no more time to think. His next few sentences had to save them.

"He's mentally challenged! He can't control how he acts! Please, don't kill us!" he pleaded, eyes brimming with tears.

Ged exploded in rage.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!"

His mind burst outward, a thick stream of thoughts erupting from a hole formed by the sheer force of his anger.

The stream took the shape of a dragon, causing the lesser demons behind him to stare in awe at the impressive sight.

"Thoughts Like Dragon… no way! He's an Archdemon!" Quiet gasps filled the air as the crowd mistakenly recognized Ged’s status.

Even the human-bear demon stopped preparing his attack. His face grew solemn at the sight of the dragon-shaped thought stream.

Manduka took a step away from Ged. "Uh... great one. Congrats on producing your thought stream. I knew you could do it." He tried to change the subject.

A cold chuckle escaped Ged's lips. "So now I'm 'great one'?" His expression darkened.

Ged was still struggling to control his dragon thoughts. His head roared with pain from the force of his thoughts bursting out. Still in a daze, unable to think straight, he had only one thing on his mind.

"Manduka, YOU ARE DEAD! " He roared.

The dragon thoughts descended toward the cowering Manduka, their form carrying only the intent of total annihilation.

Manduka felt his life was in danger.

But before they could reach him, the human-bear demon stepped in.

A sphere formed on his forehead. With a flick of his hand, he sent it toward the dragon thoughts, intercepting them with precision. The sphere filled to the brim with experiences almost instantly.

"So you're an Archdemon... why didn't you just say that before?" he growled in annoyance as the sphere returned to his forehead.

The dragon shrank to a quarter of its size. Without its previous momentum, it collided with Manduka, causing only minor damage to his form and experiences. The impact made him wince slightly in pain before the dragon retreated, creating small ripples on his body.

Manduka let out a sigh of relief.

The dragon returned to Ged's forehead, bringing clarity back to his mind. His anger subsided as his awareness of the situation slowly sharpened.

But the realization that the human-bear demon had taken a share of his experiences sent a chill through him. I fear some of my memories have grown vague. How strange...

He processed the full event, piecing together what had happened when his dragon thoughts emerged.

Archdemon. It was the second time he had been called that, yet he still remained in the dark about its meaning. I'll have to ask the beaver later.

He glanced at Manduka, his eyes carrying the faintest hint of an apology for his outburst. But before he could dwell on it further, the human-bear demon interrupted his thoughts.

"Your toll has been paid. Go and take your seat in the Gondola. Don't delay the line. I care little about your status." His expression was dark.

Ged frowned.

"Great one, you go first," Manduka said, trying to be careful of retriggering his anger. "I will meet you on the other side."

Ged only nodded before moving toward the Gondola seat.

A worn-out rope suspended the seat from the ground to the distant red mountain. Attached to it was a small, single-person wooden car that looked like it would collapse at any moment.

Ged gritted his teeth. This was a ride many lesser demons had taken before.

How dangerous could it be?