Further into the night…

I’m back in Arcadia, in the sacred heart of the World Tree. Again! Oh, fuck me.

Darkness shrouds this place in deathly palls of black, trails of deep purple smoke slithering past me like shadowy serpents. It’s enough to make my skin crawl. And that shattered clock, once bright with light when it was nice and whole, is completely dark.

Pretty grim stuff I’m seeing right now, I’ll say. It’s not a good feeling, and it’s pissing me off. But I think of Anna’s suggestion, and her promise to me. That she’d be by my side to kill all the Demon Lords in all the places. Even here. Especially here! And as I envision her standing by my side, holding my hand as we stand shoulder to shoulder in the depths of my own personal hell, it’s oddly… calming.

“Love what you did to the place,” I say with a smile and gritted teeth as the Demon Lord appears before me in that dark mockery of myself, shrouded in deathly shadows. “You think you could make this any darker if you tried?”

“Oh, I simply can’t help myself – it does get rather boring in here!” the Demon Lord answers, grinning sharply. “Lingering around in the recesses of your mind leaves much to be desired, I’m afraid.”

“You’re free to fuck off whenever.”

“If only things were that simple, like you and your kind, hmm?”

“Maybe you aren’t trying hard enough.”

“Or perhaps… you want to be here. You sought me out this time, after all.”

“Bullshit.”

“Only you know where I wait in this house of ours, dreaming,” the Demon Lord answers with a sneer. “It’s a real shame that you’ve yet to remember.”

“Remember what?”

“The truth! What else?”

“Fuck you, speaking in riddles like that.”

“You have questions for me, don’t you?” the Demon Lord adds coldly. “Why else have you returned, even if subconsciously?”

I frown and cross my arms as the Demon Lord watches and waits. I’ll admit, I do have… questions. Been thinking ever since Anna and I left the Vineyard. I want to know more before I do. Like me, she’s… new to this. And so, that makes two of us. Hopefully not for long.

“You want to know why a Demon’s down there,” the Demon Lord offers calmly. “Oh, and you also want to know why it called to its Lord in its dying breaths.”

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“Close enough,” I answer curtly. “And I suppose you’d so kindly answer me.”

“Like I said before… we are as one. I am you. And you… are me. Hence, all is laid bare. In here, I can’t lie to you, just as you can’t lie to me.”

“The fuck you are! Let’s be clear right now – you aren’t me, and I ain’t you.”

The Demon Lord bursts into manic laughter. I cross my arms and roll my eyes, holding in my anger as I wait it out. Bastard really does know how to grate on my ears. And it’s a little unnerving that this laughter sounds just like… my voice! Kinda. I don’t think I could ever get my own laugh to sound anywhere close to this! Takes skill to have an evil laugh like that, I’ll admit. Credit where credit’s due.

“But if you must know, our presence is a conduit for our brethren. That Shadow Fiend was the first, for they are the ones most attuned to the gaps that exist between worlds, wherever such gaps may be. It was but a scout seeking out its Lord.”

“Is that why it said what it said… in its final moments when Anna killed it…”

“Like I said – we are as one. And soon enough…”

“More will come,” I interject dryly, frowning as I taste the words on my tongue, as I envision the horrors of demons falling upon Nisha as they did in the previous timeline, at the end of days while Anna and I braved the horrors of Arcadia. “Don’t worry about it – I’ll kill them all! Just as I intend on killing you again.”

“I already said that you can’t kill me ‘again’. Were you not listening to a word I said before?”

“If I can help it.”

“Hmph. Be that way it you have to, if doing so pleases you and keeps you going!”

“You bet it does. But also… uh…”

Fuck, I’m losing my nerve! I don’t know why. Maybe all this fucked up darkness surrounding me, giving all the bad vibes. Or maybe it’s something else. Fuck if I know.

“The dark essence of the Shadow Fiend,” the Demon Lord adds smugly, an all-too-familiar orb of dark energy manifesting from its shadow-wreathed hand. “You wonder about this as well, yes? The secret of the Mind Control spell.”

“How the goddamn fuck did you…”

“You thought it faded away, ‘Hero’. But no. It’s a part of you now, a part of us.”

“Explain.”

“I am their Lord. We are their Lord. That’s how! It’s a perk of having me around. You need only tap into your Mana, will it… and it shall be so upon whoever you choose. By their hand and your command, your will be done.”

“I don’t need or want this,” I state brusquely. “It’s some greasy Demon shit to damn my soul.”

“Oh, I understand your… aversion all too well,” the Demon Lord answers with a heavy sneer. “But you’ll come around when the time is right, in your time of need.”

“Heh. You think so?”

“Well… for one, you never know when you want to bend someone’s will to serve you unquestioningly. Is that never a concern in your daily life?”

“Not really.”

“For shame, then. But perhaps you’ll need it to do the good you like to think you’re doing. You never know. That’s how you ‘Hero’ types always justify it to yourselves. It’s quite amusing, were it not such a cliché.”

“You’ll be waiting a while, then. I’ll manage just fine with what I’ve already got.”

“Just remember – in your time of need... the darkness offers its solace.”

“Good to know, asshole.”

Once more, I’m awake. Back in the safety of my room in the Chantry. Staring at the ceiling again as I lay in bed. This time, though, my heart ain’t pounding. I feel mostly fine. Maybe I’m getting used to this. I’m not quite sure if that’s a good thing. Probably isn’t.

It’s still dark out the window. There’s still some time to snooze till dawn when I gotta get outta this comfy bed to attend morning prayers. Ah, it’s not so bad.