Later that night, snoozing just before dawn…

I’m back here again, amid the cold darkness of the World Tree, deep in the shadowy, frozen heart of Arcadia – the Land of Demons. The image of it haunts me, as vivid as ever.

Good fucking grief. Again!? I can’t believe this shit. It was well past midnight when Anna, Eris, and I finished that little bucket of beers. I was really hoping for at least a quick snooze before morning prayers at the Palace of Lights. So much for that, eh?

“It’s a shame you held back with that little Bard, the one meant to be my oh-so-beloved Voice…”

I scowl deeply and focus on the Demon Lord, who sits cross-legged atop snow-swept steps covered in broken glass that sparkles faintly in the gloom. The bastard’s cold and feminine voice is still a cruel mockery of my own, just as its shadowy form and visage is but a parody of me. It’s not the first time I’ve seen it, probably not the last, but it’s still… unnerving.

“It was you calling out to me just now when Eris…” I mutter, my frown deepening as I cut myself off. “How? I wasn’t asleep. And yet…”

“In time, we’re getting closer,” the Demon Lord replies coldly, its tone teasing. “Truly becoming one in mind and body. As I said before…”

“Shit. Tell me it ain’t so.”

“But know this – it was your idea to use Mind Control on that little Bard!” the Demon Lord declares merrily, a dark smile forming on its shadowy lips. “It was all you!”

“Bullshit. It was your voice that said…”

“To ‘do something’. Nothing more. You’re the one who decided what that ‘something’ was. Only a fellow Demon would think to do what you wanted to do!”

I cross my arms, frowning harder.

“Either way, it’s a shame your pet Paladin stepped in and denied you this chance to do good,” the Demon Lord adds snidely. “You could have done so much for my precious little Voice if you had stayed the course. You could have purged her of her memories, her sadness… her everything.”

I grit my teeth. I think of Anna’s promise to kill all the Demon Lords wherever they are – whether they haunt my dreams or emerge from the shadows of the real world. It helps me steel my nerves. And I… I’m ready. As ready as I’ll ever be.

“You’re cruel, ‘Hero’. So very cruel…” the Demon Lord’s voice softens, almost full of pity as its gaze glowers over me. “You condemn others to suffer when you could ease their pain with a mere snap of your fingers!”

“She’d be a mindless, soulless husk if I did that to her,” I reply sharply. “Nothing but a puppet under my control. I wasn’t thinking straight in the heat of the moment… but now, I know better.”

“Yes, indeed. She would live as you command her to. She would be happy if you allowed her that kindness… if you pulled her strings and made it so.”

“And it’d be a life. She’d live a twisted, fucked up mockery of a life.”

“Hmm. And what have you given her instead? Pain? Virtuous suffering?”

“We’ve given her the chance to remember those she lost, to mourn them properly, and to heal in her own time. It’ll take months, years… but she’s on that path now. She’ll get there. I believe in her.”

“Ah. Virtuous suffering, then. Do you truly believe you’re doing a good thing?”

“I do!”

“Because your little pet Paladin said so? You’re so obsessed with her… it’s almost comical.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“I believe in her,” I answer firmly, locking my gaze on the Demon Lord’s shadowy visage. “You’re right – I nearly did a terrible thing to Eris, thinking it was for her own good. But Anna reminded me that I’m not alone in fulfilling this Prophecy. I remembered the holy vow I made with myself to trust her, to trust others with my burden… and so, I stayed my hand. I’m glad I did.”

“Hmm. I see…”

The Demon Lord’s voice trails off, and there’s a note of sadness in its typically cold and hateful tone for the first time. Gone is the mocking, snide sarcasm, replaced suddenly by a deep sorrow.

Good grief. That’s… not what I was expecting. Have I struck a nerve? Could it be that…?

“Deep down…” the Demon Lord murmurs, its voice unexpectedly soft, laced with a strange pity. “Don’t you wish you could forget? You know exactly what I mean.”

“I…”

I frown. I do know what that bastard’s talking about. Because deep down, a part of me would’ve wanted what Eris begged Lady Mezalune for in her moment of despair, knowing what she knew. Experiencing that pain of losing someone close to oneself… I’m no stranger to that shitty feeling, be it Anna or Shinji… be it my world or Nisha. It is what it is.

Erasing it all’s an easy way out, I’ll admit. But now, having seen what it’s done to Eris, knowing there’s another way… I know better than to seek solace in the abyss.

“There’s no need to act tough and lie,” the Demon Lord adds gently, its voice tender as if we share some manner of fucked up camaraderie. “There are no secrets between us. We are as one, after all.”

“You’re right,” I answer solemnly, lowering my head. “Part of me wishes for oblivion to erase the sins of my past. But if I did that… I’d be betraying everyone I love. Anna, Lady Iris, Lady Mezalune… I’d never give up my memories of them for anything.”

“I see. How… disappointing,” the Demon Lord answers with a deep sigh, its voice edged with disappointment. You’re hurting yourself, you know? Hurting us by clinging to all this pain. And for what? They’ll never remember you… the same way I do.”

“Heh. Don’t worry about it. I got this,” I state, chuckling wryly. “You wouldn’t understand. How could you? You’re just a friendless, hollow shell pretending to be me. If we indeed are ‘as one’ as you like to claim so damn much… I suppose that’s where we’re different, eh?”

“Hmph. In that case…”

The Demon Lord scoffs, averting my gaze in favour of the shadows around us. It’s cold in here… and in the silence that follows, it feels like the air and the darkness around me are trying to freeze the blood in my veins. It really does.

“We should kill her, then,” the Demon Lord says abruptly as its shadowy gaze falls upon me anew, smiling darkly out of the blue. “Smother her in her sleep with a pillow, maybe.”

“What!? The fuck are you…?”

“You heard me! She’s going to be a problem when you return home.”

“You’re not making any sense,” I retort, flipping the bird. “Also, fuck you. To think that for a moment, I thought I sensed from you…”

“Sorrow? Perhaps you are truly losing your mind.”

“Right…”

Huh, okay. So we’re back to the usual hostilities, then. Sure, why not? Even so, I know what I heard, and I know what I felt… in that moment. But why? There has to be a reason...

“Either way, don’t worry about missing out on this chance to use the gifts of our brethren,” the Demon Lord jeers, its cruel demeanour returning. “There’ll be more chances to embrace your new power. It’s only a matter of time.”

“I’d get comfortable waiting if I were you.”

“She may be your volition… but for how long? We’ll see, I suppose… won’t we?”

The Demon Lord laughs – a sickening, hollow sound made from that mockery of my voice that makes my stomach churn. But before I can react, my eyes snap open. I’m back in the waking world. Back in Nisha, in the guest room of Eris’ suite.

I stare up at the ceiling of the guest room in Eris’ suite, trying everything I can to steady my breathing. The room is dark, the only light coming from the small nightlight in the corner. It casts a warm yellow glow that’s oddly comforting.

“Arisa…?” Anna’s groggy voice calls out, prompting me to glance over and see her watching me with one eye half-open. “Are you okay?”

Damn. I must’ve woken her up with my breathing and trembling. I don’t think I screamed – my throat feels fine. Either way… I’d hate to be a bother.

“Oh, hey,” I answer, forcing myself to smile as I look her in the eye. “I…”

Before I can finish, she wraps her arms around me, pulling me into a tight embrace. She’s warm and soft, like a heated bolster, and… well, I guess I really do wear my emotions on my sleeve, huh? She must’ve seen something in my eyes while I was trying to play it cool.

“Did you dream of me while you were in there, Arisa…? I promised you that I’d be there for you. To slay them all alongside you, as your Paladin…”

“I did,” I admit sheepishly, my gaze softening, my forced smile becoming genuine. “It works wonders. Thanks, by the way.”

“That’s good… I’m glad…” Anna mumbles as she takes my hand, her voice soft with sleep. “Go back to sleep, yeah? We still have time before…”

Her sentence trails off as she drifts back to sleep. I glance down at our hands, still tightly clasped together, and sigh softly. Safe in that simple comfort, I close my eyes again, determined to get some rest. Demon Lord be damned.