108. Erosion

The first time Isaac had stepped foot in the Inferno, he’d wanted to turn back around. He’d already prepared himself for the worst, given Lilith describing it as “the realm of demons” and saying she “fully expected him to run away,” but the sight of the oddly undulating walls, pulsing like quivering flesh, had elicited such strong disgust in him that only his own determination to prove Lilith wrong had kept his feet walking forward.

Seeing actual demons hadn’t helped. None of them had bothered him, to be sure, but seeing creatures with multiple eyes, beings more than ten times his size, creatures with no easily discernible faces or bodies—he hadn’t been fully convinced that he wouldn’t just be killed on the spot.

As he’d continued up the spiraling stairs, shuddering whenever he accidentally brushed against the cavern walls, he’d been well aware of the eyes following him, had heard the low, rasping murmurs and rumbles. He’d done his best to avoid their gazes and had clutched his newly gifted tablet closer, as though the action alone would protect him. Really he wanted to know why this was necessary at all, but Lilith had insisted that he meet the rulers of the various realms before he started working properly.

Isaac, frankly, had no interest in knowing what a demon king was supposed to be like. It was better not to think about it, but of course, that didn’t stop his mind from conjuring up the worst possible images that only grew more and more severe with every newly shaped demon he crossed paths with.

Finally, his pace had slowed as he approached a wider landing along the cavern levels. That was when he first saw Olzu; the tiny demon had brushed past him with a hiss and a growl, bounding down the stairs in sharp, jerking movements. In retrospect it was no more aggressive than Olzu’s usual behavior was when he was irritated, but at the time Isaac had completely frozen in place when the strange creature touched him. His vision focused in on the rows of gleaming sharp teeth revealed by his snarl, the stereotypical image of a violent, monstrous demon.

And then, frozen in place along the stairs, he’d been broken out of his trance by the sound of soft laughter.

“Are you alright?” an unfamiliar figure had asked. The voice was rich and warm. Unlike the rough and raspy voices he’d overheard thus far, this one flowed like the smooth surface of a lake, and though it wasn’t “light,” it didn’t sound menacing or intimidating either.

Slowly raising his head, he’d looked up and seen Lucius hovering a few feet above, leathery black wings moving with no visible effort. And even though his black sclera should’ve been just as unnerving as the other alien demonic features he’d encountered so far, the man had been smiling, and Isaac, to his own surprise, had felt his tensed muscles relax.

“Olzu doesn’t mean any harm,” the demon had continued. “You’re Isaac, correct? Lilith messaged me about you.” He’d drifted closer, moving at a slow pace that Isaac suspected was to avoid scaring him.

“Please excuse my poor manners. I hadn’t realized you’d be arriving so soon, or I would’ve greeted you at the entrance.” Lucius had gestured to the cavern around them like one would introduce their home to a guest. “Welcome to the Inferno,” he’d said.

With that same kind smile, he’d extended a hand for a handshake, a motion that was so familiar and so distinctly “human” that it had stunned Isaac for a moment.

“It’s nice to meet you,” the man had said. “I’m Lucius.”

—

Looking back, that was probably the first time since Lilith had assured him that no one in the Underside would hurt him that Isaac had actually believed it. The magical tablet hadn’t convinced him, the golden glow shielding his body hadn’t convinced him, but the sight of that oddly amiable demon with stats that could turn him into dust without blinking welcoming him so easily had finally done it.

Isaac’s hold on the tablet tightened. He could hear the wind whistling past the red tint of the barrier as Casimir zoomed ahead. His spine was pressed against the back of the sphere, glued there by their momentum, but he found he didn’t care. He kept staring ahead, eyes scanning across the inky void in fear that they’d miss the two demons.

That fear quickly turned out to be unwarranted.

The first sign was the sudden dryness. The slight chill of the Abyss didn’t change at all, and yet, as soon as they crossed an invisible boundary, Isaac suddenly felt parched, as though he hadn’t drunk water in days. It was a prickling, heavy sensation that climbed up his skin, and when he touched his lips, he felt them already beginning to crack.

The second sign was the path. The singular smooth road that stretched through the expanse of the Abyss broke apart in front of Isaac’s eyes. Its edges darkened, withering and rotting, while great cracks split its surface apart until sharp, jagged chunks of the path drifted around them in a scattered field of debris.

Even those broken pieces, too, were rotting, Isaac quickly realized. A smoky darkness clung to their edges, steadily disintegrating the chunks down just like the main road. It was a constant, persistent force that expanded steadily outwards, blooming out from its origin with no sign of stopping.

The tablet screen flashed. [SKILL EROSION LVL 97] it read. Isaac swallowed, but found his throat was too dry. His limbs felt weaker, fragile, and his head was growing dizzy in that strange, oppressive atmosphere.

He didn’t even know when they’d slowed down, only that when he managed to force his blurring vision back into focus, Casimir’s stark white wings had stopped moving. The red walls of the barrier faded, and Isaac landed down on a larger piece of rubble that seemed to have avoided the main radius of the magic. Isaac struggled to his feet, nearly losing his balance on the uneven, rocking piece. He ended up grabbing its rough edges, gritting his teeth as he pulled himself up. And then his eyes landed on the center of the destruction.

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Huddled on a single piece of debris was a hunched, shaking figure he recognized as Remus. The demon was surrounded by a few small puddles, one with a lingering piece of melting ice floating inside, and Isaac watched them dry up before his eyes, leaving the floating island barren and completely devoid of moisture.

The demon’s eyes were wild, lacking any of the distant cloudiness that Isaac had come to recognize him by. Instead, those eyes were wide with fear.

Hovering just above the cowering demon, leathery black wings spread wide and bleeding into the endless expanse of the Abyss, was Lucius.

He floated like he always did, the image of effortlessness, utterly untouched by the rot slowly expanding outwards around him, whipping the surrounding debris into frenzied movements. He remained perfectly still against the backdrop, a soft, icy blue glow outlining his silhouette as he stared down at the other demon with eyes so utterly devoid of emotion that they sent a shiver up Isaac’s spine.

Lucius raised his arm slowly, and the light flared. Isaac winced as a blast of wind nearly caused him to lose his grip on the piece of rubble. He could feel the dryness of the wind, as though it were pulling the moisture from everything it touched. A new wave of rot bloomed outwards, and Isaac watched Remus scramble away from the edge as the platform he was on disintegrated into a smaller and smaller space, creeping steadily closer. Unrushed, unconcerned, and overwhelming.

But what stood out most to Isaac were the faint golden lights scattered in the space between the broken pieces, gathering closer with each new movement the demon made. They looked like distant spectators, watching and waiting.

“Lucius!” Isaac yelled before he could think about it. His voice came out hoarse and strained. Tightening his grip on the debris, he leaned forward, attempting to use his body weight to force the floating piece to drift forward. To his surprise, it worked, and he was soon inching closer. He barely noticed the strange look on Casimir’s face as he passed by, too focused on the two demons.

Lucius barely turned his head around.

“You’re late.” The glow didn’t fade, and the erosion continued spreading.

Isaac studied the man, taking in both the known and unknown gestures and movements. “…We’re going to take Remus to Lilith,” he said, picking and choosing his words carefully. He ignored the way Remus’s eyes darted in his direction, how they filled with hope. He looked pitiful like that—a silent, trembling silhouette trapped within an encroaching wave of destruction.

He killed Olzu, Isaac reminded himself. He wasn’t doing this for Remus’s sake.

“Is that so.” The withering crawled closer. “And what exactly does she intend to do?”

Isaac shuddered, but forced himself to continue. He barely recognized the demon’s voice. Detached from its usual friendly warmth, its smooth, perfect evenness transformed from dependable and comforting to unsettling and inhuman.

“I don’t know,” he said truthfully. “But she’ll think of something.” His voice slowed, and he continued with caution. His throat was still dry, and even speaking felt difficult.

“Could you please stop your magic?”

Lucius finally turned to face him fully, and Isaac immediately wished he hadn’t.

“Are you concerned I’ll violate the system rules? Do you really think I have such little self control?”

Isaac released a shaky breath. The air was growing heavier, and he could practically feel the emptiness in his lungs as every breath was sucked away by the dryness. “I don’t know,” he said slowly, not taking his eyes off the demon. “I’ve never seen you do this before.”

Lucius smiled at that, a sharp and gleaming tilt of the mouth that completely warped his features. When he spoke again, his voice was the same as usual, the same inflections and the same word choice, but it no longer felt at home on his visage.

“Ah, perhaps not. Forgive me. I simply can’t stand it when worthless pests touch things that don’t belong to them.”

The blue light flared, and the rot spread faster. Remus let out a strangled sound as the platform he was on shrunk dramatically. Isaac realized with a start that the piece of debris he was on was quickly disintegrating as well. His eyes darted around wildly, trying to identify the closest area he could jump to, but it seemed like everything was breaking apart, filling the Abyss with tiny specks and remains that soon sunk back into the void.

Isaac’s fingers slipped as the edges crumbled, softening and eroding away. He could practically feel the moisture leave his skin as that wave of dryness swept past him. He grit his teeth, preparing himself for the worst.

And then, just as the entire surface of the rubble cracked and he felt himself begin to fall, a familiar red light flashed in his peripheral vision.

Isaac landed on his back with a heavy thud, just barely managing to avoid hitting his head on the hard surface. He scrambled up, ignoring his throbbing spine, and saw that he was on top of a familiar translucent red plane. His eyes darted back over to where Lucius and Remus were, and he blinked when he realized Remus was entirely enclosed in a scarlet spherical barrier not unlike the one Isaac had just traveled within.

The person responsible for this had a wide, manic grin on his face. Casimir hadn’t moved an inch from his previous location, unbothered by the waves of magic that had swept past. Only the red glow around him indicated that he’d done anything at all.

Slowly, Lucius lowered his hand and turned to face the angel fully. From the way his head was angled, Isaac couldn’t make out what his expression was.

“Not that this isn’t super entertaining,” Casimir drawled, “but the Traveler’s got a point. You’re getting awfully close to system violation.” He cocked his head to the side, grin widening. “Just saying, that’d be a pathetic way to go.” He tapped his left shoulder sharply. “Very anticlimactic.”

Lucius was quiet for a few moments. Neither one moved or averted their gazes, a silent conversation seeming to pass between them. Isaac eyed the blue glow warily, his fingers squeezing the edge of the barrier.

Finally, after what felt like hours, the light dimmed.

It happened all at once. Air returned to Isaac’s lungs, and the creeping dryness disappeared. The glow surrounding Lucius vanished, leaving behind just the demon flying half obscured by the expanse of the Abyss that was now spotted with spiraling pieces of broken rubble and debris.

“Isaac.”

The sudden sound of his name nearly made Isaac jump. He met Lucius’s gaze, and there wasn’t a shred of warmth or familiarity on his face. When he spoke, it was with that same eerily calm voice.

“Tell Lilith,” he said lowly, “that I will be watching the judgment.”

Without another word, the demon turned away, beating his wings and vanishing into the darkness.