Hump tried not to appear as afraid as he felt as he met Karlac’s gaze. In that quiet moment, he envisioned the River and Waves, trying to rid himself of such useless emotion. The situation wasn’t looking good though. Had he ever been in such a terrible spot before? The gorger had been pretty bad—he hadn’t been able to move and was also trapped in another realm. He supposed that was worse. Here, he had his staff, his spellbook, and Nishari at his side. He could fight. Yet the gorger had been half-mad and Hump was able to pull off a win despite being much weaker at the time.

Nisha stumbled to her feet, catching her balance and then snarling at Karlac like an enraged cat, her back arched, tail lashing from side to side. Fight. Kill!

It seemed she was ready to go too, though Hump didn’t like their chances. She’d gotten big over the months, bigger than any dog he’d seen, but she was still just a child. Their best option was to avoid a fight. There was a reason Karlac had brought him here. A reason he wanted to talk and did not simply take the Book of Infinite Pages from him.

“How is this better?” Hump asked.

Karlac leant back in his chair and raised his hands, gesturing at the throne room. “Look around you, Wizard. Many have sought out my halls in wonder.”

“You wanted to speak privately,” Hump said, his anger flaring. His mind was on the battle above—his friends overrun by the demon army Karlac had brought with him. “Now you have an opportunity.”

Karlac met his eyes, a weight and age to them that made Hump nervous. He had hardly seen eighteen years, and now he stood before a creature far beyond that. A being that had likely seen and experienced more than Hump could imagine.

“Look,” the demon said with an implacable patience. “Take it in.”

Hump swallowed, tyring to relax. He shifted his gaze from the demon and scanned the hall, looking beyond the lavish carpets and fine stone. Paintings filled the walls—many were beautiful yet did not stand out to Hump, but some moved as if the subjects within were alive, like Hump was staring through a window to another world. The heads of great beasts were mounted upon the walls: dragons, monsters with long fangs, and monstrosities Hump could not compare to anything he had ever seen. A tapestry of carvings made a line along the walls and pillars, all at chest height, depicting wars, cities, people, nature, and all manner of things. Above, the marketplace and the darkness Hump had seen before were gone, and in their place was a mural filled with captivated heroes and creatures.

The demon is rich, Hump thought. What of it?

Was this a matter of pride? Did devils have such a simple desire as to show off? More importantly, Hump tried to gain some sense of where he was. If Karlac managed to bring him to another realm entirely then Hump was screwed, but that shouldn’t be possible. There had been no giant spell formation, no great power source. This had to be the demon’s Soul Domain. Perhaps it functioned like the lich’s phylactery somehow—a world like the library contained within the demon or some artifact. If that was the case, then they should still be physically connected to the Infernal Halls. When the dungeon was defeated, the fragment of the world that held them in place would become disconnected. Either Hump would be free, or he’d wind up lost in some dark abyss between worlds.

“Well?” Karlac asked. “Many have described my hall as beautiful.”

Hump turned back to the demon, face bunched up in confusion. “I suppose it is.”

“You are not impressed,” Karlac said flatly, leaning forward on his throne. “That is my fault. It is the story behind every piece of art that truly matters.” The demon stood abruptly, a hop to his step as he descended the stairs of his throne and directed Hump toward the head of a giant snake mounted on the wall nearby. “Come. Look closer.”

Hump hesitated, not wanting to approach the demon. “Why this dance?”

Karlac glanced at him from the corner of his eye, a gleeful spark within. “Because the alternative is burning.” His voice was laced with the same pleasantness as before.

Drawing a long breath, Hump stepped closer. He watched the demon for any sign of attack, but the creature appeared entirely relaxed. The shadow surrounding him was gone now. His wings were tucked behind his back, appearing smaller than before. As the demon turned to the mounted head, Hump considered attacking. Karlac’s back was exposed, and his attention was elsewhere—what better chance did he have? But he stopped himself. He was not in control here. Even if he could protect himself, he could not defend Nisha at the same time.

Coming to Karlac’s side, he studied the head of the serpent. Its mouth was poised open, a long tongue flicking out as if it had been frozen as it tasted the air. Along it was a scene sculpted in gold. Its fangs carved into intricate houses, with thousands of tiny gold figurines placed within looking like The figurines were not humans, but people of many races, some with the heads of beasts, others with pointed ears, or many arms.

“I was given this by the former Emperor Zuberi Shaan as tribute after he submitted to my rule.”

“I haven’t heard of him.”

“You wouldn’t have. He was not from your world.”

He brought Hump to a glass cabinet. Crystal globes were displayed within, each one containing a miniature room or building.

“These are pocket realms,” Karlac said. “Fragments of reality carved out of their world and stored within a container artifacts. These I claimed from a particularly nasty wizard who would steal people away along with their homes, keeping them as pets. The people are long since dead, but I keep them for the art of the magic, something I’m sure you can appreciate.”

Hump leant in closer, trying to find some familiarity to the magic, but he saw no runes or markings at all. The globes were perfect crystal, clear as glass. He had to admit, his interest was piqued. “I have never seen magic like it. There are no runes.”

Stolen novel; please report.

Karlac smiled. “Not that we can see here. The runes are within, etched into the land built into the houses.”

Again, he moved on, bringing Hump to more displays. The Flute of Silent Screams displayed within a velvet-lined case, the delicate piece carved from a single piece of white bone. A bard, renowned across his lands, offered this flute to Karlac in exchange for the ability to create the perfect melody, only to discover that the music brought ruin to all who heard it. The Chain of the Sunken Queen was formed of arm-thick links, with a single cuff still attached to a perfectly preserved foot. Karlac had helped her to consolidate power following the death of her husband, only for her to be drowned many years later, and even now her soul remained trapped inside the chain, never to rest. And so it went, on and on as they walked.

Everywhere Hump went he witnessed artifacts of such incomprehensible magic: an ornate mirror that gave one visions of the many futures, an orb where the pure essence of light and dark fought a constant battle, the light of a star trapped within a bottle.

Finally, Karlac turned back to his throne, climbing halfway up the steps before gesturing at the objects above it. They had not drawn Hump’s eye before, in fact, he wasn’t sure he’d seen them at all until Karlac pointed them out. They appeared simple, a gold spear and a silver staff. Only, as Hump focused on them did he sense something more. Something greater.

Hump sensed divinity.

The moment he realised it, the sensation became overwhelming, as if he were staring directly into a god pillar. And then, as quickly as it had taken him, that divinity was twisted into something dark, leeching into him like poisonous oil. Karlac stepped before it, his figure obscuring Hump’s view of the weapons as the demon once more took the throne. Once he was seated, the sensation of divinity was gone again.

Yet a sickening feeling ran through Hump. A terrible familiarity. He studied the weapons as if trying to remember a name. Then he placed them.

“That is the Spear of Orenidil and the Staff of Elustria.”

A wide grin cracked Karlac’s face, but it was not happiness Hump saw. It was pride.

“Correct,” the demon said.

“But… how?” Hump asked. “They are displayed in the High Temple of Elenvine? How could they be here?”

“All have their weakness, even the mightiest in your kingdom. They have come to me to bargain, and they were rewarded for it. All of these were gifted to me in exchange for greatness, secrets, or power. I show you this, for I wish for you to see that you are not alone. Many have stood where you now stand, and all have granted me what I desire in the end.”

Hump’s hand went to his spellbook. Was he really willing to die for a book? He’d read the warnings within, knew how desperately his predecessors wanted to keep it safe, but what was the point if he died? Karlac would have what he wanted anyway, and he would be in the dirt.

Unless…

The book can’t be taken by force. The realisation sparked an explosion in his mind. If that were true, why had the old man tried so desperately to keep it out of enemy hands? And why had Eliana and her master tried so hard to take it? Did they not know? Or was there more to it than that? He thought back to when he’d first bonded the book—it had bound to his soul by blood. Surely, that bond could be severed.

“There is something stopping you from taking it, isn’t there?” Hump said. “And it’s not just my terrifying skills.”

Karlac’s face twisted with anger. “You know so little of what you possess. Glyndaril is not so easily persuaded. Better I speak with the man than that silver bastard.”

“You know of Glyndaril then? You speak as if you have met him.”

“I am old, wizard. So very old. I was there before the Pantheon ascended. I was there before the Luminaar Realm was devastated and this world was shattered. There is so very much you do not know.”

“The Luminaar Realm?” Hump asked.

“The place depicted in the serpent’s head,” Karlac said. “You may know it as the Remnant Realm. It was a thriving world like your own before the gods destroyed it, as has happened so often in the past. That is what comes from so much power being held by so few.”

Hump swallowed. He thought back to the memories of the gorger in its final moments. Once, that place had thrived with life—with cities and people—and now it was gone.

“Why are you telling me all this?”

“So that you give me the book,” Karlac said. “Give me the book, and I will let you return to your world a rich man. I will call off my armies and allow your friends to live.”

“What will you do with it?” Hump asked.

“That is my business.”

It was a tempting offer, not least because Hump felt helpless in the current situation, but it was his duty to protect the book. As he searched himself, he felt its connection to him. Glyndaril was in there.

“I can’t give it to you,” Hump said.

“Why go to all this trouble to keep a book you do not even understand? Is it power you want? I can grant it to you. Riches? Look around you at my halls, there is no wealth in your world beyond me.”

Hump searched for an answer but struggled to find one. All he knew was that this was wrong. “You are a demon. A being of evil.”

“I was named a demon by your Pantheon, but I am just a being like yourself. I think, I feel, I desire… Evil is but a term attached to me by the victors, just as wizards were evil for hundreds of years.”

Hump furrowed his brow. “Victors?” The dots were starting to connect. “You were a servant of the old gods. That’s why you work for the warlocks.”

Karlac laughed, rich and syrupy. “I work for no one. You cannot defeat me, Wizard. I will extend my offer one last time: Name me your inheritor and leave the book behind. Copy all the spells you wish before you go, even, and I shall see that you and your companions return home safely. I will grant you your riches, and my knowledge of magic. Knowledge that would make the childish tricks your people call magic green with envy.”

Hump shook his head, fist tightening on his staff. His heart hammered as he reached for his essence, fear and excitement mixing as he made up his mind. “I don’t need to defeat you. The Infernal Halls will be destroyed, and once it is, you will not be able to hold me here. I only need to last until then.”

“What of your companions?” Karlac asked, raising a hand at his side. Above it, a window opened revealing the world outside. Bud, Emilia, Dylan, and Marcela were there, battling a horde of demons. They were overrun. Two dozen Chosen against hundreds of demons.

“They do not need me to protect them,” Hump said.

Suddenly, Karlac became alert. He searched the room, his eyes stopping on a spot in the darkness.

Startled, Hump scanned the room with him. What had the demon seen? Karlac held up his hand as if reaching for something. A woman’s scream shattered the quiet of the hall and Celaine appeared from the shadows, dragged through the air by some unnatural force. She went silent as he grasped her by the neck.

“A new deal, then. Your little friend in exchange for the book.”

Hump’s mouth fell open as his heart thumped heavy with fear. Before he could even weigh his options, Celaine snarled, shadows rising around her, silver light shining in her hand as she dragged Bloodshadow from its sheath and stabbed Karlac in the stomach.

The demon screamed and released her, staggering back, a feral rage in his eyes. She leapt and used Shadow Vault to leap back, disappearing from sight.

“There is nowhere you can hide in my realm, girl,” he screamed, spittle spraying from his mouth. “I see you everywhere.”

“You will not have her,” Hump snarled, essence burning in him, igniting with his fury. He levelled his staff, every fibre of his being thrown into the magic. The bubbling fire turned white in the focus. His soul manifested, the terrifying intent of Karlac challenged by his own. “White Flame.”

“Fine then!” Karlac roared, unleashing his power. “Burn in the fires of hell.”

The world erupted in white light and blazing red, as the fury of his soul met Hellfire.