The pink-skinned demon quickly led us to our lodgings, a small compound at the very edge of the shadows encroaching on the city from all sides. The compound was just barely within reach of the light seeping through the glass dome up above, and it would have been hellishly hot if not for the adjacent water canal. Thanks to this canal, which carried the benefits of the oasis out through the city, our lodgings were quite comfortable.
The compound didn’t contain much in the way of buildings, just two large dorms for soldiers and a small standalone house for a commander. Since Glaustro’s unit contained a thousand soldiers in total, we filled out the two dorms to near capacity.
The dorms were not segregated based on gender, which is how Mia and I ended up sharing a room. Honestly, more than anything, I felt reassured to have her near. After everything we had gone through together, I knew I could trust her, unlike all the new faces around me.
Once inside the refuge of our room, we could shed the uncomfortable gear at our leisure. Taking off the breathing mask was a relief, since I definitely didn’t enjoy the sensation of biting onto the mouthpiece to keep it in place. Likewise, while the goggles had protected my eyes, bits of sand had stuck to their edges, consistently irritating my skin.
On the topic of sand, I had to cast my cleaning spell on myself a grand total of four times before I managed to get rid of it all. The spell could barely influence the stuff to roll away from me, and those grains that were stuck deep inside my clothes were not playing nice. Once I was finally done, I had to repeat the process for a pouting Mia, who just kept looking at me forlornly.
I was finishing my fifth and hopefully final cast of the spell on her when there was a knock on our door.
“Who is it?” I asked cautiously, my mind immediately creating a list of potentially unfavorable encounters.
To my immense relief, I instantly recognized the voice of our visitor. “It’s Bronwynn. Glaustro sent me to fetch you two.”
I strode across the room to pull the door open, bringing me face to exhausted face with one of my favorite demons. “We can go right now,” I said, then hesitated and glanced at Mia. “Right?”
The cat lady just rolled her eyes and sauntered up to me, carefully moving her limbs around as she did so to make sure there was no more sand stuck in her clothes or armor. When she realized there wasn’t, seeing as it all lay in a small pile on the floor, she smiled and nodded.
“Follow me, then,” Bronwynn grumbled, rolling his own shoulders experimentally. “I swear, I thought boredom was bad, but I think I almost prefer my life before the legion if we’re going to be spending more time out in that blasted sand.”
I winced, then took him in again. There were faint lines on his face and hands from where the sand had scored grooves into his skin, and bits of blood flecked his clothing. “That bad?”
“You have no idea. Maybe I’ve been spoiled, but… it’s been a while since something hurt me so easily. And it’s sand. It’s not even an enemy I can fight,” the demon continued to grumble, his eyes full of anger and resentment.
I couldn’t resist a small smirk. “Trust me, I know how it feels to be vulnerable to the weather. We don’t all have the leisure of being practically immune to temperature changes, you know.”
Bronwynn turned to glower, but unlike with most other demons, I didn’t detect any real intention to cow me into submission. “You need to mind your words a bit more, brat. I swear, you’re kind to someone once, and they think they can talk to you however they like.”
I just grinned wider, which made the demon scowl and look away. Protest and bluster he might, but for better or worse, Bronwynn was genuinely kind. I knew that firsthand.
My relaxed mood vanished as we approached Glaustro’s lodgings. I knew there was no need to fear casual cruelty from the commander, but this conversation would impact my future like no other, so I couldn’t help the anxiety.
Bronwynn knocked on the front door once, then simply opened it and motioned us through.
“You’re not coming in with us?” I asked.
He shook his head, then pointed inside again. I took a deep breath and walked in.
The commander’s house was much better appointed than the dorms. Our assigned rooms were bare bones, little more than a bed and a desk in each. Glaustro’s temporary home, on the other hand, had plush carpets, tapestries hanging from the walls, and what looked like sinfully comfy chairs and couches in practically every corner.
The demon sat on one such couch, sipping from a teacup. A kettle steamed on a coffee table in front of him. His eyes tracked us impassively as we entered, flicking briefly to the sofa across from him as our only hint at what was expected of us.
We sat, of course, then stewed in the silence for a minute or two as he continued to sip tea.
“Before we begin with… heavier topics, was there something you would like to ask me? Perhaps about this campaign?”
I didn’t expect the sudden offer, and it threw me for a loop. Glaustro smirked at the surprise on my face.
“Don’t look so shocked. As you might have noticed, I don’t make a habit of recruiting mortals. You are an exception, and your friend here was a decent addition. I decided to extend an offer to her because of you. However, most of my other soldiers have sources and acquaintances that would clue them into what’s happening on Lagyel, at least vaguely. You have no such sources to draw on, so I thought I could offer some help.”
I considered that for a second. While the demons were shocked about the sand, I realized in hindsight that they hadn’t reacted to what Glaustro was discussing with our guide, nor did they seem surprised by the underground city.
Come to think of it, they might even have been warned about the sand, yet decided to ignore it in a typical display of demonic arrogance.
Before I could recover, Mia beat me to the punch. “What are the jinn?”
Glaustro smiled at her and shook his head, as if amused that she would speak out of turn when he hadn’t addressed her personally.
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“They are, in a way, like us. A mana-based species, immortal by birth and imbued with great power. The trick with jinn is that they don’t rely on war and conquest to worm their way into a world.”
“There was mention of wishes,” I supplied, remembering all the stories from my former world about twisted wish-granting.
“Yes, that’s how they do it. When they first manifest in a world, they look for eager idiots and offer their services. They have the innate ability to conjure nearly anything with magic, but the twist is that they can only use the full extent of their power to grant the desires of others. They start small, at first. A bit of gold here, a healing miracle there. But it ramps up quickly, if they are allowed free reign.”
“How does that result in a conquered world, though?”
Glaustro sighed, closing his eyes as he leaned back in his seat. He took another sip of his tea.
“You need to understand, while magic can be studied, a lot of it is… conceptual, symbolic, and quite thoroughly mystical. Take Berlis, for example. By opposing us, that mad mage seized the power to represent her entire world. With the World Will’s backing and the acknowledgement of the greatest kingdom in the world, she became the world’s Champion. When the general killed her, it was easy for him to lay claim to the whole world in the name of the legion.”
I nodded hesitantly, filing this new knowledge away. “So… all the jinn need to do is make a deal with a person who represents the world they’re in?”
“Yes and no. They build up to it, as I said. They grant someone wealth, then influence, then power, until that individual becomes the world’s chosen Champion. They don’t just target a single person, of course. They spread their bets out. Once they have their hooks in the most influential local, they tempt that mortal into making a wish. Something like ‘secure my reign’, or ‘guarantee my safety’, or what have you.”
“And they regret their wish almost immediately?” I guessed, quirking a brow.
Glaustro laughed. “Of course. If they ask for safety, an army of jinn descends and takes control of the world, policing it. If they ask for immortality, they might find themselves caught in magical amber, preserved for eternity while the jinn rule in their place. They’re tricky things, jinn, and always willing to twist a wish. They encourage the wisher to escalate more and more until they’re in over their head.”
We fell silent, each nursing our own thoughts. I was personally caught up in comparing this information to the stories from my old world. In that life, I was always convinced magic was a fantasy. A thing of dreams and imagination. With all I knew now, though… how much had I missed on my homeworld?
Of course, Glaustro wouldn’t let us just sit there and luxuriate in the comfy sofa for too long. As he finally put down an empty teacup, his countenance shifted into something far more serious and severe.
“With your curiosity sated for now, let’s talk about why I summoned you in the first place. Ascension.”
The mere word sent a thrill shooting through my body and set my fingertips a-tingling. I swallowed, and found my throat to be uncomfortably dry.
“We’ll appreciate whatever you can share on the subject.”
The demon scoffed. “I’m sure you will. You do realize how hasty and risky it was for you to make a proclamation to the general like that, right? It wasn’t a smart move, that’s for bloody sure.”
For a moment, Glaustro’s fancy mode of speech faltered in his frustration, and I winced.
“I… We need whatever we can get,” I stammered. “I’m not going to spend an eternity lagging behind everyone else just because I happened to be human once upon a time.”
I regretted my words instantly. Of all demons, Glaustro knew exactly what the fate of ascended demons was typically like.
The demon speared me with his eyes, pinning me to my seat. I couldn’t even squirm. This continued for several long seconds until, finally, he snorted and shook his head. There was a sadness and resignation to the gesture I didn’t quite like.
“Well, if you succeed, I suppose you won’t have to worry about lagging behind. If.” The demon fell silent for a few more moments, weighing his words. “Ascension was always a thing. However, it wasn’t always so… easy, or as streamlined. People used to have to offer sacrifices to the Abyss the hard way, through ritual and ceremonies. Things changed because of a war.”
I leaned forward as the big demon paused again, my attention fully fixed on him.
Finally, he continued, “The Abyss fought the Cradle, both sides invading each other, and losses were mounting. So, the Abyss itself set up the first Absorption Stations, making it easier to ascend. You need to realize that the price of ascension is not nearly as low as it’s made out to be. The Abyss itself sponsors most of the cost, so long as the subject does the minimum required to condition their soul enough to avoid instant failure. Maxing out your ascension isn’t paying the full price. It’s the minimum you need to do for guaranteed success. Such ascension leaves much to be desired, though.”
My mind spun, and I remembered all the ascended demons I had ever seen. Frankly, I was getting rather good at guessing whether a demon had been born as such or ascended to their new form. The cookie cutter appearance was almost a dead giveaway, even with the minute differences and the lucky few who got unique features.
“But it’s possible to go beyond that minimal success,” I ventured. “The general said as much.”
“Yes, possible. The problem is, if you push past the basics, you also push past the safety features the Abyss installed in the stations. Just like with rituals of old. The process of improving your ascension pushes you forcefully past human limits. As the general warned, most ascend immediately after maxing out their ascension meter, to avoid problematic side effects.”
“What are they, exactly? Is it like what I’m experiencing now?” I paused, shifting in my seat before I managed to force the words out. “Problems with controlling one’s emotions?”
Glaustro shot me an unhappy look and nodded. “It was reckless of you to ascend so quickly, but yes. That problem will only grow. There are also body mutations and improved senses to worry about. Things like eyesight, hearing, and even touch are relatively easy to deal with. Improved mana senses, though, can overwhelm mortals.”
I furrowed my brow. I was always praised for my mana affinity and ability to handle it, so I wasn’t too worried. Honestly, that seemed more like a boon than a drawback.
It was the emotional issue that scared me. I was slowly getting better at keeping a lid on all my mood shifts, but I hadn’t exactly mastered myself. And if things got worse…
I tried to steel myself. I would either succeed, or I’d make the attempt and finalize my ascension shortly after.
For all my bluster, it was admittedly better to be a ‘weaker’ demon than an utterly insane mortal.
“How do I improve past the basic ascension, though?”
“We. How do we improve,” Mia corrected calmly, her dry tone cutting through the eagerness that had infected my voice.
I shot her an apologetic smile, but she just rolled her eyes at me. At least she didn’t look too upset.
Glaustro eyed us, then shook his head in frustration for what felt like the umpteenth time.
“Once your ascension is maxed out, you’ll get the option of sacrificing more souls to the Abyss. The process is more instinctive and less guided by the system the Abyss put in place, but you’ll be able to focus on the kind of improvements you want, more or less. I didn’t get very far with it. I barely managed to sacrifice a couple dozen souls before it got to be too much for me, and I decided to ascend.”
It looked like the admission pained the sergeant, but I politely chose to ignore that. I was far more intrigued by the possibility of specifying improvements.
“You mean we’ll actually be able to invest souls into something specific? Like… improving mana affinity, or even features like wings, or something?”
Glaustro grimaced, wobbling a hand back and forth. “More or less? It’s not a precise science. Closer to shady sacrifices conducted over corpses by warlocks of old. You’ll be bargaining with the Abyss itself, offering souls in exchange for boons. You might not get exactly what you want, but make enough sacrifices, and you’ll at least get close to it.”
He narrowed his eyes, fixing each of us with one more stern gaze.
“Just… know that by going through with this, you’ll be altering yourself closer and closer to an actual demon. This is how people used to do it. Keep going for long enough, and you will eventually stumble over a threshold that will cause you to ascend. If you don’t go entirely insane before then, of course.”
The proverb ‘gaze into the Abyss, and it will gaze back’ flickered through my mind at his warning, but I wasn’t swayed.
Maybe it was stupid. Maybe it was reckless. However, this was the surest path to what I wanted: the power to stand on my own two feet.
I wasn’t about to back down at the threshold of getting it.