A Fiend's Game

///TUTORIAL///

"Well, here we are! Wake up, sleeping princess!" Chi started to wake Erica up. She wouldn't wake up from her slumber at first, but quickly stood upon her feet on the realization that the heating nightmare of Khanrakesh was replaced with gentle coolness of the new, unexplored world.

"Have you ever seen anything like this?" Val stood beside the van, staring up, his jaw wide open. Above them was the most amazing sight they ever saw. The night was illuminated by a red and green nebula that took over more than half of the sky. But it was dwarfed by a different wonder. Lots of moons, different in size and hues giving strange multicolored shadows to the landscape below them.

"I've counted over 80 of them. Several already left the sky, and I don't know how many of them on the other side." Ri's eyes were eliciting smoke again with a spell. "Their altitude is fairly low. I wonder why they don't fall down."

"I think they are interconnected by something. That would be logical." Chi suggested, tinkering with that mysterious device from the van. Around her were drones, and the satellite dish was deployed on the ground.

"You will have plenty of time to count stars, Ri. We are going to camp right here. I need a rest, and," she pointed at the mysterious device," this thing needs some time to determine where should we go from here. We don't have the luxury of military satellites, and wandering around this wasteland without any direction is pointless."

"Before we do anything else, I would like to take a moment of your time." Said Erica. "Please, kneel down on your left knee."

"Why?" Chi was curious. She rarely dealt with a priestesses before.

"I don't know why it has to be like that or why does it works. Divinity gave us this powers, but it won't answer such questions even if we ask nicely. Now kneel, please."

Chi obliged. Erica placed hands on her shoulders then kissed her forehead. "I bestow this blessing upon thee. May Divinity aid you." She began whispering words of her prayer.

Val was already on his knee, but Ri hesitated. He didn't seem to believe in blessings effect. Val glanced at him. "Her divination really works, trust me. Saved my life several times." The elf sighed and kneeled. "And how exactly do you know it was a 'help from above'?"

"Well you know, an empty battery of my rifle suddenly completely recharged itself in the middle of a battle. There were lots of minor occasions of 'strangely' fortunate happenings, but there is a way to test it."

Erica turned to them. Val smiled "Give me a 'gambler's luck' please." Erica frowned, but before she could say anything young man continued. "I'm not going to gamble, it’s just to prove that your blessings work to this unbeliever."

"I'd prefer word 'sceptical'" Ri corrected.

Erica smiled, then kissed Val in the forehead. "May the Divinity grant you luck in any game you play."

When Erica's prayer ended, Val stood up. "Lets play a game. Heads or tails?".

They have been flipping the coin for several minutes, each time coin landed in Val's favor. Chi watched them with amusement, looking at her friends face. Elf's expression was shifting from disbelief to acceptance and back. He could not decide if it was really blessing or just a skill.

"May I?" Ri decided to flip coin himself. "Of course, but lets spice things up a bit. Throw it first." As the coin fell through the air Val said. "Edge". That caught Rirandiriel by surprise, he tried to catch the coin, but instead made it fly further away. The coin had rolled to the van's wheel and stopped there. It didn't fell on either side.

"See. If we try to play any game that involves luck - I'll win without any doubt or effort. Priestesses make an oath to never use it to gain money. It alters reality in your favor, and your win is another man’s loss."

"And priestesses can't harm people," The elf concluded.

After accepting their blessings, the explorers made camp. Rirandiriel brought his hands to the ground and raised two slabs of stone, making benches. Val made a fireplace, and ignited a magical flame by drawing some magemas on the ground. Erica took over the cooking, placing a pot over the flames and filling it with water and some gray powder.

"Gnomish moss. Don't worry, she is really good at cooking it," Said Val, noticing elf's confused look. "I'm not worried. I have our bread. Anything is edible with elven bread. Well, almost." He sounded more hopeful than certain. The men started to set up tents.

o--(==========-

Chiffery didn't participate in making a camp. She was still tinkering with her device, rotating a dial and listening to noise in her headset. "Caught any good stations?" Val snickered, coming closer. "What is this thing supposed to achieve anyway?"

"It monitors flows of chaos energy outside of the world we are in. Hopefully, it will allow us to find rifts with more than 80% accuracy. It's my own invention, based on Erica's theories of thaumaturgic laws." Chi glanced at the redhead gnome, that was stirring the mass she cooked in the pot.

Suddenly, one of the drones that were laying around them buzzed and took off in the air. "I'll need more data to determine the epicenter of that energy emanation. As well as more triangulation points." Chi said, sending the remaining three drones out in the air. They hovered in place for a few seconds, then flew away in different directions.

"You are amazing, you know that?" Val asked, looking at the drones in the distance. "If this thing works, we will be able to locate so many new worlds! Why are you not with the Bureau? I'm sure they would fund your project."

"They didn't believe it would be possible to use Steelgrip's Binding on chaos flows. I was able to combine the Binding and Similarization. The flow of magical energies here," the orcesse pointed at the crystals built in the devices command panel "is a small-scale model of the flows outside of this world. I hope four drones are enough to get enough accuracy. I wouldn't have enough money to build even one without Erica's help."

She continued to slowly rotate the dial, until something unexpected happened.

"What?" Val turned his head, unable to find the source of this voice. It sounded synthesized, but it didn't came from Chi's machine. And it spoke in pure Virelle, language of the Vireny.

"Is something the matter?" orcesse asked.

"Have you heard the voice? It said something about the 'Connection'. Sounded like a machine."

"No. My ChaosMapper is purely analog. It doesn't have a voice module."

[Ral? Wake up! Something is going on!]

"Are you sure you are alright?" Chi gave him a weird look.

"Don't worry. Just talking to one of my demons".

"Oh. Okay." Orcesse returned to her device, clearly uneasy about the whole "demon inside" thing.

[Great. Now she thinks I'm crazy.]

[Don't worry. You are not... Maybe just a little.]

[Very reassuring, Ral.]

[Thanks, I aim to please.]

Val felt the dark creature inside him smile. Close bonds allowed them to feel emotions of each other, sometimes even visualizing their reactions in his inner sight.

[Do you hear what I hear?]

[Loud and clear. That's your armor. It made your skull vibrate, so only you can hear it.]

[But it never talked to me before. I didn't even knew it could do that. And what about those updates?]

"Chi, could you please turn that dial back a bit, I think I've got onto something." Chi obliged. "What is this all about?"

"I think my armor caught a signal."

"Aha! Here it is! Stop the dial!" He looked at orcesse that just sat there, staring at him.

<Essentials installation complete.

Verbal interface initialization... Complete.

Panzir guide... updated.

Tactical analysis system... updated.

OS version: ShelOS 3.1.

OS status: outdated.

Current OS version: ShelOS 19.7

Warning!!! OS update required.

Estimated update size: 34 GByte.

Calculating bandwidth...

Estimated update time: 9 hours.

Question: Would you like to proceed with an update?>

o--(==========-

Half an hour (and one awkward explanation) has passed since Val started the system update. They sat around fireplace, Chi and Ri staring at their plates, Val and Erica eating.

"Is this what I think it is?" Chi asked, looking at what seemed to be an omelet, except that it was blue in color.

"Yep. Gnomish moss. One of the most nutritious things in the world. Come on, give it a try!"

"It's also one of the cheapest foods in the world. Oh, whatever." Chi sighed, bringing a spoon to her mouth. "Hey! Its not half bad! Tastes like chicken. How did you do that?" It was quite a question, since gnomish moss was known for its absence of taste whatsoever.

Erica smiled. "When cooked with proper magic it can have any taste. This taste would be mild at best though."

"Hmm..." Everybody turned to Rirandiriel. "And nobody seems to mind that our friend here started... hearing voices?"

"Things like this happen to him on a regular basis." Erica assured him. "You do not need to concern yourself with him being possessed or insane. Trust me. If he says that his armor is speaking - that means that his armor is speaking."

"Fine." Elf was still unsure of whether believe Val's story or not. But priestess was sure of him, and priestesses never lie.

"Don't you understand what this means?" Chiffery landed on a bench beside the elf. "It's a contact! There is a Vireneese civilization out there that uses the flows of chaos to transfer data! The same civilization that made Val's armor!" She was excited beyond belief. "If we could send a signal into chaos itself we would be able to communicate with them!"

"Or attract demons." Ri was quick to find flaws in any plan.

"Yeah ... ." Chi frowned, but then quickly regained her good mood and hugged the unsuspecting elf from behind. "Out there!" She waved her hand at the beautiful sky. "Is the source of the signal! I have triangulated it - one of the moons still has a working artifact that resonates with my machine! This is the discovery of a lifetime!" She continued to hug him. The elf tried to resist, but it was obvious that he is doing it only to show his general unappreciation of the orcesse's excitement.

Val smiled looking at them.

"He is really dense isn't he?" Asked Erica.

"More than you know. Look at her left cheek."

"What about it?" Erica had little knowledge of orcish culture.

"Her makeup is incomplete. The glyph on her left cheek shows her social status. In its current state it means that she is "In pursuit." Guess who is the target of her 'hunt?"

Erica looked at the clueless elf and smiled widely.

o--(==========-

Val sat at the bench near the campfire. He persuaded his friends that even without any sign of danger, camping without a watch is just asking for trouble. He volunteered to be the first - he was still poking around the new abilities of his armor.

[What is the update status?]

[Yes, please]

His armor buzzed, bringing up a helmet.

This words were not spoken, but instead appeared in front of him.

Then a list of changes started to scroll down at such speed, so all the lines dissolved into a blur.

[Stop scrolling. How many changes there are?]

[Way too many huh? Alright, any major features?]

<5386 major updates detected.>

[How many are compatible with my armor?]

<Checking for compatibility...

Warning! Hardware status: outdated.

Warning! Hardware incompatibility detected.

Hardware update status: unavailable.

Thaumic compatibility: 67%

Arcane compatibility: 89%

Warning! Vireny arcane compatibility may vary.

Powerline compatibility: 100%

Peripheral compatibility... 34%.

Compatible hardware detected: Spellsinger MK3 pistol.

Compatible hardware detected: HeavenSplitter sword, modification C.

Compatible hardware detected: Panzir default sheath module.

Compatible hardware detected: Panzir default control gauge module L.

Unknown hardware detected, determining compatibility:

Type: Shotgun.

Determining enchantment...

Enchantment determined. Type: Impact.

Classification...

Compatible hardware detected: Impact Shotgun.

Compatibility check complete.

1201 update is fully compatible.

768 update is partially compatible.

3417 update is incompatible due to outdated hardware. Please update your hardware at the nearest Legion outpost.>

['Legion'? What is a 'legion?']

[How do I do that?]

[You are lucky it didn't ban you from using armor. I bet it can do that too.]

[Do I have access to the Panzir manual?]

A text of the manual appeared before his eyes. He read through the main part quickly - most of it he already knew from his own experience. He concentrated his attention on the new features, the meaning of which he did not understood, like "Reeve Module sheathing", "Linking break", "Terminal Directive" and "Blink Prediction".

[Blink prediction? What the hell is that?]

[Ugh... Okay, very useful.]

[There are some monsters that can hypnotize or even turn you to stone if you look'em in the eye. I guess this can be used against them.]

[Alright, lets try it the other way. What are the most used features of the Panzir?]

<Kinetic power enhancement. Amplifies physical power output. Unavailable.

Thruster module. Allows jet-powered flight. Unavailable.

Wing module. Allows enhanced flight control. Unavailable.

Reeve Module sheathing enhancement. Allows usage of folded space to store weapons, ammunition and peripheral modules, thereby negating their weight and mass. Available.

Advanced Tactical Analysis engine. Allows CPU-aided tactical support and limited movement assistance in critical situations. Available...>

[Alright. Enough for now. Reeve sheathing looks promising. Can you activate it now?]

With a buzzing sound Val's weapons dissipated the same way his armor usually did.

[Hey! How do I bring them back?!]

Val pointed his arm forward.

[Spellsinger!]

A weapon appeared at his hand in an instant.

[Cool!]

Val could have sworn he heard a sarcasm in a machines voice.

[Heh. Armor with an attitude. I like it.]

[After the update is finished enable all available features.]

o--(==========-

Hours passed by in a flash. Even though Val was occupied, he still noticed that Ri woke up. The elf sat at the bench across campfire, looking at him.

"You're up early." Val looked him in the eyes.

The elf remained silent.

After several minutes of the staring game the arcanist asked: "Why did you became a fiendmaster? Was the usual arcane magic not enough?"

"I never asked for this." Val shrugged. "What do you know about reincarnation?"

"Old theory that dead people can be born again without memory of their previous life. A fairy tale for those who can't believe that death is final." Elf snickered.

"Your information is outdated. That theory has been proved. And I am a proof. I was born as a fiendmaster - completely with a demon, a seal and a safeguard."

"A safeguard?" Ri interrupted.

"An ancient fiendmaster's technique. If one of my demons takes over, my soul along with every demon will be instantly sent into a spiral of reincarnation. And no demon wants that, because for them it is certain death. They still can try though. That's why Erica is perfectly fine with being around me."

"I don't get how that proves anything. How do you know that is true?"

"I'm getting to it. I was born with a demon, because in my previous life I died while trying to seal him. Ral is a FiendLord - one of the most powerful demon types that exist. He managed to survive the spiral of reincarnation that erases memory, but he still hasn't got through completely scot-free. He had lost some memories of his own, and the unfinished seal bound us together. He could speak with me for as long as I can remember. When I was little I thought he was my imaginary friend, when I grew up and read some books on psychology, I thought that he was some quirk of my subconsciousness, noticing things that I would miss and giving me ideas and solutions I wouldn't think of. The fact that most of his suggestions were helpful proved that theory of mine, until I'd met a real demon and accidentally sealed it. I saw his seal, saw him and realized who he really was. He helps me because we are still bound, and if I die we will go through the spiral again together, which will make him lose more of his memory. Also I guess he finds my life amusing and does not want the show to end too early. Well, that's my story."

"Thats a lot to take in ... . Why haven't I heard about the whole "reincarnation is confirmed" thing? I'm sure media would have been hyped about it for several weeks."

"That's the exact reason. Scientists, the guys who do the actual work detest journalism. Yellow papers are ready to distort and overblow anything you throw at them, and that can really hinder the progress of actual research. We were barely able to calm things down after Erica published her works on advanced thaumic-arcane interaction. That was a hell of a two weeks." Val smiled, remembering their hectic attempts at avoiding attention.

"Well, I guess it's time for us to trade places." Val got off his bench, heading to the tent.

[What's the download status?]

As soon as Val's head reached the pillow, he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

o--(==========-

Chi's device determined that the epicenter of magical emanations was located about eighty miles away from the rift. They have been driving there since morning, but their speed was hindered by uneven terrain. They had to drive around some hills and find their way across several chasms, Ri's magic was really helpful in that.

As they went up another hill, a gorgeous view opened below them. A small city, nearly completely intact, seemingly untouched by time. The group erupted into cheers and laughed. They knew they had struck gold after Val received a transmission yesterday, but they never expected to find a settlement in such perfect shape. The last time any rift explorers had such luck was Aquarius - a city entirely submerged in water, filled with grimoirs and technology. It was found three decades ago and scientists still hadn't discovered half the data it could hold.

Most of the buildings were two to three stories high, constructed of gray or red stone, with the occasional dilapidated state of a building that succumbed to the tides of time. Three landmarks stood up over the landscape. One was a black obelisk in the center of the city, it's purpose was unrecognizable at this distance. The second one looked pretty much like a Divinity's cathedral, but it's roof had unusual for such a building, the shape of the dome with a weird figure on top. It looked like a head of a trident, facing downwards, with a cross where its shaft should be. The third building was a palace of some sort. It was surrounded by huge statues, though their features were hard to discern from where group stood.

The van stopped at the entrance to the town. It welcomed the expedition with the empty eyes of windowless windows. The sight of desolation, while the structures were left intact, was eerily unsettling.

"The emanations go from the obelisk and palace, but I get a strange readings from cathedral as well." Chi started to brief the team. "So, we have to decide where should we go first."

"Maybe flip a coin?" Val smiled.

"Nope. We have three targets and coin has only two sides." Chi raised a brow at him.

"Well, it has an edge as well. I wonder if gamblers luck had worn off." He chuckled.

"Won't that defeat the purpose of flipping a coin ?"

Ri raised his hand. "Maybe we should go back and get the Bureau to send a full-fledged team here? This is huge discovery and I'm sure we will miss an awful lot of useful stuff if we do it all by ourselves."

Chi wanted to argue, but Erica held her hand in the air. "I agree." That earned her a surprised gasp and a questioning look from orcesse. "I never intended for it to be a large scale expedition and wanted to call for Bureau as soon as we found anything worth researching. However, seeing it as a great opportunity for our group to establish itself as pioneers of this world, we should gather what we can before we head home. I suggest exploring the three buildings we noticed and at least trying to find the source of Val's signal. This expedition is already a success and we will all receive a revenue for discovery."

"I suggest going to the temple first, since our leader is a priestess and all that." Val bowed to Erica, making her smile.

o--(==========-

They looked into some of the buildings on the way to the temple, but all they found were piles of dust and rusting pieces of what used to be metal. Time showed no mercy.

"I noticed something." Said Rirandiriel, leaning to the wall of what used to be a house. He stayed like that for several minutes, shushing his companions not to interrupt him. "I can hear it moving. The flow is slow, but it is certainly there." He pushed back from the wall. "This city is sustained by powerful magic. It runs through everything you see. Its flow is subtle and nearly unnoticeable. This is amazing… ." The elf sighed. "Whoever built it, he built it to stand here for aeons. And it did. Everything this people used, everything they had, just crumbled and faded away, leaving no trace, and yet this city still stands. And it will continue to stand for billions of years." He traced his hand along the wall, as if it was alive, then parted with a another loud sigh.

The temple... No, the Temple, with a big "T", towered above them. It was much larger than they thought, seeing it from the distance. It was built in shape of a cross, the same as Divinity's temples, with a giant pillar holding each end of it. These pillars still had remains of ornaments and fragments of pictures and bas reliefs on them, but most of it was far above ground level. The outside walls were blank and simple gray stone. There was no way to tell whether it was built like that, or the result of age.

The entrance had three huge doorways, one in the middle at least thirty feet tall, above it were three round windows, placed to shape a triangle. The other two were placed much lower - not higher than twelve feet. The window above the right one was shaped like two intersecting circles. The similar window of the left doorway had shape of a square.

Chiffery tapped the side of her headgear, activating a camera. They needed to document as much of their presence here as possible.

Val looked at the priestess. "Which doorway should we enter? I think it may have some significance, what do you say?".

"Even if it had, it was lost a long time ago." Said the priestess walking into the middle entrance. As soon as her feet touched the floor behind the doorway she stopped. Val noticed her tension.

"What is it? Is something wrong?"

"I... I think I can sense a Divinity's presence here." She turned to her followers. Her voice trembling. "When Divinity is talking to the priest, we can sense its presence. It is also present in at least one of the temples at any given time. Here... The presence is... It is different. It is not the Divinity I know, it is something else. It is weak and distant, but it was here for a very long time. I'm sorry, you will have to wait for me." She turned away and kneeled, entering a praying stance.

After several minutes she stood up. "It is... it is dead. What could have possibly kill a god... ?"

"Death of the world." Val hugged her tightly from behind.

Erica turned around in his embrace and buried her face in his chest. Tears ran down her cheeks. "I have felt it, Val. I have felt it's sorrow. It's loneliness. It can't leave this place. It became a prisoner here. For eternity… ." They stood like that for a while, Val gently stroking her head. Seeing her tears was causing him physical pain. He felt an ache in his chest, as he felt empathy for Erica, shedding her tears for this unfortunate Deity, trapped and alone in this world.

[You are hopeless, aren't you? Couldn't you find a different woman to fall in love with?]

[Sorry, but my heart does not take orders. Besides, how can I not love her? She was always there for me, even if I didn't ask her. She was always looking out for me. She cared.]

[She is a priestess. That is her nature.]

[Yes — But still … .]

In the dark room, lit only by a large screen the large demon sighed loudly. [You are beyond help.]

[I do not need any.]

Finally, Erica pushed herself from Val's grasp. "I'm alright, thank you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, it’s just — it was not my emotions that overwhelmed me. It was it’s — Or rather hers. I'm fine now. Let's get going."

Chiffery felt quite uneasy. "Is it okay for us to be in the temple of a dead god? Is it not going to curse us if we do something wrong?"

"Don't worry, it was not that kind of a god." Erica assured her.

"Or maybe it totally was." Val pointed in the direction opposite of entrance. On the wall was a grim emblem, representing a skull, and what seemed to be two scythes behind it. Blades of the scythes were forming a circle around the skull.

Val couldn't hold a gasp of surprise. Above the emblem was a stained glass, which was preserved in a pristine shape, unlike windows in the city. It was covered in dust though, but a female figure was still recognizable on it. Val invoked his magic, making a carefully controlled gust of wind blow on the glass. The temple filled with dust. The group started to cough violently, covering their eyes.

"Sorry." Val formed another wind, a stronger one, making it blow all the dust outside.

"You should be more careful with your magic! You could have damaged it!" Rirandiriel snapped.

"I do not need your advice, thank-you-very-much." Said Val, turning to the glass. What he saw there made his jaw drop and cleared his brain of any thoughts. The stained glass had still preserved it's color, uneven glow of many moons made it shift a bit every second, creating an illusion of movement and life. It depicted three women, standing side by side. All of them had red skin and a pristine white hair.

"They worshiped... Silverheads?" Ri asked, looking at Val, but young man was too mesmerized to notice. He walked up to the glass. "This is ancient vireneese ... . I think I can read it." He walked to the middle image. A young Vireny woman, not older than twenty seven - thirty (Editor's note: That translates to human as 19-20). She looked a bit sad and concerned, with a gentle smile of hope. An optical illusion made it so her gaze will always catch a viewer's eye. "A kind death, a gentle Darkness. Shea-La, Princess of the Dead." The field behind woman was golden and ground below ash-gray. Perhaps it had a heraldic meaning. Val shifted his gaze to the left glass.

A girl about 20 years old (human 14-15), smiling widely, standing on the flying red dragon. She looked to the left, onward to the target of the dragon's flight. One foot was on its head, but it didn't seem to mind. Her short white hair were flared by the wind. Behind her back were two sabers, resembling elvish ones in design. The field was light-blue, obviously representing the sky. This glass looked more like a cover for an adventure fiction book than an iconic image. "A fierce flame, absolute freedom, Life without limits. Qyori, the Dragon Princess." Val touched the stained glass, and immediately jumped away, holding his right hand. The glass burned him, as if he put his hand into a campfire.

"I guess that is clear enough that we should not touch anything in this temple." Noted Erica, tending to Val's burn.

"But maybe … ." She walked to the picture and carefully touched it. Nothing happened. "Ri, try to touch it."

"Mmm... Okay... I'm not sure it's a good idea though." He looked at Val that was still holding his right arm, the burn was healed, but the pain wasn't gone completely. He gulped, and touched the image. And again, nothing happened. Chi smiled and put her hand beside Ri's.

[I wonder if that is because of all the demons you contain? Gods and demons are natural enemies.]

[Well, if you say so.]

"So I guess this restriction applies only to Vireny." Concluded Erica.

"Or fiendmasters. Ral enlightened me that gods do not like demons, and I have several with me." Val shrugged

"Whatever the reason, please be careful, Val." Said Erica, looking into his eyes.

"Don't worry, I will." Val assured her. However something made him unsure whether he would be able to keep his word.

He looked on the right stained glass. It depicted a mature Vireny woman with in a simple dress akin to the priestess' one. She was holding a half-bloomed flower. Her hands emitted a dim yellow glow. There was no border between glow and the rest of an image. Green field transitioned into the glow, combined with uneven flickering moonlight created an effect, that the flower was constantly washed over by waves of yellow energy flow. "A binding light, that gives power. A soothing song and inner peace. Alesta, Princess of the Reborn."

"Life, death and rebirth. I think they represent the cycle of soul's existence. But the order is strange, it is usually the oldest god that represents death … ." Erica rubbed her chin, looking at the middle image. Something didn't felt right, but she couldn't quite grasp that feel.

"Hey! Just look at this!" Chiffery's shout was going from one of temple's side wings. Erica and Val rushed to her. There, in the corner alcove at the end of the wing was a large statue, covered in armor.

"That's — oh, by divinity!" Erica couldn't hold her surprise. The statue depicted a man in exact copy of Val's armor. Behind him stood a dragon. Both dragon and statue were made of the same metal Val's armor was. The wind Val conjured earlier blew away some of the dust that was covering the ensemble. Val walked closer to wipe dust off the tablet below the statue. "Meister, god of chains and bonds. Keeper of the order. Shelest the Steel Dragoness, goddess of technology. Keeper of Justice."

"This means that — this civilization is the same one that had once colonized Fluss! They had means of trans-world travel!" Erica clapped her hands in joy.

"Or they had used rifts the same way we do." Val was quick to find an alternative.

"There was only one constant rift in Fluss, and it leads to Ter-as-Nihil." The priestess countered.

Such exchanges were frequent between them. ‘Truth is forged in the argument’ - such was the gnomish saying. These two often proved it right.

"What makes me wonder is why is it that these two are gods, but the life-death-rebirth ones are "princesses"? That makes little sense." Erica was confused.

"Beats me. Maybe because these are "keepers" of something and those three just represent a cycle without any actual duties? Like a princesses." Rirandiriel walked from behind. "Come, there another two statues in the left wing."

They were about to move, when Val suddenly put his hand in the air. "Hold it! Don't move, don't make a sound. I think I heard something moving."

Following his command, his full armor formed around him.

[Scan for ALL targets!]

[External hardware? What the … .]

A sound of metal clashing against metal came from behind statue. Val tensed, looking into the darkness.

[Impact shotgun!]

A weapon appeared in his hand at the same moment, as something leaped at him with a clang. It was slim like a snake. Following his reflexes, Val pulled the trigger, blasting whatever it was away. A short chain impacted the wall, leaving a crater behind. It fell to the ground and shook it's end, like a snake shakes it's head. Then it attacked again. Val's shotgun was recharging and regular buckshot had no effect on this thing. As soon as chain touched his armor, it disappeared with a buzz.

"What was that thing? Are you hurt?" Erica ran to his aid.

"It's nothing. I've just received an unexpected upgrade. Wait a second - I'll try to figure this thing out."

[What is a Meister's Chain?]

<Chain Weapons: Can be used for climbing, transportation, binding, chain magic and indirect object manipulation. Can stretch up to 200 meters and hold a weight up to 900 kilograms. Can manipulate objects up to 120 kilogram. Can be used as a short to medium range counter-demonic weapon.

Meister's Chain: A piece of chain that belonged to Meister himself. It has limited self-awareness. It has the holy blessing of Meister. It makes the wielder resistant to any form of binding/restricting effects. Can choose it's own wielder.>

[Looks like a holy artifact. You are incredibly lucky.]

[Work of a Gambler's Luck blessing?]

[Why ask me? I'm a demon - I do not know jack about blessings.]

[Anyway, lets try it out.]

"I'm going to try something, go several meters away and stand still - I don't know what it will do."

[Chain!]

A chain made of the same material as his armor appeared right from his right arm. It didn't seem to be attached to his body, or exit it - it's first link appeared gradually, from being transparent at the base where it met his palm to completely solid just an inch away. Val grabbed the other end of the chain and pulled. To his surprise he didn't feel any resistance - with a clang several more links formed in the middle of the chain, making it longer.

[Alright. It said that chain can stretch up to hundred of meters. So how the hell do I use it!?]

Val stretched his hand upwards, trying to reduce the possibility of harming his friends or destroying the surrounding environment. He tried to think of a command to give. Suddenly chain shifted up on its own, then in a fraction of a second it launched itself to the ceiling, stretching all the way, then retracted with a cling, pulling Val alongside. Only superior reflexes saved Val's skull from being smashed against the ceiling. He managed to regroup on his way up to go feet-first into the Temple's roof. Val could bet he heard bones of his legs cracking on the impact. It hurt like hell, but his armor's vital display told him that thankfully, his legs were still alright.

[Never. Do. That. Again.]

Val felt a — connection? He felt distant emotions that were not his, they were sent to him. Shame, regret and apology.

[What was that? Is that you?] Val looked at the chain.

Agreement. Ready to serve. Ready to protect. Friends?

[Friends, friends. Now get me down.]

Agreement. Too many words. Simpler. Just wish.

[Just a wish, hmm? Makes sense. Having to voice your command during battle is way too slow. Lets try it out.]

Following his will chain began to make new links, lowering him to the floor.

Val looked at his friends and smiled. "Looks like I found myself a new toy."

"You're a living artifact magnet, Val." Erica commented. "Everywhere we go, you manage to find something for yourself."

"Wrong. I never found anything worth taking with me in Symphony."

"That’s an exception that proves the rule."

Val sighed and disabled his new — friend? Was this artifact actually alive? The armor said it had limited self-awareness, but how limited was it? The young man decided to deal with it later.

In the opposite wing of the Temple they found another two statues. One was of a young girl with short hair. Behind her forelock was a third eye. "Ezrestas, the Fallen Lord, Mistress of Magic. Keeper of Knowledge." Val translated again.

The second statue represented a young man with a splash of liquid at his feet. His ears were pointy, but had a different form than elvish or vireneese. "Randark, God of Blood and Ritual. Keeper of the Family."

In about the hour they spent in the Temple, the team had found several sealed entrances which led underground and one collapsed secret passage. They had no resources for the excavation, so they had decided to leave it to Bureau. Their next destination was a spire-like obelisk in the middle of the city.

On their way there Rirandiriel decided to theorize on what they saw.

"The text in the temple was Vireneese, plus three of their deities are silverheads. I think this world may belong to the pre-exodus period Vireny. If documented tales about strength of ancient Vireny wizards are true, then that would explain the magic that sustained this city. So far Vireny conclaves were the only ones to breach the border of the worlds at will."

"Yeah, except that none of their actual gods are Vireny. That Meister guy had a beard and 'stache, and that girl, Ezrestas had three eyes. They were not Vireny." Val countered.

Erica decided to add her input. "Randark's ears were much more pointy than Vireneese. Probably an elf of some kind. How many different elf-kin were there before the exodus of your people, Ri? I've never been very knowledgable on elvish history."

"Four. Only one survived. Syrriel, Snow elves kept mostly to themselves - they decided that The Forest would not get them. They realized their mistake too late. Drowael, Mountain elves... We were never able to find a trace — they just disappeared. Maybe they found a rift and fled same way we did. Kyniel, Wood elves — they lived in the forest and fell the first victims of it. We, Lytriel, lived in the cities and managed to hold our ground for some time, then we were saved by a rift and the united forces of Human and Vireny. That Randark's ear shape was closer to a Kyniel, but still not quite. I'd say he was a mix of kyniel and something else, but I doubt someone would worship a half-blood."

"Elven prejudice in a nutshell." Val shrugged. "They worshiped deities of at least five different kind: a Vireny silverheads, a human (probably), a dragoness, a three-eyed-something and an elvish-looking someone. Either they were not prejudiced against any race, or different races worshiped their own god. That one is unlikely though, since every deity governs different things. Anyway, no point in guesswork now, we better leave that thing for the Bureau historians. They get paid for that."

They proceeded in silence. Val was deep in his own thoughts. He could not get his mind off of those three silverheads. The middle one, Shea-la invoked a weird emotion in him. A feeling of... familiarity. But he could swear he had never seen her before, or ever heard that name.

o--(==========-

An obelisk stood tall in the middle of a large square. From a distance it was indistinguishable from black, but up close it was clear that it is made of dark blue stone. It had a triangular shape with one side about twenty feet long. Upon entering the square whole team immediately felt a strong magical output coming from it. Strangely enough, all of the emanations were contained within the square without leaking or affecting the city. Val felt the flow of energy coming to his hair. In a matter of seconds his reserves were filled to the brim. He invoked a wristguard and checked the charge. The energy of his armor, depleted by yesterday’s connection and update was recharging at an incredible speed.

Chiffery stopped the van and rushed to her equipment. Ri just stood in place, looking at the obelisk, his eyes smoking white. "I can't believe it! Mielorn field — this thing generates a Mielorn field!"

"Okay, what's a Mielorn field?" Chi asked. Ri didn't answer. He started to slowly walk around the obelisk, carefully studying its surface.

"Mielorn is a sacred elven tree. They didn't survive the Elven Exodus, and that was quite a hit for their culture. They were said to be highly magical and even sentient." Erica looked at the arcanist walking around the obelisk Mielorn field is an arcane term. We can not feel a thing, since we are not an arcanists." Erica started to draw a small arcane circle in the dust. Four symbols in the circle that represented Fire, Earth, Frost and Energy started to glow. "Hmm... That's strange... It doesn't just feed the energy as a refilling artifact would. The field makes it circulate in the outline, as if it was a natural source."

"In a sense, it is a natural source." Rirandiriel answered, putting his hand at the side of the obelisk. He touched it with his forehead, concentrating. After about a minute he stumbled back, landing on his butt and panting heavily.

"I couldn't connect to it. There is something out there that is blocking it. I didn't pry further for the risk of it becoming aggressive." Ri concluded, after catching his breath. Interaction with the obelisk was more taxing than he had anticipated. "By the way - there is a tablet with Vireneese writing on the other side."

The tablet Ri was talking about was lying on a pedestal made of the same dark-blue stone as the obelisk.

Val started to translate it. "Those who selflessly sacrificed their very being to save us all from fate worse than death shall never be forgotten. May their names be preserved in this stone, till the end of eternity.

Mythrael the Awakened

Chrysaimer Andromalus

Alvenheim Starcrusher

Rayelin Godslayer

Helica Engelguard

Balor Deucrux

Ralnthastar Farseer

Nga Hmey N'heng

Dei-Zimmer D'Elden

Timmofarer Lightning

Ebishi Blackhole."

"Wait... Dei-Zimmer? Is "Zimmer" a common name among your kind?" Ri asked.

"Well, not generally. We try to make our family names unique and having same means direct descendance. Besides, this "Zimmer" seems to be part of a first name, so I guess it's just a coincidence."

Chi flashed her headcam to get a high-res shots of the tablet then returned to her machine. "I'll try and get as much data on that field as I can. By the way, it regenerates Van’s energy tanks, so we can use this place to refuel and extend our being here."

The study Chi has conducted returned some results in a matter of few hours. She managed to find out that the energy is not contained within the square - it simply goes underground through special sinks and then flows into the city, preserving its state. However that much energy is way too much for such task, so it would seem that this energy feeds other devices or spells. They have to be located deep underground though, not to interfere with the surface spell. The team decided to drop it for now and head towards the last landmark - a palace.

o--(==========-

As they got close to the palace Rirandiriel started to feel the flows of magic shifting towards it. He wanted to warn his friends about it, but then found out it was unnecessary. A beam of white light, dim at first, but getting brighter every minute shot out of the palace straight into one of the moons. It was clear by now that their presence at the obelisk has activated it, and it started to power whatever it was made for. They were wrong about their destination - it was not a palace, but a magical artifact of unknown purpose.

"I do not feel any danger." Erica assured her friends. "Whatever that is, it is, I do not think it was meant for causing death or destruction. Should we proceed or stop now and return? I think we should vote on that one. I do not want to take any unnecessary risks you did not agree to take."

The only one that felt they need to stop now was Ri. He didn't see the point in messing with stuff they could not comprehend, and suggested that they had enough on their plate already to make them rich and famous, as explorers of a new, extremely perspective rift, so they should leave the rest to professionals.

"Come on! Where is your lust for adventure!" Was Chi's reaction. "I'd rather work in the calm of my laboratory - my adventure quota for today is full. I nearly freaked out when that thing jumped at Val in the Temple." He sighed. "I will have to go with you however, since its not like I have any choice. Besides," He looked Chi in the eyes, "Someone has to look after you, else you'll manage to find a trouble where there is none, once again."

Chi blushed heavily, then in the spur of the moment pulled the elf in for a kiss. His eyes sent wide, as their tongues met. He simply forgot to resist, and soon enough he was not sure he ever needed to. This discovery both surprised and confused him. Up until now he had never thought that their relationship would someday evolve to this point. The orcesse broke the kiss and whispered "Thank you for taking care of me" in his ear, leaving him dumbfounded. It took him about a minute to gather his scattered thoughts. Somehow he understood that this was the turning point in his life. He got a hold on himself, then weighed all the options he had. Not that much, traditions be damned. He looked up to meet Chi's eyes, and couldn't hold his smile.

Then he pulled her in a more passionate kiss. "Let's save all the serious talk for the evening, shall we?" He pushed away and started to walk to the van. "We have an adventure waiting for us! Let's go!" It was quite unusual for his former self. He was a different man now. He had made a decision.

o--(==========-

The structure they were going into was clearly associated with a military. Around the "palace" stood tall statues of a warriors of many races, some of them unknown. People with the faces of cats, dogs and lizards, an elven-like beings with sharp fangs and many more. They wore armors and weapons of different kind and each of them was unique. Several had the same armor as Val, and were depicted with chains either around them or in their hands.

The column of light shone brightly, dimming the light of the moons. The interior of the strange structure consisted solely of the pillars and a large metal circle in the middle, that was the base of the light column they saw from far away.

The circle and the floor around it were engraved with mystic symbols, ornaments and glyphs that were pulsating with a dim blue light.

"So that's where all the energy from the obelisk goes. It's a giant thaumaturgic device — I can discern certain patterns and combinations from here. Better not to step on it — until we know what is its purpose." Said Erica.

"Are you sure you can do it? It looks incredibly complex." Rirandiriel’s doubt was obvious.

"Don't underestimate her, friend. She is the best expert on advanced thaumaturgy that I know. Even if the Bureau were to try and decipher it on their own, they still would have called her to do it." Val chuckled. While he was not new to thaumaturgy, he was more practician than theorist.

Erica made a trip to the van and returned with a bulky photo camera. "Can you fly this over the schemes and take a shots? I'll try to figure it out right here, but if I don't manage to do it an a day we will return home and I would have something to work with. Besides it beats having to run around it." She asked Ri. "Try not to fly into a light - we do not know what will it do to the camera".

He obliged, and soon was using his telekinesis to fly camera around at Erica's command. After half an hour the whole thaumic scheme was photographed and catalogued. Erica brought her laptop and were busy dividing the whole scheme into a discernible circuits.

While she was busy, Val and the others set up a camp near the entrance. The elf and orcesse were sitting talking quietly. Chi smiled, and Val could swear he saw something in Ri's eyes when he looked at her that was not there before.

Eventually Val decided to help Erica to his limited abilities. They sat together side by side with laptops — Val has borrowed Chi's — comparing the pieces and looking for symbols which purpose they already knew. After several hours Ral decided to raise his voice.

[I think I know what that is. It's an elevator. To the sky.]

[And I think you are messing with me. Why would anyone build such a thing?]

[How about "moonwalking"? Look where this light goes.]

Val looked up, then gently tapped Erica's shoulder. "Eri, look up there." She adjourned her work and looked upwards, to the point where the beam of light met with one of the moons. Her eyes lit up, as she began to hectically browse through images until she found a collage depicting the scheme as a whole.

"I'm an idiot," She groaned astonished. "How could I not notice that?"

"No, you are brilliant, and don't you dare convince me otherwise. Now show me what you found. Ral told me something ridiculous."

"If he said that this is a gravity elevator, then he was right. Look here and here." She pointed at the corners of the scheme. "It's the same outlines as in the gravity traps we found at the Symphony. I could not get the meaning of surrounding glyphs, but now I realize that they look like a heavily modified version of a force stabilization. They were probable meant to stabilize not the force of impact, but the gravity itself. The rest of the scheme may be used to control the energy input, allowing control of the lifting process!"

Val stood up and looked at the merry couple of his new friends. "Hey, people! How about a romantic picnic on the moon!?" The elf and orcesse jumped at the sound of his voice, Ri's face flushed red.

"That is too dangerous! We do not know if the mechanism is still fully intact!" Erica objected.

"Well, I think there is only one way to find out! I will go ahead and see what happens. I have a way of negating a fall, should this thing start malfunctioning in midair." Val lifted his hand upwards, sending out a chain. In a matter of a second he was sixty feet above the ground, on a roof of a building. "Don't worry, I've done this many times!" With that, he simply jumped down to his astonished friends. But instead of hitting the ground as it would be expected he stopped midair, hovering several feet above it for a brink of a second. Then the gravity defying magic ended and he landed as if nothing happened.

"I learned to use a "Dash" spell in all directions, including upwards, a while ago. The distance of the fall shouldn't matter for it - I will be able to slow myself down and land no matter the height."

Erica exhaled heavily, after holding her breath entire time. "Don't do that again please, or at least warn me."

"Sorry, it won’t happen again." Val sensed a tiny sting of guilt. He regretted making her worry more than was necessary.

"That was awesome!" Chi hopped next to him.

"Awesome is my second name." He caught a glimpse of Ri's face. "Occupied is the first. I'm not going to steal my friend’s girlfriend." He chuckled.

Erica returned with a small earpiece. "Here. Document everything you see. Getting video feed at this distances would be much harder, so we will use a thaumic resonator to receive vocal transmissions from you." She started to draw symbols on the piece of cardboard, making an enchantment.

When the preparations were finished Val stood before the column of light. Nothing happened when he stepped on it, but it was not supposed to. It took Erica several minutes to find a control scheme, and now Ri was waiting for his signal to activate it. As he nodded to him, Ri followed Erica's instructions and directed a flow of his magic into it, giving a mental command to lift up. A metal disc began to float upwards, towards the yellow moon.

o--(==========-

Deep below the Moonbridge City...

<System reactivation: complete. Polygon status: inactive. Warning! Shield tension level rising.

Activating Polygon systems... polygon systems active. Outerworld demonic activity: grade D. Looking for available slayers... Slayer signature found at: Moonbridge platform one. Establishing connection … .>

o--(==========-

"Everything is fine, don't worry!" Val tried to reassure his friends. The platform he was standing on had just turned over. Up and down had switched and now the moon was below him, while the city - directly above. Contrary to their worries there was oxygen here, so Val turned off his helmet and enjoyed the view. Suddenly his armor emitted a soft buzz. A thin line of a helmet's display appeared in front of his eye like a visor.

"A new feature? Neat." Val mumbled to himself."

Val had no Idea what that meant and what should he do about this "maintenance", so he decided to ignore this at the moment. Soon enough the platform embedded itself in the floor of the reception point on the moon. The place looked exactly the same as on the planets surface. The air was nice and the gravity was about twice as low, probably maintained by the magic of the place. Val looked outside of the building. Surface of the moon was radiating a warm yellow light. In the distance far away Val could discern an honest-to-goodness bridge, connecting this moon to another, green one.

"Do you read me? One, two, three." Val said in the air.

"Loud and clear. Everything works fine" Erica's voice came out of his earpiece. "Describe your surroundings."

"Alright. I'm standing at the reception point. It's pretty much the same as on your side. I don't think this moon has more than ten miles in diameter. They are actually pretty low. I see a bridge in the distance, it seems to connect to another moon. Also the moon itself is glowing. But there is no signs of radioactivity, or excess magical output."

Val kneeled and put a braid of his hair to the ground. Immediately, he felt strong magical current flowing into him.

"I'm wrong. This glow is magical. This whole moon is condensed magic! It just does not escape its surface. This is — I do not know what to say. This could mean the end to our energy crisis! If only we could find a way to transport all this power to our world … ."

Val turned around and found out that the building was not in fact exactly the same as on the planet.

"This reception point is different. There is a wall surrounding some sort of a city district. There is no entrance here, so I guess it is inside the palace on this side."

He found the entrance to the closed zone at the opposite side of reception building — it appeared to be a checkpoint of some sort.

He opened the door only to be greeted with a long hall made of white marble. There were benches on the side made from the same materials and remains of unknown mechanisms. He described some of them to Erica for the record and proceeded further. At the end of the hall there were large gates made of metal. As he approached, they began to slide, opening a square room with the same gate at the end.

<Polygon Level is: Grade D. Your estimated level is: Grade C. Access to polygon granted.

Last polygon maintenance was performed: 6327 years 173 days ago. Immediate maintenance is advised.>

Val froze in place. Six thousand years ago there were people here. Six thousand years ago an event called "Calamity" happened.

"Erica — " His voice was shaking. "My armor has connected to the systems of this place. I know how long ago it was abandoned. Sixty three centuries ago. The same time demons invaded our world." He gulped. "I'm going to look further."

"Val, I think that's enough exploration for today, head back, we are going home." She waited a bit before adding. "I have a bad feeling about this."

Val breathed in and out, calming himself. "Don't worry. Nothing bad is going to happen. This world is abandoned and the local machinery perceive me as their rightful user, thanks to my armor." He assured her.

He stepped into the room which appeared to be a transition point. The gate behind him began to close and the ceiling started to lit up.

[And how the hell am I supposed to do that? I do not even know what should I maintain.]

[Looks like this thing does not care much. I guess we will have to go with the flow.]

As the front gates opened, Val was greeted with the sight of a city district, akin to the ones in the city far above him. Except this one had clear signs of fighting on it. Scorched walls, covered with holes and bullet marks. Crumbled buildings and roads broken with chasms and craters of explosions. Some of the chasms looked more like a giant claw marks. The sight was familiar to him, and he didn't like it one bit.

A realization struck Val. "This place looks like a military training ground back home." He looked around checking his surroundings. "There are buildings and ruins of all sorts and configurations. I think this is why it is called a "polygon". They were training to fight demons on the streets of a city here." He looked again at the big footprint before him. "And these insane maniacs used real demons to do it."

o--(==========-

A female voice came from above. Val looked up and noticed that the sky got covered with some sort of a shield. In that instance he felt a subtle demonic presence.

"This mechanism is still working! And it just summoned a demon. You were right, we should get back home. Start packing up now and wait for me — I'll try to make it quick." He said into a microphone.

"A demon? But — Wait a moment — Chi's Chaosmapper shows no sign of demons — It is capable of doing that too." Erica's reply came muffled with a background static.

"I can sense it. Or rather them — this place has a counter-demonic shield so it probably prevents you from detecting them."

He cut off the dialogue, as three humanoid figures came running at him down the street. Some lesser demons. They could have been mistaken for a Vireny from afar, due to their red skin and dark hair, if not for the fact that they had blades for their hands. They did not pose any threat to a slayer though.

Val summoned his pistol, Spellsinger, switched it to fireblast and lined up the first shot. The head of the middle demon exploded, but even after that, the thing still was alive, trying to crawl towards him. Val frowned. He switched to iceblast. The next shot encased legs of a running monster in ice, sticking it to the ground. Confused at being tripped over, and breaking its legs, it started to howl trying to claw the ice away.

Meanwhile a third demon reached his target and began flailing its arms at Val. The slayer smirked and took out his sword. He parried the next swing with the side of his sword, stepping in and slashing upwards, slicing the monster’s arm and shoulder off. The thing did not even flinch, and continued to try and hit him.

[They are not the lowest class. They are too resilient.]

He dodged another attack and slashed the monster in half. After a moment, the demon’s body lit up and incinerated, turning to ash in an instant. Val severed the link that bound the demon’s immaterial being to its body, and consumed its power, destroying it. He looked at the two demons that were still trying to make their way towards him. Their bonds were powerful enough to keep them going even after severe injuries ... . A feat of a semi-sentient demons akin to the Torturer, rarely exhibited by such pathetic beings like these.

Val walked to the demon that was still struggling with ice. Its attempts to fight were cut off along with his arms. Val looked at the blades, while being below him tried to bite through his armored shoe.

[The base of this blades is made of bone, but the edge is metallic. What the hell is that, Ral?]

[Shit.]

[What!?]

[These guys follow a higher demon. It had enough sentience to improve his minions.]

[A demon-officer? Here? If that was true I'd had a whole wave coming at me right now.]

[You may just have.]

[Lets hope you wrong.]

[They say that hope dies last. Be careful.]

Val finished off two demons, consuming their power and restoring his own. The road and ground here were isolated from the moons surface, so it did not emanate energy.

The demonic presence Val sensed did not change, which was unusual. If more demons arrived, it should grow, if not — then it should have faded with disposal of these three. Suddenly the slayer felt something. He concentrated on the feeling and realized that the ground was trembling a bit. With haste, he used magical dash, sending himself backwards. Several snake-like beings emerged from the ground on the place he just stood. They screeched, and burrowed themselves again before Val could make a shot. Slayer cursed and summoned an Impact Shotgun. He concentrated on his feet, ready to dash again. He evaded these demons once more, but this time he did not hesitate to shoot, shredding their heads with accelerated buckshot.

Two snakes coming from the sides took him by surprise. He shot, following his reflexes, sending one snake into a wall. The impact splattered it all over, painting a grim image on the wall. The second snake tried to bite him, but instead of a shoulder it was aiming at, its jump was met by a blade, that sliced it in half.

Val felt something hit his feet. The sight of a "stone snake" jaws coming right from the stones, biting on his foot made him cringe. "My boots? Again?" Angered, he lifted his foot, bringing the monsters head up from the stone, then sent a surge of magic down his leg, stomping with force. The impact shattered demons skull and left several cracks in the road. Val looked at the damage done and cursed again. That bitch actually managed to make a dent in his armor with its strong jaws.

Distant howls broke the silence. A howl very familiar to him.

Val looked behind his first seal with an inner sight. [Hey, Hound? How would you look at a little hunt, my boy? Feel ready to play with your brethren?] For some weird reason The Hound found most joy in fighting the same feral monsters like itself. Doing so brought it pleasure, to feel that under Val's command it gained strength to outpower even the most ferocious of its "untamed" brethren.

o--(==========-

o--(==========-

Down below, or rather above — it is all in the point of view — the battle field, Erica was looking at the yellow moon, worried. She held an enchanted cardboard close to her chest. The last words she heard from her dear friend were curses, then sounds of fight followed. She tried to reach him, but he did not respond.

On the moon, Val cursed again. The Hound really outdid itself this time. He had to disable his armor, to let it assume the form it wanted. Phantasmic flesh outlined a silhouette around him. A silhouette of a monster The Hound became. A transparent blue ear, coming from his own made his earpiece to fall in the middle of a battle. The look on these monsters faces was totally worth it though.

When Val got surrounded by a pack of a large black wolf-like beings, their alpha, a bigger and bulkier one stepped into the circle, challenging Val with a loud roar. Val smirked and released his control over the Hound. The phantasmal beast emerged from him, enveloping the man in a blue glow. His body floated in the air inside Hound's phantasmal form. Normally, releasing a demon like this would be an insanity. However, Val trusted The Hound completely. The first time it was released, Val was knocked off unconscious, and the Hound protected him, fighting off demons until he regained his senses. His safeguard didn't reacted, which meant that the Hound decided not to take control over him, when it had the chance. Since then Val released it on numerous occasions, always with devastating result.

The Hound opened its maw, but instead of a bestial roar, as was usual for beings like Hound, it released a loud, unnaturally high-pitched demonic scream, which often managed to shake even demons. The alpha-wolf stumbled back, its ears flattened and head low to the ground. It just realized that they caught prey they could not have hoped to swallow, or rather hope that it would not swallow them. Its hopes were crushed as the Hound pounced at it, aiming for the throat.

What followed would be better described as a "wild hunt". Witnessing a quick demise of their alpha, the pack quickly scattered around the district, trying to get as far away from the raging monster as possible. The Hound pursued, hunted and played with its prey, often using walls of the buildings as another plane of movement - an ability these fiends lacked. After about thirty minutes of chases, assaults and ambushes, demonic pack was finished. Exhausted but happy, Hound retreated behind its seal for a well deserved rest.

[This guy surely knows how to unwind, eh?]

[Totally agree.] Val himself did enjoy being a savage hunter every once in a while. He considered the feeling of freedom, power and the joy of the hunt The Hound shared with him to be his greatest gains from their unity. It allowed him to release all his built up aggression in the most effective way possible.

Val returned to the square where initial transformation happened to pick up his earphone.

"Erica, do you hear me?"

"Val! What in the name of Divinity happened?! We heard fighting and then you went silent for half an hour! I — We thought we lost you!"

"Calm down, please. It was just an unexpected demon hunt. You need to get ready for departure though. Demons keep arriving through the breach," Val interrupted, listening to the sound of heavy footsteps. Whatever it was, it was big. "Disable the elevator and go on without me. I'll catch up to you later."

"What? If we turn the elevator off, how — Oh no. No, no, no, you are not going to do what I think … ." Erica's voice gave away her panic.

"That is exactly what I am going to do. The demons this thing has thrown at me got stronger each time. Right now there is something big, and worst of all — I can not sense it. I do not know even if it is alone or not. If this continues, I'll slow them down for you, and when you reach the rift, I am going to use "dash" and go skydiving. Moon will give me enough energy to lift off, and the spell I was working on will negate the landing impact. I can not allow these demons to follow me to the surface - since we are the only living beings in this world, they all will chase us and I am not sure if I'll be able to keep us safe in this case. You have to turn the elevator off. Trust me."

Val cut dialogue off abruptly, as the wall behind him started to shake from hits. He dashed away from it in time not to be crushed, when it fell revealing a demon he never seen before.

It was a chimeric abomination, a centaur that resembled a large feline at its base, but had a demonic torso where its head should have been. Its head was adorned with large curved horns, and in its hands — only reflex and sheer luck helped Val to escape a hail of bullets. He quickly dashed away to take cover behind a wall which was left of a crumbled building.

[Since when do demons use freaking guns!?]

[I told you they have a commander! Wait a moment — Take a peek on it real quick. If I am right, we are fucked. Pray to Divinity that I'm not.]

Val obliged, but when he tried to look around corner, the wall above him got shredded to tiny bits, so he had to take cover again. He managed to notice one detail though.

[Is its chaingun merged with its body?]

[...]

[Ral! Answer to me!]

[... We are screwed. This is a cybernoid. Remember that metal on the claws of a humanoid-thing? It was created that way.]

[Alright, what is a cybernoid and why do you think these things are bad?]

[First — run away and take cover. This wall won't hold long — I'll tell you on our way.]

o--(==========-

o--(==========-

[Cybernoids are mechanical demons. They can merge with anything from swords to guns, vehicles and sometimes even buildings. The worst part is that they can infect your own weapons mid-fight, so you better not wave that pistol around, unless you want it to turn into a snake that will bite your hand off. You could beat it with magic of one of us, but that is not all. We are in deep shit because you can not feel other demons while they are clearly there. That is a dampening field that is produced by Hivemind, comprised by the Cybernoid Unity. And at the center of the Hivemind is usually a CyberLord. He sees everything his minions see. He already knows we are here.]

[How powerful is this Lord, and what can we do against him?]

[... Do against him? Do you know the difference in power between Archdemon and a Slavemaster? Tothumikatum is an Arch. Torturer can be considered a slavemaster, though that’s stretching a bit. Lord will overpower Archdemon the same way Arch will overpower a slavemaster. Demonlords are nothing short of demonic Gods.]

[Lords? I thought you were a fiendlord? Does that mean you were a god?]

Val could hear demon chuckling inside his mind.

[If only. Fiends were created by demon nobles. Fiendlord is just a pale imitation of a true power. Those like me are very limited in abilities. While I have only my eyes and demonic magic, true Lord can draw strength from his minions in the time of need, gaining all of their abilities and powers. And he can command them as a whole, leading them to battle.]

If Ral was to be believed, things were looking pretty grim. It took several minutes of thinking for Val to find a solution. [We are not coming back. I’ll try to stay and hold these things off as long as I can.]

[... Very well. I'm sure this Lord will try to meet with you in person. When he does — You know where to find me. Always wanted to fight one of them, but never got a chance. Damn subordination.]

[In your dreams. Once I am dead, then maybe … .]

Val noticed that a Chain he completely forgot about manifested itself. It was trembling and pulling him. Suddenly, young man found himself in a shadow of — something. He looked up to see a glimpse of another chimera jumping at him from above, when Chain managed to pull him out of the alley by attaching itself to a building on the opposite side. Clever artifact detached itself before the impact, sending its owner on the roof of a building.

From here Val could see that it was not the same monster he was hiding from. If he was to fight them, he had to disable one of them, or at least damage its weapon.

Demonslayer began to cast a spell.

[Torturer!]

[BLOOD BLOOD BLOOD! KILL KILL KILL!]

Val cringed, suppressing the urge to throw himself into battle right away. Torturer's eagerness for fighting never ceased.

Seeing two demons reunite at the square below him, Val decided to take action and released the spell. "ICE BARRAGE!". A shiny blue orb appeared above one of the demons and started to send icy spikes at it with incredible rate. Unlike "blizzard" or "comet" spells, these spikes did not break on contact, shifting and molding across the area, encasing their target into a frozen shell.

The second demon opened fire immediately after a trigger shout, blasting part of buildings roof to bits, but Val had already taken off, holding two huge phantasmal hands before him to take at least part of the bullets. His armor could take quite a lot of punishment, but it was far from indestructible.

Jumping, he increased his upward speed with a 'dash' and went over the demons head with a somersault. On his way, Torturers hand’s grabbed the monsters horns and, using the momentum of the spin, ripped its head off. The thing was still alive, so Val quickly stuck his blade into its back and put his hand in the wound. "Yok fego!". With an incinerating spell, the demonic flesh took only a couple of seconds to turn into ash.

Val looked at his first foe. The 'Ice Barrage' spell did its job and now monster was looking more like an icecube exhibit from a museum. Val placed his hand on its surface and pressed in his fingers. With a twist of hand the spell took into its second phase, crushing the monster inside into a bloody pulp. Blood streamed through the cracks in the shells surface like fountains, covering everything around it.

[Well, that does it. Now my armor is covered in blood from head to toe. Happy now?] Val asked his demon with a frown.

In the innerscape Torturer shrugged and departed beyond his seal with a grim smile.

A sound of pawsteps attracted Val's attention, so he turned around to find that there was a third chimera, but this one was running away from him. An instinct of self-preservation in a demon? That was something new.

o--(==========-

[Gateway breach, polygon compromise — Shit. That sounded disturbing. Do you think this means that demons may get out of here if we don’t do anything?] Val was uneasy, suspecting that there is a chance he would fail no matter what he did.

[Your guess is as good as mine. We better prepare for a worst-case scenario. The thing is neither of us knows how to deal with that "gateway breach" or even where and what the hell that "gateway" is.] Ral decided not to reassure him.

While they had a silent conversation another demon appeared in the distance. It had a humanoid form and unlike many demons that walked around naked (not that they had anything to cover) this one was wearing a cape and a gray robes. In its hands was something resembling a rifle. Val quickly took cover in the alley and leaned over the corner.

The demon walked towards him without a hurry, as if it was on a stroll.

"Huh? Whats wrong with this guy … ."

[Take cover now!]

Val ducked away to find that the piece of a wall where his head would've been has just disappeared, as if it was carved out in shape of a sphere.

[Run away! Questions later, just run and hide. Keep cover between you and this thing at all times, or you're dead!]

[Alright, what this all about?] Asked Val while running down the alley. [My armor … .]

[Your armor doesn't stand a chance against raw disintegration!] Ral interrupted.

[Disintegration? That guy didn't carry a power plant to charge his gun.]

[I said 'raw disintegration'. It's simpler and much cheaper, and in theory less devastating … . Key word is 'theory'. While it does not destroy things on molecular level, it still disrupts molecular binding, turning stuff into dust. You have no way to protect yourself against it.]

[That is unless I find a material shield to take a first hit.]

[... That may actually work. You need plenty of distance between you and your shield or you might get into a blast radius.]

Val managed to run pretty far at this point, but to he still was able to hear demons footsteps. Either the thing decided to cut a stroll and pursue him the usual way, or it was walking faster than Val was running. Young man rushed behind next building and began preparing a spell. When footsteps echoed in the alley, indicating that monster was close now, Val jumped out of his hiding spot and put his hand to the ground. "Earthpulse!" chunks of earth and concrete bursted up from the ground between him and his target, covering him from sight. Val rushed forward through the cloud of debris, when the boulder before him disappeared, leaving a spherical clearing. Val shot his shotgun right through the clearing created by his enemy, blasting away his upper half.

[Well, that was easy — What the … .]

Remains of the demon began to float up and reassemble back. In just a second a humanoid figure stood before him. It could be mistaken for a real human if not for the complete absence of facial features. The face of a monster was completely clean.

[Shit. Run as fast as you can!] Val could feel Ral's panic not only in his voice, but through their link as well, which was very unusual.

[This is a Faceless Hunter! They can regenerate from almost any state, even burning this thing to ashes or tearing it with plasma won't help.]

[How do I kill it then?!]

[Thats the trick! I do not know! They were using scythes as a weapon of choice in my time though. Cybernoids seem to love their hunters high-tech.]

[Alright. Theory time. Does it has blood flowing in it, and will it die if I tear out its energy source?]

[Yes, and of course, as every demon does. Do you think it will just stand there and allow you to do that?]

[No, but I may have a plan. I need to get to higher ground.]

Val settled on a roof of a nine-story building. It was the highest one in this block of a district, so this Hunter won't be able to attack him from above. There he set up another trap based on an earth magic, so it would throw several large pieces of a wall at whatever comes to the roof. He then folded back his gauntlets and carefully cut his fingers, allowing blood to flow down his palm. Following his will, blood formed two short blades, that played a crucial role in his plan.

The Hunter decided to take a shortcut through the floor, surprising young man. Val nearly got his face disintegrated, but he managed to dash away from that almost point-blank shot. The trap worked, and now it was Hunter that had to dodge flying blocks of concrete. Val took an opportunity to attack, and managed to catch The Hunter off guard, striking his hand right through its chest. A rather unique spell he read once allowed wizard to instantly gather energy from a foes blood, but to do that their bloods should've "flown together" as was said in that book. It also used up quite a lot of his own blood, so careless usage may have killed him as well.

o--(==========-

Faceless Hunter or whatever it was, did not recover from this blow, so Val guessed it was over. He was tired though, partially from a loss of blood. He looked up to the planet above him. At least Erica and friends were safe … .

o--(==========-

"Well shit. Looks like we finally had it this time..."

[No kidding.]

Before Val stood a large demon, the kind of he never seen before. It was vaguely humanoid, but it had no skin. Instead it had bare muscles made of metal. Long metallic tendrils were growing from its back. It was using them as a transportation, which made him look like a giant spider with a body of an android. Behind it a dozen of faceless hunters were standing.

"Well, what do we have here? A pesky demonslayer decided to awake us from our sleep? At first I though to leave you up to my children, but now — I am going to savour you myself." Its voice was synthesized and cracking like an old voice module.

Demonlord emanated so much power, Val could feel its pressure on his shoulders. It was bringing him down, forcing him to stand on his knee before the monster, and Val hated it even more for that. Forcing all of his will, Val managed to stand up to look this being in its eyes. If he was going to go down, he might as well do it with music.

"Savour this, bitch!"

[Tothumikatum! Folgora!]

[Right this way!]

[Coming to you, sugar!]

Val directed a blow of the raw elemental powers right in the face of a demon, making it stumble. Monsters behind him immediately turned to frozen statues, unable to resist the power of the King of Frozen Dead.

Blizzard mixed with a thunderstorm followed him, as he ran away down the street. Everything around him was turning to ice and got scorched by lightning bolts. The demon did not gave chase though. Instead it simply appeared before Val, grabbing him by his throat and lifting him off the ground.

"Did you really think you can run away? Now do not move and allow me to gather you! Or, you can move as much as you want - you will only make it more painful for yourself. Your choice."

o--(==========-

On the planet below them, Erica stood, unable to take her eyes from the sky. They were waiting at the rift for some time now. Her eyes shot wide open, and she was unable to hold a scream of terror, as a yellow moon, that once was connected to this world by a ray of light, has disappeared in a flash, taking Valianir Zimmer away from this reality.

o--(==========-

Val slowly came to his senses, but wondered if he is still dreaming. Above him soared remains of the city. The buildings and pieces of the road were floating in random directions, rotating around and colliding soundlessly.

"Much good it will do me..."

[Welcome back to the world of the living. However short your being here would be.]

[Where exactly are we?]

Val slowly stood up and looked around. He was standing at what appeared to be a wall. He walked to its edge and looked down. Below him was a perfect example of an asteroid field, as portrayed by space-fiction magazines. Everything that was left of the moon. The sky was dark orange, and there was no sign of a planet.

[I guess we have been brought to Chaos. A place beyond places.]

[You sound sad. There is no way out of here, isn't it?]

[No. Unless you are a demon of course, then you could have tried and break into one of the material worlds. I guess it is time for me to say "good bye". It was a fun ride, but as everything there is, it came to an end. Pity. Maybe I will live after you die, maybe I don't. Maybe we will be reborn together again, or maybe chaos will claim our souls. Maybe this CyberLord will find a way to bring me back and torture me 'till the rest of eternity.]

[Why would he do that and where the hell is he? Why isn't he coming for us if he is here too?]

[He is here. Just lost his physical form and is very angry because of that. As to why, that is not a question for a demon. A question is: why not? Cybernoids never liked us, fiends. Also, look up.]

Val obliged and saw a chimera flying between debris. Apparently it was the one that ran away before. It was flailing its paws furiously, but without any effect. Soon, the flesh on one of its paws started to dissipate into a red mist, torn apart by the energies of chaos. Soon chimera disappeared, leaving a red cloud behind.

[That is the fate of all materia that comes here. Materia is a form of order, and no order can exist in chaos.]

[How about demons? Even immaterial, a consciousness is a form of order too.]

[We were like this once, I remember the times. But then we changed, adapted. We let our minds flow in all directions at once and remain connected at the same time. That was long ago.]

Several minutes passed in silence. Val was staring upward, looking at the surrealistic landscape above him, trying to contemplate the fact that this would be the last thing he will see.

[Looks like there is no rest for the wicked. That son of a dick tried to invade your consciousness just now. You should get away from here, or else you will be possessed!]

"What does it matter now?" Val asked in a monotonous indifferent voice.

[Listen! The state you are in is unnatural! Pull your shit together and knock it off! If this bitch possesses you, he can get your imprint, and assume your form next time he will enter material realm! He could get a tool to infiltrating some world, maybe even yours!]

Val's hand stretched up up its own. A chain shot out of it towards a rock high above him, then it contracted, sending young man up at ludicrous speed.

"Whaaaaaa!!!... the hell?!" Val shouted, as his body shot right through the "asteroid field" of rock and debris. The chain didn't listen to him, shooting again and again, sending him further. Val felt no pressure, as if there was no acceleration at all. Finally, they stopped above the remains of one of polygons squares.

Val brought hand with a chain to his face. "Thank you. You managed to save me again, if only for a twenty minutes."

Suddenly, a loud sound broke the silence of this place. Val looked down to see half of the square disappear in the rift that opened in the middle of it. Somehow young man understood, that beyond this rift there was no world. Only nothingness. He looked around, and realized that the end might be even closer than he thought. A pitch-black rifts of many sizes were opening all around, swallowing matter. Val looked at the chain in his hands, and decided to fight until the end, simply out of spite.

He began to sling it to the large pieces of rock, navigating between them . Several times he managed to evade rifts that were opening right on his way, but all luck comes to an end. One small rift opened right before him, making a clean slice through his stomach. The wound was not deep, to Val's surprise, but with part of his armor gone he had no protection against the streams of chaos. He held hand to his stomach, trying to keep his guts inside.

"Resurrection, huh? Now — Goodbye, Ral. It was — fun — knowing you..."

His consciousness began to slip away, but the tugging of a chain on his left arm held him on this side. He looked at it. "Go away — Let me rest … .". But the chain did not listened to him. It tugged him once more, then shot somewhere far away. After several seconds it began to pull. The force was getting stronger, and finally Val saw its destination. One of the rifts was not entirely black, but more dark, like a night. The chain attached itself to a something beyond it.

He was going faster and faster, the gravity of another world taking hold on him. "Oh, the Divinity — This is going to hurt!"

o--(==( x x )===-

He was swimming in nothingness. Nothing material ever was here... At least not now … .

… In the beginning, there was a smile!

"What?"

-===( x x )==)--o

He felt pummeling into the ground, breaking several of his ribs. With a great effort he managed to turn on his back, and stared into the night sky.

"Well, at least I will die the usual way in the regular place."

He could see branches of a tree to the side above him. The sky was filled with much more stars than his homeworld, and a single, big white moon was shining, casting shadows. The stars shimmered and blinked. For a moment Val thought he saw them moving and shifting a bit, outlining a silhouette of a giant bear.

"It is a beautiful night. Too bad I won't see the dawn … ."

[Wait what? When did it manage to recharge?]

[Probably has something to do with ambient magic field. Your hair were pumping magic like crazy. Oh shit... I'm losing conne... ou... ind … .]

[Ral? Ral?!]

"I have a bad feeling about this!"

And then the forest around him exploded.

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