Chapter 102 - Vatosis Inferna

[Ancient Demon Dialect] “Speak, before I crush you.”

Trey slowly drew Talsh’Noc’Un out in front of him, wishing that Ezdeath’s summoning would hurry the fuck up. “Uh… just sightseeing!?”

The devil didn’t buy it.

“You wish to do battle with me? Are you a fool?” Azoth lifted up a giant clawed hand, many times larger than Trey, and a blast of black power ripped into the spot where Trey’d just been a second before. Bits a pieces of debries flew into the air, and Trey came out of the shadowstep just a second later while launching attacks of his own.

Chaos balls slammed into the devil’s leg, but they only created superficial wounds at best. Azoth snorted in amusement, looked down at his leg, and then back up to the summoner. “You’re going to have to do better than that, little ape.”

With speed that should have been impossible for something that large, the devil lunged forward with wings outstretched. One of its upper arms slammed into Trey’s left side in a blur, sending Trey torpedoing through the darkness after a quick snapping of bones.

He hit the floor like a skipping stone, repeatedly bouncing along the ground until he eventually came to a roll. Coughing up blood and wheezing for air, he continued to work through the pain and finish the summoning for Ezdeath.

A malicious chuckle from the darkness came as the monstrosity lumbered forward, shaking the ground with every step. The malicious look in the creature’s eyes said it all - it was already enjoying this.

But about twenty yards out from where Trey was, and a riveting scream from Taen’s phantom caused the devil to wince. The ghostly figure tore out of the darkness with four spinning ethereal blades that plunged into the creature’s side as a flurry of pale blue soul bolts collide with Azoth’s face.

The creature roared in anger, stepped back and then lunged forward again into the darkness as it chased the phantom through clouds of black mist. Thankfully, Coriana seemed to be hella-fast and was outpacing Azoth by a decent amount before they were lost from sight.

Slowly, faithfully, the rage bar began to climb as Trey’s pain continued to pulse through him… until it simply didn’t seem to exist.

Trey sat up, chuckling to himself as his anger and insanity pulsed through him. He wanted to make that brutish four-armed bat pay for striking him… but he also knew he had to go about it in a smart way. Having experienced a single strike that’d nearly killed him, he quickly realized that fighting the creature head on wouldn’t work.

At least, he wouldn’t be able to do it. Ezdeath however, might be up for the task.

He finished the summoning right then, and off in the distance where he’d first begna channeling her summoning circle - the pureblood succubus burst into existence. He couldn’t see her from where he lay, but he could feel her. He knew exactly where she was, and she him - so it took her only a few seconds to appear before him after blurring from a quickstep sacred art.

Her eyes went wide from between the slits of the demonic armor as she saw his mangled arm, and holding out a gauntleted hand - a pool of crimson began to form midair. Streaks of blood condensed from her ‘Font of Life spell’ and then shot out, plowing into Trey’s body and quickling sealing his wounds. His broken arm mended, and he stood up after taking her hand.

“Where is-” Ezdeath’s words were cut off as Coriana blew past them not far off, frantically shifting positions every couple of seconds as she avoided a storm of chaos lightning strikes. She was obviously hurt, and part of her phantasmal body was torn off at the knee.

Hot on her heels, Azoth was furiously blowing apart the room - piece by piece - wherever the phantom appeared.

Then the devil caught sight of Ezdeath… and he abruptly stopped.

“Hadean Armor…” Azoth mused, turning his attention fully to the succubus as she lifted her halberd and stepped in front of Trey. “A Warden, no less! A TRUE challenger appears! Ah, it has been so long since I had a real fight!”

The devil bloomed with hellfire, lighting up the seemingly endless abyss around them with deep red light. Two of its claws extended forward, and two arms were held out to either side as if inviting her in. The large wingspan went out even further and the sinister grin of the giant monster opened up to reveal a snakelike tongue slithering about.

Then all hell broke loose.

Ezdeath blurred into motion as she collided with the taunting devil, flinging the gigantic creature many times her size backwards to bounce and roll before it recovered and slammed a clawed hand into her side.

She deflected the blow with a sacred art as her halberd turned a pale green, but the impact still sent her flying despite the little amount of damage.

Coriana came back to bombard the flaming devil and Trey joined in with multitudes of chaos chains that burned and wrapped around the devil’s legs, but Azoth merely tore them apart and ignored them as he barreled through the bombardment towards the succubus.

Roaring, he poured forth a blast of hellfire from his mouth that decimated the ground where Ezdeath had just been - but the succubus quickstepped out of the way. A blur, she avoided a follow up attack and launched black lightning into the devil’s side before shooting past Azoth - leaving a long gash into the devil’s abdomen.

The wound was quickly sealed shut and began to heal as Azoth whirled around, lashing out with his tail - lightning fast - and met a power stroke sacred art by the succubus as she took off the tail’s tip with a downward slash.

Azoth was about to charge again when an explosion rocked his back, and the devil screamed. Talsh’Noc’Un had been thrown, and was buried in Azoth’s cervical spine - but somehow the creature was still moving.

“APE!” it shrieked, this time making a b-line for Trey.

Just as the burning claws closed in around him Trey dematerialized into a puff of shadows and then rematerialized right next to the greatsword lodged in Azoth’s back. With a swift turn of his hips, Trey slammed his foot into the sword and sent it even deeper into his enemy.

The attack was spot on, but Trey didn’t have time to celebrate as one of Azoth’s wings slammed into him - nearly knocking him unconscious and dazing him as Trey was launched upwards into the air.

‘I have finished summoning Juila.’ Sithis’ voice came just as Trey reoriented himself mid-flight. ‘Detonating now.’

From below and right next to where Azoth stood fuming, an explosion of shadows erupted from where Juila had just appeared.

The devil shrieked, Juila died, and her sacrifice of shadows ability bathed Trey over. His body withered and was replaced with a shadow clone, as was Ezdeath not far off before the succubus launched forward with a series of hellfire missiles that tore into the larger demon.

Trey landed gracefully not far off, wishing more of his minions were here and running out of mana as shadow blades tore off his body and bounced off or imbedded into Azoth. He began to summon Atharost as Ezdeath and Azoth blurred against one another, striking and blocking each other so fast that Trey was having a hard time keeping up with it. From the side, Coriana was still launching pale soul bolts into the devil’s back to get in as much DPS as she could.

And yet, Azoth didn’t seem phased in the least.

They needed more damage.

Trey cursed as Ezdeath took another solid hit that cracked the ground she was standing on despite her block, but her tail lashed out and skewered one of Azoth’s eyes when he lunged in for the kill - blinding one side as the devil shrieked and reeled back.

Trey’s shadow blades weren’t doing a whole lot, but with how long this fight was likely going to last - it was the best option given his mana cost. The rage bar was now sitting at a solid 50%, giving him bonus attack damage… but he was still calm and collected despite the anger flowing through him.

He was… analyzing Azoth. Feeling out his movements, watching the devil battle Ezdeath so that when the time came, Trey would be able to anticipate the strikes. Already, Trey could see a pattern in the way Azoth attacked - it would lunge, drive down its lower hands and use its upper hands to cast. It used its wings for speed boosts and defensive measures, and hardly used its tail at all.

As Atharost appeared with a shower of flames, Sithis notified Trey that it was time for him to go.

‘I will try to possess this creature and try to take its body, but I will certainly fail without help.’ Sithis paused, watching the fight between succubus and devil in admiration of their prowess. ‘With Ezdeath, you all might just weaken him enough to where I can prevail. If not, we may all die here. Wish me luck, and if I am able to glean from Azoth’s mind the location of the amulet… I’ll let you know.’

Trey felt a sinking feeling in his gut, but nodded as Atharost and his familiar Boxamoth flew skywards and began raining down fire without any command needed. “Be careful Sithis.”

Predator - Participant has acquired a symbiote. Predator is a separate entity that will become bound to participant. Predator symbiote gives +100% to sight, hearing, smell, reflexes and awareness.Your Predatory Symbiote: Sithis has finally matured from the chrysalis stage, and into maturity. Now that your symbiote has reached this point, it is able to possess and acquire the body of a demon-class enemy, giving you a new minion. When this possession has finished, the Predator Symbiote’s bonuses will remain - but the symbiote entity itself will no longer be bound to the master’s body. Also allows participant to use the ability Consume.

Sithis had been with him since he first got here to this hellhole. Back when he’d first acquired the void essence and had never even heard of Eleknar before. Back before he’d enslaved Rivia or met Atharost. Even back before Napoleon had befriended him in that cave where he was saved from hellhounds.

Sithis had always been there, guiding him around the stupid decisions Trey made and doing a damn good job of it. He’d always had Trey’s back, and Trey’d never felt alone because of it. But now, as he felt Sithis detach from his soul and exit his body, Trey felt naked… alone, and worried.

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Your symbiote Sithis has left your body and selected a target for possession. If possession is a success, Sithis will acquire Azoth’s body for his own. Possession has temporarily applied a 50% stat reduction debuff to all stats on Azoth.

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The young devil was mid-swing, aiming for Ezdeath, when it abruptly came to a halt. Its one eye went wide and its mouth opened up in disbelief, giving it pause and allowing Ezdeath to backtrack. The succubus was panting hard, bleeding from a tear in one wing and took to the sky as the devil screamed and clutched at its burning chest.

Azoth fell to its knees, ignoring the barrage of flames as it screamed some more - giving Atharost, Ezdeath and Coriana all pause to turn at look Trey’s way. They weren’t sure if they should keep attacking Azoth while Sithis undertook an attempt at possession or not - but they all knew what the plan had been.

“DON’T JUST STAND THERE!” Trey yelled, beginning to rush forward and draw up two more chaos balls. “LET’S WEAKEN HIM SOME MORE!!! LET’S GO!!!”

He unleashed the chaos balls into Azoth’s back wing and lifted up a hand. Talsh’Noc’Un ripped out off Azoth’s spine and tore through the air, landing in Trey’s outstretched hand as he brought he sword down and into the nearby devil’s leg.

Atharost, Coriana and Ezdeath all went full throttle then, and Azoth was forced to respond in kind.

For over two minutes - minutes that seemed like years to the combatants, the weakened devil was put on the back foot. Despite the massive amount of HP and power Azoth had, with the 50% possession debuff - he was severely weakened. He was also in a lot of pain as Sithis tried to remove the devil’s soul from its body, and that much was evident by the stream of pained cursing Azoth spewed out as he frantically tried to evict the intruder from his physical vessel.

Dirt flew skywards as magics clashed, light ripped through the darkness as red, orange and blue energy mixed with the black to collide in violent torrents of power. Claws, metal and flesh tore into one another violently as they all went at it in a desperate attempt to overcome the other side. Ezdeath took the brunt of the frontal assault, with Atharost and Coriana always attacking from the back and avoiding any direct confrontation with the much more powerful, enormous archdemon. Trey on the other hand would zip in and clip at Azoth’s legs or wings whenever an opening presented itself, dashing in and then shadowstepping out of harm’s way before the devil could respond.

Then Trey was hit full on with a sideswipe from Azoth’s tail - something he hadn’t been expecting because the demon hadn’t been using it much up until now. The serrated edge tore a large gash into his chest and sent him skipping again, and even with his rage bar climbing to 82% to negate the pain - Trey was still seeing double.

“FUCKING HELL!” Trey roared between chuckling as he scrambled up in a daze. His body was bleeding heavily. He looked up and saw a massive bolt of black and red chaos magic rushing towards him, but he shadowstepped out of the way and flung Talsh’Noc’Un into a spinning arc - clipping the demon’s forehead as Ezdath’ came down from the sky and slammed her halberd into the back of the creature’s neck - violently twisting it as she did.

The archdemon screamed in a rage and pain unlike anything Trey had seen prior to it. The very air shook as power boomed outwards, being released in waves as the soul of the devil collided with the soul of the predator symbiote. The devil tumbled and rolled to flail about on the ground, but somehow Ezdeath remained locked into the back between the wings to continue pushing her halberd further in. The screaming of the demon turned into heavy breathing and panting as it struggled to dislodge Sithis from its body. The musculature of the giant tensed and became rigid as it fought with all of its willpower to stay in control of its own flesh.

A vision flashed into Trey’s mind, sent directly from Sithis as his symbiote had finally acquired the location of the pendant. Trey immediately sprung into action, lunging out into the dark and finding the spot of burial. Unsheathing his claws he began to frantically dig for his life - because although they were holding their own now, he could tell his entire party was holding on only by a thin edge.

The devil hit the ground hard and the ground shook violently as it pulled itself up, finally getting ahold of Ezdeath and ripping her from its back. With a violent motion, he slammed her into the ground. Then he lifted her up and slammed her down again, and then again and again. He kept whipping her through the air, causing her body to collide with the earth underneath as she was simultaneously being crushed. The only reason the screaming, pained succubus was still alive was because of her high grade armor, but her wings were completely smashed against her body in broken fleshy pieces.

“THAT IS MINE!” Azoth screamed as it fell forward once more to struggle against the earth, finally noticing what Trey was trying to do.

Another barrage of Atharost’s flames and Coriana’s soul bolts kept the devil from rising again momentarily, and Trey was spurred on to dig even faster.

Trey panicked and redoubled his efforts, flingings debris away as he plowed into the ground at high speed like a maniac on steroids.

‘Master,’ came a calm and collected voice from Sithis in the distance. ‘For this short life I have lived with you, I have known it to be fulfilling beyond that of my original expectations. You have continually impressed me with your wit, courage, and kindness. Despite even my most basic instincts, prone to aggression and violence, you have shown me that these are but a small aspect of the bigger picture. You keep your friends close, and the way Ashe and Izumi look at you shows just how much they appreciate you being in their lives. Know that even though your upbringing was not one you are proud of, if you survive this encounter... you will have the chance to correct your mistakes and can become the man you wish to be. Do not dwell on the things you have done, but instead think of the things you can do in the future.’

The symbiote paused as it struggled internally with the devil while Trey dug. ‘I am sorry that you were cursed to have one such as I, who could not carry out these simple tasks assigned to me. I have failed you… but before I die, I wish you to know that I could not have asked for a better man to serve.’

Trey gasped as the words registered. Tears welled up in his eyes as he whirled around to take another look at his enemy. In front of him, the devil had come up to all fours. It still seemed to be battling Sithis but was definitely regaining control of its body again. Meanwhile, Ezdeath lay in a crumpled heap - barely breathing nearby.

But at that same moment, Trey felt Sithis’ life force begin to wane.

Suddenly he didn’t care about living anymore, not if Sithis was going to die. Sithis was one of the closest things he had to family ever since getting to this damned plane of existence, and he wasn’t going to let Sithis go without a fight.

“FUCK YOU!” screamed Trey as crystal drops dripped down from the burning crimson spheres on his face. “YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO DIE SITHIS!”

With determination etched into the fibers of his being and his resolve steeled: he dove for the devil, reaching back to strike the demon with all his might. He sent a clawed fist directly into the giant demon’s face only to do utterly nothing but fracture his own right arm. Even despite the power buff his rage bar gave him. The devil sneered, still struggling against Trey’s symbiote to regain control of its body.

Trey hardly felt his arm break though, and was more anxiety-stricken about Sithis than his own pain as he was swatted aside by the demon’s large hand to bounce off the ground a couple yards away. His feelings of rage, hope, despair, and desperation all seemed to collide and mold together into a single entity as his rage bar rapidly fluctuated like the waves of an ocean.

Then his rage bar hit 100% - and upon his status page, the trait Vatosis Inferna unlocked.

Vatosis Inferna - *TRAIT IS LOCKED AND UNAVAILABLE.*

Vatosis Inferna - *TRAIT IS LOCKED AND UNAVAILABLE.*

Vatosis Inferna - *TRAIT IS LOCKED AND-

Vatosis Inferna - *TRAIT IS LOCKE-

Vatosis Inferna - *TRAIT IS-

Vatosis Inferna - *TRA-

The trait Vatosis Inferna has been unlocked.

Vatosis Inferna - You are the Infernal Prince. The chosen one, born by the infera itself and out of the influence of the gods to one day rule over creation. Will you embrace your destiny and find success? Or will you falter, fail, and die at the hands of your enemies? The future is not yet determined.

+300% damage or effectiveness to all infernal abilities. Unlocks all infernal attributes, including Necromancy, Chaos, Dark, Blood, Abyss, Curse, Void and Apocalypse. 1st Ascension: Lullaby of the Behemoth - This is a trait ability and cannot be leveled up. This trait is entirely governed by your willpower, both innate willpower and stat point additions. Use this trait to call upon the music of creation to shape reality unto your will. How this trait manifests is highly dependent upon the participant. Weeks-long cooldown, may only be used for a few minutes at a time. 2nd Ascension: ??? 3rd Ascension: ??? 4th Ascension: ??? 5th Ascension: ??? 6th Ascension: ??? 7th Ascension: ??? 8th Ascension: ??? 9th Ascension: ???

Power bloomed about him as Eleknar’s seal erupted across his chest, only to be encompassed by another seal… that of a flaming crown that surrounded Eleknar’s pentagram entirely. Within Trey’s red glowing eyes, the symbol of the crown also surrounded his pupils, etching the symbol into his body as a permanent fixation. Seething hatred, hellfire poured out of his mouth - and with a roar, Trey launched a power unlike anything he’d ever been able to do before.

His Aspect of the Devil: Mask had always been a hard-hitter, but with the 300% damage increase from his new perk as well as the 100% damage increase from his rage bar, he was pouring out five times the power as he breathed red flames in a stream that ripped open the ground in front of him and blasted into Azoth’s sneering face.

The devil was thrown back, screaming and unable to contain the chaos magic despite his own body having a high resistance to it. In its path, a five foot deep and smoldering trench was carved into the ground beneath.

Up until this point, he’d lost quite a few of his minions or people he’d known. Karus the dwarf, Charles the culn warrior, the two dark elf siblings, the members of the fost guild he’d come to know and like, Reiklin, the minotaurs, Elise and her family… and although he was sad at many of their passing: it all paled in comparison to the feeling he had now. The feeling of despair.

Sithis was going to leave him too. Just like his family was gone… so too would Sithis be gone.

Just like Amanda.

Coughing up blood from a punctured lung where a rib had snapped from recent trauma, Trey closed on his opponent with a new burning hatred. From somewhere in the depths of his soul, a spark ignited to latch on to the void essence inside him and draw in its power… while Eleknar looked on with extreme glee as Trey’s potential flamed to life in a wave of what would be Trey’s first innately derived evolution.

***

‘Fascinating…’ Eleknar thought to himself as he watched Trey’s soul shift and explode with power to reform itself entirely. ‘I didn’t even have to stimulate it. To think that the trigger was an emotional bond. Odd, considering his history of being a cold blooded killer. I’ll have to keep this in mind.’

***

Trey’s eyes pulsed bright red, brighter than he’d ever had happen before as the mana flared to life. His body instinctively melded with the darkness around him, shadowform erupting about him in waves as his body went in and out of solid matter. Insanity washed across him in a blanket of rage, but he now welcomed it as power boomed out from his soul in a cascade of heat with the rage bar still humming at 100%.

Across from him in the darkness, the archdemon furiously rose in a blaze of hellfire that engulfed its entire body.

“You’re at your end, insect!” The devil roared and threw up both clawed hands to release an ocean of chaos and flame that collided into the spot where Trey stood. The massive force melted the ground away and turned the air into an inferno of energy and violence that wrought havoc down in a storm upon the hapless man. Five seconds later the attack had ended to leave a cloud of dust intermixing with the black mist of the room. The ground glowed bright white and red from the heat, and the devil let out a low guttural laugh in its victory.

Then an unexpected boom erupted into the dark recess of Azoth’s lair.

The sound of drums echoed out from the deep, causing the devil to stop its laughter and look for the source. Again, the sound of drums echoed out - this time louder. Again, and again, and again the drums beat as they began to pick up pace - and with every beat of the drums, reality itself shifted briefly to the tune.

Talsh’Noc’Un suddenly flew through the devil with insane force, chaos mana ripping from the blade into the archdemon and out its chest from where it had been impaled. The blade followed through, ripping out the back with a large chunk of flesh and causing the demon to scream in anguish. The screaming became louder and louder as the pained brute fell to one knee, snarling in anger to look up. To Azoth’s surprise, the summoner was still alive - and caught the sword with one hand as it boomeranged back around.

“Impossible…” muttered the devil in absolute astonishment.

Trey glared back at the demon through crimson eyes that webbed about the veins on his face. He had not moved since the attack, but had not blocked it either. Instead, he had warped reality about him to cause the magic to completely avoid the space which he occupied. Another boom of the drums warped reality about them drastically this time, causing the demon’s face to shift away awkwardly from its body before returning to its normal position. The drums were now beating at a regular pace and with it came the sounds of music. A dark melody sent from the beyond graced their ears as the voices of creation began to sing softly before rising into a storm that engulfed the senses of those present. With each pressing second reality would warp before returning back to its origin. The music, the lullaby of the behemoth, was awe inspiring.

“You are beginning to awaken… master…” whispered the sword into Trey’s mind.

Azoth rose again to both clawed feet as the ground shook. The devil’s large wound sealed up with a wave of its hand as if it had never been there in the first place.

“What is this trickery…” muttered Azoth with a sneer and an enormous flexing of its own mana that dwarfed Trey’s own. The devil was nowhere near truly harmed, having completely recovered since the sword had ripped through its body. “No matter. I will end this now.”

Azoth opened its mouth and exposed rows of gleaming black teeth to unleash an attack.

Before the demon could move another inch, Trey had locked onto what remained of Sithis’ soul - commanding Sithis back as he willed creation to obey through the lullaby. Then he pulled, and he pulled hard. He knew it wouldn’t work on his own efforts, Azoth was far too strong for that… but Trey could still feel Sithis in there somewhere. He was counting on Sithis still giving it one last effort.

Again the devil fell to its knees in great agony and began to pant hard as it struggled to regain control of its body. Trey’s demonic symbiote Sithis frantically worked against the devil to try and cling to life in one last desperate attempt, using Trey’s new ability to emphasize its own efforts. Deafening, ominous and epic music enveloped the battling duo as reality swayed to Trey’s will, deflecting a couple of black-lightning strikes for the most part but still breaking through to further shatter Trey’s already broken right arm and hit Trey hard in the chest. The arm went from mangled to obliterated, with pieces of flesh hanging off and pieces of Trey’s fingers dropping to the floor with exposed bone.

He screamed, half in pain and half in anger… but did not falter in his desire to take Sithis back.

So the defense was not impenetrable… or at least his willpower was not high enough to completely protect him from Azoth’s attacks. He could feel the ability begin to wear off, but his rage kept him focused as an insane chuckle replaced his screaming. The chuckle turned into an outright laugh as hunger flooded through him, and he turned to his shredded arm to sink his teeth in - ripping out his right bicep and chewing to swallow the piece of muscle with a sickening grin. He continued to pull on Sithis throughout this time, using this goal as the sole anchor for his broken mind.

Atharost and Coriana had come to Ezdeath’s aid at this point, moving her out of the way as the three of them watched in amazement as further attacks from Azoth simply diverted themselves or went around as creation shifted itself to protect Trey’s position.

Meanwhile Azoth’s musculature strained, tensed and released over and over again as the panting was interrupted by moans and screams sporadically. It dug its large claws into the ground and tried to stabilize itself as its body began to flip about with uncontrollable urges and motions. Trey’s rage never left his eyes as he continued to pull on Sithis, calling his symbiote back to him as he laughed like a maniac with a piece of his own bicep hanging from one of his razor teeth.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME!?” screamed the devil in a panic. “I WILL GORGE MYSELF ON YOUR FLESH, PEON!”

Trey sneered, abruptly stopping his laughter to hiss at his enemy with a face replicating that of the demon in front of him. “I am merely taking back what is mine.”

With a snap of his left-hand fingers, Trey made the final pull. The demon reared backwards and from its chest erupted a large mass of flesh and magic that began to writhe about in front of the man. The archdemon in turn also lurched about on the ground in the not-so-far distance, but its wounds were quickly sealing up again as it cast some unknown magic.

Trey bent down and watched the mass of flesh take shape. The mottled ball of torment went into a frenzy of flipping about and bouncing up and down before settling to a standstill on the ground beneath it. It lurched once, then twice, and then sprouted an arm. Four wings followed suit, then a tail. Claws attached to long black t-rex legs came next alongside a tail. Lastly the next arm and head were moulded, and the transformation was complete.

“Your symbiote Sithis has obtained a new body. You have retained the Predator trait, but have lost the predator symbiote. Sithis is now registered as your minion. To see more information about your minion, go to its Status Page.”

Control Limit Slots: 14 of 20 used.

Trey’s Minions:

Napoleon, Primal Imp, Level 25 (1 slot)(Admired) Talsh’Noc’Un, Sword of Ruin, Living Weapon (1 slot)(Content)(Thirsting Level 1) Atharost, Ifrit, Level 52 (1 slot)(Very Friendly) Rivia Ahst, Culn, Level 35 (1 slot)(Forever Indebted) Piggy, High Elf Thrall, Level 2 (1 slot)(Infatuated) Juila, Sacrificial Lamb, Level 14 (1 slot)(Devoted) Telipe, High Elf Thrall, Level 4 (1 slot)(Scared) Grimy, Human Thrall, Level 5 (1 slot)(Curious) Ezdeath, Pureblood Succubus, Level 705 (3 slots)(Unsure) Sithis, Fledgling Abyssal Devil, Level 1 (3 slots)(Very Friendly)

Sithis took his first breaths as the newly born devil sat upon his haunches. When he stood up, he towered over his master at ten feet tall… but was still many times smaller than Azoth. He looked like a miniature replica of the devil he had just been torn from with hellfire spreading out to engulf his muscular figure before the flames died down upon command. He moved his limbs about and got a feel for how they reacted to his commands. Spreading his wings out widely he postured and then brought them back to fold behind him. Turning his head about and feeling at his features, he finished and stared at his master.

“Master… how can I put this…” Sithis grinned through his rows of black razor teeth - matching Trey’s own face as he currently wore the mask. “I feel… exquisite. How did you do it?”

Trey’s rage bar dropped to 0 in an instant, and the music died down. Trey smiled and wiped his tears away with his one remaining hand, relieved to have his friend back safely with him. Trembling and trying to recover from the panic he had just undergone, he walked up to the much larger demon in front of him and hugged him tightly. Sithis knelt down and returned the embrace, easily dwarfing his good friend in size.

Then Trey collapsed, only to be caught by four, large clawed hands.

Sithis took one look at Trey’s right arm and grimaced as Talsh’Noc’Un disappeared into Trey’s shadowform. “You are bleeding out.”

Trey ignored the comment and managed a weak smile as he looked up. “I ripped you back out of him... I’ll explain it later, but I was able to take a chunk of his soul and body with you, so that should enable you to recuperate from your injuries and recover your own soul in time after you feed on that piece of his. I… I assume that you should also now have all the traits of a freshly born devil, but that’s just a guess. I’m glad you like it.”

“INSECTS!” roared Azoth as the large gaping hole in his chest began to seal up. “YOU WILL DIE IN AGONY!”

“It’s time to leave.” stated Trey promptly as he recovered his composure. Or at least he tried to, but he fell again and this time Sithis didn’t catch him before he hit the floor. Trey landed with a thunk, coughing up blood and wheezing as he looked down and noticed the massive bruising all across his chest and neck. He probably had internal bleeding as well as external bleeding and needed to get to a healer as fast as possible, though he was very thankful for whatever the hell that ‘Lullaby of the Behemoth' ability was. It had saved his life, and even though it hadn’t completely blocked Azoth’s half-hearted attack - he’d definitely be a bloody splotch on the floor without it.

Sithis took a look back at Azoth. “Yes. I doubt, even with our newly acquired abilities, that we could beat him in a drawn out fight… especially now that I am not able to possess him any longer. In fact I’m certain of it, he’ll kill us if we stay. We should run. Do you have the location of the amulet?”

Trey nodded. “The pendant is this way. Let’s go before he gets back up.”

Trey motioned for Sithis to follow as Azoth roared again in frustration while the massive hole in his thorax took its time healing. Whatever had happened to Azoth, the demon could barely move… but the devil was still able to lash out with a thunderous blast of chaos magic. The impact obliterated the ground right behind where Trey and Sithis were walking, and if Azoth hadn’t been in so much pain they’d definitely have died right then and there.

Spurred on by the near death experience they hurried along with Sithis even going as far as to pick Trey up to carry him - meeting Atharost along the way as he supported a half-dead Ezdeath. Coming to the spot where Trey had begun to dig earlier, Sithis finished the job and ended up pulling out a large emerald pendant that seemed to hum as he touched it. “Job’s done Xil, bring us home.”

A half second later and a blinding flash illuminated the darkness, leaving the archdemon writhing in anger on the floor behind - with the echoes of the lich’s laughter ringing out through the darkness.