"Weird..." The general remarked when she had finally arrived at the edge of her cell. The sight before her certainly was, as she put it, weird.

In order to enter or exit her cell, she or anyone else had to step through a door. That door was shut at all times and sealed to prevent even her prodigious strength from enabling her to escape. That very same door was currently gone, as if it had never existed.

The general examined the door for a few moments, curiosity, caution, fearlessness, and an eerie sense of tension, all clashing in her mind. "What to do..." She wondered.

[There's only one choice...] A voice unlike any she had ever heard in her life, low and sinister, whispered into her mind. She froze and replayed what she had just heard in her mind.

And what is that? She wondered, her curiosity torn equally between this supposed "one choice" and the source of the eerie voice in her head.

[If you stay here... who knows what could happen? But if you take this opportunity to be free... the world opens up to you.] The same voice from before told her.

So this voice knows more than what it's telling me, doesn't it? She realized, curiosity and an inkling of fear filling her. But it's also right...

This is my first shot at freedom in centuries. I... don't have a choice. She realized, frustrated but not indecisive. Indecision had never been a weakness she suffered from. She stepped beyond where the door had once been and examined her new surroundings.

As she stepped through the door her senses picked up a range of new stimuli. She smelled new things first, the thick and metallic scent of blood filling her nostrils while mixing with the ungodly scent of empty bowels, bowels emptied by death.

Her second sense to react to new stimuli was her hearing. Her keen ears picked up a faint noise: the distant sound of claws ripping into armor, and into flesh. An even fainter sound of monstrous fangs tearing into and gorging on flesh. It was a violent cacophony of brutal noise.

She began to walk. Not away from the noise, but towards it. She was guided by a quiet sense of dark curiosity, a curiosity that was powered and egged on by a fearlessness that was deep within her.

She walked to the edge of the hallway that surrounded her, and placed a hand on the walls that confined her. She didn't stop her forward march, her relentless march towards the unknown, even when her hand lightly touched wet bloodstains on the wall beside her.

She did retract her hand and look at it while marching on, but when she saw dark red blood staining it she merely nodded in satisfied understanding and then placed her hand on the wall again. Rather than be paralyzed by fear, the formidable general was curious about the origin of the ichor that stained her hand. If the blood is here... where are the corpses that produced it...? I guess there's only one way to find out. She mused, grimly.

Her vision was trained on the hallway that stretched out before her. Every footstep took her deeper and deeper into the heart of the unknown, every footstep leading her closer and closer to both her ambitions and her damnation. Her dreams, her destiny, and the cause of the crimes that were cryptically revealing themselves to her.

The further away from the cell she got, the more messy and chaotic the scene before her. In the area immediately beside her cell, everything was more or less orderly, even if it was desolate and forbidding. But now things were changing.

Before blood couldn't be seen at all. Blood could be detected via smell, and as she found out by accident had stained the obsidian walls that surrounded her, but it wasn't plainly visible. Now, a few minutes of cautious walking away from her cell, blood was plainly visible.

Pools of the metallic liquid were visible on the stone floor of the long hallway. She saw them more and more as she walked on. But just like before, not far from her cell, she couldn't see any of the corpses that would have produced the blood.

The distant sound of claws, fangs, and worse, ripping into armor and flesh grew louder with each passing step. Whatever is responsible for that awful noise is close now. She thought to herself, as she drew nearer and nearer to the savage noises that filled this part of the hallway and echoed a great deal.

And then, after a total of about fifteen minutes of walking down an impossibly long hallway, she saw it. Them. The nightmarish things responsible for the horrifying noises that filled this hallway.

There were three creatures in total. Two of them were on their knees, their backs to her, and even the third one wasn't directly facing her either. The third one was something she recognized even without seeing the front of its form, which wasn't as impressive as it might have sounded without context: the creature had a body made of sand. It was one of the monsters out of desert giant myth: a sandman.

The general continued her approach. She hadn't come this far just to stop now and so her journey wasn't obstructed even by the sight of these creatures.

She had easily identified one of the things as a sandman, but the other two were eerier and harder for her, a desert-dweller, to pin down. They had the basic shape of humanoids, complete with the same number of limbs as humans even though both men were clearly taller than any human, something she noticed even though they were on their knees noisily devouring something that that general imagined was rather disgusting.

The strange creatures had ram's horns on their heads, and they were clad in the clothing of what appeared to be a foreign farmer. The general's considerable vision cursed her with the sight of the pair of creatures using their elongated limbs to greedily shovel something red into their maws. She grimaced in disgust as she drew nearer and nearer to them.

Are they... enemies? Or... dare I say, liberators? She wondered, fear beginning to more concretely creep into her heart, as one of her people's most ancient enemies numbered among the alien invaders of the prison that kept her locked away for centuries. But the general's solitude and fear was interrupted when the same voice from before whispered in her mind again.

[You draw... ever nearer to me. To freedom, of sorts. And to your destiny.] The voice told her, soothingly and cryptically. To... freedom? To it? She wondered, both questions equally important given her circumstances.

[Yes... to freedom. And to your heart's desire. To power. To leadership. To importance. Do not fear the darkness. You are close now. Do not fear... me.] The voice whispered, urging her to be brave. Tempting her by appealing to her heightened sense of self.

Seconds after the voice whispered into her mind once again she drew close enough to the creatures to finally see what they were devouring. While they were over two dozen meters away from her, her powerful vision allowed her to see the fallen desert giant whose corpse provided the monstrous, vaguely giant-like beings who gluttonized themselves on it.

She gasped when she confirmed with her own eyes what she had been dreading, her heart racing and terror surging through her. The monstrous creatures didn't turn to her though. They didn't react to her at all, not even the monstrous pile of sand that stood motionless beside the things stuffing themselves with the blood and flesh of some unlucky guard. They were either content where they were, or ignorant of her presence.

An instant after she gasped the general was both further shocked and relieved, perhaps the first time she had felt relief wash over her since she awoke minutes ago, to watch a curtain of darkness fall between her and the mysterious creatures lazily eating a member of her species. The curtain of darkness fell equidistant from her and from the strange things she had happened across while trekking towards what she hoped was freedom.

The darkness was absolute, and even a bit noise-dampening. It was a wall of pitch-black, tarlike, darkness, and the noises that came from behind it were a bit softer now, slightly more tolerable than they had been before. And it was growing. It was spreading, like some sort of contagion, drawing nearer and nearer to her.

[Do not fear... the darkness.] The voice from earlier told her again. [Free yourself from the shackles that hold you back. Step into the darkness. Walk towards liberation.] The voice commanded, louder than ever before, but still weirdly warm and weirdly comforting.

I could turn back now... but this is another moment wherein there's only one choice, isn't it? She realized, steeling herself for what she knew came next. She took a single breath and then walked forward. Darkness surrounded her.

And unknowingly, even as she was teleported to safety, she was targeted and subsequently hit by a potent spell, one of the favorite spells of the creature who had lured her into his web: a flesh-to-stone spell.

I watched the giant general contemplate her situation for a moment. And then I clapped, because the woman willingly stepped into the darkness and thus, unknowingly, into the portal I had created. It whisked her away to a place I had been to, twice in my life so far. Another dungeon under my control: the eerie tomb of Agowraith. A place that I had begun to remodel shortly before I left it.

With but a thought I whisked myself away, to greet her. And in an instant, my surroundings changed as well. I went from being inside of the room of my khan, surrounded by my sleeping allies, to being inside of the remodeled arena where I clashed with Narcolept the Deceiver.

The place I was now inside of was a rejuvenation chamber. A particularly massive one, which was suitable for my guest: an unusually massive desert giant. I took a second to look around, curious to see what this place now looked like. The drab arena from before was gone.

What now surrounded me was the sort of opulence one might see in a dwelling created by and lived in by a high-elf noble. The gigantic place was no longer coated in sand, dust, and the decaying remains of ancient battles. Instead, the place was a flat chamber of incredible length and astounding height still built to accommodate the undying titan who had once corrupted this chamber.

The floor underneath my feet wasn't sandy anymore, instead the earthy floor beneath me was covered in milk-colored tiles that were soft on someone's bare feet, and warm as well. The distant walls of this place were no longer the dark color they had been in the past, they were now a faint shade of white that wasn't harsh on the eyes up close or far away.

The chamber wasn't bare either. Pillars all equidistance from each other sprung up from the floor and ascended to the incredibly high ceiling of the chamber. The pillars, like everything else here, were a soft shade of white which helped provide a sort of gentle lighting to the place. They were covered in ivy, incredibly long vines of the creeping plant decorating the pillars.

The general stood in the middle of the chamber, not far from where I stood. At the moment she was, unsurprisingly, a statue with a look of uneasy curiosity masterfully etched on her face. I walked over to the statue, easily and confidently.

This moment represented the culmination of a plan that began months ago. It represented the moment I identified the first ambitious individual I needed to recruit, the first ambitious soul I needed to steal, and the moment that set me down a path that resulted in the city of Namira becoming the latest edition to my growing empire.

As I walked closer and closer to the general who led a failed revolt against Mahmud in the ancient past, I recalled her attempt with a grin. Mahmud's memories had long ago become my memories, and this woman, the person who was the statue in front of me, was a significant figure in Mahmud's life.

General Ayla Syah, the scourge of the Yellow Wastes. A devil trapped in a mortal's body. A warrior who slew an entire enemy outpost, alone. Those were some of the thoughts of the self-proclaimed "Sultry Sultan" Mahmud Suti, when it came to Ayla Syah, the woman I was now approaching.

To him, she was a nightmare, a warrior with the power of an army, and an endless amount of ambition. The pride of a mythical dragon, with power match, in giant form. I thought, gleefully. As I drew nearer and nearer to her, I began to feel a faint flicker of hope, hope that she'd enable me to add this city to my empire.

When I was but a few meters away from her, I transformed myself.

I willed away the constraints and tiny dimensions of my giant form, creating something that was truly elemental in appearance. I felt myself grow vastly in size, pushing myself to reach an incredible height of over 40 meters, and a width of 25 meters, as well as envisioning my muscles transforming into stone. I want her to feel awe when she sees the thing that freed her. I thought, as my body became stony and solid.

In a matter of seconds, my view shifted from her artistic and immobile form to an unobstructed view of the upper reaches of the massive chamber I was in. When I had stopped growing, and my view stabilized and ceased changing, I undid the magic I had used on my guest. She came too quickly, her freedom beginning at her feet and traveling upwards at a speedy pace so the whole process took a matter of seconds.

I waited for her to recover her wits, a thankfully short process thanks to her competence, and when she had recovered her senses and was starring at my form in awe, I looked down on her.

[Hello Ayla.] I said slowly, purposefully speaking in the same eerie and mysterious voice I had always spoken to her with, in her mind. She was, somewhat understandably, shocked. She backed up, inching away from me while trying to process what sort of incredible creature stood before her.

[You demonstrated great bravery back there. In the prison.] I said to her, still speaking to her mind. She reacted quicker this time, even daring to speak.

"Thank you..." She said, simply, curtly, even in the state of fear that gripped her heart.

[Hehe...] I responded, chuckling into her mind. She visibly paled at this, after a second of shock at the incredibly deep voice that had just entered her mind and merely laughed in it. But after paling, she didn't hesitate to speak.

"I know I... owe you a debt of gratitude for your role in freeing me. And maybe even your role in protecting me from those things in the prison, but first can I learn who you are?" She asked, boldly. I allowed my stony face to smile, and I didn't doubt that the sight was odd in its own right.

[I am a devil of unimaginable power. And I learned of you from your ancient foe, the deceased sultan: Mahmud Suti. I freed you.] I honestly explained, revealing the source of my knowledge of her as well as the fact that her ancient rival, one of the figures responsible for keeping her imprisoned, was deceased. Not to mention informing her that her suspicion was correct, that I freed her.

She was still while my voice resounded in her mind, but not for long. Not two seconds after my message had been conveyed to her, a smile broke out on her face. "Suti is no more... how pleasant." She said, a cruel grin sitting prettily on her lips.

[Yes... he is gone. And in his absence, thanks in part to my influence, no one has risen to take his place.] I informed her, suggesting that I played a greater role than I actually had. All I had done was subtly prevent the giants from learning the fate that befell their leader.

"So Namira is without a leader..." Ayla said, her voice quiet and conspiratorial. Her heartbeat quickened, and her face flushed with a seditious sort of delight.

[He was right... you are ambitious.] I remarked, grinning even mentally. She looked up at me, her eyes locking with mine. There was some anger there, but also a sort of odd appreciation.

"You... You aren't wrong. But now I simply must know, what do you want? Why did you... play a role in my liberation?" She asked, her voice taking on a serious tone.

I was silent for a moment. I let the silence in the wake of her question build and fill the air for a second before I deigned to respond.

[I freed you because we share a goal. We both seek to conquer the city of Namira.] I told her, confidently.

She looked at me, with an enigmatic expression on her face. I chuckled, audibly this time. [It's odd but it's true. I, like you seek to seize control of Namira.] I informed her. A silence filled the chamber.

[I can feel your... skepticism, and your curiosity. Allow me to explain myself a bit better. I am a mighty devil, seeking to expand my empire. But for a devil what's in one's "empire" doesn't have to be what one rules themselves and in name. I seek to convince you to give me your soul and for you to do as I say. And in exchange for that, I shall aid you and help you secure what you seek: rulership over the city of Namira.] I told her, truthfully.

She was still, stoic, while she considered what I had told her. It was a fair reaction and one which didn't surprise me. Neither did her next question, which came nearly a minute after she went still.

"Let's say I agree to this... offer you're making. Would we conquer Namira?" She asked. It was a logical question and one which I knew the answer too.

"That's the thing Ayla... we wouldn't. Instead, people would give us power." I told her, smiling with a baleful smile on my face. "There's a threat to the city of Namira that only you can address. The resurgence of sandmen." I explained, almost chuckling. What I had just told her was so shocking that it didn't even register on her face that I had just spoken to her rather than whispered into her mind.

"Sandmen are back?" She asked, clearly afraid of that possibility. I laughed, the sound loud and powerful in this chamber.

"No. But they don't know that. Although... in truth, sandmen are back. But they aren't your foes. I control them. And I have a few extra treats to help sweeten the deal I'm offering you." I explained ominously.

"For the record, if you're interested I'd like for you to take these powers on a trial run, but here's what I'm offering you in exchange for your soul and for true rulership over the city of Namira. The first thing is obviously that you'd be named the city's sultana. You'd be recognized by your peers as a hero who proved her worthiness. The second thing is that you'd receive the ability to command your fears: you'd be in charge of an army of sandmen." I explained.

I saw her eyes go wide at this. I have her. Already. I thought, knowingly.

"But that's not all. I'm not just offering you rulership over one city. I'm offering you rulership over two. If you pledge your soul to me, I will not just ensure you are named Sultana of Namira, I will give you control over Namira as it appears in the dreams of your people, rendering you a historic sultana: an empress whose empire includes the land of dreams. Your rule will be so thorough and mighty that even in their dreams the people of this city will serve you." I told her, offering her something that I could only offer thanks to my potent magical powers.

She froze when she heard that. She was still for a moment, her mind hard at work doing some sort of calculations, some cost-benefit analyses. I grinned.

"I can see you running some sort of numbers in your mind. Instead of doing that, or perhaps in order to speed our negotiations along, why don't we go on a trial run? There's an outpost not terribly far or close to the city of Namira. It only has a few dozen guards." I revealed.

I can show you firsthand the power at my disposal. The power I can create and command. The power that'd be backing you, not as you become a tyrant or dictator, but as you become a heroine and a beloved empress." I told her, confidently. I knew that showing her my power would make this easier for her and therefore for me.

She studied me, her eyes examining my monstrous and earthy form. As she did so, something in her eyes changed, something became more solid and more reliable.

On my radar, the little symbol that represented her began to vibrate and change colors. It was slow at first, barely noticeable, but then it sped up. And in an instant, the symbol went from being a bright green color to being a deep purple one. And I heard a familiar notification.

[Quest Progress Alert:

Ambitious Individuals Identified: 1/3.]

Finally. I thought, grinning almost childishly to myself. And then Ayla nodded at me, ready and seemingly eager to test the claims I had made.