Marching at the head of his army, Meztraxia advanced through the trackless wastes. Each step brought him that much closer to victory, and he proceeded with a satisfied smile. The heart within him whispered of how it was but a matter of time before he brought final judgement upon humanity and the world that would follow, full of opportunity for his people. They would no long be forced to eke out a meagre existence, instead they would surpass even the world of their forefathers.

Once his work was complete, the Demon King would be reborn through him and he would reign over the world for all eternity. Though he didn’t much believe in the heart’s grander promises, they made for a pleasant diversion. It’s not as if there was much else to think about while marching, his plans had been made and all that remained was to execute them.

Distracted as he was by his thoughts and dreams, it was a few moments before Meztraxia realised he could no longer hear anyone marching behind him. Had they already stopped to rest despite the suns still being out? Wheeling around, Meztraxia was already preparing to deliver a furious rebuke when he stopped cold and the words died on his lips. Only darkness lay behind him, covering everything. Glancing in the other direction, he found the path ahead similarly obscured. It consumed all light, save for a slowly shrinking circle around him.

Despite the strangeness of it all, Meztraxia wasn’t afraid in the slightest. There was clearly some deception in play here, everything couldn’t have simply disappeared. After a brief spell of consideration, Meztraxia recalled the godling he fought several days ago and had failed to kill. He didn’t know how or to what end, but this had to be her doing somehow. Calling out to the heart, he asked that it dispel this nonsense. He waited, but the heart was silent and the darkness remained.

It continued to close in until all he could see was himself, wreathed in shadow.

“Your tricks don’t frighten me, godling,” he said, standing defiant against the dark. “It doesn’t matter what you do, I shall hunt you down along with the rest of your kind.”

Tendrils of shadow appeared all around him and he fumbled for a weapon, only to find that he carried none. Nor would his sanguis—the power inherent to all Demon Lords—respond to his will. The shadow ignored his attempts to beat it back with his bare hands, forcing itself into his eyes and mouth. Laughing in contempt, Meztraxia stopped his struggling and allowed it to happen. There was a brief sensation of something akin to oily smoke against his flesh before everything went dark and even his laughter was lost to the dark.

Meztraxia jerked awake and found himself in his tent, with his skin as cold as ice despite his blanket. Rubbing warmth back into his limbs, he looked down at himself. The perfectly smooth circle of purple crystal tinged with red still sat in the centre of his chest, but an inky blackness emanated from the edge of it. The closest portions of his flesh had already been dyed black by it. Commanding the heart to dispel it to no success, Meztraxia shook his head. Whatever this was, it wasn’t a serious threat. To rid himself of it, all he had to do was slay the godling.

Angry at being so tainted by the goddess’ magic, he dressed himself and stormed out. He looked around and saw his army’s camp arrayed before him, just the way he’d left it last night. Chiding himself for harbouring the slightest bit of doubt, Meztraxia dismissed his dream and set out about the day’s business.

Though the suns were barely over the horizon, many of the soldiers were already preparing to march. Seeing them work with such conviction never failed to gladden Meztraxia. It reinforced, if only a little, that his men were committed to his cause. Not that he should require any reminders, after they’d fought and died for him against the humans. And what a great victory they’d won, he could practically feel the pride that flowed through those around them. They were all a part of something far greater than themselves, the same even applied to Meztraxia himself.

Walking amongst the soldiers, Meztraxia called out from time to time to those he recognised. After exchanging a few pleasantries with them, he moved on. Though not a productive exercise, he felt it helped to keep their morale up. Something which they’d need every bit of if they were to triumph over one of the better defended cities. As he was making the rounds, the shadows around Meztraxia dramatically lengthened.

He was reaching for his sword when they returned to normal. Shaking his head in the hopes of clearing it, the Demon Lord swore once more to destroy the godling who dared torment him. Occupied with imagining just how he would end her; he was taken by surprise when one of his soldiers called out to him.

“My lord,” the woman in his livery said, holding an envelope toward him, “a letter came for you. I looked for you at your tent but—”

Waving off her explanation, he took the letter and tore it open. The grey paper within contained only a short message from Lord Azuren, informing him that his army was to march to meet up with the demon’s main force immediately or Meztraxia would be deemed a traitor. Tossing the letter on the ground, he brought forth his miniature warriors and had them tear it into tiny pieces.

“My lord?” the soldier asked in horror. “That was from the supreme commander.”

“I’m aware. Lord Azuren’s position is only temporary, we have nothing to fear from him.”

“As you say, my lord.” Not sounding entirely convinced, she ducked her head and withdrew from Meztraxia’s presence.

The Demon Lord had expected Azuren to send him an ultimatum eventually, though this was sooner than he anticipated. It didn’t matter much in the grand scheme of things, so long as he was able to continue destroying the humans. But if he were to fail, then his troops were bound to desert him before long. They’d probably leave the moment they believed his campaign’s progress had stalled. All the more reason to destroy the goddess of shadow once and for all, that her interference wouldn’t affect his future plans.