Rope in hand I made my way through the city. Lots of people were up as they probably heard the gunshots and explosions during the night. When I passed them with my current red hair alongside a man tied by ropes following me, I got all kinds of looks. After the Demon healed the wounds he got from John I activated my SoP, so all of the people's expressions were observed.

Either way, with the demon I made my way outside the city. It was somewhere out there that I would interrogate him. Although from time to time I had to pull on the rope so he got the right message.

` Now where should I go, actually it doesn't matter, lets just find a random rock with nobody around. `

That decided I searched around for a bit and a few kilometers outside the city I found a place. The only thing it had was enough rocks to sit on, but it was enough as not having to worry about people was what I wanted.

Pulling one more time, I found a good rock to sit and pointed for the Demon to do the same. Once it was seated I spoke.

“ Listen closely to what I am about to say. ” With a serious face I declared. “ You will till me everything I want to know, if you dont know something just say it, there is no need for torture. But if you don't tell me anything, there will be. Is that understood? ”

Seeing the nod I pointed at him with my finger for a visual of what I was doing and had the Auril rope that bound his neck loose, just enough so he could talk without a problem.

“ Here is the first question. Is the current human form your real one or is it the lizard like one? ” I asked.

“ The later. ” Replied the Demon.

“ I see, so, does that mean you acquired that form after you became a Demon? ” Another question I needed answers too.

“ No. ” He replied again. “ I was born like that. ”

“ Hoo. ” Intriguing. “ So you were born a Demon? ”

“ No. ” This time he replied with a sterner voice. “ No, I was born Lizardfolk as you people like to call us but became a Demon after declaring my allegiance to Lord Lucifer. ”

“ Lizardfolk you say? ” Hearing that my interest for him peaked. Standing up I went to him and placed a hand on his shoulder and used Auril to scan his insides. He twitched a bit when I did but as he was bound, it was a useless effort.

Scanning his current form I saw no difference compared to humans, at first. But as I poured more Auril into him I noticed a small resistance to me. Once I got rid of it all over his body, it started to change. It was fascinating seeing it in person.

As he transformed I kept a tight leash on the rope with just enough room for the transformation. Once it was done I saw a different being in front me. Minus the addition of the tail and the scales, its bone structures, their density and muscle structure was a bit different compared to normal humans but it was the brain that had my focus. It shrunk a bit, not by much but it did. Observing it a bit more I ignored the Demonic Soul as it was similar to John's Angel version.

` In this form its reptilian brain is much bigger, but the size difference is not that big. There is some more difference here and there but they are minor. Either way this should result in more instinctual behavior but not by much if compared to a human. Still it is interesting to see a different thinking creature. `

“ Well, I've seen your insides and compared to normal human physiology its not that much different. ” I told him but still added on it. “ Still, from what I saw you needed Demonic energy to fuel your transformation. Tell me more about your… race. Why do you need Demonic energy for that, is there no other form of Power you can use? ”

That said I went back to my rock seat. Again I looked at him and waited for an answer but he seemed a bit reluctant to talk. ` Nothing that a dose of fear can't fix. ` Seconds later he spoke.

“ There is. ” It said, still a bit hesitant. “ But it's not available for my people. ”

“ Oh, why is that? You look just like a creature out of a fantasy book, so shouldn't your kind be able to use Magic or something like that? ” I said but the moment I did he looked with confusion at me.

“ You look confused? Why is that so? I don't think I said anything that should cause that kind of reaction or did I? ” I asked but he only nodded to my question.

“ Fine, treat me as if I am new to this World of Fantasy and tell me everything that I want to know. Is that understood? ” Again he did.

“ But before you do that, tell me your name? I don't want to refer to you as a Demon all the time. ”

“ Zask. ” He replied. “ I am Zask. ”

“ Good, Zask. Now tell me why do you need Demonic energy and have no other type available? ” Again I repeated my question.

“ Because there is no Magic that we can use. ” My interest was indeed peaked at that but I let him go on. “ Since the blasphemy God does not like our kind and since we don't want to become its puppets there is only one way to acquire Power. Swear one's allegiance to Lord Lucifer. ”

“ I see. So why is there no Magic that you can use? ” Again he looked at me with confusion but this time he replied hesitantly.

“ Because… there is no Magic here in this World? ” Now he got me confused.

“ Now, you have me confused. How can there not be Magic, when not long ago I heard there were Mages running around? ” Again I asked but this time with a more serious voice behind it.

“ Umm, mister? ” Seeing that tone I knew he asked for my name but I just shook my hand and declared my intent. “ By Mages, you mean the Magic users using the Wester Scientific methodology of Magic use? ” When I nodded, he went on. “ Umm, they can use Magic as they are one of the owners of the Divide. Anybody not having access to it is stripped of Magic. ”

“ Divide? What is the Divide? ” Finally I can learn some true Magic knowledge.

“ … ” This time he looked even more confused. With a heavy dose of suspicion he asked me. “ How can you not know about the Divide if you can use Powers already? ”

“ I told you not a few sentences before, treat me as if I was new to all this. ” Repeating that part should enforce my meaning. “ So what is the Divide, and what does it have to do with Magic? Oh and my Power does not use Magic, hence I am asking about it. ”

When I declared I used no Magic, he looked at the ropes still binding him and then back at me as if totally not believing me. Noticing that part I enforced another use of Fear for a few seconds. Once he realized that I was still the one holding his life on the line he spoke.

“ The Divide is the barrier that separates this mundane Mortal World from the Magical one. ” He said, but that only caused more questions to pop up.

“ Ok, you lost me a bit there. Why is there a barrier at all and what is the Magical World? ” Again I asked but this time Zask replied immediately.

“ The Magical World is what appeared when the Divide manifested. ” With another hand motion I had him go on. “ The Divide manifested about half a millenia ago during the peak battle for World dominance by the two Churches of Heaven and Hell alongside the Western Magical Society and the collapse of the Eastern Daoist Community. ” There he stopped as if trying to gouge if he should continue to narrate the most common knowledge he possessed. When I motioned for him to go on, he did.

“ Before that point in time the Heaven faction being the strongest vied for global domination. ” There, he stopped for a second to gather his knowledge. “ Ruled by an iron fist by the blasphemous God, the Heaven faction kept conquering everything it could. Going from country to country its religious doctrine kept expanding. ” Again he stopped and waited for my signal.

“ Only the appearance of the new Magic system and the Hell faction constant interference slowed down that process. But when the Native Gods of America of that time fell due to their worshipers vanishing by plague an almost new continent came into existence for colonization. ” Again he took a second to find his thoughts and asked. “ Do I have to explain colonization too? ”

“ Only if it has to do with our current topic ” I replied and he nodded.

“ Right. With a new continent to dominate the population boomed in that part of the World alongside the only religion accepted. The Heaven faction expanded again and the age of exploration came for the normal people. Their spread followed the Magic society and the Hell faction, but it was when the Magical Society came heavily in contact with the Daoist Community of the East that the War started. ” There he stopped again. “ With their exchanges of knowledge a grave realization came to the Heavens faction. While the Magical Society of west was a pest to them, the Daoist Community was the natural enemy. ” Again he stopped but my curiosity peaked like never before.

“ Go on, don't keep me waiting. ” I declared.

“ Before the West came to the East, the Daoist Community held one goal. To achieve nirvana and transcend the mortal physique, became one with the Universe. ” Said Zask. “ Only problem with that is, it's only the Soul that communes with the Universe and not the Body. To fix that situation they found a way to fuze the Body with the Soul. ” Hearing that only encouraged me on my current goal to visit the East. Again I urged him to explain but he was even more reluctant to say it. “ Their solution was to have the Body consume the Soul and make a new one. One that fits the purpose of their desire to become one with the Universe. ” Eh?

“ Consume? ” Blinking at the word again. “ I didn't hear it incorrectly did I? You just said Consume !!! ”

Hearing the slight shock in my voice he nodded. As if I truly found what they did as horrendous as it sounded. ` Too bad I wont tell him my true thoughts. `

“ Yes, they consume the Soul. ” He confirmed it for me.

“ Do you have more details for me? ” I asked.

“ Not too much as both Heaven and Hell don't like it, but since they had fought against Heaven long ago alongside Hell, I do know a few things. ” He said. “ Using the Power they call Qi they make channels in their bodies, called the Meridians. Once they have those, they channel Qi through those into the whole body and refine the body to huge standards. Once it's refined to the highest degree they attempt the process of Consuming the Soul. Most die in the process but those that succeed create something they call a Golden Core, or Jindan if you use their language. Once they have transcended that barrier with the new power born from the process, they call True Qi, again they refine the body and at that moment they lose the mortal body and become Cultivators striving for Immortality. ”

“ Immortality? ” I doubt they achieve immortality that way. Extend the mortal lifespan yes, but not Immortality. Hmm, maybe in the later stages they do. “ Anyway, even if they consumed their own Soul, why did they become the natural enemy of the Heavens faction? ”

“ Ah, apparently the new Soul they created has a certain appetite. ” Appetite, wait don't tell me. “ When West and East came into contact they had found out that the Cultivators could expand their power by consuming the Souls of others. ” At that moment I raised my hand and finished it for him.

“ Let me guess. ” I said. “ And Souls that belong to Heaven and Hell which are directly connected to Divinity are the most flavorful alongside the Power they contained? ”

“ Yes, something like that. ” He confirmed for me but looked at me with a bit of fear. Oh, that explained why he started at me with horror as I took the Angel Soul from John. “ Umm, should I continue the history lesson? ”

Nodding for him he continued. “ Where, was I? Ah yes, when West and East come into contact the West found out that there was almost no Divinity on that side of the World due to the Cultivators and that they had already replaced them. There were fewer of them but the strongest of them were as strong as the Gods and knowing the fact they could consume the Souls of Divinities the War started. ”

“ Like that the War went on for a long time. ” Zask told me, but it was mainly how even though the cultivators were strong the numerical advantage was not on their side. Due to the process of becoming one a lot of them died. Still the War went on and with the help from Western Magical society and the Hell faction they held on for quite some time. It was then that the blasphemous God as Zask called him made the final move that crippled the cultivators. Somehow he used his own power and made a change in the Laws of the World and enacted tribulations upon the Cultivators that defied his Heavens faction. Every time one of them is born a tribulation would descend on them and make it even harder for them to ascend in Power.

Apparently that wasn't a cheap adjustment to make and it weakened him quite hard. It was at that point that the Western Magical Society with the help of the others decided to create the Divide in a desperate attempt to sever the Heavens faction from the World.

“ The Divide as it is called is a barrier of sorts. ” Said Zask. “ It separated the Magical aspect from the mundane. That way it created another layer of Reality alongside the real one. They used the very aspect of Magic to fuel this process to lessen the load on them. It worked at first, since everybody but the Heavens faction had access to the Barrier and could use Magic or their equivalent, but the blasphemous God did another of his Miracles and changed the way the barrier worked a bit. ”

“ So what did he do this time? ” I asked.

“ Not much, as he was weakened by the previous enactment of changing the Laws ” He said. “ He added his own faction to the Divide, but since he used his own Power again he weakened more. And ever since then no Divinity has been able to enact miracles on the mundane World, only in the Magical one was that possible. With the Divide in place Magic slowly started to dry in the mundane World, and the Western Magical Society slowly went on to grind down the Faith that was already in place and at the same time they stripped any mentions of Magic as much as they can. As if people knew that Magic existed then they would follow it up with Faith soon. Time passed and here we are in today's World. ”

There he stopped and tried to see my intentions by having him tell this little history lesson. Ignoring him for a but I leaned on the rock more and looked at the sky. One thing that story told me is that I could use my Power even though something like that Divide exists. And there is only one thing that can result in that situation to happen. ` A power vacuum was created that had to be filled not by magic but by something else. Something like Life Essence and my Auril. This leaves me in a prime position to monopolize it. `

` If I consider that the Eastern Power of Qi is similar or maybe it even was Life Essence at some point, then in later generations it became its own version with the mix of Souls in its gestation. Hmm, wait a second? `

Turning my attention back to Zask I asked him what started this topic. “ Zask, tell me this. You said that your people cant use Magic since you don't have access to the Divide, yes? ” He nodded and I continued my line of thought. “ Then how did your people come to be and when was that? ”

Hearing the question he only shook his head. “ I do not know. That knowledge has been lost. ”

“ Then tell me at least you know this. Is your kind created or evolved? ” I really wanted to know that fact as it changes things if my thought is correct, at least a bit.

Noticing my hard stare at his being and my interest at his people's history he had no choice but to swallow whatever he wanted to say at first impulse.

“ Umm.. I don't know? ” With hesitation he declared his knowledge, or lack thereof.