Tiwa had learned a great deal under the tutelage of Yafa. As it happened, she was explained to the concept of the Judeo-Christian heaven and hell, an idea that her native tribe did not entertain. Both sounded horrific to her, an eternity in either direction was not appealing. It was cold comfort that they were indeed not in Hell itself, but some halfway point between realms where angels and demons fought each other for control of various portals. It was explained to her that this realm was a beautiful nexus once, comparable to that of Yggdrasil but perhaps far from the glory, just functionally similar. Unfortunately the demons of hell made incredibly headway but angels fight a constant battle to make sure they don’t spill into other realms. The success rate is variable, as major demon lords sometimes dive into this halfway realm as a sort of practice. They order armies around, or join the combat themselves to acquire power and prestige.

In discovery and exploration, it was not all rock, boulder, and spire. There was consistent evidence of civilization here, residential buildings and offices. Of course she did not recognize the architecture used, but learned to navigate it all the same. Per previous notes, it was all typically overrun with alien and hellish flora and fauna. This realm underwent its own personal apocalypse and it showed, but it was an interesting thing to note that the realm wasn’t all pits and fire.

Speaking of power and prestige, that was essentially Tiwa’s job in the many years she had spent there. Consuming the hearts of demons, while typically fatal for a human (Yafa had curated the one they fed to her), can feed power to the consumer. Indeed, Tiwa’s visage became more demonic overtime. She still largely maintained her human form, but now with dertigrade hooven legs, spines over her arms, a jagged spiked tail. Her skin tone remained largely intact but a reddish tint was near all the places she had morphed, like a gradient. She expected to grow horns like the many beasts of the realm but that never quite happened. Yafa told her that all demons evolve uniquely, which explained why the first ones she saw were so varied.

Tiwa also became colder, not that she was ever a social butterfly to begin with. She was a hunter, and she spent many hours of her day away from people. But the centuries she spent in this realm only hardened what was already there. She and Yafa could never remain in one place long, and they had a multitude of safehouses across the realm and a few that Tiwa helped establish herself. They were both under constant attack and assault and the stress did ultimately pile upon her, conditioning her into a cold and aloof personality in the rare event they came across a more neutral creature. It was rarely a matter of trust, despite the whole realm being full of demons with ladders to climb and hearts to consume. If a demon was going for your heart, they’d do exactly that so neutrality or even cooperation was easier to detect. Regardless, Tiwa treated everyone with a stoic frustration with internal rage barely held within. If anything, centuries of constant combat allowed her mind to decompress as she tore through hostiles.

They avoided angels for the most part, usually cleaning up their messes and consuming the hearts of their fallen foes (if they hadn’t destroyed them utterly). It was also here that she learned they were not the stalwart protectors of humanity; they were soldiers. With all the personality traits that may imply. Rivaling her own stoicism, they were cold and precise in their operations but fiercely intelligent. Their primary directive was to hold back the demons from using the magical gates to travel to various realms and timelines that they pleased, so they did not slay everything in sight which Tiwa and Yafa took advantage of.

Among their angelic acquaintances with Michel, controversial with multiple factions but not entirely unknown that some of opposing factions will work together for a greater good. Indeed, the couplet of Yafa and Tiwa did not consider themselves opposition, which helped their diplomatic inquiries. Michel and Tiwa had a strange relationship, perhaps through boredom or of Michel’s own personal machinations, did they bear a daughter together. If that seems strange, it may be important to remember that in the cosmological range of magical entities, a penis hardly needs to be involved when it comes to childbearing. A quirk of organic life, which angels and demons do need to subscribe themselves to.

To wit, Tiwa once tried to ask what gender Yafa was and they merely responded with “I was probably something, once. Male, female, the memory is gone and it hardly matters now.”

Still, Michel and Tiwa found themselves held up in a cave while a siege demon lay waste to the township above. They found common ground, an hours-long conversation and one would hesitate to even call it lovemaking, more of a “We’re bored, might as well”. Still, a Nephilim was spawned between the two different races. For the purposes of the Matriarch’s own legend, this daughter is not relevant and will not be detailed further as their paths never cross. The daughter would become a point of contention between the two lovers but beyond that, it was merely a brief glimmer of hope, a concept that Tiwa had long since lost.

Yafa always gave her some hope though, as they had a major quarry they always hunted. They made it a mission to follow siege demons around, a massive giant of a beast that was designed by demons as a sort of carrier. When they weren’t vomiting up basic cannon fodder demons, they used their two massive claws to bring down defensive walls that angels (and sometimes other demons) would erect to fortify ancient fallen cities and towns. They lacked legs in their own right, having an insect-like lower body as they borrowed and crawled through the realm. Their hearts were coveted for consumption but rarely ever able to be acquired, for their carapace was nigh impenetrable. Always feared by the recipients of their attacks for being nearly unkillable in their own right, their tactics usually involve spitting out soldiers, bringing down walls and then retreating back into the underground. Considering they only showed up whilst in the middle of a large battle, along with their penchant for fleeing when their job was done, they were incredibly elusive.

The couple consistently tracked them but they were rarely ever slain, but Michel gave the duo some intel on an oncoming assault. Her team was also tracking a specific siege demon with several centuries of service and won several battles, leaving gates vulnerable for demons to pour through and probably had led to the death of an untold count outside the realm. It was essentially a bounty, one the duo could take advantage of if it manages to be killed. This time would be different, they thought, because it was being hunted specifically.

Michel’s own team had barely tenuous approval of Tiwa, so the double tracking of the angel team was kept between the trio. Michel would drop hints or signs, marking walls and rocks to follow.

Tiwa didn’t wear much as there was little need, her newfound claws did most of the work. Yafa often begged for some modesty but there were far more concerns than a vaguely corrupted nude body, but still had enough gear to cover some extremities sometimes. She still fashioned a spear from the corpse of a demon knight, and made sure to maintain some bows and arrows as well, her previous foraging experience was pretty helpful in this realm. Neither would do much to a siege demon, but her gear was mostly defense against others that would undoubtedly come hunting the siege demon’s heart once it fell. In contrast, Yafa typically remained comfortable in wearing flowing, if scavenged, robes. They also wielded bow and arrow but considered themselves less of a combatant and more supported Tiwa in her growth. They usually remained a distance away, guiding her through the realm.

As a note, guns were most certainly present given the multiversal nature of the realm. However even Yafa seemed inexperienced with them, though much more aware of their functionality. Tiwa was informed of their function but opted for the bow due to experience. On occasion the firecracker-like sounds would ring out the realm but they were seldom used. Demons had hard carapaces, even the slender more human-like succubi and others are still demons and while bullets can pierce the flesh, it’s not just organs and blood that keep them alive and running and are thus not as effective. Angels in contrast were heavily armored and used the lights of spears and greatswords imbued with bright energy that helped in their demonslaying. Neither side had use for guns, so it was mostly those like Tiwa from other timelines using them in defense. The occasional mercenary group falling into a pit that led to a portal, or military contractors fleeing too deep into a lost ancient cave. So on, so forth.

The angels spent a few weeks building a massive defensive fixture on top of an old township. There was absolutely nothing vital from within, a mere decoy to trick a siege. Their ruse worked, as the massive beast did finally emerge from the ground, quaking the entire area. The morale was not of fear this time, as this was exactly what they wanted. Unfortunately for the demon-side, they realized this too late as they assaulted the town but were ultimately ignored which led to confusion and a mixup in orders. The angels went directly for the siege demon. The flying angels were like flies to a cat, and the battle was long as they chipped away at the same vital spots over and over to actually pierce and bleed the carapace. It took several days, and the creature was never allowed to flee as it was pursued relentlessly, the point of explosives blocking burrow paths or when it even tried to begin digging they would strike at its claws before stopping and attempting to spit out more creatures to fight for it.

The battle ended in the angels’ favor, and the goals of Tiwa and Yafa remained completely unknown to them so they left the fallen beast to be scavenged and rotten. Their numbers were depleted and the survivors would be tired at this point, so even if their goal was known it would still have been untenable. All the cards fell onto their table perfectly. Michel gave a saddened goodbye and a kiss to Tiwa. Love may not have been the right word to give between them, but there was still respect or adoration. They were friendly, not simply bored. Still, she had to leave along with her team.

Regrettably but not unexpectedly, Tiwa had to tear through a few demons as lesser imps and the like began trying to claw their way through the giant’s stomach. Even the pierced bits of the carapace were too hard for lesser creatures to claw through so most were aiming for the stomach area; for it was also a good entrypoint to get to its heart. Tiwa easily fought them off but there was a trio of heavier demonic knights that charged through and approached the duo, soon to be single as Yafa slinked away behind a fallen claw to be out of sight.

They were largely humanoid, implying that they were similar heart-hunters as Tiwa is. Humanoid demons are typically converted in a similar manner, while the more animalistic ones are spawned, made, or designed. Their armor was similar, signifying a brothership or team between them. They were of course spiney, spooky, and scavenged like everything else in the realm. It was cleaned to the best of the resources available, lending to some shiny chromatic visuals beneath the grime, almost as if this team wants to be seen coming. A gnarled helmet covers most of their facial features but their mouths were reminiscent of Yafa’s own. They wielded massive greatswords which were great for Tiwa, slow and easy to dodge. She hoped.

The middle of the trio, likely the leader, called out to them rudely.

“Fuck off skank, the heart is ours,” a voice she could barely make out from their distance and gutterly accent. She also didn’t know what a skank was, she’d have to ask Yafa later.

She yelled in kind, “I don’t know what a skank is, dipshit, but I was here first.”

There wasn’t much more talking after that, as they drew blades. There was little point in debate, as this was a realm of might made right. Tiwa already knew that, and bow was already in hand. She let a few arrows fly as they charged to close the distance. Only one was effective, catching one in the mouth as he reeled for a second so she had a few seconds to deal with one less asshole. Unfortunately they were swift for their size, but not much taller than she was so they had the same limitations as some humans do. She did a swivel dodge to arm her spear and stab at one of their knees but took a massive broadside slash to her back from the other. This pattern repeated a few more times than she’d like. One good strike to give one of the knights pause only to take a major hit from one of the other ones. She was confident that she could have taken them on individually but all three became trouble very quickly. Yafa did their own potshots but their armor kept taking the hits, from the distance and angle of the battle they were of little aid.

Eventually Tiwa decided to flee the battle, but not the area. She dove towards the stomach of the fallen beast, hoping to claw her way in from the pierced area from the previous set of scavengers. Loosening the jar lid, as they’d say in more modern times. Yafa joined the fray to close the distance, calling out to her.

“Get in there quickly, I cannot handle them for long.”

Tiwa nodded in compliance, ripping her way inside. She caught a brief glimpse of Yafa’s intense martial arts, diving between sword swings and kicking at their wounded knees, constantly giving one or two pause to give themselves opening for an attack. She’d seen this before, it’s not that Yafa was never a combatant, they just chose to be more of a guide and let Tiwa learn from all the pain over the centuries.

She dug through the blood and the grime, despite all the magic and cosmos flowing through the creatures of this realm there was still an organic component to things. Blood is life after all, and there’s an entire school of magic dedicated to it. Still, she wasn’t here to consume blood, all she’d get for that is some muddled memories of battle which is not what she needed. Nay, she needed the power of the heart and the hard evolution it would give her. She dug through the stomach and into the ribs, which was like a massive hospital hallway but the heart was clearly visible once she punctured the lungs. It was big, the size of a cow and she wasn’t sure if she needed to consume the entire thing or just a large portion of it to absorb its power; she was used to more manageable hearts and could even set some aside for a meal. However her thoughts went to Yafa, who never once betrayed her nor entertained the thought so she did not want to leave them to the mercy of the knights. In retrospect, they’d probably understand.

She had no idea what was going on but she fed away. Granted her resistance was long imbued from years past, no longer feeling the retching stomach she did before. Indeed, blood became almost sweet to her so a meal was a meal but this was still a much larger heart. She was used to the sensations… until she wasn’t. Her veins began to glow with energy and the burning sensation she hadn’t feld in many years returned with force. There was incredible power in this beast, but she dug into it, bare handed and with a fire in her own heart and literal fire in her veins. There was a thin layer of membrane she did not have time to discern, she ate that as well but it was thick and liked to stick to the heart. It was difficult to chew through, introducing a new level of disgust that fought against her ability to consume the meal.

It took a while, far too long. She eventually got a telepathic message from Yafa, “Had to flee, they’re coming in…” She dug in for a few more bites but the pain began to explode within her, she started to collapse and scream from it which only revealed her distance and position to the knights. Only one actually entered the ribcage cavern, spotting a collapsed Tiwa, an arm still stuck inside the bleeding heart as if to grab one final chunk but she could only sit there dangling from it as the knight approached.

“Couldn’t finish the job, bitch. Let a real man take it, and if there’s anything left of you, I’ll take you after…” He ended his proclamation with a cackle, though his actions did not reflect his words. Instead of going for the bits of the heart he drew his blade to impale a stunned Tiwa with it. Maybe his plan was to just pin her down, for his meal, but it didn’t go as planned. His blade actually snapped and in a moment of confusion her free hand snapped up to grab his throat. Her grip was intense and precise and even this knight couldn’t shake her.

“What the… fuck…”

She was in an incredible amount of pain that only rage, adrenaline, and ten lifetimes of combat experience allowed her to see it through. She crushed his neck which made him collapse for air, trying to tap into his own demon power to survive it but it was still very uncomfortable, but theoretically survivable. Tiwa freed herself from being stuck between the membrane and heart, crawled over to him and ripped his chestplate apart.

“No… bitch!” He cried out, knowing her plan.

Her mind was one-track at this point, only of the goal and ignoring all pain. It was almost on autopilot in a way, as her clawed fingers dug into his chest to consume his own heart. Child’s play at this point, much smaller and human-sized. Her maw gaped unnaturally so that she could consume and swallow it in a single bound. She felt more pain, especially in her arms as her muscles adapted with memories of swordplay. It wasn’t much of anything she didn’t already know from previous consumption but there were a couple of unique and new styles. Alongside it were horrific memories of crimes the trio of knights committed together, some not even for a play for power or growth but just for evil pettiness. She tried to aim the memories to more recent fare, noting that Yafa had slain the other two before fleeing. She let out what could only be a pleased groan before crawling off the dead knight and finishing her meal.

It took a while to get through it, every bite just a new shock of pain as plates of hardened carapace split her skin and slowly revealed a new form, overriding what was once fairly human still. One swallow, she grew taller. One swallow, her arms grew longer. One swallow, a doubling of extra arms grew out of her ribcage. One swallow, a trio of symmetrical horns grew from the sides of her head to the point of splitting her face, which she then just ripped off and let a new face come through.

She was a complete demon now, not a mere convert. Her new form exceeded nine feet, taking on the overlying siege demon’s appearance but two-legged and slender. Her carapace could be compared to tree bark with its texture and design, completely alien even to some other demons. It was sleek and unique and eventually the pain was just replaced with power. She stretched, and as she did she could feel her muscles expand and make herself larger before halting when she relaxed. She stretched again with the express purpose of recreating this sensation, of which she was successful. Relaxing again she could feel them loosening and reverting to a standard height. Knowing there were still battles to be had, she experimented with this as she grew to emerge from the corpse, exceeding forty feet tall.

Over the hills she saw a similarly giantesque demon lord and angel knight fighting each other, a few miles out and undergoing a completely different goal from the earlier ruse in this decoy town. That’s just how this realm was, independent battles happening with only a couple miles in between. She stared them down, still unaware of her massive presence and she heard Yafa’s voice enter her mind.

“It is time. A decision you were always meant to have. I’ve spoken on it before; you can now become a lord of the realm… or destroy and consume them for the light you may never see.”

She looked down on them, a mere ant to her now, she saw them motion towards the battle ongoing.

“Now, choose.”

This was her path, a declaration to the entire realm and realms and time beyond. Charge the angel, prove herself to be a demon worth worshiping. Before she was a mere nuisance, a scavenger. Now, they could bow and lead an army of her own to serve her preferences.

Charge the demon, proving herself to be the ally she claimed to be to them in earlier years. Before she was a mere curiosity, an asset for realm traversal and nothing more. Now, she could become a warrior of the light, using the demon’s own powers against them.

“Now, choose,” the words ring in her head again. The two warriors in the distance, of comparable size to her now. Two knights, exemplars of both factions of heaven and hell. Fighting with sickle and sword, blow for blow, blocking and parrying. A battle that had likely gone on for days or weeks as the area under them was long abandoned in respect of their duel.

Tiwa took a step, feeling the weight of her massive size and watching the dirt falter and crush beneath her hooves. She took another, getting used to the balance when one hoof is off the ground. Looking ahead she charged at the duel, the rumbling of broken cosmic earth could not be ignored as the duellers had just a second or two to turn towards the creature charging them. Neither were sure what to make of it except the angel began a defensive posture, maneuvering their blade in hopes to impale the charge.

After a few moments of confusion, her approach began listing towards the demon and neither had much time to react as she tackled the massive demon and began using her new, elongated claws to tear and bash its skull into the ground below. In a roar of triumph she quite easily tore through its chest cavity and consumed its heart in front of the angel. They didn’t know what to make of this, and at the moment they raised their sword, Tiwa fled the battle, effectively announcing that she had no quarrel. She ended a duel years in the making and effectively allowed the angels to claim and defend that area.

This alliance was not relevant for long, as it was more of a call to neutrality. A similar event happened time and time again, she would charge and consume major demon lords and assist the angels in gaining major ground. Angels almost never directly worked with demons but as per previous notes, they would still take advantage of the more neutral ones and that is effectively what happened. To the cosmos, Tiwa announced herself and her power without even knowing it. Regardless, she wanted to leave. She wanted to see the true sun again and feel grass on her toes, something else but dust and blood.

Her absolute demolition of this realm’s demonic coverage was enough to present an opportunity. Mephisto, a major demon lord in lore beyond multiple timelines and universes was called to the realm to take it back. The eternal struggle had to be maintained, as it gave them major backdoor entrances into a multitude of universes. Mephisto was a massive humanoid demon, potentially a fallen angel in his own right but his origins had been obscured over time and many legends tell different stories. His body resembled that of a nude man but with no extremities, no penis nor nipples. He had feathered wings and a tail, and his head resembled a bird. There were feathers, but they were hardened and unmoving. He was a strange creature to see. When he spoke, his maw wouldn’t move but his words would just carry into the wind for any in the room to hear, as if his thoughts carried through by force of will.

Mostly of note and of incredible relevance to Tiwa, is his arrival marked a massive portal that wouldn’t close. The event was swift and unceremonious. Tiwa had grown powerful, enough to give other lords pause. There was no planning, no siege, the portal was large enough to see for miles and its opening was highly visible. They had no time to put up walls or much in the way of defenses beyond an elite demon guard kneeling at Mephisto’s heels when given the command or opportunity.

She assaulted almost immediately, to the surprise of the lord. There was no grand speech, no polite greetings or declarations of intent from either side. She cut through his guard and dueled the man, head to head, toe to toe. They were of similar height but also of similar skill. His humanoid form allowed him to duck and weave her slashes as he tried to strike her with tail and blade, but both would bounce off her siege demon’s carapace, renowned for being nearly impenetrable. The battle was mostly going her way except for one exception; Mephisto got a good slam with his fist square on her forehead which fogged her vision and caused a small amount of dizziness. Noting that she began to stagger a bit, he pressed this advantage and tried to strike her head multiple times. Some were blocked but the more he hit the worse it got, and the battle was turning away from her favor. All things considered this body of hers was still new and much of her success in previous years was brute force alone; very few could handle the might of an evolved siege demon.

However Mephisto was an ancient and experienced entity and that carried with it a fair amount of finesse. Her own attacks became less coordinated as she began tripping over her own tail. Then it hit her (other than another fist)... But her tail. She had a tail. She had barely used it, so she began to weaponize her own concussion to make her martial moves more unpredictable which gave Mephisto pause. She would swivel and swirl herself so her massive tail would strike him, it was spined and barbed like nails through a whip, so for the first time in the battle she actually drew blood. Over time he got more defensive, so her dizziness was able to recover. At one moment, her whip-like tail managed to snap around his leg and leave him grappled, at which point she was able to grab him by the shoulders and pin him entirely.

Worry came over his face, or as much as she could discern from an alien birdperson. For those who knew him, they’d have recognized it. Being completely at her mercy he tried to speak but like it was stated, this whole event was unceremonious from the start. Her maw dug into his chest, which was quite an affair because her new form had something of a flat mouth, not quite designed for much talking or eating (she would later compare it to wearing a helmet that pushes one’s jaw upward; it’s uncomfortable so she tries not to speak much in demon form) so Mephisto did suffer as she fruitlessly bit off one piece of flesh after another. He tried to use magic to teleport or possess her but her grip was too severe and her own aura limited his options before finally pulling out his heart with just her mouth and consuming it. By itself this was a new and strange sensation because it was far too many memories for her to translate or absorb. Much like people with the “photographic memory” (dis)ability, being able to remember something is very different from understanding it. That was much of her trouble seeing into his life, within minutes gaining thousands of years worth of information that meant nothing to her.

Mephisto could only let out a “So… that’s how it is…” before his form began to crumple into hardened chunks of ash. With that, after nine hundred years in this halfway point between universes, she had assassinated one of the most powerful demon lords. Yafa had watched this battle from a distance, closing in and speaking up to her.

They motioned to the portal, “That will close soon, that is your ticket out of here.”

In a booming voice, trying to utilize as few words as possible, “Come with me.”

They shook their head in the negative.

“I will remain here. You were not the first I’ve guided through the lands, nor will you be the last. Maybe I will foster future heroes, or maybe they will turn demon lords. I am only here to facilitate the choice, as I have for you.”

The portal was beginning to dim, so she could not argue for their further assistance. She nodded, and as she approached the portal she shifted back into her human form. The bark like carapace slid under skin, leaving her bleeding as she does so before the wounds seal once the conversion is done. It makes her constantly look like she was run over by a truck, but upon closer inspection she leaves it without a single scratch on her. She stepped into the portal, flinging herself in timelines unknown.

Over nine hundred years, and the worst that had ever happened to her had already happened.