Author note:

This chapter ran on really long, so I decided to split it up to make it more readable. Fortunately, it already had some obvious break points. On a related note, I need more time to edit the epilogue so I'll be releasing that later this week.

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I’m scared to admit it, but this entire journey has felt like one prolonged dream. Some days I still expect to wake up in the comfort of the Lord’s castle, surrounded by my servants and teachers. Instead, every morning I find myself in whatever inn, barn or tent we secured the night prior. When I do return home, I hope that this trip will fade from my memory just like a dream. Right now, though, I fear the exact opposite is happening. The longer I’m away from home, the less I remember about that cozy place. The fun I’ve had with my friends, the teachings I’ve received and even the precious time I’ve spent with my father are all becoming hazy. Truth be told, I’m terrified. Ever since I absorbed those spirits, something about me has changed. I keep changing. At times, this fear is enough to steal my sleep. Other times, I find myself accepting this new me. Sometimes, I even enjoy being a demon.

“Ten, handle the ones on the right!” Eris shouted before starting her chant.

“Got it!” I replied, more to psych myself up than anything.

Together, we dispatched a number of demons within that burning city. It feels strange to say, but I’ve become quite skilled at fighting during our one year of travelling. While on the road, we exhausted every rumor about magical artifacts, powerful sorcerers and hidden knowledge that we could find. After pursuing so many dangerous rumors, it would be strange if I hadn’t become used to violence.

“Thank you! Thank you ever so much!” A group of frantic survivors bowed their heads. We had saved another group but there were still so many more.

“Ten, take them to the castle.” Hal ordered. “I want to check the rest of this building.”

“No way!” Even now, the idea of taking orders from someone like Hal bothered me. Although, I did have a legitimate complaint this time. “We shouldn’t split up.”

“Look at them, Ten.” Sera pointed at the group cowering behind me. “They’ve already inhaled too much smoke. It’s dangerous to make them stay in the city.”

“Come on, Ten.” Eris tapped me on the shoulder as she rushed to the exit. “I’ll come with you and then we’ll be back in a flash.”

“Fine!” I relented.

We sprinted through the city with Eris guarding the front and me at the back. Fortunately, this haggard group still had the presence of mind to run like their life depended on it. Unfortunately, that motivation didn’t last the whole way. Once we were in view of the castle, the survivors fell to their knees in a mixture of exhaustion and relief.

“To think that there would be a place of refuge, even within this maelstrom.” One of them breathed.

“Keep moving!” I urged them. “You aren’t safe yet.”

My light criticism did nothing to rouse their spirits. I peered above the crowd, waiting for Eris’s harsh words to whip them into shape. To my horror, they never came. Eris was missing from the front of the pack.

“Eris!?” I yelled, but there was no reply.

Fear mounting, I ran past the survivors. Then, I smelled something. Demons, as I’ve repeatedly learned, have an abnormal sense of smell. I raised my nose and sniffed again. There was no doubt about it, a large number of souls were at the garden gate. Their scent vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

I hesitated. That was the most likely place to find Eris but it also meant that something dangerous was nearby.

“Everyone, follow me! If you can’t keep up, then I’ll leave you to die!”

This time, my words managed to spur the crowd into action. It was a terrible thing to say but there was no way around it. I really would throw have thrown them all to the fire if it meant saving Eris.

“Eris!” I called out once more as I approached the gate. “Don’t run ahead, I-” The rest of my words were suddenly forgotten. I stood there, rooted in place, as I watched Elver pull a dagger out of my friend’s chest.

Upon seeing Eris’s still figure, two emotions began to rage inside of me. I waited in stunned silence as they fought for control. The result of this milliseconds long battle was what anyone would expect. Anger won out over sadness and I charged Elver with all my might.

Assaulting a sorcerer is one of the most foolish actions a demon could make but I didn’t hesitate. I moved on instinct. Elver raised his knife once more and I watched my own hand lash out at him. I could have missed it if I’d blinked. Elver’s hand flew away like a swordsman’s blade after they’ve been disarmed. The aged man looked shocked but it was a mystery to me as well. I looked down at my own hand to find that it had reverted to its original shadowy form. Once again I remembered that even though I have the appearance of a human, it was only a façade. My true form is that of a shadow.

My first blow was completed in an instant but it was only one of two attacks that hit Elver. The second was a swift jab through the center of his chest. My fingers naturally went for his soul. I absorbed it before his body hit the ground. I staggered backwards as an enormous amount of information flooded into my head. Just like all of the demons I’d eaten, the information was fragmented and hazy. However, this time I felt a powerful impact that was like nothing I’d ever experienced. Maybe human souls affected me differently?

I barely had time to check my sanity or question my decision to attack Elver. My attention suddenly shifted back to Eris. She lay on the ground, clutching her wound. I rushed to her side but my medical training was non-existent. The most I could do was stem the bleeding. I tore chunks out of Elver’s clothing to use as bandages and when I clumsily tried to apply them, Eris laughed weakly.

“Ha, ha…You’re making a really stupid face right now, Will.”

I drew a sharp breath. She was calling me by my old name, that’s a bad sign.

“Ever since you became a demon, you’ve had this deadpan stare twenty-four seven. When you’re angry or sad, when you’re arguing with Hal or trying to win me over…you’ve never looked like yourself.”

“Don’t talk, you’ll-”

“It’s fine, I’m not going to die like this.” Eris managed a strained smile. “I was just stabbed by a haggard old man. Do you really think that’s enough to kill me?”

“But-”

“Seriously, let me tie that.” Eris reached for my makeshift bandage. “You’re not a spoiled kid anymore, you should know how to tie a knot. Then again, it’s probably difficult when your arm is like that.”

I noticed that my hand hadn’t returned to normal. Not only that, now my entire arm was that of a demon’s. I tried to revert it but nothing worked. During my attempts, I noticed a group of people sneaking around the entrance to the garden.

“You guys! Don’t worry about us, just go into the castle.”

My order was all they needed to hear. The group of survivors that we’d escorted jumped out of their hiding spots and bolted for the castle. They clearly didn’t understand what was happening but it was enough to scare them away.

“Eris, Ten, you guys need to come quickly!” Hal shouted as he rushed towards us. “Sera is…still…” He trailed off when he saw Eris.

“What happened to Sera?” Eris asked, ignoring Hal’s panicked stare.

“S-She’s still out there. Some demons ambushed us on the way back and I was just in the way.” Hal knelt down beside Eris. “What happened to you?”

“I don’t really understand it myself but I guess Elver hadn’t turned over a new leaf after all.” Eris tried to shrug, only to stop halfway and wince in pain. “Ten, go get Sera. We’ll be fine here.”

“I can’t.” I replied. My nose wrinkled.

“What!? Why not?” Hal shouted indignantly.

I didn’t have time to say anything else. Hal flinched as I dashed past him. My hand shot out towards a demon behind him. I wrapped my fingers around the demon’s neck with one hand while the other dug into its chest. I devoured its soul before it could react.

I looked down in disgust, now both my hands were cloaked in shadows. It was strange, I had never been this fast before. Then again, I’d already eaten more souls today than I had during my entire first year as a demon.

“Um, thanks.” Hal shivered.

“There’s more.” I reported.

As if on cue, a horde of demons emerged from the smoke and debris. A particularly large one flew down from above.

“My, my, my…I could smell everyone else hiding but there really are a lot of opportunists here aren’t there?” The flying demon spoke in a gravely tone. He had black, feathered wings that were twice the length of a man’s arms. One of those wings had severe burn marks. He hovered at a slight angle because of his injury. The demon laughed, revealing a maw filled with pointed teeth. Then, he pointed one long, hooked claw at me. “You’ve been here the longest but I can’t smell them on you. Where did those souls go?”

“Souls?” I suddenly remembered smelling a large number of souls in this area. “They were gone before I arrived.”

“Hmm, then I’ll have to eat the rest of you quickly. Those souls couldn’t have gotten far…”

The winged demon licked his lips. Once the horde had its answer, entire area became a melee. I was reminded that the city and its people were not the demon’s targets, they were merely collateral. The demons mostly fought amongst themselves but a few ignored the crowd and made a beeline for the castle.

“You have to stop them!” Hal yelled, but I was already moving.

With unexpected speed and power, I tore into the stray demons. More and more souls flowed into me. Each one made me stronger but it also increased my appetite. Once the outliers were cleaned up, I dove straight into the melee. Fighting like this felt natural. Any blow I saw coming would pass right through me, opening enemies up to devastating counter attacks. Within minutes, there were only two demons standing by the gate.

“Are you sure that you didn’t consume those souls?” The winged demon grinned at me. “You’re quite strong.”

I laughed until I was caught in a sudden bout of coughing. The unexpected interruption felt strange and familiar at the same time. My opponent wore a lax smile as he waited patiently for me to recover.

“You know…a group of demons told me about a powerful sorcerer in this city. They said that he promised them a truly disgusting amount of souls if they would help him. Fortunately, they were all very weak. My point is that I believed those souls to be on that man’s person.” The demon pointed at Elver’s corpse. “But now they seem to have changed hands.”

“So what?”

“I’ve been chasing those souls since this night began. If you tell me who took them, then I’ll spare your life. I don’t really want to waste time fighting you anyway.”

“I don’t know where they are.” Is what I nearly said. Then I realized there was a better way to handle this.

“Fine, fine.” I sighed. “Another demon took them. He was too fast and I couldn’t stop him. I was planning to track him down myself but I’d rather keep my life. He went that way.” I pointed away from the castle.

“Thank you. My name is Set, by the way. It’s been a pleasure to meet you, strong one.” The demon turned around.

Before I could breathe a sigh of relief, Set whipped around and jetted towards me.

“Did you really think I would just leave!?” He cackled.

Set barreled straight through me. Just like so many others, I let him pass through harmlessly. As he did, I wrapped my hands around his injured wing and pulled. His momentum helped me rip it off cleanly. Set tumbled into the ground with an avian screech.

“No, I didn’t.” I said flatly.

“Ugh…You’ll regret that!” Set spat. He tried to stand but by the time he did, I was already upon him. “Get off!”

Set scraped up some dirt and flung it at me. The instant I closed my eyes, one of his massive arms surged forward and hit me square in the chest. I was sent flying into the garden gate.

“Get up.” Set barked. “I’m going to rip each of your limbs off, one by one. Don’t worry, I’ll do it quickly. Just like how you pulled out my wing!”

Set took one step towards me but that was as close as he got. I opened my aching eyes to see the winged demon struggling to move.

“Finish him off now!” Eris yelled.

My world was spinning but I managed to stand. I had only taken one hit but it felt as though my body would collapse at any moment. No strategy came to mind, so I just rushed in. I ran at Set with my fist raised, but he died before it ever reached him. Just before I threw my punch, Set was skewered by a shadowy spear. It was made out of the same dark miasma that covered my arms. I followed the shaft to its origin, it had appeared out of my own shadow.

In an instant, more spears appeared. They tore into Set until there was nothing left. Then, the black entities quickly retreated into my shadow. After they had returned, I felt the same euphoric feeling I always got after eating a soul. More fragmented memories rushed into my head. I fell to my knees in a mix of exhaustion and dizziness.

“Ten, are you ok?” Hal called out to me from beside Eris.

Was I ok? It seemed like an important question but somehow I just didn’t care. I forced myself to stand and then stumbled towards the gate.

“Where are you going?”

“...To find Sera.” I replied.