“So, are you here to spy on me?” Eve asked, shifting the runes in the Ritual matrix with a finger flick. The final sixth piece of her cube matrix slowly unraveled into the green. It was only a matter of time now.

“Absolutely. I’ll learn everything I can and then sell it to the highest bidder as soon as the contract expires.” Susan said as she sprawled on the sofa Eve had custom crafted for her after discussions on Dragon body parts ended.

“You did read the contract, right?” Eve said as a grin flashed across her face when more runes turned green.

“Sure, although I admit the clause requiring you to be dead twenty-four hours is a bit strange. I’ve seen more unique requests, so it isn’t anything outlandish.” Susan said, shifting into complete demonic form to allow her tail to lazily doubles as a backscratcher while she lay stretched out on her stomach.

When the sixth part of the Ritual cube matrix finally turned all green, Eve decided to show the demoness and said, “I authorize you to kill me per the contract. Just don’t damage anything else in my room.”

Susan’s confused expression of shock was incredibly amusing as she said, “Are you sure? People don’t usually come back from demon kills. Our attacks have a natural soul shatter effect attached.”

“Won’t matter. It’ll all make sense in a minute.” Eve said, leaning over Sara’s draped form before pulling gorgeously manicured talon nails directly above the heart. Shrugging, the demoness thrust her sharpened fingernails straight up, piercing Eve’s unresisting flesh. It took an effort to prevent Damage Reduction from negating the attack.

There was a burst of silver light as Talisman of Dust appeared. Eve watched from the extra-dimensional holding area as Susan closed her eyes briefly. The radiant silver light flashed briefly before Eve’s body was rewoven into reality.

“Kill condition at your Tier is abnormal,” Susan said as her eyes roamed over the sofa, which now had a few slowly flailing silver tentacles. It didn’t appear to inconvenience the demoness at all.

“The light didn’t seem to do much. It must be a Demon thing,” Eve said, pulling the blood splatters with Blood allowing Witch’s Dust to clean them all before she sat back down at her chair.

“Direct exposure to the eldritch only changes the purely mortal races. Anything with partial immortality, or better, won’t be affected. Otherwise, there would be no chance of getting past the Primordial Dust.” Susan said, waving her hand in dismissal before continuing, “I wouldn’t use that trick against a Dragon, though. It is impossible to know what bullshit Skill, Spell, Trait, or Perk those scaled greed machines have access to.”

Eve nodded, “I need some advice.”

Susan looked wary, “Advice is free, but I’m getting the feeling this isn’t going to be fashion tips and the best place to get food in the City of Gold.”

“Demons under contract cannot lie. You can twist the truth into a Mobius strip, but not lie. I need advice on building a proper foundation for Tier Seven. The kind of foundation that lets me stroll unhindered through this world.” Eve said, leaning back in her chair.

“What makes you think I would have advice anywhere that useful?” Susan said, her tone lazy as her tail wove through the air without a care.

“Over nine thousand. To be precise, the number would be nine-thousand seven hundred and thirty-five, right Susan? Or should I call you, Virith-”

“Stop!” Susan screamed as she bolted upright.

“Oh? So true names do have power? Or perhaps the utterance of them draws unsavory eyes?” Eve said, raising one eyebrow at the demoness who was now breathing heavily.

“Both.” Susan said, slumping against the sofa before continuing, “Speaking that name would pull every male Tier Seven in the area here for a chance to bind me personally. Of course, they couldn’t do that with my current contracts.”

“Which would mean Jeffery would die, and unpleasant things would happen to me.” Eve finished with a faint nod.

“Exactly. Bad business all around.” Susan said, relaxing on her back.

“Pardon me for asking, but Jeffery is mortal, correct?” Eve asked.

“Yes, he’ll live two, perhaps three thousand, but he’s no Light Elf, that’s for sure. The drow are those who choose to dig deep in the hopes of finding a way out from the bottom of the world. The Deep Dark has changed them over the millennia shifting them to survive better but at a price.” Susan said, popping wings out of her back to sprawl them out over the sofa and floor as she languished.

“Help me, and I will take you with me when I leave,” Eve said.

Susan’s eyes grew wild as her breath hitched, “You have a way out!”

“I will either leave under my power or get help from my brother if all else fails,” Eve said with a shrug.

“What kind of brother can get you out of the Prison Plane?” Susan asked curiously.

Eve paused as multiple Rituals wove themselves into existence, each with a singular purpose. She wasn’t sure if her brother’s name would cause issues like Susan’s did, so she took precautions. Countless runes the size of motes of Witch Dust spread in a glowing silver pattern that filled the room with light. Once everything was in place, Eve leaned forward to speak.

“Matt R. Smith, Lord of Destruction, The Unstoppable Beast, The Devouring Darkness, Divine Murderer, System Killer…” Eve said, reciting the litany she knew.

Susan’s face grew paler with every utterance Eve spoke until the demoness was whiter than a mutton fat jade slip. There was a pause after the litany finished, and Eve watched as the sex demoness's eyes rolled back into her head while her tongue lolled lazily. Approximately ten minutes passed before Susan recovered from her strange fit.

“Sorry, ancestral memories. Very pleasant ones, but quite overpowering, to say the least.” Susan said in response to a raised eyebrow from Eve.

“That my brother is in the ancestral memories of the Demon race is not at all surprising, to be honest.” Eve said before she continued, “So, are you willing to assist me?”

“I’ve been made aware this isn’t an offer I can refuse without repercussions.” Susan said with a shrug of her wings before she continued, “Since I’m being paid an astronomical fee, in addition to my desire to see how monstrous you can become, I don’t mind lending a talon.”

Eve explained the twelve perks she would be able to purchase with her current amount of Slots and the plan to split them among her allies. Susan listened intently before she said, “I disagree. Eve, you need to understand. Perks are a major power component. They are designed to boost your power, not that of an ally.”

The demoness stood up and began pacing as she said, “I’m sure you think a braided rope is weaker than twisted rope or something similar. This is true. The power of combined individuals is indeed stronger than one person alone in almost every scenario. However, Perks are specifically tailored to grant Enhancements to whatever affinities you didn’t raise already. They are not designed to grant power to others, and that is what makes the idea of splitting your Perks problematic.”

Eve stared at her Ritual rune matrix before she said, “It appears you are correct. My familiar, Nota, has gone through the complete lists for each affinity. The comparison in efficiency is abysmal.”

Susan stood facing Eve and said, “The power of the System is building incredible powerhouses that can contain the Deeps. It doesn’t build armies, only individuals. For instance, when I utilize my complete combination of Skills, Spells, Traits, and Perks, it creates a multiplier effect for my Succubus Charm. Watch.”

Susan’s clothing flashed something a working girl would wear as she activated her powers. The demoness emanated a delicious scent, and her body turned from attractive to divinely inspired art. Eve was impressed, although she wasn’t sure how looking like a gorgeous woman was a combat skill.

Susan stared at Eve expectantly before finally saying, “You aren’t affected at all, are you?”

“You look nicer?” Eve said diplomatically.

“I’m at approximately twenty thousand Charm Stat before other calculations come into effect. It’s enough to make most non-Royalty cum just from within a hundred meters of me. Anything two hundred meters is thinking of fucking my brains out so hard they can’t focus on anything else, and three hundred meters out, most people are rushing to lick my boots. Silver magic is clear bullshit!” Susan said, huffing.

“How exactly is this useful in combat, though?” Eve asked.

“How hard do you think it is to murder someone helplessly orgasming repeatedly in your presence?” Susan countered before she continued, “How difficult do you think it is to get completely bullshit contracts signed in your favor? Do you know how many horny teenagers forget the basics of demon summoning when a hot piece of wet dream-inducing imagery like myself is licking her lips at them?”

Eve conceded the point to placate her advisor, “I completely see where you are coming from now.”

Susan glared before saying, “No puny business.”

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist,” Eve replied with a sparkle in her eyes.

“You think the puns are funny now, but just wait till I re-arrange one of your attempts at enchantment to stalk you without mercy. Everyone’s laughing until someone drowns from the endlessly flowing booze cup!” Susan mock threatened with a dark look.

Eve waved her hands in submission before saying, “Ok, ok. Let’s talk business now.” It took several hours to explain her arrival on Tal Mor and subsequent arrival at the Prison Plane. Susan interrupted her several times to clarify various points before eventually getting the whole story. When she was done talking, the demoness looked at her with a pitying look.

“What’s wrong?” Eve asked.

“Do you want the good news or the bad news first?” Susan replied from the sofa she had listened to the entire tale from.

“Bad news first, lay it on me,” Eve said, taking a sip of her almost finished bottle of peach wine.

“Time will begin moving at separate speeds. I would say, for the first few years, perhaps five or six, you and your brother will be on the same wavelength. However, after that, the dilation effect will start to appear. I don’t know how or why it works, so don’t give me that look. First, it will start slow, something simple like a 1:1 ratio becomes 1:10. Then it becomes 1:100, and eventually you have so many zeros the other end is practically frozen in time compared to the far side.” Susan paused and continued, “The distance must be incredibly massive for Him not to reach you here before the dilation becomes too great. We aren’t talking a few dimensions away. We are talking an Omni-Verse or two combinations of a sub-infinite number of Multi-verses.”

“A page is a universe. A book is a multi-verse, a bookshelf is an omniverse?” Eve said as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.

“Exactly, and a Vore would be the library. It is essentially a collection of Omni-verses. Different power sources are found in different parts. For instance, in a Barren Universe, you would see electricity as the mainstay with barely any mana available. Barren Universes are opened up when a Primal Energy Source arrives. You get either Mana, World Energy, or Chaos. Each one uniquely changes the Barren Universe and also impacts where it arrives on the scale. Mana tends to stick to System Multi-verses. World Energy collects in Cultivation Omni-verses. Chaos pulls straight into the Vore.” Susan said.

“So my brother is essentially at the opposite end of the library?” Eve said as her mind fit the concepts into understandable connections.

“Yes, the end of a very long, very large, very tall library in simple terms,” Susan said.

“Any idea why the System would assist me so much when I arrived?” Eve asked, her silver eyes glinting.

“I’m going out on a limb from what I learned from the ancestral memories here.” Susan said cautiously before she continued, “I’m willing to bet it's bribery.”

“Bribery of a multi-universe spanning reality warping construct like the System?” Eve said with a laugh.

“Yeah, see, here’s the thing. You remember one of those titles, right? S-Killer?” Susan said, looking shifty.

“Uh, yes?” Eve said.

“See, every system has a Core. They can’t fight each other. So…” Susan trailed off.

As the implications hit her, Eve blinked and said, “The System is being bribed with an upgrade?”

“Hey, I’m sure there are threats involved too; I mean, it would be practically mandated almost. But, yeah, that’s my theory. Fits all the known information, too.” Susan said with a saucy grin.

Eve created a scroll with all the available Paper, Ink, and Space Perks before handing it to Susan and saying, “Take a look here. I need to go talk to my allies.”

Susan shrugged and said, “Tell them it is all my fault if they want someone to blame.”

“No, that won’t be necessary.” As she rose from her chair, Eve said firmly, “Mistakes were made. I will admit to them and move on. Denying all blame is merely pouring sand as my foundation instead of concrete.”

“That was deep, like a puddle,” Susan said with a grin.

Eve flipped the demoness off as she walked through the door in her room to the hibernation chamber where Kudzu, Felix, and the Hut were gathered.