******

“CONGRATULATIONS.”

It was a simple word. An ordinary compliment. The voice was polite, too. There was no snark or vitriol laced into the word. At least, none that Tian could hear. Yet, still, she backed up.

The girl took on a wide stance, ready to battle. A single bead of sweat crawled down her back as the man standing up ahead tilted his head. He spoke in a disconcertingly cool voice.

“What is wrong?” he asked, taking a step forward. “Why so afraid?”

Tian gritted her teeth, refusing to answer the question, even if she knew the answer. Red skin. Hollow eyes. Sunken cheeks. The pair of tusks protruding amongst his fangs. The void black hair. It was so reminiscent of the face carved into the gates of the Land of the Cursed.

Because you’re a Demon, she thought. You’re playing a trick on me.

“Well, if you’re not going to answer the question,” said the Demon with a shrug. “I don’t know if I’ll want to help you.”

“What?” The girl blinked.

The Demon spun around, facing away from her. “Oh, you know? Help you find a way out? After all, you’re lost, aren’t you?”

“That’s…” She quickly bit her tongue. Don’t talk to him, she reminded herself. Nothing good can come from talking with a Demon.

It was something any child was taught when they first learned to speak. A tale passed on from mother to daughter— from father to son— to warn them of the dangers of wandering Demons and malevolent strangers. A bedtime story that would send children into fight for weeks on end. Especially on the Day of the Celestice. When the Heavens shone their brightest, so were the Demons that walked amongst Jhisie the most numerous.

Their connection to their realms were the strongest, then. They could descend from the Heavens to mingle amongst men and women. They could return to their homes without much cumber. And their disguises would be near-impeccable.

The tricks they played and the deceit they pulled weren’t just mere pranks played by children. It was malicious. Damning. They found joy in tormenting the weak-willed. They drew power from exploiting those whose spirits were broken. For they had no connection to the Dao, yet they had power.

They were the antithesis of everything it meant to be a Cultivator.

Tian caught herself from following after the Demon. This was just another trick. It was here to prey on her, and she wasn’t going to fall for it.

“Good,” she said adamantly. “Leave. I don’t want your help.”

The Demon started walking down the corridor, harrumphing. “Maybe I will!”

The girl watched him until he turned a corner. She waited with bated breath for him to return— like this was some kind of farce the Demon was trying to pull to lower her guard. The footfalls eventually faded, and she sighed in relief.

“He’s gone,” she breathed as she spun around.

“Who’s gone?” the Demon asked, standing right behind her.

Tian leapt back, yelping. “You—”

“Oh, hi!” He smiled. “I didn’t see you there. My name is Yao. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“H-how did you…?” She backed up as she pointed at the Demon.

He tilted his head at her innocently. “How did I get where?”

“You were just—” Tian glanced back at the corridor he had previously disappeared into before looking back at him. “That’s not possible.”

“I apologize. But did we meet before?” The Demon— Yao— gave her a blank stare.

“What are you talking about?” She narrowed her eyes, pointing behind her. “You were just right there!”

“I don’t believe we have ever met. Unless…” He frowned, leaning closer.

Tian took a single step back. Her heart pounded in her chest as she took in a deep breath. She tried to steel herself. She knew this Demon was trying to trip her up somehow. She would be ready for anything he pulled.

Yao narrowed his eyes. “You’re—” And he shook his head. “Nope. No clue who you are. Sorry! I’ll take my leave now.”

The girl looked on as the Demon left her alone once again. She expected him to make a similar exit to earlier, but this time, he just pulled a nearby door open and stepped through it.

“Bye now!” he called out.

Tian waited for a moment. This time, she scanned her surroundings, making sure he didn’t sneak up from behind her. But it didn’t take long for Yao to make his reappearance. The girl’s gaze snapped up as she heard the groan of a creak.

The Demon emerged from a doorway at the ceiling. He hopped down, landing lightly next to her as she clicked her tongue.

“What are you doing?” she asked exasperatedly.

“Oh, hello,” he said, ignoring her question. “I did not expect to see a child here.”

She gritted her teeth as he continued to play dumb once again. Yao strutted up to her, his robes billowing with a nonexistent wind as he smiled.

“I see you’re lost. The Land of the Cursed is dangerous and not a place for a child. Come, let me guide you out of this place.” He proffered her a hand.

Tian eyed it and shook her head. “No thank you. But I don’t need your help. I can find my way out of this place just fine.”

“Please, child of Ren,” he coaxed her. “Do not be so stubborn. This place is not safe for children. If you open one wrong door, you will forever be trapped here.”

“I know,” the girl said as she glared at him. “And I know you’re trying to play a trick on me, too. I will not fall for it. Begone, Demon.”

He paused as she slapped his hand away. Yao looked down at the girl, his smile slipping. She drew power from her core— whatever Qi she had left without a connection with the Dao.

“I reject you. I reject your offers. I do not care for what you think you can give me. There is nothing you have that I want.”

It was a clear repudiation. A full rejection of what this malicious entity represented. There was no sanctuary with him. She wasn’t going to let his malevolent intentions take hold of her. Unfortunately, she didn’t expect how he’d react.

“I… see.” Yao’s hands drooped to his sides as she warily eyed the Demon.

He should leave now, she thought. Mother had taught her that the only way to dispel a Demon was to clear oneself of desire and wants— a denial of what empowered these creatures. And, perhaps, down beneath the Heavens, this would’ve worked.

But here, in the Seventh Heaven? In the Land of the Cursed? Where Demons were at their strongest? She miscalculated.

“You know, I had wondered what you were talking about. I didn’t think I met you before. But now I know— now I remember.” The Demon’s smile returned to his face as he bent back with a crack.

Tian blinked, backing away from him. He laughed— the soft chuckle somehow echoing throughout the labyrinth like a susurration of laughter.

“I finally recognize you,” said the Demon as his form grew bigger and bigger. “You’re that girl who I saved from those Vampires.”

“From the… Vampires?” The girl didn’t understand. Not like she could even pay attention to that. She was too busy backing up as Yao’s form grew bloated, casting a dark shadow over her. “W-what…?”

“Yes, the Vampires.” Yao cackled as his robes tore. His stomach ballooned out, and Tian saw implanted in his chest were dozens of disfigured faces. Their mouths stretched open like they were screaming in pain as his body grew larger. The girl’s eyes fixed on one of the faces sewn into his chest.

It looked like the face of a man. An ordinary man. Perhaps a farmer who’d wear a straw hat, wandering the fields outside of the Liufan sect, toiling away as the Heavens rose and fell. Perhaps he’d also chew on a piece of grass and greet others with a casual, “Whatcha up to?”

But Tian recognized his face. She remembered the way he’d saved her from a pair of invincible Vampires, hopping their way to her with insane speeds only to be eviscerated by a flurry of needles. But that was not all— lastly, she remembered how she hadn’t ever given him her name, yet he knew who she was.

Yao smiled as the crackling stopped. His transformation finished. He stood ten times Tian’s height with a body just as wide as he was tall. He looked down at her with a twisted neck, bent down like it had been snapped from behind.

Tian took a trembling step back as she looked up at this colossal figure. His body rippled— his stomach ripped open, forming a giant mouth at the center of his belly. Lips formed over the sharp teeth before curling up into a gleeful smile.

“You should’ve accepted the offer, Tian,” he said, the giant mouth speaking as his entire body moved with it. “You would have had a blissful death— painlessly assimilated into my being! Now I have no choice.”

Yao lurched forward, standing now on all fours. The girl watched on in horror as the Demon finished.

“Now say goodbye, girl.”

And he charged her.

*****

The giant Zombie charges after me.

It swipes its hands in the air like it is trying to swat a fly. I narrowly avoid the lumbering swings, launching whatever attacks I can at it to keep its attention drawn to me. I do not aim to harm it. I know that every attack I throw its way is fruitless. I just need it to follow me to Warmthkeep.

I descend on the destroyed city— its walls have already been torn down. Half of the buildings left in the city have been reduced to piles of rubble. The other half that are still barely standing is knocked down by the tremor sent washing over the Blazing Desert with each of the giant Zombie’s steps.

The amalgamation of undead reaches the edge of Warmthkeep. I look down to see buildings on their last legs topple and collapse. I cast my gaze over the city one last time, searching for any survivors. There are none.

Then I turn to the giant Zombie. It sprints after me, moving at a disconcertingly fast speed. I spread my arms wide, readying myself to face off this being at the center of Warmthkeep. Whenever the Keepers of the Grove are ready, they will launch their superweapon. And when that happens, I will quickly escape— flee to safety.

I look towards the bunker in the far distance. I can see Kalmat eyeing me with a spyglass. I offer him a thumbs-up, letting him know that I am ready. He draws back and confers with Beihal, before they mobilize their superweapon. I look back towards the giant Zombie, ready to distract it for a moment longer before escaping.

At least, that is what I thought I would have done. But the rest of the Zombie army manages to catch up with the giant Zombie. And my eyes grow wide as they begin to merge into one. As the giant Zombie grows even larger.

I blink, staring in shock as a colossal Zombie is formed. I look up to see it towering over me, then it reaches out with its arm, crossing the distance it couldn’t cross before. I try to fly out of the way, but it catches me. And that is when I realize I am trapped. Its grip on me like iron as thousands of Zombies swarm to keep me down.

And right as the realization settles in, I hear a boom. The superweapon is fired. It slowly flies through the sky, going high above the clouds at first as I continue to struggle to break free. Then when it reaches its peak, it begins to fall.

And there is nothing anyone can do to stop it any longer.