Dreams plagued my mind. Memories jumbled together with irrational fears from a time I had nearly forgotten. Bright red eyes glowed in the shadows of towering trees. A furious growl as a young girl came face to face with a Demonkin for the very first time.

A man spoke with an even, calloused voice. “You must kill it alone Aurielle. I will not help you.”

The girl’s legs shook as she felt the bloodlust radiating off the monster like a tangible tide of water. A red mist foamed around its mouth emphasizing its madness but even though the was afraid of the Demonkin, she was more afraid of disappointing the man behind her.

Three walking skeletons moved in unison. They used swords and spears to pin down the monster as green fire erupted from the girl’s fingertips. Despite the girl’s bravery though, the skeletons were unable to hold the Demonkin for long. They were crushed into dust beneath jagged claws. The green fire singing the creature’s fur only incited its rage and with a single bound it leapt at the girl. She froze in fear as white teeth reflected in her eyes. The Demonkin’s jaws opened wide around her neck, only a moment away from sinking into flesh. Before it could strike the lethal blow, however, the Demonkin stopped as if held by some invisible force.

The man’s eyes were cold. With a simple wave of his hand, the Demonkin was sent flying backwards. It crashed through a nearby tree, sending a shower of splinters into the air.

“If you are really determined to follow me, you need to do better than that,” the man said, his voice remained even but she could practically feel the disappointment in his gaze. “When you face off against the Demons, you will do so alone. I will not be there to save you. Fear and doubt will only get you killed. If you are not strong enough to face your enemy directly, act smarter instead. Analyze your environment, exploit the enemy’s weaknesses, and above all never stand there and accept your defeat. Do you understand?”

“I think so,” The little girl replied hesitantly.

“Then show me.”

The Demonkin that had been thrown across the forest growled furiously as it picked itself up off the ground. Its blood-red eyes focused on the little girl as it prowled closer. The giant beast still terrified the girl but she did not back down. She began to think and plan how to beat the overwhelming enemy.

Cold water splashed across my face, waking me from the half-forgotten dream. I groaned in pain as my stiff body ached. My back, especially, burned from untreated wounds, amplified by my stomach feeling as if it was doing summersaults into my chest.

“Wakey, wakey Aurielle,” a wicked voice whispered in my ear.

I felt a sharp nail rake across my chin, cutting into my skin and drawing blood. I tried my best to push away my grogginess. My eyes blinked open and squinted as they adjusted to the blinding white light.

The silhouette of a face was backlit by the light. Glowing red eyes and a confident smile on his face, Andras the wind Demon.

I snapped fully awake as everything that happened flooded back. I jolted upright only to be stopped by the rattle of chains pinning me to the floor. Heavy steel manacles wrapped around my wrists and prevented me from being able to completely stand up.

My eyes darted around the room as I quickly took in my new surroundings. Thick steel bars covered the windows and door. The blinding white light radiated from crystals embedded in every surface of the room. I instantly recognized them and it explained the nauseous feeling in my stomach. These were the same type of crystals I had used to lock up Sebastion. They siphoned power from anyone and anything in the vicinity, leaving them unable to use any form of innate talent or domain.

This was a jail cell, plain and simple. One I knew well, in fact. Only, back then I had been on the other side of the bars. This was the confinement tower in the city of Ater-Albus.

I heard a moan from someone nearby but when I tried to turn my head to look at the source of the sound, the Demon’s hand gripped my jaw. His face was uncomfortably close to mine as he knelt down in front of me.

“Good morning, Aurielle. What do you think of your new home? I chose it especially for you. It may not be up to your normal standards, but the view is simply to die for.”

Andras roughly twisted my head to the side as he spoke. I could feel his breath on my ear as he forced me to look out the window.

From where I sat chained to the floor, I had a pretty limited view out the window. I could not see the city below but what I could see made me catch my breath. Perfectly framed from where I sat, I saw an enormous rift in space, a portal to another realm. Electricity sparked around its edges and a deep red mist poured out from the other side. As if looking through a curtain of water, I could see the hundreds of thousands of Demonkin milling about on just the other side. They watched the portal in eager anticipation for when it was stable enough to pass through.

“It really warms your heart, doesn’t it? You will get to watch every second as your realm is transformed into something truly beautiful.”

My eyes lingered on one of the Demonkin on the other side of the portal. A creature with four heads and far too many limbs.

“Your idea of beauty is as twisted as you are.”

Andras chuckled as his grip around my chin tightened. “Yes, our lesser kin are sometimes more… unique to look at but you know what they can accomplish. From the moment we are born, Demons can topple mountains and crater cities. How much do you little humans have to train and struggle just to even begin matching the power of our weakest children? Do you not get tired of all the suffering and hardship? It would be so much easier for you if you just accepted the truth. We are inevitable.”

As the Demon spoke into my ear, all the dark thoughts that had been plaguing my mind for the past week suddenly came flooding back like a tidal wave. It was so sudden and overwhelming, I fell into a daze, staring blankly at the enormous portal hovering over the city.

“Yes, you know it even better than me. You have lived such a long life. You are even older than Envy. How many times have you pointlessly given your life? All that fighting and bloodshed and what have you to show for it?”

I struggled to regain my composure under the intense influence of the Demon. Being in their presence was bad enough but having a Demon focus his entire attention on bending my will was like being thrust into a hurricane. I couldn’t even move my mouth to speak as intense emotions of exhaustion, guilt, and fear all burrowed into my head.

Still firmly grasping my jaw, Andras forced me to look him in the eye. The glowing red was like a sea of blood, engulfing the entire room. “It does not have to be this way though. I do not have to be your enemy. Imagine the power you could wield if you joined us. With the strength of a Demon, you could overwhelm any obstacle. Even Envy would only be able to bow before your might.”

My sense of reason suddenly snapped back at the Demon’s words. No matter how dark my thoughts became, I had never even considered siding with them and I never would.

I broke into laughter at the Demon’s misguided attempt to corrupt my mind. “You don’t know me at all do you, Andras? Even if I was completely corrupted and transformed into a hideous monster, I would never be on your side. The most a little Demon like you is good for is serving as one of my undead horde.”

Andras frowned as he saw my clarity and conviction return. He released my jaw and shoved me to the ground. Standing up, he looked down at me with contempt. “Then you choose to continue suffering in vain. That is fine. We still have quite a bit of time before my master arrives. I will relish breaking your will bit by bit.”

As Andras spoke, his foot stepped down on my ankle. He gave me a moment to register what he was going to do before stomping down with enough force to shake the building. There was a sickening pop from my leg as my bone broke under his foot. I hissed in pain but refused to give him the satisfaction of crying out.

Andras smiled sadistically as I clutched my broken leg. He then pointed to the other side of my cell drawing my attention to a figure huddled in the corner. “No one is coming to save you Aurielle. Submit to me like the lowly animal you are and I will be merciful. Refuse and you will share her fate.”

The figure in the corner let out a gurgled moan. At first glance, it was hard to even tell what I was looking at. It didn’t look human, that was for sure. It was a sickening sight of cruelty. I had seen half-eaten and decayed corpses that looked better than this. The person only had a single arm. Her legs and left arm were both completely amputated and the one arm she did have was missing four of her fingers. Her eyes and tongue had been brutally gouged out and even patches of her skin looked like it had been flayed from her body. The amount of torture this person endured was inhumane.

Worst of all, I recognized her. Or more correctly, I recognized the patches of raven-black hair on her head.

“Irene?” I whispered in disbelief.

It was hard to reconcile what I was seeing with the woman I had known. I had no love for the Corvus family and Irene hated me back with unbridled passion but I never would have wished this on her. Several of her wounds had begun to heal. It was clear the Demons had been toying with her for a long time. Probably from the moment they entered this realm, the Demons had abused her like a broken toy. I had spoken to her a few times through my imitation undead and back then I had been confused by her sudden change of heart and willingness to help me. Now I understood.

Andras’ smile widened further at my reaction to the sight. “That’s right, I forgot you knew our little friend personally. When I heard she had a simulation of your power, I decided to test if she also copied your ability to heal. Unfortunately, she didn’t. Poor Irene was just a tad too fragile for me to play with for long. Now that I have the original though, I don’t need this broken imitation anymore.”

Irene’s body shook as the Demon approached but before he could do anything the portal in the distance began to spark. Bolts of lightning arced across the courtyard leaving scorch marks on the stone.

Andras’s eyes lit up at the sight. “Looks like we are finally getting more reinforcements. Perfect timing. I was just wondering what to do about that annoying army of insects you gathered and now I will have the forces to wipe them out completely.” Irene was completely forgotten as Andras turned to leave the cell. I watched with curiosity as he addressed another waiting outside the cell. I recognized him as the battle maniac of the Demons, Abigor. “You, musclehead, keep an eye on Aurielle while I organize our new subordinates under my command. Don’t touch her. She is my prize and I don’t want you breaking her before I get to savor it myself.”

“Understood,” the Demon growled reluctantly.