It was cold. Despite the demon's natural resistance to high and low temperatures, he felt the immense cold of his surroundings. Then it all shifted. The touch of frost lifted from his body and a blanket of warmth wrapped around him as the people who carried him stepped out of the portal. He did not know where he was. All he was aware of were the changes in temperature. The warmth transitioned to cold once again, as the comfortable blanket slipped off of him and the chill of the corridor dug its fingers into his hard carapace. This time, the age of ice lasted for much longer before the warmth of a duvet and a soft bed once again replaced it. Then, at some point in the future, it got even warmer. Something hot was touching his mouth, flowing inside and filling what was left of his stomach.

The demon's few remaining eyes slowly fluttered open. Everything around him was but a blur, but he could recognise that some people were standing above him. One was sticking a spoon into his mouth. What was on it, Ruun couldn't tell. It was warm and rich in flavour, but he couldn't identify the taste at all. With each spoon he was fed, he felt his body feeling less and less like a chunk of dead flesh and bones. The tasty liquid was rejuvenating.

"W-What... Is that?" he asked as soon as his ability to talk returned at least to some extent. He saw the person beside him put the empty food bowl down, setting it on the top of a pile of seven other such bowls. Then, she took a filled one from the person next to her and began feeding the demon again.

"N-No..." Ruun muttered and his vision finally began returning. He slowly realised he was lying in bed, with the healer and his assistant sitting beside him. "Millie. What–"

"Shhh. Eat. Please, you have to eat."

"No! What... what is that?"

"It will help you regain your strength. Please, eat!" She tried to put another spoon into his mouth before Ruun's remaining arm grabbed her. Although she could tell he wanted to stop her from moving the food any closer, his strength was nowhere near achieving it.

"What... have you done," he growled at her, his strength barely having returned.

"I–" Millie spoke but the dwarven doctor next to her quickly cut her off when he saw the weight her heart carried.

"We did what we had to. We saved you," said Kilm

"That... that soup." Ruun's eyes slid to the bowl.

"It will recover your strength."

"That's people! You... you cooked people!" he gasped. "I... I can see them. I can see who it was." Tears formed in his eyes. "The prisoners... We promised them safety. Why? Why them?"

"They were the only ones we could find on such quick notice. And we had to process the meat somehow. You were in no shape to chew it," Kilm tried to argue against the demon.

"You went against... my orders. You broke the promise. You broke... my trust."

Millie clenched her fist. "I don't care!"

"Millie–"

"No. I will not have it anymore! We did what we had to in order to save you! I don't give a rat's ass about some prisoners. What did society ever do for me?! People like these fuckers disliked that I used to practice necromancy. They snitched! They sent the hunters my way. My family and my home are gone because of them! I don't owe them anything. On the other hand, I owe you my life. So I would kill a million people to save you! You said that once the girl opens the way for demons, you will be killed anyway. You slaughtered all those people to achieve your goal and were willing to accept the consequences. So I accept mine! My goal was to save you. Whatever might befall me for that, I don't care."

A single tear slid down the demon's face. "I... I can't agree with this."

"Whether you agree or not, the food is already prepared," Kilm spoke. "It would all go to waste if you wouldn't eat it. Their lives would go to waste. So eat. Get your strength back."

"How much more is there?"

"Five bowls. Including this one."

"Then I will take those. Nothing more."

"But you will never regain your strength that way!" Millie yelled at him.

"Doesn't matter. I will survive because of it. We already have what we came for. Now we just have to get the girl to the proper place and carry out the rest of the plan. Time is of the essence. I... I did not manage to harm the hunter's soul. He will recover soon. And when he does, he will not stop until we're all dead. A terrible darkness will be unleashed upon Ezma. And only that soulless girl can stop it."

"We've already discussed where the opening should be carried out. Don't worry, master Ruun, we'll make it in time," Kilm assured him.

"Good, good. Then please, hurry. Or our death will come sooner than you might think."

Glavas' eyes flew open. Almost immediately and without any thinking, he intended to rise up from his bed, only to be greeted by pain so severe it sent him back down again. His eyes darted around the room, desperately trying to orient themselves and find the answer to where the hell he was. It didn't take long to figure it out. The smooth, corner-less walls, which were painted to look like a cabin in the woods quickly assured him that he was still in Skinscale. He tried to move, but his body was simply in no shape to do so.

"Alma?! Surdi?!" He yelled out, hoping to find them just hiding somewhere under his bed to surprise him.

Nothing. Not a single sound came as a response. "ANYONE! HEEEEELP!" He yelled out as loud as he could and finally, someone heard him. An ashen dragon in light-blue robes walked inside.

"Shhhh! Calm down! You're alive."

"My kids! Where are they?!" He shouted at the doctor.

"I... Your children?"

"The bald girl with ebony skin and white eyes! And the little aquatic dragon with teal scales!"

"I- I am sorry. We haven't seen them since the commotion."

Tears began flowing down Glavas' face. "No... NO!!!"

"Please, calm down!"

"Where are Darmok and Veloc? I need to speak to them! I need their help!"

The doctor sighed, unsure whether telling him the truth would be a good idea. Nevertheless, he quickly came to the conclusion that keeping it from him would be even worse.

"The chief hunter and the gate guard are... are gone."

"Gone? No..." Glavas gasped.

"As far as we know, they went to confront the attacker. Their remains have been discovered only a couple of hours ago."

Silence filled the room for a moment before the hunter spoke once again. His voice was calm and quiet, yet coarse and rough, like a river, slowly eroding everything around.

"Can you heal me?"

"We are working on it, but it will take time."

"How long?"

"We are unsure."

"I will pay for the best healer you can give me."

"It is not about that. There are other injured members of the hive. We must prioritise."

"If you do not want to join the list of casualties, you will find me the best you can find."

"But... sir–"

"Go. Go find me someone who can help me."

"I... I will have a look around," the dragon nervously muttered and quickly left the room, unsure what would happen if he'd refuse.

Glavas looked at the ceiling, whispering a few words to himself as even more tears flooded his eyes. "I will kill them. I will kill them all."