Sidis teaser (Patreon)

A new demon was born on the plains of Sidis. It was an event of no import that interested absolutely no one. Plenty of demons had emerged from the primordial plains before, coalescing from raw soul stuff in pools of dark goop. Plenty more would emerge before the last sun burnt out. Most would never amount to anything. They would perish here, in this desolate place, their bodies gulped back by the devouring chaos. In fact, very little differentiated that demon from any other newborns, except perhaps a vague sense of wonder. There was a drive there, buried among the vulgar urges of their physical envelope. Not much. Just enough to make a difference. The creature did not immediately cast out to forage. Instead, they took everything in.

Unfortunately, whelps like this one were… not the brightest lot.

Demons were feared all across the infinite spiral for good reasons, and none of these related to whelps. A gangly shape barely as tall as a human child stood on shaky legs, their skin gray and sallow, their knees gnarly, ribs exposed by a lack of muscle, shifty eyes searching, pointy ears shaking, hooked nose sniffing. A face that would send a mother reaching for the nearest pillow. The being center around a bulging belly that even now cried out to be filled. By some miracle, the Curious One managed to ignore their ravenous call for a moment. Concepts and impressions assaulted their simple mind. and the pathetic brain under that wrinkled brow struggled to half-discover and half-remember it all from whatever life it had led before. Back when their soulstuff had been part of something better.

Up became a thing. Up were clouds of reddish matter, rusty like old blood. They roiled from a stillborn storm that would never fall, never become. Down became a thing. Down were scoria in many shapes and sizes, curved, tortured, maimed by heat and pitted by the weak yet persistent assault of millennia of sandy shards. One of them looked interesting. It bore the appearance of the cut head of some cancerous beast with a single eye. It was a shape that evoked something the stone was not. It was a symbol. The demon liked the idea of symbols.

The curious demon extended a hand. Body became a thing. Time became a thing, the duration between thought and action. Distance became a thing, the one between the hand and the stone. Away were many rocks extending forever until they were gravel, then the finest sand. Farther, cyclopean mountains stood so high they almost touched the sky.

The demon took the stone. It was rough where the rock had split, showing granular bubbles that chafed when he touched them. It was smooth in some places, though. Tactile became a thing. Senses became a thing. It was not much but it was still the best experience the demon had ever lived. It remembered emotion and sensation. The demon grew aware of itself. It became aware that it was hungry. There was nothing around it recognized as food.

The demon needed food, so it set out. Inherited instincts guided it in an awkward lurch down the slope, not up, for the demon was lazy. It still held the stone in their hand. It did not occur to it to let its prize go for the demon was forgetful.

For a long time, the demon walked on paths of uneven gravel punctuated by jagged rocks piercing like broken fangs from diseased gum. The curious one was awkward at first. It shuffled on new feet, balance a thing slowly remembered and learned again. Assurance returned after time and practice, because it did not stop. Hunger needled it forward like an intrusive thought that wouldn’t let go. The curious one smelled something in the wind. That scent, well, it was not a good scent, but it spoke of nourishment and that was all it wanted. Want and longing became a thing. Impatience as well. There were hills of serrated stalagmites split by rivers of basaltic sand a little farther. The enticing stench came from there.

Suddenly, the demon found itself facing a plant.

The wretched growth consisted of thorns, dry twigs, and not much else. A single black branch extended like the arm of a corpse to offer an oily, bulbous fruit like petrified tar. The enticing scent originated from there. The demon carelessly grabbed and pulled it.

What looked like half-melted asphalt crumbled under their fangs. Inky juice dripped down their chin before a wormy tongue lapped it, eager to consume their prize to the last drop. As the noxious fluid dripped down their gullet, the demon felt… stronger. Better. New instincts and old memories surged into their expanding mind with increased celerity. Drive became a thing. Progress, growth returned to their mind. The creature realized it could feel pleasure. It also realized the plant was… alive. It was the first organism it met that was not of the self. It was other and it had served it. That sensation was quite pleasing for the newborn demon. It wanted more of it.

A vague memory spoke of the cycle of nature. Perhaps the tree would eventually produce another fruit. However, the demon was an impatient thing. It wanted more, now. Planning was remembered and discarded in the same breath. Planning required effort. The demon didn’t want to work at things. It was annoying. There was no need for thought.  If the demon ate a few more of those fruits, something good would happen. It was absolutely certain of that fact on a fundamental level, with the same natural urge that drove birds to fledge and spiders to eat their mates. It could already feel their strength improve, their limbs grow more limber. A quick glance at their forearm showed it was not so skeletal anymore. Even the dim intellect behind the dark eyes grew keener. It needed more. It would get more. And so, the demon kept walking.

They kept walking for a long time.

How long exactly was not relevant. Demons were indefatigable, only stopped by their natural languor. This demon wanted more food and did not know enough yet to experience boredom. They went on and on through deserts of ash and empty plains, feet treading on warm granules of basalt that would lead mortal feet bleeding to the bone. They went on and on. Sometimes, the demon would glance about to see things it did not understand. There were wrecks of strange things made of corroded material, pitted and gnawed. It came across the fossilized remains of a great beast that covered an entire hill. The brittle bone snapped under their claws and fell to the ground in powdery chunks. There were other bones, smaller. Black smears of pungent liquid almost returned to the ground. Sometimes, the demon thought it could see shifting forms in the distance but it could not be sure with their poor eyesight. Sometimes, the wind howled as if hounding it, egging it on, then the gale would fly off to harry someone else. Sometimes, it was cold.

After an uncountable amount of time, the curious one came across another tree. The surprise was intense, but not as intense as seeing a malformed creature with sallow skin standing at the opposite end of the clearing, peering out from under two giant ribs. That creature was hideous. It was the most disgusting thing the curious one had ever beheld for the simple reason it had never come across a mirror. The creature shrieked and so did the curious one, for they recognized their own kin, and that could only mean one thing.

Competition.

That was entirely unacceptable.

The curious one sprinted awkwardly across the empty spot around the tree and their rival did the same. Anger overcame greed and the two set on a collision course of flailing, gibbering bodies. The curious one thought to prepare a strike. It already possessed the ability to anticipate, somewhat, and the thrown punch landed on the other one’s forearm with a painful crack. The curious one pressed their advantage and threw their opponent to the ground in a furious melee. Unfortunately, that advantage disappeared quickly. It was not raw strength or skill that separated them, but simply the fact that the curious one was attempting to fight while protecting the pretty stone it had picked up.

The brawl turned into a rout. The curious one was forced to protect itself under the onslaught of flailing limbs. A claw carved a gash on their cheek. They were in pain. In the throes of despair, they yelled and threw the stone at their opponent.

The projectile caught the kin in the nose at point blank range. The kin stopped and screamed when a torrent of black blood splurted from their shattered face. It fell back with a wail of agony.

The curious one was winning!

It picked the stone — good stone! — and set to finish the battle. There was no hesitation in the curious one for their kind did not know the concept of mercy. It cracked the kin’s head like an egg, brushing the feeble arms away to land the last couple of hits. Black, pungent blood spilled on the sand. It smelled… well, not very good.

The curious one inspected the vanquished foe. It was food. Technically. Just not very good food. Terrible, even, for it was hopelessly weak. As it watched, the body started to melt. Goop fell from brittle bones, ending the curious one’s conundrum. It was no longer food. The fruit, however, was.

It tasted… pretty good. Not as interesting as the first time the curious one had fed but still decent. The curious one decided that it wanted to eat more but also different. It felt stronger. It set out to find another source of subsistence.

It did not spare a glance at the inky smear it left behind, the fading stain of a primordial fratricide. This was Sidis, and no one cared.

The curious one walked.

In the next valley, the curious one found something unexpected. Something that moved. It saw great horned beasts in single file, covered in strange fabrics and blocks of something it recognized as wood. Or perhaps metal. Dots carrying sharp implements surrounded the creatures in disorganized clumps. The curious one recognized that those were also demons, and thus, rivals. It also realized that there was no amount of tar fruits that would force it to get down there. The curious one understood distance and perspective. There were a lot of rivals and they were working together. It would be death to it.

The curious one remembered death. That was an unpleasant thought. So the curious one forgot death again. It still remembered pain, however, and decided to stay away.

After a long time, the file moved on. The curious one did not cross the valley until the last dot disappeared on the horizon. That took some time but it did not matter to a demon.

The next valley was blessedly empty saved for pits of burning stone that bubbled and glowed red. The stone was viscous and thick. The curious one felt the heat. It was not bad enough to hurt it. It played with the heat for a little while. It would approach a pit, then lay down the side and push their hand as far as it could go before pain became unbearable. The hand would return blistered, the skin cracked but it would recover quickly. The more the demon played with this new pain and the less hurt it was. At some point, continuing would require falling into the pit and that would probably be too painful, so the demon stopped and went on, diversion finished. It was at that moment that the skies opened.

The demon looked up and blinked.

The clouds convulsed, then parted. Blue light the likes of which the demon had never seen fell on the scorched land. For a sublime moment, a breath of fresh air caressed their skin. It smelled of iodine. It was… beautiful.

Then half a tower roared down the aperture in a shower of debris. Delicate spires disintegrated in the harsh air. Shattered glass fell like a diamond rain, mirroring the red glare of lava below. The demon watched the fall in complete immobility. There was a deep poetry and exquisite grace in the beautiful structure flung from the heavens just a few moments before its inevitable destruction. Ephemeral bliss seared a memory in the creature’s brain.

The tower impacted the ground in a cataclysmic shock, a deafening blast that sent the demon sprawling. A cloud of dust swallowed the entire valley. Chunks of stone taller than them crashed around the screaming shape of the demon. Then it ceased.

Just as the dust seemed to have settled, the demon looked up to see a flash of blue, and a being splattered on the rock next to it.

The demon blinked when Sidis’ shifty reality shuddered under the pull of immense power. It seemed that time reverted as drops of blood left the soak ground to reform. An elaborate blue robe filled with newly knit flesh piece by piece. White hair stuck to cobalt skin. As soon as there was enough of the being reformed, he started to scream.

That screen was very loud. It was so loud that the demon could not even contemplate the idea of food escaping their grip. It carried fantastic might and a rage beyond anything it even knew existed. The man screamed until the clouds themselves flattened. The demon’s eardrums had long since exploded so the man screamed in their soul and that was really quite painful.

A pair of crimson eyes found the demon.

“HOLD!” the man said.

And the demon held still. it could not be any other way.

There were pops when the spine reformed and the man shrieked with renewed fury. He convulsed a few times, then came to a rest, panting. Of his temporary death, there were no signs save for the crater his body had created.

Even the smell of blood was gone.

There was, however, another one. Next to a broken piece of wood, a strangle blue sphere as large as the demon’s fist rolled then came to a rest, surface scraped by the stone. Blue flesh lay exposed. An enticing, fruity scent titillated the demon’s nostrils.

Meanwhile, the blue man’s struggles had come to a stop. He panted, face sweaty, still lying on the ground. With a grunt of displeasure, he lithely jumped back to his feet to inspect his surroundings. The embers of his wrath reignited.

“This wench ruins my holidays, breaks my tower and casts me into the depth of SIDIS? Sidis, of all places?”

He roared once more. The demon thought perhaps their brain might leak out of the nostrils but fortunately for them, demon bodies were hardy, adaptative things. Even the weakest ones.

The expression of anger turned into one of amusement. The man chuckled then sighed wistfully.

“What a woman.”

Finally he turned to the small demon.

“Even has me use Abyssal on a whelp. How far the mighty may fall ey? All the way down, as it happens.”

Although the man spoke softly, the tongue pressed on the demon’s mind with each syllable until all he could do was to listen, enraptured, even as the power hurt them.

“Well, time to go. Ugh.”

The blue man waved his hand around. The tower disappeared. The debris disappear. The demon whined when the blue fruit disappeared.

For the first time since his arrival, the blue man looked, really looked at the demon, not as a feature of the plane he found himself in but as a person. The demon felt the pressure on his mind lessen until only a whisper remained. The blue man shrugged.

“Fine. You can have it! See you later, glutton boy.”

The blue man took a step forward. A portal opened out of thin air, strands of energy dancing in the air under an unseen wind. The demon didn’t see the world behind but the air tasted of raw power. The man stepped through. The portal closed.

Calm returned to this corner of Sidis.

A nearby stalagmite broke and fell, waking the small demon from their stupor. The only trace of the entire cataclysmic interaction was the lava-filled lake left behind by the tower’s calamitous descent. A movement in the distance warned the demon that something was approaching. Beasts running on many limbs. Some fought each other in hurricanes of plates and scales. The chittering grew. The demon knew the disaster had attracted the attention of things they could not contend with, and it was time to leave. But first, the fruit.

It was round and dark azure, striated with white bolts that appeared and disappeared as they watched. The demon bit down, then almost tore their finger off pushing the remainder of the precious treasure down their maw.

A flavor like no others ravaged his tongue and mind in a tide of ecstasy. Delectable juices washed fangs and spirit alike, their thundering essence permeating their entire being. It was a gift from the heavens to the lowest plane. It was divine favor discarded by the mighty to one so low, they could not appreciate the value of it for they did not have the knowledge to do so. Pure bliss forced the demon to their knees. They cried black tears of felicity.

It tasted blue and a little stormy.

The demon was not sure how long they spent there in a state of rapture. Too soon the grunt of approaching creatures woke them from their reverie. They raced away, attracting the many eyes of insectile creatures and voracious hounds. Fortunately for them, the demon was still a meager prize while the creatures were far too eager to sample whatever was left of the crash. They did not yet figure out that the victim had walked away, not unscathed, but rather descathed. And so, the demon skulked away.

It did not occur to the demon that it was walking back the way it had come from, technically, and they were not surprised that the way ‘back’ was completely different as well. In Sidis, directions were more a question of intent, and cartography was not exactly a prosperous career path.

The demon spent quite some time cherishing the fading sensation of the fruit. It had not fed them in the way the tar ones did. The tar fruits made the demon stronger, more themselves. The blue fruit had made the demon different. They really preferred the blue fruit. They resolved to find other towers falling from the skies with self-resurrecting generous godlike beings as soon as it was feasible. They were by now smart enough to realize it was probably not as common an occurrence as finding fruiting tar trees.

In this regard, they were correct.

The demon kept walking. They went through several stages of grief over the absence of fruit in their life before reaching the next valley. This one proved to be a pleasant surprise. It had trees. In fact, it had a forest of them around a dark central pit of worrisome proportions. The demon could not see that well but there was movement among the thorn-covered boughs. They hesitated. For the first time, the demon felt doubt.

It was an extremely unpleasant experience.

On the one hand, it would be dangerous.

On the other hand, fruits.

The fruits won out. The demon realized that they might never find a tree without rivals again. There seemed to be more and more creatures the farther he went. It was time to fight for their progress. Only a couple of tar fruits would lead to something good. And so, the demon set out.

They saw other kin approach the forest in the distance, which made them go faster. They ducked into the hell of thorns and roots just as something descended on an unlucky kin, snapping them up and taking off again in a flurry of feathers. The curious one crawled under the cruel branches and searched for fruit.

Unfortunately, the outer areas had been picked clean.

They came across a clearing where three red cocoons waited. They could see shapes in the middle as dark outlines under the crimson, glassy surface. Staying would be unwise so they kept going, deeper and deeper. The trees grew wider and taller. There were fruits far above but the demon could see dark shapes hovering beneath the clouds, searching for exposed prey. A nearby shriek, and a feathered creature carried out the broken corpse of one of their kin. They needed to keep going. The demon came across more cocoons and plenty of black smears, all that remained of the losers. They also came across kin. By common accord, they would stay away from each other. To fight without purpose was to suffer without reward. They understood that well enough.

Deeper the demon went. Deeper still, until they heard the sounds of fighting. The chasm they had spotted from afar was so close now that the skyline had become clear again. Eventually, the demon lucked out. They found a fruit on a low branch, barely out of reach. A kin was jumping in a vain effort to catch it.

The two faced each other.

That kin was stronger than the curious one, they felt. Their muscles were more defined. Nevertheless, the curious one felt confident, buoyed by the memory of blue and the certainty that they were special as a result, and that they could only triumph in the end. The kin charged them and while their instincts pushed them to charge back, the curious one bid their time. For they had a special, secret weapon.

The stone.

The bloodstained stone.

At the last moment, the curious one brandished their weapon, which they had cleverly camouflaged by not waving it around, and threw it at their opponent's face while said foe desperately backpedaled. The curious one’s aim was true. Rock met nose. As was the norm, the rock won. The curious one picked up the stone and splattered their whining opponent’s skull with methodical anger until their struggle ceased. This foe’s flesh smelled marginally better than that of their kin but only barely so, therefore it did not tempt the curious one very much. The tar fruit was waiting.

The curious demon managed to take the fruit down by careful application of brute force through the medium of the ever-useful stone — and truly it was a great stone, very murdery. The fruit fell. The demon gulped it down and felt power fill its body. They were close, so very close to… they did not know for sure. But close. Just one more fruit. It sought for more, walking along the edge of the precipice.

It seemed quite deep.

They were reminded of the blue man’s words, which was not a great achievement since they had never heard any others. The blue man had said this was the lowest level. If there was a pit, then that made it the lowest sub-basement. That didn’t sound like a good place to be in.

The demon wondered how they knew what a sub-basement was. That was a troubling thought so they discarded it immediately.

And then, they found another tar fruit. That one hung from a branch in a thick copse, barely out of reach. It was a mess of thorns they were not eager to brave. Nevertheless, greed needled them, urged them forward. It captivated their attention to such an extent that they almost missed the noise of incoming footsteps.

The curious one twisted on themselves at the last moment, therefore the claws only scratched painfully against their shoulder. They saw kin. They hit with their stone but the reliable tool only cracked against the kin’s forearm, tossing them back a little. There was another kin and that one punched the curious one in the face. The curious one stumbled. Two kin, working together?

No, there were three kin, and one of them was… different.

The third kin was taller, much taller, with darker skin and a more defined body. While the other kin’s smiles were just feral, that one felt menacing, clever. It ignored the curious one to reach for fruit with slow, deliberate movement. The curious one felt a sense of dread from the tall kin and knew instinctively that this one was just better. In every way. The knowledge suppressed the curious one’s anger and hatred of competition before they could even realize it. Fortunately, the two lesser kin were eager to beat up the curious one and that was not something they would tolerate.

The curious one once more waited for the last moment to throw their rock and, once more, their aim was true. One of the lesser kin fell, stunned and in agony so the curious one jumped on the dismayed survivor to wail on them with abandon. That kin fell too, and the curious one realized they were stronger. They had eaten more fruits and so they were winning. Truly, fruits were the best.

The lesser kin was now a sobbing mess on the ground. The other lesser kin was still clutching the ruin of their nose. As victory was just in sight, the curious one was sent flying backward. They met the ground painfully and rolled.

The taller specimen glared down at them. The curious one felt intimidated. Despite their best effort, they could not simply discard that feeling, not when the cause stood before them, strong and towering over their frail body. They took a step back. The powerful kin smirked and charged. They jabbed with their right hand since the left held the fruit and took the curious one in the ribs. They heard a crack. They experienced great pain. The powerful kin was so strong. It sneered and made to strike again, and then something magical happened.

A memory resurfaced in the curious one’s mind. It was a memory from before, when the soul in them had inhabited a better vessel. It was barely more than a muscle twitch now, but the curious one still followed that instinct like the lost follow a lifeline. They placed their left hand on the demon’s extended right wrist and moved in, turning to place their back against the powerful kin’s chest. Their right hand grabbed the arm so that the powerful kin’s entire limb rested on the curious one’s shoulder. The stronger one lost their balance. The curious demon felt the body fall on their back. They heaved, pushing with their lower back.

They managed to use the stronger kin’s power against them.

The stronger kin collapsed on the ground a few steps in front of them with the chasm at their back. They still managed to land on their feet. The two foes’ eyes met and the curious demon knew, with absolute certainty, that the powerful kin was going to kill them for this insult. And so, they charged.

Their body impacted the strong kin as they were standing.

Once again, the strong kin lost their balance.

They took a step back.

The dark claws of their toes missed the edge of the deep pit. They teetered over the edge of the abyss. The curious one smashed into them and down they went, over the edge and into the darkness below.

It so happened that the darkness below was not very deep. Not at first. It also happened that the darkness was made of jagged rock.

The powerful kin screamed painfully when those rocks bit into their flesh. The curious demon clung to their dying brethren as they smashed, again and again, on extending ridges until they found a bridge of sort, and came to a rest. By that time, the mighty kin was a dying wreck of shattered bone, bloody shards piercing through the sallow skin. The curious one was only marginally better but it knew what it had to do. It crawled to the still intact fruit and grabbed it as it fell from the dying demon’s hand. It gulped it down. Torpor took over them, so they closed their eyes for the first time.

The curious one didn’t see energy emerge from their skin like foam, forming a dark cocoon over their healing body. Only a reddish pod remained, its occupant a dark outline.

Meanwhile, the curious one dreamt.

***

“He’s a burden. Can’t let him stay around being all weak and useless. Did you see him on the field? All bones.”

The man was not talking about the dreamer. The dreamer was not weak. The dreamer had always been strong and now was the leader and it was his minion he was listening to.

The dreamer had a purpose. He had to keep his men alive. The weak one was… problematic. A shield wall was only as strong as its weakest warrior, for when they were pushed, the line collapsed.

“You’re right. I’ll go. Make him… understand he’s not welcome here.”

The dreamer walked up. The world around him was hazy but the place was familiar. Many beds, bunched together under a low ceiling of stone and old wood. No decorations. It was a harsh time in a harsh world. The people had been suffering for generations. All resources went to a war they were not sure they could win so the dreamer kept his peace and hoped he would not die in vain.

The weak warrior was from a line of important people. Brain people. He would be fine working in logistics or reading the stars or whatever it was rich people did. The dreamer didn’t care that much. He only cared about his people. His brothers. They were all he had left.

So the dreamer walked through a clean yet crumbling corridor.

The weak man wasn’t in his bed. The roommates answered the dreamer with eyes down and backs curved. No loyalty in those. Disgusting.

The dreamer found the weak man on the training square.

The dreamer knew the weak man had to be suffering, arms shaking with the effort to even go through the motions of the mace strikes. Maces were the best weapon against their hated foes.

The demons.

The blessed maces crushed scales and plates if wielded correctly. And they were easy to wield correctly. They didn’t require that much good metal either.

The weak man stopped his motion and swore. He rested the mace between his legs and swore, massaging his biceps with his thumb. The dreamer stepped forward.

The weak man smiled at him, though it did not reach his eyes.

The weak man was the first clear image in the dream since it started. He had pale hair, pale eyes like a faded picture. He had a slated smirk that came with every witty retort that escaped his brilliant mind. He didn’t really belong on the field, the dreamer thought. He would be so useful inspiring the people in the church. Helping them carry on through days of fruitless effort and the prospect of their doom.

And yet, here he was.

“Something I can help you with?” the weak man asked.

He knew. He knew why the dreamer was here. They were both pretending.

And the dreamer knew why he had come and what should be done.

But sometimes, sometimes effort was more valuable than base strength.

The only thing that would save them was grit, not muscle. And the weak man had that aplenty. And a brain behind.

Maybe the dreamer could do something with the weak man.

Maybe there could be hope.

“You’re holding it wrong. You’ll hurt your wrist like that and then any demon worshiper with a rusty knife will do you in. I’ll show you.”

“... thanks.”

“Don’t thank me yet, altar boy. Thank me after we’re done.”

***

The pod cracked. A clawed fist pierced its surface then it crumbled like a sand castle. The curious one walked out.

They felt… great. Stronger. Keener. The dream was still fresh on their mind. They were now clever enough to remember what a demon was and that there was more to the infinite spiral than just demons. The memories felt so genuine, that maybe they belonged to the demon. Maybe the demon was not always a demon. That was why they knew things they had no right to know.

And what was the infinite spiral? The demon seemed to remember from faraway teachings. Those were intertwined worlds with a top and a bottom. How could something infinite have a top and a bottom? Well, it was the middle that was infinite. Obviously.

That explanation satisfied the demon and so they discarded the train of thought with a nod to their own shining intellect. It was interesting but ultimately useless right now. Instead, they took in their surroundings.

The smear of the stronger kin had long since disappeared so they must have remained in the cocoon for quite some time. The cocoon was gone now, destroyed and returned to the primordial ground which was annoying because it had looked edible and the demon was feeling peckish. No matter. The demon was a natural fruit eater, as proven many times before. There were bound to be more fruits around. Somewhere.

The demon looked down to see it was looking more humanoid now, leaner. More muscular. Taller as well since the ground was now farther away. They realized they were like their stronger kin, only obviously even better since they’d killed the kin before undergoing a change. That obviously meant that they were superior and really special.

Now, the curious demon had a small problem. That problem was that they stood on a ledge overlooking a pit so deep and dark their enhanced vision couldn’t quite see the bottom, only that there was one. Probably. Tunnels led into the rock at regular intervals. The farthest ones looked barely larger than ant passages. It was rather concerning. Upward, the rolling skies looked the same as before. It also looked pretty far. And the cliffs were… sheer.

Now the demon had claws and understood climbing but that wasn’t exactly without risks. They could still grow tired. And this time, they didn’t have a convenient demon-shaped pillow to arrest their fall. The entrance to the tunnel facing the ledge had much more potential, they felt. It might also hide a rock and the demon had lost their previous rock. And also they were lazy.

So, into the cave they went.

There wasn’t much light there which bothered the demon none at all. Maybe they couldn’t see very far but they could certainly see in the dark. The tunnels they followed were strange. They felt very artificial yet uneven, as if dug by something very large and possibly worm-shaped. The demon went on anyway because they had clearly been dug a very long time ago from the amount of dust in the air. They soon came across the first anomaly.

It seemed the worm creature had pierced through a wall of sorts, one made of white, glossy material seemingly untouched by the corroding nature of Sidis. The demon got the impression that this place was old. Beyond old. Old even in a realm where time was at best a suggestion. Positively ancient. The demon touched the surface and felt it was cool and smooth and slightly upsetting, as if the nature of the material went against whatever they were, their very essence. And then, they found something on the ground.

From the hole left behind, the item had fallen from the ceiling an indeterminate amount of time before. It was also made of the same white material. It was a sphere, which was alright, but it was also a perfect sphere and that was all kinds of wrong.

The demon approached it. The object could fit in their palm and so they picked it up by greed rather than true interest. It also tickled their skin.

The sphere was a perfect sphere. It was perfectly proportioned. It was the spherest sphere that ever sphered. They hated it. Oh, they hated it. A sphere had to have impurities on its surface when one looked at it too closely. No manufacturing process could ever lead to a perfect sphere. There had to be minuscule imperfections. The radius could not be exactly the same over the entire sphere. This didn’t make sense. It had no right to exist.

The knowledge that the perfect sphere existed hurt the demon’s mind. It didn’t want to think about the implications so they tossed both the ancient artifact and the idea behind them.

“Bah,” they said.

Time to move on. Away from this weird place. The demon came across a branching tunnel and picked a direction at random. That tunnel seemed to go down a bit but the demon was not overly worried. There had to be a way out at some point, or at least a way to the highest ledge from which they could climb out. Things would be fine. The demon was not really good at panic.

It was at this moment that something attracted their attention. A presence.

The presence did not exactly call to them, yet it existed with such intensity that they demanded attention. The presence pulsed slowly, very slowly, and it was undoing itself. It was, the demon realized, dying. It had probably been dying for a very long time. The demon moved further into the tunnels because it wanted to see something that important die. The sensation had to be extraordinary.

It did not occur to the demon that it might be incredibly dangerous. They were quite young for a demon, and not yet very smart.

So the demon kept going through immense tunnels dug by some fantastically large creature through remains of ancient structures that hurt the mind without much emotion beyond excitement as seeing something cool.

Eventually, they did come across something cool.

That something cool waited at the end of an extremely long tunnel, partially blocked by the desiccated corpse of the titanic worm responsible for the whole dig.

Fortunately for the demon, it was very, very little of the space beyond the opening, on account of it being very far. Merely a glimpse, really. They got the vague sensation of a cave large enough to contain the pit itself, which would have made little sense anywhere else. They also spotted the tip of a fragment of a sliver of a shard of petal of something quite large and long broken.

The demon could have used many complicated words to describe that brief experience. Words such as ‘transcendental’ and ‘ineffable’ and other terms that just said their languages had reached their limit but still wanted to sound fancy about it. Sadly, the experience was enough to kill them on the spot by making their brain explode like it did the worm.

Just like that.

Fortunately, that glimpse was enough to establish contact with something clinging to that tip of a fragment etc… That something was long dying and very much objected to that fate. The something felt an exit and took it. The exit led them into the demon’s brain, which they promptly unexploded with the last of their power. Only a small fraction of the original being managed to attach itself to the demon’s mind, the rest losing cohesion with that last effort, yet it was enough. Enough to survive. The last ember latched to the demon’s soul with all the strength it could muster. It was, for both, a traumatic event that left them picking pieces of their psyche for quite some time and basically turned the demon into a drooling mess on the ground.

Both creatures were uniquely resilient, however, so they eventually recovered.

“Oooooooooooow,” the demon said emphatically while rubbing their forehead.

To their intense surprise, a voice answered. It was delicate a feminine, high-pitched and somewhat bashful. It started loud before returning to meek and hesitant.

“JIV!8C ve[kmvs H@lle Hallo Hello. Hello.

Hello.

Hello, you.”

The demon did the only thing it found reasonable at the time. They screamed and rammed themselves headfirst into the nearest wall.

That was very, very painful and left the demon stunned and bleeding. Also their neck hurt.

“Please… stop. Please,” the voice said in their mind. It was pleading and panicked.

The demon hit the wall again without much strength. It somehow hurt even more. They decided to rub the soft spot while moaning softly, mind awash with pain. There were needles under their eyes.

“Please. Stop. Please. I am sorry.”

“What… who?” the demon thought

“I am sorry. I did not mean to scare you. I am… my name is.”

A flash of pain left the demon reeling but it abated almost immediately.

“Right. I will not try that again. You can call me Anuwa. I am… I am dead? I am dead! How is this even possible? I am dead? I remember I was working on the Great Endeavor and then… I died? It simply cannot be…”

The thing was obviously confused and therefore not that smart, the demon thought. The demon was never confused. If something confused them, they just tossed the thought aside for later. That was the most logical course of action, clearly, rather than just standing there being all confused and useless so in their immense generosity, the demon consented to sharing their insight.

“You need to figure out if you are dead or not,” they decided.

“What? No. I AM dead. I need to figure out why! How! And… for how long?”

“Yes, you understand the problem!” the demon allowed. “And that is very important.”

“Well, obviously.”

“Then you can leave my head and go find out the why how when by yourself!”

The demon nodded to themselves and waited for the strange not-there being to acknowledge their brilliance.

“I… I am sorry. I cannot.”

The demon eyed the nearby wall. Maybe…

“I am not refusing! I really cannot! I am bound to you now. I can only leave if you become strong enough or if you die. If you die, we both do.”

“Hmmmm…” the demon thought.

They frowned mightily.

“We are having a conversation in your head. We are not using a real language here because I am directly inserting and plucking ideas from your mind. I cannot state a falsehood here because this method of communication does not allow it.”

“HMMMMM…” the demon thought.

That sounded like what a thought liar would say.

“By the First Light…” Anuwa moaned.

“Alright, I do not believe you,” the demon said.

They frowned when they realized they could not lie either.

“See?”

“Alright, I do believe you this time. So you cannot leave? Unless I become really, really, really strong?”

“Or you die. I can help, I think? This place is strange. I do not recognize this plane, unless… Wait, could it be? I need to think. And you are… hmm. I have lost most of myself, it seems.”

It sounded vaguely like an insult.

“I do not mean to offend you. We must both work with what we have. I will try to guide you whenever possible but there seems to be much I have forgotten, or never seen, including this plane. It might very well be that the Great Endeavor succeeded and this is the outlet but then what killed me?”

The demon shrugged. They didn’t really care that much. They just hoped Anuwa could help their own important project.

“Is your greatest aspiration in life really blue fruits?” Anuwa asked.

She sounded disappointed.

The demon vehemently shook their head.

“For the last time, I am in your head. I can feel you lie.”

Chapter.

The demon walked through vast tunnels looking for a way up. There were many such tunnels and they crossed each other on several occasions so it was a time-consuming task.

After a little while, the demon realized they should probably keep track of where they were.

That would probably help them not walk in the same spot three of four times.

So the demon tried to carve an arrow in the stone with their nail and failed. Instead, they resorted to piling small stones.

“I have been studying your anatomy and the world around us,” Anuwa finally said. “Oh! And I have also been studying myself. In case you are interested.”

“Am not.”

“I… You have an eons-old intelligence stuck in your head that could uncover the mysteries of the universe for you and you do not wish to partake of my wisdom?”

“I don’t care about mysteries. I hate mysteries. I want fruits. To eat.”

“I see. My apologies, I have no memories of interfacing with primitive lifeforms before. I acknowledge my failure and will improve by adapting my speech to you!”

“Less speech is good adaptation.”

“What are you trying to achieve?”

“Get out. Get up.”

“Oh! I can help with that. I have created a comprehensive map of the tunnels you have already walked through, using landmark-based orientation.”

“What does that mean?”

“Oh! Well, this plane — Sidis, according to your instinctive knowledge — this plane is spatially flexible and intent-reactive.”

The demon stopped.

The demon sighed very, very loudly.

“I can feel the flow of your emotions. There is no need to communicate them so eloquently, you know? Sidis is made of loosely connected landmarks and the distance between those landmarks is relative to the will of those who walk it. Essentially, you go somewhere by wanting to go somewhere or by following a logical set of landmarks that lead you to your final destination. I would need to experience more of the plane to refine my analysis.”

The demon grunted. He was getting a headache.

“Since I have your attention, I wish to present you with a roadmap of your training, which we can begin right away!”

“I thought maps don’t work here.”

“No, that is a metaphor… and maps could work after a fashion?”

Anuwa remained silent for a little while.

“I want to talk about you.”

That perked up the demon’s interest. They were very interested in themselves. They were glad to learn that the brain parasite was very interested in them as well.

“I am not a parasite! I… I am an entity that predates your entire plane of existence. You do not realize… no. You cannot realize. You cannot. You need to grow, I suppose. Turn right here.”

The demon did so. The tunnels were going up and growing smaller. A little later, they passed an opening towards the pit.

“Talking about you. Your body structure is humanoid, matter-sufficient. Hmm. That means you have all the organs you need to sustain yourself by eating food.”

“Tar fruits. Storm fruit.”

The demon frowned.

“I know organs.”

He was feeling very proud about it. Organs were hidden but he knew them anyway. That made him a scholar of the hidden or something.

“Oh you are familiar with anatomy?”

“I know where to hit so it hurts well,” the demon confirmed.

“That… is a little restrictive though not fully inaccurate. Well, in any case, you do not, in fact, sustain yourself through food.”

“Tar fruit?”

“From your memories, I surmise that the tar fruits are concentrated entropic energy which is what sustains you.”

“Huh?”

“You, okay. You are a demon. This is a demon plane filled with demon energy. Being born here gave you a demon body. That demon body gets demon energy from the plane around you. That energy keeps you moving and awake.”

“Huh.”

“Eating will accelerate your growth depending on what you eat but you don’t need it to survive.”

“Huh.”

“Your species seems to evolve after reaching a certain threshold. A brief inspection of your body shows a great amount of flexibility in what you can, essentially, turn into. I notice that you have grown stronger both physically and mentally during your short life. You have also developed an affinity with electricity! Oh, and you have somehow grown more resilient to heat and toxins. Fascinating. ”

“I want to turn into something very strong!”

“Yes, we both want that. And I can help!”

For the first time, the demon stopped and considered Anuwa to be more than just an annoying presence in his mind.

“How?”

“Well, entropic energy is… our fault. My fault, partly. It seems to be extremely powerful but at the same time, inefficient.”

“Huh?”

“Unbalanced. It is the chaotic, destructive counterpart of creation energy. Creation energy might be stable by itself but this one is not. However, rejoice! Since I am a part of you, I can help you refine your entropic energy into QKV@AK!“

“Ow!”

The demon winced. His head still felt very tender after everything it had been subjected to in the past, well, some time. Especially the explosion. That had been really unpleasant.

“My apologies. Primeval will do. Primeval energy. Getting it will be slow and complex, however—”

The demon frowned. Slow and complex sounded bad. Very bad. They liked it fast and simple.

“It will be the best option for you, I promise. You will quickly obtain useful abilities. It will also make you much smarter. I mean no insults but…”

The demon nodded. Smarter was better. Probably. They were already strong but maybe not strong enough to beat the tunnel boring thingie and there might be other big things around. Being smart meant they could trap the tunnel thingie and then eat it even though the tunnel thingie was strong. It was a flawless plan with absolutely no drawback.

“And something else as well. Entropic energy erodes the mind of those who use it. A strong mind can offset it, of course, but not completely. A constant use and consumption of entropic energy will turn you insane.”

“Huh?”

The demon frowned. If they were born here, how could the world make them insane? That made no sense. That would imply that the world did not exist solely for them and that felt wrong, somehow. And a little disappointing.

“I am sorry. In any case, I can start with building up your heart right away! I can also show you how to help along.”

“You can make me stronger now?”

“Yes! And that will take almost no effort at all!”

“Hmm.”

“Sit, sit, I will show you!”

Anuwa felt strangely excited so the demon consented. She poured knowledge on how to proceed directly into his mind. He sat in a lotus position in the middle of the deserted tunnel and breathed slowly.

It felt kind of nice. Contemplative. They realized that they had been running forward since their birth not so long ago without ever taking the time to slow down, to appreciate the moment. That thought lasted exactly as long as it took for the moment to grow very unpleasant. Suddenly, they felt a pressure in their chest. It was very hot and dense but also… not there. They forced back the urge to scratch.

And then they waited. And waited. Anuwa mostly guided the energies of the entropy into that central spot in their chest. They realized what that energy was simply because there was significantly less to go around, so they experienced absence for the first time. It felt like holding one’s breath.

Also entropy tasted like rust, acidity, and cold.

This new sensation was exciting, then boring then just painful when their body grew weak and despondent. Tired. Feverish. Nevertheless, they kept going. A stupendous amount of energy was gathering inside of them and they could not help but feel excited, and so they endured through the pain. Finally, entropy reached a critical point. A powerful, tidal wave smashed into a mirror pulse of blue energy that came from seemingly nowhere. The two merged into a pulsing ball that refined and transcended its components to form a large, magnificent… nothing.

Well, not nothing. But it certainly felt that way.

“You have a heart! A heart of energy! It’s, hm. It is… rather small. But stable! And filled with potential!”

The demon, exhausted, feverish, peckish, sleepy, in pain, and frustrated, did their best to haul themselves to their feet. It was time to see the result of their sacrifice. They roared and punched the wall.

It hurt.

It hurt a lot.

The demon whined and cursed for a bit and then felt marginally better.

“Ah, well, it is still fairly small, yes. More so than I expected. I do notwork well with minuscule amounts.”

“What can it do?”

“Do? Oh, nothing much at first. But it is necessary for growth! And now you will be able to absorb much more energy and refine it! You will be able to access it in no time!”

“So, nothing.”

“Not right now but soon!”

The demon realized that Anuwa may not be operating on the same time scale as they were.

They also realized that, although Anuwa was most certainly smart, for a certain definition of the term, she was not the kind of smart they needed right now. Or possibly ever. And she was the kind of smart that might get them both killed.

“You are a dumbass.”

“No need to be hurtful. Of course, it will take a while. I may have underestimated how much on account of your… low capacity. It is an investment in your future!”

“I need a future first.”

“I swear this will be useful in no time. No relevant time. You already have affinities for the wielding of energy without interface! Magic! The heart will fuel it!”

“Hmm”

“And it will protect you from the same insanity that will probably affect your kin! As they wield entropy, their minds will deteriorate while you can safely invest it in primeval energy instead!”

The demon, who had been in the process of standing up, stopped.

“They can use it and I no longer can?”

“Well just to empower themselves temporarily. And it hurts them! But you are all protected!”

“You… You…”

The demon wanted nothing more than to strangle the creature. They rolled on the ground in frustration, screaming all the way.

“I… I thought you would be pleased? This is an incredible progress for you.”

“I do not need this now!”

“The organic races would have killed for the opportunity back when I was whole…”

“You stupid no meat thing! I fight now! I die now! Not later! I need strength now!”

“I…”

“Hush. I hear.”

In the distance, skittering sounds. The demon looked around.

“It comes from behind us. We should move on.”

For once Anuwa was not being stupid so the demon moved on. Unfortunately, the skittering only gained in intensity. It soon became clear, as they raced through the tunnels, that the demon was being followed. They finally spotted their pursuer during a particularly straight tunnel dash. It was a worm. It was much smaller than the big dead one which meant that its girth was only slightly larger than the demon’s height. They also felt gorged with energy, intimidating even at a distance.

Something told the demon that the worms was stronger than them, much stronger. To an overwhelming degree.

“Turn right here.”

“Why?”

“There is another one in front.”

The demon did as she asked despite misgivings. The side tunnel cut abruptly. It was also a little smaller. Whatever had tried to dig it had encountered one of those strange structures that gave him a headache if he looked at them for too long.

“Look to your right. There is a maintenance access point here.”

“What?”

“Bars made for organic servant access. You can climb them. Do so slowly.”

As Anuwa said, there were rungs of exotic material embedded into the wall. The demon climbed them up despite part of his mind telling him he was backed into a corner now.

A worm head soon appeared. It had a circular maw of extended teeth instead of a head. A long, flexible tongue extended, licking the air. The head swiveled.

“As I suspected, they have no eyes. They must detect prey through tremor.”

“Huh?”

“They detect the impact of your feet on the stone when you walk.”

“Ooooh.”

The demon felt surprisingly calm in this ordeal. They’d never been truly scared before but they remembered their first fight and it had been a messy, chaotic struggle they’d given themselves too. Now, they felt like they could take a distance to their fear.

Of course, that made them immediately suspicious.

“You are doing something to my head.”

“No. Your heart is. With less chaos in your mind, you can think better and show more patience. Be more focused. This will improve with the primeval energy though you might always remain a creature of instincts.”

“Huh. Not bad.”

Being calm was best. That meant one could survive better. They were just concerned taking a distance might lessen their enjoyment of fruits.

“What’s with you and fruit anyway?”

“Hush.”

A second head entered the demon’s field of vision, just as massive as the first. The two worms touched each other with tongues and hissed a few times. They were obviously not going to attack each other but didn’t seem capable of moving backwards. It took a little while until the first turned to the side instead. The second turned towards the demon’s alcove and recoiled when it touched the strange structure the demon was clinging to. It hissed a bit and soon followed its brethren down a newly dug tunnel.

The demon stayed where they were for a long time before dropping down.

“We need to go,” they thought.

“Yes. Keep going right.”

“Hm.”

“I must apologize. I worked for optimal power at the soonest time without realizing the initial investment would endanger us. I should have waited until I knew more about your circumstances. I saw your memories. Clearly, you have only met the weakest of your kin so far. Those worms were superior.”

“Hm.”

“They had hearts, also. I suspect they were birthed from the large worm that opened a path into my prison rather than spawned from the plane itself. It implies a great number of evolution path and the survival of adapted species. Hmm.”

“Whatever. Go up.”

“Yes. I think you should take a left here. I suspect no tunnels lead directly to the surface but you might be able to climb a bit.”

Anuwa was soo proven correct. A corridor led to another platform overlooking the deep pit the demon had almost fallen into. The sky had not changed at all. The demon judged they might be able to climb the sheer cliff if they worked slowly and used their claws. They began the assent almost immediately. Better this than becoming worm food.

The stone was jagged and granular, like shattered basalt. It didn’t feel particularly uncomfortable under their callous grip. They just had to be careful. Slowly, they made progress.

“How did you know about the other worm?” they asked.

“I can perceive and refine what you perceive. I also feel energy and entities around you, in a sphere. it is fairly limited right now.”

“Can show?”

“I’m afraid the information flow might kill you.”

“Hmm. Can fight?”

“I am far too weak right now. I can manipulate energy with precision but the amount would be far too insignificant to affect your kin. Oh! Behind you! Look out!”

The demon almost fell as they turned and saw… not much. They were almost at the edge of the giant pit. There was nothing around or below. Which meant…

“Above you!”

Thanks to Anuwa’s warning, the demon had a few moments to react. They caught glimpses of oily skin taut on thick bones, claws, a hooked beak. Black feathers on extended wings with a span as broad as his extended arms. They braced.

The impact wasn’t as bad as the demon feared. They whipped out an arm and seized the flying creature by the neck before it could bite deep but the claws found their unpreotected back and left shoulder. A blinding pain seared the demon. Sharp objects digging in their skin, mangling the muscle there, twisting. The end of the beak pierced the skin of his forearm.

With a scream of pain, the demon smashed the flying thing head first into the wall. The skul broke with a dreadful crack. The creature spasmed, claws digging even deeper. Thick blood dripped down the demon’s back. Another spasm dislodged the flier. It was surprisingly light for its size.

The demon was left with one hand on the stone, one hand on the cadaver, and in a great amount of pain. Feathers brushed against their skin. They were sharp and hard like a metal brush. The temptation to drop their prey was strong but not as strong as another, a new one the demon was just discovering.

They were hungry.

Not the hunger for fruits they had felt as a whelp. This one was much more imperious. More important. They needed the sustenance. They needed to eat the bird thing. And the bird thing had hurt them and they hated it for it, hated it, hated it, and they would have their revenge.

“There might be others above!”

The demon knew they had to go faster. They adjusted their grip on the body and balanced it on their right shoulder, the one that wasn’t bleeding. It proved very difficult due to the large wings. They messed with their balance.

Moved by rage, the demon placed the neck between their teeth and bit down. That worked and they now had two free arms to resume their ascent. The demon hurried. They were not too far. They heard a shriek far above but didn’t look. Almost there.

“One of them is coming for you, from the shriek.”

“When?”

“Fifteen heartbeats.”

The knowledge somehow made sense to the demon. They were almost at the top. Almost. Just a few more hand spans.

“It is accelerating.”

They reached the edge and rolled over it, smacking the new attacker with the body of their fallen comrade. Both the demon and the bird recovered at the same time and threw themselves at their opponent with blind fury. The struggle was over quickly. The demon had a longer reach and a much greater strength. A nearby stone crushed the skull in two hits.

“Hah! Hahahahaha!” the demon erupted in joy, triumphant, victorious against all odds.

They wanted to insult the bird very much and then spit on their corpse. Sadly, the demon was not sure how to speak and also spitting on one’s own food felt counter-productive.

The demon looked up to see more black wings flocking over the forest of thorns they had returned to. Menacing screeches broke the silence and monotony of the unchanging sky. None tried to attack them, however, so the demon dragged both kills and found a recess somewhere under a heavy cover. There were no tar fruits around, sadly. They grabbed a bird leg and simply bit down. Fresh, thick blood coated their palate.

It tasted just as vile as one would expect, however the demon was not too concerned. Of course, the bord would taste vile. It looked vile and smelled vile. It was, however, nourishing. Their powerful jaws worked through two thighs before a noise disturbed them. Facing them, at the opposite side of the small clearing, was another kin.

This one was no whelp but a grown individual like the curious one. It looked a little feeble and clearl hungry. The kin’s eyes rested upon the curious demon’s fallen prey. The kin’s mouth opened and drool dribbled down their gaunt chin. The curious one growled.

That one kin didn’t look very threatening. It was thinner than the curious one, hunched, hands contracting and relaxing in a rhythmic pattern. It took a few steps forward and the curious one used the lull to discreetly grabbed a nearby rock from under a loose root. It wasn’t as pretty as the one before but it would do the job nicely.

The kin charged.

The curious one stood in one swift motion and threw the stone as the other arrived. That kin was smarter, however. It saw the stone and protected its head with raised hand.

Unfortunately for it, it didn’t do a very good job. The stone clipped two fingers then bounced off the side of the skull. The kin screeched in pain, then huffed when the curious one caught it in the gut with an eppercut. The curious one followed by raking the kin’s face with their claws, digging deep furrows. The kin fell from the cumulated pain. The curious one wailed on it. By this point, the fight was already over. Another rock ended the kin’s last struggle.

That was pretty good for the demon. More food! Vile food but still, more food! Now, they had three foods! A blessed day.

“Is… is it always like this?” Anuwa asked.

She sounded, the demon wasn’t sure, sad maybe? Horrified?

“Huh?”

“Is it always like this everywhere? This.. murder? This ending of life? The constant strife for survival?”

The demon shrugged. They had not always gone everywhere so how would they know?

“I… I see.”

The demon feasted well. Their wounds closed very quickly with their belly full and they felt themselves grow stronger yet again. Their muscles grew more defined, their instincts sharpened. They felt good. Their kin tasted better than the birds. The small black heart, in particular, had an almost tolerable savor.

They also felt sleepy for the first time.

The demon plucked feathers off their victim and formed a little dome, rested their head against it, then went to sleep.

***

The demon woke up well rested and hungry for more. It was a bright, well, whatever that was. They remembered there could be day and night cycles but clearly Sidis was exempt. Time for more food.

“I have observed a few things while you were asleep.”

“Huh?”

“First, I thought this was worm-specific and then beast-specific, however the, ah, short meeting with your kin confirmed my suspicions, though I would need a larger sample size to—”

Oh, there was a small whelp looking for fruit in the distance

“— and you are not paying attention. Very well. The abridged version. You have a soul.”

“Duh.”

“No I mean, you have a whole soul. The others don’t”

The demon frowned.

“They do not remember?”

“Not that I can tell. Your psyche seems to comprise of both demon instincts and remnants of memories from a previous physical existence, though they remain incomplete for now. A curious case. That might be why I was able to bind to you and not the worm. Their soulstuff is made of accretions of debris. Your kin’s was of decent size but the beasts had inferior, smaller souls, unable to support sapience.”

“Huh?”

“They were born to be dumb.”

“Oh,” the demon thought.

Just like most things that weren’t them then.

“You seem very confident about yourself,” Anuwa noted, and there was a hint of something there that the demon ignored completely.

The demon had slain other demons and eaten them. The demon was clearly a superior specimen of demon. The demon had eaten the blue fruit. The demon was thus, demonstrably, blessed with some transcendental fate. The writings would be on the walls if there were any walls or, indeed, any writing. More importantly, the demon was smarter. Smarter than their brethren, to begin with. And one of the thing that made them smarter was preparation. Like the stone. Or the weird thing in their head.

“Am not weird,” Anuwa protested.

“Train dodge.”

“What do you mean?”

She plucked the idea they offered.

“Oh, yes, brilliant. Yes, I can help you maintain your physical integrity that way.”

And for a long time, the demon and the angel learned how to dodge.

“Left!”

And the demon jumped left.

“Down!”

And the demon jumped down on a small thorn which proved to be very uncomfortable.

Nevertheless, the pair got more used to cooperating for their own survival.

“There seems to be a delay when you are distracted or caught off guard,” Anuwa observed. “I will have to take this into account when warning you. I will refine the timing over several iterations.”

“Uh.”

“I notice that you do not seem overly concerned that your nature is different compared to other local creatures.”

“Maybe it is. So what?”

The demon did not particularly care if they were the only one around with a full soul. They only cared about survival right now. And eating. Surviving and eating would make them strong and strength would lead to more fruits. It was a perfect plan.

“Oh, I thought you might question your nature a little more?”

“Why?”

The demon left Anuwa grumbling and returned to his feather pile to look for a snack, only to realize that the meat had somehow melted back into the earth, leaving only skin and bones behind. And the feathers. They kicked the pile and stubbed their big toe.

“Once you are done screaming, I have a suggestion!”

“WHAT!”

“I can show you how to build something using very basic materials, your claws, fangs, and the strength of your arms! With the materials you have.”

“Oh. Huh. Fine.”

And so the pair tried to cooperate.

It did not work very well. The demon had a remarkable amount of patience for their kind but Anuwa could not directly inject knowledge in their brain for fear of blowing it up, therefore instructions had to be given verbally. This led to a lot of torn demon skin and wasted material but, in the end, the demon had a sort of kilt thing around their waist and a bone club with a stone attached at the end with tightly wrapped skin. Any decent artisan would have reached for the nearest sledgehammer but the demon was pretty chuffed about the entire affair.

“Nice. Can you teach me how to fight better?”

“Not I, sorry. The way my kind fight is by, hmm, speaking at each other.”

The demon thought that they had been listening to Anuwa for not too long and they sometimes wanted to jump off the cliff so… that made sense.

“Hey! We hurl concept to unmake the other’s arguments, weakening them! That is how we primordials function! You cannot stone us because we do not have bodies to begin with.”

“Huh.”

“For the same reason, I do not know how you can fight better. I shall think about it. Handling physical races was the duty of other brethren. I was more of a, hm, scholar.”

“Huh.”

“And you’re getting distracted again. What is it this time?”

The demon looked up, toward the sky. There were more of the hated bird things flying around. He was standing in the middle of a clearing but none of them were taking the bait. Maybe they could learn. Maybe the demon just didn’t look so vulnerable anymore.

The demon swung the mace. It felt great in their hands. Natural. They gave it a few experimental whacks and were satisfied with the result.

“More material,” the demon said. “More food.”

“Oh will you get them down?”

The demon smiled as they heard a crash through the forest in the distance.

“Bait.”

***