[Salvos] 633. Future Generations (Patreon)

633. Future Generations

***

“You want to bore a hole through the planes?”

Haec repeated after his mentor. But Oracli just wagged a finger with a small smile.

“No— not just a hole. An ordinary hole is no different from the portals that transport us between the planes, and they can be closed with enough force. What we want is to drill a permanent hole through the planes by ripping down the walls of the Netherworld.”

The Wisest of the Domain leant back in his chair as Haec just stared for a long moment. Slowly, Haec managed to work his jaw.

“But how?”

Oracli scoffed as he turned to Regnorex. The Demon King’s brows furrowed, before he shook his head in disappointment.

“Have you taught my successor nothing, Oracli?”

Those words immediately stirred something deep within Haec. At first, it bubbled within him— boiling and threatening to spill out. But he didn’t lash out at the Demon King. Instead, Haec steeled himself and let the feeling subside. Now, instead, a sense of shame overcame him as he bowed his head.

“I apologize, my King. I should have paid more attention during Oracli’s lessons.”

Haec knew he should not have asked so many questions. But Oracli just laughed it off, conjuring up another image. This time, of the Netherworld.

“Don’t blame the boy. It is not intuitive to anyone without any understanding of space magic or the cycles of the Netherworld. Watch, boy.”

Oracli gestured at the image displayed at the table. Haec blinked, watching as a scene of a vast white plain in the Netherworld unfolded. It wasn’t anything he had never seen before. In fact, it looked like any ordinary scene from beyond the Demon King’s Domain.

But the scene continued to play out— moving quickly as tiny specks rapidly traversed the landscape. Until, finally, the ground cracked open. The sky tore apart. Haec’s eyes went wide when he saw that.

He recognized what was happening immediately. It was Revelation— not occurring right now, but happening whenever that image was captured by Oracli.

Haec had never witnessed Revelation himself, but he had learned about it. And he knew this was what it was. His eyes flickered to see the rifts hovering in the sky. He narrowed his eyes.

“You see it too, do you not?”

Oracli snickered, and Haec blinked.

“You have been told that the sky tears open during Revelation— that space itself is ripped apart as death and destruction is unleashed into the Netherworld. But have you ever wondered: why? Why does this happen? Why would space need to tear itself apart?”

The Heir of the Netherworld shook his head apprehensively. Oracli smirked as he gestured around them.

“Because it’s a natural cycle for the world to shed its gathered essence.  All the fighting. All the death. All the destruction in the Netherworld— all the ambience mana from this chaos is collected in the sky, but it cannot simply rain back down below. So during the time of Revelation, the world itself ruptures a hole to dispose of the excess magic. And in doing so, empties the Netherworld for new life to form.”

“What does that mean?”

Haec asked with quivering lips. Oracli shook his head.

“Our essence— that which is infused with our blood— grows with us from the moment of our birth. And because of that, it holds more magic than we can even output into the world. That is what Revelation paves the path for. Because the Netherworld cannot handle both our destruction and our rebirth.”

The Wisest of the Domain spoke as his eyes glinted. He leant forward, meeting Haec’s gaze as the image continued to show an outpouring of lava and cascading of earth.

“Now can you imagine that? Something that surpasses even the sheer destruction of Revelation? And can you imagine what it would be like to harvest that power?”

“Harvest that—”

And now, the Heir of the Netherworld paused. He slowly let his mentor’s words sink in. He digested it, before he finally understood what was meant by that.

“No…”

Haec whispered, and Oracli didn’t visibly react. Instead, the Wisest of the Domain turned to the Demon King. Regnorex closed his eyes, before nodding.

“It is what must be done, my successor. For the sake of the future of Demonkind, we will do what we must. I would have preferred it to happen during the next cycle when you are more ready. But alas—”

The Demon King rose to his feet as he turned to face the room. All the gathered Primeval Demons there looked back at him unwaveringly as he spoke softly. For the first time ever, his voice was quiet— almost meek.

“We shall bore a hole into the Mortal Realm by sacrificing the next generation of Demons.”

As Regnorex said that, Haec just stared at the Demon King in silence. The Heir of the Netherworld asked no more questions, simply listening in sheer disbelief as the meeting continued. And Oracli grinned to the side.

***

Haec closed his eyes as he returned back to reality. Back then, he never quite fully processed the implications of the Demon King’s plan. Certainly, he knew what was going to happen. But the consequences of it never really registered to him.

Or perhaps that was because the former Heir of the Netherworld had been so hyper fixated on something else— he never quite cared about it because he only cared about getting back to Salvos. Although… that wasn’t exactly true either. He did care about getting revenge, and he definitely did care about others who were hurt by Regnorex.

But Haec couldn’t let himself care for them in the same way he cared for Salvos. He couldn’t think about how they were affected, because all he could let himself care about was returning to his companion. And now, he could care.

Now, it pained him deeply know what Regnorex was planning on doing.

Haec finished recounting the memory to Salvos— obviously excluding the parts that were irrelevant to her questions. She stared at him for a moment, not saying a word. And the two remained silent.

She was unusually quiet. No— the entirety of the Netherworld was unusually quiet. There was no sound. Unlike the usual cacophony of blasts and screeches. It was quiet. Because now came Salvation.

Well, it wasn’t here just yet. But soon, it would arrive. And then…

“We have until the end of Salvation to put a stop to Regnorex’s plans.”

Salvos stated simply. Haec nodded, lowering his head.

“That is right. That is why we cannot waste anymore time. That is why we must act quickly.”

He spoke as he held his companion’s gaze. But she didn’t spin around in a rush like he expected. Instead, she placed a hand on her chin as she frowned.

“So what happens then? There won’t be another generation of future Demons or something?”

“No.”

Haec shook his head.

“Eventually, with enough time that passes— enough death and destruction— there will be another cycle of Advent. Another generation of Demons shall be born. But it will simply take longer than before. And with enough time, the length between cycles shall return to what it is now.”

“Right.”

Salvos furrowed her brows as he explained. The former Heir of the Netherworld pursed his lips, seeing the rather muted reaction of his companion. He gestured vaguely in the direction of the air.

“But that doesn’t matter— what matters is that we only have a short period of time to act before Regnorex begins his invasion of the Mortal Realm. Salvation is the shortest cycle of the Netherworld. We do not have long, Salvos. We need to stop him.”

Haec spoke in a low voice. But Salvos just scratched the back of her head.

“Right…”

It was such an odd reaction, the former Heir of the Netherworld was taken aback. He shook his head as he held her gaze.

“Are you not worried about your friends? Do you not care about what may happen to them once the invasion starts?”

“I definitely do care about them, yep. And I am worried about what Regnorex is doing… y’know with the corruption and all.”

Salvos spoke as she waved a hand vaguely in the direction of the sky. Haec blinked, remembering what he had been told about the corruption. He hadn’t even considered the consequences of that.

“But Haec…”

Her words immediately drew the former Heir of the Netherworld’s attention back into the moment. He stared back at his first companion as she just crossed her arms.

“Do you even have a plan?”

“That’s—”

Haec opened his mouth, then paused. He stared at Salvos for a long moment, before he took in a deep breath. He sighed.

“I… I do not.”

“Exactly.”

She shook her head as she placed a hand on his shoulders. Haec bit his lower lip, and Salvos spoke reassuringly.

“So calm down and relax. Let us think of something first, before we panic. Alright?”

“...right.”

“Good!”

Salvos beamed as she took a step back. She clapped her hands together as she swept her gaze over their surroundings.

“And the first order of business is… where exactly are we? And how do we get to the Demon King’s Domain?”

Unfortunately for her, no one had any answers to that question.

Author's Notes:

What thonk?

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