The Damned Demon

Back in the real world, within the shadow-cloaked depths of the ancient underground ruins, tension simmered restlessly.

The large, dark hall seemed to brood, silent save for the sharp, agitated pacing of Rebecca’s boots against the stone floor. She moved back and forth in tight loops, her face twisted in worry and frustration as she muttered impatiently to herself.

“Devils damn it,” Rebecca growled under her breath, her crimson eyes glancing anxiously towards the darkened door that swallowed Asher and Skully. “It’s been too long since he went in there. I don’t know about you, but I can’t just stand here doing nothing. What if Skully’s brainwashing him, or doing something worse? I’m not saying we can’t trust that undead bastard after all he’s done for us, but still—”

“Ssssss, calm your big titsss, bloodssssucker,” Lori hissed lazily from her spot, coils comfortably arranged as she rested her scaled chin on one of the stones. Her serpent eyes were half-lidded, oozing boredom. “It’sss barely been five minutessss and you’re already losssing it. At leassst try to act your age.”

Rebecca clicked her tongue sharply, hands on her hips, incredulous at Lori’s nonchalant attitude. “Oh, look who’s talking! Do you want me to remind you of all the embarrassing antics you pulled while he left us down here and went out there alone?”

Lori immediately turned her head aside, lifting her snout proudly, pretending ignorance. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, sssss—”

“Glad to see you’re making friends, Rebecca.”

A sudden, smooth voice sliced calmly through their exchange, causing Rebecca’s heart to lurch and Lori’s serpentine form to stiffen alertly.

Rebecca and Lori snapped around instantly, eyes wide and wary, tension crackling through their muscles. A hooded figure stepped gracefully from the shadows, her cloak deep as ruby, shimmering faintly even in the dim torchlight. Slowly, with a measured grace, she lowered the hood, revealing a face that left Rebecca stunned, mouth agape.

Naida’s elegant features glowed faintly with an unreadable emotion, her ruby eyes warm yet shadowed with sorrow. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” she murmured gently, the faintest smile ghosting across her lips.

From behind her stepped another figure, his presence quieter but no less significant. Silvan emerged, his expression grave and weary. He sighed deeply, running a hand through his black hair as he glanced anxiously towards the sealed chamber. “He isn’t out yet, is he?”

Rebecca’s trembling hand shot upward in accusation, her voice shaking with rage and confusion, “Y-you two…”

“SSSS! How dare you traitorsss ssshow your facessss here!” Lori snarled furiously, her coils rippling as she surged forward aggressively, murder gleaming brightly in her slitted eyes.

Rebecca swiftly stepped forward, barring Lori’s path while glaring venomously at the intruders. “You heard her clearly. Did you two seriously come here desperate to die by our hands? I can’t believe you just made our jobs easier.”

Yet, just as she moved forward, Valeria, who had been standing silently and unnoticed in the corner, calmly stepped between them. Her presence instantly quelled their aggression, forcing both Rebecca and Lori to halt abruptly, incredulously staring at Valeria’s stoic face.

Valeria’s voice was as calm and cold as the stone walls around them. “They aren’t here to die.”

Rebecca sputtered in disbelief, eyes narrowed skeptically. “Are you crazy? You know what kind of bastards they are. You should be cutting them down instead of standing in our way!”

Naida gently lifted a hand, her voice soothing yet firm, radiating sincerity. “Please relax. I assure you, we come here peacefully—even if I understand perfectly how this must appear.” She lowered her eyes briefly, a humble gesture of submission and vulnerability. “But if Asher wishes for our deaths after he comes out, then we will gladly accept his judgment.”

Rebecca scoffed bitterly, eyes burning with mistrust. “You expect me to believe that nonsense? Fine, wait until he returns. You’re both going to wish we killed you first.”

The tension remained thick in the silence that followed, each second stretching into unbearable eternity.

—

Meanwhile, within the darkened chamber, lit only by the soft, radiant glow emanating from the white coffin, Asher gasped sharply, breaking free from the haunting world of memories. His hands instinctively ripped the heavy Wraith Lord’s crown from his head, breath ragged and trembling, his chest heaving with an overwhelming torrent of emotion and revelation.

“What the… Is this really her?” Asher whispered shakily, staring numbly at the fragile skeleton resting within the pristine white coffin. His voice was thick with sorrow and disbelief, gaze anchored on the delicate bones that were once vibrant with life.

He couldn’t process the fact that he was actually staring at her corpse. It just didn’t feel real.

Beside him, Skully nodded slowly, his hollow eyes glowing faintly, reflecting centuries of sorrow and loss despite no emotion present within them, “Now you finally understand,” Skully’s raspy voice murmured solemnly. “This corpse of Aira you see before you is from the previous timeline. She willingly let herself perish here so she could guide you to the truth when the moment arrived.”

Asher clenched his jaw tightly, a wave of unbearable grief washing over him. His voice cracked with disbelief and confusion. “This planet… it wasn’t originally Zalthor at all, was it? Now it makes sense. This place once belonged to human civilization. Was this place… Earth?”

Skully slowly shook his head, the green magma within his skeletal features glimmering softly, “No. The ground upon which you stand was never Earth. It was once Mars.”

“Mars?” Asher echoed numbly, heart hammering painfully against his ribcage. His mind spun dizzily, struggling to grasp the implications of Skully’s words. “How…?”

Skully’s voice remained calm, the sound carrying the weight of a thousand tragedies. “These ruins are remnants of Derek’s civilization though he did take up measures to make it resemble Earth as much as possible. The building we stand within is none other than the Infinity Tower, a prison constructed by Derek himself. We are currently at its heart, the place where he imprisoned Aira and anyone he deemed very dangerous.”

“Derek imprisoned her?” Asher’s voice trembled, eyes flooded with deep anguish as he stared down at Aira’s skeletal remains, imagining the torment she must have endured alone in this forsaken place. “She died here, abandoned and broken? Like this? What about my Aira?…The one from this timeline.”

Skully nodded slowly, his voice devoid of any emotion, “She is still alive but imprisoned.”

“She’s alive?….” Asher felt relieved but at the same time felt shattered to know her current situation.

Skully gestured towards the skeleteon, “As for this Aira, she chose this fate willingly. Her sacrifice was necessary for the future she foresaw. It was the only way she could guide you toward breaking the cycle. Her death was a calculated yet tragic necessity.”

Asher’s vision blurred, a deep ache pulsing within his chest as tears burned behind his eyes. “A necessity you say? How much did she suffer here, knowing she would die like this? How could she bear it?” Even if this wasn’t the Aira from his timeline, it still broke him to know how she died.

Skully looked at her skeleton as he answered, “Because she believed in you. She believed you were worth every moment of agony she endured. That belief gave her strength. Now it is your turn to honor her sacrifice by fulfilling your destiny.”

Asher scoffed bitterly as he shook his head. His eyes burned with weary frustration, his jaw tightly clenched as he stepped away, pacing angrily before the pale glow of the coffin.

“What destiny?” he snapped, voice thick with exhausted bitterness. “What am I supposed to do with all this burden you’ve placed on me? You drown me in memories, force me to witness lifetimes of pain, and for what? Everything is going to end the same damned way, over and over. Each time, I’ll be reborn, ignorant and helpless, until the day it all comes crashing down again. Tell me, Skully—how the hell am I supposed to break this goddamned cycle? I’ll try no matter how many lifetimes it takes, but the fucked-up truth is there’s no answer. That Damned One, it damned us all.”

Skully stood still, eyes glowing calmly, his voice hollow yet oddly reassuring, echoing through the silence of the chamber. “You don’t have to find an answer. Because she already has.”

“And that answer is?” Asher asked sharply, eyebrows knitted tightly.

“You becoming an immortal,” Skully replied simply, his words hanging solemnly in the air.

Asher stared at him incredulously, eyebrows raised in disbelief. “An immortal? That’s your grand solution?”

Skully nodded slowly, green magma flickering eerily within the hollows of his skull, lending an unsettling gravitas to his words. “Yes. Becoming an immortal within a mortal universe is a fundamental violation of everything this universe stands for. Mortal worlds are bound by rules—fate, time, death. But when a true immortal exists permanently, those rules begin to fracture. Without rules, the Damned One’s cycle destabilizes. If you cannot die, then the loop can no longer reset.”

Asher’s eyes narrowed skeptically, his voice cautious but tinged with reluctant curiosity. “It sounds promising—in theory. But isn’t the Damned One some all-powerful evil entity capable of destroying me whenever it wishes?”

Skully inclined his head slowly, acknowledging the point. “You are correct. Yet, curiously, it seems compelled to follow rules as well. It intervenes only when someone else breaks the fundamental laws of existence—much like it did whenever Aira tried to manipulate time to save you.”

Asher shook his head slowly, bitterness clouding his eyes as he turned away slightly, fists clenched at his sides. “If immortality was the solution, why haven’t we tried this before, in all those countless timelines? Or did we try—and fail?”

Skully answered calmly, with an unnerving detachment, “Most of the times you failed because your power doesn’t grow through conventional methods. Simply absorbing a Radem or Deviar could never elevate you beyond your limits. The only way you’ve grown stronger was through pain, suffering, loss—agony sharp enough to awaken the true potential of the Damned flames inside you.”

Asher’s expression darkened further, his eyes reflecting the weight of haunting suspicions. “That power inside me…it’s eerily similar to the Damned One, isn’t it? What if this is all just another twisted part of its plan? What if all this hope is just another cruel illusion, designed to crush us harder in the end?”

Skully regarded Asher silently, his hollow gaze steady and unyielding. “Perhaps. But there is only one way to know for sure. And that path begins with you becoming immortal.”

The chamber fell silent again, shadows pressing close as Asher stood quietly, his breathing heavy, eyes locked on the skeletal remains of Aira. The gravity of his decision pressed down on him, a burden heavier than ever. Yet in that moment, beneath the crushing weight of fate, his resolve hardened. If this was the only way forward, he would embrace it—even if it meant challenging the very laws of existence itself.