The Newt and Demon

Time was easier to track with someone nearby, but it still slipped away from Theo. The first day he spent with Leon went by the slowest, with each proceeding day passing in a flash. As expected, he lost track of that time, only counting it by the amount of meals vanishing from his inventory. Every attempt he made to get closer to the nature of the barrier sealing this world revealed another facet. Most importantly, the alchemist had a working theory, which steered his research.

“You’re concentrating more than normal,” Leon said one morning. At least, Theo thought it was the morning. “Do you have more of those meals to share?”

Theo opened his eyes, dropping out of deep concentration to consider the man. For the first time, he saw a face beneath that hood. Weathered features stared back at him. Deep lines ran throughout his countenance, etched in gray skin. His features revealed his status as an elf of some sort. Perhaps more mortal-based food would illuminate further features.

“Sure,” Theo said, withdrawing another meal. He counted, clicking his tongue when he realized exactly how much time had passed. “How has a year slipped by? And why do I have a year’s worth of food in my inventory?”

“That’s your problem, young man,” Leon said, accepting an old bowl of wolf meat stew. Since it had been stored in his inventory, it was still steaming. “Before you can, untold amounts of time passed and I wouldn’t even notice.”

“The one good thing is that this place has bolstered my willpower to an extreme degree. And I understand the seal that binds this place,” Theo said. “Nasty bit of ward magic. God-tier stuff.”

“And you think you can break it?” Leon asked.

“Indeed. But I’ll only have one shot. There is only one Aura Potion in my inventory, after all,” Theo said. He closed his eyes again, probing the edges of the magical array that bound the world. Even conceptualizing a world-sized array was difficult. But through nothing but study over the ‘year’ he spent there had revealed enough. “I’ll admit. The world might’ve gone to hell while I was gone. I had an important job.”

“Everyone thinks their job is important,” Leon said.

“I see why you’re so anxious to return,” Leon said. “Yet here we are.”

Theo shrugged. “What can I do? This is something that simply takes time. Based on my instincts, I’ll have this done in a few months.”

“Months that will pass in a blink,” Leon said, clapping his aged hands. Some more color had returned to his skin recently. Theo hoped that was a good thing.

The alchemist turned his attention back to the veil. He grabbed it with his aura, ensnaring it in the ever-growing bubble that held it relentlessly. After probing another section of the array, he found things that felt familiar. Days shifted to weeks and months as he delved deeper into those secrets. On a morning where the gray sun shined, and Theo’s stock of prepared food running low, his eyes snapped open. Leon’s aged cheeks were flushed as he ate too-spicy stew.

“Anything to report?” the old elf asked.

“We’re leaving,” Theo said, withdrawing a potion from his inventory. “Hang on tight. I’m unsure if this will destroy the world.”

“Oh, is that all we have to worry about?” Leon asked with a laugh. “Fine. Do your thing, demon. More of my mind returns by the moment!”

Theo shook his head, drinking the potion.

***

“I’ll admit to many things,” Death said, looking all evil and stuff. Seriously, he assumed the mantle of Death, but he didn’t have to dress like it.

“So admit to them faster!” Tresk shouted. Only moments ago, the god had spoken of some revelations. And it had taken him about four billion years to get to the point, hemming and hawing around as though he got paid by the hour.

“I had a mortal body on Iaredin long ago. Before the first change. When I died, my body was cast into the void, where I rejected the Lady of Light. I lingered as a spirit, until the first change passed. I then struck a deal with the system,” Death said.

All other gods assembled were gawking, unable to hold back their shock at their peer’s candor. Maybe if he talked slightly faster, Tresk wouldn’t feel the daggers itching in her inventory. As it stood, all she wanted to do was some serious stabbing.

“Please continue,” Hallow said, seeming to sense Tresk’s impatience.

“I used methods provided by the system to create chimeras,” Death admitted. “This was an effective way to make powerful monsters the world couldn’t stand against. The entire time I ran my campaign against the mortal races of the world, I used them. To create them, I generated a new dimension for my work. This was based on the dimensional structure of dungeons, and it allowed me to generate powerful monsters.”

“This is where you say ‘unfortunately, I’m a big goofus and…’,” Tresk narrowed her eyes at the god.

“Unfortunately, I’m a big goofus,” Death said. “I’m a failure in that this realm was sealed away from me after the campaign. I thought it was destroyed when the most recent change happened. System, can you confirm the existence of my Empty Realm?”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“The realm functions,” the System said, nodding.

“So, Theo is in this weird place?” Tresk asked with a scoff. “How do we get him out?”

“That’s where things get complicated…” Death trailed off.

“Consider aspects of the system such as the way attributes are given,” the System said. “I cannot reverse attribute gain. Ever. It is a rule that is engrained in the fabric of reality. The seal on Death’s hidden realm is absolute.”

“Which means no one should’ve been able to get inside, right?” Hallow asked.

“There seems to have been a crack,” the System said.

“Which means he can get out, right?” Tresk asked.

“I’m afraid that would require a skill level close to godhood,” the System said. “For someone to have developed such talent would be unthinkable. Especially in such a short time.”

Tresk took a steadying breath. She was hearing a lot of doom when all she wanted was to get her demon back. Setting a mental timer for about five minutes, she relaxed. Once that timer went off, she would attack Death’s domain directly. Even if it didn’t work, she didn’t care. Murder was the only solution.

“If the system could grant me permissions to change the nature of realms…” Death trailed off.

“Absolutely not,” Fate shouted, stomping her foot. “We have a delicate balance here! The lines of fate are clear. The alchemist dies in some aberrant realm.”

“Listen here, shortie!” Tresk shouted, daggers jumping into her hands.

“You’re shorter than her!” Omen shouted back.

“Not if I cut you off at the knees, ya little elf prince!” Tresk shouted, springing forward. She was stopped a foot later, suspended in the air by some unseen force.

“Please forgive her,” Death, of all people, said. “She is emotional for the loss of her partner.”

“You’re damn right I am!” Tresk shouted. “This is the System’s fault! Plug your holes you stupid—”

Tresk was silenced. Her ears went deaf just as her mouth went mute. No matter how much she flailed in the air, nothing happened. The group talked about whatever while she thrashed around, determined to break free of the System’s magic and deliver some much-deserved stabbing. It took a while of talking, but the expressions on all their faces grew grave. Then people started shouting. Even the system was throwing her hands up in the air.

The sound returned as a rushing thing, blasting Tresk in the face.

“Stop him!” the System shouted.

“You’re the system!” Fate shouted back, panic flooding over her face. “The threads of fate are shifting—I’ve never seen it move this much.”

“What the hell are you doing, Theo?” Hallow growled.

Khahar appeared from nowhere, jogging over with a worried look. “My Arbiter’s Core is going crazy,” he said, looking between each member assembled. “What’s going on?”

“Theo is undoing god-tier magic,” Omen said. “He’s pulling it apart like a roast turkey. Impossible to say what will happen if he gets through.”

“He has a passenger,” the System warned.

“No,” Death said, the muscles on his jaw bunching up.

“Time to share with the class!” Tresk said, flipping around in the air. “I thought you were hiding something, you stupid ghost.”

All eyes turned to Death and he paled. After a few moments of hesitation, he cleared his throat. “Someone is sealed within that realm.”

“Who?” Fate and Omen asked at the same time.

Death swallowed hard, licking his lips. “There’s a good reason the realm was sealed before the reset. You must remember, he was insane when I cast him there. He was absorbing the power of souls from both Earth and Iaredin. It was a mercy for both worlds.”

“Why do I have the feeling that this won’t end well?” Hallow asked.

“Spit it out, ghost-man,” Omen said, hands on his hips.

“Your grandfather was a great man in his time. But he lost his mind after he… Well, I don’t think is the time for you to learn what happened to your grandmother,” Death said.

“King Leon!?” Fate shouted. “This is a betrayal, Kuzan!”

Death shrugged. “You don’t need to tell me the weight of my sins…”

“Silence, you idiots!” the System shouted. “He’s breaking through…”

“Hah! Get screwed nerds!” Tresk shouted. She felt Theo bursting through the place between places like a damn meteor. “My boy is back in town!”

###

“This is an interesting way to travel,” Leon said, looking around the shadowy aura as they traveled through the void.

This wasn’t the void Theo was familiar with. He didn’t have as much authority here, but his position as the Dreamwalker gave him some sway over it. Instead of gliding through like he normally did, he clawed his way through the seal. He stretched out with all his might, inching them forward through a thick soup. It wasn’t a destructive act, though. The potion he had imbibed empowered his aura to an absurd degree, allowing his newly increased willpower to pull apart the array and put it back together behind them.

“Void travel isn’t for the faint of heart,” Theo said. “But this place is different. I don’t feel the same negative effects as the normal void.”

“This void differs from the one you’re familiar with?” Leon asked. “That’s strange.”

“This whole dimensional space is strange,” Theo said. “It is big. Although I guess size doesn’t make much sense for the void… If you look behind us, you’ll see the space we were just in.”

“Ah, a big gray blob,” Leon said.

“Well, at least you’re looking better,” Theo said. “Spend some time by the shards and I’m sure you’ll be just fine.”

“Your nation has more of this food, right?” Leon asked. “Give me more of the food and I’ll be good.”

It took a while, but Theo finally broke through the last few layers of the seal’s array. When they busted through the other side, he felt forces trying to draw him in. He smiled to himself. Whoever was trying to interdict him must’ve felt like they were attempting to suck up an ocean through a straw. It seemed almost a playful act, so he resisted. But whoever was on the other end didn’t find it amusing. They pulled harder, which the alchemist took as a test of strength.

“The gods aren’t happy,” Theo said, chuckling to himself. “Anyway, that’s the only low realm right now. The mortal plane.” He gestured to Iaredin to their left. Then he pointed to the middle planes. “We’re calling those the middle planes. And the big glowing star over there is the heavens. That’s also our next stop, since someone there is real mad at us.”

“We’ve upset someone?” Leon asked. “How so?”

“Maybe they see it as a prison break,” Theo said. “Or maybe they just want to give me an update on the latest reset.”

“THEO! GET YOUR ASS TO HEAVEN!” Tresk shouted into his mind. “AND BRING KING LEON!”

Theo turned to his passenger. “You’re a king?”

Leon blinked a few times, raising a brow. He thought for a few moments, his face eventually brightening. “Oh! I suppose I am.”

“You’ll need to sort out that memory,” Theo muttered, angling for the center of the void. “Time to take our lashes.”