Dread. Terror. Despair.

Vessyra writhed in repulsion within me.

The oppressive and overwhelming presence exerted by Edith Percouli pricked at the surface of my skin. Her very gaze sent shivers down my spine— not the good kind I get from good sex either. Something had changed about her. She had grown more sinister since the last time I'd encountered her in Ferellis.

Black and blood red robes that appeared more like thick smog than fabric clung to her body. She tapped on a gnarled wand on the armrest, watching and waiting for us to make the first move.

To my side, Thelia and Belle were still as statues. They gulped hard.

"Is my visage so horrifying that you have become speechless?" Edith sneered, rising from her seat and revealing a much taller form. "I gave so much effort into making myself presentable—"

"Igni!"

A powerful fire spell blasted forth and exploded at Edith's feet. She remained unscathed, but the throne behind her had been obliterated. The demon witch brushed the ashes from her shoulder and scoffed.

"Ellori, no time to freeze up!" Belle shouted. She dove right. Together with Luna, they encased Edith up to her waist in a block of ice. Thelia cracked her magic-nullifying whip once, then flew above our foe to entangle her.

Seeing my companions fight gave me the courage to resist. Empowered by all that dwelled inside me, I donned Vessyra's vestments and transformed my staff into the golden lance once again.

"Rio, bind her!" I ordered.

My familiar unleashed dozens of tentacles from his body to hold Edith still.

This was our chance. Edith brought us here to divide our strength. Whatever she was planning, she couldn't have known how much stronger we'd become. Her hubris would be her undoing.

"Vessyra… Now's the time to give me everything you've got!" I shouted.

It felt as if she were behind me, holding my hand as I raised the lance. We launched it directly at Edith. Divine energy surged across the chamber, lighting up the surroundings like fireworks. The golden blade plunged into Edith's chest and out the other end.

"Did we do it…?" I'd spoken too soon. 

The gaping hole in Edith's chest began to close. She cackled for all to hear, louder than the crackling energy from my staff. A single step forward shattered the entombment at her feet, then yanked the bindings  so hard it sent Thelia and Rio crashing to the other side of the chamber.

"Thank you for confirming it for me. I have at last reached godhood! All seven stones, a god inside me, and a pact with the Forsaken One himself." Edith took a bow and floated into the air with a victorious smirk.

"Did you just say the Forsaken One?" Thelia gasped in terror.

For a greater demon like her to appear so terrified, I could only draw one conclusion— a demon master, likely the one Zertos served before I subjugated him. However, nothing in my studies of demons yielded anything about a Forsaken One. Just what exactly had Edith made contact with?

"You crazy bitch. What do you hope to gain by giving our world to demons? Do you have any idea what you've done?!" Belle cried through clenched teeth. She launched another barrage of spells, all of which Edith easily deflected like swatting rain drops.

"The two of you I have plans for later. I shall like to speak with Ellori alone." Edith snapped her fingers.

Black portals opened up to swallow both Thelia and Belle. Even Rio was taken away from me.

Edith retrieved my staff and approached me. Even if the others were gone, I still had to fight. Surrendering would mean defeat, and there was no bargaining with a crimson witch. Gurk, Cammy, and Beatrice were waiting for me back home. Along with all my friends. Mira must be getting worried, too.

If I lost here. All of Talmora, the whole world—

"Ah…"

My own lance protruded from my chest. Edith gripped the handle.

I was never ready to face her. I messed up taking my mind off the battle and paid the price for it. All my efforts had been in vain.

The demon witch's maddening laughter rang in my ears as my vision went black.

***

Did I die?

Death felt so warm and… breezy.

"Nngh…" My eyes snapped open, blurry at first, then adjusted to the much brighter change of scenery. The skies remained as red as blood above. I sat on a cushioned chair upon a beautiful garden, decorated in an array of flowers from all over the world. Azure Valisca Bulbs, Randover Pitcher plants, even black-spotted roses from Saquin that normally only grew in deserts. An entire world in a single garden.

"Awake at last?" a haughty voice asked me.

I nearly fell out of my seat when I saw it was Edith sitting across the table. Behind her was the Council of King's castle which towered over us.

"What kind of joke is this?" I asked cautiously, putting a hand over my chest where I should have been impaled.

Edith gazed affectionately at the flowers. "Welcome to the Kings' Terrace. Wonderful, no? The Council of Kings had a flare for aesthetics. It was designed high enough so the members could be stared up at by the envious rabble. Each member then grew jealous of one another instead. They wanted to show off their lands by bringing the most beautiful flowers to be grown here, so the others could watch in envy. It amuses me that in their attempts to one-up the other, they inadvertently created the only good thing the history of this council has ever done."

"I'm not here for a history lesson. Why haven't you killed me yet? Or did you need someone to gloat to?" I glared at her.

"I could turn this into a lesson. Like old times." She sneered. "You are the most reasonable of the rebellious bunch to speak with. Just like how you and Eudora came to an agreement, I figured we might as well."

Eudora. She did battle against Edith. Judging by our meeting now, it was clear who came out as the victor. Then that must mean Eudora was dead? No. Edith was more vengeful and scheming than that. If she trapped Thelia and Belle somewhere, it might be the same case for her.

Since we're engaged in conversation, I should try and draw as much information out of Edith as I could.

"What have you done with Eudora? If you killed her, then you can consider any attempts at a discussion over," I said.

"She… is in detention." Edith scratched open a portal in the air with her fingernail, reached in, and pulled out a jar that contained a pulsating, amorphous black mass.

I wanted to barf. Edith was showing me none other than Eudora. Somehow, I knew that for a fact. She tapped the glass, causing the mass to smash itself against its imprisonment.

"Ever so fiesty even without a body. The troublesome wretch," she said, returning it to the portal and shutting it close.

"Alright. What do you want with me? You've won. Talmora is in the palm of your hands. Demons have flooded into this world— Unless, it's because you need me alive. To do something you cannot do alone?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Astute! Next to Parabelle and Miracella, it is clear who the better of the trio is. You are wrong about one thing, however. I do not necessarily need you, but having you aid me expedites my plans," she answered.

"Then you can forget it. I won't have any part of helping you," I declared, knowing full well that she could kill me. The others were coming. Even without me, they might still stand a chance at facing her. I would not be a part of whatever sick schemes she had in store, even if it costs me my life.

Edith sighed. A disappointed one, like I'd hear from an instructor when they hear an incorrect answer.

"Do you know why the witches of old had become as strong as they did back then? How someone like Tamara Kingsly conjured a weather phenomenon that none now could hope to replicate? The power to shape worlds— it is our birthright as witches. We can even conquer other realms." The twinkle in her eyes revealed the depths of her ambition. Edith wasn't just after this world. She wanted more. To stake her claim in places like the demon's realm and more.

But where did that ambition lead? To what end?

"A world where only the powerful ruled… doesn't sound like a place I want to raise my children in," I said, rejecting the vision she painted in my head.

"Foolish. We already live in such a world. The Council of Kings had the audacity to shackle us. They have leisured in the suffering of others. Witches and demi-humans, fellow humans alike, grow weak under their reign. Do you not see that our history is a cycle to rule and to be ruled? Tell me, under whose rule do you think Talmora will better prosper under?" she asked, almost pleading for me to understand. I saw my old instructor Anora in that moment. It weakened my resolve to resist.

How many millions suffered under the Council of Kings' reign— under humanity's reign, where racism and bias existed against those without power. Those that were different from us like demi-humans. Centaurs and goblins were enslaved as workhorses, elves and harpies were persecuted and made sexual objects of, and we witches were no different than collared dogs doing the biddings of kings and queens with no magic powers of their own.

What had we been doing all these centuries?

But in spite of that…

Lotherain saw progress. People who held contempt and misconceptions began to change when they met Cammy's kindness. Shallowglade demonstrated that humans and demi-humans could co-exist. Humanity, as flawed as they were, only needed guidance. It didn't mean they should be punished for it.

They needed time and patience.

"If only you had spent all those centuries alive guiding humanity towards a better future. You buried yourself in hatred instead, seeking revenge on those long dead. I won't be a part of your next ruling class."

My words struck a chord with Edith. Her hands clenched into a fist and trembled. It was my first time seeing her lose a nerve.

"Then so be it." Edith grimaced. She grabbed my robes with a clawed hand and ripped it away from my body. I whistled for it to return to me, but she held the struggling fabric firmly in her grasp. A black portal opened up beneath my feet and swallowed me before I could invoke a spell. "A simple prison cannot hold you. My final gift— may you drown in pleasure."

I landed hard on my back in a dank, stone-built chamber lit only by torches on the walls. The place seemed like a normal prison, but my senses detected that it was anything but. A forged world? How?

The only entrance, a heavy iron-bound gate creaked open. Grotesque demons I'd never seen before entered. Horned, lumbering giants, hulking hounds, crawling slimeforms with writhing tentacles, and more outside the door I couldn't describe poured into the room, surrounding me with erect cocks and bathing the room in their musty scent.

"Uh, oh…"