During the night, with my body exhausted from servicing the succubus and the landlady, and my mind free of constant nagging, I found myself dreaming of a desert I've seen before. But there was something familiar about it. After a while, I had an uncanny feeling that I've seen this before. Wreckage lay strewn across a vast swath of land, the sky dirty with brown clouds, and the wind blowing pieces of small debris and parting thick fog here and there to uncover more pieces of bent and rusted steel, torn cloth and mud-covered tree roots—though the trees were nowhere to be found. I was treading over this waste, with steps that carried me at inhuman speeds. Goosebumps formed on my skin when I heard a distant, booming horn play a disjointed melody, and I felt a lump in my throat.

"You have at last resolved to tread a path to me, mortal," Ald-ghareth announced with the same shrill multi-voice. "Good."

I looked around but couldn't see him. I looked up, then down and realized my body wasn't there—or at least I couldn't see it.

"I have made up my mind," I replied.

"Wise," he said. "I value loyalty. And for your loyalty, I have a gift."

My mind's eye was jerked forward, through the billowing mists and into an unknown valley. I flew past numerous towering buildings, with colonnades and domes, way too fast to recognize any style, but I did notice the grandiosity. Finally, I came to an abrupt stop at a very spacious room, which looked like a large indoor bath, but had the dimensions more closely resembling a large soccer stadium. The light inside was strangely white, almost stinging to my eyes before they finally adapted. Then I saw fountains in the shape of interlocking masses of human bodies, adorned with grape vines and thorns, faces locked in a mixture of fear and ecstasy. The fountain tops spewed what seemed to be water in wide arcs all around, onto the floor of a shallow pool that seemed to fill the entirety of the room, with the water barely reaching to my crotch. Standing in the same water were legions of succubuses, and, beneath one of the fountains to my right, I recognized Ra'zizi. My heart stood still, as I nervously looked around—soon, I realized that none of the bath takers noticed a human in their midst. Carefully, I approached my familiar demon. She was cleaning her pristine skin using the stream of water as a shower. Besides here were two other succubuses—all three seemed engaged in some conversation. As I carefully neared them, I heard a strange speech that at first was completely indecipherable. Over the next few seconds, however, the sounds morphed, changing into English.

"... and they all know it, and soon you will too," concluded a succubus way shorter than Ra'zizi, with red hair almost as long as her entire body and two straight, slender horns on her head. Besides her demonic appendages, she seemed the most naturally-proportioned of the three.

"Proud and boastful, how typical of you, Mareizeel," responded one almost Ra'zizi's height, but with a much more plump appearance and enormous brests. Her bright red eyes glittered as she sneered. "Too bad you'll lose again, like in the past appointments," she smiled and took a few steps to the side, letting some water spill on her jet-black wavy hair.

"I am closer every time," Mareizeel spoke, grinding her teeth and staring daggers at the voluptuous demon.

"So close, yet so far," the other succubus snickered again and proceeded to wash her body. "You're a true demonic underling."

"Youuu-" the red-haired succubus began.

"Ezaireth, Mareizeel, cut it out!" Ra'zizi silenced them. "I'm tired of your bickering."

"But... Sister!" Mareizeel whined to her.

"Hmm, I see," Ezaireth continued. "Ra'zizi's angry. Perhaps she knows something..."

She walked up to the still-showering Ra'zizi.

"What do you say, older sister? Do you know who the matron will choose next?" she spoke with a punctuated, mocking tone, "oh, I bet it won't be you... too bad!"

Ra'zizi swiped her hand at her, a movement so fast as to almost be unperceptible. Ezaireth dodged with an equally dizzying speed.

"You two brats are annoying," she said, "find someone else to pester. And to you, Eza," she turned and gave her a wicked smile, "just know that I know what I'm doing."

"How long will you play with the human?" Mareizeel piped up. "How long?"

"As long as I need to," Ra'zizi cryptically declared, caressing her hair and smiled. "If anything, it is fun."

"I shall have fun with my next one too..." Ezaireth mused, making Ra'zizi smirk.

The trio continued bickering as her speech faded back into unknown demonic language. As I tried to keep listening on, the room started growing smaller in my eyes. I rose above the water and the fountains, as if some force was propelling me up. I felt air rushing past me, forcing me to close my eyes. For a moment, I felt the presence of the Lord of Hell.

"Now you saw," he declared, voice clear over the furious wind.

Then, suddenly, I hit something, gasping as the air was knocked out of my lungs.

I opened my eyes. I was back in my room, on my bed. The morning had almost become noon already. Confused for a moment, I rose to a sitting pose and looked around,

"Well well, someone's been asleep for very long," Ra'zizi said behind me, startling me. She giggled when I turned. Apparently without a no clue what I saw, she announced "I have been waiting for you..."

She started playfully stroking my cheek, and I did my best to not let my face reveal any knowledge—which was admittedly easy in this situation.

"Say," she began and let her voice hang for a moment. "I wonder if there is someone who wants to see you..."

I felt as if a stone was forming in my stomach, but did my best to keep a charmed face. Before sweating could betray me, my phone's text message alert blared. Startled, I turned and got off the bed, much to Ra'zizi's amusement. It was Eris. She wanted to meet up again.