The Damned Demon

The Red Witch softly sighed, her voice carrying an eerie calm, "I'm afraid you won't find out... Not today."

With a snap of her fingers, a radiant white light suddenly erupted around Asher and Lori, forming an intricate glowing circle on the ground beneath them. The earth trembled, cracks splintering outward, and then—everything under them crumbled.

The ground beneath them dissolved into dust, revealing a massive gaping hole that pulsed with the same radiant light. Before they could react, the force was instantaneous and unrelenting, pulling them both downward into the void.

Asher's eyes widened as he tried to resist the pull, his gritted teeth barely holding back a curse, "What the—?!"

Lori hissed in distress, her massive form twisting as she closed her eyes against the searing brightness. "HSSSSSS!! This light! It burns! I can't see!"

"Fuck!" Asher growled, struggling against the invisible force. His flames flared in defiance, but they flickered weakly, unable to gain any traction.

He was dragged down relentlessly, the pull stronger than anything he had ever felt.

Beside him, Lori's massive body coiled instinctively, but even her strength was no match. They tumbled deeper and deeper into the void as the gaping hole above them sealed itself, the light fading into silence.

The Red Witch lingered for a moment, the faint echo of her footsteps the only sound left in the desolate land. She turned, her hooded figure retreating into the mist as if she had never been there.

-

Below the surface, Asher and Lori fell through pitch-black darkness. The radiant white light that had dragged them down briefly flickered, illuminating their descent in flashes, but it was gone just as quickly, leaving them in a disorienting abyss.

Asher's breaths came in sharp gasps as he twisted mid-air, trying to gain control, "Lori, are you able to break free??!" he shouted, his voice swallowed by the endless void.

Lori's hiss resonated faintly as she struggled against the pull, "Sssss I can't! Thissss is radiant mana… I don't like it… How issss it here?!" Her voice, usually smug and unshakable, was tinged with unease.

After what felt like an eternity, their descent slowed, the darkness around them giving way to faint glimmers of light.

The radiant pull ceased abruptly, and they landed with a resounding thud on solid ground.

Asher groaned as he stood, brushing debris off his armor, "You okay, Lori?" he asked, his eyes darting to her.

Lori's colossal form shifted, transforming into a smaller size, her dark purple eyes glowing faintly as she uncoiled herself, "Sssss, barely," she muttered, her gaze scanning their surroundings. "But where… where are we?"

The air was thick and heavy, almost suffocating. Around them was a sprawling expanse of ruins, dimly illuminated by glowing, crystalline orbs embedded in the cracked walls and towering structures.

The architecture was unlike anything they had seen—elegant, sharp yet ancient, with intricate carvings of mysterious symbols and flowing runes etched into every surface.

Enormous arches stretched skyward, their tips shattered and crumbled. The ground beneath their feet was smooth but weathered, littered with fragments of what must have been magnificent sculptures.

"This… this place," Asher muttered, his voice barely above a whisper as he turned in a slow circle. "It's… massive."

"It'sss more than that," Lori said, her tail curling protectively around Asher.

"Thisss place… it smells old. Too old. And look at these carvings… they're unlike anything I've seen in our world."

Asher's gaze locked onto one of the walls, where a mural depicted a city bathed in radiant light, its towers reaching toward the sun.

Surrounding the city were figures—looking like people, their hands raised in reverence, bowing down to a giant man with a thick beard and mustache, standing before the sun, holding a spear.

His brow furrowed as he whispered, "These people… who are they bowing to? But this place….does it belong to the Eclipsion Kingdom?" Even though he asked that, he felt it couldn't be possible since the entire kingdom had turned to dust, leaving nothing behind.

Lori hissed softly, her gaze sweeping over a broken statue of a figure holding a long, radiant blade, "Could thisss be…?"

She didn't finish her sentence. The weight of their surroundings left no room for certainty, only a growing sense of unease.

Asher's footsteps echoed faintly as he approached the statue, his fingers brushing against the intricate carvings at its base, "Whatever this place was… it's been buried for a long time. No one's been here for centuries, maybe longer."

"Or maybe they were wiped out," Lori hissed, her eyes narrowing. "Thisss isn't a place people abandon willingly."

Asher's gaze flickered to the far end of the chamber, where a massive, crumbled gateway loomed. Beyond it, faint lights flickered like dying embers, and the air seemed to hum faintly, resonating with an energy he couldn't place.

"We need to move," he said, his voice steady but cautious, "Whatever this place is, it's not meant to be found and we have to get out of here. That Red Witch probably wanted us to be trapped here forever. Easier than trying to fight us."

Lori rumbled in agreement, reducing her size even more to snugly coil around Asher's neck like an ornate scarf and use him as her ride, "Sss, very true. Let'sss not waste time. The longer we stay, the more I feel this place watching us."

Asher's gaze shot upwards, his dark yellow eyes piercing through the oppressive darkness. His wings twitched with impatience as desperation clawed at his chest, "If we fell from above, we should be able to get out by going up," he said, his voice taut with urgency.

Lori nodded eagerly, "Right, right. Give it a try. I won't be able to take off as fast asss you," she hissed, her tone unusually cooperative.

With a sharp nod, leathery wings erupted from Asher's back, their dark green flames crackling ominously. He crouched briefly before launching upward with a thunderous burst, his speed leaving a sharp gust in his wake. The air roared around him, but just as he climbed a few feet, the entire expanse lit up briefly with a blinding, radiant white light.

The pull came again, swift and merciless, yanking him downward. He hit the ground hard, the impact sending debris flying. Lori let out an annoyed hiss as her serpentine body took the brunt of the landing as well, along with the sting of the radiant mana that coursed through her veins. Explore hidden tales at empire

"HSSSHHH, brat! Did you have to fall like that?" she hissed, wriggling off his neck and onto the ground, dusting off her shimmering scales, "My poor scales got scraped again! Do you have any idea how precioussss the makeup is for them?"

Asher groaned as he pushed himself up, shaking off the fall, "Fuck... Whatever pulled us down here is still active? It's got to be some kind of array. Now that I focused, I can feel a subtle vibration here," he muttered, frustration clear in his voice as he added, "It must be powerful enough to overpower both of us. That's insane. Forget about me—your strength is close to the Moon Guardian's, and even you didn't stand a chance."

Lori's eyes narrowed sharply, "Ssssily brat, are you mocking my strength now by comparing me to that old mutt??" she snapped, her tail flicking toward his legs in annoyance.

Asher quickly cleared his throat, stepping back, "Relax. I'm just trying to make sense of how this is possible."

Lori's tongue flicked out as she mulled over his words, "Ssss, the real question you should also ask is how radiant mana manifested here. Right now, it's gone. But the moment you tried to fly up, it came from everywhere. I still feel the sting of it on my scales. It was stronger than anything I had ever felt. You can't try escaping again without finding a way to ssstop that pull."

She paused, caressing her scales with her tail, when suddenly her eyes blinked in realization, "Wait a minute!"

"What now?" Asher asked, scanning the shadowy expanse, trying to piece together this enigmatic place.

Lori slithered up over his body, wrapping around his neck, her sharp gaze fixed on his face, "I just realized… you didn't ssshow any signs of pain or hurt when we got pulled down by whatever radiant array that was. Even now, after trying to fly up, you didn't ssssuffer like I did. How could that be, when even my majestic and powerful self got scorched from within?"

Asher's jaw tightened briefly, his gaze darting away before waving his hand dismissively, "It's because I have an immortal bloodline, okay? No offense to yours."

Lori hissed sharply into his ear, making him flinch, "Ssss! Mocking my legendary bloodline too now, brat?"

"What? You were the one who asked!" Asher shot back, rubbing his ear. He quickly shifted gears, "But we don't have time for this. I need to get back to my kingdom. We can't waste time trapped here. Can't you sense anything? Your senses are sharper than mine."

Lori sniffed the air, her tongue flickering out before narrowing her eyes, "I think… we ssshould head straight."

Asher frowned, looking around the vast, dark expanse. Dimly glowing objects scattered in all directions, making the space feel infinite, "You sure? It looks like we can walk in any direction here."

Lori tilted her head, annoyed, "You're the one who asked. There's only one way to find out."

"Fine. Let's go," Asher said decisively, his wings folding behind him as he began to sprint forward, his boots echoing faintly against the stone floor.

The two moved through the desolate ruins, the faint glow of ancient, crystalline structures providing brief glimpses of towering arches and broken spires. Asher's mind churned with questions, but he shoved them aside, focusing solely on finding an exit.