The Prince of Demons

Nil

I should've realized that when Krahinn said something was going to be awful, it was going to be something truly agonizing. Why Luna kept glaring at Krahinn became apparent almost immediately after trying to use my <Lord's Eye> once. If I was not taking whatever this potion is, I would be dead. My body felt lighter than a feather and like I could run for miles without stopping once I drank it, but trying to use my <Arcane Eye> quickly showed why Krahinn resorted to it. All it did was shield my body from the damage, the potion did nothing to protect me from the sensation of my <Mana Channels> getting pressurized and forcefully discharging the <Backlash>. Oh, Lords above this is agonizing. You could probably have fried eggs on my eyes with how hot they felt. <Astral Scale> was purely used to get the sensation of how properly using the <Lord's Eye> should feel. I cast it again, wondering how to interpret the value.

Luna stroked my hair and horns as I replayed my failure in my mind. I'm doing something wrong. I could feel the fluctuation before my entire body surged from the <Backlash>. This is basically just reinforcing my body enough to withstand the strain. I was not looking forward to the agony that waited for me at the end of this ride if this was supposed to be the pleasant portion. Or at least the part that sucked the least of what was to come. I got <Astral Scale> down fairly quickly, but getting my <Lord's Eye> working felt like I made almost no progress after two hours and fifty-seven minutes. I needed to succeed, my time to get this working was rapidly dwindling. Just because I desire it doesn't mean it'll necessarily happen either. I shook my head as I needed a different thought.

The events of the day just kept replaying in my mind; Nyx made a literal army out of my failures. I fought the urge to sigh or scream as I mulled it over. As if the Void King was not bad enough. From one life to the next I was back on a perpetual clock and time crunch. Luna poked me, looking a bit concerned. I let out a deep, dramatic breath to focus myself a bit as whining and sulking were not productive at the moment. Like Krahinn said, my only way was through. I replayed Krahinn's description in my mind a bit more while trying to visualize how this was supposed to work. According to him, envision someone's <Astral Scale> coming to reality as I bent the <Veil> with my <Arcane Eye>.

Again, I attempted to replicate the sensation of <Astral Scale> through my <Arcane Eye> to see if maybe something would change, reinforcing my eyes a bit with <Mana> hoping for a slightly better result. Powerful fluctuations went through the space around us as it surged back against me, making my eyes feel super heated for a few moments as Krahinn dissipated the damage. Despite him protecting me from the severe portion, shooting agony roared through my eyes and skull. Lords above that hurts. It felt like my eyes were being pressurized just enough to keep them from boiling out of my skull. I was clutching my face, trying my hardest not to scream. Oh what fresh suffering am I in for? How bad was what came after this? I had to endure, and I knew I was not getting to sleep either. My time for breaks was for when it was physically impossible to move for a bit.

What was I doing wrong? Krahinn couldn't give me a much better explanation as his original four were quite thorough on trying to describe the sensations. Wait, Krahinn never said try to replicate <Astral Scale> with my <Arcane Eye>. That was some wasted time; just fantastic. Now that I was thinking through what Krahinn said a bit better, his description was purely describing the <Lord's Eye> and nothing else; <Astral Scale> was purely to get a feel for moving the <Veil>, not what I was actively trying to do. I let my frustration slow me down. I took a few composing breaths as I thought of how to use just my <Arcane Eye>. The entire sensation and <Mana> likely went through only my <Arcane Eye>. With that vision in mind, I tried again. I poured <Mana> into my <Arcane Eye> similar to when I used <Future Peek>, seeing shimmers of Luna's movement around her. I began bending the <Veil>, wanting to manifest her <Astral Scale> in front of us.

There was good news, this was distinct improvement over the entirety of my other attempts. Unfortunately, I got to learn my attempts up until this point were not even remotely close to making this work. From my eyes down I could have sworn I felt my body detonate from my <Mana Channels> as the <Backlash> completely overwhelmed me. It all reverted in an instant as I was panting on the ground, feeling the pain of my body ripping itself apart linger. My eyes still felt like they were dripping between my fingers as I clutched them. Luna used <Rejuvenation> to soothe me as I was fighting the urge to bawl. What was that? That hurt, that hurt far more than anything I tried so far. Something clicked. That's why Krahinn isn't the target. He just rewound time a few seconds to before I activated my <Arcane Eye> so I never took the <Backlash> in the first place. It didn't dissipate the pain all the way as my brain still perceived it, but it stopped me from accumulating multiple severe <Backlashes>.

"If that's the method you were going to use, why did I need to drink these vials?" I inquired, trying to contain just how bad that hurt.

"It is to buy me the rough second I need to activate it. It also gives a slight margin of error so there is no lasting harm from this. There was the added benefit of while you were figuring out the sensation of me not needing to shield and dissipate the <Backlash> as much. Now that you know the starting point, you better be ready to endure that sensation every attempt until you get it right. Make no mistake, that level of <Backlash> is crippling even once, let alone repeatedly. The more margin we can give ourselves the better. I know it hurts, but you need to persevere." Krahinn explained. He at least sounded sincere, which was a bit comforting. Not a lot, but it was better than nothing.

"I didn't see what happened." Luna confessed. She seemed a bit ashamed of that fact for some reason.

"Because Krahinn turned back the clock the second or so before I activated it. The failure I think detonated my eyes." I informed her, trying to find it in me to try again. That hurt. That truly, forling hurt. Luna looked a bit horrified.

"Do not dwell on that Nil; forward is the only way." Krahinn instructed. He was right, not that it made me feel any better.

"It's okay, Nil. You'll get there. I know you can do it." Luna assured me. I wish her face was more convincing. But I had to; a lot was riding on my ability to figure this out.

I sighed as I replayed my last attempt in my head. It at least did what I needed it to, and my attempt did manage to bend the <Veil> with my <Arcane Eye>. The feeling of my eyes and <Mana Channels> detonating from the strain replayed in my mind as well. I shuddered as I shoved that thought down. I cannot falter. I had to keep it together for now; after this ordeal I was going to bawl like a bezka as I screamed at the top of my lungs. Not what I needed to focus on. I begrudgingly began another attempt. Maybe a bit more conservative this time so the pain is not as bad. I could see the motions of Luna around her as I began engaging my <Arcane Eye>; I held it a bit more, seeing the <Mana> around us swirl. Unlike Tenebrae, where we were was deprived of ambient <Mana>, so it was just the <Mana> of the three of us. Weirdly, I could see these faint lines floating through the <Null Space>. What are those? Several were gently swaying around, seeming to be attached to nothing, a few went to me, and they resembled strands as they went to Luna. Out of curiosity, I tried pulling on one with the <Mana> exerted from my <Arcane Eye>.

Oh, that's what they are. My curiosity was rewarded with the <Veil> violently bending between us before another surge blasted my eyes out of my skull. Fire erupted through my <Mana Channels>, scorching every nerve it could find. Before the sensation got much worse, Krahinn turned back time a few seconds while I clutched my face again. Forling Lords that hurt. How is it just as bad each time? Seriously, how does it feel like the pain is greater each attempt? Luna used her <Mana> to soothe the pain and heal any residual little damage that I might have had. I really wish healing <Magic> could take away the pain. The sensation of her <Mana> against me feeling nice was doing more than anything else. Those strings were likely some remnants or artifacts of the <Veil> the <Lord's Eye> could see. Pulling on them was definitely not the correct move as that surge was violent and uncontrolled. I rubbed my face a few more times, mentally preparing to activate my <Arcane Eye> again.

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I closed my eyes, taking a few deep breaths as the last of the pain dissipated. How did I need to manipulate those strings? Were they even necessary? What I thought was a light tug nearly evaporated my body from existence. I went through the initial steps again, getting back to the point that I could see the strings. The annoying part is, once I get it to work once, I need to practice this and do it faster. This is taking far too long currently. I shook my head. Getting the blasted <Lord's Eye> to work was the first step; getting it to work well was for after that. Thinking it over, it made sense that the <Veil> had some traceable part given it was around us constantly. It at the end of the day was still a construct.

That was an interesting thought, why would Kron need to invoke their own construct to do this? Would it be to simplify the usage, or was that the wrong way of looking at it? Technically, I was borrowing the <Veil> and what made <Astral Scale> function to try and manifest it with <Magic>. But, Kron had to measure it somehow. Kron somehow had to come up with a measurement of a person's actions. How did it determine bad from good? I'm going to pop my eyes once more and then I have an idea I want to try as I recover. I attempted to gently coax the strings with my eye, once again eviscerating myself with the sheer amount of <Backlash> it produced. I lay on the ground, eyes closed as pain rampaged throughout my body. That was a spectacular failure. I began to pray, hoping Kron would be able to hear it despite the fact I was in an isolated <Null Space>. It was worth a shot, never know what might happen. The world slipped around me for a moment, as I found myself in a similar, albeit definitely Lord constructed, <Null Space>.

"Thanks Kron." I stated immediately, seeing their familiar shape.

"I noticed your last attempt to talk with me was rudely hijacked by Nyx, and I can only imagine how that went. Then you prayed to me from a <Null Space> in Ygdazi. So, what flavor of desperate are you currently?" Kron taunted. I could feel their smugness as their blank form stared at me.

"I will be honest; I did want to ask you for a favor. Nyx created some odd <Magic> construct that piggybacked a <Spell> or construct of sorts off of when I cast <Fate Reversal> to create a <Homunculi> army of a person that utterly despises me, and now said army is about to be released upon Umbra." I explained to Kron. Kron began chuckling much to my chagrin.

"I will say, never a dull moment when you need a favor. That is quite the pickle you find yourself in." Kron teased. That wasn't a no thankfully.

"I know your ability and willingness to interfere or intervene are limited, so I just want to ask you a tangential question. How does <Astral Scale> work? How do you get the <Veil> to measure someone's karma for lack of a better word?" I inquired. Kron mulled it over as they began chuckling harder.

"Someone is trying to get my <Lord's Eye> to work. Not some half-hearted usage of it either, but rather the full ability imbued within it. That is a good steppingstone to making that ability work, though I imagine the idea is to use the <Lord's Eye> to forcefully turn your opponent's <Astral Scale> to zero and use the resulting manifestation to probably kill them. If it is of a sufficiently negative value, which I would gander someone being assisted by Nyx would possess, that is quite an effective tool against a large army." Kron deduced. Well, Kron at least understood what I was after. Now whether they were in a good enough mood to help me was the question. Or if they felt like being generous.

"I have maybe thirty hours to get it working and able to repeat it well enough to face the army." I added on, hoping Kron would give me some insight.

"One second." Kron replied while putting a finger to my head. I could feel Kron scan my brain for a second as I felt annoyance dripping off of them.

"Nyx made sure to obscure her words from being replayed by a fellow Lord meaning she played with what she's supposed to do." Kron sighed in annoyance, shaking their head.

"That's possible?" I checked as I was kind of surprised. Did she alter my memories?

"No, she simply put a shrouding <Magic> over what she did as she talked to you that distorts any replay of the memory through a <Spell> like <Remembrance of Memory> to use an example you know. As much as I generally loathe stooping to her level, I feel I am not going to let what she did here slide entirely." Kron informed me. Yes! I felt a massive flood of relief.

"Thank you so much!" I told Kron immediately, jumping in joy.

"I wouldn't get too excited there, Nil. I am still bound by the <Veil>. However, I do have enough for some direct insight." Kron pointed out. I would take it. Insight from the Lord themselves would hopefully help substantially.

"I will still take it. Thank you so much for any insight you are willing to provide." I replied enthusiastically.

"I saw you managed to see the little artifacts left by the <Veil>, which while able to bend and adjust massive folds of the <Veil> at once, I would highly advise against trying to manipulate those currently as that is not the unique portion of my <Lord's Eye>. Krahinn could do that trick if he ever felt so inclined, not that the sort of <Magic> is overly useful." Kron explained. I nodded along, making sure to commit every detail to memory.

"Understood." I said, wondering what Kron was about to say next.

"<Astral Scale> measures how the thought and actions of one being influenced another, as well as the intent. It is a massive construct I personally tied into the <Veil> to create a sort of measuring standard with Utol to determine who deserved help or punishment should we ever want to intervene or do something. It mainly exists to assist Utol with determining whether to move a soul into their next life or destroy them quickly so she doesn't have to judge their life each and every time. Trying to concisely summarize that would be a massive waste of time as that's not actually what you want from me." Kron informed me. What? How? On paper that is exactly what I wanted.

"I understand the confusion, but I am not going to clarify that point as it uses too much <Veil>. The part you care about is this: my <Lord's Eye> can rapidly condense the <Veil> to enact a vision. Each of our <Lord's Eyes> can be described in a manner similar to that by the way; a singular phrase of what they are able to twist the <Veil> into doing. Krahinn was absolutely correct in stating mine can manifest what can be. His description also was pretty spot on, with a minor flaw or two but given what he had to work with to learn that it is still massively impressive." Kron elaborated for me.

"What do you mean condense the <Veil> to enact a vision?" I inquired. Kron bobbled their head back and forth a little bit as they thought of how to phrase their answer.

"You are doing it backwards. You were trying to manifest an <Astral Scale> with the <Veil> to zero it out; you should be manifesting what will zero it out with the <Veil>. What can be; the <Astral Scale> value can be zero, and my <Lord's Eye> shall make it so." Kron answered. That made sense! I could use that! That was an amazing reference point!

"Thank you so much!" I told Kron, hugging them in excitement.

"Good luck, Nil. Hopefully we get to speak again." Kron stated as I felt myself slip back to Ygdazi. I saw Luna and Krahinn looking at me; both looked concerned, but Krahinn had this seething anger as he looked at me.

"How much time passed?" I checked immediately. Krahinn was glaring at me, his eyes glowing dangerously.

"Almost thirty minutes." Krahinn snapped, sounding irritated.

"It was worth it!" I assured him, shooting to my feet.

With Kron's words echoing in my mind, I began using my <Arcane Eye> again. Getting to the proper sensation of where I could see the <Veil> was taking too long, but I had time to practice that. Please work. Please tell me I had the right idea. What can be. Manifest what will zero it out, not the other way around. Wait, if I wanted to practice, I needed to not zero it out but take an amount off. One hundred should be fine, I could do that plenty of times while hopefully being noticeable. The mechanism and process behind how it worked was a bit shaky for my liking, but I exerted <Mana> through my <Arcane Eye>, instead of bending the <Veil>, pulling it together as I envisioned dropping Luna's <Astral Scale> by a hundred. A small, warm light radiated out around us, and Luna looked illustrious as she glowed faintly. Krahinn shielded me from the massive <Backlash> as the approach was off, but it didn't require him to reverse the clock this time.

"Why did you heal me? Or do some odd buff on me?" Luna inquired as she didn't grasp what just happened. I jumped in joy as Krahinn now looked more concerned than angry.

"It worked!" I cheered, still feeling the pain from the <Backlash> Krahinn stunted.

"Way to go Nil!" Luna praised me, giving me a massive hug. I still had a long way to go with very little time to work with.

"Congratulations Nil. Now, you need to keep practicing as that was woefully short of what we need." Krahinn told me. He was right, but thankfully there was finally some light in this tunnel.