Asqa stood just outside Clyde’s chamber, silent and with her hands clasped before her.
The door remained shut but from within she could hear a deep, almost melodic humming. A sound that vibrated not through the air but through the very walls of the mansion. A resonance of something ancient that she knew very well.
She didn’t move or call out to him.
The pressure in the air was immense like the gravity of a very powerful magic was concentrated just beyond that door. She knew that the presence of the Ancient One had filled that room entirely. She could feel it brushing the edge of her own soul.
"So this is what it takes to grow stronger... in a short time," she thought.
Asqa had always known Clyde was willing to walk paths others feared. But this looks like something more dangerous than usual..
"Whatever it is... just be safe, Clyde," she thought again, closing her eyes for a brief moment.
Then she turned and walked down the hall.
In the realm of ash, Clyde lay on the ground trembling with breath ragged. The pain from the first phase still clung to him.
His body even after the rebuilt throbbed in pain. Even the act of breathing felt like inhaling fire through glass.
Above him, the mist still churned. It never stopped.
He rolled onto his side, coughed, and then forced himself upright.
Sitting cross-legged again, his arms hung loosely at his sides. His black-veined chest rose and fell in quick shallow breaths.
"That was just phase one," he remembered.
The thought made his jaw clench. How much worse could it get?
He looked down at his own hands. The fingers looked the same in shape but were no longer the hands of a man. The skin was darker, reinforced by subtle patterns like veins of obsidian. The power surged beneath them.
And then the Ancient One returned.
The mist twisted and coalesced again into that familiar, faceless humanoid silhouette, standing before him with its void-like presence.
"How are you feeling?" the Ancient One asked.
"Painful," Clyde admitted, eyes narrowing. "But... I can feel the power. It’s real."
The Ancient One gave a subtle nod. "Good. That means your soul is adapting quickly."
Clyde didn’t smile. He only studied the being carefully.
"You said this was the first phase?"
"Unfortunately, yes," the Ancient One replied with apologetic tone.
"Two," came the answer. "Each one will be harder than the last."
Clyde exhaled hard, nodding. It wasn’t comforting, but it was manageable—if he held on.
"Then let’s not wait," he said, wiping the ash from his face. "Start the next one. I’m ready."
There was a beat of silence. Then the Ancient One’s body dissolved once more into swirling black mist.
Clyde barely had time to blink before the smoke surged forward and entered him again.
He gasped in shock. There was no warning this time. .
No chance to brace. The second phase had begun almost immediately.
Bael lounged upon a seat in the grand chamber with his lips stretched in a predatory grin that refused to fade since he got the confirmation.
One by one the other Demon Kings arrived. They shrouded in smoke and gilded in their dark armor.
They took their seats at the half-circle table. None spoke until Bael’s claw tapped the table.
"You dragged us here for a reason," Paimon said. "Spill it."
Bael’s eyes burned brighter.
"I have located the man and woman who had mess with us all this time. Their sanctuary sits in a forgotten and hidden Ruin, masked by some wards. But Graemory, who turned out to be the leader among us, led me straight to them without her even knowing."
The other Demon Kings widened their eyes in shock.
"I marked her few days ago," Bael said, savoring each word. "It is a strong spying spell that I put on her soul. When she visited the anomalies the spell bloomed, then I ctransfer the spell into one of them and I saw everything."
Excitement rippled around the table. Except for Asmodeus, who forced a polite tilt of the head while his stomach knotted.
"How certain are you of the location?" Asmodeus asked.
"Certain enough to wager all our legions," Bael said. "I will tell the other realms soon and then we begin the attack, raze the Ruin, and bring their heads. Then our standing in the whole cosmos will raise because we are the ones who found them first."
Paimon gave a slow nod. Agares armored fist hit the table in approval. Plans began to form.
Asmodeus managed a thin smile, concealing the dread that churned inside him.
"I have to warn Clyde before these fools march. Somehow."
But under Bael’s hungry gaze, he merely said, "Then let us prepare."
Few seconds later the gathering broke in a flurry.
Bael stepped through his personal portal and emerged upon the obsidian dais of his chamber. The grin never left his face.
"Sound the horn of war!" he barked to the waiting generals. "Then dispatch messengers to every outer court of Hell and to the Celestial and Angel realms."
A horned lieutenant saluted, wings snapping open. "What word, my king?"
"Tell them the search is over. I, Bael, have found the anomalies’ hiding place."
The order shot down the chain of command like wildfire. Portals ignited across Bael’s domain as messengers launched to spread the news.
Towers rattled with the roar of mustering legions. Bael stood at a window of black glass, hands clasped behind his back, and watched the mobilization begin.
The moment Asmodeus passed through his violet portal, the mask of composure cracked.
He materialized inside his hall. Silk-clad servants scattered when they saw his expression.
"Out," he snapped. "All of you."
Doors slammed shut behind them. Alone.
"If Bael’s armies and the other realms move soon, I have perhaps one or two night to slip a warning to Clyde."
Asmodeus then frown deeper.
"But how am I going to send the warning while everybody is getting ready ? And Bael probably still have suspicions and have his spell attached to me or the other Demon King. I don’t think I can do anything right now."