?Sylvester stared at the demoness, trying to take a whiff of her emotions. But surprisingly, he couldn’t feel much magic in the air there. He couldn’t feel anything else besides the lava and warm energy.

“To where?”

The Empress looked behind for a moment and then resumed her steps. She walked right on top of the field of lava. As soon as she stepped a foot, rocks emerged from beneath to support her. “They watch everything.”

This time when she walked, Sylvester followed behind. True, he already expected the ‘Gods’ to be watching him by now. The fact that he still breathed was already a victory in a way.

The stones appeared under his feet just as the Empress’. They walked behind her throne, and then further into the sea of lava. The air was thick with the acrid scent of sulfur, assaulting the senses with a relentless reminder of the demonic malevolence.

Eventually, the throne vanished behind in the distance, and they kept on going. No, it wasn’t a lake of lava, but perhaps a river, as it kept flowing and getting bigger. Occasional geysers of molten fire erupt sporadically around them, casting an eerie glow that danced along the cavern walls, revealing grotesque, contorted formations and etched shapes.

‘Not the way I expected the first meeting to go like. A trap?’ Sylvester raked his brain, trying to understand where she was leading him. ‘Ready to kill then.’

Staying alert, he looked up at the overhead stalactites of obsidian hanging like lethal daggers, threatening to plunge below. 𝑖𝘦𝑎.𝗇t

Eventually, the river of lava ended, and they arrived on solid black ground made of stone. But as they entered a massive opening, Sylvester noticed they were walking on a very thin and long bridge, with deep, dark ravines on each side and no end in sight.

All of a sudden, from the swarming bright light of the lava, they had entered the darkness. But the heat was only rising there.

“We’re here,” the Empress notified at the end of the thin pathway. She placed her armored claw on the wall as it seemed like a dead end. But then the wall opened like twin doors. However, as they walked inside, it was still utter darkness.

“Follow my voice,” the Empress instructed and vanished deeper into the room. “Here… this way…”

The entire time, she called out to Sylvester, guiding him towards herself. But she had no idea what Sylvester could do. He saw everything, even in that darkness, and it made his skin crawl.

‘The same snakes I saw in the portal?!’

They were everywhere, as he could see them under his feet and even above. It didn’t require making light anymore. However, he did keep Miraj tightly close to his body.

“Where are we going?” he asked her again. “I know the reason. I need the name of the location.”

“Where they can’t hear.” She replied.

Sylvester didn’t buy it since even Nehilius couldn’t hide from the Primordial Gods. “That’s impossible.”

“Or so we thought,” the Empress said and finally exited a door similar to the one they entered. They had traveled through the tunnel of those space worms by then. If time manipulation was also one of its side effects, he didn’t know.

Zzzzzzz~

After exiting the portal-like space, the Empress closed the door behind them, and as if in response, the whole area began to illuminate with a sizzling noise. It seemed like a flat surface with a dome above it, covering the entire area around them. It was small, with enough space for the two of them to stand up comfortably.

The illumination inside the dome came in the form of rune patterns, wide and long, covering the dome ceiling to the ground. They all shined in a uniform blue light, and surprisingly, some of them were runes from Sylvester’s world, others from the Demon World, and others he couldn’t recognize.

“Generations it took to make this place possible. Knowledge of all the predecessors helped build this room.” The Empress finally seemed to speak with a relaxed tone. “Not hidden, but lost from the sight of ‘them’. We can talk openly here and hope none will hear us.”

Sylvester’s brows rose up, and he looked at all the runes around. “That portal tunnel was for this? That would mean you’ve mastered the art of making those sorts of portals?”

“Not mastered, but I have comprehended,” she answered Sylvester, walking to the dome’s middle. There, she raised her palm forward, and a small pillar protruded out with what seemed to be a magical control panel. “Again, the knowledge I gained because of the well-recorded research and findings of my ancestors.”

Sylvester found it hard to get a read on her. Her emotions didn’t flare up, leaving him to rely only on instincts. “If you had such mastery, why did your kind spread so much chaos in my world for so many centuries?”

“Lost in the transition. The trusted men and women I sent from my side were never able to arrive in your world unharmed. Their physical matter was broken, only leaving their souls that were corrupted and had to latch on to the closest object to survive—

becoming a Key, as your people call it,” she explained and started taking off her armor, starting with her helmet. “Only the strongest of the strong could survive it. Even Zama’tar barely kept his mind intact.”

He agreed with her about that. Zama’tar had to possess a human body, but he retained his honor, integrity, and knowledge, “And what is the grand reason you have to attempt to communicate with me to such an extent.”

“To share my knowledge with you and help you understand the kind of threat our two worlds face. It’s substantial and life-

threatening for all of us. Sylvester Maximilian, your world lost the last war,” the Empress informed him, hoping to find him flabbergasted and then explain everything. But to her surprise, he knew everything beforehand.

“I know. I was recently informed about it by the secluded Kingdom of Giants. Your world won the last war, and mine won the one before. The consequences were also grave, as I can see. You’ve been able to make magnificent cities while mine has just begun to rise.” Sylvester waited for her to completely take off her helmet.

Slowly, she ended up doing something that deactivated her entire suit of armor. The black, figure-hugging metal began to fold into itself on her body and vanish, revealing loose-fitted clothes inside. He didn’t expect that, but he soon got to view her entirely.

Standing a few inches taller than him, she was a woman of a warrior’s figure. Her fit, red and white clothes were more than simple robes, but the hood was still present. Her two eyes were yellow, and her skin was extremely white. However, the horns on her had vanished. As for any other demonic altercations on her body, they remained hidden.

‘I wasn’t expecting this beneath the armor.’ Sylvester felt somewhat speechless. She wasn’t ugly at all.

“Zenith,” he muttered her name. “That still didn’t answer my question. You’ve been trying to find and speak with me for over a century, even before I was born. Why such rush?”

“Because judgment day is coming. The war between our two worlds is not far away. The more time passed, the more desperation grew. Sylvester Maximilian, if we don’t come together, our already slim chances of winning will disappear completely,” The Empress replied and clicked a finger on her ring, forming a metal, engraved rod in her hands.

Sylvester was alerted and got his spear from Chonky. “I have been preparing against ‘them’. What have you been doing?”

“So you knew.” She sighed and looked down, her yellow gaze showing some emotions. “I feel less burdened now. I had expected that you’d dismiss my claims of there being Gods, so powerful we cannot imagine. I’ve seen and heard plenty through my oracle.”

‘Does she want to fight me?’ Sylvester brought up his guard.

“Tell me, Empress. How much do you know? What do you know about our entire situation? Why are we being used like this?” Sylvester directly asked the main questions.

She began walking closer to Sylvester in a fighting stance. “Since I was born, I saw my family’s ancestors work day and night to build something to help the people. I wanted to follow that tradition and invent a few things. Everything was going brilliantly until I met my Oracle—the grander fate unfolded, and now we stand face to face.”

‘She’s still keeping secrets.’ He could feel it.

Sylvester also took a battle stance. “I’ve had similar experiences, but perhaps not as smooth a rise. Almost got killed at a month old, fought all the way here… still searching for answers.”

“I will give you the answers.” The Empress stopped moving. “But first, I must know if you’re capable.”

“Hah,” Sylvester chuckled and raised his spear. “You took the words out of my mouth, Empress. But let me warn you, don’t be too surprised when defeated.”

Under that dome’s light, they prepared their mental strategy. Sylvester had no clue how powerful she was, and the Empress had only heard words about Sylvester from various reports. They both wanted to be careful and, at the same time, go all out to measure each other.

“Sylvester Maximilian, I hold no animosity towards you,” she muttered and positioned herself to strike. “We’re doing this to defeat Aveda and Ashraska!”

“So you know their names.”

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