A map of Valtia was hanging on the wall inside. It was an impressive piece of craftsmanship, illustrating the four corners of the known world.

  The bulk of livable land in Valtia was comprised of a single large continent, territorially divided into northern, southern, and eastern sections. Each of those three cardinal directions was home to an independent nation; separate factions grouped together on the same landmass.

  And in the west, there were the Severed Isles. Its territory was a series of tightly-knit, ocean-locked islands. The Isles were close enough to the main continent to be reachable by boat, yet far enough to be relatively isolated from the other three nations.

  The map also depicted some major settlements throughout Valtia. One location in each country had been emblazoned with a star – their capital cities, according to Identify. Little else was portrayed about the nations across the sea, which was to be expected for a map devised by a society with minimal information sharing.

  But for the section containing the Severed Isles, where the map's cartographer presumably lived, much more detail had been incorporated. Cities, towns, roads, areas of interest...it was a surprisingly extensive effort. Even minor villages like Springwater were included.

  Simon had filled every inch of the map's available space. Notes and theories about the various settlements were jotted down everywhere. Lines of thread connected cities seemingly at random. Question marks had been employed freely and without reservation, as if scribbled by an asylum inmate going through a manic episode.

  Admittedly, he hadn't realized how crazy it all appeared until he saw it reframed by the look on Katarina's face. "You did this?" she asked. Her tone indicated that she was hoping otherwise, yet already knew the answer.

  "I was...contemplating things."

  "That much is apparent, yes."

  She frowned, reading over the physical representation of Simon's thought processes. "How do you know that Fairweather Village is having trouble growing food this year? It's at the opposite end of the Severed Isles."

  Identify told him when he'd used it on the village's map marker. "Learned it from Demon magic."

  Katarina hummed noncommittally, peering closer at his writings. Despite her previous skepticism, she seemed interested in whatever secrets his 'Demon magic' had revealed to him.

  She's distracted, he thought. Now's as good a time as any.

  From outside Katarina's field of vision, Simon cast Sin Scry on her.

  The Skill was soundless and gave no visual indication that it was being used. He need only direct it at a person, and it would reveal their worst sins to him.

  Identify had already confirmed that she'd never killed anyone – until Relia, anyway – but the information it provided was constrained to a short text box, and limited by his own biases. Sin Scry could fill in the gaps that Simon was missing.

  He wanted to know more before he got his hopes up too much.

  The transmigrator sank into a torpor as scenes from another life played out before his eyes.

  'Katarina. Famished and emaciated. Stealing food from someone who wouldn't miss it.'

  'Katarina. Her young fists crashing into a just-as-young face. Reputation established in the pecking order of Caelryn City's underbelly, a machine that eats children alive and spits out the gristle.'

  'Katarina. Still hungry. Stealing food from someone who *would* miss it – her own loving father. Regrets it horribly the very next day.'

  'Katarina. Given the offer to join one of Caelryn's biggest, wealthiest gangs. She just needs to take a life to prove her dedication. Refuses them and openly balks at their savagery, but on the inside...is tempted.'

  'Katarina. Not quite as hungry. Pilfers an expensive bauble from a passing merchant because, for once, she wanted something for herself that looked pretty.'

  'Katarina. Older now. Ambushed in an alley at night, gentle moonlight illuminating a man's murderous smile. Knifing him in the stomach, steel ripping flesh, blood splattering on the pavement. Managing to dodge as a dagger sails right over her head. Escaping from his clutches as he shrieks for her to come back.'

  'Katarina. About to leave Caelryn City with her father. Stopped at the exit by a power-tripping guard for no real reason at all. Decides that she'd be willing to kill him if he continues barring their path.

  Doesn't end up needing to, but she would have.'

  Simon suppressed a harsh intake of air as he came back to his senses.

  From what he could tell, his trance had only lasted around five seconds...although it certainly felt like longer. He'd used Sin Scry twice – first on Lucia, then on Katarina – and it was equally disorienting each time. The Skill made him wholly focused on what he was watching, submersing him Katarina's inner thoughts and feelings, almost as if he'd forgotten his own existence.

  Should avoid using it in the middle of battle, he determined. Or any situation where I need to stay on-guard. A few seconds of blanking out is a few seconds where someone could slit my throat.

  Simon forced his nerves to relax, gazing at Katarina as she perused the map of Valtia. While Sin Scry hadn't shown every last detail of her past, he'd still learned much from its visions.

  To be honest...the results were surprising. Definitely not what he'd predicted.

  Those were her worst sins?

  Stealing food when hungry? Pre-teen scuffles? Injuring a deranged murderer in self-defense? Swiping a trinket off a merchant who probably didn't even notice it was gone? Merely thinking about killing people to better her standing?

  Simon opened up his Character Sheet, scrolling down to Sin Scry's Description.

  Sin Scry (Rank MAX)

  -When used on a sentient creature, this Skill will show the worst sins they have committed to you.

  -There is no cooldown limit, but...take care. Not all is meant to be known or seen.

  The Skill had made itself sound all ominous and foreboding. When he eventually used it on other people, perhaps it would still prove those warnings true. Yet when used on someone like Katarina, it had only exemplified that she was a truly decent person.

  Simon knew how difficult it was to be a decent person in an environment that rewarded cruelty. He'd failed that test himself on numerous occasions.

  Alright. Standing straighter, he walked up to stand beside Katarina. Shouldn't procrastinate any longer. She's overdue an explanation.

  He would've given it to her regardless of what Sin Scry revealed – she'd earned that much from him – but now he actually felt comfortable speaking his mind.

  "I made a Contract with Lucia," Simon explained. A smirk played at his lips when Katarina whirled towards him in surprise. "It's the same terms you saw before. No changes. However...I still gained more than she realized."

  "Aha!" Her eyes shimmered with a petty sense of victory. "I knew you had another angle! What is it? A treasure hidden beneath the village we didn't know of, and now it belongs to you?"

  "The treasure is the village itself. By seizing authority of Springwater, I've empowered another of my demonic abilities. All native residents are partially compelled to follow my orders – even if they aren't under Contract."

  A shadow passed over Katarina's expression. "Partially...compel?" She took a step back from him. "What precisely does that entail?"

  "Not sure," Simon admitted. "Tested it with Lucia, and she ignored whatever commands she outright disagreed with. Should mean that people will be less likely to ignore my wishes and go after Gerold, if that helps."

  He'd known this part of the explanation wouldn't be well-received. Any sane person would feel disturbed at him pseudo-mind-controlling an entire village.

  She still deserved to hear the truth.

  "There's something else," he continued. "Another aspect of my demonic ability. While residing in Springwater – or other areas under my authority – my power and mana are both doubled."

  Katarina let out a low whistle. "Would've been nice to have that when we were battling the Beast." She tried to sound lighthearted, but there was an unmistakable tension in her voice. "A village under your thumb and a boost to your strength? I guess you've won yourself a great victory."

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  "Is that what you think?"

  He didn't say it unkindly – more like he was asking her a legitimate question. "You think rescuing Springwater Village and strengthening my power is a great victory?"

  "Well..." As if ambushed by a pop quiz, Katarina furrowed her brow. "Why wouldn't it be? Springwater isn't the richest or most important place in the world, but a village is a village. That's thousands of people who cannot gainsay your will. You could live whatever kind of life you desired here."

  Her answer was one that most others would have put forth. Yet it was an answer narrow in scope, bound by the knowledge and preconceptions of the person answering.

  Simon glanced over at the map of Valtia. She doesn't see the big picture. How could she? Was never given the chance. Would take an outside force to clue her in – to shake things up.

  Like a transmigrator from another world.

  It was time to rouse Katarina from her waking dream.

  "I have no memory of Valtia from before eleven days ago," Simon began.

  She did a quick double-take at him. "Come again?"

  "My earliest memories here are of waking up outside, surrounded by a newborn Fell Beast and the corpses of strangers. I didn't know where I was. I didn't know who I was. I don't even know if I'm really a Demon – could be a human endowed with demonic abilities. The slavers were the first people I met, and I only managed to get in their good graces by pretending to be family. 'Cobblestone' isn't my last name."

  Realization hit Katarina like a freight train. "That's why you ask bizarre questions sometimes," she breathed, in a tone of wonderment. "You weren't feigning ignorance or attempting to lead the conversation in specific ways. You just didn't know."

  He nodded. "I've gotten very good at improvising over these past eleven days, let me tell you."

  That was the most truthful origin story he could give – at least while being restricted by Sworn to Secrecy. He'd only omitted his encounter with the Sealed Demon of Ruination, and that was out of strict necessity. The less people who knew of Kirkelas' existence, the better.

  Katarina stared at Simon as if seeing him with new eyes. "How did this happen? Was it by injury? A curse, maybe? I've heard instances of Fell magic devouring people's memories."

  She believed me rather quickly. Then again, my behavior thus far hasn't exactly been normal – not by human *or* Demon standards. Me being a bluffing amnesiac is as good of an explanation as any.

  "I couldn't tell you what caused it," Simon replied, because he literally, physically couldn't. "Nor do I care to find out. Whatever life I had before is gone; I'm far more interested in the here and now."

  "...And what do you intend to do?" An undercurrent of tension had returned to her voice. "Do you even have a goal you're striving towards, or were you simply reacting to each moment as it came?"

  "There was a fair amount of that when I was lost and starving, but don't misjudge me. I've always had a higher purpose in mind."

  There were two directions that the rest of their conversation could go in. First, he could try to convince Katarina of Valtia's impending apocalypse. That would give his final declaration of intent much more gravitas.

  But while he wanted to be honest with her...it was a hard sell. They'd just barely established something resembling trust between each other. Jumping from 'I've lost my memories' to 'the world ends in less than a year' would be a stretch so tenuous that it might just snap entirely.

  Fortunately – in a grim sort of way – there was a more immediate, verifiable disaster to use as a springboard.

  "The Water Artifact will run out of mana in six months."

  Shock and horror rapidly spread across Katarina's face. "What? No. That can't be. Water Artifacts are created to last for hundreds of years."

  "That was before a Fell Beast drained it for hours." Simon shook his head, a somber air about him. "Six months. Confirmed it with my Demon magic."

  Katarina's posture sagged. "That's...I was hoping for my father to stay here. What are these people going to do when the Artifact turns barren?"

  "Die."

  As if that one word was a slap in the face, she flinched back. "Have some tact, Simon," Katarina snarled.

  "Why?" He tilted his head in a quizzical manner. "Does it matter if they're going to die?"

  "Of course it matters, you blackhearted–"

  "Then why weren't they doing anything to prevent that?"

  Simon's voice took on a calm yet harsh edge, each word cutting like a soft knife. "Although you claim that Water Artifacts are usable for centuries, Lucia assumed that this one would only persist for a single decade longer. Almost everyone in Springwater Village right now would've lived to see its end. But...was there a plan in place? Would they have bothered making a plan in the next ten years? Or would they have just waited until the last minute and–"

  Recognizing that some pent-up bitterness was leaking through, he pulled back and refocused. "What I'm saying is that Springwater Village has always had a limited shelf life. With no funds to purchase a new Water Artifact, their days were numbered from the start. Ten years or six months – what difference does it make?"

  Katarina glared at him. "Nine years and six months of difference. That's invaluable time spent with family and loved ones! The people of Springwater deserved better than this!"

  She was getting angry. Good. Anger was what they needed. When harnessed properly, it was like fuel for the soul, pushing people to break their shackles of ennui and enact real change in their lives.

  He just had to redirect that anger to its proper source.

  "So this is a tragedy, then?" Simon leaned closer. "A village painfully dying out is horrific? Despicable? Appalling?"

  Katarina clenched her fists, seeming a hairsbreadth away from striking him. "All of that and more."

  "Is that so? And I imagine there's plenty more places out there like this one. Settlements on their last legs, with no hope for a brighter future. Soon to be hollowed-out graveyards in a few years at best. Unless–"

  He reached over, slamming his palm against the world map like a thunderclap.

  "–Someone takes action."

  Katarina's gaze shifted over to the map, revisiting its notes and scribbles. Whatever retort she'd been building to died in her throat. She went silent, not quite grasping what he was getting at just yet...

  Though by how the muscles tightened around her eyes, her subconscious was quickly catching up.

  "This sorry state of affairs wasn't caused by a mistake or bad luck," Simon continued. "It's the result of intentional choices made by people who don't care if their 'lessers' perish. Nobles levy heavy taxes on the lower castes, depriving them of money and mana both – and even threatening them if the commoners dare step out of line. Despite Springwater being on the brink of ruination, Lucia refused to call in outside help from the cities, because she was terrified that they would invent an excuse to cull the 'Fell-tainted' rabble."

  He sent a sideways glance at Katarina. "Not that the cities are much better-off. Never been there myself, but correct me if I'm wrong: most people are poor, hungry, and struggling to survive. They live a bit more comfortably than rural villages, which lets them convince themselves that they're doing okay, but in truth they're just fighting for scraps at the table. The lion's share of wealth and power is owned by the nobility."

  "Merchants too," she murmured. "Moneyed institutions. Guilds, traders...slavers."

  "All propped up by the ever-esteemed Lords and Ladies of Valtia. They're like one big serpent, squeezing people dry, crushing the life out of them with each passing year. And what do we do when fighting a serpent?"

  Blue light glowed around Simon's palm. In a flash of motion, he plunged a summoned dagger into the map, piercing it through the star marker designating the Severed Isles' capital city.

  "We cut off its head."