Nicolai felt the Demon’s surprise, its fury, as his Soul Sense penetrated into the midst of its effort and reached the Symbiote. Then the Demon’s Soul Sense tightened around the Symbiote, blocking him.

  You… hissed Paxolnaz, and Nicolai felt a pulse of power, felt and saw its Soul Sense rising and writhing, preparing to crush him.

  But then the Demon’s Soul Sense froze. For around the room, dull red panes of light were materialising, and an unseen pressure was settling down on them. Something was watching. Nicolai knew what this represented. Heaven was watching. The Contract was preparing to activate.

  Paxolnaz let out a faint sound of disgust and its focus returned to the Symbiote, continuing its work, but it made no effort to push Nicolai’s Soul Sense away.

  A grin floated over his features. This was because pushing his Soul Sense away would apparently trigger the Contract. He was unable to intervene in what it was doing, because the pressure of the Contract was pressuring him, too, but he was able to watch. He settled as close as he could, feeling at what was happening in the Symbiote.

  Paxolnaz, he realised, was encountering some trouble. Whatever it was doing to the Contract was not a simple process. As he watched, he began to recognise some of the words and phrases it was working on, but the bulk of it remained a confusing mess.

  Unable to interfere, Nicolai simply settled in and watched carefully, joined by Threat Analysis and Cyberwarfare, all of them viewing the process through his Soul Sense, getting a feel for what Paxolnaz was doing. The Modules were recording it all in great detail. He could feel Paxolnaz’s fury that he was spying on this process and that it could not stop him from watching. The boiling rage pressed against him, and it felt merely warm. Something soothing that gave him constant satisfaction.

  Though a minor victory, this was still a kind of victory. As he observed he realised that the Symbiote Paxolnaz was using had limits. He saw the True Demon pushing for large changes, but the Symbiote strained and was unable to bring them into bring. Instead, it was forced to make more minor changes, and adjust things in the other direction, to gain enough stretch in the Contract to do what it wished.

  Something crucial became apparent to him in this moment. The Blind Judge was a limited type of Symbiote. As Paxolnaz used it, a kind of vital force within it was being devoured. He could sense how this would not restore. From what he felt, the Blind Judge would only have a single use left after this.

  The Blind Judge was now chewing thoroughly at the words it had absorbed, and Nicolai saw that the Demon was finished. The Blind Judge spat the words out. The words spun around the room then split, half returning to Nicolai, half to Paxolnaz.

  Nicolai’s Mark shimmered and burned, and he was quick to press on it, opening up his Contracts and selecting the one he’d made with Paxolnaz, then skimming down the list to see how, exactly, it would look. He knew the rough changes Paxolnaz had been going for, but not the precise form they would take.

  Paxolnaz had created a new condition. Now, it did not need to fulfil its final part of the Contract and tell him where he could find the Lizard. At least, not after thirty days was up, as had initially been in the Contract.

  Now, he needed to do something first.

  It is deeply disappointing to me that you still haven’t retrieved the Sword, Paxolnaz murmured, its voice a sibilant echo. You have yet to even create the Lotus Blossom Soul Trap. You will go, and you will take the Sword, and only then shall I tell you the location of the Lizard.

  If that had been all, Nicolai wouldn’t have been concerned. But he knew what was coming next.

  The Demon’s eyes flared and a bloody smile stretched in the black furnace of its skull. And, to ensure you are properly motivated, you will receive punishment the more time passes without taking the Sword. It’s Soul Sense writhed and stretched towards him.

  Nicolai stood there, ready, waiting, and full up with grim acceptance. He didn’t bother fighting back as the Demon’s Soul Sense wrapped him because he knew it was useless. Now it had changed the Contract, it was allowed to use force to do this to him. If he fought back, it would be free to do more damage in response.

  The Demon’s Soul Sense pressed tight, crawling around him, digging into his Soul from every direction.

  Nicolai couldn’t move, he couldn’t think, all he could do was feel an endless, buzzing pain that reached into and him through, an invasion, one he was helpless to resist, and he could feel it building, building. There came a flare of red and Nicolai screamed as his Soul was flayed.

  Soul Rot slammed into him, everywhere at once. He dimly felt his knees hit the floor. His entire body was burning and freezing all at once. This wasn’t like when the Library Guardian had infected his arm with Soul Rot, this time it was everywhere.

  He frothed and gurgled as he clenched his Soul, a burn of Oma leaving from his Node as it went to try and fight back at the spread. Threat Analysis, Cyberwarfare, and the Mask all joined him, disparate parts of his Soul fighting by his side.

  He and the others quickly reached the maximum of their ability to fight back, and the spread of the Soul Rot deeper into him was slowed, held at bay but always pushing, seeking to claim more. As his awareness returned to the world around him, he noticed a more significant change.

  The vision granted by his Soul Sense tendril was very slightly more fuzzy than it had previously been. The infection interfered in some way with his Soul Sense.

  His eyes opened and his gaze settled balefully onto the True Demon, looming in a dark corner and watching him with gloating red eyes.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  You will not find any way to remove this curse, not here, nor anywhere near to here. Only I can remove it, and it is only going to get worse. So, human, go and get the Sword. Its eyes narrowed, and it flowed toward him.

  Nicolai remained still, neck prickling as it slowly circled him.

  Make sure you complete the Lotus Blossom Soul Trap first, murmured Paxolnaz into his ear. I’ll tell you what will happen if you do not: the wielder of the Blade is an undead Cultivator who was once at the Third Tier of the Foundation Realm. He wants a body and will attempt to seize yours. You must use the Lotus Blossom Soul Trap to avoid this fate. Otherwise, you will be possessed. You wouldn’t want that, would you?

  The living dark of the Demon’s form settled into the space before him, gazing down. Is that clear?

  ‘Crystal,’ murmured Nicolai, struggling with what was boiling within him. Calm, calm, he hissed, shoving the darkness within him down, struggling to get it back into the cage. It was sending him deluded urges, to attack the demon or to kneel before it. He needed to think.

  This is a kindness from me, human, whispered Paxolnaz. You see, I believe that you have great potential. Truly, I only wish to help you. Gaining the Blade will be a great boon to you. But, alas, you do not show the proper alacrity in taking to this task. It saddens me to see such potential wasted. A bloodstain smile curved its features.

  Nicolai’s face remained empty as he stared back at it. He knew there was no kindness in what Paxolnaz had done. It was a shrewd, dangerous, calculating being, and it had done all of this with an aim in mind.

  He didn’t allow himself to think what floated in the depths of his mind. Instead, he thought something else entirely. Maybe the sword will help me find the Lizard?

  You hide something from me, don’t you, human… it murmured, the red light within it moving closer to him. But no matter. You have no choice. Go and find the Blade, and be quick. I will give you two final gifts; first, a warning, though you shouldn’t truly need it. You may have noticed the castle is trembling. It will not remain standing much longer. I will destroy the Core, and it will crumble. Paxolnaz began to drift backwards, its black fire sucking into the stone. Retrieve the Blade before that happens. I estimate you have two weeks before the Soul Rot consumes you. So, y—

  It’s voice cut off, and Nicolai saw a sudden change in the Demon’s visage. He sensed something like consternation.

  I have detected a signal, spoke Threat Analysis, and the part of Threat Analysis within his Soul drew his attention through his body, to the cage, to the hole. It had been monitoring that area closely ever since they spoke to the Angel.

  From the hole, which Nicolai now knew was more correctly a link to something called the Interior, he could faintly hear something. When he focused on it, the sound grew suddenly louder. It ripped from a whisper to a roar.

  FREE ME! FREE ME, MY HOST! FREE ME!

  With these words Nicolai saw a vision. He saw a world underground, masses of bugs and undead at war. In the centre of this hovered a great shimmering crystal, and within it something lurked, and hungered, and raged for its release.

  His mind snapped back to his body and he experienced a moment of vertigo, the world leaning around him so he had to plant a hand on the floor. His gaze was drawn to where Paxolnaz had stood.

  Only some shreds of dark fire remained, and as he watched they were extinguished. The True Demon was gone, disappeared without even finishing its sentence.

  That must have been the pulse the Angel had spoke of. The pulse of the Demon’s master, which it had said would draw it away.

  Nicolai was now certain that Paxolnaz could observe his thoughts to at least some degree, and as such had been doing best to think not at all on what the Angel had said. The less the enemy knows, the better. But if it was to be believed, the Demon should now be drawn away.

  His Mark flared with sudden light.

  New Quest: Demonic Designs

  Paxolnaz, True Demon of the 9th Circle, has designs on your body and Soul. Escaping from the clutches of a higher reality being will not be easy.

  To pass this quest you need only survive and avoid possession for long enough that Paxolnaz’s master is freed, and the Demon is pulled away.

  His eyes narrowed, looking the text over carefully. He hadn’t expected this, but it had some positive ramifications. The Quest made everything official, in a way, putting the situation in a stark light. It spelled out clearly that his odds were just as bad as expected… but the simple fact of the Quest told him that victory was possible. He even had a clear win condition.

  However, there was no new useable information, only confirmation of what he’d already known. The Angel had already told him about Paxolnaz’s master. This did lead him to wonder if the Quest would even have triggered, if it weren’t for him learning as much as he had.

  If he did survive he’d get a Quest reward. One that by all rights should be significant, considering the Quest itself said it wouldn’t be easy. The harder the job, the greater the reward, right? And this task was levels of magnitude above any of his previous Quests. Nicolai dismissed the notification, considering.

  The Blade was obviously a trap. It had always been a trap. The Demon had said, long ago, that the Blade contained one of its brethren. Another True Demon. Nicolai supposed that the moment he touched it the careful balance within him would be broken as the pressure of this Demonic Blade joined the pressures of the dark and the hole and Paxolnaz behind it. He would lose the battle for his Soul.

  He could not allow that. He had to somehow outwit and outmanoeuvre the Demon, but he was starting from a very bad position.

  The fact it had mentioned the Blade all the way back then told him the Demon had had designs on him since the moment he released it. All this time it had been in the background, watching him, pushing and poking at him with every indirect means available to it, free to scheme and prepare.

  He’d been in the dark, extremely vulnerable, and he’d only become truly aware this very day—as the Demon was launching its first real move.

  Telling him to get the Blade, infecting him with Soul Rot to force him to do so, and even dangling the Lizard before him… Nicolai was sure this would not be the last of its moves. This was all happening in an arena he was unfamiliar with, this world of strange magic and uncanny beings. But the shape of events was enough for him to recognise what was going on. This move by the Demon was setup, prep work. It must know he had no trust for it and was now warned against it. But it showed itself and brazenly demanded he get the Blade.

  Obviously he would try to find any way to remove the Soul Rot and avoid the Blade, in spite of its words that this was impossible. And the Lizard? Nicolai wanted to know the Lizard’s location, but it was not an overwhelming need. Paxolnaz had been able to find the location; surely there would be others who could tell him the same. He was more than willing to discard the location of the Lizard rather than touch that Blade.

  The Demon must know this, because it had been silently monitoring his thoughts. He didn’t know what it was planning, but it was planning something.

  He felt that plan must pivot on the Blind Judge. It could only be used twice at most, and Paxolnaz had just used its first use. The other use the Demon was holding back. What might it do with that use? He would have to try and work that out.

  At least now he was aware of it. He had made some progress with the dark via the Zero-Twelve state and the aid of the Mask, and, for a time, had it under control. He was more aware of how, and why, it was dangerous to him. He had options, and he was going to work to expand those options as quickly as possible.