The Damned Demon

Lori narrowed her sharp dark purple eyes at Asher, her tail flicking with disbelief, "Ssss, did you go stupid, brat? How are you going to learn anything from dead people who died eons ago?" she hissed, her voice dripping with skepticism.

Asher ignored her jab, and with a subtle motion, a jagged black headpiece materialized in his hand.

The crown's sinister design seemed to hum faintly with an ominous energy, "With this," he said, holding it up to the dim light, "This is the crown of a Wraithlord. I got it as a reward from the Tower of Hell. According to its description, it should let me learn things from the dead… though I haven't tested it yet."

Lori's eyes narrowed even further, her distrust evident, "Every object hassss its limitation, even if it's something from the Tower of Hell," she hissed. Her forked tongue flicked briefly before she added, "But fine. Let'sss see how much you can learn using this ugly crown."

Asher gave her a nod as he placed the crown on his head.

"Urgh!" Almost instantly, his body stiffened, his eyes bulging and his muscles locked up as an overwhelming darkness surged into his mind.

A suffocating wave of despair and anguish struck him like a hammer, making him stagger and fall to his knees.

"Fuck!" he gasped, clutching his head as though it were splitting apart, "Why does it feel like... it's splitting my head into two…" His voice was strained, his teeth clenched as he fought against the onslaught.

He hesitated to remove the crown despite the pain, his stubbornness urging him to persevere.

But the longer it stayed, the more unbearable the whispers and wailing grew in his head—a cacophony of eerie voices and howling that seemed to claw at the edges of his sanity.

Lori slithered closer, her tail coiling protectively beside him as she studied his grimacing expression, "If it really workssss," she hissed, "then it must be because too many died in this place. You must be getting affected by these resentful ghostssss. Just try to focusss on anything that makes sense. You can do thisss, brat!"

Asher gritted his teeth, his body trembling as he tried to concentrate on anything coherent within the chaos. He closed his eyes tightly, shutting out the world around him, but the wailing and whispers only grew louder, drowning out his thoughts.

"No…" he muttered through gritted teeth, his frustration mounting, "It's all just a cacophony… I-I'm not getting anything solid…" His voice was heavy with defeat, and after a few more moments of fruitless struggle, he finally tore the crown from his head because he didn't want to risk breaking his own mind when his kingdom was in danger. Read exclusive chapters at empire

The moment it left him, the voices ceased, and his mind was consumed by a deafening silence. He let out a sharp breath, his shoulders sagging as he slumped forward.

"What a disappointment this thing is," he muttered bitterly, holding the crown in his hands. His eyes glinted with frustration as he stared at it, the object now seeming more useless than helpful.

Lori slithered closer, her tail flicking lazily as she studied the crown with a curious but skeptical gaze, "Let me give it a try," she said smugly, her voice brimming with confidence, "Maybe my ssssuperior mind can handle what yours can't."

Asher raised a brow and scoffed, handing the crown to her, "Knock yourself out."

Wrapping her tail around the crown, Lori placed it atop her head with a flourish. However, the moment it settled, her body jerked violently, and a distressed hiss escaped her lips, "HSSSS!!!" She flung the crown off her head as if it were a venomous snake, and Asher caught it mid-air, his reflexes sharp despite his amusement.

"You couldn't even bear it for a second?" Asher asked, his lips curling into a smug smile, "I thought your mind was too superior to mine."

Lori shot him a disgruntled glare, her tail coiling tightly in irritation, "That is a fake crown for ssssure, designed to only mess with your mind. Of course, I can't make it work."

"Yeah, sure," Asher said with a low chuckle, though the crown's failure left a seed of doubt in his mind. He tucked it away, casting one last glance at it before looking around with an anxious look, "Let's get out of here and search some other place. I hope we find a way out soon."

Lori hissed softly in agreement, slithering over him to rest around his neck.

The atmosphere remained heavy, the ancient air thick with an otherworldly energy that seemed to press against their senses. Asher kept his head down, lost in thought, but as they stepped into the open expanse outside, something caught his eye.

He stopped abruptly, turning to glance back at the building. His eyes widened as they locked onto a series of carvings etched into the structure's facade—words, glowing faintly under the dim light. His breath hitched, and he quickly patted Lori, who was snugly wrapped around his neck. "Hey, hey! Do you read that?"

"Read what?" Lori asked, her snout twitching as she turned to follow his gaze. Her eyes squinted at the alien writing atop the building, "We ssssaw that before, and obviously, it's some alien language. Why are you acting all ssssurprised now?"

"I…" Asher trailed off, his voice tinged with disbelief, "I can read it."

Lori's eyes widened, her tail coiling tightly in surprise, "Sssseriously?? What does it say?"

Asher stared at the glowing letters, his mind reeling as he read aloud, "The City of the Immortals…" His voice faltered, his words barely above a whisper. His heart pounded in his chest as the realization began to sink in. Were they standing in the ruins of a city long forgotten? And did this city really house immortals?

The faint glow of the alien letters atop the building still lingered in Asher's mind as Lori slithered beside him, her serpentine form coiling slightly. She mumbled, almost to herself, "City of the Immortalsss? Brat, could this place be related to your lineage?!" On second thought, why did she even ask that, as if she was admitting his superior lineage!

Asher scoffed lightly, shaking his head. "Of course not. Like we saw earlier, humans probably lived in this place. On second thought..." He paused, his brow furrowing in thought as he gestured vaguely toward the building, "Those carvings on the walls we saw—they looked like humans worshiping someone. Maybe someone who did look like a god or an immortal. But..." His voice trailed off as he approached the broken statue, the fragments of its grandeur scattered around its base. He stopped before the cracked marble pedestal, his eyes narrowing, "It doesn't make sense. How could a place like this exist in our world?"

He leaned in closer, his gaze locking onto the inscription etched at the base of the statue. As the alien script shimmered faintly under the dim light, his lips moved instinctively, the meaning of the words flowing into his mind as if he had always known them. "I can read this as well... It says, 'Hail the Immortal Sovereign.'" Asher straightened, his gaze flickering between the pedestal and the broken fragments of the statue scattered around it. Among the debris, he noticed pieces resembling parts of a face, including a section of a beard. He mumbled, "Who the hell could he have been other than being an immortal if that's really possible?"

Lori slithered closer, her dark purple eyes narrowing as she studied the shattered remnants of the statue. "He must be the one in those carvingssss... the one the people were worshipping. But my gutsss tell me it's just a conceited mortal calling himself an immortal," she hissed skeptically.

Her gaze shifted back to Asher, her expression tinged with disbelief and a hint of envy, "But brat, you can really understand this alien language now?"

Asher's lips curled into a faint smile, his amusement barely concealed. "Looks like the crown wasn't fake after all. Maybe all those dead in this place instilled the knowledge of their language in me." He gestured toward the ruins around them. "Now we finally have some hope of figuring out what this place is—and maybe even finding a way out."

Lori hissed softly, her tail flicking with curiosity as her dark purple eyes gleamed. "Ssss, you want to leave this place quickly even after knowing how ancient and mysterious it is? What if we find sssome precious treasures here? Don't you want to find out?"

Asher shook his head, his expression resolute. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted. I'd love to explore every inch of this place, uncover its secrets, and figure out how humans ended up here. But the draconians will attack my kingdom soon, and I can't afford to waste time here. Don't forget that the Red Witch trapped us here, leaving us to die. This place might be ancient and mysterious, but it could also be dangerous. We can't let our guard down."

Lori let out an exaggerated hiss of disappointment, her tail curling in a lazy arcm, "Ssss, you are such a sssspoilsport you are, brat. But fine, if you love your kingdom that much, I'll let it go for now." Her eyes sparkled mischievously as she added, "I'll just leave sssome traces here so I can hopefully come back one day. Maybe even build a nice, secret cave for myself," and added in a low whisper nobody else could hear, "...and for our future family," She gave a gleeful smile, clearly relishing the idea.

Asher sighed, shaking his head with mild exasperation, "You do you, Lori. Just make it quick."

As he turned his gaze back toward the horizon, his eyes caught sight of something faint in the distance. The dim light revealed a shadowy structure partially hidden by rubble.

Even at a distance, its immense size was apparent, its wide base unmistakable despite the fact that its upper half was just gone. The faint glimmer of something metallic caught his eye near the edges of the ruin.

"I see a strange building ahead," Asher said, pointing toward the structure, "Let's head that way."

Lori slithered forward, her forked tongue flicking as she sniffed the air, "What do you think it issss?" she asked, her tone tinged with curiosity.

"Only one way to find out," Asher said, his voice calm but determined.