Demon stepped out of his pocket universe. The warm Krugi winds picked up as he took in the view. Variants were stumbling through from building to building.
Orange skies were quickly turning into a nightly blue, soon everything would be brought into complete darkness. He eased up his hands, trying to relieve some stress from them.
Before he could take his first step through the city, the feeling of some greater watching over him took control.
He looked over his shoulder to see a perfectly crafted Feral stepping towards him. From that image alone, Demon knew this was a Servant.
The raw muscles and extremely smooth skin reflected the purity of the visitor. Where Demon expected imperfections to be were completely perfect. This Feral was perfect in every way.
"Little, little pawn," he spoke. "The Nine have noticed your... tactics in this war. Is it wise to do what you're doing?"
"Why do they care? I've been doing my job, keeping my presence near those that they wish to learn from. They should ask me themselves of what they want, not send a naked Servant," Demon replied.
"Do you know of Gitchu?" the Servant paused beside Demon. "Respect me, creature. I have been around since the Nine first formed, I have authority over you."
Demon nodded, accepting this was not to boast but to enforce their reputation. No one cared to look at the two Variants because no one saw them.
Like usual, Demon stood in a place between their reality and the Nine's reality. Just as the Servant did. He was there to deliver a warning, a message from the Nine themselves.
"Tell me, pawn. Do you believe what you're doing is safe?" Gitchu closed his fists. "Four other Servants caught sight of the Distorted Mind, it appears to have been... disturbed."
"Whatever it is you're going to blame me for, I did not do it," Demon snapped back. "I've been fulfilling my job as a spectator and a combatant."
Gitchu shook his head. "I doubt it. Not when you try to mess with a fallen warrior's gate. That is sacred, Demon. You do not understand it. But when a Primed comes through, it could mean cataclysm."
Shame overtook Demon, he did not know how to respond to this. Because it was true. Somehow the Nine discovered he was behind Kellenas' death, did they know about his own servants?
He did not want to try his luck by playing around it, so he pleased Gitchu. Demon nodded, ready to accept whatever was going to come out of his mouth.
"Look at the lively city around you," Gitchu gestured at the running troopers. They tackled one another, then got up to run away from the one that got tackled. "All of this could be at risk."
Demon was careless of what was happening around him. That childhood he once had was ripped out of his grasp by the very thing he became.
There was still layers of mystery behind how and why the Light Legion tamed a Distorted to specifically target him and his siblings. Because of that, he has become one.
Now he is a rebel against the ones that brought him back instead of letting him die for good. He was restless and enraged. However, he had to be calculated and thoughtful of his approach.
"What would threaten Krugi?" Demon replied.
Gitchu pointed at him. "The Distorted Mind is unpredictable, just as you are. Something caused it to become unstable and erratic and nobody knows why."
Seeing the opportunity to prove himself innocent, Demon opened his palm. Dust swirled to life inside the metal hand, exposing the inside of the mind with ease.
"I can offer my assistance, Gitchu. Using my corruption, I could check the inside for any possible causes. Only if the Nine allow me to do so," Demon offered his service.
[Then do it. We have grown weary of stressing over such an unpredictable creation. Perhaps it would be wise to see if you could somehow control the Mind from within?]
Demon and Gitchu heard the voice, it was one of the Nine talking to them. The cold, careless voice made it difficult to truly believe these paranormal creations were stressed out.
"I do not believe I could control such thing. Being able to do so would require a Will strong enough to do so," Demon responded.
[We are not asking for you to resume ownership of the Distorted Mind, only to experiment with it. If it's possible, we might be able to create an entity powerful enough to manipulate it to our Will.]
A spark ignited in Demon's throat, he wanted to snap back at the Nine for suggesting that. The dust was the only thing allowing him to operate in silence.
Even if he could manipulate the Mind, he needed to lie.
Gitchu's body began to fade away. "Then you will travel to the Distorted Mind itself and revise it. Make sure no odd changes are happening. If there's something off about it, contact the Nine."
Cloud-like particles broke off his body, it was a true Servant returning to their natural form. "It is not too late to cease it's existence."
Demon kept his eyes on where Gitchu was moments ago. The black facemask covered his anger, he was furious at the thought of striking the only thing keeping him free.
But he had to play along, like a good animal. If he got caught, the Nine would surely punish him severely. Maybe even destroy him completely.
Which, the thought did not disturb him. He quite liked the idea of ceasing to exist, it would put him to good rest. However, he wanted to punish the Nine.
They were too curious for being creators. Each one lacked common sense, it should be clear a tormented soul would not want to be bothered after they passed.
Yet they did not care. They still brought him back, so he wanted to bring them back to nothingness. Demon allowed the dust to consume his entire frame.
It was his first time inside the Distorted Mind itself, he had never found any reason to travel through. But now he did. This was for their benefit, he hoped this entity knew it.