A bottomless pit sat beneath a ledge. It was difficult to tell where the ledge ended and fall began, yet Demon knew it was there. He was pinned between the Seeker and an endless journey downwards.
"You have stopped. Are you accepting death? Do not hesitate. On your knees," the Seeker ordered.
Those empty commands, each one designed to evoke the feeling of being talked at by a grander being. Demon was not afraid of it, he wanted the Seeker to kill him.
However, he couldn't let that happen. Despite how delightful a quick death would be, he knew the Nine would just bring him back.
So he turned to his attacker, keeping both eyes steady on the odd dust surrounding him. Instead of being the typical black Syndicate Dust, it was something else. Purple. The dust was a devilish purple.
Four sharp-tipped tentacles bolted for him, each one piercing the empty world as it traveled by. Like a sudden jolt of electricity, his body grew weaker. And finally, he dropped.
Darkness ensued, nothing was alive in this world. Until Demon felt something else, it was stretchy, but stable. He looked around, realizing he had total control of his body.
As the darkened floor beneath him stretched beneath his weight, Demon noticed just how familiar this felt. He was standing right over the floor he stood on when he first arrived.
"Is this were I truly go when I die?" he muttered to himself.
Nothingness answered, he was alone in this space. It was like a layer of protection against some kind of force. One he didn't understand.
Syndicate Dust crawled up his legs, swirling around like a hot drink. He felt the familiar feeling of not being alone in his body, the nightmarish bother and the strange comfort.
His old friend once again returned to him, his Distorted abilities. Limbs got lighter, helping him up from the net-like layer.
"Where do my notes, memories, and thoughts go when I connect myself here?" Demon looked around for an answer. But ended up finding darkness. "Hmm. I'll return when I am ready."
Dust ate away at his being, slowly taking him apart and bringing him somewhere new. It felt like being gently poked in all different directions, without realizing parts of his body were missing.
Bright noon rays nearly scorched out his eyes. His arm flew over to protect them. Dead grass was the only thing making Demon feel comfortable.
A familiar voice called out to him. It was the eager voice he would hear from his younger brother, energetic and sure of himself.
"Hey!" Jakery pressed on. "Ether has been looking for you. He needs to know if the seven elites you two sent out to Yarno are ready for the attack?"
"Y - yeah, I'm sorry. I was just... nevermind. Where is he? I can confirm their progress," Demon replied in a haze.
Jakery pointed at the distant homes. "He is braiding his daughters' hair."
-Six minutes later-
The door to the Coros home swung open, letting in the siblings. Their footsteps were unique from one another, independent in their stride. Jakery's were light, Demon's were heavy.
It sometimes sounded like Demon was about to break the floor boards from his weight alone, although he was not heavy at all. In fact, he was lighter than Jakery.
But his armor added a lot of extra weight.
"Finally!" when Ether talked, the colored strings and patches fell from his mouth. "Where were you?"
Hylo looked up with innocence, trying to figure out what was happening. Just like her siblings, she missed Pearl. This would be a perfect opportunity to know what she's doing.
Demon opened his palm, bringing it away from his body so everybody could see. Orako and Azir watched from their corner of the room, trying to make sense of the strange act.
"All elites are ready. They have been holding out just fine. Although," Demon focused on Krim. "I believe there's one doing better than the rest."
Etherna tugged at Ether's sleeves, trying to get his hands to come down to her. "Dad, why is he doing that funny thing?"
"Just Third Rule magic," Ether replied without looking down at her. "Is it good to call in the battalions?"
Jakery cleared his throat, bringing the attention to him. He shook his head, getting his thoughts straight before going on with his actions.
"The purpose of this strategy is to smuggle the islanders out, right?" Jakery asked.
"I know what you're going to ask, 'why not just fly them out?'" Demon got straight to the point. "We could, but we cannot afford this task. Not when Yarno has defenses against aerial combatants."
"Such as?" Jakery's interested peaked.
Demon formed the dust in his palm into a Glyker, a weird looking distanced weapon, and another feathered beast. Each one stood out to Jakery. He knows about the Glyker, they were serious threats in the wild.
But he had never seen that type of weapon or the other feathered beast. It looked like a mystical beast. Two large wings rested on the ground instead of being folded, and two large legs in the back designed for heavy duty lifting.
Without anymore thinking, Jakery instantly knew this would have been a serious threat to Sky Beasts and their riders. Taking this approach would mean a lot more trouble.
"There's one last thing I don't get, though. If these are what we're worried about. Explain to me why the ground approach?" Jakery contested.
Ether snapped his fingers. "Calm down, Shojoro. We decided on this so we could hold down these positions for later use. Our advantage would come from owning a base on that island."
Demon closed his palm, figuring the conversation was coming to an end. "Shora, send forces over there tomorrow. We have earned ourselves several small victories, now we need a bigger one."
As his frame left the house, Jakery was left in questions. He wanted to know more about this strategy, but he didn't want to waste anyone's time. This assault did not involve him.