===Zix===
He started waking up and felt his whole body in pain.
The memories of what happened came into his mind—first, the human girl, the strange light, the chains, and then the pain.
'How did she get her hand on something like that? They couldn't have made something like that on their own yet, ' he thought to himself.
As he stood up, he noticed he was in a small room.
His first instinct was to explode the door, but for some reason, he seemed too weak and could barely move.
He could feel something strange in his body that weakened him, but it wasn't of the chains, but something else. Most of his wounds got healed, as he could regenerate without thinking about it, but there seemed to be something else in him that kept weakening him.
"You are awake. God, good. Welcome to your new home. Hopefully, you are comfortable as you will be here for a long time."
The voice came from a corner, from a speaker.
Zix was familiar with some of the technology of the humans, especially of the means to communicate from great distances, as they were troublesome sometimes.
"You should rest more before our first session. Maybe talk with your sisters nearby. As you probably have noticed, we have taken measures for you to be a good boy, but you better keep good behavior as there will be punishment, if not. See you soon, child."
Zix didn't know what the man meant by getting punished, but he understood that he was weaker because of that person. So he had to be patient.
But the person mentioned his 'sisters. ' So could it be there were more demons captured?
He had left his people a long time ago, so he didn't know if the humans captured any or how many, but if he could work with them to make an escape plan, it was worth talking to them. They could then burn this place and its people.
"Any… anybody there?"
His voice was weak but not too quiet to be considered a whisper. He moved closer to one of the left side walls, so if the person was in a room next to him, they could hear him.
There was no response, so he crawled to the right wall. His legs were quite weak to walk normally.
"Can..can you…hear me?" he said with as much energy he could spare.
"Yes. Yes, I can hear you," a female voice responded.
Hope appeared in his heart once more.
"How…how are you?"
Zix knew he had to earn their trust first, as demons were unwilling to work with each other most times. But, even in cases like that, for some, their pride was too much, especially female demons.
"They hadn't harmed me much. They captured the other one for more time than me, but we aren't here for a long time. We arrived just yesterday."
Zix hoped they would be here for a long time, as they would know the layout better, but he had to work with what they had.
"Where are you from?" he asked next.
This was crucial, as he could learn about her clan. Demons had 12 clans, each with a major base at different places all over Efelia. Each Clan had its own secret abilities and traditions. Zix didn't belong to any of the 12 Clans, as his parent got exiled from theirs long before he was born.
"Used to live at Terreliers Deep, but we had to move after the humans first attacked us."
Zix got confused.
The Terreliers Deep was an ocean to the west, and no Demon Clan had a base there. But then he remembered something.
"You are a mermaid?"
Terreliers Deep was one of the major places of mermaids.
"Yes, why?" she asked him.
Zix didn't lose hope. What if she wasn't one of his 'people'? That made things easier. Mermaids were easier to work with than other demons.
"No… reason. Is the other… also a mermaid?"
"No, she is an Earth Fairy… why do you ask? Interested in our souls?"
It seemed like she knew that he was a demon, and he could understand by her voice that her last question was a joke. Demons could consume part of someone's 'soul energy, ' as they called it, but never completely. It was forbidden to consume the entire 'soul' of someone, as it was too dangerous. However, if one consumed an entire soul, there was a chance for the soul to get control of him.
Consuming the soul energy of someone weakened him and shortened their lifetime, but other than a snack for him, it wouldn't strengthen him unless it was an extraordinary soul. His senses told him that the girl back them was a case like that. If only he wasn't that careless, he would have a splendid meal.
"I only… hunt humans. They ruined… The Balance."
She heard some chuckles coming from the mermaid.
"What is… your name?"
"Shouldn't you introduce yourself first?" she responded.
Zix smiled a bit in the response. She wasn't as careless as she thought, and she was progressing the conversation in a way that both of them to earn from it.
"Zix. How about yours …. and our other friend?"
"I am Corienla. I haven't been able to talk with the Fairy as she was quiet the whole time, but I heard that her name is Astherielle from the people who brought us here. So I am guessing you want us to make an escape plan?"
Zix didn't like the way she said the last part. Her tone showed that she thought of it to be a pointless task.
"I don't want to make you lose hope, but humans have many tricks up their sleeves. They probably hear us at this moment, so discussing a plan will be pointless."
Zix mentally cursed himself for not thinking something that simple. Of course, they would be under watch. The person on the speaker knew the moment he got back to his senses, and probably he or someone else was watching them currently.
He didn't continue talking, but not because he gave up. Instead, he waited to restore his power and find the right time.
He would burn this whole place, but first, he needed to find that girl. If he could somehow get her item or consume some of her soul energy, he knew he would have a greater chance of getting out of here.
Whatever she used on him was, it had a substantial source of the Light Element that he was weak against, so he needed to make sure that this was out of the picture and wouldn't get used against him again.