I took in my surroundings, or tried to. The Demon Realm. This was a place I'd only imagined, conjured from the depths of my mind, but now it was all real, right in front of me.
The city sprawls beneath a sky perpetually shrouded in ash and smoke, the sun never fully rising or setting. The streets are a clamor of clanging metal, hissing steam, and low growls. Everywhere you look, there's some twisted blend of magic and technology.
The streets hummed with the sound of clanging metal, hissing steam, and a low, constant rumble. The architecture was a mix of stone, metal, and enchanted glass, with buildings carved into intricate designs that reflected the heritage of the Seven Clans of Sin. Bridges and walkways connected rooftops, allowing for movement across the city at multiple levels.
And then there were the people. Demons, yes, but not the monstrous creatures I'd expected. Some wore Victorian-style suits, others ragged cloaks, and a few wearing armor embedded with runes that flickered softly. Some were entirely human in appearance, while others had been fused with machines, their limbs clicking and whirring as they moved.
There was a steady hum of activity, merchants calling out from open-air stalls, mechanical constructs carrying supplies, and messengers darting between buildings with parchment in hand.
Above, airships glided through the sky, their dark banners marked with the sigils of the Seven Clans. Occasionally, a dreadnought warship drifted by, its cannons perpetually trained downward, ready to purge whatever threatened their dominion. In the distance, a grand citadel loomed, its polished stone reflecting the amber glow of the sky.
I stood there for a moment, trying to make sense of it all. This place, this realm, felt… foreign. My own creation. And yet, I wasn't sure if I'd ever truly understood it.
You've got to be kidding me.
How can this already hellish situation turn even worse?
"Why am I in the De-"
Snap!
Before I could finish the sentence, the world around me shifted again, and I nearly fell to the ground.
"Would you stop doing that!"
[Kekeke, to think your worrying about me in this situation.]
An immense wave of pressure bore down on me, something was approaching.
It wasn't a person, not exactly. It was something else. A hulking figure, part man, part machine, with four muscular arms and brass pipes running across its body. The skin that remained was dark and stained with soot, the rest covered in gleaming black scales. Its head was crowned with twisted iron horns, and its eyes burned red, like embers smoldering in the dark. Steam hissed from vents in its neck, each breath a sharp, mechanical exhale.
I froze.
The creature stared at me, and then it stepped forward, dragging its massive, clawed feet along the cracked earth. Each step it took felt like it shook the ground beneath me.
I instinctively took a step back. I had no idea what to do. I wasn't prepared for this. I wasn't prepared for any of this.
The creature let out a low rumble, and my heart skipped a beat.
"Human,"
It growled, its voice deep and hoarse, vibrating in my chest.
"You shouldn't be here."
I swallowed hard.
"I, I don't even know where here is."
The creature's lips curled into something that might have been a grin.
"This is the Demon Realm. And you… you are not supposed to be here."
"Tell me about it,"
I muttered under my breath.
I barely had time to process before it lunged.
Shit—!
I saw a flash of blackened claws, searing heat, and then impact.
A force like a freight train crashed into me, my breath ripped from my lungs. My ribs cracked. I hit the ground, hard.
But just as fast as it attacked, it stopped.
The demon stiffened. Its burning eyes widened, not in rage, but in fear.
A slow, deliberate sound echoed through the street.
Tak… Tak… Tak…
Footsteps.
A presence even more suffocating than before.
I turned my head.
Emil.
He moved like a shadow, the air warping subtly around him. The moment he raised his hand—
Slice.
The demon's head separated from its body.
The corpse twitched. It remained standing, as if in disbelief, before it collapsed.
But oddly, I didn't feel anything.
A headless corpse lay in front of me, but it didn't matter. I felt no shock. No fear. I just… wasn't feeling anything at all.
"What the hell is going on?"
I managed to squeeze those words out.
Emil didn't answer right away. He tilted his head slightly, studying me with those cold eyes.
Then, he spoke.
[Well, you're in the Demon Realm, of course. And now you must do what must be done.]
I forced myself to stand, my body screaming in protest.
"What does that mean? What must be done?"
Emil's cold expression didn't change. He stepped forward, his cloak swirling around him like it was alive, wrapping the air in a heavy silence.
[You will understand soon enough. But for now, you need to survive. The Demon Realm does not take kindly to outsiders.]
His words were final, and without another glance, he turned, his figure dissipating into the shadows, leaving nothing but a faint chill in the air.
I stood there, breathless, still processing the chaos of the last few moments.
My mind raced, but I couldn't make sense of anything. The Demon Realm? Was I supposed to fight my way through this place? Survive it?
I had no idea what Emil wanted from me, or why he was treating me like I had any control over my situation.
However, one thing was clear: I had no way of leaving this place anytime soon.
And this place was the capital city of the Demon Realm. How exactly am I supposed to navigate my way around here? If I am to believe anything Emil said, this is the world of my novel...
Eh?
Why can't I remember the name of it?
I had spent so much time and energy on it, countless years yet, I can't remember its name??
Strange things keep on happening and I have no way of wrapping my head around them. This is all so incomprehensible, but I can't keep denying it forever.
This was real.
I vividly remember the pain that creature put me through...
I exhaled shakily. I had to keep moving.
I knew what had to come next. I needed to reach Blackthorn Academy.
A place I had written to be the pinnacle of demonic power, where the strongest warriors were trained.
But after the Bloodfall War, it had become something much worse.
A breeding ground for hatred. A place that now existed only to prepare demons for the next war.
And I was the human walking straight toward it.
What the hell am I doing?
But… was I human?
I looked down at my wrist.
The mark.
A Primordial Echo.
And in this world, it meant nobility.
Demons wore tattoos as proof of their lineage, and this symbol was something that no one should possess.
Not unless I was someone far beyond their understanding.
The demons watching me now, they didn't move.
I met their gazes, and for the first time, I saw something I hadn't expected.
Not hatred.
Not disgust.
Fear.
They didn't know what I was. And that, at least for now, was the only advantage I had.
I walked forward.
Toward that damn academy.
"Fuuu..."
From what I remember, Blackthorn Academy should be south of the Capital City.
'You're bound to this world'
'You will grant my wish'
'You are the key'
What wish?
Recalling Emil's cryptic words, he wants me to achieve his wish, whatever that is, and I am the only one who can. Why? Is it because I'm the 'creator'? Honestly I don't even know if I am the creator anymore.
Seeing Emil's overwhelming power... if even he couldn't achieve what he wanted with that power, how am I supposed to? Is he telling me to surpass him? To surpass the world?
Maybe he saw something in me. Maybe he thought I was the key to something I couldn't understand. But as much as I tried to grasp it, the threads kept slipping through my fingers. The only thing that was certain now was that if I ever wanted to understand any of this, I'd have to survive, and Blackthorn Academy was my only shot at making sense of the mess Emil had dropped me into.
But that place…
Was Emil expecting me to confront that?
What a disgusting feeling, its like he knew everything, every choice I would make. I was in the palm of his hand.
Blackthorn might be the only place left for me to find answers, but it would also be the most dangerous place I could go. Still, I had no choice. I had to go.
Toward Blackthorn.
The place where my next nightmare was waiting.