A Human's Desire

The Human

I woke up suddenly in a cold sweat. I stood in the center of a dome made of whirling shadows. Two gigantic hellfire eyes stared down at me, and their gaze alone threatened to crack my skull open from the pressure.

For a horrifying moment, I thought I was back. Back in that field, surrounded by corpses and a bloody summoning circle. My breath quickened. Had any of that been real? Had my entire conquest been nothing but an illusion?

A deep, menacing chuckle interrupted my thoughts. "Fear not, human." The Fox. "All of your heinous acts were real. Your confusion is understandable given that I have taken back all of the demonic power I shared with you. Human minds are easily broken, after all."

I focused on my hands and tried to sense my powers. I couldn't at first and figured that all of my magic was gone, but then I felt a faint pulse of energy. I had reverted back to the amount of magic I had as a human. I was by no means weak, but I had spent so long brimming with power that anything less was almost undetectable to me. The Fox's strength was really gone.

I pressed a hand to my forehead and smiled sadly. "I had forgotten what it felt like to have such a clear mind. I wasn't far from completely regressing into a beast driven by my demonic instincts. I would have died whether or not the Hero and I fought."

The Fox said, "As I said when you accepted this deal, the more you indulged in your desires, the quicker your human soul would burn in my fire. You gained immeasurable power at the slow decline of your humanity. But isn't that exactly what you sought? Tell me, human, what did you find at the end of your journey? Glory, or misery?"

I grinned. "I was never searching for something so grand. I simply wanted to fit the role I was given. 'Demon.' If that's what I was going to be to people, I figured I might as well obtain the power to back up the title. At the same time, why not show them what a Demon really was?"

It laughed. "I care not for the foolish emotions of humans. Your life of hollow torment has served as a catalyst for the era of my kind, and now you will burn for your worthless ideals."

With that, the whirling darkness swallowed me, and I spent eternity in fiery oblivion.