Devil's tale

Devil's tale chapter 31

Avarice dropped to one knee in exhaustion. He felt the fire within himself subside and his wings disappear. His vision was blurry, but he could still make out the vague shapes of people rushing towards him, and he could hear Emily's voice saying something, though he couldn't make out exactly what the words were. Avarice then passed out.

He found himself once again in his dreamscape, though the fog had mostly cleared, and his 'inner fire' was nowhere to be seen. Avarice looked down at his hands and saw to his shock, that they were vague masses of smoke and shadow.

"Your true form is yet undefined, young devil. But you have taken your first step." Said a strangely familiar voice. Avarice turned to see where the voice had come from, and saw the last patch of fog still visible in his dreamscape. Within it, he saw a demonic silhouette, outlined by fire, one clearly distinct from his own inner devil.

"You're not an aspect of me, you're someone else." Avarice replied.

"Indeed. I hope to see you soon, once the dust settles, and your true form emerges."

Avarice awoke with a start. He saw the face of Captain Amir, offering him a waterskin.

"Drink slowly. I don't know much about your magic, but what you did seemed to take a lot out of you." The soldier offered.

Avarice drank the water gratefully and then looked around. The other soldiers had since built a fire and were chatting amongst themselves. Emily sat by the fire as well, wrapped in her cloak. When she noticed Avarice was awake, she practically sprinted over to him, only to compose herself just before reaching him.

"Um, how are you feeling?" She asked.

"Weird. What happened with the demons, it wasn't a dream, was it?" Avarice asked.

"No, it wasn't."

"It was strange. I didn't even know I could open a hellgate until now. The incantation just came to me, almost like someone else was whispering it in my ears. Like now that I've let down my barriers, voices from beyond this world can reach me."

Avarice slumped back and Emily hastily caught him before he fell into the sand.

"It was scary..." Avarice gasped.

"Maybe, but you weren't." Emily replied.

"You sure?"

"I mean, I can't speak for the soldiers, but all I saw was someone trying his best to protect me."

Avarice smiled and tried to stand up. Emily gently pushed him back down, saying in a soft voice. "Just rest for now. I promise we'll depart for the city of water first thing tomorrow morning."

The next time Avarice woke up, it was thanks to the hot rays of the morning sun bombarding his face. He rubbed his yellow eyes sleepily and before long, he and the rest of his party were once again traveling across the blisteringly hot desert. Avarice didn't say much during the rest of the trip, he mainly spent his time thinking as he walked. He thought of the future, of what he wanted to do once he arrived at the city of water. He knew Emily would want to do research on Leto and find a way to speak to her god directly, and he knew if they got Jazz back, then the goblin would want to find a way to restore his arm to normal. What did Avarice want? When he thought this question, his eyes drifted over to Emily, and for a brief second, it wasn't the girl's face Avarice was glancing at. He quickly fixed his gaze back on the road in front of him and tried to think more seriously. He wondered how in the world he'd be able to restore the Song-String College while king Gunther held power. He understood there was no negotiating with a man who perceived himself as holding all the power in whatever dynamic he was a part of. He also didn't know how the king was able to call upon such powerful, divine magic without being a member of the clergy. Was there truth to the royal family's claim to divine right to rule? Avarice supposed that an easy way to answer these questions would be to capture Farris and interrogate him. Since the young captain was also headed towards the city of water, Avarice suspected that everything would come to a head there, and that all he could do now, was travel, and wait. At night, Avarice no longer suffered nightmares. The downside to this was he was no longer able to enter his dreamscape at will, but if that was the tradeoff for a good night's rest, the devil wasn't complaining. One other thing Avarice had noticed about himself was that he wasn't tying his braid as tightly anymore. He still made sure to weave his hair into a stylish shape every morning, but he no longer took such care to make sure every last strand of his purplish locks was caught up in the braid, letting some of his hair hang free.