Clyde entered his quarters and locked the door behind him. He closed his eyes for a mont, expanding his senses to check for any traces of probing magic. It was sothing he’d discovered planted in his room once before. This ti, fortunately, there was none. The space was secure.
He didn’t allow himself to rest. Despite his recent battle with the monstrous anomaly, he felt don’t feel any fatigue or pain, not even a flicker. His magic reserves had replenished at an unnaturally fast rate after absorbing so of the Celestials’ power.
Focusing on the task ahead, Clyde removed the amulet hanging around his neck and gripping it tightly in one hand. In the other, he held the black stone marked with an unfamiliar symbol.
Taking a steady breath, he channeled his magic into the amulet first. A portal shimred into existence before him. It was smaller portal than the massive one in the city center.
Next, he directed his energy into the black stone. The engraved symbol glowed faintly. He pressed the stone into the portal’s surface, the swirling energy shifted, stabilizing and revealing an entirely different view.
No crumbled ruins this ti. Instead, Graemory appeared, lounging in the portal’s fra.
The Demon Duchess was dressed in thin and so little garnts, her voluptuous body clearly on display. Clyde blinked, montarily caught off guard by the provocative sight.
"Hey, Clyde," Graemory greeted him with a sly smile, her crimson eyes sparkling with amusent. "You’re quicker than I thought."
Clyde forced himself to remain composed, suppressing the flicker of surprise and... sothing else. He reminded himself who he was dealing with. She was a Demon Duchess. Her appearance was also a weapon just like her power, and he’d been expecting sothing like this eventually.
"Yeah," he replied coolly. "I got the sample from the anomaly. Where do you want to et?"
Graemory tilted her head, her smile deepening as she rose gracefully to her feet. "Wait a few minutes. Let dress, and I’ll call you."
With a small wave of her hand, she ended the connection, the portal collapsing into nothingness.
Clyde exhaled softly, setting the black stone and amulet down on the table. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, his thoughts already spinning.
Dealing with Graemory was always a gamble, but at least for now Clyde was much stronger and if Graemory wanted to try sothing funny, he wouldn’t go down without a fight. No, he just wait for Greamory to open the portal again.
"The Catalyst. The Burning Realm. Deus’s fire..."
Each phrase weighed heavily on his mind, like puzzle pieces scattered across a board with no clear picture.
Clyde absently tapping his fingers against the edge of the desk. The room was silent except for his own mind. This silence wasn’t comforting.
He focused on his own body to confirm what he had been suspecting. Then he confird it.
The flow of his magic was different now. Ever since encountering the anomaly, it felt sharper and more reactive as if sothing within him had been altered. He didn’t know if it was a good thing or not.
Clyde frowned, his brows knitting together.
"Did killing that creature do sothing to ?" He clenched his fists, lightning briefly crackling around his fingertips before fading.
The anomaly’s influence had been... weird. And yet, Clyde had not only survived but co out different.
His thoughts were interrupted as the black stone on his desk shimred, emitting a faint hum. Graemory was ready.
Clyde stood, adjusting the amulet around his neck. He stepped back to the center of the room and reactivated the portal, the sa swirling vortex appearing before him. This ti, as the edges stabilized, Graemory erged fully into view.
She was dressed more modestly now, her revealing attire replaced by a flowing black and crimson gown that still hinted at her allure but a little bit more modest than what she wear before. Her crimson eyes sparkled with a mischievous glint as Clyde stepped through the portal.
"You’re punctual. I like that about you," she said. She stepped closer to Clyde. "So, where is it? What you ggot for ?"
Clyde reached into his coat and take out the cube, holding it up so the glowing contents were visible through its tallic casing. "Here," he said simply.
Graemory’s eyes widened slightly as she extended her hand toward the cube. "Fascinating. I can feel the energy even from here. This... this is strange and potent, Clyde. More than I anticipated."
She stepped back, her expression shifting to one of curiosity and calculation. "Tell , did you sense anything unusual when you fought it?"
Clyde nodded, his jaw tightening. "It spoke to . Called ’The Catalyst.’ ntioned sothing about ’The Burning Realm’ and ’Deus’s fire’. I don’t know if that was exactly what I’ve heard cause that creature spoke in strange way."
He watched her reaction closely, but the Demon Duchess’s expression remained inscrutable. But one thing that Clyde noticed, Graemory seems to not surprised when sensing the liquid’s energy. As if she had feel it sowhere else.
Graemory tapped a finger against her lips, her eyes narrowing as she pondered his words.
"The Catalyst... interesting. That title isn’t one I hear often. And the Burning Realm? Hmm." She paused, then smirked.
"You know what it is?" Clyde said, his voice cold and even.
"I don’t know about this ’Catalyst’ thing. But the Burning Realm... that might refer to a world Demon King Asmodeus destroyed himself," Graemory said with thoughtful voice.
Clyde’s frown deepened, his mind working through her words. "He destroyed an entire world himself? So, you an it’s a Ruin?"
Graemory tilted her head, her crimson eyes flickering with intrigue. "Maybe. I’m not sure. The Burning Realm could be a taphor or an actual place. But the next phrase it ntioned. The... ’Deus’s Fire’, that’s interesting. It could an Asmodeus’s fire. You said the anomaly didn’t speak in a comprehensible way, right? Maybe you only caught fragnts of what it was trying to say."
Clyde crossed his arms, his mind churning. "That’s possible," he admitted. "What it said felt... scrambled. Like it was struggling to communicate in a language I could understand."
Graemory stepped closer, her expression turning serious. "If it is Asmodeus’s fire, that’s a power few beings have ever seen, let alone survived. He doesn’t use it often unless he wants to leave nothing behind." She paused, studying Clyde with an intensity. "And yet... here you are, knowing sothing that probably tied with that power."
Clyde considered her words. "If this ’fire’ is tied to Asmodeus, then why would the anomaly ntion ? Why call ’The Catalyst’? It’s not like I have any connection to him or to his destruction."
Graemory smiled faintly, though her eyes remained sharp. "I don’t know. Maybe, they just... happen. You could be a piece in a larger puzzle, whether you want to be or not."
Clyde’s jaw tightened. "I don’t like being anyone’s piece."
Her smirk widened. "No one does. But resisting the role doesn’t change the ga. It only makes it more... interesting."
He exhaled sharply, pushing away the frustration building in his chest.
"What about the sample?" He gestured toward the cube. "Can you use it to figure out what we’re dealing with?"
Graemory held the cube up again, inspecting it closely. The liquid inside shimred, pulsing faintly as though alive. "I’ll need ti to analyze it. Its energy signature is strange. Familiar, but strange."
"Familiar how?" Clyde asked.
The Demon Duchess hesitated for just a mont. "It feels like it’s tied to sothing that happened in the other side of the far away place. But I can’t say for certain until I study it further."
Clyde leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. "You’re hiding sothing."
Graemory t his gaze with a grin that didn’t reach her eyes. "Maybe. Or maybe I just don’t have all the answers yet. Either way, you’ll have to trust ."
"Trust you?" Clyde’s voice was laced with skepticism.
She laughed softly. "I know, it’s asking a lot. But our goals align, at least for now. Whatever this thing is, it’s dangerous. And if you want to know what this is, you’ll need my help."
Clyde straightened, considering her words. "Fine. Take the cube. Do your analysis. But if you’re keeping anything from —"
Graemory raised a hand, cutting him off. "Relax, Clyde. I know it. Besides, if I wanted you dead, you’d already dead."
Clyde gritted his teeth. "Asmodeus’s artifact, where is it?"
"The artifact you’re asking about is housed in one of his dinsions. It’s the location of one of his... let’s call it a ’factory.’"
Clyde frowned. "Factory?"
Graemory’s lips curled into a mysterious smile. "You’ll understand when you get there."
"Send the coordinates," Clyde said.
The Demon Duchess chuckled softly, shaking her head. "Always so demanding. Very well, Clyde."
Clyde turned without another word, stepping through the portal and back into the familiar confines of his quarters.
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