Damon was glad to see Abellona. Sure, things had been awkward between them lately, but he would rather deal with awkwardness than whatever the hell it was that Terra had going on.
He immediately took a long stride toward the princess and flashed a smile.
"Ahh princess, I heard you agreed to my conditions."
She slowly shook her head.
"Not quite."
Her gaze drifted across the camp where troops were dismantling tents and preparing to move out once more.
Without another word, she grabbed Damon by the wrist and pulled him toward one of the nearby tents. Terra quietly followed behind them.
The tent itself remained open, leaving them visible to the knights and servants moving around outside. It was clearly intentional on Abellona’s part.
Perhaps she wanted to make it obvious there was nothing improper happening between them.
Or perhaps it was because they had already done something improper and she wanted to avoid further suspicion.
Whatever the case, Damon found himself more focused on Terra, whose eyes remained fixed on him in that unnerving way of hers.
Abellona glanced around once, then reached into her spatial ring.
A small case appeared in her hand.
She placed it on the table with a dull thud.
The case was long and narrow, roughly the size of something meant to hold a sword or spear.
Damon had heard rumors about the Heaven Spear before, though he had never paid much attention to them.
Truthfully, when he demanded it from the Empire, he had not even been certain it truly existed.
He had simply assumed an imperial heirloom of that level would still be in their possession.
The last public mention of it had been during the reign of Emperor Rasnet many centuries ago.
It was said to possess a terrifying ability.
To absorb and release anything within the world itself.
Energy.
Attributes.
Power.
Everything.
And Damon had a very specific use for such a weapon.
The case itself was wrapped in numerous talismans and layered seals glowing faintly with suppressive magic.
Abellona exhaled softly.
Then, with a serious expression, she carefully undid the seals one by one before finally lifting the lid.
Inside rested a short spear.
Its shaft was old weathered wood, plain and unremarkable.
The spearhead itself looked deceptively simple.
Worse still, parts of the metal were rusted.
Yet the moment Damon’s eyes landed on it, his body instinctively stiffened.
A chilling sensation crept up his spine.
It felt as though deep within that rusted spearhead...
Millions of screaming souls had been imprisoned forever.
Abellona folded her arms.
"The conditions are simple. This is not yours permanently. It is a loan."
Her golden eyes locked onto his.
"And naturally... since it is a loan, you have to pay."
She paused deliberately.
"You have to pay with your body."
Damon nodded slowly in understanding.
Then without hesitation he reached for the collar of his shirt and began pulling it off.
Abellona’s eyes widened.
"Not like that."
She gritted her teeth hard enough that Damon thought she might genuinely kill him.
"You are going to help us deal with this hidden force and hopefully find and kill Amon once and for all."
Damon stopped halfway through removing his shirt.
Then slowly let it fall back into place.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Ohhh."
He nodded.
"I thought I was paying with my body."
Abellona closed her eyes for a moment.
It took genuine effort not to strangle him.
"What about my other terms?" he asked casually.
She crossed her arms tighter.
"This is the best we can offer."
Her voice turned firm.
"Take it or leave it."
Damon lowered his gaze toward the spear resting inside the case.
For several seconds he said nothing.
Then finally...
He reached forward.
The moment his fingers wrapped around the wooden shaft, the cold sensation intensified violently.
Still...
A slow smile spread across his face.
"I’ll take it."
He twirled the spear lightly in his hand before glancing sideways at the princess.
"Though..."
His grin widened.
"I can’t promise it’ll return in good condition."
Her eyes narrowed sharply.
"You better not break an imperial heirloom."
Damon chuckled softly.
Then tightened his grip around the spear.
Inside his mind, his thoughts darkened.
’Morticai...’
’Your death is approaching.’
’Very soon now.’
"Ahhh... gahhh... mama... mama..."
The cries of a baby echoed throughout a massive cathedral-like structure.
Its towering ceilings stretched endlessly upward, ancient stone pillars carved with forgotten motifs and murals depicting tales long lost to time.
At the very end stood an enormous throne.
This was no ordinary hall.
Knights clad in dark armor stood in absolute silence, wisps of shadow rising constantly from the gaps in their plated bodies.
Some sat mounted atop monstrous beasts that would make even warhorses collapse in terror at the mere sight of them.
Their weapons gleamed coldly beneath dim torchlight.
Their eyes were hollow.
Lifeless.
It looked exactly like how one would imagine the palace of a Demon King.
Yet strangely enough...
The loud cries of a child echoed here of all places.
A place so dark.
So solemn.
So utterly unnatural for innocence.
"Ahhh..."
A dark-haired man sitting upon the throne groaned while pressing both hands against his temples.
He wore a dark crown, and judging by the absolute obedience of everything within this hall...
He was undoubtedly its ruler.
Every being here served him.
"Renata... please make it stop."
He rubbed his forehead in frustration.
"Just take that boy to his mother."
His eyes drifted toward a woman with flowing violet hair standing nearby.
She glanced at him with a deadpan expression.
Then sneered.
"You’re the one who took him, my lord."
The last two words sounded almost mocking.
She folded her arms.
"Deal with it yourself."
"Ahhh..."
Damon let out another defeated sigh before slowly rising from the throne.
"I get that you guys are annoyed about me taking Godric but come on... I didn’t exactly have a choice."
He looked around at the gathered figures.
"You all don’t have to act like this is the worst thing I’ve ever done."
A woman with silver hair crossed her arms and stared at him flatly.
"The whole asking Xander for his firstborn child thing was so unbelievably uncalled for."
Lilith narrowed her eyes.
"You could have asked for literally anything else."
"Ahhh..."
Damon scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"It was a spur of the moment thing."
He raised both hands defensively.
"And I thought he’d back off the second I mentioned his firstborn son."
He paused.
"Who would have thought he’d actually agree?"
Then his expression turned strangely serious.
"I was emotionally vulnerable after killing his older brother."
He sounded genuinely sincere.
Unfortunately...
That somehow made it worse.
Lilith simply stared at him in silence.
Renata pinched the bridge of her nose.
Neither looked convinced.
Finally Lilith asked the most important question.
"So how exactly do you intend to raise him?"
She tilted her head slightly.
"You went out of your way to create a shadow clone just to steal him. You haven’t used one in years because you were cautious of Ashcroft taking over your clones."
Her gaze sharpened.
"You clearly planned this."
Damon looked down at the crying baby in his arms.
For once...
His expression softened.
"Honestly... I don’t know."
He looked genuinely conflicted.
"I don’t want raise him, if I can help it."
His voice lowered.
"I wish I could just take him back to his mother."
He sighed deeply.
"But the contract won’t allow it."
His eyes darkened slightly.
"And I’d rather not find out what price I pay for breaking something like that."
The reasoning was sound enough.
Lilith remained quiet for a moment.
Then asked again.
"So what then?"
Her gaze stayed fixed on him.
"Do you plan to raise him as a blade against his father?"
She crossed her arms tighter.
"You already made yourself Xander’s enemy after killing his brother."
Damon slowly shook his head.
"No."
His answer came immediately.
"I won’t."
His eyes drifted back toward the child.
"I can’t."
For a brief moment...
Something unusually gentle entered his expression.
"Maybe the old me would have done something like that."
He gently adjusted the crying child in his arms.
"But why would I ruin a child’s life like that?"
He stared quietly at the baby.
Then spoke with strange conviction.
"I will raise him to be better than me."
His eyes narrowed.
"Better than Xander."
His voice grew almost righteous.
"I’ll nurture him into something greater."
Then he smiled faintly.
"I’m going to do what a father does."
The declaration hung proudly in the air.
Silence followed.
Then Lilith spoke.
"Coming from a kidnapper..."
Her voice was ice cold.
Renata sighed.
"Hope he doesn’t end up like you."
Then suddenly another voice echoed inside Damon’s mind.
"You are trash."
Ashcroft’s voice was filled with disgust.
From beneath Damon’s feet, shadows twisted violently.
Then came a thunderous roar.
"Worm you are."
The voice was ancient and furious.
"Worm."
Ashergon roared from within Damon’s shadow itself.
Damon stared blankly ahead.
Then sighed once more.
"...I feel unsupported."