On the other side of the continent of Halconiket, at the border of the Demon Lands, a lone, low-ranking Demon sat with his back against the invisible barrier that kept his kind trapped from the wider world of Rit. Every day for more than one hundred turns he'd served his time here—watching, waiting—for the day the barrier would fail. The day that, according to the powers that be, Demonkind would take its rightful place as rulers of the world.
It never came.
His attention was on the small, white rectangle in his hands. The glowing screen flickered with moving images, soft sounds leaking from its sides. His long, clawed fingers tapped buttons and toggled switches. A game. Something to pass the time. Once, it had entertained him. He’d modified it, rebuilt it, reimagined it—but it was always the same in the end. Predictable. Dull. It demanded nothing of him, which was the point.
He felt the tremble before he heard anything and looked up from the device in his lap. Maybe this time the quake would be serious—something to give the mortals beyond the barrier a proper fright. With luck, it might even kill a few. Nothing they didn’t deserve. Maybe it would spook one or two of those meddling Wizards across the border. The barrier never stopped them.
If he could catch even one of the more powerful ones, he’d drain enough jzirittiah to rise above his station—maybe even above those who stuck him with this wretched assignment.
Another tremor. Stronger. But this time it wasn’t the ground—it was the barrier itself.
He set the game on the dirt and stood, alert now. The birds still chirped. The forest around him was quiet. Without his weight against it, the barrier’s vibration was subtle—more like a low hum felt through the bones.
He reached out and placed his hand against it, his long fingers splayed out to touch as much of the barrier as he could. The familiar tingle met his fingers, like a static charge. But now it was laced with motion—a pulse, a rhythm. Perhaps the prophecy wasn’t as foolish as he’d believed.
He considered for a moment doing as he'd should, report this to his supervisor. He considered for only a moment. His gaze shifted to the tiny town not too distant, nestled in the valley below. He knew for a fact there were two powerful Wizards living there. Enough jzirittiah to nicely elevate his status among Demons. No—better to wait, besides, if nothing came of this it was entirely likely his supervisor would blame him and he'd catch more grief.
The trembling stopped. He stood still, watching. Minutes passed.
He'd just about given up when the tremble returned, stronger this time, more of a wave rolling along the barrier than a tremble. He felt it travel through the barrier beneath his hand, and then it grew, distorting the air, making the trees sway. A boulder nearby exploded with a sharp crack, spraying shards. The barrier shimmered, sparking like a golden, sheer curtain fluttering in a breeze.
He'd decided it was time to report this when the disturbance ceased and the resistance he'd been pushing against vanished.
He stumbled forward a step, surprised, right to where the barrier had been. He stepped back instinctively.
He reached out and his hand met nothing. His other hand found the same result.
He stepped forward carefully, looking both directions as well as up toward the sky.
The barrier was gone!
His heart leapt!
He realised what this meant and his gaze flew to the mortal town in the valley.
He could make it there in just a few minutes. None of the mortals could stop him.. He’d take what he needed, then report in. He might be more powerful than his supervisor by the time he returned. He'd finally be free of that pompous fool’s voice.
He left his things on the ground and stepped forward.
And the barrier returned.
Right through the middle of him.
Surprise painted his face for only a moment before his body fell in two—the front of him falling into the Blessed Lands and the rear of him back into the Demon Lands.
Few things in the mortal realm could kill a Demon.
This was definitely one of them.
