“Notify Hikariryushi Ogugee, Meera Dracoventis, Dorinda Bouldier, Laith Balasit, and Dimitri Greenwitch about the mission and make sure they’re prepared for departure,” instructed Father. “Although the three of you were requested, I and Shinar Pandora feel it would be necessary for you to have a little back up, just in case.” The way he said that made me feel a bit uneasy, and it was totally on brand for him. Since he’s the only dragon in the realm, he has a habit of not taking things too seriously, it could be because of his invulnerability, but Father always has an air of whimsy about him.  

“Of course, Your Majesty,” answered Jasper. “Consider the task done, we’ll meet you at the Astral Cape at dawn.” 

Once the conversation was over, Rebecca and I made our way to the palace sleeping quarters, while my brother retired to his own room. Although it’s only been a month and a half, I missed the walls of this palace, the memories my brother and I shared here were ones I will always cherish. Surprisingly my room had been kept exactly how I left it, scriptcraft textbooks mixed with countless notes and scratch paper; I’d almost forgotten how much of a hermit I was.  

I looked through the notes and saw that I was conducting research on the relationship between biology and mana. That’s right, before I left I was just starting my research, I thought. I was first introduced to the relation by Rebecca, she wanted to find a way to make a being out of mana, and she wondered if someone would be able to carry the child to term. However, we weren’t able to begin to dive deep in the research since I’d been appointed as Prime Minister, I wonder if she’s interested in this.  

The following morning, Rebecca, my brother, and I set out to meet the rest of the investigation party. We were arranged to meet right outside the capital’s main entrance and I was surprised that we weren’t the first group to arrive, we were actually the last.  

“Most warmest of greetings, Your Majesty,” Dimitri announced while giving an exaggerated and grandiose bow, “oh and salutations to you too, Prime Minister and Young Prince.” 

“There’s no time for pleasantries,” informed Jasper, “by order of His Majesty, Platinum Dragon Emperor Samael, all members of the investigation party should refer to the three candidates by their appointed code names.” 

“You have got to be kidding,” exclaimed my brother, “he’s really forcing to use those names?!” 

“Oh chin up,” I said trying to calm him down, “Chronos is actually a really cool name.” To be honest, I really did like the names that were given, it almost felt as though the title of Demon Lord was within reach.  

“I know the names are cool,” he confessed, “I’m just upset that I didn’t come up with them! He’s always stealing my thunder and coming up with awesome stuff he knows I’d eventually dream up!”There was a bit of truth behind his words, our whole childhood he’d get upset at the grand gestures Father gave us. I don’t he harbors resentment though, I do find it funny how he always doing some sort of mental gymnastics to reach his conclusions.  

“You can complain later,” announced Shinar Pandora as she approached us along with Father. My brother, rather I say Chronos stiffened his posture and calmed his petty feelings. Father was dressed in his Imperial Commander regalia; it was platinum with a light blue shoulder tassels. His platinum blue hair, which was normally in a messy Afro, was neatly braided into six straight-back braids, just like Shinar Pandora. Might it have been a coincidence, however I felt as though they were trying to tell us something, and it had to do with the number six. 

“I’m glad to see you all made it,” praised Father, “I expect this mission to take a few hundred years and in that time I’d like updates on any new findings that would be of interest.”  

“Anything of interest?” I asked, “what are you expecting us to find?” I was starting to feel uneasy again, and I started to believe that he was going to continue to drop another bomb on us.  

“And I also have a surprise member to add to the party,” Father continued as I were mute, “give a grand ole welcome to, Princess Oshubana—! Oh don’t be shy, come on.” From behind Shinar Pandora, our younger sister who barely just enrolled in Avalon Academy, stepped forward and curtsied before us. 

“My name is Princess Garyushi Oshubana, and I look forward to aiding you,” she said while arising. My youngest sibling, and coincidentally my only other sibling aside from my elder brother, has been suffering from an unknown inflection, possibly a curse. Most of her your younger years, the first hundred or so years, she suffered intense headaches, that eventually manifested into something greater. The curse seems to be absorbing not just mana, but some other substance that acts like mana. She regularly attends rehabilitation to help regulate her mana and to detoxify the foreign mana from her Cache.  

“Do you think it’s a good idea that she comes along?” I asked.  

“There is a remedy for my curse in Gargoria,” Oshubana stated, “please Brother, let me come with you. Father already said I could go, and it’s his word over yours, but I want you to say it.” 

“I don’t see a problem with it,” Chronos said, it was really surprised, I’d thought he’d be the first to protest her involvement, but I was wrong. “Bashi,” he continued, “you have to make sure you call either of us if you’re unable to manage your mana levels. Shang—uh, I mean, Aether, will find or create a void to store it in and I’ll restore you back to normal.”There was a glimmer in Father’s eyes as he watched his children bond, and I had to admit, it was a touching sight.  

“Well in that case, Nieth, Hanzo,” I said as I turned and faced the forest and two being instantly appeared. Hanzo dressed like a standard shinobi, except opting to let his free-form dreads breathe. Nieth on the other hand looked more like a huntress, equipped with different types of bows and arrows at her disposal.  

“Oouu,” Father exclaimed, “Ninja!” 

“Yes sir,” Hanzo replied. 

“I want one of you to stay be Bashi’s side and alert me if you sense any danger you can’t handle,” I stated, and without hesitation, Hanzo flash stepped out of sight. I can trust that he’d keep a close eye on her, I thought. I looked the rest of the party and instructed Nieth to join them before we set out.  

“Is everyone accounted for,” Father yelled, “if not, oh well. Good luck on the investigation! And let me know the juicy gossip!”He can be a handful at times, but I do love him, and I’m sure Bashi and Chronos do too.  

The journey to the Astral Cape wasn’t too long, not even an afternoon’s worth of walking, mostly uneventful. The cape houses a small island that’s home to sirens, ShanGriLa’s Void Ocean Guides. The Void Ocean isn’t like regular water, staying in one place for too long and you’ll be swallowed by the vast nothingness that is the Void Ocean. Sirens and other Ocean-folk live and commune in structures that branch out from the mainland, using a mixture of stable bedrock and sophisticated scriptcraft acting as a barrier holding it all together.  

When we made it to the docks of the cape we were greeted by two siren, however instead of mermaids, like one would think, these women had legs. “Welcome, we’ve been expecting you,” one of the two siren greeted, “My name is Liana, and this is my sister, Kiana, and we’ll be your guides to Jigoku.” Liana had deep amber skin and her moss green hair was both messy and wavy, while Kiana sported a shorter hairstyle, red starter locs. The sisters led us to the ship we’d use for our voyage, while they themselves dove into the ocean. It wasn’t long before we saw their heads emerge from the water and the pointed us in the direction to set course to our destination.  

We sailed the Void Ocean for about a month and in that time I spent continuing the prior research. I already understood the importance and mechanisms behind a mage’s Cache, allowing the storage and regulation of mana; however if a being was created by mana, it would run the risk of death via Mana Depletion. I was going to need an expert’s opinion on this and thankfully Rebecca wasn’t too far.  

“Oh brother look,” exclaimed Bashi, “I can see the land!” I’d looked beyond the Void Ocean and saw that we were approaching the continent. Jigoku, also known as the Demon Continent, but it’s the first continent discovered by our Great Mother. It has two main nations, The Akuma Dynasty in the south and The Kingdom of Gargoria in the north. The dynasty is divided into four main regions or Quarters, and one capital. The Vampyre Quarter is, like the name would suggest ran by Vampires, a Demonic-Hyuman-sub race that have a mastery of blood magic. The Yokai Quarter is overseen by a nine tailed fox named Kitsune, who I heard is another one of the goddess’s subjects. In the far west, The Loa Quarter is ran by Azizas, fairy-demon hybrids, whereas the Twilight Quarter is led by the Nightskinned Demons. Each Quarter reports to the main capital, Asuma City, where the continent’s Demon Lord resides.  

Our destination was set for Saint Moonlight’s Port in the Twilight Quarter, which borders the capital city. Once we arrived, we were greeted by Demon Lord Morpheus himself, along with several of his subordinates. He was a slim man and he was without a doubt a Vampire; his skin, although brown, was a sickly pale and he deep dark bags under his eyes. “It is a pleasure meeting you all,” began the demon lord, “My name is Morpheus, and I do hope your journey was pleasant.”  

“Yes of course,” I said, “my name is Aether, and this is Chronos and that’s Eos, we’re here to help with your slime problem.”  

The Demon Lord sized each of us up, as if we were incapable of handling the task, but quickly changed his tune as soon as he saw Jasper.  

“Lord Samael has briefed them on the situation,” Jasper announced, “Lord Morpheus, he said ‘The Eve of Insanity is upon us’ and we ought to be prepared for it.” This was the first id ever heard of this, and it made me feel even more uneasy about this whole situation.  

“I see,” the Demon Lord said while folding his arms and furrowing his brow, “well if it’s all the same to you, there’s a few things I’d like to say about this ‘Eve of Insanity’. Please, come to my manor, the other candidates should be just making it back from their mission.”  

We gathered our belongings and took a bicorn carriage to the manor; on the ride, we passed through both the Twilight Quarter and Asuma City. The quarter was filled with speakeasies and nightclubs and I was worried that my brother would snap break from his love trance and start drowning himself in alcohol. I wouldn’t say I’m wishing for his downfall, I just know my brother, and the sudden change in his attitude, albeit jarring, is welcomed.  

“I think we’re approaching the city’s entrance,” alerted Chronos, “we got here faster than I expected.”  

My brother was on to something, the distance between the port and the capital had to have been at the very least three days worth of travel. However, we were able to make the trip in a matter of minutes, was spatial magic used without my knowing, I wondered.  

“Ah, I see you noticed,” noted Demon Lord Morpheus, “I took us down a special route, one that naturally distorts space. We call these routes ‘Desired Paths’ and they can be found all throughout the realm.” 

It hadn’t occurred to me, but I’d seem to recall a lesson in one of my textbooks describing these “Desired Paths”. It said the each path has two destinations, the heart of the land and the heart of the hTraé. The paths were created by Demon Lord Beelzebub after the defeat of The Forsaken One. Unfortunately, there isn’t much information known about it, even to someone like me, one of her descendants.  

“Brother, have you heard of these ‘Desired Paths,’” asked Chronos, “it seems right up your alley considering your affinity with spatial magic.”  

“Surprisingly I only know as much as Lord Morpheus spoke of,” I said, “it’s still as much of a mystery to me as it is to you—.” 

Oshubana exclaimed, “we’re here! Oh look at the walls! What type of stone is this? Is it Obsidian like in the Ryudō? Oh wow, look there, I can see a castle, is that where we’re going? Oh I have so many questions!”She’s rather curious for a young lady, but I can understand why, most of her life she’d been sheltered.  

As we approached the main entrance, I noticed something odd out of the window. An ominous aura had been watching us the moment we touched down in Asuma City, and I wasn’t sure if anyone else sensed it. Upon second glance, however, the aura had disappeared and I couldn’t trace it.  

Unlike the hustle and bustle of the Twilight Quarter, Asuma City was a bit calmer. There were plenty of markets and restaurants one can enjoy, and I’d noticed there were a lot of university students walking around.  

“Brother, I didn’t know there was a school here,” piped Oshubana, “is it like Avalon Academy?” 

“There are five schools of the Demonic Arts,” informed Demon Lord Morpheus, “there’s Alucard Arts, Mistress DuBois’ School of Scriptcraft, The Nura School of Spirits, Académie des Fleurs Précieuses, and First Demonic’s University. Each university specializes in a wide variety of different scriptcraft, but all sharing the same goal.” 

“Which is?” Oshubana asked with puppy dog eyes. 

The demon lord smiled at my sister before saying, “cultivating my successor.” 

It hadn’t dawned on me before now, but I started thinking about my own experience in this role. How I could’ve very well been cultivated to take on the responsibility of having dominion over a concept. The idea of it is honestly a bit overwhelming, however given my current position as Prime Minister, the responsibility is somewhat inevitable.  

“It would appear we have made it,” announced Demon Lord Morpheus, “Please, I welcome you to my humble abode.”  

As we exited the carriage, I got a better look at the manor, and it was nothing more than breathtaking. There were spires carved from both bedrock and Obsidian stone, and compared to the rest of the city, there was a gothic atmosphere exuding from it. This was definitely the home of a Demon Lord, and although my father is also a Demon Lord, I wouldn’t exactly say he gives off the impression of a Demon Lord. We were greeted by the manor attendees and were led to the briefing room where we’d be filled in on the rest of the mission.