Lord Of Beasts

From the outside, it looked almost as though Ethan and Elara were having a moment. The two sat across from each other in the back of the luxury transport van, their eyes locked.

Neither of them spoke or seemed willing to look away.

Kaela, meanwhile, was far more interested in the food than whatever was happening between them. She sat comfortably leaning on Mark, who remained unconscious, and stuffed another mouthful into her cheeks before glancing over.

”You two going to kiss?”

Ethan and Elara both seemed to react at the same time.

Their bodies leaned toward each other.

Closer.

And closer.

Kaela’s eyebrows rose.

Then-

Bonk!

Their foreheads collided.

Both bodies had suddenly gone limp, collapsing onto each other.

Kaela froze with another bite halfway to her mouth.

She stared.

”Way to tease a bitch.”

Still, both of them suddenly losing consciousness at the same time was obviously strange. Something was definitely happening, but Kaela wasn’t particularly interested in figuring out what.

She shrugged and went back to eating.

Inside their minds, however, something very different was happening.

-

Darkness surrounded Ethan.

There was no floor, ceiling, or walls, just an endless black space stretching in every direction. The only things that seemed to exist within it were three chairs arranged in a triangle.

Ethan sat in one, Elara sat in another, and occupying the third was a crimson figure that looked remarkably similar to Elara.

Except it wasn’t Elara.

Its entire body appeared to be made from congealed blood, with crimson liquid constantly shifting beneath its vaguely humanoid form. Its face was almost identical to Elara’s.

Almost.

There was something fundamentally different in the expression.

Something arrogant and ancient that made Ethan immediately understand who - or rather, what - was sitting across from him.

The entity they had dubbed Sir Demon.

Despite being dragged into the strange mental space without warning, Elara was surprisingly calm.

Ethan was even calmer.

He crossed one leg over the other and leaned back comfortably in his chair.

”We finally meet in person, Sir Demon.”

The crimson figure’s grin widened.

”If you think this is my true form, you’re in for quite a shock in the future.”

It laughed.

The sound echoed strangely through the darkness as the demon also leaned back.

Ethan couldn’t help staring.

As wild and arrogant as the creature was, he was strangely comfortable around it. Perhaps it was because Ethan had already spent enough time around Elara to recognise the budding connection between the two.

Still, Elara wasn’t nearly as amused.

She looked directly at the crimson entity.

”I don’t particularly appreciate having my body taken over and being dragged into this place again.”

The demon shrugged.

”It’s not my fault you are and always will be too weak to stop me.”

Elara narrowed her eyes, ignoring its remark.

”What’s this about?”

”I just wanted to catch up.”

Elara’s expression didn’t change.

”But why am I here?”

Ethan chimed in, gesturing around the empty darkness.

”And how did you even drag me into this place?”

The demon smiled.

”You’re the one I need to talk to, and she’s my host, so I thought I’d bring her along too.”

Elara glared at it.

Ethan, however, wasn’t complaining.

If anything, he was fascinated.

This was the first real opportunity he’d had to speak directly with the being living inside the woman he lived with. Not to mention that it was a powerful entity that seemed to know everything.

As such, he had questions.

A lot of them.

The demon seemed to realise that.

”I thought now would be a good time to give you a little more information.”

Ethan leaned forward slightly.

”In exchange for what?”

The crimson figure placed a hand against its chest.

”What do you take me for?”

It grinned.

”A demon?”

Ethan stared at it as the demon burst out laughing.

He wasn’t laughing and had no intention of wasting the opportunity.

”We’re vessels for superior beings, right?”

His eyes narrowed.

”Are you one of those beings?”

He paused.

”Are all of us possessed by demons like you?”

The demon’s expression shifted.

It wasn’t offended, and if anything, it looked amused and impressed that he already knew so much.

”Superior beings?”

It chuckled.

”I wouldn’t call us that.”

Its crimson head tilted slightly.

”We’re simply different, on a higher plane of existence.”

The smile faded for just a moment.

”Though some of us definitely are superior.”

Ethan’s eyes sharpened.

’That’s an answer!’

Not a complete one, but it was a step in the right direction after so long.

’So other beings are really using Titled as vessels.’

His gaze drifted toward Elara.

’And Elara’s is one of the few that has manifested in a way we can actually interact with.’

Ethan returned his attention to the demon.

”What do you guys want?”

The demon answered without hesitation.

It raised one finger.

”Life.”

A second.

”Physical forms.”

Its grin widened as it raised a third.

”And some fun.”

Elara’s expression tightened.

”Taking our bodies is fun to you?”

The demon laughed.

”Absolutely.”

Ethan frowned.

There was so much to unpack about what it had just revealed, but before he could question anything, the demon continued. Its hoarse voice and powerful presence commanded attention, especially as it began to speak grandly.

”The universe demands balance.”

Its paused.

”And for beings like us to enter your world, something had to counterbalance our arrival.”

Ethan’s eyes narrowed, and Elara’s expression changed, both instantly understanding.

”Gates...”

The demon smiled.

”Exactly.”

For the first time since entering the mental space, Ethan felt genuinely unsettled.

The Gates weren’t merely portals and weren’t simply some natural disaster that had appeared seven years ago. They were part of something much larger he was only just beginning to understand.

”Finding the right host isn’t easy,” the demon continued. ”But if we create a danger and grant that host a Title, giving them access to our power to fight, their body will gradually develop.”

Ethan listened carefully.

”They’ll change.”

The demon gestured vaguely toward Elara.

”Strengthen, adapt, and morph into something capable of containing us.”

Elara’s face became increasingly pale.

”And once that happens?”

The demon smiled.

”Once this world is destroyed and we all have bodies compatible with our abilities, it can be rebuilt.”

It said the words with such casualness that they were almost worse.

”Rebuilt into a playground for us.”

Silence filled the darkness.

Ethan and Elara stared at the crimson entity.

The answer was finally beginning to make sense...

And they hated it.

He was glad to finally have answers, but he wasn’t exactly pleased with what those answers revealed. Not that the demon cared, continuing as though it hadn’t just casually described the destruction of an entire world.

”And among your kind, there are fanatics who believe their purpose is to accelerate this process.”

Its smile returned.

”People who believe they’re blessed and are helping our cause.”

Ethan’s expression darkened.

”Those crazy fucks.”

He slowly pieced the information together.

”So the more Gates there are, the more Titled there are. Meaning the more bodies capable of containing you.”

The demon nodded.

”Exactly.”

Ethan continued.

”More chaos creates a greater need for power.”

He looked toward the demon.

”And that gives more of your kind opportunities to find hosts.”

The demon’s grin widened.

”Exactly!”

It laughed as it watched Ethan and Elara’s minds go down an endless spiral of thoughts.

As insane as it all sounded, there was a twisted logic to it.

Gates created danger, which created a need for Titled. Titles gave humans access to supernatural power, and that power gradually transformed them into vessels capable of containing beings like Sir Demon.

It all fed into itself and had to be guided by entities like the crimson figure sat across from them.

Elara sat quietly, trying to process what she had just learned.

The demon living inside her had just admitted that its ultimate purpose was to take over her body.

That alone was disturbing.

But there was something even more unsettling.

She had spent years believing Gates were an unexplained phenomenon, that Titled were just heroes who had appeared when the world needed them. Now she was being told that both were connected to something far more sinister.

Although both of them also recognised that it was only one side of the story.

’It could be trying to just get into our heads.’

Ethan wasn’t willing to blindly accept everything Sir Demon said, but there was enough truth in its words to make dismissing them impossible.

He leaned forward again.

”And where do Lords fit into this?”

For once, the demon didn’t immediately answer.

Its crimson smile slowly returned.

”Now...”

It also leaned forward, bringing its face closer to Ethan’s.

”That’s a good question.”