They found refuge in a narrow cave before nightfall. The storm had risen, violent, carrying blasts of snow that made progress impossible. Kira lit a fire at the entrance of the shelter, protected by a curve in the rock. Kael sat cross-legged, hands resting on his knees, gaze turned toward the darkness.
"Tell me about the world," he said after a long silence.
"Which world?"
"Ours. The one below. The human one. Everything."
Kira leaned back against the wall.
"It's vast."
"We have time. The storm won't calm for hours."
"Very well. Where to begin?"
"With the rifts. The breach that connects Noctyra to the human world. Tell me what it's become."
Kira crossed his arms.
"It's still there. It's the largest of the gates between the two dimensions. No one knows exactly when it appeared. The ancients say it has always existed. Others claim it was opened by the first Demon King."
"And the humans?"
"They call it the Tear. For them, it's a wound in the fabric of the world. A cursed place from which demons emerge."
"Yet that's where merchants, emissaries, and armies pass through."
"Yes. But that has never changed their fear. They trade with demons, they sign treaties, they exchange hostages. But deep down, they still see us as nightmare creatures."
"And us?"
"We see them as weak beings. Useful, sometimes. But weak."
Kael nodded slowly.
"That was before my fall. And now?"
"Now it's more complicated."
"Explain."
Kira stirred the fire with a stick.
"During the ten years of your absence, the Tear widened. Not by much. But enough for things to pass through both ways. Beasts. Spirits. Sometimes older entities."
"The humans reacted?"
"Yes. They built fortresses all along the rift. Walls, watchtowers, outposts. They also formed mages specialized in closing secondary breaches."
"Secondary breaches?"
"Smaller, unstable tears that open and close unpredictably. Some let through a lone demon. Others swallow entire villages."
"And Noctyra?"
"On our side, the Tear is monitored by the noble houses. The Demon Kings share it. Each controls a portion."
"That was my case."
"Yes. Your portion was the most stable. That's why the Neverdie Realm had so much influence."
"And now?"
"Now your portion is held by Thorgar and what remains of his garrison. But they no longer control everything. Traffickers, mercenaries, minor clans have settled in the border zones."
"And the humans take advantage."
"Yes. They send expeditions. Scouts. Sometimes saboteurs."
Kael was silent for a moment.
"You said humans could summon demons. Through third-party methods."
"Yes. It's an ancient practice. Summoners draw circles, offer counterparts. Blood, memories, years of life."
"And demons accept."
"Some. The weakest. The hungriest. Or the most curious."
"Why?"
"Because the human world is rich in emotional energy. Fear, anger, desire. All of it feeds demons. Even from a distance."
"And the summoners, what do they gain?"
"Power. Services. Protections. A demon can kill a rival, overthrow a house, reveal secrets."
"And then?"
"Then the contract ends. But the debts remain. Many summoners end up consumed by the demons they called."
"It's a dangerous game."
"Yes. But humans love danger. Especially when they're desperate."
Kael stood and approached the cave entrance. The storm raged. The wind howled through the peaks.
"And us? Are demons afraid of humans?"
"No. Not of humans. But of what they can do together. When humans unite, they become formidable. They've overthrown kings. They've sealed entire armies."
"They defeated me."
"They trapped you. It's not the same."
"It's the same. Defeat is defeat."
Kira didn't argue.
"Humans are no longer what they were," he resumed after a moment. "Your fall emboldened them. They believe they can stand up to demons. They've strengthened their academies, their armies, their temples."
"Temples?"
"Yes. Priests and paladins have multiplied. They preach resistance. They train demon hunters."
"Hunters."
"Soldiers trained to track and kill isolated demons. Not the Kings, of course. But the small ones. Those who venture too close to the breaches."
Kael turned around.
"They hunt my kind."
"Yes. But not only yours. All demons."
"That didn't exist before?"
"It did, but it was marginal. Now it's organized."
"Why?"
"Because they saw that a Demon King could fall. It gave them hope."
"Hope or arrogance?"
"Both."
Kael clenched his fists.
"And the other Demon Kings? They allow this?"
"Some don't care. Others send reprisals. But most observe. They want to see how far the humans will go."
"They're playing."
"Yes. As always."
Kael returned to sit by the fire.
"And you lived among humans. You saw their world from the inside."
"Yes."
"Are they ready for a new war?"
"No. Not an open war. They're afraid. They're preparing, but they don't want a total conflict. Not yet."
"So they prefer skirmishes, hunts, provocations."
"Yes. It's safer for them."
"Until a demon responds too strongly."
"Until a Demon King decides to respond."
Silence fell again, heavy. The fire crackled, casting shifting shadows on the cave walls.
"And if it were me?" Kael asked.
"You want to start a war?"
"I want to remind them why they were afraid."
"Now is not the time."
"Why?"
"Because you haven't yet reclaimed your throne. And the other Demon Kings are only waiting for a pretext to declare you dead and partition the Neverdie Realm."
Kael smiled coldly.
"Then I'll give them pretexts. But not the ones they expect."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean I'm not going to return in silence. I'm going to return as a king. And they will all know it."
Outside, the storm redoubled. Snow swept into the cave entrance, but Kael didn't move.
"First," he said, "we reach the pass. Then we see Drakk. Then we take back what is mine."
"And the Vorlath?"
"The Vorlath will pay for the ambush. Not now. But soon."
"You want to punish them publicly."
"I want all of Noctyra to understand that my return is not a rumor. It's a certainty."
Kira nodded.
"I'll help you."
"I know."
"But we'll need to be cautious. The world has changed. Alliances have shifted. Humans are no longer the only ones watching you."
"Who else?"
"The churches. The guilds. The courts of the other kings. And perhaps even some of your former allies."
"They're afraid."
"Yes. And fear makes people dangerous."
"Fear makes people predictable."
Kira smiled despite himself.
"You may be right."
"I'm always right."
"That's not true."
"It's almost always true."
The wind still howled. The night stretched on, endless. But inside the cave, a flame still burned.
And in Kael's mind, an idea was taking shape.
The world had changed.
But the demons hadn't forgotten.
And neither had he.