A serpent of fire seemed to swim under Dex's skin with ferocity, and slowly the chains, once seemingly endless, began to diminish.
But even so, Dex's screams grew only more intense.
Long minutes passed—the arm now wrapped in a tattoo of chains seemed to throb as if the very links fought inside him. Finally, it seemed the process was ending: the chest, once full of chains, now held only a thin layer.
This layer soon joined his arm, bringing something that looked like an extremely sharp Fang. Dex's screams, still echoing, ceased the moment the dangerous canine embedded itself in his flesh.
His mind felt on the verge of shattering from the ceaseless pain—until a simple touch brought him back.
He opened his eyes on alert, and what he saw shocked him.
This was a place he would forever recognize: the catacombs of the Demon King's palace.
The catacombs stretched beneath the colossal palace like black roots—labyrinths dug into the very rock of the abyss. The corridors were wide yet oppressive, always covered by a ceiling adorned with ancient runes that glowed crimson.
The air was heavy, saturated with centuries of condensed demonic magic, each breath seeming to carry invisible ashes. The sound of dragging chains echoed constantly.
And among the black pillars supporting the ceiling, where there should have been a statue of the Demon King (by the game's memory), was what seemed a sea of chains.
In that sea, only a mouth was left for the prisoner to breathe.
'Are these the same binding chains that sealed that demon?' Dex thought, seeing how they resembled the ones once binding the demon and now fused to his arm.
'But what sort of monster needs so many chains for sealing?' Dex then stepped closer to the thing.
As if it could hear his faint steps, the creature responded with a hoarse but almost childlike sweet voice, "Master…? Has the punishment finally ended?"
In the infinite sea of chains, only a mouth remained exposed.
Dex stopped, his heart heavy with those words.
The voice continued, hesitant, as if afraid to be dreaming. "I…I promise never to distrust your queens again. I was bad, wasn't I? But I've learned… So… can you let me out? Just a little air… just to be close to you again…"
There was tenderness in the tone, but also a disturbing emptiness—as if she didn't even know how long had passed. "Please, my beloved king Ze—"
The moment she would say her master's name, reality itself seemed to tremble, refusing to allow the King's true name.
After that, Dex finally woke. 'Why do I feel this emptiness?'
Dex opened his eyes slowly and saw he was still in the demon's lair, but he was not alone. His head was resting on Echidna's lap—who was crying.
Trying to calm her, Dex joked, "Sorry for waking you up with my screaming."
"You think that's why I'm crying?!" she said angrily. "I'm crying because I thought you might have died!"
"I saw those chains enter you and could feel them tearing your arm from the inside, all while you screamed and thrashed!"
"And when you fainted, I truly thought you'd died in my arms and there was nothing I could do!"
"I couldn't do anything as you died in my arms, and the only thing that calmed me was the pulse of your heart, so…"
Before she could finish, he held her tight. "Sorry for worrying you so much."
Feeling her beloved's embrace, all composure left her—and for the first time in centuries, she wept uncontrollably.
Dex gently stroked her back and said, "It's alright. I'm here." And as he spoke, all he could feel was guilt. 'I shouldn't have made that joke or opened the chest without her by my side.'
Minutes passed with beautiful Echidna in his arms until the present.
"So, basically, you opened the chest and took the ring, but accidentally touched the chains and those started entering your arm?" she asked, her eyes slightly red and the beautiful ring in her hand.
"Yes, and after it was fully absorbed, something at the end of the chain took me somewhere."
"What do you mean took you somewhere? I was here the whole time, and you didn't disappear even for a millisecond."
"I don't know either, but when I woke up, I felt like I was in the dungeon of the Demon King's palace."
When she heard these words, all color left her face. "Tell me everything!"
"I woke in the spot where, in the game, there should be a statue of the Demon King. There were enormous pillars that looked like the castle's main supports, but where the statue should have been, there was someone sealed in a sea of chains just like those that held this demon."
"From that sea, the being—with a female voice—spoke and called me master, apologized for doubting the 'Queens,' and begged for freedom."
As she listened, Echidna grew pensive. Dex noticed and asked, "Do you know who she is?"
With a sigh, Echidna said, "For thousands of years, there have been many demon kings, and many legends were created about them."
"But from your story, one in particular comes to mind."
"They say that during the formation of the demon kingdom, the first demon king had a general who was extremely loyal—supposedly his lover until he married his seven wives, sent by the seven great infernal clans."
"Their romance ended, but she still loved him and felt she couldn't trust the king's wives—they might try to kill him. So to prevent her from threatening his wives, the great general was sealed."
Hearing Echidna's account, Dex's face turned somber. "If she really is who you say, how long has she been locked up?"
Realizing what Dex meant, Echidna replied sadly, "About twenty thousand years."
"Twenty thousand…" Dex couldn't imagine such loneliness.
But he then recalled something key.
"But why did she insist I was her master? She even tried to call me by his name?"
Hearing this last part, Echidna was stunned. "She said the name of the first king??"
"She tried, but halfway through I was brought back—the name started with Ze."
Eyes now bright with curiosity, she asked, "Did she say anything else about him?"
"No, and you didn't answer my question."
Sad for the lack of more information, she replied melancholically, "It's probably because of the demon king's aura—since she's sealed, she can likely only sense a king's aura, and confused you with him."
She continued, "But what I really wonder is why the same chains used here—supposedly with some relation to the gods—are exactly the ones used by the demon king. And what really are they?"
Dex replied, "We can't appraise the chains, but we can appraise the tattoo they formed."
He then activated the mark on his left hand, and soon a screen appeared.
System of the Ruler of Sins – Items/Mark
Name: Mark of 𝕺𝕱𝖂𝕿𝕰
Description: This mark allows the summoning of the first present she gave when they were both children. Forgotten and abandoned by her master and first love, her baby tooth—given as a gift—became a cursed weapon, fused to the chains that now seal her.
Abilities:
Summon – Allows the summoning of the cursed canine of the first general of the demon realm 𝕺𝕱𝖂𝕿𝕰, known as the strongest of the Primordial Demon Star Wolf race.
Ego – The weapon possesses a twisted ego; it loves and will protect its master until utterly destroyed.
Sacrifice – Allows part of itself to be consumed to enhance the master's regeneration.
Regeneration – Despite remarkable resilience, the chain or fang can still be destroyed, but they regenerate rapidly at the cost of the master's energy.
Stellar Lightning (Passive) – All attacks with this weapon imbued with aura will merge with the remnants of the great general's aura.
(Aura of the Demon King of the Original Sin + Aura of Stellar Lightning = ???)
And as if it wished to present itself, the previously-static tattoos began to move, and slowly something sharp emerged from the right hand. The sound of lightning was clearly heard, and the room was lit up by beautiful and dangerous stellar lightning.