Key to the Demon Lord's Seal

The darkness around me faded, and I found myself back in the forest. The air was cool, and the rustling of leaves filled the silence. My journey was far from over.

“I am not yet back. The second phase is not yet done.” I became so wary and anxious, my pulse quickening with every passing second. The weight of the words echoed in my mind, but I couldn’t understand their full meaning.

“She said prove yourself or fall into the abyss.” So, what should I do? This phase is full of mysteries, each more complicated than the first. My mind raced, the words looping in my thoughts like a broken record. Prove yourself. But prove what? To whom?

I looked around, hoping for some sign, some clue that could lead me in the right direction. The glow in the distance had grown stronger, pulsing softly like a heartbeat, but it was still unclear whether it was my salvation or my doom. Each step I took felt heavier, as if the weight of her words were pressing down on me.

The path ahead wasn’t straight, not in the way I had expected. It seemed to twist and turn, fading into shadows only to reappear again. The more I tried to understand it, the more I realized that the landscape itself was shifting, as if it too were alive, testing me.

The words echoed again, sharp and clear: “Prove yourself or fall into the abyss.” What was the abyss? Was it a place? A state of mind? Or was it the nothingness that swallowed all who dared to venture too far?

I reached for the nearest stone, grasping it in my hand, but it was cold, smooth, and as I held it, a sudden thought struck me—Am I already falling?

I stepped forward, cautiously, but resolute.

My hand brushed against the necklace hanging from my neck—a gift from my mother. It wasn’t just any necklace. It was a family heirloom, said to have belonged to the first witch of the Evergreen family. Her voice echoed in my mind as clearly as the day she handed it to me.

"I don’t know if this could be of help to you," she had said, her hands trembling slightly as she clasped it around my neck, "but it is believed that the very first witch of the Evergreen family possessed this necklace and passed it to our female ancestors before she passed away. It was passed down to me by our mother, and now, I have passed it to you. Good luck, my dear."

Her words carried both warmth and a weight of responsibility, but at that moment, I felt more connected to her—and to my ancestors—than ever before.

Then, suddenly, there was movement.

A rustle of branches. The crack of twigs breaking under heavy paws. I turned just in time to see a large, hulking shape dart across the path in front of me. It was fast, barely visible in the darkness, but I caught a glimpse of glowing red eyes—a predator, lurking just beyond my sight.

My heart began to race. The growls grew louder, more frequent. I wasn’t alone in this forest.

I stepped back, my hand instinctively going to the tree branch from a fallen tree. The creature was closing in, its growls now reverberating through the trees. It was huge—something out of nightmares. Its body was covered in thick, matted fur, and claws the size of daggers glinted under the dim light. I could see its teeth—sharp and vicious, dripping with saliva.

“Waa—!”

Before I could react, the beast charged at me, its claws tearing across my shoulder in a painful swipe. I gasped, stumbling back as the pain shot through me. But I couldn’t afford to fall. Not now.

“Ahh!” The pain pulsed with each step, but I pushed forward, desperate to put distance between myself and the monster.

“G… give it back!” The beast’s voice, a terrifying growl, ripped through the air. Why did you have to include beasts on the test, of all things?!

“You, thief!” it bellowed, accusation thick in its tone.

“I didn’t steal anything from you!” I shouted, my voice strained, my breath ragged as I ran. My shoulder throbbed, blood dripping down my shoulder, but survival mattered more than the agony.

In the midst of my flight, it hit me—the spell. I could cast a spell! I halted abruptly, planting my feet firmly on the ground, and with a quick incantation, I murmured, “Παρός μικρόν ἐστιν. Για προσεκύνησαν.”

A surge of magma spell shot from my hands, the magma spiraling toward the beast, aiming to halt its relentless pursuit.

“Let’s talk in peace. You must’ve mistaken me for someone.” I tried to convince it.

The beast stopped in its tracks, its glowing red eyes narrowing at me with an intensity that sent a chill down my spine. It was as if something deep within its core recognized me, but also feared what I might hold.

“I… I am Asmodeus, I am… a demon.” The demon said, its voice now smooth but filled with anger. “And you... you are the one I’ve been searching for.”

I swallowed hard, my hand instinctively brushing over the necklace hanging around my neck—the same one my mother had given me. The weight of it had always felt oddly comforting, but now, under Asmodeus' gaze, it felt like a burden I couldn’t escape.

“You’re searching for this, aren’t you?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper as I raised my hand, the necklace glinting in the dim light.

Asmodeus’s lips curled into a sinister smile. “So, you do know what you carry.”

Mother, this cursed thing is going to get me killed, I thought, gripping the necklace tighter. The image of her startled "Eh?" echoed in my mind. I felt like crying.

I could feel the magic swirling around me, pulsating with the power of the necklace. My heart raced, and my thoughts scrambled for answers. How could he know about it? How had he connected me to this cursed heirloom?

“It belongs to someone… I know,” Asmodeus continued, his voice taking on a more reverent tone, as though acknowledging the significance of the necklace. “The witch who carried that but now... it belongs to you.”

I clenched my fists, feeling the burn of magic radiating through me. “I don’t know what you want with it, but I’m not handing it over.”

“You don’t understand,” Asmodeus rasped, his voice no longer smooth but jagged, like it was fighting its way out. He bared his teeth in a twisted grin. “That necklace... it’s not just a thing.” He stalked closer but not passed my magma magic, his eyes burning with unholy fire. “It’s the key. The key to the seal... the seal that keeps my master bound!”

A chill ran down my spine as the weight of his words settled in. The necklace—the one my mother had given me, the one that Evergreens had worn for centuries—it wasn’t just some family heirloom. It was tied to a power far darker than I could have ever imagined.

“Huh, it was sealed for a purpose.” This beast’s master should mean it’s the Demon Lord.

“It was never meant to stay sealed!” Asmodeus growled, the raggedness of his breath sharp against the silence. “Your bloodline... you carry it now. The one who wears it holds the power to break the chains of the Demon Lord!”

Damn, I was right.

My heart pounded, a cold sweat running down my back as the realization hit. This necklace was the key to freeing the most powerful demon in existence. And it seemed I had been marked to either protect or unleash that power.

I’m doomed.

I held up the necklace, my fingers trembling but my resolve hardening. “I don’t care what it unlocks. I won’t let it be used for evil.”

Asmodeus’ voice cracked with frustration, a mixture of fury and something darker. “You think you have a choice?” His claws flexed, but he still couldn’t go past my magma magic. “I don’t need your permission. I’ll take that!”

“You said ‘The one who wears it holds the power to break the chains of the Demon Lord,’ isn’t it?” I tried to reason out. “It means you need the necklace but you need me as well.” I grinned, trying to hide the fear.