A Demon's Voice - Part One

With a breath, light once again began to return to his world…

At first that light was faint, but as his eyes adjusted to it, the aquamarine glow of the cave walls all around his peripherals lit and pulsated in a shimmering dance. Those pulsating rocks glowed through sheets upon sheets of mist, to the point where he could hardly even see his own feet.

However, his eyes were not on his feet, but instead, they looked directly ahead of him at a tranquil girl, alone on a rock.

This tranquil girl, whose horns gleamed with nebulousness, and whose following shakelike silhouette whipped in earnest, simply cast a sideways glance his way, before transforming that passing glance into a grin.

Meanwhile, her trailing snakelike silhouette flicked into the cold cave air and kicked up the mist around them, somewhere between the wag of a dog’s tail and the precise lashing of a whip. Which it was intended as was a mystery—but in acknowledgement of his presence, she stretched, shifting her foot up the rock she was settled on, and lifting her knee higher against the pressing of her calf.

The rock she sat poised on seemed like an island, completely void from the rest of the world, the mist caressing the sides of it like blue seas rocking the shores of an island. And being aware of this distance, she stayed put, her feet unmoving.

And with the scene separating the two being established in Cobalt’s mind, she lifted her face towards him—a gesture which cast her freckled visage in a reddish light, perhaps due to the shine of her eyes alone.

“Well…” She began softly, caressing her fingernails with the thumb of the same hand. “I suppose that is one way to clear a Trial…”

Now finding himself back within the Demon’s Lair, he couldn’t help but also feel he had been swallowed into the gaping mouth of a snake.

Despite the softness of her sophisticated-sounding voice, there still wasn’t a single reason to put any semblance of trust into this place.

And besides—still fuming from the adrenaline, along with the sand-encrusted wounds covering his face and body, he was naturally a bit disconnected from the Demon’s typical smalltalk.

He let out a deep sigh, ignoring her notions entirely before beginning his walk across the mist that separated them.

This appeared to get a reaction out of her, as she questioned his actions in her mind with a rather perplexed expression. However, that was another subtle sight of hers he disregarded, as he walked forward shaking the sand from his hair.

The mist swirled around his feet as he walked, dispersing the white vapor throughout the heavy atmosphere before he found a separate rock to sit on, maybe five meters away from the Demon. And claiming it as his own, he gently took a seat, enjoying the brief moment of peace he received here—something he considered a reward for his efforts.

“So…” He slowly bridged the gap between them, pulling at his prussian blue hair to try to wake himself up a bit.

“After all that I’m here again… Is this like an extra Boss Battle at the end of the maze? Or are we anywhere near the maze at all at this point?”

Watching him, she chuckled softly, a gesture that put a confused frown over his face.

“It is interesting that you took a seat immediately after arriving here… You may rest as long as you like, how much time you take is up to you.”

Her words seemed gentle and kind. But feeling ignored, or simply left out of his own discussion, he could only scratch his head in response, staring blankly back at her.

That didn’t exactly answer my question…

She raised her eyes to him again, sensing his confusion with a shifty smile, which stretched at the corners of her soft lips.

“But—no. This certainly is not anything like a ‘Boss Battle’ as you call it, and we are also no longer within the vicinity of that labyrinth.”

“Wait, so it’s you who’s been teleporting me around, right? Why? And why do it at the worst possible moments?”

His response was harsh, especially considering that this Demon was the one responsible for Cobalt even being alive at all—twice now, in fact.

But despite the roughness of his words, the Demon simply brought her knees a little closer to her chest, before dramatically shrugging her shoulders with a closed-eye smile.

“Ahh—I wonder why. I suppose you should indeed be lucky that you are so interesting to me!”

She laughed in response to her own statement—a gentle and quiet giggle that seemed like the type of laugh she wasn’t used to sharing with anyone else.

In short, it was remarkably cute given the circumstances.

“But as for why I brought you around when I did, well, there are certain rules I am bound to follow regarding the Trials. In essence, there is a strict limit to what I am able to do.”

Cobalt raised a brow slightly, bringing the back of his hand across his chin, the respective elbow placed on his upper thigh.

And as he thought on what she had said…

“So even you have limits? Honestly, knowing that puts me a little at ease… Thank you—that’s what I should have said first.”

His mind kept running back to the thought of a “Developer” given the game-like structure of the Tomb.

But if he believed the words she spoke to be the truth, then it wouldn’t be possible that this Demon could hold that title.

Her expression only grew more perplexed, however, as if she wasn’t expecting his reaction to be anything within the lines of “thanks”.

But despite her impressions of that reply, the words he said were the truth. In fact, they were words he knew he should have said to her a lot sooner.

Ignoring her perplexed facial features, he brought his hand once again up to his cheek to scratch the dried blood and sand away.

“That Hell’s over, right? That fight with the Antliopede… I won, didn’t I?”

“Hm. Antliopede—I quite like that name. I am impressed that your brain named it while your body was so busy running from it,” She replied, softly giggling once more.

You’d be impressed by all my brain can do when I’m busy running around like an idiot—but much more importantly…

The left side of his mouth raised as he pouted at her subtle jab.

Pretty ballsy laughing at me while you’re not wearing any clothes over there…

He almost felt bad that that particular thought kept rising in his mind, but it wasn’t a thought he could really control.

Five meters or so away, the Demon was nothing short of au naturel, and the thick mist separating them could hardly censor her “features”.

And to top it all off, despite her massless chest, she appeared fairly attractive—and still, Cobalt didn’t even know the girl’s name.

Obviously this was a situation that he had no part in.

But Cobalt couldn’t help but blame himself regardless.

Sighing to himself, he turned back to face her again, trying to establish at least the bare-minimum of respect he owed her after catching glimpses of the bare skin of the girl who technically saved his life.

“I never asked for your name, did I?”

Her curious fiery eyes watched him intently. Although her lips always read a smile, her eyes seemed to always read ambiguity. Every word was like he was staring off against a dragon that could tear his head off with its monstrous claws any second. But rather than angry, she looked completely the opposite—perplexed, if anything.

“No, I do not believe you did. Would you like to know?”

“Might as well know the name of the first woman I’ve ever seen naked.”

—Yeah, as if he would say something so crude.

Naturally, Cobalt cut himself off after the words “Might as well”.

However the fact remained that this was technically the “farthest” he’s ever gotten with a woman.

And the irony in that was that she was still five meters away, cloaked in clouds.

“Naomi.”

“—Ah?”

After the last 24 hours he had lived through, he actually predicted a reaction like “It’s of no importance to you” or “Why should I even bother with something so trivial?”.

But in stark contrast, the girl replied naturally.

Naomi… It was a really nice name—and upon hearing that name and applying it to the demon in front of him, she suddenly seemed much less like an intimidating dragon, and much more like an actual person.

“Do you have a last name?”

She smiled, before responding, again, “Alrakis.”

Alrakis. That was a really odd last name—but being from a race of demons, it made sense that her surname would be very foreign sounding. He tossed the name over a few times in his mind. Alrakis. Alrakis. He contemplated on it until the name morphed into his own last name given the similarities.

And at that moment, he was hit with a jogging memory out of the blue.

『I will be seeing you soon… Cobalt Aspire.』

Suddenly, this itching feeling that had followed in the back of his mind since their first encounter jolted out at him as he realized: “Hold on… About twelve or whatever hours ago, I never told you my last name at all, did I?”

Although it was a minor detail, the first encounter with this creature of mist—which seemed like an eternity ago now—had ended with her calling him by his full name.

But pulling at his crusty hair and thinking back to it, he realized he was almost certain he never gave it to her.

It was at that realization that the scene shifted, and he started to view their meeting much differently.

Being prodded with the realization of her slip-up, she simply uttered, “Aspire… It is quite the unique name, is it not? Aspire… Like aspiration. Such is virtually the reason for living, yes?”

His eyes narrowed, feeling caught off guard by the sudden shift in this scene. However, this shift was less of an unexpected move on the board, and more like shuffling it until all the pieces fell off. She hadn’t denied it at all. And that silence affirmed his suspicion.

“An aspiration… It is something everyone in this world desires. The meaning to life, at its essence, is either seeking out your aspiration, or following it, would you agree? Following such an irrational source of motivation and hope… It is simply the nature, of humans, right?”

The way she used the words humans instead of people stuck out to Cobalt, as if this was done intentionally.

“But I digress, as you must have a lot of questions.”

The silence she left him in after candidly admitting that detail had slipped put Cobalt’s nerves once again on end.

Who the hell was he dealing with?

“…How much… Do you know about me…?”

Once again making a cutely crude gesture, she brought her knees higher as she shrugged her shoulders. Tilting her head, she replied:

“I know simply what I wish to know.”

He was left with such an eerie feeling after that remark…

Such an unnatural taste in his mouth.

So this is what it’s like conversing with a Demon…

And all at once, those alarm bells clicked, bringing him back to the suspicious and unnatural scene he found himself in.

“Seeing as you managed to clear that Trial all by yourself, I will answer… Let us say five questions—any five questions you have, I will answer for you. Although I must add that if later you feel disappointed in the knowledge you acquired, blame the adrenaline that is making it hard to concentrate.”

“So basically you’re saying all my questions are gonna be stupid?”

“Your first question about the Trial teleportation was quite jumbled. Meanwhile I do not believe you should be penalized for asking for my name—though I most certainly was not expecting it. But digressing, I shall include my stating of Trial limit’s as the first answer, and shall answer four more.”

Just like that, Naomi laid all her cards out on the table, establishing what Cobalt could assume was the real purpose behind bringing him here.

She had a lot of information that he needed, so it seemed only fitting she’d be putting on airs as she tested Cobalt to see what he would deem the most important.

And on that, the only thing Cobalt gained was the knowledge that this demon—rather, Naomi—had limits imposed on her of some kind.

As for what those were, as well as the reasons behind them…

That’s probably why I was given five questions instead of the usual three from Genie-like scenes like this.

“Damn, demons sure don’t make shit easy…”

Having wasted his first of five, Cobalt would naturally have carefully taken the time to formulate his next question to her. However, time wasn’t something he needed at all—since if she’d answer anything he wanted to know, he didn’t even need to think about what to ask next. It was something he constantly had going in the back of his mind this entire time.

“Then my next question is obvious. Where’s Arabelle, and is she still safe?”

After being warped around from Trial to Trial, he still had no idea if Arabelle was safe or not. The fall should have killed that Horror, but there’s also the worst case scenario that after things went dark, something else could have happened—

“That girl… It went dark so my information is quite limited, however I have not received any indication that anything within that Zone has died.”

“Wait—She’s just sitting there in the dark?”

“I suppose.”

After all this time… No—how much time has passed? It’s been maybe a half hour since the first Trial had concluded, at least that’s what he assumed. So within that time, shouldn’t Arabelle have gotten up to look around? Or try to find Cobalt?

If she hadn’t been killed, then she was either knocked unconscious, or…

She could have been teleported somewhere else—just as Cobalt was.

And with that thought burning a hole through Cobalt's mind, he couldn’t help but continue to speculate on his “Developer” theory.

After all—there was always a chance.

“Third question—is there anyone else here that possibly could have gotten involved?”

“If you are referring to being teleported around, I am the only one responsible for assigning Trials. If there was anyone else above that position, I would not know of them.”

That was…

An extremely interesting word choice…

One that couldn't prove or disprove his “Developer” theory…

Almost as if that Demon could read his mind.

But before he could ask his third question, another subtle point of hers finally reached his mind…

“Hold on… Did you say that nothing in that Zone died…?! Not me, Arabelle, or even—?!”

“I was in fact wondering when you would bring that topic back up.”

Reading into her subtleties even further, it became painfully clear that his worst case scenario had come true…

And if that was the state of things…

“There’s no way… That Horror is still alive, isn’t it?!”

“It is indeed a very peculiar, and I agree, ‘horrifying’ creature… One whose methods of extermination can only be counted on one hand.”

Her mysterious responses once again rose the hairs on his arms, as his spine succumbed to a frosty chill from the equally icy mist.

“But with you now realizing your attempt to take its life has failed, I am assuming you already know of its methods of extermination—as well as its identity.”

If that evaluation was correct, then the identity of that Horror…

Was the monster he was most fearing, above all others.

“It’s… It’s a Wendigo… Isn’t it?”

“Indeed—the first Trial you undertook… It was to kill the Wendigo.”

The Wendigo, a horrifyingly tall, fast, and strong ghoulish presence. One which emitted an Aura of Hunger, and seemed to drive anyone else in its presence completely mad.

That… Was the identity of the creature Cobalt had declared war on.

“If that’s the case, then… Then I’m completely screwed…! If it could survive a fall like that, it must mean that the only ways to kill it—”

“Are fire, as well as silver..”

“…”

She candidly confirmed his worst fears with zero hesitation.

With Cobalt and Arabelle trapped in this grey hellscape, there was only one way out—and that was through the Wendigo.

But between Cobalt’s war between hunger and pain, as well as its only two weaknesses, the two of them didn’t stand a fraction of a chance.

All Arabelle had was magic, no physical strength, and no experience to use it even if she had it. This was made more than apparent by her kick towards Cobalt this morning, and her first encounter with the Wendigo—both of which had left her completely defenseless.

And that left Cobalt. Stats: above average intelligence, but zero magic affinity, as well as almost zero combat experience.

This left their only ways of doing harm as either Arabelle’s spellcasting, or using a silver weapon of some kind. But within that Trial, magic was uncastable, and there was no silver in sight.

We… Were literally doomed the second we entered that place…

And there was nothing the two of them could have done.

“…”

“The fourth question was more of an affirmation, but I am not one for arguing semantics. Circling back, the Trial is more than completable… That is, if you even wish at all to return…”

“If I wish… to return…?”

The idea of running away from all of this, and starting fresh outside the boundary of this Tomb…

Wasn’t even something he had considered until now.

He didn’t even know it was an option.

“I will simply give you the choice of whether or not you wish to go back to fight against it. You certainly do not have to… In fact, I can simply teleport you away from here. However that would include just yourself, as that is the limit of my ability, as well as my interest.”

Leaving this cruel hell…

Leaving Arabelle behind to die…?

“Before you answer that question though, allow me to ask you a few more…”

All at once the board flipped, and before Cobalt could think about what to do with his last question, he was now thrown on the defensive, as Naomi’s interrogation began.

Hearing her declaration, it all clicked.

Her goal for this conversation wasn’t for Cobalt to get answers out of her.

It was for her to get answers out of me…

Seeing his gears turning, she opted out of leaving him in the dark any further. As her grin dropped to that of a serious expression, she parted her lips slightly, as if searching for the correct place to start.

And then she found it.

“Just a moment ago, when your veins were pumping with adrenaline, why did you give it your all to defeat the ‘Antliopede’ as you call it?”

It was a simple question, but the way Naomi phrased it put him on edge. What was she implying with this? And more importantly, how did this apply to the current situation?

He swallowed, before timidly replying, “It was… The only way to survive.”

She skipped past his answer, as if it wasn’t even worth continuing that line of dialogue. Instead, shifting to her next line, “A few days ago was your last meal. Back then, why did you eat?”

That uneasy feeling was quickly replaced with a sharp icy chill that continued to trace his spine. After all of the information she candidly revealed about knowing about him, he wasn’t even sure how to respond.

Instead, she herself answered. “It was for survival too, yes? If that is the case, if you run for survival, and eat for survival, and sleep for survival, then answer one more… Why did you enter this Tomb? This twisting labyrinth of uncertainty and anxiety—knowing that you knew absolutely nothing, what brought you to approach? What drove you to enter?”

His eyes, still narrowed, analyzed the strange creature in front of him. Perhaps it would be unfair to refer to her as a creature, but to Cobalt, who was overwhelmed with wariness and trepidation, the word seemed fitting. He had no idea what the correct answer to her question was. A lot of factors had driven him here, but if he wanted the most recent sole motivator, then that would be…

“Arabelle,” he said, thinking aloud. “The biggest driving force… Would be her.”

She seemed satisfied with his answer and crossed her raised leg over the other, leaning closer to him in the process. “That decision… was one made by another, to whom you do not even know, but still, you cling to this under the mask of your own aspiration, while simultaneously claiming the pretense of your own free will…” she spoke her entire grievance in a few separated breaths.

With that evaluation, she was clearly extremely charismatic, as well as brutally honest and to-the-point. Having been dragged around with her words since the start, only now did they all start to click, and her assertions suddenly formed themselves coherently in his mind.

Cobalt had abandoned Bismuth. He had abandoned his home. And now, looking at the free world from the absolute bottom, he once again clung to someone else for guidance and dependence from her. Why? Why were freedom and a reason to live things so unachievable to him that he needed to rely on someone else, no matter the situation?

And more importantly… Why hadn’t he even realized it until now?

“You have essentially signed your life away by accepting a relationship with someone from such a different walk of life. In such a dangerous environment, your way of going about things seems… shortsighted, as if you are only able to see the one option in front of you. You see this, and yet… There are many, many more choices for you.”

He thought about this, too. Shortsighted was a particularly accurate word to describe him with—in that regard, she was right.

But what type of hope in this world did Naomi hold that Cobalt himself did not? Where was all this trust placed in?

She didn’t let silence fall for long before she picked her speech up where she left it. “I have it under a significant likelihood that in signing yourself over to this, you will not survive. With monsters, and cultists, and all of these exploring and rash decisions the two of you are sure to make, your frail unprepared body will certainly break under your own unnecessary pressure.” She leaned forward a little more, pressing as deeply into his soul as she possibly could, hoping he could understand the weight of her words, and the strong advice she was pumping into them.

“Knowing all of this, and having the freedom to decide for yourself, will you still agree to sign yourself away to it all? Or will you break free yet again, just as you did before?”

She was implying a lot of heavy topics, and insinuated a lot about Cobalt’s past. He wasn’t sure just what she knew, but the impression it gave scared him. Perhaps it was more fitting to ask what didn’t she know.

He knew he would need to choose his words carefully. Not just to convince her, but to also convince himself, that following Arabelle will be worth it in the end. Because the truth is… What Naomi had said was true, and to convince even himself otherwise would take guts.

He winced for a moment, before reopening his eyes which now hopefully reflected the same confidence as hers.

It took a bit of self-reassurance, but… In the end—

He knew exactly how he felt.

Laughing to himself, he just finally understood how ironic it was that only now was he finally realizing how he felt.

“I guess it’s only fitting that Fate would make me keep my word. This roadblock can’t make me back down…”

Hearing the soft and quiet words he spoke to himself, her head tilted to the side at hearing vocabulary she was unfamiliar with.

“The… What—?”

Before her words were cut off entirely by his declaration…

“Yeah, sure! All that may be true, but so the hell what?!”

In defiance, he brazenly pounded against his chest with his fist, sporting a thumb which pointed to himself with confidence.

The only way to rise above that uncertainty and fear…

Was to declare it so loudly his doubts wouldn’t have any choice but to listen.

It wasn’t much, but even that first line alone made Naomi’s eyebrow raise, and torso move away, taken aback.

“Without a purpose, just like I was before all of this, I was basically already dead. There wasn’t any hope for me, and I sure as hell couldn’t find it for myself. But no—this is different. I actually have the opportunity to wager away from a fate worse than death. There’s no way in hell I’m letting myself die in here. And there’s no way in hell I’d let that girl die without me there fighting beside her. I’ll fight tooth and nail if it means there’s salvation at the end. I just need to keep this attitude. Keep this confidence. Keep my eyes on my will, and I’m gonna make it through this. I’ll learn magic, I’ll learn to fight, I’ll even learn to love that feeling she gets by seeing all the dullness and grey down here. I’ve got no where left to turn, right? So hell—if there’s a chance I can find my home here, I’ll take any wager thrown at me. And I’m gonna come out on top, too.”

He caught his breath, and watched for her reaction. Such a bold declaration—if this was truly his aspiration, his voice had spoken volumes to defend it. He had so much more left to learn, but he didn’t care. This was his will. This was his determination. This was—

“Hm… Please excuse me, but I am at a bit of a loss for words.”

That reply, simple and devoid of all of her former confidence, was all she had in response to his will.

Obviously everything Cobalt had said was completely stupid, and only proved Naomi’s point even further.

However… Everything he had declared was a bulk of confidence that he believed in wholeheartedly.

And in an equally irrational way, it all made perfect sense.

“You weren’t expecting a response like that, were you?”

“I certainly was not,” Regaining her composure, she aligned the conversation back to its original rails, dropping the issue she initially pursued entirely. “You currently have one question remaining, however, after that display, I believe I can predict what it will be.”

“You said the Wendigo can be killed, but we don’t have any fire or silver… So just like I’m guessing you predicted, I want you to tell me how to kill the Wendigo.”

That was his final question towards the Demon.

After sharpening his resolve as much as he was able to, neither one of them could deny his motives.

So if by the end of this, Cobalt and Arabelle could both walk out safe and sound—

“You do not have fire—however, the latter is something which you unknowingly walked in with.”

The latter…

Cobalt walked into the Tomb with silver?

“That doesn’t make any sense. We didn’t walk in with anything but our clothes, so that couldn’t…”

All Cobalt had was his sweater, jeans, shoes, button-up shirt, and a crystal.

And that crystal was definitely not silver.

So that left Arabelle, who wore a doll-like dress and a dark red cape. And the only thing she had with her was what she made Cobalt carry: her lantern for the notpixies.

Unless…

“It’s the lantern? Specifically, its handle?”

The only thing they carried in that was metal…

There’s no way the solution could be something as stupid as that…

However, she did not refute it, instead, opting to stretch once more, and even going as far as to step off the rock she sat atop for the first time since this meeting had begun.

With that, Cobalt got the distinct sensation that their deliberation was now coming to a close, the only thing left being…

“Hm… Seeing as we have all had our questions answered by now, I believe it is about time I send you back… Regardless of my better judgment.”

On top of that affirmation, as well as Cobalt’s final question being used up, he bit back a laugh at what she added towards the end.

After all this time, Cobalt would be forced to return. And somehow, he knew he’d have to fight that Wendigo all on his own.

But no—even though Cobalt was the only one who could fight, he knew he wouldn’t be alone. He wasn’t giving up on that girl. After all…

After all the shit I went through, it would all be for nothing if I didn’t bring the one person who gave a damn about my existence back with me.

But that gave way to another question… Being, how would Cobalt return to retake the first Trial?

He had an idea, and couldn’t help but grin at how cool and reckless it sounded.

Standing back up as well, he stood at last at an equal playing field towards the woman he had previously been incredibly suspicious of… And with an incredibly egotistical “sixth” question to ask, no less.

“One more thing… And this is a bit of a selfish request, but… About where I want you to teleport me back.”

…

“I see. I suppose I will grant it, as a bit of a parting gift—and a testament to your baseless confidence.”

Having accepted his outrageous proposal, he felt confident in his ability to win the upcoming war, despite all of the odds being against him. But racking his hand through his messy blue hair, he couldn’t help but laugh at the way she worded his resolve.

“Bit of a harsh way to phrase it, wouldn’t you say?”

And with that, the world around him started to fade, as he could at long last see sparkles of blue and ivory emitting off of his body as the world started to get fuzzy.

Meanwhile he looked back with hope at the girl, her arrowhead tail whipping itself back and forth as she processed his previous declaration, and what those words meant to him. Her tail, swaying like a pendulum, reflected this drawn-out period of reflection. It was just when Cobalt got readjusted to the silence that she continued:

“Indeed it is rather harsh, but… About… those words…”

Although fading out into black, he could still make out her bright and fiery eyes, which contrasted vividly with his dull grey ones.

In fact, it was almost bizarre that the two pairs could exist in the same room.

One pair seemed to glow with exuberance while the other seemed to retreat timidly back into their eye sockets. The dichotomy was shocking, to say the least.

But as she pondered to herself, and his world finally faded away, the next words to exit her mouth he could only hear, no longer able to make out the girl in front of him as his scene changed itself upside down.

But still… Her words continued.

“I wonder…”

『How much of that… Do you actually believe?』