Zhaohui walks me through the ornate halls of my castle, showing me room after room by opening the door for a split second while saying what it is before shutting it and prancing off to the next one. I follow along with a grin on my face the whole way. I don’t think I’ll remember all the places based on my short glances but I’m glad that she’s having fun.
It takes twenty two minutes and seventeen seconds to finally reach the entrance hall of the castle. We stand atop two curved staircases that meet at a landing just before where we entered. Between the two staircases is a grand hourglass slowly passing sand to the end of the day. Columns hold the same purple torches that light the room in conjunction with the soft beams of sunlight peeking through the main windows. Stepping down to the front doors, Zhaohui thrusts her hands forward in a dramatic fashion to shove them open. Light floods the entrance hall and covers the two of us.
Squinting and covering my eyes, I wait to adjust to the searing brightness. A few pained blinks later and I’m greeted by a beautiful sight. A massive green plain stretches out in front of me with forests lining the horizon far into the distance. As I step out, the shade pulls my attention upwards to the lip of a cave. Turning around, the whole castle truly is completely within a mountain. Its height is incredible, a tower protrudes from the the castle to be five or six stories tall, making the cave itself eight or nine stories.
Walking into the field, scores of skeletons are already beginning to dig out foundations for the buildings that will make up our new home. “Z, you ready to see if I’m as powerful as Maree claims?” I look at her with a confident grin which she returns with pride.
“I know you are, Mister Kris! But, please, go ahead!” She steps up ahead of me and holds her hands to the sky with a huge smile.
I scoff and rub my hands together. “Well, here goes nothing.” I let my grin drop and look up at the blue sky with an assured intensity. With a deep breath, I stick an open palm upwards and focus everything in my body into the sky. The crackling inside my body shocks its way into my finger tips. Curling my hand together, my snap explodes like a blast of thunder through the air. Far above, grand illusions of purple gears and clock hands flood the skyline. Their loud ticking and grinding slows to halt. They all explode into a spray of magical sparks before dissipating in the air.
“Think that did it?” I keep my eyes on the clouds above.
Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Zhaohui doing the same. “I think so? You certainly put on quite a show.” I’m suddenly knocked off my balance for an instant as she tackles me and grabs my arm. “You were amazing, Mister Kris!” We laugh together as I rub the back of my neck. “By the way, what… What are you wearing?”
I look at her with a confused stare. “Huh? What do you mean?” I look down at my attire to realize I’m still wearing my work clothes (now with some extra holes in the chest). “Oh, I suppose a button up and khakis aren’t normal for this world, eh?”
She looks up at me with a straight face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about but if that’s what you’re wearing then no, it’s not normal.” She shakes her head against my arm and taps the back of my head with one of her tails.
“I suppose I should go change into some more appropriate attire. Do you mind showing me to my chambers?” I shrug and give her a smirk.
Zhaohui’s face turns softer as she raises an eyebrow. “Oh! Mister Kris! You’re so forward already… But if it’s what you demand…” She bites her lip with a devious glint in her eyes.
“Nice try, Zhaohui.” I pull my arm from her grasp and pat her head. “Let’s focus on our jobs first, shall we?”
She laughs and leans into my hand. “Yes, Sir!” She gives a salute and wraps her arms back around mine. “This way, my Lord.” Her sudden movement back towards the castle yanks me with her as I let out a surprised chuckle.
She has me practically jogging all the way through the castle. Eight minutes and forty seven seconds from the front hall to the back of the third floor and Zhaohui stops in front of an ornate set of double doors with similar hourglasses, to that of the one in the entrance, carved into them. “Welcome to your new home!”
Zhaohui pushes open the door and bows, stepping aside to let me in. The room is expansive. More wide than long, a massive king bed sits to the left wall with a small sitting room area around a fireplace to the right side. There’s two large windows on the far wall with a set of glass doors leading to a balcony directly across the entrance. Stepping onto the balcony, my breath is instantly taken away. Facing inside the cave, the balcony looks over a massive glowing lake. Small wisps of light blue float over the water and light up the dark cavern. “Wow.”
Zhaohui steps up behind me and wraps her arms and tails around me. “Quite the site, huh?”
“Yeah… This is incredible. We didn’t have anything like this back home.” My off hand comment suddenly struck a sadness in me that I guess I’d been ignoring until now. I couldn’t go home. I’m dead to them, literally. Even if I die here, I’ll return to Hell. My eyes start to sting as I bring them down to my feet.
“Something wrong, Mister Kris?” Zhaohui wipes under one of my eyes with the tip of her tail. “Feeling homesick?”
I chuckle sadly. “Yeah, I suppose so.” I take in a deep breath through my nose and force a smile to my face. “But I have a new home now. A new family.” I break away from Zhaohui’s grasp and lean against the banister to smile at her. “We’re going to make this world a better place. I promise.”
She smiles back and gives me firm nod. “Yes, Sir!” Reaching down and grabbing my hands, she pulls me back into the bedroom. “Now then, let’s get you out of those weird clothes and into something more befitting of a Demon Lord, shall we?”
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