A Fight in Serpents Keep

Sakrol arrived to the Otherworld with Neurus, they landed on a nice patch of grass that is located in the swamp region that Sakrol calls home. The sun was rising slowly in the distance, stars were still visible in the dark sky and a thin fog was floating in the air. Sakrol looked around a little bit to see exactly where he was located in the swamp region. Sakrol then turned to look at Neurus as he spoke. Well, we arrived at the swamp but we will have to do some walking. I'm not really good at materializing in the best possible locations... Sakrol then began to walk and Neurus proceeded to follow Sakrol through the swamp. The ground at this part of the swamp was very muddy, Sakrol's boots were soon creamed with a nice layer of mud. Neurus also got the same treatment to his paws, this mud weighed them down a little bit as they moved onward. As the sun kept rising the swamp was becoming much more active, the swamps habitants started moving in the water, ground and air. They started their everyday rutines as always, the other demons that lived in the swamp were completely ignoring Sakrol and Neurus as they walked past them. This was usual for Sakrol, even though everyone in the swamp knew who he was mostly everyone just ignored him. This behavior stems from the moment when Sakrol took over the swamp by slaying it's previous ruler, the giant lizard-monster-demon-thing, because Sakrol had announced that the only thing he cared about was just proving his power by killing their current ruler. By all means Sakrol is the current ruler of the swamp but he never did any changes and Sakrol allowed everyone that lived in the swamp do what they wanted to do. Even  those that live in Sakrol's home in the Serpents Keep came there to serve Sakrol volunteeringly, the twin-turtle-demons that are guarding the front door, Elvire the butterfly-demon who works as a cook and Friro the humanoid-toad-demon who took his role as Sakrol's advisor in case of emergency situations in the swamp. Though there were only a few major cases and the rest were little cases but even so it was quite rare that anything happened in the swamp. But when something did happen Friro proved that he was quite useful as he gave some good advice to Sakrol during these situations, Elvire proved to be useful with her great cooking skills and the twin guards were useful in keeping other demons away when Sakrol wasn't present.

Sakrol and Neurus were now getting close to Serpents Keep but before they headed straigh towards the place  Sakrol wanted to clean his boots from the mud. Sakrol and Neurus headed towards Lake Rixla, the lake that has a huge tree known as Bone Branch growing next to it. They arrived at the lake and Sakrol took off his boots and he bathed them in the water, trying to clean the mud off them. Neurus jumped into the water and swam around a little to get the mud off his paws. After they were done and Sakrol's boots looked relatively clean he put them back to his feet and he told Neurus to climb out of the water so they could continue walking. They would soon arrive at the front doors of Serpents Keep, Sakrol stopped and he noticed that something was missing. For some reason the twin-demon-turtle-guards were gone, usually at this hour they should be on duty. Sakrol was wondering what was going on that the guards weren't at their usual place, were they slacking while he was gone? Only one way to find out what is the case, Sakrol walked to the doors and he slammed them open. The throne room seemed empty, the whole place was also silent giving off the feeling that nobody was present. Sakrol walked in and he closed the doors behind him, he then proceeded walking closer to the throne with Neurus by his side. When Sakrol and Neurus were standing in front of the throne wondering why the whole place was so quiet, a door could be heard opening from the right side of the hall. Sakrol turned towards the direction of the sound to see who was coming to the throne room. It was Sakrol's advisor Friro who came from another room in the castle, but after Friro had entered the throne room some other demons were coming after him. They were demons as well, toad demons that looked very much like Friro except that they were much taller, muscular and wearing armor. Sakrol was wondering who the other toad-demons were, only one way to find out. Friro, who are these other demons you're with right now? Were you having a party with your relatives in here while I was gone? Do tell me the latest happenings around here... The armored toad-demons formed a line in front of the front door, there were 5 of them blocking the way out and one of them was still standing behind Friro. The situation looked quite bad, it didn't take long for Sakrol to figure out what was going on. Sakrol felt a bit angry and he was also a little surprised,  Sakrol looked at Friro as he the spoke. Hmph... I always knew you were a little sneaky, but I never thought you would have guts to pull off something like this. But instead of doing this alone you found some help, strenght in numbers and all that... Do you have something to say for yourself Friro? Before I kill you all, I suggest that you beg for mercy and leave. Sakrol pointed towards the door after he said that, Friro only smiled at this and Friro then spoke. You really think I would cancel my plan at the moment when I iniated it? Though I have to admit that I didn't expect you to come back so early... Didn't things go well in Gaia? But you don't need to answer, I'm not interested in your reasons for coming back since you will soon die by our hands. So, I'd rather ask if you have any last words or should we start immediately...? I'm giving you the freedom to choose here. Sakrol only sighed at this, it would seem that there was no other choice but to put them down. Diplomacy never wasn't Sakrol's strongest feature and talking was boring anyway so Sakrol's answer was quite obvious. Sakrol drew his sword slowly, he then spoke to answer. I'm pretty sure you should know me by now Friro... But if I need to spell it out for you, then my answer is this: you may step forward so I can kill you all here and now.

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Everyone were silent for a moment and nobody moved from their position, Sakrol’s familiar Neurus was the first to move but he mostly just backed up. Neurus went to stand next to the throne behind Sakrol, Neurus was ready to give support from there to Sakrol if the need arises. The silence was broken when Friro spoke. Very well then, I see that you have no interest to even ask why I am doing this. But before we begin, I assume that while you were in Gaia you met one of our allies. Sakrol then suddenly interrupted Friro before he could continue talking about the subject any further. Oh? Are you talking about that demon insect in his human form? Yeah, I met him… He was very disappointing, I wasn’t even fighting him seriously. So it was you who send him to kill me? I guess you either overestimated that guy’s abilities or you underestimated my abilities, maybe you did both? Anyway, enough chit-chat! It’s your time to suffer a betrayers death Friro, I’m not going to give you any mercy so if you have any second thoughts I suggest you use the front door now. Sakrol took a firm grip of his sword and he was ready to fight and kill Friro along his allies. Sakrol was now just waiting for Friro to take the first move, Friro only spoke though. I already told you that I won’t back down from this, my plan is now going to bear fruit with your death Sakrol. I have followed you for a few years now and I know that you are much weaker now than you were when you took over this region. Friro then commanded the armored toad-demon that was behind him to attack and kill Sakrol, the toad-demon charged towards Sakrol with zero hesitation. The toad-demon grabbed a small metal axe from his waist and he swinged it towards Sakrol’s head. Sakrol reacted to it quickly and he blocked the axe with his sword’s blade, Sakrol then pushed the toad-demon backwards. Sakrol then attacked the toad-demon by making quick sword swings towards him, the toad-demon wasn’t able to block nor dodge all of them so Sakrol was able to break some of the armor that the toad-demon was wearing. The toad-demon then tried to hit Sakrol with his axe but Sakrol dodged it and he moved himself to the right side of the toad-demon. The toad-demon was turning to see what Sakrol was up to but Sakrol punched the toad-demon’s face with his left fist, the punch was strong enough to make the toad-demon fall to the floor. The toad-demon tried to get up but Sakrol stomped him down and the toad-demon wasn’t able to rise up. Sakrol then turned his head towards Friro and he spoke. Last warning Friro, get out with your friends or I will kill this one and after that I will kill you all. What is it going to be? Sakrol was giving Friro the last chance to leave, but Friro had no intentions to leave as he spoke. Hmph! No, this will end in your death Sakrol! Then I can finally become the ruler of this miserable region, then I can start conquering the neighboring regions and make my kingdom huge. After Friro had said that Sakrol immediately cut the toad-demons head off that he had put down, Sakrol then turned to face Friro and his allies. Friro ordered all of his allies to attack Sakrol in a group, as the armored toad-demons were charging towards Sakrol with their axes Sakrol was just standing there calmly. Sakrol had a smile on his face as they approached him, then suddenly Sakrol was shrouded in a very thick mist. All of the toad-demons stopped their charge and they were wondering what was happening since they weren’t able to see Sakrol because of the mist. Then the mist disappeared and Sakrol was in his true demon form. Sakrol’s real form is a black serpent with a humanoid upper-body with a snake’s head with horns and a long snake like lower-body, Sakrol also has some dark green armor on his upper-body including a helmet where his light green colored curved horns jut out. Sakrol’s scales are pitch black but his underbelly is light green just like his horns. Sakrol was staring at the group of toad-demons with his green eyes, they didn’t know what to do until Friro shouted to them to kill Sakrol quickly. The toad-demons then resumed with their charge and they were ready to swing their weapons towards Sakrol. But when they were close and ready to hit Sakrol simultaneously with their axes, Sakrol changed his position a little and he sweeped his tail so that the toad-demons tripped on it. Now that the toad-demons were lying on the floor and trying to stand up, Sakrol did another sideways sweep with his tail that slammed on the toad-demons with enough force to make them fly a bit backwards. After that Sakrol roared loudly, the toad-demons started to panic and they were having a hard time to stand up and run away. Friro also lost his nerve and he tried to run to the door with his allies. But before any of them were able to get to the door Sakrol slithered in front of the door with great speed, blocking their exit. Two of the armored toad-demons pulled themselves together and tried to attack Sakrol but Sakrol dodged their attack swiftly and he stabbed his sword through one of the toad-demons throat. Sakrol pulled his sword back and he finished the toad-demon by crushing it's head on the floor with his left hand. Sakrol then moved towards the other toad-demon that tried to attack him, Sakrol forced it down on the floor and he kept holding as he then stabbed the toad-demon multiple times with his sword. Only 3 armored toad-demons remained along with Friro, all of them were standing in a corner together. Sakrol turned to face them, he looked at them and all of them seemed to be very terrified of him. The last 3 armored toad-demons tried to attack Sakrol in a desperate manner, but Sakrol killed them fairly quickly thanks to his great speed and strength. Only Friro was still left, all of Friro's allies were lying on the floor dead and covered in blood. Sakrol had his fun in killing Friro's allies but now it was time for Sakrol to take on the mastermind of this little rebellion.

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Sakrol was currently staring at Friro who was just standing there with his back against the wall, Friro was obviously terrified. The stench of blood was strong in the throne room of Serpents Keep, the whole room was in a bloody mess. Sakrol had his fun with Friro's allies but now it was time for Sakrol to have a serious conversation with Friro. Sakrol sheathed his sword and he slithered his way to Friro, Sakrol then spoke to Friro with a serious tone. I have a few questions for you before your tragic demise Friro... Answer quickly and I will make sure that you will die instantly with zero pain. Now tell me, where are my door guards? Friro looked at Sakrol and he answered but he also stuttered from fear while he spoke. T-t-t-the door guards? We c-c-c-chased them off, they went s-s-s-s-somewhere else... They probably w-w-w-w-won't come back. According to Friro they got rid of the turtle-demon-twin guards, it will be hard to get back in contact with them because Friro probably doesn't know where they went after his allies had chased them off. Sakrol doesn't know either where they would go, he never asked where they used to live before they moved to his castle. I hope you are speaking the truth, now for my second question: where is Elvire? Did you chase her off as well? Sakrol was waiting for Friro's answer, Sakrol had zero patience at the moment. Friro didn't seem to want to answer the question about Elvire's whereabouts so Sakrol hit the wall next to him with his right fist leaving a small crack on the stone wall. Sakrol did it to remind Friro what he will do if he doesn't answer him immediately, it seemed to work since Friro started to speak. We killed her! She is lying dead in the kitchen... She did not back off and she tried to foil our plans, she did not give me a choice! But even so I beg for you to just let me live and I will leave this place and I promise to never return! You have that much mercy in you don't you? Please be merciful Sakrol, it's all that I'm asking... The news of Elvire being dead hit Sakrol hard, Elvire was always nice to everybody and Sakrol found it hard to believe that such a kind demon would be killed in cold blood. Sakrol was immediately enraged by this, Friro noticed this and he tried to make a run for it to get away from Sakrol but there was no way that Friro could outrun Sakrol. Sakrol moved in front of Friro and he coiled his body around Friro making sure that he wouldn't be able to run away anymore. Friro was now trapped and unable to move but even so Friro tried to struggle but it was no use, all he could do now is whimper. Sakrol looked downwards as he glared at Friro with his “death glare”, Friro then spoke loudly with a fearful tone. Please Sakrol! Show me some mercy, I'm begging you! Sakrol then responded with an angry tone. Mercy!? I bet you and your people never showed mercy to anyone. Besides, I already said before this so called fight that I won't show mercy to you. You should have backed down when I ordered it! Now it is too late for you... Also, do you remember how I promised you that I will kill you fast enough so you don't need to feel too much pain when you die? Well, I actually lied about that... Sakrol then began to slowly to tighten his wrap around Friro, Sakrol wanted to squeeze Friro slowly to death with as much pain as possible. Friro spoke Sakrol in a distressed manner and he tried to change Sakrol's mind. No, please wait! I'll do anything! Just let me live! Don't do this Sakrol! Soon Friro's speech would turn into screams of agony and pain, it was the sweet melody of death. The sound of bones breaking echoed in the throne room and soon Friro would stop screaming because he wasn't able to breathe anymore. At some point Sakrol noticed that Friro had died, he then loosened his wrap and he looked how Friro's dead body was now lying on the floor with his dead allies. Sakrol then reverted back to his human form after he had made sure that Friro is dead, Sakrol was currently calming down. He then walked to the kitchen to see if Elvire truly was dead, though Sakrol didn't see why Friro would lie about that especially in such a horrible position. Sakrol entered the dining hall and from there he ventured to the kitchen, in the kitchen Sakrol saw Elvire's lifeless body lying on the floor. Sakrol went closer and he stared at Elvire and he also looked at the wounds on her body. The wounds were deep and probably caused by Friro's allies since they used axes as their choice of weapons. Sakrol felt deep sadness, a feeling that he hasn't felt much in his life. Sakrol's familiar Neurus then walked into the kitchen and he told Sakrol that he should bury Elvire somewhere. Sakrol agreed to Neurus's suggestion and he lifted Elvire's body from the floor carefully making sure that he doesn't damage her wings and he followed Neurus outside. Sakrol decided to bury Elvire's body near the huge tree, the Bone Branch that is located next to lake Rixla. Sakrol walked forward as he was following Nerus to the Bone Branch, he didn't know what to think about all this. Sakrol's mind was only filled by memories of Elvire at the moment, she was always a kind positive person. She never were angry or sad about anything, well that is how Sakrol saw her. Sakrol and Neurus arrived at their desired location and Neurus started to dig the grave next to one of the huge roots of the tree while Sakrol was holding Elvire and thinking about the good memories of her.

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Neurus was still digging the grave for Elvire's dead body, it took some time since the grave had to be quite wide for Elvire's yellow butterfly wings to fit in without breaking them any further. While Neurus was still doing the digging, Sakrol used the time to think about the memories of Elvire. She came to the Serpents Keep a week after Sakrol had killed it's previous owner, she walked in to take shelter from the rain outside. She explored the throne room a bit and the place looked deserted until Sakrol walked into the throne room from the dining hall and he noticed Elvire who also noticed Sakrol's presence. She was completely wet, she was also shaking a bit because she was obviously feeling cold, her yellow butterfly wings on her back didn't look healthy. At that time Elvire was wearing a yellow maxi dress, she had her long brown hair free and she was walking with her bare feet. Sakrol stared at Elvire and he asked her who she was and what she was doing in his home? Elvire answered and she sounded a bit shaken, she told her name and that she was just taking some shelter from the rain. Elvire also apologized for just walking in because she thought that the place was empty. Sakrol allowed for Elvire to stay until the rain stopped, Sakrol pitied her and that's why he allowed her to stay for a while. Sakrol led Elvire all the way to the kitchen because the fires in it's huge oven was still burning, currently it was the most warm place in the whole castle. Elvire stayed there the whole night since the rain didn't stop when the sun set. The next morning when Sakrol woke up, he walked to the kitchen to see if Elvire was still sleeping there. Sakrol opened the door to the kitchen slowly and what he saw in the kitchen was Elvire who was walking around the kitchen cooking food. Elvire greeted Sakrol by wishing him good morning. Sakrol asked Elvire what she was doing and Elvire answered that since she was already in the kitchen so she figured that she could do some breakfast. After that she asked if Sakrol could wait for the food in the dining hall, Sakrol did as she asked. After a short while Elvire walked out of the kitchen holding 2 metallic plates that were filled with food. Elvire placed one of the plates in front of Sakrol, on the plate was some meatballs, potatoes and cabbage. Elvire sat down as well and she placed the other in front of herself, she then looked at Sakrol and she gave Sakrol the permission to eat. Sakrol grabbed the fork and the knife were already placed on the table and he ate one of the meatballs, it actually tasted very good. It seemed that Elvire was an experienced cook, at that moment Sakrol asked if Elvire wasn't in a hurry that maybe she could stay there for a while as the castle cook. Elvire answered by saying that she wasn't in a hurry at all, in fact she didn't have a place to go even if she left. With that answer, Sakrol asked her if Elvire would like to live in the castle and work as the cook. Elvire smiled and she answered that it she would like that a lot, the Serpents Keep was now her home as well. Elvire only used one day to fly into some other place and when she came back she was wearing a white cook outfit, she probably visited some place that sells clothes in the Otherworld. Elvire usually spend most of her time in the kitchen and in the library, but when she wasn't spending her time in any of those she would tell Sakrol interesting stories about the things that she has seen during her wandering in the Otherworld. Though Elvire never told Sakrol where she actually came from nor the reason why she was wandering around the Otherworld in the first place, when asked about it she didn't tell anything. Because of that Sakrol never mentioned the subject ever again, he didn't want to bother Elvire about it since it wasn't his business anyways. Lastly Sakrol thought about the day when he left his home and ventured all the way to Gaia, Elvire had cooked Lavender Salmon for him to eat before he left.
Sakrol blamed himself for Elvire's death, if he had realized what Friro was up to before he left and put a stop to it Elvire wouldn't be dead right now. Elvire's grave was now done, Sakrol carried Elvire's body into the grave hole and he gently placed Elvire down there. Sakrol then gave Neurus the order to bury Elvire, while Neurus quickly dug the dirt back in the hole, Sakrol went to pick up a rock that would be the gravestone. When the grave was filled Sakrol placed the rock on top of it, Sakrol then spoke with a sad tone. Elvire, I will never forget you... I'm sorry that I wasn't present when you were attacked, though you probably don't want my apology... I wish I would have been here much earlier, maybe I could have prevented this and you would still be alive. I guess there isn't anything for me here in the Otherworld anymore, others who live in this swamp don't really need me here. I think I will return to Gaia and continue my life there for a while, will I ever return to this place? I don't really know the answer to that myself... I think I should go back to the castle and take the trash out, farewell Elvire... Sakrol then turned away from Elvire's grave and he headed back to Serpents Keep with Neurus. Once inside, Sakrol grabbed 2 of the dead bodies and he dragged them out and he threw the bodies into the waters of the swamp. He would continue doing this until all of the dead bodies were out. After he was done and he was standing in the throne room looking at the bloody mess with Neurus, Sakrol decided not to mop the blood from the floor and walls, he felt too lazy to do that. But then suddenly Sakrol and Neurus heard some strange noises coming from the prison. It sounded like somebody was jangling the chains there and shouting something, Sakrol and Neurus went to check it out. They walked down the stairs and in the first cell there was a prisoner chained on the wall, it was someone who Sakrol had met before. The one who was imprisoned was the demon that wore orange clothes, a pair of red goggles and had orange hair. It was the same one that had attacked Sakrol in Gaia when he was trying to relax in a park. The guy was jangling the chains and he was shouting stuff, the guy then went completely silent when he saw Sakrol standing in front of his cell. Sakrol didn't expect to see this guy again after he had won the fight. Sakrol opened the cell door and he walked in and Sakrol spoke. I never thought that I would see you again, all this time I thought you were dead... So Friro didn't kill you after you came back and told him that you failed your task? The demon guy on the chains then spoke. You? You're alive? I heard some loud noises from above, I thought they were fighting against someone or something... Does this mean you killed them all...? Sakrol then interrupted him by responding to his question. You're surprised that I am alive? Didn't I give you a good demonstration of my power when you wanted to kill me? And yeah, I killed Friro and his friends. But enough about that, what should we do with you...? The chained demon then started to suggest something. How about you let me go and I can leave this place? I will promise you that you will never have to see me again... You won't benefit anything from killing me, so how about it? Sakrol thought for a moment what the chained demon said, even though that guy did try to kill him some weeks earlier Sakrol had mostly forgiven that already. Sakrol decided to just let the guy go, there was no point in killing him or keeping him as a prisoner. Fine, I'll let you go... Killing you here would only leave a mess and keeping you in here as a prisoner would just be horrible, you make too much noise... Just make sure that I really don't need to see you ever again, next time I might not be so friendly. Sakrol then broke the chains since he didn't know where they key was and he moved out of the way so that the demon guy was able to go out. I suppose you can find your own way out? Don't mind the mess upstairs, just get out of here. Before the demon guy reached the stairs he turned around and spoke. Understood and thank you for not killing me and letting me out, I think I'll just leave now and quit bothering you until you change your mind. The demon guy then quickly climbed the stairs and Sakrol could hear how he opened the front door and closed it when he left, Sakrol hoped that he really doesn't need to see that guy again. Sakrol then walked back to the throne room with Neurus, after that Sakrol went to his bedroom and he lied down on his bed. Neurus said that he will stay in the throne room and keep watch so that uninvited quests wouldn't get in. Sakrol was lying on his bed and he was trying to get rid of his grief, thought at some point Sakrol fell asleep since he was a bit tired.

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When Sakrol finally woke up, it was already night time in the Otherworld. Sakrol was still rather tired though, his dreams were filled by memories of Elvire. He found it hard to believe that Elvire really was dead, Sakrol tried not to think about it but it was hard. Serpents Keep was empty and quiet, it reminded Sakrol of those days when he lived alone in there. Sakrol wasn't able to get any sleep anymore so he stood up and he walked around his room a little bit. He tried to shake off the depressing feeling he was experiencing, but it wasn't that easy. Sakrol was a bit close with Elvire, though Elvire was more like a mother to Sakrol since she started to act like it a little bit when she got used to her new surroundings. There was nothing bad about that though, Sakrol did need a proper lesson from someone about manners and other stuff. Sakrol was getting ready to leave the Otherworld once again and return to Gaia. But before that, he walked to the throne room and Neurus walked towards him asking if he had a good nap. Sakrol ignored Neurus's question and he told him that they were going back to Gaia now. But before they could leave, Sakrol heard a familiar laughter coming from one of the dark corners in the hall. Sakrol quickly turned towards the corner where the laughter was coming from. Something small walked slowly from the shadows, it wore a black cloak so that it was impossible to see it's face, it had pale wrinkly hands with long fingers holding a crystal ball. Sakrol has met him before, it was when Sakrol was going to return back to the castle from the lake when that guy came to mock him. Sakrol wasn't too keen on seeing that guy again, he was rather annoying last time. The cloaked old man started to speak. We meet again Sakrol... Has life been sweet as usual? Hu hu hu huu... Sakrol didn't like the way how this old guy talked to him, but that was the case last time also. You again? Haven't seen you for a long while after we spoke the first time, did you get scared when I tried to hit you with my sword? Though I just need to ask, who are you? Last time you avoided that question... Sakrol wondered who this old guy was and why was he here again talking with him. Was this old guy just here to annoy him or did he have some sort of motive to be here, the old man then spoke. So, you want to know who I am? Very well, I will tell you my name... I am known as Wrizor, but that is all I will tell you... Hu hu hu huu...  Sakrol wasn't in the mood for talking really, especially with this old guy. Okay then, whatever… If you don’t have anything else to say, how about you leave this place? Then I could continue my own business. Sakrol looked at the old guy and he was trying to figure out what he was, though the answer was quite simple when he took a better look at the old guy. This tiny old man was indeed a demon as well, not a surprise though since he looks like it. The old tiny demon then spoke, he started with a light laugh though. Hu hu huu… I have many things to say, but I won’t say them. Though when you left this place and went to Gaia and came back, I thought you would have made some progress… You are just as pathetic as you were when I met you the first time… Hu hu hu hu huu… The old demon sounded amused, but Sakrol decided to keep his cool as he responded. Hmph… You got any better insults? Or is that really all you can muster at this hour? You know, I would have already cut your head off if I didn’t know how good you are in your “vanishing act”… And yeah, I’m bored now… How about you just leave now since this is a rather pointless conversation… I don’t know why you are bothering me but frankly I’m not that interested to hear you out at all. Sakrol then looked at Neurus and told him that they were now leaving for Gaia. Sakrol and Neurus then just vanished as they travelled back to Gaia, leaving the old tiny annoying demon behind.

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*Next post will be in Gaia, left thread*