In death there is only death

Pain shot through her shoulder, the blow was overwhelming even for Sira, she gritted her teeth and stood back up to face Karim grinning at her as if she’d just handed him his wings. Well that look wasn’t going to last long, the match had just started and she was not going to let her one chance to become a true demon slip away into Karim’s grasp, especially not Karim. So she stood and swung her staff in command, instantly the spell worked its magic, knocking Karim out his weapons reach, which stood leveling him on the base of the arena. Which was currently in pieces, due to their match. Slabs of rock narrowly missed Sira as she maneuvered to get closer to Karim, her sudden blast of energy caught him off guard and he stumbled even further back. Big mistake in Sira’s mentor’s opinion. He had always told her to go with the flow. Besides, Karim tired himself out in the first seconds of the match, he wasn’t the best with energy management. The second Sira’s thoughts wandered Karim must have seen his chance because he pushed off a rogue slab of stone and launched himself straight at her! Even though it was a very good attempt Sira had to admit, training reflexes saved her from what would’ve been a straight blow to the chest. She swung her staff at Karim’s colliding with his and causing them both to fly backward, Sira felt the burn of the large fresh wound on her back as she slammed into a bolder, she would get him back for that later. “What’s the matter? Feeling weak? Because you are” Karim snarled, half gleeful, half looking like he wanted to quit. “Well you don’t look much better gelpa, or are you always like that?” She knew that calling Karim “gelpa” would irritate him and he would most likely get a surge of dark energy from the comment, but the word hadn’t triggered anything of the sort. Instead he smiled “I’m honored to be thought of as a friend to you” he said more gleefully, and it finally came to her, he was distracting her while he was regaining enough energy to finish her. Oh no you don't, you little slimy angel,Sira privately thought and pushed off. What happened next surprised them both, Sira felt a surge of energy, stronger than the usual power of dark energy. Due to this she realized it would be a lot easier to take out Karim and get to the firestone, the original reason for their sour bickering. Whoever got to the stone first would be able to go through the gate and claim the next title of demon. Sira and Karim had been nominated as top two, but there can only be one graduate. So here they were, fighting over a gemstone that would give them enough power to wipe out half of Ruinsaer. Sira hit Karim in the jaw, knocking him out with a mild sleep spell that worked better than usual, she noted. She flew toward the crystal and as she did she felt the mysterious energy leave her hands and she suddenly felt so weak she could barely keep her eyes open. But she wasn’t going to give up that easily, she felt the blood dripping down her back and her shoulder that Karim had sliced earlier screamed in pain. But she had no time to focus on that, she had clumsy feather wings that barely knew how to fly but, surprisingly enough she was able to get up to the platform, before landing she checked for hexes that the coaches may have placed on it, but there were none. So she took the jewel and walked over to the gate. She looked back one last time at Karim’s unconscious body floating amid the boulders and stones of the once full arena. “May you find your way here again” she whispered in the ancient prayer tongue and crossed through.

Sira awoke from her nightmare to find the hut on fire, again. This wasn’t an uncommon scenario for Sira. One moment she is dreaming in the demon’s quarters room-the next she is in a battle with a mysterious voice that never shows its face. Before she knows it the hut is once again on fire and her arm is throbbing, she is conscious of the fact that her firestone, which had been branded into her skin all those ashes ago had been the source of the pain. But when she had used a spell to check it, everything seemed to be fine. Sira looked to her gelpa for help, but Cima only gurgled and rolled over. Sira hadn’t meant to start a fire, it just happened. Sira managed to smother the flames and somehow got around to cleaning the burnt patches of clay around the hut. “When are you going to start controlling that?” Cima asked her in Ruin, still groggy from little to no sleep. “We can’t keep cleaning and recleaning this place forever you know” she seemed annoyed, probably because she had to put up with the constant light of Sira’s flame. It bothered Sira how Cima could never get a grip and just help her. But of course little lazy Cima wasn’t even half awake. “Cima Where if you don't wake up now I will pull your little horns off and throw them into the Hellfire itself” Cima Ground and reluctantly got up,  she seemed very unhappy about the fact that today was their last day in Demon training, suddenly although Sarah understood that he had deserved it she remembered Karim’s  lifeless body, limp and tattered floating between life and death. She shuddered, It had been Five ashes since the incident to be exact only three ashes after Sira  had destroyed Karim  in the battle for demon training. Karim  had been sent to stop a war between two aligning forces that were destined in one of Hornail’s prophecies to destroy Ruinsaer. He had failed,  and because he had, he was placed in combat with the black blooded lady herself, and although Sira  knew he had died with true honor and that he had felt no pain. She  understood that if she hadn't beaten him that day he wouldn't have been dead and she could have completed the assignment to full capacity, because everyone knew that she was very much capable of destroying an army. Even though everybody had told her that it had not been her fault and that she had rightfully claimed her place beside the Hellfire,  he still felt like she was responsible for Karim’s death. Even though she felt like it had been impossible and the very suggestion of it was against every law they obeyed as demon trainees, Sira  knew there was a way to bring Karim  back. But for that, she had to make a deal with the devil Sanza, the outlaw who ruled from on high, to get to him would be hard, but not impossible. When Sira told Cari of her troubles, her sister in arms said that if she were to do something that insane, then she swore on lava blood that she would stay by her side no matter what. The journey to Scale Mountain was tough, Cari whined the whole way but since she had sworn and she was a devoted sister, she never asked for a break unless Sira permitted. By the end of the journey Sira could see why only the ancients made the journey to prove their ever devoted worth, it was very challenging and demanding. But somehow, after countless rest stops, they arrived. Sanza sat on his throne, like a true Devil king. Although originally the third sister of the Occulum was destined to rule the Hardlands, he had taken up the position after the Black Blooded Lady, and the Ice lady gave up their search, or rather the Black Blooded Lady gave up her search and being the oldest the ice lady followed her older sister. “Sanza the Great, I come to bargain with you almighty”,Sira had read many ancient texts about the words that opened the gates to the kingdom of the eternally tortured and dead. But saying the words, despite all the exhaustion and discomfort she was currently feeling, the words made her release a small chuckle, it felt wrong calling a prisoner of The Black Blooded Lady, who was truly great, almighty. “Enter,Demon Sira, but leave your friend there, only one can come.” Cari looked ready to protest-then she stopped, this was Sira’s test-not her’s and even though Sira could see that she wanted to argue, Cari retreated.

As soon as Sira stepped in the realm of Sanza, she felt the otherworldly presence in the air. As if she had crossed into an entirely different world, although that's just how realms felt. “I understand you have come to make a deal with me?” Sanza’s tone was daring-teasing almost. He seemed amused that Sira had come “I want you to bring back Karim '' Sira said, losing all sense of formality. “Ah well, if you would be so kind as to bound us by blood, the deed will be done and the deal holding us together until death.” Sanza named his terms, which were strange ones at that. Sanza had only one demand, that Sira let him continue ruling this realm. Since it was in the hands of the black blooded lady to decide where he was to be, Sira made no sense of this demand but nevertheless she agreed. They signed with lava blood using the unbreakable seal. The following day, once they returned a scroll arrived at their doorstep.  Unlike the usual morning briefing scrolls, marked with the Hellfire seal. This peculiar one was marked with the black blooded lady's seal herself. Sira froze with terror once Cari read it over to her, their leader wanted to talk about her deceased son, Karim Black Blood.