289 THE ENEMY'S ENEMY IS A FRIEND
[In the palace of Koresh - before the proposed summit between the emperor and demon was decided.]
"Who the hell is that demon, mother?" Emperor Ramses asked, his gaze fixed on Dassa.
Lady Dassa tilted her head to speak. "He is a powerful demon, though …. only a shadow of what he once was."
Ramses narrowed his eyes. "And what does he want from us?"
A slow, knowing smile curled on Dassa's lips. "To help us destroy the demon army—especially its new king, Argun."
Ramses stiffened. "Why? Isn't he a demon from the other side? Why would he want to destroy his own kind?"
Dassa's eyes gleamed with unnatural light as she listened to the voice in her mind. The being in her mind must have heard the emperor and wanted to respond.
Then she spoke. "He was once the true king of the demons. Killing Argun will allow him to reclaim his throne."
Ramses considered this revelation and smiled. "Huh there is a civil war in the demon's camp. The enemy's enemy is a friend. How fortunate. And how exactly does he plan to help us?"
Lady Dassa was silent for a moment, deep in thought.
Their original plan had been to lure King Argun and his most powerful lieutenants to the palace, trapping them within Ramses' Chessboard Realm.
But convincing the demons to come willingly would be a challenge.
Then, an idea struck her.
"If they won't come to the palace, we go to them."
Ramses's expression darkened. "You mean to walk into the heart of the enemy camp? That's madness. Even if we do, my Chessboard Realm requires special sigils to be placed beforehand in all corners of their camps to create a magic formation. We have none in their camp to activate my chess domain."
Dassa's lips curled into a sly smile. "That part is already taken care of …. by our new ally."
The demon she had communicated with was none other than King Bael, the former demon king.
But Bael is weak now.
His true power was locked away. He was trapped within Agathae's body, forced into submission by the treacherous Argun, who had usurped him. Now, Bael sought vengeance.
His opportunity lay with Emperor Ramses.
He discovered this opportunity when he realized he could communicate with Godmother from the distance of the enemy camp.
Godmother, or Lady Dassa, was a special constitution. She could communicate with souls.
In secret, Bael sought to work alongside the emperor, planting the emperor's sigils throughout the enemy camp. Once the time was right, once the sigils were in place, the Chessboard Realm would activate—ensnaring Argun and his most powerful warriors.
And when the battlefield shifted to Ramses' chess domain, Bael and Agathae would be long gone and out of harm's way.
Their enemies would fall. And the rightful demon king would rise again. That was Bael's plan. And that plan suited the emperor and Godmother.
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[Back to the battle in the demon's camp]
The battlefield twisted and reformed, its once-chaotic terrain morphing into a vast chessboard of black and white squares. A spectral aura shimmered above each tile, manifesting a colossal and ethereal chess piece above it, that designated its occupant's role.
The captives within this enchanted arena found themselves compelled into positions dictated by an unseen force, their placement reflecting their strength and rank.
At the heart of the white side, King Argun stood resolute, his form shimmering with regal defiance as he was crowned the King piece.
Beside him, his stalwart general Lord Harith assumed the role of the Bishop. Around them, the demon army's mightiest warriors were assigned to their rightful places, each piece claimed by one of Argun's elite. The knights, rooks, and queens all radiated power, their positions on the chessboard were distributed by the strength of their prowess.
When the most formidable had taken their roles, the pawn units gathered their occupants. Rank upon rank of lesser soldiers and battalions were drawn into the field their numbers distributed to occupy the remaining pawns.
On the opposing side, the black squares brimmed with menace.
At their core stood Emperor Ramses, cloaked in a shadow that writhed and flickered like living smoke, crowned as the Black King.
Beside him loomed Lady Dassa, became his unyielding Queen, radiating a dark aura that crackled with destructive energy. Other powerful demons emerged from the void, summoned by Dassa's will, each taking their place on the chessboard.
The powerful Ant demon and the rocky Pebble took their place as Rooks. Other demons occupied their place. Even the pawns were no mere fodder. They were legions of smaller demons, their shrieks echoing with malice, surged into position, their collective presence a seething tide of destruction.
Though Ramses and Dassa had come alone, they had summoned their most fearsome army: the souls of demons long bound to their service.
This was the real strength of the Koresh empire, not its army of soldiers and mages.
The black and white sides have gathered. Demons of the Heaven's Cage now meet the demons of King Ramses and Lady Dassa's summoning.
Let the game begin.
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Lord Harith strained against the invisible prison encasing him, his every muscle tensed with effort to break free. The barrier shimmered faintly, a cruel reminder of its unyielding strength. No matter how much force he applied, it refused to give.
"This is madness, my King. What do we do? We're caged like pawns in some twisted game," Lord Harith growled, his frustration mounting.
King Argun's gaze swept over the battlefield, his expression cold and calculating.
"This is a magic realm or formation. Its purpose is to confine us into a disadvantageous position", Lord Argun explained his speculation.
"How do we get out of this bloody position?" Harith screamed.
"This formation may be disadvantageous to us but there must be an order to its magic. Every magic has its rules. We must find out its rules and make use of them before the enemy take advantage of our ignorance", Lord Argun explained.
"How to we know the rules of this realm?"
"We test it."