After they passed through the gate, Lloyd didn't immediately feel the ground beneath his feet.
The first thing that entered his consciousness was… color.
A thick fog, deep red, moving slowly like a living being, wrapping around the buildings, and seeping through the alleyways as if it had its own intentions.
Lloyd felt a pang in his chest.
"This fog… hides more than it reveals," he said quietly, opening his palm.
The next moment, a white aura emanated from his body, pure, serene, yet powerful enough to pierce the fog before them.
A passage of light opened, as if the world were reluctantly allowing them to pass through.
The City of Fire and Laughter
With each step, the city's features began to emerge.
Tall buildings with an ancient stone character, narrow windows, and torches hanging in every corner, burning brightly despite the thick humidity.
Then Lloyd heard it.
Laughter.
Not laughter of joy,
nor outright madness,
but rather slanted,
uncomfortable laughter,
rising up and then suddenly disappearing.
And words…
incoherent.
"…burn more…"
"Fire doesn't lie…"
"Who's next?"
The gatekeeper paused.
He glanced into one of the dark alleyways,
then said in a low voice:
"This is a world inhabited by factions of demons."
Lloyd turned:
"Demons?"
The gatekeeper nodded:
"Entities born of the energy of fire. Don't trust their smiles… and don't underestimate them."
The First Silent Encounter
Through the fog,
eyes appeared.
Red.
Orange.
Glowing like embers.
A group of beings emerged slowly.
Human forms…
But with small horns,
and dark, grayish skin,
and a faint flame emanating from their extremities.
"Strangers?" one of them said sarcastically.
Another smiled.
"They smell…not from around here."
Lloyd didn't move.
But the white aura around him intensified slightly.
"We're just passing through," he said quietly.
One of the demons laughed.
"Everyone who said that…never left."
The atmosphere grew tense.
The threshold guard raised his hand, signaling for him to wait.
Then he said,
"We're looking for the way, not trouble."
A tall demon approached,
his eyes gleaming with interest.
"And the way here…is paid for."
An Unspoken Test
Before Lloyd could reply,
the demon moved suddenly.
It wasn't a direct attack,
but a burst of fire that exploded in the air. Lloyd raised his hand,
and deflected the energy without moving an inch.
The fire stopped before the white aura,
then vanished.
A heavy silence fell.
"This aura…" the demon said in surprise.
"It's not sacred… but it's not demonic either," another whispered.
Lloyd slowly lowered his hand.
"I said we're just passing through."
They took a step back.
Not out of fear…
But out of caution.
"Go on… but don't extinguish your light," the tall demon said.
Then he smiled.
"This world hates light… and may starve for it."
The Truth About the Red Mist
They continued walking.
The city seemed to be watching them, laughter rising again,
but this time from afar.
"This mist… affects the mind," Lloyd said.
"It's the remnants of an old war," the guard replied. A fire mingled with hatred… and it wouldn't go out.
He paused, then added:
"Many have lost themselves here… without being killed."
Lloyd looked at the aura around him.
"That's why I lit it."
The guard nodded.
"But remember… the light also reveals you."
A Whisper in the Mist
As they crossed a wide square,
Lloyd stopped suddenly.
His muscles tensed.
"Did you hear…?" the guard asked.
Before he could answer,
a faint voice emerged from the mists:
"…Lloyd…"
His body stiffened.
The voice wasn't hostile… nor clear.
But it was familiar… painfully so.
"Who's there?" Lloyd said in a low voice.
There was no answer.
But the mists shifted,
and incomplete features formed,
then vanished.
The guard said sternly,
"Don't answer any call here… no matter how close it seems."
Lloyd clenched his fist.
"This world… plays on memory."
Deeper into the City
At the end of the street,
a huge building appeared,
taller than the others,
with black flames rising from its summit.
"There…is the center of this world," said the guard.
"And what's at the center?" asked Lloyd.
"An ancient demon…or a gateway, or something worse," he replied.
Lloyd took a deep breath.
"Then we won't avoid it."
With every step they took closer,
the fog thickened,
and the laughter faded… to be replaced by expectant silence.
Narrator
In the City of Red Mist,
the danger wasn't in the fire,
but in what it revealed…
when one thought one was ready to see it.