The light pulsed like a heartbeat.
Damon stopped crawling when he was close enough to touch it.
It wasn't a flame. It was just there, floating and casting pale blue shadows on the black stone around him.
He stared at it. His whole body ached. His arms had given out twice on the way here. His tail hung limp behind him. He didn't know how long he'd been crawling. Time felt wrong in this place.
The light pulsed again. Then words appeared in front of him.
[IMPERIAL DEMON SYSTEM — INITIALIZING]
[USER: Unidentified]
[FORM: Imp (Lesser)]
[STATUS: Critical — near death]
Damon stared at the words. They hung in the air, blue and faint, like someone had written them with light.
He was shocked by what he was seeing but he couldn't show any reactions. His body was too weak to move. Besides the screen wasn't attacking him... Yet.
"But what is this?" His voice came out rough. But it wasn't his voice. It was strange and low, a voice befitting whatever creature he'd become.
He looked at the screen again, reading the words again.
'An Imp?' He stared at the words like they might crawl out and bite him.
Imps were the lowest of demons. The dregs of the demon race. Out of everything he could be reborn into, an imp was the worst of it all.
The words on the screen shifted.
[SYSTEM INTRODUCTION]
[You carry the Chronicle of Azrael, First Demon Emperor. The Chronicle has awakened within you. This System is its voice — here to guide, inform, and ensure your survival.]
[Your current status: You have died. You have been reborn as a demon. You are in Hell. Your family is dead. Your killer was sent by one of the Seven Emperors, but you do not know which one.]
[SUMMARY: Your situation is not good.]
Damon read the words three times. The System had a way of stating things that made everything sound worse.
'My family is dead' He thought sadly.
He already knew that. But seeing it there, in cold blue light, made it real in a way the fire hadn't.
One of the Seven Emperors sent him. I don't know which one.
He thought back to the demon in red armor. He'd said the Emperors. That meant it was one of the current rulers of Hell. But which one? Were they male or female? He didn't know enough about Hell to guess.
If he wanted to have his revenge, he would have to climb to the top.
"What am I supposed to do now?" he asked.
[PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: SURVIVE]
[SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: GROW STRONG ENOUGH TO AVENGE YOUR FAMILY]
[TERTIARY OBJECTIVE: FIND OUT WHICH EMPEROR ORDERED YOUR DEATH]
[ADDITIONAL NOTE: The Emperors want the Chronicle inside you. If they find you, they will take it. This will kill you. Do not let them find you.]
[SUGGESTION: Hide. Grow. Plan. Revenge is a dish best served cold, and you are currently a very small, very weak, very dead imp. Patience is recommended.]
Damon almost laughed. It was absurd. A floating light was giving him life advice like a sarcastic uncle.
"Alright then, how do I grow strong?"
[SYSTEM MECHANICS — IMPERIAL DEMON SYSTEM]
[You have been granted a unique ability. When you stream your experiences to other demons, viewers will grant you power. More viewers = more power. More subscribers = faster evolution.]
[THINK OF IT AS: You are a performer. Hell is your audience. Your suffering, your victories, your failures — all are content. The more entertaining you are, the stronger you become.]
[Is this ethical? No. Is it effective? Yes.]
[FIRST TASK: Reach 10 viewers. Current viewers: 0.]
[Reward: Basic survival stabilization.]
[Time limit: Unknown. You may die before you achieve it.]
Damon stared at the words.
Streaming. Viewers. Power from entertainment.
He was in Hell. His family was dead. He was an imp. And some System wanted him to perform.
"Is this some kind of sick joke? Because if it is, it's definitely not funny"
[WHAT DO YOU THINK?]
Damon thought about it for a moment. Perhaps the system was actually serious. It could be the only way to get to the top faster.
'And I'm already a demon, what more do I have to lose?'
"What happens if I don't reach 10 viewers?" He asked the system.
[OUTCOME: You will remain at critical status. Your body will continue to deteriorate. Eventually, you will die. Permanently this time.]
[ADDITIONAL NOTE: There is no audience in this tunnel. You need to find one.]
The words faded. The light pulsed once, then drifted forward down the tunnel.
It was waiting for him.
Damon sat there for a long moment. His body hurt. His mind was still trying to catch up with everything that had happened. The fire, death, hell and now a strange floating text in his eyes telling him to perform for demons.
He thought about his father and the way he'd tried to save him.
'He didn't die so I could sit here in the dark feeling sorry for myself'
He exhaled and started crawling.
---
The tunnel went on for what felt like hours. The light floated ahead, always just out of reach. The air was cold and still. The walls were unnaturally smooth, carved by something that might not exist in the mortal realm.
Damon's mind wandered as he crawled. He needed information. He needed to understand where he was and what he was supposed to do.
"System," he said.
[LISTENING]
"What exactly is this place?"
[LOCATION: The Edge of the Abyss — a neutral zone between the Seven Empires. An Unclaimed territory]
[DISTANCE TO NEAREST CIVILIZATION: Approximately three days of crawling. Less if you could walk.]
"Where should I go?"
[RECOMMENDED DESTINATION: The Black Citadel — Academy of the Seven Empires. Demons go there to learn, grow, and rise in rank. It is neutral ground. No Empire controls it.]
[WARNING: The heirs of the Seven Empires attend the Academy. They will sense the Chronicle if you are careless. You must hide what you carry.]
[ADDITIONAL WARNING: You are currently an imp. Imps are the lowest rank of demon. Other demons will step on you, eat you, or use you for entertainment. The Academy is dangerous.]
[COUNTERPOINT: The Academy is also your best chance to grow strong. No risk, no reward.]
Damon considered this. A school. For demons. Where the children of the Emperors went to learn.
'One of their parents killed my family. And I'm going to walk into their school as an imp and pretend to be nothing'
It was insane. But it was also the only workable plan he had right now.
"How do I hide the Chronicle?"
[THE MASK]
[Your face is your identity. Your face carries the scent of the Chronicle. Other demons, especially the strong ones, may sense what you carry.]
[SOLUTION: Hide your face. Conceal your identity. Become no one.]
[SUGGESTION: Create a mask. Something to hide behind. Something that makes you forgettable. Something that makes you no one.]
Damon touched his face. His skin was smooth. It wasn't human. The Chronicle had probably made him reborn as an imp. A generic imp. One out of many thousands.
But he looked at his reflection on the screen and froze. The face that stared at him still looked like his, only slightly different. But the similarities were there.
He realized that he really needed the mask.
'If I wear a mask, they can't see me. They can't sense what's inside me. I'm just another imp trying to survive'
But it might only be for when he was streaming. He couldn't possibly enter the academy with a mask.
He looked at the walls of black and white stones. He crawled closer to it and picked up a piece that had broken off. It was small enough for his claws to close around it.
"Hmm. What kind of mask should I make? Any ideas?"
[SUGGESTION: A mask with no expression. No mouth to read. No eyes to see into. No identity to grasp.]
[ADDITIONAL SUGGESTION: Do not make it look like a face. Faces are recognizable. This should be a wall. A barrier.]
Damon brought the stone to his face. It was cold against his skin.
He settled well on the floor, and started carving.
---
He didn't know how long it took. His claws were clumsy at first. The stone kept slipping out of his hands due to how smooth it was. He cut himself twice, cursing each time as black blood leaked out.
But he kept working. He didn't know what he was making until it was done.
The final result was a smooth white mask with two cracks where his eyes would look through. It had no mouth or nose. No expression to read.
He held it in his hands and stared at it.
[MASK CREATED — QUALITY: CRUDE]
[EFFECT: Identity concealed. Chronicle suppressed. You are now officially no one.]
[SUGGESTED ALIAS: No-Face]
Damon turned the mask over in his hands.
No-Face.
He thought about the name. About what it meant and what he was giving up.
His face was the last thing he had from his human life. Although he looked like an imp, his face still looked like him when he was still human. It was the last thing that connected him to his mother, his father and his little sister.
But his face was also the thing that would get him killed. The Emperors were looking for the Chronicle. They were looking for the keeper. If they found him, they would take what was inside him. Everything his family died for would be lost.
'I'm not him anymore. I'm not the boy who died in the fire. I'm something else. Something new. Something that doesn't have a face'
He lifted the mask to his face.
It touched his skin and It settled against his features like it had always been there. Like it was meant to be there.
[IDENTITY: CONCEALED]
[CHRONICLE: SUPPRESSED]
[YOU ARE NO-FACE]
[CURRENT STATUS: Imp. Weak. Alone. Unknown.]
[CURRENT GOAL: Reach the Academy. Survive. Grow.]
[CURRENT VIEWERS: 0]
Damon tried to stand up again and succeeded. His legs shook but it held.
He was still small and weak.
But he had a mask. He had a name. He had a thing inside him that seven Empires would kill for.
He looked down the tunnel. The light pulsed once, then drifted forward.
'No-Face huh' He tested the name in his mind. It felt strange but it felt right.
He started walking.