We stepped past the heavy oak door.
The environment swallowed us instantly.
We walked through pitch-black corridors, though my mind immediately began to doubt if they were corridors at all.
Walls and stairs were completely absent from my vision. The space around us was just an endless expanse of crushing darkness. It felt exactly as if we were flying through the void itself. Even the physical sensation of the floor beneath my boots was incredibly faint, feeling closer to treading on thick mist than solid stone.
I gripped her cold, marble-like hand a little tighter.
Her presence was the absolute center of gravity in this chaotic space. The suffocating pressure of the dark receded slightly around her, creating a tiny bubble of safety for me to exist within. I easily guessed that without her holding my hand, I would have been instantly lost or outright crushed to death by the weight of this abyss.
Eventually, the endless dark began to warp.
A pale, violet hue bled into the blackness. We stepped out of the suffocating corridor and emerged into a vast opening.
The air shifted, hitting my lungs with a sharp, biting cold. We were standing in a large, open courtyard bathed in the eerie light of the Nemure sky.
I looked around, taking in the bizarre landscape. Strange trees with twisting, obsidian trunks grew out of the ashen soil. Their branches resembled jagged crystals, and their leaves possessed a deep, pulsating crimson color, dripping a luminous sap onto the ground.
It was an alien, terrifyingly beautiful garden.
I took a step forward to examine a nearby crystalline branch.
Then, my entire body froze.
My eyes landed on something in the far corner of the courtyard.
Resting against the towering black wall of the Spire was a crude, dome-shaped stone structure. It closely resembled a massive doghouse. A thick, glowing chain made of purple energy extended from the structure, binding a large black figure to the ground.
The creature was curled up, looking utterly miserable and covered in gray ash.
Hearing our footsteps, the beast slowly lifted its heavy head. Its violet eyes locked onto my face. The creature’s pupils contracted, widening a second later in absolute, unadulterated shock.
"N-Nemo?"
I murmured, my voice slipping out as a barely audible breath.
<M-Master?>
A familiar, trembling voice echoed directly inside my head simultaneously.
"Nemo?!"
I shouted, completely forgetting the terrifying primordial entity standing right beside me.
<Master!>
Nemo’s voice cracked in my mind, overflowing with raw emotion.
I let go of the Mistress’s cold hand and sprinted across the ashen courtyard.
Nemo scrambled to his paws, his claws digging into the gray dirt. He bolted toward me with equal desperation, the glowing purple chain rattling loudly behind him.
We collided in the middle of the garden. I threw my arms around his thick neck, and he wrapped his massive black paws around my waist. We clung to each other tightly, looking exactly like two long-lost lovers reuniting after a tragic war.
<I knew you weren’t dead!> Nemo wailed in my head. He buried his massive, furry snout into my shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably. Absolutely no tears came out of his spectral eyes, yet his mental voice was a complete wreck.
"I thought I lost you!" I cried out, vigorously patting his back. But I really did think I lost him back then.
<Me too!> he whimpered loudly. <I missed you, Master. You don’t know how hard it has been!>
"It is okay now," I comforted him, squeezing his fur. "I am here."
<Look at me!> Nemo howled in pure grievance, pointing a trembling paw back at the glowing stone dome. <I am the Nightmare Devourer! A proud Overlord! And yet... I’ve become a dog! A dog! She literally tied me to a doghouse!>
I looked at the stone structure, then back at the purple leash glowing around his neck. A pang of genuine pity hit my chest, swiftly followed by a sudden, chilling realization.
I slowly turned my head.
The Mistress of the Spire was standing a few paces away. She was watching our melodramatic, tearless reunion with a slightly tilted head and a profoundly confused expression in her glowing crimson eyes.
Suddenly, a dangerous gold glint pierced through them.
!
My [Foresight] immediately kicked in.
Was it jealousy? Was it the territorial rage of a primordial entity seeing her ’husband’ embrace another creature? I had no idea.
I was only sure of one thing. I was in terrible trouble, and Nemo was seconds away from being erased from existence.
Survival instincts overrode my joy instantly. I abruptly stopped patting the giant wolf and shoved his massive shoulders away. I took a deliberate step back, smoothing the wrinkles out of my robes, and forced my expression into a mask of cold, stern disappointment.
"Hmph," I scoffed, crossing my arms. "You completely deserve this."
<Master?>
Nemo blinked, his jaw dropping open in sheer bewilderment.
I ignored his mental confusion and gestured respectfully toward the pale woman standing behind me.
"The Mistress did the exact right thing by chaining you up."
"Don’t think I have forgotten your past actions," I continued to scold him loudly, making sure every word echoed clearly across the courtyard, so that the mistress heard it. "Your sins are immeasurable. Frankly, this is a far easier punishment than you truly warrant!"
I spoke with genuine conviction, drawing upon my actual reservations about him. Before becoming my bonded beast, Nemo was the feared Nightmare Devourer. He was the Overlord of the frozen plains, a creature that had probably slaughtered countless people and beasts.
While it was somewhat logical for a wild monster to follow its predatory instincts to hunt and kill, a sin remained a sin. The sheer amount of evil and blood on his paws was undeniable.
In fact, before that final desperate battle against Bane, I had heavily pondered whether even to form a contract with him. Binding myself to such a vicious entity had been a massive moral dilemma. In fact, if not for that desperate situation I was in, I probably wouldn’t have done it.
"!"
The Overlord wolf froze completely.
The harsh truth of my words struck him like a physical blow.
"...’
He slowly lowered his massive head, his ears flattening pitifully against his skull.
The initial shock of my sudden coldness faded, replaced by a wave of genuine shame and heavy guilt washing over his features.
"Now go and reflect on yourself," I ordered coldly, pointing a rigid finger at the stone dome. "We will discuss how you are going to atone for those sins later."
<...Yes, Master.> Nemo whimpered softly.
His tail tucked firmly between his legs, he turned around and dragged his heavy, glowing chain back to his doghouse, curling into a miserable, ashamed ball of black fur.
"Hmph." I let out a final, cold scoff, turning my back entirely on the miserable pile of black fur.
I faced the Mistress of the Spire, letting a deeply grateful expression wash over my features. The dangerous gold glint in her crimson eyes had already begun to recede, but I needed to completely defuse the situation.
"Thank you," I said smoothly, bowing my head just a fraction to show my respect. "Thank you for properly disciplining this sinful dog. You were incredibly merciful to spare his life, considering his past atrocities."
Hearing my praise, the terrifying, possessive tension in the air evaporated completely.
The Mistress smiled gently, clearly pleased by my sincere flattery and my swift rejection of the beast’s affection.
She extended her cold, marble-like hand toward me once more.
"Come, dear. I will show you the rest."
I took her hand without hesitation, offering her a bright, cooperative smile.
"Yes, let’s go."