I expanded my perception the moment we left the forest. It spread like a silent wave across the landscape, over mountains, rivers, and into the nearest demon city.
Horus.
A crimson giant built on stone.
I grabbed Steve, North, Primus, and Lara with a single ripple of space and teleported once. Another blink, another jump and we appeared directly above Horus.
From up here, the entire city looked like a beating heart made of red stone, black metal, and blazing firepits. Tens of thousands of demons filled the streets below. Their auras burned bright and wild, like a storm of flames too stubborn to be contained.
I hovered silently beside the group.
"Alright," I said. "This is where we split."
Primus frowned. "You won’t come down?"
"I’ll come," I said. "But hidden. From now until this whole issue is solved, I stay in the shadows. No one can know a Transcendent human is walking through their front door. Let the Bloodreavers see only you four."
Steve whistled. "Oooh, mysterious man in the shadows."
Primus ignored both of them, though his jaw clenched. "Fine. Just... don’t disappear on us."
I smiled faintly. "Don’t worry. I’ll act, but from the folds of space. No one will sense me."
With a wave of my hand, space unfolded. Space turned reflective for a moment, like liquid glass, and I stepped inside it, becoming nothing more than a ripple behind them.
No aura.
No sound.
Just an observer.
The four of them drifted downward toward Horus.
Primus held his daughter’s hand tightly, guiding her as they descended. Her small form was wrapped in a dark cloak, only her fingers and the tips of her horns visible.
Below us, the city stretched wide, massive stone buildings with red tiled roofs, broad avenues filled with demons shouting, drinking, sparring, laughing. The air smelled of smoke, and raw blood.
The Blood Reavers were specialised in blood and fire. Primus himself used both but mostly focused on fire since he had more affinity with fire.
Steve muttered under his breath, "Feels like the whole city’s angry."
He wasn’t wrong.
Snatches of conversations filled the streets as we passed.
"No, they attacked first! Burn their entire clan!"
"Hear the news? They attacked during the night. Wasn’t it prohibited? "
"Blood for blood!"
The atmosphere was tense. Violent. Ready to explode at the slightest spark.
Primus floated down without expression though his aura stiffened, and Lara gripped his hand even tighter.
They landed before the Bloodreaver stronghold, a small fortress constructed from pure red obsidian, glowing faintly with heat. It stretched horizontally, wider than it was tall, with multiple courtyards and training grounds behind thick stone walls.
Two guards stood at the gate.
Both froze.
Their eyes widened. Then one of them dropped to his knee so fast he nearly cracked the ground.
"Lord Primus! Lady Lara!"
His voice trembled with disbelief and joy.
"Y-You’ve returned...! I—I must inform everyone immediately!"
He sprinted inside, almost tripping, while the second guard stepped forward, bowing and motioning to escort the group inside.
"That’s right, Mr. Lord," Steve whispered under his hood, elbowing Primus lightly. "Very fancy."
Primus didn’t even bother looking at him. "Shut up."
North tried not to laugh behind her mask.
They entered the outer courtyard, and the reaction was instant.
Demons stopped mid-training. Others froze with weapons half-raised. Someone dropped a huge boulder he had been lifting.
"PRIMUS?!"
"HE’S ALIVE!!"
"Elder Brother!"
Within seconds, dozens of demons and demonesses surged forward cheering, shouting his name, calling out blessings, insults, and demands all mixed together.
"Join the war, Primus!"
"Come, fight the Del Rey dogs with us!"
"Where have you BEEN?!"
"Your in-laws have gone crazy."
Primus didn’t slow even once. "Ignore them," he muttered to Steve and North. "Do not respond."
Both nodded, keeping their hoods low as they walked.
I stayed hidden above them, moving silently across the roofline like a faint ripple in space. From where I floated, my perception had already flooded through the entire city.
And I found many interesting things.
Layers of tension. Hidden movements. Quiet signatures tucked into corners where they didn’t belong.
Spies.
Both Del Rey and Ronic.
Separating them wasn’t difficult for me. Their flames gave them away. Every demon clan carried the smell of its own law.
The Del Rey spies carried traces of blue fire, thin, sharp, almost cold. Soul-burning flame. Its presence felt like a sting every time my perception brushed past them.
The Ronic spies, on the other hand, carried a flicker of violet fire, dense, corrosive, hungry. A flame that burned vitality along with flesh. Even the faintest trace of it was easy for me to sense.
Most of these spies thought they were hidden well. Some hid inside buildings. Others blended into the crowds, suppressing their aura to almost nothing.
But to me, it all stood out clearly.
The two humans and the two demons reached the main building, a massive hall with pillars shaped like screaming demon faces and floor tiles painted with ancient murals of blood rituals. The doors opened inward with a groan.
Inside, the hall was packed. Dozens of demons stood or sat in ordered rows. Some old, some young, some armored, some almost naked, each one radiating strength.
And at the far end...
A throne carved of red stone.
On it sat a middle-aged demon with long red horns and burning red eyes. His aura was powerful but at the end he was only a grandmaster.
Beside him sat a woman.
Primus stepped into the center of the hall.
His voice echoed clearly.
"Mother. Father. I have returned."
The entire hall went silent.
The demoness beside the throne stood first. She flashed forward in a blur and wrapped her arms around him tightly.
"We missed you," Primus’s mother whispered, her voice trembling as she held him tightly.
The hall erupted.
Five demons sprang from their seats on the left and right rows. They didn’t rush forward like their mother, but they stood so abruptly their chairs scraped against the stone floor.
"Elder Brother!" one shouted, fists trembling with shock.
"Where were you?" another cried, eyes wet. "You vanished for years!"
"We searched everywhere, everywhere!" a younger demoness said, gripping the edge of her bench so hard the stone cracked.
"You didn’t send a single message!" a tall demon accused, though his voice cracked halfway.
"You left Father furious and Mother worried sick!" the last one added, voice shaking with equal parts relief and frustration.
Primus’s mother finally released him and stepped aside, wiping her eyes. Primus inhaled slowly, looking at each sibling—five pairs of red eyes staring at him with desperation, anger, joy, confusion.
He let out a tired breath.
"It’s... a long story."
"You owe us an explanation," one brother insisted.
Primus raised a hand. "Prepare some good alcohol first."
That earned a few surprised blinks.
"Alcohol?" his second brother asked. "You’ve been gone for years and you want a drink?"
Primus shrugged. "Trust me. You’ll need it when you hear the story."
One of the demonesses covered her mouth as if she couldn’t decide between laughing or crying.
"Were you captured?" another sister asked, voice trembling.
"Did the Del Reys ambush you?" his younger brother demanded.
Primus shook his head. "No. Not them."
"Then who?"
Primus paused, glanced down at Lara, then back at his siblings.
"For some things... I have answers.
He pointed to a few of them. " For other things..." He exhaled softly. "I honestly don’t know."
The siblings exchanged confused looks.
"What is that supposed to mean?" one of the brothers muttered, frowning.
Primus rubbed the back of his neck. "Exactly what it sounds like. I know where I ended up. I know who helped me. But how I got there, why it happened... I don’t have all the pieces yet."
Primus held Lara tighter but let the others hug and touch his shoulders, his arms, his face, as confirming he was real.
Then a deep voice rumbled.
"Enough."
The demon on the throne rose.
"This is not a family gathering."
His words cut through the hall silencing the crowd.