Over the next hour or so, Kiki grilled me on what I knew about the First Timeline. The two of us sat at a small table in a small clearing within the garden. It was a serene and peaceful place, perfect for drinking a cup of tea. Unfortunately, the two of us were there to talk about the end of the world.
I told Kiki everything I learned from my companions, or gleaned from my own observations. The destruction of Icefall City, how certain parts of humanity turned against the rest, Sunheart's fall. Everything.
Well, almost.
I didn't tell her which of my companions were regressors. She knew that I worked with regressors, that much was obvious, but I didn't tell her their specific identities since that wasn't my secret to share. If they wanted to tell her, that was their own business. I wouldn't make the decision for them.
As I spoke, Kiki picked apart my words, forcing me to remember details and facts that I had forgotten. It was exhausting, and by the end I felt mentally drained.
What happened to the kind and gracious Kiki? The one who acted excited to host guests for the first time in a while? Instead, I got one far less merciful and far more relentless. Thank the gods she was an ally. I shuddered to think of what she would be like as an enemy.
Still, it wasn't all one-sided. During our conversation, I picked up a few bits here and there. From what I gathered, Kiki knew a lot about regression. In fact, she knew more than me. A part of me wondered if she experienced regression herself. I mean, why not? She was a spirit, sure, but so what? Why couldn't spirits be regressors?
That said, I doubted Kiki was a simple spirit. She knew far too much for that to be the case. My curiosity towards her deepened, to the point that it became increasingly difficult to keep in check. However, I continued to hold back. I didn't want to provoke her just yet. Maybe later, after I recruited Lord Dominic.
"So," Kiki said after I finished speaking. "He's finally making a move, after all this time."
I leaned back in my chair, looking up at the sky with my eyes closed. The sweet floral scent of the garden around us soothed my tired mind.
"'He?'" I asked. "Who's 'he'?"
"Don't worry about it," Kiki said. "You're too weak to do anything about it, so focus on what you can do."
I opened my eyes and glared at Kiki.
"You have a bad habit of bringing things up, but not explaining them," I said.
"Consider that punishment for disturbing my peaceful life with Master Dominic," Kiki said in an acerbic tone. "The two of us were doing quite fine until you came along."
"You mean the peaceful life where Lord Dominic almost worked himself to death on a regular basis?" I asked.
Kiki scrutinized me with those stone eyes of hers. For some reason, I couldn't get a read on her anymore. I used to, or maybe that was just wishful thinking on my part. Maybe I just saw what Kiki let me see. Maybe the Kiki I knew had just been a mask.
Even so, I continued to glare at her. Just because Kiki might be more powerful than I realized, didn't mean I would let her push me around.
"How many times have you gotten in trouble because of that mouth of yours?" Kiki asked.
I thought it over.
"Less than you'd think," I said.
Kiki snorted.
"I doubt that," she said. "However, I'm not here to quibble. Tell me about what happened to Eastwatch in the First Timeline. How did it fall?"
I sighed. Here we go again.
"Very well," I said. "Keep in mind that I don't know everything. What I'm about to tell you is a mixture of what I've heard, my own discoveries, and speculation."
Kiki nodded and gestured for me to continue. I told her about Eastwatch's fall, Crawford's belief that it had rotted from the inside long before that point, and everything my companions and I learned ever since we came to the city. This included the succubi selling cursed skewers, Lord Isabel eating demons to gain their power, and my plan to recruit Lord César as an ally.
"Ugh," Kiki said, scoffing. "House Sandstrike is a mess. They used to be so much better. How had they fallen so far over the centuries?"
I raised an eyebrow at her.
"You're familiar with House Sandstrike?" I asked.
Kiki made a dismissive gesture.
"Somewhat," she said. "I met one of their ancestors centuries ago, back before Eastwatch became what it is today. House Sandstrike's mastery over sand allowed them to dominate the local area and subjugate it. This piqued my interest, so I decided to observe them for a while." She shook her head. "I never thought that a scion of House Sandstrike would end up becoming an infernophage."
"A what?" I asked.
That was a term I had never heard before.
"An infernophage," Kiki said. "That's the term for beings who consume demons to gain their power."
I stared at Kiki for several seconds.
"Just who are you?" I asked, unable to hold myself back any longer. "How do you know all this?"
I had never come across the term infernophage before, not even during my life as Brandon Norwood. Back then, in order to return home, I searched through vast libraries and consulted ancient beings. None of them mentioned the term infernophage before. Then again, I hadn't been searching for knowledge about demons, so perhaps that was why.
"What do you mean?" Kiki asked in a mocking tone. "I'm just a simple spirit."
I narrowed my eyes at her.
"I hate you," I said.
Kiki laughed.
"To get back to the topic at hand," she said. "Infernophages are dangerous beings. Not just because they gain power from consuming demons, but because they become driven by hunger and obsession, like the very demons they consume. They lose themselves, bit by bit, until nothing else remains. By that point, they become demons themselves and start consuming other beings."
A chill ran down my spine as I considered a horrifying possibility.
"Is it possible that Lady Isabel destroyed Eastwatch herself?" I asked.
Kiki didn't respond right away.
"It is," she said. "You said that Lady Isabel is behind the disappearances?"
I nodded.
"We suspect that she's kidnapping people in order to steal their vitality for herself," I said.
"In that case, it's not only possible, but likely," Kiki said. "As I mentioned earlier, infernophages become demons themselves. At first, to steal other people's vitality, Lady Isabel would've needed to let a demon consume them. Afterwards, she would've needed to risk her life in order to consume that demon from the inside out. However, after reaching a certain threshold, infernophages are able to consume people to steal their vitality directly." She gestured to the city beyond Lord Dominic's mansion. "Why settle for a few dozen people a week when there's an entire city available?"
Bile rose up in my throat as my stomach roiled. I covered my mouth to hold it all in.
"That's… revolting," I said after regaining my composure.
"Demons, by their very nature, are revolting," Kiki said, her voice filled with disgust. "And so are infernophages."
I shook my head.
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"And if Lady Isabel wasn't the one who destroyed Eastwatch," I said. "Then it must've been the succubi."
Kiki made a dismissive gesture.
"I doubt it," she said. "Succubi enjoy toying with people too much. Destroying Eastwatch would've spoiled their fun." She paused. "Unless they were forced to by their summoner. Someone must've brought them into this realm after all."
That was a good point. Who summoned the succubi that were here in Eastwatch? I hadn't given it much thought before. It wasn't Lady Isabel. She considered them competition.
More importantly, why summon the succubi? What was the end goal here?
I leaned my elbows against the table and rested my head.
"Ugh," I said. "This is giving me a headache. The more I look into this matter, the more questions I end up with."
"You could always simplify things," Kiki said. "Capture a succubus and interrogate them." She leaned forward. "I'll even help you. I know many ways to… extract information from demons."
I gave Kiki a wary look.
"You really hate demons, don't you?" I asked.
Kiki shook her head.
"I don't hate demons," she said. "That's too mild a word. I loathe demons with every fiber of my being. There is nothing redeeming about them. They are vile, filthy creatures. The cosmos would be a much better place if every single one of them died, from the lowliest imp to the Demon God itself."
I blinked at Kiki in surprise.
"Demon God?" I asked. "The demons have a god?"
Kiki snorted.
"Of course they do," she said. "Why wouldn't they?"
I opened and closed my mouth several times.
"It just never occurred to me that the demons would have a god," I said after a while.
"It's not like you ever had a reason to know," Kiki said. "The Demon God is far beyond the concern of most beings. Demon Kings and Demon Lords are for more immediate threats."
I nodded. My second life ended because a Demon Lord killed me. I killed him in return, but it was a near thing. It took an entire team of S-rank hunters to bring that Demon Lord down. If I had fought him on my own, without my team, he would've killed me with ease.
"My companions and I tried to capture a succubus," I said, steering the conversation back on topic. "But we failed." I paused. "However, we potentially gained Lord César as an ally so we gained more than we lost. With his help, we can pit Lady Isabel and the succubi against each other. Afterwards, we can deal with any survivors."
Kiki nodded.
"That's a good plan," she said. "However, before that, I suggest finding out who summoned the succubi and why. Otherwise, you might end up playing into your enemies' hands. What if someone benefits from Lady Isabel and the succubi fighting each other?"
That was a possibility I hadn't considered.
"But who would want that?" I asked. "And how would they benefit?"
"Good question," Kiki said. "I suggest you find out."
I planned on waiting until I heard back from Lord César before making a move. However, if Kiki was right and there was another party involved in this mess, then finding out more about them was the smarter move.
"Damn it," I said. "I don't want to dress up as a woman again."
Kiki stared at me for several moments.
"What?" she asked, befuddled.
I made a dismissive gesture.
"Don't worry about it," I said. "That's between my companions and I."
Kiki studied me for a moment, before shaking her head.
"Very well," she said. "Now, go on. Find a succubus and trap them. Meanwhile, I'll focus on convincing Master Dominic to help you."
I raised an eyebrow at her.
"How imperious of you," I said.
"Master Dominic is unmarried," Kiki said. "Which makes me the lady of this mansion. You and your companions are guests. If you don't like the way I do things, you're more than welcome to leave. Otherwise, keep any complaints you have to yourself."
I rolled my eyes, but stood up to leave. There was only so much I could get done by sitting here and talking. Once the others came back, I planned on retrying our failed plan to lure and trap a succubus.
"Oh, before you leave…" Kiki said, before stopping.
I waited for her to continue.
"Nevermind," she said instead. "I'll ask you after we leave Eastwatch."
I clicked my tongue in displeasure, before I turned and left the garden.
After the others returned, I brought them to the mansion's drawing room so we could talk in private. Like with the rest of the mansion, the drawing room was furnished with the bare minimum necessary. At least there were enough chairs for each of us to sit down.
I wanted to come up with a plan to lure and trap a succubus. However, first I gave my companions a brief summary of my conversation with Kiki. When I finished, the three of them gave me odd looks.
"What?" I asked.
"How do you always manage to find these people?" Cally asked. "I know I've said this before, but I refuse to believe it's a coincidence at this point."
Anna crossed her arms and nodded.
"Cally's right," she said. "There is something strange going on. You have a knack for meeting people who are…" She paused as she searched for the right word. "…special. That's the only way I can describe it. Regressors, your teacher, etc. If it were just people connected to you, that would be one thing. However, you ended up befriending the Spider, or his past self, and you had no connection to him prior to that point. Now, you've met a spirit who is more than she seems. Like Cally said, how do you always find these people?"
I shook my head.
"I don't know," I said. "I'm just as confused about it as you are. Kaylee is my sister and as for you two…" I gestured to Anna and Cally. "I have a personal connection to, albeit with a few degrees of separation. However, that doesn't explain the others." A thought occurred to me, and I looked at Leroy. "You're not secretly special in some way, are you?"
Leroy snorted.
"No," he said. "I'm the most normal person in this group. At times that feels like a curse, but most of the time it feels like a blessing."
For some reason, he gave me an odd look when he said that.
"I think you need to get this figured out," Cally said, frowning. "What if a higher power is interfering with your life? If so, you should figure out what this higher power wants with you. Not all higher powers can be trusted. Even the gods are cruel and capricious at times. Whoever, or whatever, is interfering with your life could be much worse."
I frowned.
"How?" I asked. "If there is a higher power interfering with my life, they haven't revealed themselves to me, so I can't just ask them. And that's assuming there's a higher power involved. There may not be."
"Good point," Anna said. "Still, this isn't something you should ignore. We need to look into this." She grinned at me. "And yes, I mean 'we' instead of 'you'. We're engaged now, which means our fates are intertwined." She looked at the others. "What about you two?"
Cally snorted.
"Gabriel was my friend before he was your fiancé," she said. "Of course I'll help him. Besides, he's Kaylee's brother. I'd help him for her sake alone."
"Gabriel is my lord," Leroy said. "Where he goes, I go." He gave me a sideways glance. "If only to keep him out of trouble."
I rolled my eyes at him in an exaggerated fashion, but smiled to let him know I was joking.
"Thank you," I said. "I couldn't have asked for better friends."
Cally scoffed and looked away from me. However, I noticed a small smile on her lips.
"That question is, where do we start?" Anna asked.
"The Church of the Sun," I said. "It's one of the oldest institutions in the world, and its archive is vast. With my family's connections, getting access to it shouldn't be difficult."
Anna shook her head.
"That would take too long," she said. "We're not even sure what we're looking for." She wore a thought expression on her face. "However, visiting the Church of the Sun isn't a bad idea. What if we asked Grand Priest Darius for help?"
Cally gave her a sharp look.
"You don't mean…?" she started, before trailing off.
Anna nodded.
"I do," she said. "When dealing with a higher power, why not ask another higher power for help?"
I sucked in a breath when I realized what they were referring to.
"You want me to ask a god for a boon," I said.
Anna nodded.
"It is the quickest solution to this problem," she said.
Each of the grand priests served as a god's representative here in the mortal realm. This went beyond mere status. Each grand priest had a personal connection to their god, and could call upon them for a boon, either for themselves or for others.
However, they couldn't do this often, and they always paid a price for it. The price paid depended on the boon given. More importantly, it was always the grand priest who paid the price. No one else could pay it for them. Thus, a grand priest rarely asked for a boon for others.
Anna was right. This was the quickest solution to my problem. Grand Priest Darius served Tempest, the God of Storms. If he interceded on my behalf and asked Tempest for a boon, I might get the answers I was looking for. However, I feared the price Tempest would ask in return.
Maybe my situation wasn't as big a deal as I thought, and Tempest would exact a small price. However, my intuition warned me that things weren't that simple. I viewed Grand Priest Darius like a grandfather. I didn't want him to pay a heavy price because of my selfishness.
This assumed Grand Priest Darius would help me. There was a good chance he wouldn't despite our relationship.
"I'll think about it," I said. "I'm not in any urgent need to find answers." Cally opened her mouth, but I forestalled her by raising a hand. "Even if a higher power is interfering in my life and using me as a pawn, so what? How is that any different from you or Anna? As long as I can save my home and protect my loved ones, that's all I care about."
Anna and Cally glanced at one another.
"The difference is that we know the gods are responsible for our regression," Anna said. "We have no idea who or what is interfering with your life. It could be a being who wants the demons to win."
This made me think of the Demon God that Kiki mentioned.
"You're right," I said after a moment. "Still, I need to think about it. Asking a god for a boon is a big deal." I sighed. "Until then, let's focus on the problem at hand. We need to capture a succubus. Let's come up with a plan." I gave Anna a sideways glance. "One that doesn't involve me dressing up as a woman this time."
Anna looked disappointed by this.
"I have an idea," Cally said.
"Do tell," I said.
Cally told us. At first I objected to it, but the others convinced me otherwise.
And so, the four of us spent some time refining this plan before we headed out to put it into action.
It was time to capture a succubus.