The shuttle passed over what might once have been a massive city. Now it was nothing but endless sand with occasional towers sticking out at strange angles. One enormous dome had collapsed inward and was filled completely with black dunes, turning it into a perfectly circular desert inside a ruined city.
Everything looked abandoned, defeated, and silent.
Darion stared out of the shuttle window for a long time, watching the wasteland scroll beneath them.
"Charming," he said quietly. "Absolutely charming."
"Alive is a strong word for this planet," Mira said.
"Barely functional," Kavik added.
Rell looked at the atmosphere readings.
"And breathable?"
Kavik shook his head.
"Only if you enjoy coughing your soul out."
They flew in silence for a while, the shuttle gliding over broken mountains, buried cities, and endless black deserts that seemed to stretch forever.
Then Darion saw something in the distance.
Mountains of black crystal rose from the ground like jagged teeth. Beneath the tallest mountain, carved directly into the rock, stood a massive structure.
A palace.
Dark, ancient, and half-buried in sand.
Darion leaned forward slightly.
"Well," he said, "at least there's a museum."
⸻
They landed near the structure and entered carefully.
Dust swirled around their boots as the shuttle engines powered down behind them. The entrance to the palace was carved directly into the mountain, a massive archway half-buried in black sand. The doors themselves were long gone, leaving only broken hinges and deep grooves in the stone where something enormous had once moved.
Inside, the air was dry and cold.
The interior corridors sloped downward into the mountain, long stone passageways supported by massive pillars carved with ancient runes that glowed faintly under their helmet lights. The symbols were worn and cracked, but some still pulsed weakly, like embers that refused to die.
There was a faint humming sound in the air, almost musical.
It felt like the planet was watching them.
They moved slowly through the corridors, their footsteps echoing through the empty halls. In several chambers they found old statues — tall, rotting stone figures with horns, long robes, and weapons held upright in ceremonial poses. Some carried staffs, others curved blades or long spears. Many statues were broken, their heads missing or arms shattered, but the ones still standing looked stern and inhuman, their faces long and sharp, eyes narrow, horns curling backward like crowns.
"Not exactly friendly architecture," Mira muttered.
Further in, they entered a wider chamber where something massive lay collapsed across the floor.
At first Darion thought it was a fallen pillar.
Then he realized it was a monument.
A colossal stone serpent stretched across the chamber, its body coiled and broken in several places, its head resting against the far wall. The fangs alone were taller than Rell. Time had eaten away most of the details, but the shape was still terrifying — a long, horned serpent with wings folded along its back.
"Charming place," Darion said quietly.
They continued deeper. Several massive stone doors lined the corridors, each carved with different symbols — beasts, warriors, stars, and strange runic circles. Most of the doors were sealed or partially collapsed, buried under fallen rock and sand that had somehow made its way this deep underground.
Eventually, the corridor opened into a massive underground hall.
And they stopped.
The hall was enormous — more like a throne hall than a temple chamber. Tall pillars lined the sides, carved with intricate patterns and ancient battles. The ceiling arched high above them, disappearing into darkness. Most of the hall was empty, but the floor was covered in dust, bones, and broken relics.
Bones.
Enormous bones covered the floor — ribs taller than buildings, claws the size of vehicles, skull fragments larger than ships. Some bones were stacked in piles as if they had been collected. Others were scattered like the remains of a battlefield.
Darion looked around slowly.
"Looks like the previous residents were… large."
Scattered among the bones were broken weapons, staffs, and ancient relics. Most were damaged beyond use — cracked blades, shattered staffs, rusted armor plates that had turned almost black with age.
But the hall itself was clearly important. The pillars were more detailed here, the floor carved with circular patterns, and at the far center stood a raised platform like a throne dais.
And on that platform stood something intact.
A single horn.
Dark red, polished, carved with deep runes that spiraled along its surface. The carvings were old and precise, etched into the horn rather than glowing, their edges worn smooth by time. Yet the horn itself seemed to hold a faint inner sheen — not exactly light, not exactly reflection — more like the surface of fresh blood catching dim light.
It pulsed faintly, slowly, like a heartbeat.
Unlike everything else in the hall, it was clean, untouched by dust, almost as if someone had placed it there recently. The longer Darion looked at it, the more it seemed to draw his attention, a subtle pull at the edge of his mind, quiet and insistent.
Darion frowned slightly and took a small step closer without realizing it.
"What is it?..," he murmured.
Before anyone could stop him, he stepped forward and touched it.
The moment his hand made contact, red light exploded across the hall.
Pain shot through his arm and into his chest. His vision turned red. A scream echoed through the chamber — not entirely human.
Darion collapsed.
"Get him!" Mira shouted.
Rell picked him up immediately and ran for the shuttle while Kavik activated emergency systems.
Within minutes, Darion was placed inside a medical life-aid pod. Machines scanned him, repaired damaged tissue, stabilized his heart and brain activity.
But he did not wake up.
⸻
Inside his mind
Darion opened his eyes.
Darkness.
Endless darkness in every direction.
No ground. No sky. No sound.
He floated there for what felt like seconds or years.
"Lovely," he muttered. "Another excellent life decision."
Then a voice spoke.
Deep. Ancient. Amused. Dangerous.
"Finally… I have a host."
Darion froze.
His eyes widened slightly as he looked around the endless darkness, but there was nothing there. No shape, no figure, no light — just the voice, echoing directly inside his mind.
He turned slowly, as if expecting someone to be standing behind him.
There was no one.
"…Right," he said after a moment, voice a little more careful now. "Either I'm dead, dreaming, or officially insane."
The voice chuckled, low and amused.
"I am very real, Darion Veynar."
Darion blinked.
He hadn't said his name.
That was new.
That was concerning.
He exhaled slowly, rubbing his face.
"Of course you are," he said. "Why wouldn't there be a mysterious voice in the void talking to me personally? That seems like a completely normal development."
The voice laughed again, echoing through the darkness like distant thunder.
"I am Azhurath. Demon King. Destroyer of Worlds. Devourer of Empires."
Darion stared into the darkness for a long moment.
"…Wonderful," he said finally. "I leave one empire and immediately get possessed by a demon king. My life continues to improve."
"We will work together," the voice said. "I give power. You give body. Together, we take revenge."
Darion frowned slightly.
"Revenge on who?"
"The Empire," Azhurath growled. "Planet Emerald. The ones who destroyed my people and burned my world. I have waited a very long time."
Darion closed his eyes slowly.
"Great," he muttered. "A sarcastic demon with a revenge plan. Exactly what I needed."
The voice laughed again.
"This will be fun, Darion Veynar. We will make the universe remember us."
Darion sighed into the darkness.
"Yes," he said quietly.
"I was afraid you might say that."