Ty stood there, fierce fire burning in his eyes with hints of red beneath it. "So, what do I need to do here? I’ve retrieved the item that will conceal me; I should be able to go back now, right?"
The Demon King slowly took a seat. He leaned forward and clasped his hands over his head.
"Originally, yes," he admitted, his voice heavy.
"But, even if you do return, I don’t believe reclaiming your old life will be a simple task."
The room closed in as shadows shifted around them. The Demon King’s presence filled the space with mystery and authority.
Ty pushed through his confusion and spoke, his voice carrying determination and a trace of vulnerability.
"Well, my father always said that when nothing makes sense, nothing can be fixed." He paused, collecting his thoughts before continuing, "So, let’s start with the first question and work our way up."
Ty waited, his earnest tone filling the silence with curiosity and urgency.
"What’s the first mystery?" he asked, eager for clarity in the midst of shadows and uncertainties.
The Demon King suggested, his voice grave, "Let’s move this conversation to a more private area." His words echoed in the room, momentarily dimming the clattering plates and muffled movements within the dining hall.
They both stood up, navigating their way toward a side door, leaving the vibrant chaos of the dining hall behind them.
Todd, caught in a moment of domestic warmth, softly excused himself, mentioning he needed to put the kids to sleep. His figure retreated into the shadows.
Walking beside the Demon King, Ty carried a cloud of questions within him. His voice broke the silence, tinged with an evident confusion. "You know, I have my fair share of questions that haven’t been making sense."
The Demon King glanced at him, his eyes revealing a willingness to listen, prompting, "And what might that be?"
Ty inhaled deeply, gathering his thoughts. "Well, to start, I guess we could talk about Todd. How are his kids here? I didn’t want to bring it up directly, but if I recall correctly, the planet was, like, burned up or something.
How did he manage to save his kids?"
The Demon King paused, his expression unchanging. His voice held careful restraint. "He failed. They were technically dead for a while now. Maybe 1-2 years; it’s hard to say really."
The revelation hung between them, and the shadows deepened around the hall. Ty froze, trying to wrap his mind around the unsettling truth.
For a second, he pictured Todd laughing with the children in the throne room and felt the scene twist into something colder. They had looked alive. They had sounded alive.
That made the truth harder, not easier.
Ty struggled with disbelief, his mind racing to connect the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle. "That can’t be right," he protested softly, "He told me he was fighting so they could still be alive, like the Yami King was using them as a bargaining chip."
The Demon King listened with a calm face, though his eyes carried the cost of the answer. "And that he was," the Demon King confirmed gently, his words spilling the harsh truth of their reality.
"But he had already removed their souls from their bodies."
He paused, allowing the words to sink in, his gaze meeting Ty’s, offering silent reassurance. "When you killed the Yami King, tearing off his head before the angelic girl stepped in, you absorbed the souls he had stolen over the last 12 years or so.
And it just so happened that a portion of the souls you took in were his."
His words left sorrow and redemption hanging in the room.
"After you all arrived and you blacked out, Todd was submerged in grief over the loss of his kids, sharing the painful saga of the last 12 years."
The Demon King’s voice softened. "I was able to forcibly remove the souls from your body and implant them into bodies that resonated with his memories of them."
The Demon King clarified the reality. "Technically, they aren’t the same kids he remembers. Their souls were taken from their bodies and kept by the Yami King.
When you defeated him, the souls were freed, and I managed to place them into new bodies.
For the kids, it’s as if they simply blinked, and years have passed."
"It’s the least I could do for him, since you promised him safe haven," the Demon King said, his words edged with sharpness.
Ty tried to ease the weight of their conversation. "Sorry about that," he said as they walked together down the low-lit corridor, making their way toward a door marked "Lab 1."
Ty looked around as they entered another room and asked, "What is this place?" His voice echoed slightly in the wide space filled with arcane devices and cryptic symbols.
Rows of half-built tools lined the walls. Some looked like brass microscopes. Others resembled small cages made of glass threads and bone-white metal. A few pulsed with tiny lights that blinked in uneven rhythms, like they were listening to the room breathe.
Ty kept his hands close to himself, aware that touching the wrong thing might turn him into an experiment.
One table held a cracked crystal suspended inside a ring of black wire, while another carried jars of ash labeled in languages outside Ty’s memory. Every corner of the room made him feel underqualified to breathe near it.
"It’s a sanctuary of knowledge and discovery," the Demon King explained, his voice resonating with a touch of pride. "This is where I, along with some of the brightest minds from various realms, focus on research--exploring the mysteries of the universe."
He paused, allowing the weight of his words to fill the room. "Those who have led lives dedicated to advancements and innovation on their worlds find solace here in the afterlife, continuing their quest for understanding and enlightenment."
The room carried the marks of countless discoveries, the walls crowded with notes, devices, and symbols left by souls consumed by knowledge.
Even without visible occupants, the space felt alive with unfinished work.