When he returned to Naiyan, he did not encounter Tyrannus or his scythe. Just an empty wasteland of cracked earth and sulfuric air. Oddly enough, the air in the human realm seemed to choke him more than it did here—it was more...bitter. Granted, Naiyan was heated, but not nearly as much as the human world. Perhaps he was just becoming more accustomed to Naiyan; Daemones had mentioned something about that before.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Tetsuda started his trek back to the palace. Why was it that some demons had wings? Rather, why didn't he have wings? It would've made things so much easier! The first time Tyrannus walked with him, it had taken nearly half an hour. And his body already ached from all the sex he'd had earlier…

Still, he couldn't help but feel a bit...unsatisfied. If he recalled correctly, his afterglow as a human lasted a fairly long time before. Now, however...after the threesome he'd had in the club, his afterglow had only lasted a few seconds before he'd yearned for more. Truly, the only time he'd felt satisfied for a decent amount of time was with Tyrannus—even then, he desired to experiment more, using different positions and techniques to further synchronize himself with Tyrannus's body. Regrettably, that wouldn't happen any time soon.

His head tilted up to the sky, his eyes lingering on a cloud that vaguely resembled a penis and his mind lingering on Tyrannus. Ah, he had a beautiful penis, Tyrannus did. A nice length, not too thick, a scrotum that lifted his spirits as well as his member…

His head lowered, and his eyes landed upon a pair of red ones.

As its cracked arm swung out to reach him, Tetsuda jumped back about three feet. Toward him shambled a figure with a cracked body that dripped ash.

He did a twice-over of the area, looking for anything that could resemble a weapon. Save for rocks, there was nothing.

As the Et Cinere quickened its steps, Tetsuda sprinted past. There had to be something laying around here—maybe someone had abandoned their weapon in the field after it had broken. Even the tiniest shard of metal would serve him well at this point—anything he could use to break the core.

Out from the ground popped a hand, which grabbed his ankle and yanked him down. He kicked and thrashed until it finally released him, yet the original attacker had caught up with him.

"Fuck…" he grumbled, scrambling back as the one that had emerged from the ground crawled toward him. "Fuck, fuck, fuck…!"

His fingers dug into the—no. His claws dug into the ground! He had claws now!

The moment it reached its arm out to him, Tetsuda impaled his claws into the earthen flesh. His eyes locked on the creature, and instantly his vision tunneled. Its gaze shifted from bloodred to a bright blue—the same color as Tetsuda's.

"You will obey me," spoke a voice that came from his mouth but was not his own. "Kill the threat to your master. That is an order."

The Et Cinere nodded, and his vision returned to normal once more.

It ripped its arm free of Tetsuda's claws, and though the limb remained, the Et Cinere turned to the other pursuer as if nothing had occurred. Its remaining arm swung at the red-eyed ash man, which whipped its head to the side as part of it burst like a broken pot. Ash crumbled from the jagged parts of its skull, which, after a closer look, was completely hollow.

As the belligerent staggered, the blue-eyed creature thrust its hand into the other's core. Something akin to the strangled caw of a bird burst from its throat, and a moment later, it burst into black crumbs.

The remaining Et Cinere still held the core in its hand, gazing upon it with blank interest. All the while, Tetsuda remained on the ground, his arms propping him up. He stared forth with wide eyes, his breaths coming ragged and deep. What had...what had just...why…?

The creature turned to Tetsuda and cocked its head to the side. The blank stare remained. It followed his movements as he stood, his movements taut and slow. Should he run? It had essentially torn the heart out of one of its kind, something they supposedly never did. But then...its eyes didn't hold any malevolence...hell, they didn't even hold the proper color! They were blue, the same color as...

You will obey me.

As...his…

Kill the threat to your master. That is an order.

"Point...point to your master," he ordered.

Still holding the blackened core, the Et Cinere lifted its only hand toward Tetsuda. Its eyes brightened as it stared.

"Me? I'm your master?"

It nodded.

What had he done?


He'd sprinted as quickly as his legs could carry him back to the palace, and all the while, the Et Cinere had shambled its way behind in a nearly comical fashion. What had occurred was clear: he'd somehow made this creature obey him. Issue was, he had no idea how nor why. It had just...happened. Whatever voice had spoken was not his—or, at least, he'd never known it to be his. It had sounded...demonic, for lack of a better term. Low and haunting, full of whispers…

Far from the cries that currently bombarded his ears.

He'd reached the front courtyard, and instantly the guards had accosted and apprehended him. One wild-looking Ira held him from behind, a sword to his throat, while a second thrust the dull end of a pike into his stomach.

"What filth do you bring here?!" shouted the one with the pike.

"If you'd...stop hitting me...I'd tell you!" Tetsuda screamed back.

"Watch your tongue, incubus," the other one hissed. "You're just a child."

"A child with an explanation you're refusing to hear!" he hissed.

"What could you possibly offer?"

"If you doubt me, why'd you ask?!"

"It was rhetorical!"

"It was unnecessary!"

"What the fuck's going on here?!" a new voice shouted.

The Ira looked up, and Tetsuda looked over his shoulder. Looking even more attractively disheveled than usual, Basileus stalked his way forward. One gloved hand held a sword, and the other was fisted.

"Ultimo Luxuria," the pike-wielder said.

"Do ya plan on beholdin' me or answerin' me? Why the fuck're ya shoutin'?" His brow scrunched. "Tetsuda?"

"You know him?"

"You said my title and ask that? Let him go."

The sword-wielder shoved him forward, and Tetsuda staggered forward a few steps. His abdomen ached, and his neck burned, yet his eyes held the most fire. Compared to Tyrannus, these Ira were like rabid, undomesticated dogs. Then again, they weren't nearly as threatening as Tyrannus.

"Answer me," Basileus ordered. "Now!"

"He brought an Et Cinere with him," the sword-wielder replied hurriedly.

Basileus's gaze went past Tetsuda's shoulder to land upon the ash man. Tetsuda had ordered it to remain still, even as the Ira had beaten him. If they'd killed it, there'd be no chance of explaining it. Thankfully, it seemed their minds were as one-track as their intentions.

"I understand why you'd panic," Basileus said, "but there's no reason to." He looked to Tetsuda. "Where's the beguiler?"

"The...beguiler?"

He nodded. "I'm not surprised ya don't know. All the demon clans have special abilities, which develop when they're older and more accustomed to Iyan's air. The signature move of the Luxuria is beguilement. Essentially, we can put beings weaker than us mentally under our control. Helpful for slave-making and manipulation. That's why we're the middle ground of the Daemones hierarchy. So where are they? The beguiler, I mean."

"Ah...right here."

Basileus looked around. "What do you mean?"

"The beguiler was...was me."

A smile broke out on his face, and a laugh burst from his throat. "Fuck, that's a good one! I'm serious, though, who was it?"

"I'm telling the truth! I did it!"

He tilted his head to the side, still smiling. "Tetsuda—"

"I'll show you!" He looked to the Et Cinere. "Who is your master?"

It lifted its arm toward Tetsuda.

"See! Why are you doubtful of me?"

He'd expected some snarky reply, but Basileus simply stared at the Et Cinere. For once, his eyes didn't twinkle with uncouth mischief—no, thoughtfulness rolled through them this time. Thoughtfulness that made him stiffen.

"How long ago did you charm it?"

"Uh...I don't know...twenty minutes?"

"We'll have to hurry, then. You're quite young, so I'm not sure how long the beguilement will last. Come with me, and bring the Et Cinere. Lord Tyrannus needs to know."


"So you mean to tell me that he, an incubus barely seven months of age, was able to charm an Et Cinere for longer than ten seconds?"

Basileus nodded. "It's been under his control for nearly half an hour, in fact."

Tyrannus tapped one finger upon the arm of his throne, his other hand propping up his head. The moment he'd walked into the throne room with Basileus, his chest had tightened, and his shoulders had stiffened. Seated upon a structure of iron and skulls, clad in all-black with hints of white, he looked...terrifying. Like a nightmare. The most beautiful nightmare he'd ever had the pleasure of witnessing.

"Half an hour?" he asked. Even spoken outside of a murmur, his voice sent skeletal fingers up his spine. "And it's still obeying you?"

Tetsuda asked it the same question as before, and it provided the same response. Basileus stood directly next to it, his sword gripped tight, ready to mutilate once compliance turned to belligerence.

"Interesting," he mumbled. "Very interesting…" He straightened a bit in his throne. "How? I'm asking you, Tetsuda."

His body jolted. "I-I'm not sure. I just...did it."

"You just did it?"

He nodded. "I met its eyes and then everything...narrowed. Its eyes changed to the color of mine, and a voice ordered it to kill another Et Cinere that was ready to kill me. And now...it's still here."

"This voice," he said. "Did it resemble yours?"

"Somewhat," he half-affirmed. "It came from my mouth, but it didn't sound like me."

"Salutem, then," Tyrannus said. "Wouldn't you agree, Ultimo?"

"It looks like it. If he has no idea of how he managed it, it can't be Ultroneus."

Tyrannus nodded. "It still doesn't explain why it lasted so long, though. Usually Salutem only lasts as long as the threat is present." His gaze drifted to Tetsuda, whose eyes were blank and mind was lost. "Would you like to explain, Basileus?"

"Of course, m'lord. In essence, there are two types of beguilement that a Luxuria can use. Salutem is the initial type of beguilement, one where the Luxuria's in danger and the only way of safety is by charming the belligerent. In most cases, it's done unintentionally and only works with lower-class creatures, like animals or Et Cinere. The other type, Ultroneus, is done voluntarily. They're both executed the same way: look into the eyes of your target, enrapture them in your stare, and hypnotize them into servitude."

"Your beguilement points to Salutem from all directions," Tyrannus said. "However, it's lasted half an hour, far beyond where it should normally stop." He rose from the throne, his booted feet throwing echoes about the room. "This can only mean one thing." He stopped in front of Tetsuda and trailed his fingertips down his jawline. "You're far more interesting than I'd initially expected, my little incubus."