I was able to get my roommates to play Diablo 3 and we all played the first act on co-op within a few hours and it was here I realized a few things. One, it is possible to make anything competitive. Two, it is impossible to take anything seriously when making Family Guy, Rick and Morty and Scooby-Doo references through out and three, I'm just a natural born bad-ass at Diablo 3. Top stats! What!. Lol.

Okay, that's enough out of me and now I leave you with this new chapter that I hope you all enjoy.

Three days have passed since they all left New Tristram and for three days now, nothing happened. It didn't take long for Li-Ming to grow so irritably bored and she contemplated if it was a nice thing not being her. She thought not. If only because the soul reason being that not being her was exactly the problem; not being her. She liked – no – loved being her. Her old masters used to tell her that she was full of herself, but that couldn't be true since most times Li-Ming could not get enough of herself. She loved the way she categorized new information in her mind. She loved her powerful use of arcane energy and how quickly she can learn new spells that would take others years to learn. Magic was her one true love but the problem with being her was the times when she couldn't be herself.

A nice wind blew through and Li-Ming rested her cheek on her knuckles as she read one of the books that Leah had in mind to pack for the trip. It was a book Leah said she had yet to read and it was titled, "The Greatest Truth Always Ignored." Li-Ming read it mostly out of necessity so as to keep herself from going mad with boredom but the book did little to help. Secretly, since Leah was sitting next to her with Constantine in her lap, Li-Ming was mentally critiquing the books contents. The book was very nihilistic and went on and on; preaching about the true meaning of existence, and that was that there was no meaning in life. It described humanity as being too afraid to realize its own finite life and that people give existential purpose to anything they see fit as a way to cope with such asinine existences. From the most insignificant toy, to the most ingenious and ground breaking scientific achievement; the book described them all as amounting to nothing in the end.

It was a bleak, yet interesting philosophy and one that may have held merit if Li-Ming's very existence didn't disprove it entirely and Li-Ming smiled to herself; proud again that she was herself. With her life being guided by destiny, she knew that there was purpose to be found in life; people simply needed to have the courage to find it as she had done in the Yshari Sanctum. Had she decided to listen to her master and stay away from the books she had been forbidden to read, she would not have had the chance to prove them all wrong about the true values of magic and the good it could achieve. Already she has shown that it can. She had saved Tristram from certain destruction and saved the lives of the ones she now travels with.

Li-Ming heard Constantine make some kind of ugly grunting sound and she distractedly looked away from her book and lethargically watched Constantine try to grab a gold coin that Leah was holding above him. Why Leah treated that thing like it was a child and why she was fond of it was concerning to Li-Ming and she wondered if there was some sort of deformity in Leah's brain that caused this kind of behavior. Leah looked over and Li-Ming quickly turned her gaze back to the very interesting, yet not so philosophically sound book.

"Gold! You will give me, now!" Constantine was still reaching for the little coin and Leah held it out of his reach for a little while longer.

"Alright, alright. Here you go you big baby." Leah lowered her hand and Constantine grabbed it greedily from her hand and smiled at his new piece of treasure. She adored the little treasure goblin despite the rest of gang regarding it with mistrust and distaste. She didn't know why. He hadn't tried to hurt or kill anyone, which is a far cry from the demon that Li-Ming described that resided in Leoric's castle. But, that didn't mean the little guy wasn't odd. Even though he was a demon and that was weird enough as is, he has shown to be more liking to certain people in their small group more than others. Constantine actively tried to stay as far away from Tyrael as he could, but that came as no surprise to anyone considering the obvious facts of their origins, and he showed little interest in Kormac, Malachi and Haedrig. Most of the time he stayed with Leah and he would occasionally steal a glance at Lyndon and from time to time try and interact with him until Lyndon would vehemently push him away as every else did. Why him of all people was unknown; Leah believed it was because both had a habit of taking what wasn't theirs.

"How's the book?" Leah asked Li-Ming.

Li-Ming slowly raised her face and looked at Leah and said, "What?" She was paying attention to the book and didn't hear why Leah said.

"The book; how is it?"

"Oh." Li-Ming snapped the book shut and tossed behind her off of the caravan. "Stupid."

"Hey!" She punched Li-Ming's arm and Li-Ming leaned away and rubbed her arm and irritably glared at Leah. Haedrig closed his eyes and chuckled silently to himself while the rest of the men did not pay attention since it was none of their business and frankly they simply did not care. Lyndon pulled a deck of cards from his pocket and sorted through them to make sure he had them all and he had the idea that he might try to get Kormac to play a game of poker (if he knew how, that was) when they have stopped for the day and he was hoping to block out the bickering. Lyndon was counting down the days until someone finally pushed someone else's nerves.

Given Li-Ming and her general temperament, she was most apropos to be the first one to cause a fuss. She was complaining a lot since yesterday about how bored she was and it got old real fast. When they stopped to make camp for the night – the tents generously provided by Tristram's militia the night Deckard Cain was cremated – Li-Ming had walked away to eat her meal inside her own tent when Kormac and Lyndon started going at each other again, but not before calling them a bunch of children before she went off. Lyndon wondered at the prospects of Li-Ming being an actress being that she was a drama queen when irritable.

"That was my book! Why would you do that?"

"Why did you hit me?"

"Are you serious?" Li-Ming was either playing dumb or she had utterly lost her senses. "You just threw my book, and now you get to go and get it back."

"I apologize, Leah. But, this trip to Caldeum has been nothing but a giant bore and the only one that seems to be suffering is me. I can't be like everyone else and simply do nothing, I need to be doing something at the very least or else my brain rots at stagnation."

She scratched the back of her head with both hands. "Do you know what aggravates me most, Leah?" Leah said nothing and only nodded. Thinking that it was best not to say anything while Li-Ming was about to go on one of her famous, ranting, reflections. "Every day there are people who waste their lives with petty jobs and do little to nothing at all that would contribute something to the world. They all just wake up, go to work, go home, waste their day, go to bed and do it all again. The very definition of a life wasted and the saddest part of it all is they never know it. They stand around completely content with living an asinine, average life even when there are more exciting things to be discovered. Hence the reason why I pursue intellectual stimulation and hence the reason why I am not agreeable. My mind is rebelling against this…inactivity."

Leah supposed she was satisfied with Li-Ming's "explanation" as to why she threw her book but that didn't mean that she still had any right to do it.

"That sounds unfair Li-Ming. I work all day and go home and do as you say, nothing." Haedrig chimed in. Before the madness in Tristram, Haedrig lived a very routine life that he was very happy with. He would wake up early, get his forge started after a delicious breakfast made by his wife and then get to work. Afterwards he would go home, kiss his wife, eat dinner and go to bed. It was a simple and easy life and one that he enjoyed very much. It was one of the most peaceful times in his life after the turbulence he had underwent when he was living in Caldeum. The girls are never aware of when he was listening or not but he always listening for lack of anything better to do.

"There's a difference, Haedrig. You enjoy what you do and you make a happy living from it. You have made it a part if you and it has given you purpose. I great purpose in fact since you are now using your skills for my aid in battle, and may I add it has brought a satisfactory service. Which I suppose brings up the offhand of those who know they live average lives and are content with it and nothing more since they are somehow happy with their lives, but I find that difficult to comprehend."

Li-Ming ran her fingernails through her hair and scratched at her scalp again.

"Stop that." Leah grabbed Li-Ming's hand and held onto it for a second before letting go.

"What?"

"That! That head scratching thing you do. You're going to end up scratching yourself bald if you keep doing it." Li-Ming didn't even know that she was doing it half of the time; her father did it too. She had seen him come home after a long day's work, blow out a gust of air and scratch away at his scalp as a way to help gather himself and Li-Ming had done it ever since. It was kind of like how people tap their foot on the ground when their sitting or someone twirling their thumbs around when their nervous or anxious. It was just a habit and so where was the harm?

"Don't be silly, Leah. Scratching my head will not cause me to lose my hair."

"Who knows, Li-Ming. A haircut may do you some good." Haedrig joked.

"You, stay out of this, Haedrig!" Li-Ming ordered with a pointed finger and Headrig just smiled and chuckled some more.

"You better go get my book before it's too late, missy." Leah wasn't going to stop pestering her until she got her book back. Seriously, she payed good money for it and she still wanted to read it, even if Li-Ming thought it was stupid, otherwise she was going to make Li-Ming pay for her to get a new book.

Li-Ming rolled her eyes and jumped off of the caravan and Constantine jumped off with her.

"Women problems?" Lyndon said to Li-Ming as she walked passed the back of the caravan where the guys were sitting.

"Bite me, Lyndon!" She replied as venomously as she could.

Lyndon gave her a wink and went back to counting his cards. Li-Ming went on and no one noticed the faint blush that crept onto her face.

"Do you always antagonize her like that?" Tyrael asked. So far, Tyrael had noticed that Lyndon and Li-Ming had the most intriguing, human, relationship he had seen yet. In the time Lyndon had been with them, it did not take Tyrael long to see how he and Li-Ming went…back and forth with each other with their spiteful quips or poking fun at one another.

"No, usually he's making inappropriate, carnal comments to her and to Leah." Kormac said.

"Kormac, must we go through this again?" It was hopeless. Kormac would never be able to see the benefit in being a ladies' man.

"I see. So Lyndon, you have lustful desires for her then?"

"I am a simple man. As a human being it is only natural for a people to engage in such activities is it not? I mean look at good ole' Malachi here."

Malachi wasn't listening until Lyndon called his name. He was peacefully sitting on his horse and was busy reciting and memorizing different herbal recipes and potions for ailments that have always been particularly tricky for him. He cared little for most topics of conversation that the group often engaged in and kept to himself.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Malachi here has probably been with many women in his day, if the lack of a ring on his finger is any indication."

"Lyndon, it is none of your business to know who I have been with. I am unmarried because I chose to be. My work as a man of medicine has always been at the top of my priorities and any relationship I have been a part in were fleeting at best."

"Geez, sorry I said anything."

"It appears that you are still on your own in this opinion." Kormac said.

"Dear, dear, sweet, sickly Templar." Lyndon scooted closer to Kormac and sat his arm across his shoulders and said, "One day, old cock; you will see. Some day you will see a lady who is so beautiful," Lyndon waved his hand in the air, "So beautiful that it will make you think twice about those torturously righteous vows of yours."

"Come now, Lyndon. However, our Templar choses to live his life is his alone and no one else's. Just as you are free to do the same." Tyrael informed.

"Alright fine." Lyndon said scooting back his original spot. "But, do not say I didn't tell you so when it happens and you realize I'm right."

"And, exactly how would you know?" Kormac asked. "Have you ever truly loved anyone, before?" Lyndon didn't say anything back. "As I thought."

Further down on the path they were on Li-Ming found the book that she had tossed. It had landed face down and open. Li-Ming picked it up and opened it back up where it had landed and dusted away all the dirt on the pages. She closed it again, held it by the spine and shook it just in case she didn't get it all. For one more added touch she dusted the cover off too and it looked decent enough by now to return to Leah.

Constantine was near the edge of the path and was digging in the dirt where he found a large beetle. He gave it a sniff, then a lick and then he shoved the insect into his mouth and bit down, followed by a sick, gooey crunches as he chewed. He turned and nonchalantly stared at Li-Ming and Li-Ming sneered at him disgusted when she noticed a green string of beetle guts oozing down his chin.

"Clean yourself up will you. At least try to act decent." Li-Ming said.

Constantine licked his jaw with his long, reptilian like tongue and Li-Ming coughed and placed her hand on her chest just underneath her collarbone and forcefully swallowed a small bit of bile that threatened to get worse if this gross act continued. She understood that Constantine was a demon and all, but the fact that it had no sense of decency was bothersome and once again she wondered how Leah was able to put up with him so damned well. Honestly, the way Leah treated him was way too good for him. It didn't deserve respect, and especially not Leah's respect at that.

The caravan was some distance down the road and Li-Ming did not feel like making the jog to get back and came up with a better – quicker – idea. "Here, grab my robe." Constantine did as he was asked. At least Li-Ming was able to account that much from the ugly thing.

"What are you doing?" Constantine asked.

Li-Ming smirked and replied, "Just watch." She focused on the caravan until she could see it clearly in her mind's eye and she and Constantine both vanished under purple light. Tyrael, Kormac and Lyndon each saw the quick purple flash and Li-Ming suddenly appeared right in front of Malachi's horse. The horse stood up on its hind legs and neighed in fright. "Wow!" Malachi shouted and the caravan stopped. Malachi's horse stood back on all fours' and it huffed.

"Easy boy. Easy." Malachi gave his horse a gentle pat on the neck and the horse calmed itself. He glared at Li-Ming who was holding her torso as if she was in pain, and she was. While she was used to the pains of teleportation; Constantine was indeed not and was on the ground throwing up the small contents of his stomach all over the road with a disgusting blurp. Haedrig and Leah stood so they could see what was going on and Malachi said, "Quite the unnecessary use of your talents, don't you think!"

Li-Ming stood up and straightened out her bangs. "Nonsense, Brother Malachi. It was very convenient actually."

"Not at all, you nutter? You're lucky that all you managed to do was spook my horse. Worst case scenario I could have fallen off and in my old age, that is a lot more dangerous than you might think!"

"You know if I wanted to be bashed for using magic as I pleased I would have stayed at the Yshari Sanctum and you know what would have happened? Tristram would have been destroyed!"

"LI-MING!" Leah shouted. "Get up here! Sit down, and shut up!"

Li-Ming grabbed Constantine off of the ground and walked indignantly to the wagon and sat down without saying another word. Lyndon and Kormac glanced at each other both not being able to believe for a second what just happened, Li-Ming lost an argument. How did Leah succeed where both men had failed? Maybe it was a woman thing? Who knew?

Leah took Constantine and her book from Li-Ming and she grabbed Li-Ming's shoulder and gently caressed it. Li-Ming blew out some air and grabbed onto her head. Li-Ming's boredom was stressing her out in a way that didn't happen to other people it looked. This must be what happens when you concern yourself with work and nothing else. You become detached from everything else and you find everything dull in comparison.

"You need to relax a little, Li-Ming. You're letting your boredom get the best of you. I know the trip to Caldeum is long, but maybe there's a way we can help you settle your nerves."

"You're right, Leah." Li-Ming slapped herself twice against the temple and said, "I need to collect myself before I lose it." She laughed.

"I know a way to start." Lyndon said climbing up to the front of the wagon. "Excuse me, Leah." Leah scooted and Lyndon sat behind Li-Ming and his feet planted next to her on both sides. He rolled up his sleeves and rubbed his hands together.

"What are you doing?" Leah asked. She didn't know what he was up too and it didn't look good for him since Li-Ming never lets the guy so much as touch her. "You'll see. This worked the last time. No reason why this shouldn't work now. Li-Ming, my dear; if you would be so kind as to take your robes off."

"What do you mean, last time?" Leah was so confused. Li-Ming took her robes off and Lyndon began rubbing her shoulders. Li-Ming felt some tension and raised her shoulders. Lyndon stopped briefly and Li-Ming settled into it and she lowered her shoulders again, allowing Lyndon to continue.

Li-Ming rocked back and forth in motion with Lyndon's hand movements and her eyes fluttered shut. "Oh god." She breathed. She tilted her head back and a smile unconsciously formed on her face. Lyndon smiled as well. It was obvious that what he was doing was already working and Leah was very confused. When did this become a thing with these two? Last time she knew, both herself and Li-Ming gave him pretty sharp responses to when he first offered his so called massages when they were on their way back to Tristram after they left the Drowned Temple. So, whenever this happened, Leah was obviously not present.

"Would either of you care to explain?"

"Oh!" Lyndon spoke up. "After what happened in Wortham, when I so kindly volunteered to find Li-Ming after she ran off." Leah felt a ping of guilt at the mere mention of it and she quickly attempted to shrug it off. "I found her in the Old Tristram ruins looking like she had been through hell and back. I offered her a drink and she asked me if I could give her a massage to help calm her down." Leah smirked and stared at them incredulously. "It worked better than I hoped since she ended up falling asleep and I," Lyndon slapped his hand over his chest. "Hadn't the heart to wake her up. I'm such a gentlemen aren't I?"

Haedrig snickered.

"You sure are, Lyndon." Leah said, playfully sarcastic. "Is that true, Li-Ming?"

Li-Ming opened her eyes which were feeling slightly heavy now and said, "Hmmm? Oh…yeah. Sure."

"Told you." Lyndon quipped. Li-Ming could feel all the soreness in her muscles give way and she leaned back, getting herself comfortable. Lyndon pressed his thumbs against her shoulder blades and found some pretty feisty knots and Li-Ming couldn't help but arch her back as he smoothed out the muscles. "I'm mostly doing this for our sakes." Leah smirked. "I wouldn't want us to kill each other before we get there and this is the only sure fire way I could think of to help ease the tension a bit. No pun intended." He went from Li-Ming's shoulders to her temple and Li-Ming looked like she was ready to fall asleep. She was leaning back against Lyndon and her mouth hung open like she was in a drunken stupor.

Like a cure to a headache; Li-Ming felt all of the stress from her troublesome boredom float away from her mind. All of the pent up energy gave way to a feeling of euphoric bliss.

It was undoubtedly the most relaxed Leah had ever seen Li-Ming. Sometimes she wondered if it was possible for Li-Ming to do so. She was always so busy and always on the move. Every day that she has known the woman; Li-Ming had spent every waking hour doing something. Whether it was fighting monsters, saving lives or simply practicing her magic, she was always doing something. Now she looked as calm and relaxed as the most astutely trained monk. Even when she was sleeping she never looked this relaxed. Lyndon seemed to have some sort of magic of his own. Not the kind that Li-Ming and Leah had, no; but, the ability to rest even the most restless mind with only a few cycles of his hands.

"How do you feel, old girl?" Lyndon asked.

"Much better." Li-Ming replied.

"Then, I shall press on."

"Be my guest."

All was calm for the rest of the day and Li-Ming was no longer agitated from boredom. Lyndon stayed at the front with them – not that he had much of a choice later because Li-Ming fell asleep on him – again and they all got to enjoy a peaceful silence until dusk displayed its beautiful plethora of wonderful colors. Leah loved this time of day. It made her feel like the world wasn't as indifferent to the woes of humanity as it really was and she was able to enjoy it, if only for a short while.

Haedrig decided that it was getting to be a good time to stop and set up camp for the night and Lyndon gently pushed Li-Ming awake. She slowly sat up and Leah said, "Come on, sleepy head. It's time to get up." Li-Ming rubbed her eyes and yawned then draped her robes back over her shoulders and jumped off the wagon. They set up their new tents and Kormac got a fire going. After supper the all went about passing the time as they could.

Lyndon was able to convince Kormac to play him in poker and Kormac had no earthly idea how to play the game, so Lyndon showed him as they went along but Kormac was convinced that the cad was cheating one way or another. He peaked passed his hand to Lyndon who was sitting opposite him with a smug smile across his face and Kormac went back to staring at his cards. Malachi even watched them play, having been a gambling man himself once upon a time, but that was a long time ago and he never bothered to pick it up again when he decided medicine was the way to go.

Kormac rubbed his chin and chewed on his bottom lip. He was sure that he had a winning hand this time and so he showed Lyndon his cards.

"Hmmm, not bad, Kormac." Kormac grinned victoriously.

"But," Lyndon showed his hand. "Four of a kind always beets a pair." Kormac lost his grin and snapped his fingers. "You're lucky we're not wagering money on these games otherwise you would be broke."

"Hey, Lyndon. I have been thinking."

"Don't hurt yourself."

"Don't be smart." Lyndon and his sarcasm. "What are your thoughts about all of this. This whole, fighting an actual Lord of Hell business. Do you think we have a chance?" It was question that plagues Kormac's mind ever since they left Tristram. Fighting the undead, Khazra and cultists was one thing but fighting one of the most powerful demons in all of the Burning Hells was a whole other matter entirely. Kormac had an amount of anxiety about it. They were all skilled fighters and all but didn't the Lords of the Burning Hells have armies at their disposal? It would be a very chaotic situation for them all and one that guaranteed no success.

"Honestly, I try not to think about it." Lyndon didn't want to consider all possible negative outcomes. "I am the wrong person to ask anyway. I know close to nothing about any of this. The High Heavens and the Burning Hells were never things I worried about. I am a man for himself and before I ran into you guys; if someone were to tell me that I would one day fight skeletons and demon worshiping nutters, I would have laughed in their faces and told them to seek some sort of spiritual guidance. Not that I believe in the sort of thing."

"Humor me."

Lyndon crossed him arms and looked down at his feet. "I honestly think it's insane. I don't know what's going to happen. This is all beyond me, my friend. The only way I see it is we only take one step at a time here. We go in, find Maghda and stop her from causing any more damage. What happens after that, well; I don't know. Maybe you should ask Tyrael."

"Tyrael's busy." Malachi said and pointed to where Tyrael was.

He was talking with Li-Ming who was showing the blasted ring that binded her the Constantine. Tyrael grabbed her hand and got a closer look at it. "Hmmm…a very deliberate design."

"That's what I thought." Li-Ming added.

"And, you said you have tried taking it off."

"Yes, but the damned thing wouldn't budge."

"Hmmm." Tyrael squinted his eyes and said, "This is definitely Greed's design."

"Greed?" Leah asked.

"Yes, Greed is a baroness to a world known as the Treasure whelm. She lives up to her namesake very well. She is never satisfied and sends Treasure Goblins out in search for gold, heirlooms, gems, anything of value. I can't imagine any other reason why she would go out of her way to make this ring other than to greatly inconvenience the wearer. I imagine the intent was for the treasure goblin this summoned was to steal everything away from its bearer and cause whoever that happened to be, misery throughout their life." Leah imagined a man who suffered his entire life because a treasure goblin would steal all that he owned and all that he made, leaving him poor and destitute and there would be nothing he could do about it. It was a perfect way to ruin someone's life.

Constantine was settled in Leah's lap and she set her hand on top his head. She was worried about where this was going.

"Why he hasn't tried to steal from you, Li-Ming; I cannot say for certain. It is possible that you two are experiencing a rare side effect from the life-linking enchantment."

"I know of many. Please share."

"It is possible maybe that not only do you share each other's life and burdens, but feelings as well."

Li-Ming busted out into an arduous laughter. Leah did not understand what was so funny and Tyrael was unfazed by Li-Ming's sudden outburst. Li-Ming wiped away a tear with her index finger and said, "That is one of the most preposterous things I have ever heard. He is a demon, Tyrael. Do not forget that. He is incapable of feeling anything."

"I wouldn't be so sure."

"Why not."

"This world you live in," Tyrael slid his hand across the dirt, "was created by angels and demons that no longer wanted to take part in the Eternal Conflict and from those that rebelled, the first generation of man was born."

"Do you really think that the demon's involved actually gave a damn about the angels they called their partners or the children they helped give birth too? No doubt there were many of them that must have had some kind of ulterior motive."

"Yes, there certainly were. That is anything if not predictable of a demon."

"But that doesn't mean that there weren't any demons that didn't feel anything for their partners, Li-Ming." Leah interjected. "I mean, who knows? There are so many angels and demons so who can say what they would do when left to do what they want." Tyrael knew that would be dangerous. A demon, or an angel for that matter, that had the ability to do as it pleased without the authority of its superiors could spell a great deal of trouble for Sanctuary and those who occupy it. "But, I have enough of this discussion for now."

"I suppose; I am as well." Li-Ming said getting up.

"Let's go watch Lyndon beat Kormac at cards." Leah said giving Li-Ming a quick slap on the butt and Li-Ming thrusted forward with a high pitch, "Ooop!"

Li-Ming rubbed her bottom and glared at Leah. "Was that necessary?"

"It was funny. Let's just call it payback for the way you acted today."

Li-Ming crossed her arms and followed. For the rest of the night they watched Lyndon and Kormac go at one another. Every shared in a moment that was so merry that they were allowed to forget what they were getting themselves into. There was no more talk of Belial or what was to come once they reached Caldeum, but Li-Ming kept the thought in her mind. She was very eager to demonstrate her power against a Lord of Hell and once he was gone, then the world will know the truth about the good magic can do and that there will be nothing that would ever be able to stop her.

Xxxxx

It had been many centuries since The Other has last stepped foot inside this long cursed realm that existed beyond the rift gate. He never liked being in here. The evil they imprisoned in here had long since achieved complete control over the realm and reshaped it to match his own ugly nature. It was unnatural, windless and the sky was perpetually cloudy with dark, thick clouds that blotted out all light. The only light therein was of the torches that lined against the wall that lit up as he traveled passed them. The Other considered it a perfect reflection of how the evil his people locked up in here saw the world. Bleak, hopeless and dead. It was like time had paused at the last second of existence before some sort of cataclysmic event.

He was not lost, no if anything he was being lead. The evil knew he was in here the moment he manifested himself within this world and was likely guiding him straight to him. There were only a few occasions where he has had to step foot inside of this place since his death and whenever those times occurred, the evil took great interest. Not that he would be here for long; he came only to here give some information and that was it. Afterwards he would hopefully never again have to enter this realm or see and speak to the evil again.

The torches lit up an alleyway he almost walked passed and he followed them. He had nothing to fear, he was already dead; there was nothing more that could be done to him. He could not see the sky above him anymore, only blackness and he sensed a sort of shift happening as he moved on. The world in here was changing; molding again.

"Time? Is that time again?" A deep, demonic voice said from all around. "It has been many centuries since I have seen you last. Whatever you have to speak to me about must be important for you to have come here."

"It is." He responded.

"Then come. Let us talk. I will open the way to my throne for you and then we may see what it is you have to say."

The way ahead of him opened up to a darkened room until the torches lit the place and before him stood the hallow shadows of all the nephalem the evil has slain. They were twisted and warped and were nothing like the men and women they used to be. They stared holes into him with burning, hate filled eyes. God there was so many. The evil has slain so many of his brethren. His friends and family. For the evil to have outlived him for so long brought him only dishonor and with every day the evil continued to live was another day he let all those killed down.

Above him, there the evil sat on his throne of bones. "Welcome, Orek! Welcome to my throne room. I see you are still as despondent as ever. A fitting look to wear when your offensive race is but a grain a sand on the face of the world."

"Nemesis." Orek had his hands behind his back. "You no doubt know by now that we have moved the rift gate, yes."

"Yes." The Nemesis said getting up from his throne and slowly walking down the steps made of skulls; his talon like claws scratching away at the bone. Orek tried not to look. He knew whose bones those were. They were the bones of those The Nemesis has slaughtered and he trotted on them so blatantly as his meaty yet thin and and almost skeletal like frame reached the last step. "You made no attempt to try and hide that from me. I could feel it every step of the way."

"Your, uh…awareness of the outside world is a credit to you."

"I am far more capable than that. I know why it is we are moving as well." Orek said nothing. The Nemesis walked towards him until they were but mere feet from each other and his horns were but centimeters from Orek's face. "It is because of that mortal. That girl. Li-Ming, her name was I believe."

"You are right. The wizard has moved onto Caldeum. There, The Lord of Lies is hiding and if she is able to beat him, then…"

"Then you will send her to me." Orek silenced himself. "Hahaha! Let us hope she does not disappoint. If she does defeat Belial, then it is a fight I will look most forward too. But, you know as well as I that is not a guarantee that she will succeed against me." Silence. "Five of The Great Evils were defeated by mortals who were not Nephalem and I have eaten many Nephalem. Your faith in your unnatural race is misplaced. You somehow believe that what little remains of your kind can still achieve the power it once held. It is a joke, Orek. That is why your race must be eradicated."

"My race, Nemesis…!" Orek said firmly on the brink of anger. "Is the reason why you're trapped here. With your imprisonment, we have prevented the deaths of untold thousands! If so powerful you are, then tell me; how is it that you allowed yourself to be captured by those you hate so much!"

"It took a great effort from your people to capture me. That infernal, Alaric had planned for his men to be killed so that I may be captured."

"I'll tell you what bothers me the most, Nemesis." Orek got into his face and locked eyes with the beast. "That I won't be in here to see it happen. To see her give you what you have coming to you, once and for all."

The Nemesis leaned closer. "The only thing I have coming to me, is freedom. When she enters here, I will endeavor to make every second of it so painful that she can't even imagine. I will have her pressed beneath my foot, begging for mercy before I destroy her like I destroyed so many of your kind, and when she does beg, I will keep her alive along enough to devour her alive and when she is dead. I will hunt down that last remnants of my masters' mistake and then I will move onto slaughtering, every, single, last human being I lay thine eyes upon. It will be a genocide unlike Sanctuary has ever seen before."

"We shall see, won't we."

"We shall, and finally the world of Sanctuary will realize the folly in its existence."

Orek vanished in an instant and the Nemesis smiled. "Do not disappoint me, wizard. I have been locked away for too long." He realized the irony in needing the help of one he was born to hate so much. It was just another reason for him to kill her

Man, that guy is a real piece of work ain't he. Lol. I really enjoy writing demons. They're so deliciously evil and I have so much fun writing them. I had a bit of trouble when I started writing this chapter, but with a little flushing out and re-writing some parts I think it came out great and I hope you all feel the same.

I forgot to do this last time so allow me to thank matthett for following. With every new review, or favourite or follow I feel a surge of pride and my brain takes to over drive and is like, okay dude, write some more, go, go, go! Lol.

Okay, I'm signing off for now and as usual I hope you all liked this chapter and I will be back with another, hopefully soon. PEACE!