( The map, better late then never)

Asher began to tell his story.

Twelve years ago

Flames licked the treetops, turning the night into a shifting inferno.


The cocoon was gone.


The forest he had known was burning, and with it everything that had mattered.
While the soldiers savored what they believed to be a victorious hunt, the little boy drew upon his fear to find the strength to flee.


To fly.


Farther.


Always farther.
Away 

from a landscape that already looked like Hell.
He did not dare look back.
The fog swallowed him as he crossed the cliffs marking the natural border between the human world and the demon lands.


A thick, damp mist that devoured light and blurred the senses.


Asher flew blindly, eyes narrowed, wings beating too fast, too hard, like a hunted dragonfly.
Obstacles appeared at the very last second.


Rock.


Dead trees.


Sheer walls.
His tears mingled with the mist.


He did not know where he was going.


He only knew he could not return.


Behind him, he could still feel them. Their intent, their hatred, their thirst for his death.
Stopping meant dying.
He clutched his small bag against his chest, his thoughts looping endlessly.

Don’t look back.


Don’t stop—
BAM.

The impact was brutal.


A dead branch, emerging from nowhere, tore him from the sky.


His body was hurled forward, then dragged downward.

CRASH.

The ground gave way beneath his weight.


The brittle rock crumbled under his feet.


He tried to grab whatever passed under his hands, but his claws were too small, too weak, unable to hold on to anything.
Asher fell with the landslide, swallowed by dust and stone, before crashing farther below, his fall softened by a mound of damp moss.
He tried to get up.
One last stone struck him on the head.
Then nothing.

He came back to himself much later.
Something tickled his nose.


Asher frowned before sneezing weakly.


The small silver creature that had ventured onto his face darted away at once, vanishing between the rocks.
He slowly opened his eyes.
Darkness.
He pushed aside the debris above him until he caught sight of a thin shaft of light.
His head throbbed painfully where the stone had struck him, but the blood had dried.


He was alive.


At least, he hoped so.
After a coughing fit, he forced himself upright.
This was not the forest.
The walls around him were covered in strange moss, shifting in hue.


Wherever the little silver lizard passed, the colors of the plants changed, blending with its body as if the stone itself accepted it.
Asher placed a hand against the wall and closed his eyes.
A peaceful sensation washed over him.


Powerful.


Different from anything the human forest had ever offered him.
When he opened his eyes again, he looked up.


The sun shone at its zenith, far above his head.


How long had he slept?


And more importantly… where had he fallen?
He spread his wings to rise—

“Ow!”

A sharp pain shot through his shoulder.


He grimaced and folded them back at once.


His head was clearly not the only thing that had taken a hard blow.
Very well.


He would explore on foot.
Observing his surroundings more closely, he realized the pit was not a simple hole.


The colorful lizard disappeared behind a narrow crevice.


Guided by a strange intuition, Asher followed it, squeezing into a tight passage where a faint bluish glow pulsed in the distance.
He crawled, scraped his elbows, then finally managed to stand.
The corridor of a cave opened before him.
Strange crystals with blue-violet reflections were embedded in the walls.


The little lizard had perched on one, glowing brilliantly.


When Asher approached and placed his hand against the stone, the crystal reacted.
It shimmered.
Then another.
Then the entire cave lit up, as if the rock itself were responding to his presence.


An aurora-like light danced around him, revealing entire galleries lined with crystals.
A sound cut through the silence.

Plip.

A splash.
Asher froze, ears twitching.


He ran, guided by the echo, until he burst into a wider cavern.


The damp ground formed a murky mirror, mixing dirty water with iridescent dust, perfectly reflecting the shimmering ceiling above.


A luminous, magical tableau, almost like a kaleidoscope, yet born deep within the depths of Hell itself.
He knelt and dipped his hand into the water.

It was slightly warm.


Warmer than the rock itself, which was strangely lukewarm.
It might not be an exit, but it was a lead.

Plop.

A drop fell from the ceiling.
Then another.
Asher looked up.


Water trickled slowly along the crystals, clear and pure.


He clung to the wall, lifting himself, and stretched out his tongue, catching a few scalding yet clean drops.

It was not enough.
He could feel the flow behind the stone.


The pressure.


All that water.


all that mana.


so close.
He gripped the wall tighter.


His scales began to shimmer, mimicking the lizard.


The crystals vibrated.

CRACK.

The wall gave way beneath his hand.


A fissure opened, releasing a stream of hot, clear water.

“Water…!”

He drank without thinking, gulping it down until he was gasping for air.


A laugh of pure joy escaped him.

Shrrshrr.

A sound, farther away.


A whisper…?


Or perhaps the rock itself?

“Hey… who’s there?”

…
…
Plop.

Nothing.
Nothing but the echo of dripping water.
Asher remained still for a moment.
He had water.


Moss to sleep on.


A shaft of light and fresh air.
It was decided.


He would make his base here.
From his bag, he took Luci’s small knife and carved a cross into the wall, then traced the paths he had already explored.
Soon, he would get out!

The days passed.
The map expanded until it resembled a true labyrinth.


The camp improved, becoming a rudimentary nest.


The lizards became food.
And enthusiasm gave way to exhaustion.
One evening, lying on the moss, Asher gazed at the signet ring on his finger.


Luci had told him it would allow him to find him, wherever he was.
But even here…
at the heart of the earth?


Far from his light?
He closed his eyes and drifted into sleep.
Luci’s face cradled his dreams.
When he opened his eyes again, the prince gave way to a silhouette.

“Luci… is that you…?”

No.
Shapes stood near the stream.


Humanoid, yes, but adorned with… horns and swaying tails?

Sphrrrh.

A breath.


Whispers.
Then nothing.
When his vision cleared, only a ripple in the water still trembled.
Had he dreamed?
Asher remained motionless for a long while.
Then an idea took root.
They had come for the water.
If they were thirsty…
they would be hungry too.
The next day, he grilled every small lizard he could find, then planted the skewers into the ground a little distance from his nest.


The scent of roasted meat slowly spread.
Just as camellias had once led Luci to him, he traced a path to his shelter, then lay down.
He slept with one eye open.
One hour.


Two hours.


Three hours.
Then at last… they took the bait.
Asher pretended to sleep, heart pounding, ear keenly attuned.


He heard their jaws, their hesitant footsteps.
Skewer after skewer, they advanced, like Little Thumb’s trail.
When only one remained, right beside his hand, a hesitant silence settled.
Someone moved closer.
It was his only chance.
Asher grabbed his prey by the arm.

“Aha! Got y—”

He stopped.
Before him stood a face utterly unknown.


Large, round black eyes.


Soft fur.
A small pink nose.


Wide ears.


A human sized body, but unmistakably crowned with two horns.
There was no longer any doubt.
Alice had not fallen into just any rabbit hole.
It was…

“…a real… DEMON!!!”

(Thank Moonya for this so lovely art of Asher <3 )

Sorry for the long wait. Motivation and writing feel difficult sometimes and really, know that every comment, even the smallest is a very big encouragement for me to still going.

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