Chrysalis

Marvel. Wonder. Architectural triumph. One of the great achievements of the age. The Twin Cities have been described in such glowing terms for over a millennium and truly they are deserving of their reputation.

Situated on the same mountain, Mt Atraem, they can be seen many kilometres away, glittering like matched jewels in the distance.

Dressed in peerless Soul Silver, the lower city gleams like the finest polished swords. Home to several million citizens, the Silver City is the beating heart of a great and enduring empire. Its six walls and twelve towers are so heavily enchanted with wards and protections it can be painful to look at them with the naked eye.

As impregnable as it is beautiful, visitors have so many sights to take in, one simply cannot hope to catch them all.

Yet it is above that the true vision lies. Carved from pure Heart Gold, the Golden City glows radiant from the upper reaches of the mountain, a glimpse of a luminescent heaven.

Palace after palace, castle after castle, each one a peerless work of art such that the finest carvers and builders weep to look upon them. The Scholars’ tower, rising like a spear into the sky, a house of learning and knowledge unequalled in all the realms.

For those lucky few who are able to catch a glimpse, the Imperial Compound, home to the Child-Emperor himself, is a sight so rare, and so marvellous, as to be without equal in all Pangera.

The Twin Cities of Silver and Gold. Seat of the Emperor and Capital of the Atraem Empire. Truly a wonder of the modern age, may they stand forever.

the Fourth Stratum - Sights to

in return. Carving a bloody place

had similarly been difficult. Yet this world had been much like the last, only the veneer of civilization was different. Kill or be killed. Fight to live, surrender and

he had thought that perhaps here, he might truly be free. Rather than kill for others, or to make himself useful, or defend that which wasn’t his, in this world, he

the Demon God had robbed him of that illusion. Being in that presence, he couldn’t bring himself to believe that he had any alternative but to obey. It was normal, in a dog-eat-dog

Arconidem was so seductive, so powerful. His demon body craved indulgence, it needed to kill, to revel in death and destruction. The Demon God whispered to him constantly, urging him to let go of control, to succumb to his influence and enact his

fire, of that he was sure. The great demons had been with him at times, at others, they had not, but even so,

Until now.

the hell was that?! Some sort of Black

second death. He could recall running along with the horde, but he had no idea what they’d been chasing. Then it had… appeared, booming into existence in front

ended. The howl of the wind, the groan of the earth, all things being drawn into the void,

to shock his mind out of the rut it had been

reflexes he’d trained as a hitman, or the incredible capabilities of his new demon form, he would be dead, without a doubt. Lashing out with his blades, he’d latched into his own allies,

In that terrible moment, he’d lifted into the air, losing his last grasp to the ground and

it had flickered and vanished before