Li Yu sat cross-legged and was breathing steadily but his mind was elsewhere. Specifically, it was inside his Koi Sanctuary.

  He stood on the edge of the Abyssal Ridge within his Koi Sanctuary. A massive shape shifted in the gloom. A being that he had not bothered for a long time, Khaos.

  "How have you been doing Khaos?" Li Yu greeted respectfully with a slight bow.

  “Finally have some time for me, Little One?”

  "I found something that I think you might like." Li Yu said. He pulled out the box he had stolen from the Puppet. He opened it. The black pearl pulsed. Thump-thump.

  Void energy rippled from it. The pearl seemed to resonate with the environment here. The dark waters and Void energy that surrounded this area vibrated in sympathy. Khaos’s eye swiveled over.

  “A Void Heart,” Khaos rumbled. “A crystallized tear of a smaller realm that collapsed upon itself. Or something that can be created inside a powerful void beast over time.”

  "If you need it, you can have it. I know you are always interested in things that resonate with the Void." Li Yu offered. "The energy is too volatile for me right now anyways. I thought... perhaps you would have a use for it."

  He held the box out. Khaos reached out gingerly and took the pearl. The pearl hovered above his claw and was spinning slowly. It looked like it wanted to fly towards him and be a part of him.

  “It is quite pure,” Khaos mused. “This is quite the valuable treasure. You offer this to me?”

  "Consider it a token of appreciation," Li Yu said. "You have saved me many times before. I don’t think I have paid you back for even half of them yet."

  Khaos made a sound that might have been a chuckle. He tucked the pearl somewhere beneath his shell. ‘It’s even more than what you think, Little One. You owe me too much.’ Khaos thought to himself.

  “Accepted. I will hold onto it. It is too much for your current foundation, little fish. But one day... you may need it. If I have not used it by then, I will give it back to you.”

  Li Yu nodded and he went to sit down on a rock near the ridge. "Khaos, the demonic realm that we are in is chaotic. The barriers between realms feel thinner here. Do you sense anything?"

  “I sense many things. I sense the stupidity of demons. I sense you asking questions that do not matter.”

  "They matter to me," Li Yu said with a sigh. "I just want to go home."

  Khaos didn't respond immediately. “Home is but a place you value. If you valued this place more, it could be your new home. Also, home is but a location. Move your feet until the locations match. Simple.”

  "That is not helpful at all. You make it seem so simple." Li Yu muttered to himself but of course it was heard by Khaos.

  “Everything is simple when you are strong enough,” Khaos replied while closing his eyes. “Go away now. You are interrupting my digestion.”

  Li Yu stood up and bowed again. "Thank you, Khaos."

  He faded from the sanctuary and left the crab alone in the dark water. Khaos opened back his eyes and was looking at the spot where Li Yu had vanished.

  “He still gives freely when it comes to items his friends need.” Khaos thought to himself. “He does not hoard, even when he is starving for power. Good. It seems like this place hasn’t washed away who he was.”

  The crab closed his eyes again. He had deflected three separate divination attempts from Demon Lords in the last week alone. He was masking Li Yu’s karma from much more powerful beings already. A few simple Demon Lords barely mattered to him. There was no need to tell the boy that.

  ‘Let him think he has been sneaky enough. Keep his constant scanning for Demon Lords in everything he does. Fear will keep him sharper.’ Khaos thought before drifting to other thoughts.

  Li Yu opened his eyes in the cave. For some reason he felt lighter. It was nice to have a companion that he could share his thoughts with. Even if the companion was someone that he talked at, rather than to. It made him miss having friends to chat with on his adventures.

  Thoughts drifted to Vaspera and when she would be well enough to travel with him. Then he would have a companion to chat with again. He also wanted to get to know her better as well. They barely knew each other at this point and he was curious about her past. His thoughts soon returned to the present.

  He checked his disguise. He was no longer the shimmering "Little Void Demon." He wore the dusty travel worn robes of a wandering mercenary. He suppressed his cultivation to the Mid Core Formation stage. It was respectable enough to be left alone but not strong enough to draw attention.

  He left the cave and headed for the nearest settlement. Towering Reach was a trade hub built into the side of a dormant volcano. It was a city of ash and iron. It was populated by a mix of demon clans, beast-kin and the occasional human merchants.

  Li Yu found a tavern near the lower markets. The air smelled of roasted meat and good drinks. He ordered a plate of something that looked like a lizard but smelled like chicken and a flagon of wine.

  He sat in the corner and was eating slowly. The food here tasted quite good compared to other places. His senses expanded to cover the room so he could listen in on what others were talking about. Information flowed like the wine.

  "Did you hear about the Swift Wind Corridor?" A massive Minotaur grunted at the next table. He abruptly slammed his mug down. "Closed off. Completely locked down."

  "The Little Void Demon again?" His companion, a wiry rat demon, squeaked.

  "Worse," the Minotaur lowered his voice. "Apparently the convoy that was targeted recently wasn't just moving supplies. It was a betrothal gift."

  Li Yu paused at the news, a piece of meat halfway to his mouth.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  "A betrothal gift?" The rat demon asked.

  "Aye. I heard it was a special envoy sent by Lord Malakor’s personal disciple. He was sending a tribute to the daughter of the Thunder Scale Warlord. A marriage alliance to ease tensions between them and perhaps bring them closer. They would be a powerful force together."

  The Minotaur leaned in and his voice was barely a whisper. "They say the gift was a great treasure. I heard it was related to Fate or Karma. As large as this place and beats like a heart. And the Little Void Demon snatched it. Right from under everyone’s nose."

  Li Yu carefully put the meat in his mouth and chewed. His face remained impassive but internally he was screaming. The information about the actual treasure was completely wrong. However, what was most likely right was that it was for a marriage proposal.

  He hadn't just robbed some goods from merchants. He had intercepted a diplomatic envoy between two of the most powerful factions in the region. He had messed with forces that were way stronger than he was. The exact thing he was trying to not do. He wanted to slap himself for being so unlucky.

  "Lord Malakor’s disciple is screaming for blood," the Minotaur continued with a grimace. "He lost face. Losing the treasure is bad but losing it to a lone bandit? It makes him look weak and incompetent. And the Thunder Scale Warlord? He’s insulted. He thinks Malakor didn't respect his daughter enough to send a proper guard to secure the gift transfer."

  "But the guard was strong!" The rat argued. "I heard they had one thousand troops and was it being led by a person that was invincible in the Divine Transformation realm. That Little Void Demon is just too cunning.”

  "Doesn't matter," the Minotaur scoffed. "The Little Void Demon crushed them. I heard he killed them all and stole the treasure. I heard he was laughing and mocking the Demon Lord as he was leaving the scene. Now the wedding is off, the alliance is stalled and there are kill squads from both sides tearing apart the countryside."

  Li Yu grimaced when he heard that the rumor was that he killed everyone. That would just make the Demon Lord lose more face. Making their hatred towards him even greater. He let out a long breath and sighed to himself.

  The rat demon shivered. "I heard Malakor's disciple cursed the thief's ancestors for ten generations. He swore to flay the skin off whoever took the pearl and use it as a wedding rug. That he would not rest until he captured the damn fool that dared to go against him."

  Li Yu took a sip of his wine. It tasted completely bitter. The first decent drink he had found in this world and now it tasted like ash.

  ‘Good thing I didn’t try to sell it or get rid of it.’ Li Yu thought as his heart rate was trying to calm down. He had accidentally thrown a wrench into the geopolitical machinery of Demon Lords. The chaos he had hoped to cause was happening but the scale was far larger than he intended.

  "I will say it right now. He can no longer be called the Little Void Demon. This being must be massive. His courage reaches the sky! They say the Void Demon is a ghost," the rat ranted. "A spirit of vengeance."

  "I say he's a dead man walking," the Minotaur grunted. "You don't cross two Demon Lords and live. Even if he didn’t insult them directly, it was their disciple and a daughter."

  Li Yu finished his meal in silence. He left a few demonic cores on the table and walked out. The street was bustling but Li Yu felt the eyes of the city on everyone. Patrols were tighter. Guards were checking storage rings at the gates.

  He needed to vanish. Not just physically but conceptually. The "Little Void Demon" needed to retire for a while and not cause any trouble for the time being. Let things cool off first.

  He walked into a narrow alleyway and ensured he wasn't followed. He checked his internal world.

  "Vespera," he projected. "It’s time. I need your help."

  A ripple of energy distorted the air next to Li Yu. Vespera stepped out of the ripple. She stretched and her joints popped satisfyingly. She had recovered a few days ago but Li Yu was hiding in a cave so she hadn’t come out.

  "Fresh air," Vespera sighed while taking a deep breath of the smoggy city air. "It smells terrible. I love it."

  She turned to Li Yu. She walked around him and was inspecting his disguise as a traveler. "Your aura is too clean. You feel like a sword that’s been polished too much. It doesn’t quite fit in, in my world."

  She placed a hand on his shoulder. A subtle glamour washed over him. To anyone looking, Li Yu’s aura shifted slightly. She was using an illusion technique. He now felt murky. Like a mercenary who had done too many dirty jobs and cultivated a messy mix of techniques.

  "Better," Vespera declared. "Now you look like trash. Just like everyone else."

  Li Yu rolled his eyes at her but appreciated her efforts. "Thank you."

  "So, what is the plan, partner?" Vespera asked while falling into step beside him as they walked out of the alley and back onto the main street.

  "We lay low," Li Yu said quietly. "The heat is too high right now. We need to travel as something else. All the news is about a single person. I called you out so we can travel together and it would look different from the descriptions."

  "A duo," Vespera nodded. "A wandering mercenary and perhaps his sibling?"

  "Partners," Li Yu said. "Mercenaries for hire. We take small jobs, move slowly and head toward your mother's territory like we talked about a few days ago. The 'Little Void Demon' is gone. Li Yu and... what name are you using?"

  "Vespera might be too recognizable." She mused. "Call me Vera."

  "Li Yu and Vera," he tested it. "It works."

  They moved through the crowd. The presence of a companion changed how people looked at Li Yu. The "Little Void Demon" was known to be a solitary monster, a ghost that struck from the shadows alone. Seeing a man walking with a female cultivator threw off the profile completely.

  They reached the city gates. The guards were stopping people and scanning faces with a divination mirror.

  "Halt," the guard grunted and held the mirror up to Li Yu. The glass clouded over, showing nothing but grey static. The guard frowned. "Storage ring."

  Li Yu held out his hand. The pearl was safely with Khaos and inside his Koi Sanctuary. Two layers of protection that he had never seen anything breach. He was also only wearing a spare storage ring. The one he currently wore contained only low grade supplies, some dried meat and a few common weapons. The other stuff was in his Koi Sanctuary.

  The guard checked it and sneered at the poverty of the contents. After the disgust left the face of the guard, the guard waved him through. Then he looked at Vespera. Vespera smiled. It was a small and subtle thing but it carried the weight of a Charm Demon’s power. "Is there a problem, officer?"

  The guard blinked, his eyes glazing over slightly. "No... no problem. Move along. Stay out of trouble."

  They walked out of the gate, past the checkpoints and onto the open road. Once they were a mile away Li Yu let out a breath. He was relieved that he wasn’t stopped or suspected. At least not openly. They walked side by side with the jagged peaks of the North stretching out before them. The sky was darkening, bruising purple as night fell.

  "Where to?" Vespera asked as her tone shifted. There was a hint of anxiety in it now, hidden beneath the bravado. She was thinking of home. Of her mother. Of her family. She had tried to contact them a few days ago but couldn’t.

  "North," Li Yu said. "We take the winding roads. We avoid the major highways. It will take longer, but we’ll get there."

  He looked at her. "We’ll find out what happened, Vespera."

  She nodded and was looking away toward the horizon. "I hope so. My mother... the Night Queen doesn't go silent without a reason. And the reason is never good."

  "We’ll figure it out." Li Yu said firmly. "If she is seriously in trouble, rushing there with our power would be useless. If we rush there and they catch us in our rush,it wouldn’t help her either. We need to take our time and stay hidden."

  Vespera looked back at him but didn’t say anything. It was clear her thoughts were with her family. If anything happened to the family of a Demon Lord, it usually wasn’t good. But Li Yu was right, if it was something the Night Queen herself couldn’t handle, they would be powerless as well.

  They walked into the twilight, two figures against a world that wanted them dead. They were leaving the legend of the Void Demon behind in the shadows and were hoping it wouldn’t catch them.