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Sam enjoyed spending his time in the subconscious expanse. Sure, it might’ve been a form of escapism where he could do whatever he wished and whatever he wished to happen would happen, but he didn’t care. There was nothing wrong with a little bit of escapism when all of his senses—save for his hearing—had basically been robbed from him. The world could be ending around him, but there were always stronger people who’d hold up the sky…. Actually, weren’t people relying on him to save the day if shit hit the fan? Well, his familiars would awaken him when it was necessary.
“Nwaps?” Sam asked. “Are you there?”
“I’m here, Sam,” Nwaps said, the tapeworm poking its head out of Sam’s nose. Although it could’ve left his body because they were in a dream where anything was possible, the tapeworm chose to stay inside Sam’s head; he wasn’t sure why. “What’s the matter? You want an update about Oterra? Everything’s going fine, thanks for asking.”
“No, I was just wondering if you could control a blue avian,” Sam said. If Nwaps could infect a human and take over their thoughts, wouldn’t it be possible to do the same to an avian? If the tapeworm had a blue avian underling, then the familiars wouldn’t even need Sam to do anything since almost everything he could do, a blue avian could do just as well.
“It’s difficult,” Nwaps said, “and not worth the trouble. Besides, why would we need to possess a blue avian when we have you?”
Sam nodded, expecting as much. It was easier to raise him up to the level of a blue avian than to control one. Didn’t that mean he could resist Nwaps’ control as well since he could do what blue avians could? If he telekinetically grasped the tapeworm and pulled it out of his nostril—
“I’ll be sure to hold on tight to your esophagus,” Nwaps said, “so if you pull me out, your innards will come out with me.”
“That’s nice to know,” Sam said. Since the tapeworm didn’t wish to leave his body, he wasn’t going to force it nor make an attempt to remove it. After all, if he didn’t respect his familiar’s wishes, why should they respect his? If he removed the tapeworm from his body, it could easily retaliate by possessing the people he cared about and have them commit harmful actions. Speaking of the people he cared about—which, admittedly, wasn’t many—wasn’t there another danger present since Nwaps was inducing depressive thoughts amongst those who weren’t religious? “How about the demons? Have they showed their faces yet?”
“Not sure,” Nwaps said and did a wriggling motion, the tapeworm’s attempt at shrugging without any shoulders or arms.
“Not sure?” Sam asked, repeating the tapeworm’s words. He communicated with it through his voice since there was no twin-headed snake smothering his mouth nor anyone real around to eavesdrop. “Didn’t you say your actions would attract them? Surely, you prepared defensive measures for when they arrived.”
“Defensive measures?” Nwaps asked. “Why would we need those when the blue avians are willing to do the work for us? They’re searching for us, but at the same time, if they encounter any demons, they’ll get rid of them.” The tapeworm wriggled further out of Sam’s nostrils and turned its head to be on eye level with Sam. “Besides, without your All-Seeing Gaze, the only way we can locate a demon is through eye-witness reports and our sentries: the graylings and Venusians.”
“Maybe they won’t show up at all,” Sam said. There was only five-percent of the people within the capital who needed to be converted, so there shouldn’t have been that much negativity going around.
“And … you jinxed it,” Nwaps said. “A grayling just spotted a demon.”
“Really?” Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes, really,” Nwaps said. “Perhaps you were talented before you became an artificial awakened through Monarch’s program. You must’ve had the gift of a crow’s mouth, manifesting bad luck is your talent.”
“I don’t believe it,” Sam said and shook his head. “If my luck was so bad, I wouldn’t have gained the talent to summon all of you. Now, I’m the strongest human.” Could an unlucky person become the strongest of their race? Everyone knew luck was a huge requirement for success.
“Yes, how lucky of you to obtain us,” Nwaps said. “Since you’re thinking that way, does that mean you’re no longer bothered by us robbing your senses and freedoms?”
“Stress over the things you can control, and ignore the ones you can’t,” Sam said and shrugged. “I’ve lowered my expectations of life, so I can’t be disappointed or bothered anymore.”
“A nice mentality,” Nwaps said. “Now, let me introduce you to the demon that showed up.”
“In here?” Sam asked. If he were to exit the subconscious expanse, all he’d be able to do was hear the demon speak. Maybe he could touch it too, but he didn’t really like exploring the world with his hands whilst blind lest he touch something sticky. “Can demons enter the subconscious expanse?”
“Depending on the type of demon, they prefer the subconscious expanse,” Nwaps said and receded into Sam’s body, slinking down his nostril and esophagus. The tapeworm’s voice echoed in Sam’s mind. “Here we go.”
Sam furrowed his brow as a distortion appeared in the space in front of him. He was currently at a beach, sitting on a towel with his legs extended in front of himself. With a simple thought, a suit of crystalline armor, similar to the one Zahir Gupta had worn during the fight with the Surtakatul, appeared on Sam’s body as he stood up. The distortion became heavier with the sand and water within Sam’s view blending together. Then, there was a spitting sound, and something—presumably, the demon—shot out of the distortion straight into the sand by Sam’s feet.
Sam looked down at the half-buried individual, whose legs were sticking out of the sand at an angle. The legs were skinny, abnormally so, with its skin pasted against its bones without an ounce of flesh in between. It had a chalky gray skin tone, making one think ash would accumulate under one’s fingernails if the demon were scratched. The demon’s knees made contact with the ground, and the sand in front of Sam shifted as the demon’s torso rose out of the beach. Although it was covered in fine, yellow grains, Sam could tell the demon was the same color all over; it was naked too, but—luckily?—it had no genitals, only a smooth mound between its legs as if it were a mannequin.
The demon rubbed the sand out of its eyes and looked around with its red irises with blurred edges, the rim of its irises practically turning orange where it met with the demon’s yellow sclera. “Well, this is awkward,” the demon said, speaking in a language Sam didn’t know but could still understand. “I think I entered the wrong person’s dream.”
Sam stared at the demon, unsure of what to do next. His familiars weren’t around to give him orders, and he had never dealt with a demon before. The tapeworm had said it was going to introduce him to the demon, but clearly, Nwaps had no intention of showing up. In that case, wasn’t Sam free to do as he wished with the demon? The demon might’ve appeared because it was attracted by the negativity humanity was producing thanks to Nwaps, but that didn’t mean Sam had to kill it. “Hello,” Sam said and sat down. Before his butt could hit the ground, it landed on a seat that materialized out of thin air. A table appeared in front of Sam as the surroundings shifted from an outdoor beach to a private room within a restaurant. “Since you’re here, why don’t we have a chat?”
The demon hesitated for a moment before pulling the seat in front of it out from underneath the table. It sat across from Sam and folded its hands in front of itself. “What would you like to talk about, sir?” the demon asked. For a creature with rows of serrated teeth filling its mouth, it was surprisingly polite. “Can you conjure up some pickle juice for me by any chance?”
Sam squinted at the table, and a second later, a glass filled to the brim with greenish liquid appeared on the wooden surface. He had spent so much time in the subconscious expanse, he could manipulate his surroundings as well as, if not better than, a Venusian.
“Thank you,” the demon said and picked up the glass. Its fingers were long, slender, and bony with an extra joint compared to human fingers, and instead of fingernails, it had little suction cups that it pressed against the glass, allowing the demon to hold it with minimal palm contact. The demon’s tongue extended out of its mouth, and the tip dipped inside the pickle juice. There was a suctioning sound as the demon drank through its tongue like a straw. After drinking half the glass in one go, the demon retracted its tongue and smiled at Sam. “Refreshing.”
Sam nodded. “So,” he said, “why don’t you introduce yourself?”
The demon stared at Sam with its unblinking eyes. “I don’t have a name,” it said, “but if you think of me whilst speaking, I’ll know you’re addressing me.”
“Alright,” Sam said, staring back at the demon. “What are you doing here? Do you visit the subconscious expanse often?”
“Now and then,” the demon said, still holding the glass of pickle juice just below its chin. “I actually prefer spending most of my time in the shadow dimension, but I sensed a huge source of negative energy in one of the upper planes, Oterra, I believe, so I went to investigate. There, I found an absolutely miserable human I would’ve loved to get acquainted with, so I attempted to invade her dream after she went to bed, but a foreign force intercepted me, so here I am.” The demon pointed at Sam with one of its fingers, the suction cup making a popping sound as it released from the glass container. “Do you happen to know what it was?”
“Yes,” Sam said. “A higher-dimensional being that goes by the name of Nwaps.”
The demon stiffened, and the smile on its face vanished as its mouth closed. The demon placed the glass of pickle juice down and narrowed its eyes at Sam. “What is your relationship to Nwaps?”
“I’m his host,” Sam said. Was he the main host? Or did Nwaps’ main body reside inside of someone else? Sam wasn’t sure, but he didn’t think it mattered considering the nature of higher-dimensional beings; for all he knew, each tapeworm inside every human could be counted as its main body.
“So, this is a trap,” the demon said and let out a groan. “I can’t believe I fell for something like this again.” The demon stared at Sam. “How much influence do you have on Nwaps’ decisions? Do you think you could let me go?”
“What will you do if I let you go?” Sam asked and raised an eyebrow.
“Return to the lower dimension,” the demon said. “I have no intention on staying in Oterra if the large amount of negative energy is related to Nwaps.”
“It sounds like you know Nwaps pretty well,” Sam said.
“Of course,” the demon said. “Every demon knows Nwaps.”
“Tell me about him,” Sam said.
“First of all, Nwaps isn’t a him,” the demon said. “Nwaps are a them. They used to be a singular demon, but after a certain event happened to them, they ascended and gained the ability to proliferate.”
“What event?”
“No one knows,” the demon said. “Nwaps has kept it a tight secret, and if I were Nwaps, I’d keep it a secret too.” The demon leaned close to Sam and whispered, “Personally, I think he made a deal with a higher-dimensional being.”
Sam wasn’t too interested in knowing how Nwaps became Nwaps. Although his goal in life was to experience things, that didn’t mean he had to find out the pasts of everyone he met and encountered; there wasn’t enough time to do such a thing. “What about their personality?” Sam asked. “Is Nwaps evil?”
“Evil?” the demon asked, staring at Sam. “Your humanity is showing. Nwaps revels in the misery of others, and they enjoy being the cause of said misery as well. Like most demons, Nwaps thrives in a low-vibration environment. I hope that answers your question.”
“Earlier, you said something along the lines of falling for something like this again,” Sam said. “What did you mean by that?”
“That?” the demon asked. “Isn’t it exactly what it sounds like? Nwaps enjoys creating pools of misery every so often, and the last time they did this, it was to catch a few demons. Luckily, my best friend at the time was there, so I used him as a scapegoat to escape.” The demon shrugged and picked up the glass of pickle juice. It brought it to its side and poured the glass onto the ground. “This one’s for you, buddy. I hope you’re still alive, but if not, enjoy the brine.”
Sam couldn’t say he was surprised at the tapeworm’s past actions. In the first place, it hadn’t seemed like a morally upright individual. In the second place, its main ability was to take over people’s bodies, and it enjoyed influencing people’s decisions without them even knowing by prodding certain parts of their brains to manipulate their emotions. “Well, forget about Nwaps,” Sam said. “Let’s talk about you. If Nwaps wasn’t behind the reason you’re here, what would you be doing on Oterra?”
“I’d be bargaining for souls,” the demon said. “Individuals with negative vibes are more willing to sell their souls than others are.” The demon smiled, showings off its teeth. “And souls are delicious.”
“Really?” Sam asked. “If I were a negative-vibe individual, and you were targeting me, what exactly would you do?”
“Promise you what you think will free you from your negativity in exchange for your soul,” the demon said. “If you don’t accept, then that’s alright; I’ll move on to the next individual. Since there’re enough of them to create such a large area of negativity, someone is bound to say yes.”
“And once you get their souls, you eat them?” Sam asked.
“Yes, I happen to have one,” the demon said and grasped at its chest, “with me right now.” A wispy substance shaped like a piece of fried bacon appeared along the tips of the demon’s fingers. “Well, half of one, I get quite peckish sometimes.”
Sam stared at the half-eaten soul. To him, it looked like a wispy and translucent piece of bread. Also, it looked a bit…. “Excuse me,” Sam said and pointed at the soul. “Is that fried?”
“Baked,” the demon said. “Some people fry their souls, but personally, I’m not very good at it. They always come out a little burnt, but baking is easy for me, so that’s what I do.” The demon gestured towards its chest with the soul-holding hand, causing the soul to vanish from view. “What?” the demon asked upon seeing Sam’s expression. “Were you expecting me to share? Times are trying for everyone, alright? I can’t afford to. Unless….” The demon’s voice lowered to a whisper. “You can get me out of here safely.”
Sam wondered how difficult it’d be to clobber the demon and take the soul from it. He didn’t want to eat it like the demon assumed; he felt like he’d be doing the right thing by saving someone. If Werchbite and Joe could bring a few bone shards back to life, then surely, they could revive a baked, half-eaten soul. “Alright,” Sam said and held out his hand. “Give me the soul, and I’ll get you out safely.”
“Do you swear on your soul?” the demon asked.
“Let me try something,” Sam said and stood up. The table and chairs vanished, but the demon was unfazed when it lost the support from underneath without warning. However, when Sam’s telekinetic grasp surrounded it, making it difficult for the demon to move a single inch, its expression changed.
“Okay!” the demon said. “You don’t have to swear on your soul. Please, stop whatever it was you were about to do.”
“You’re afraid of this?” Sam asked, lifting the demon with his telekinesis.
The demon’s sclera vanished from its eyes as the skin around them constricted, closing up until only its red irises were showing. “Yes,” the demon said. “Violence is an act of barbarians; civilized folks should get along with their words. Your need to inflict pain on another to get your way shows exactly what kind of person you are: in your words, evil.”
Sam shrugged. “I never said I was good,” he said and slammed the demon into the ground. “Give me that soul.”
“This isn’t the kind of person I expected you to be,” the demon said as it retrieved the soul from who-knows-where and offered it to Sam. “There, do you think you can let me go now?”