The next evening passed as usual with Andromalius training under Luna's tutelage. Weapon combat went along with battle magic quite well and, of course, could be combined to become even more effective. Weapons could be enchanted temporarily or permanently, and temporal enchantments could be cast during combat to a devastating effect. For once, the lightning spell could be cast on a weapon, and such tactic was often used by Royal Guards to subdue the lawbreakers without wounding them.

"But remember, certain spells can only weaken thy blade," Luna explained the theory after the practice, "There were legends of warriors with flaming blades, but do not let thyself be fooled – extreme heat weakenth steel, melteth it. Equally, frost maketh the blade fragile. Electricity is the safest when applied to the blade for the purposes of fighting. Of course, even damaging spells can be cast on the weapon if it is enchanted to resist them first."

Andromalius nodded almost automatically to Luna's explanations, soaking them up like a sponge. This knowledge made its way through his immediate memory to his long-term memory without much resistance, placing itself on one of the many metaphorical storage shelves inside his mind. Yet another day of training ended as usual – he was tired, but he gained insight into battle magic, and now he even made progress with close combat using physical weapons. Of course, he still looked much like a child swinging a stick around in the game of pretend, but his movements became less exaggerated and his swings and hits more focused.

"Thou'rt a fast learner, I shall give thee that," Luna told him with a small smile on her face, "Thou hast discipline, thou dost not complain, and thou hast no rest. Why is that?"

"I don't know," the hell stallion replied honestly, "I just want to learn, and it's not really that difficult. Things just... make sense."

"Then thou art gifted," the alicorn declared proudly, "Trust me, not many have this talent for learning," her eyes glanced at his flank, and yet it was simply black like the rest of his skin, "Hm..."

"Is something wrong?" Andromalius asked in confusion, following her eyes. If Inanna were there, she'd whisper inappropriate thoughts into his head, but he knew better than to think that way. In a sense, he felt it would be wrong for him to think so if he did; maybe it was because she was a teacher and he was a student?

"I see thou art no pony, and yet there is something about thee that maketh me think otherwise..." she said slowly, "But if thou wast, thou wouldst have a talent mark by this time, and yet thou dost not."

"I mean... humans don't have any marks," he shrugged with uncertainty, "I never did, others never did. That is, unless they decided to get a tattoo," seeing the questioning look on Luna's face, he explained: "Permanently painting their bodies with images that they like."

"Very interesting..." she nodded, "But, thou'rt not a human now, art thou? The only thing left is thy mind, and our minds are not much different, I believe. Would it be correct to call thyself a human if thou art no longer one?"

"...I suppose not," he agreed hesitantly and then looked at his flank again, "But... I don't think a mark should be there."

"Perhaps that is true," Luna replied with a bob of her head, "In any case, our tonight's training is concluded. Thou hast adjusted well – thy tiredness doth not show itself as much as it used to."

For a few minutes, they cleaned up the training hall together: removing targets, placing the weapons where they belonged, and cleaning the burn marks and splinters from the targets. This reminded the hell stallion why he was training in the first place.

"How is the investigation going?" Andromalius asked carefully.

"Rather slowly," the alicorn admitted, "There aren't many things to follow, although I do believe I have a lead. Certain things... changed. I wouldn't have noticed if I weren't alert... 'tis like coming back home and seeing thy furniture moved around the house by just a few... millimeters. Or centimeters... I still need to learn the new measuring system," she trailed off for a moment before returning to the topic, "In any case, thou perceivest a change but dost not realize what changed. This is exactly the feeling I'm having."

Andromalius nodded silently; although he hadn't ever had such a feeling in his life, he could understand what it meant.

"Something is on the move," Luna said, confirming his thoughts. She put the final target back where it belonged, and then the alicorn frowned deeply, "The conspiracy runth deep, and I believe some of the castle staff is compromised. However... We shan't let them know we're aware of it" she looked at the hell stallion, "Let us see their plan. Once it is revealed, we shall know what we need."

"But... what if the plan is to kill someone?" Andromalius voiced his worries, "Shouldn't we stop it before it happens?"

"They shan't risk killing anyone within this castle," Luna shook her head, "As for the outside... Well, the attempts on thy and my lives might continue, but perhaps 'tis not death that they want... My sister's fury knoweth no bounds, and she hath already begun her own investigation."

"Her own?" the hell stallion blinked, "You... told her nothing about what we're doing?"

"Exactly," she nodded, "I see thou'rt puzzled and in disagreement with it. I believe 'tis best for us to leave her in the shadows, for she is an unknowing participant in the conspiracy. It paineth me to lie to my sister, but I don't know whom she consults, and I'm afraid they might as well be a part of the conspiracy. Perhaps my worries are paranoidal, I have considered it, but my plan will help us draw the conspirators out."

Luna paused and sighed deeply, her posture weakening for a moment. An eternity of tiredness washed over her body, and for a small, tiny moment, she imagined it would be better to stay on the moon. She banished the thought to the depths of her mind – returning to the moon would not solve Equestrian problems. She had to dig deep to uncover the evil, and then purge it. Only then she can have rest and maybe, just maybe, allow herself to fully enjoy the night once more. Rest under the moonlight among the stars, carefree as she once was a long time ago. A dream of a filly it was, and perhaps it will never be realized, but one can dream, and Luna knew more about dreams than anyone else.

Unaware of her thoughts, Andromalius wondered if what she was telling was true or just an onset of paranoia. However, she was right in one thing – the conspirators manipulating Celestia could be her advisors, so feeding them all the information would be unwise. The hell stallion could agree to follow Luna's plans as long as it didn't involve hurting anyone that wasn't proven to be guilty. The alicorn didn't sound insane, and yet there were things Andromalius didn't understand. Maybe it would be for the better for him not to know too much as well. Let the events unfold, for he could do little to uncover them on his own. His own deductive skills needed work, and he was no investigator.

This conversation left a dark, sticky puddle in his mind. Just what was happening in this world?

Andromalius was enjoying a warm shower, scrubbing his exoskeleton with a sponge he found. After each training, there was plenty of dust on him, and he had to spend quite some time getting rid of it, for his many plates of armor made it difficult to clean quickly. When he was a human, a simple shower was enough to refresh him and clean his body, but now he had too many places where the dust and dirt could accumulate, so he had to be thorough.

"Enjoying yourself?" a familiar voice appeared out of nowhere, making him jump. He turned his head and saw Inanna sitting on a sink, looking at him with a grin, "Hello again!"

"Where have you been?" he replied, still scratching his back with the brush.

"Discussing what I saw and heard from you with other demons," she replied, her expression becoming serious, "That artifact you found is a piece of Sphere of Purity. So, you are the promised demon... At the very least, all things point to that," she hopped off the sink and came a bit closer, "So... are you ready for what comes next?"

"W-what comes next?" he asked with a slightly trembling voice. He almost managed to banish the thought about the prophecy, and yet here it was, resurfacing and reminding him of its existence.

"Some will try to stop you no matter the cost," she told him, her voice dead serious, "I know you don't want this, but... you can't fight fate. One way or another, you will have to take responsibility."

"I doubt I would be a good ruler..." he tried to argue.

"Well, you're already better than most by thinking that way," the succubus allowed herself to let out a short laugh, "I'm sure you'll do fine as long as you simply listen and learn from others. And, for now, it is my duty to teach you about us demons."

"A-alright. Just... let me get done with the showering."

Andromalius soon returned to his room, feeling anxious and uncertain. He, a ruler? If anyone else told him that, he would laugh and congratulate them on a good joke; but laughter died down inside him before it was even born. His tail was swinging from side to side nervously as he thought deeply about his own future. His gaze distant, and yet his breath calm. In the time Inanna spent away from him, he begun to accept his destiny. His new body, abilities, and potential screamed at him, demanding him to use them to the best of his ability, to not let them go to waste. And yet, what was the right thing to do?

It was obvious he wouldn't be able to evade the responsibility placed on him. He never asked for it, and yet there it was, waiting for him to act. But maybe, just maybe, he would be able to make things right without avoiding his destiny?

He loved strategy games as a human, and he was pretty good at them; however, those games had rules, and he just had to be good at following them. Heroes of Might and Magic 5 features only warfare, and the story was scripted without the possibility of any real input from him. His only goal was to collect resources, build an army, and then defeat the opponent. Perhaps, he would make a decent general, but not a good ruler. And if he got stuck, he would be unable to look up the walkthrough anywhere.

"I can sense you're pretty nervous about the whole thing," Inanna said, "I'm a simple succubus, I really have no idea how you feel right now, but... Just so you know, I'll be there for you and do my best to help."

"Thank you," he replied, his throat dry and his voice distant. He mentally slapped himself and returned to reality, "So... what do I need to know?"

"First of all, demons aren't united. There are four big tribes and some smaller ones," Inanna begun, "Most believe in the prophecy, but some would oppose you, that's for sure. You'll have to win their favor. I have no idea how you'd do that, but you're smart... somewhat."

She grinned at the hell stallion as he snorted at her with a frown on her face.

"In all seriousness, you are pretty smart," she continued, "As Luna said, you're a fast learner, so I bet you'll find how to unite all the tribes around Hell. Anyway, the four main tribes are led by Pit Lords, who are pretty powerful in their own right."

"Pit Lords?" he echoed, remembering the weird creatures from Heroes of Might and Magic 5. They looked somewhat like dragons, but instead of hind claws, they had hooves; and in front, they had relatively human-looking pair of arms, although the hands only had four fingers instead of five. Their wings were powerful, yet lacked the membrane necessary for flight, and were also inverted as if someone glued them upside-down. Armor protected their arms and chest, and they wielded a giant broken sword; the vorpal blade always left at least one being dead after a strike. Along with their melee prowess, they wielded powerful area-of-effect magic: fireball and meteor storm.

And yet, Andromalius had to remind himself that Pit Lords could be much different in the Hell of this world. However, a sneaking suspicion told him they would look similar; he already looked like a creature from the same game, and Inanna seemed to be an equine version of the succubus. This raised the question he already had in mind before – was that game he played at least partially real? Did its artist pick inspiration from something otherwordly?

"Seems you're somewhat familiar with them. Their looks, at least," Inanna said, "You know a bit too much for someone from the other world, don't you think?"

"You tell me..." he let out a deep sigh, no longer sure what else could become reality from the games he called fiction. Was there Darth Vader in some far-away galaxy? Did Narnia exist? Game of Thrones? It was all possible now, and he didn't know what came first – the fiction or the reality.

Whichever was the case, he would need to learn about the reality surrounding him. He lay down on his bed, and Inanna begun the tale of demons. Many years ago, when Equestria was not even a thought, pony tribes lived in disharmony, forced to coexist and cooperate. Dislike, distaste, even hatred reigned over many minds; the peace was fragile and was often broken by skirmishes between settlements. Fed up with this constant pressure, many left their homes, seeking to build new communities away from others.

And so they did, coming together in the northern mountains. The hardships they faced strengthened their bonds, and soon a small settlement was born - Dêmos. It grew through the years, inviting all manner of beings who sought to break their ties and embrace the new. Some griffons joined, and through their knowledge of mountains, Dêmos became richer. Minotaurs, too, heard of the settlement, and some arrived to join the peace; with their strength, Dêmos became capable of defending itself against those who sought to harm them.

A few years before the onset of Long Hateful Winter, an event that forced all ponies to move southward, a war erupted. Greedy for the riches of Dêmos, a pony tribe attacked, seeking to claim the gold and the gems found within the mountains. Nobody remembered or had any idea what transpired that year, but a powerful artifact was created by the unicorns – the Sphere of Purity. In their misguided attempts to return Dêmos unicorns to the unicorn tribe, they used the artifact; and yet, the unity of Dêmos resisted it, and the peoples were unbroken. However, they were banished into the depths of the world, wiped from the surface for thousands of years to come.

Through years of struggling in the darkness of Hell, peoples of Dêmos adapted but lost who they were before, twisted by the power of the artifact and the ambient magic of the abyss. Disagreement came, and with that, the demons separated into tribes, returning to how it was before Dêmos many years ago.

"I don't really know if all of it is true," Inanna warned Andromalius, "But this story is the most common among demons. I've been to a few other tribes, and their story is pretty much the same. No one really knows how to return to the surface, but maybe you are the key to it. I'll have to search for the answer in the Grand Library... as long as they let me in."

"So, it's my task to... free you all?" the hell stallion asked carefully, not fully believing the story. Just like Inanna, he wasn't sure how true it was. Besides, he remembered demons from many novels and stories, and they were rarely if ever good. Inanna didn't seem all that bad, but he would need to find out more before even thinking about doing what the demons asked of him.

"That's what the prophecy says," the succubus shrugged, "And... I don't know, but the prospect of seeing the sky with my own eyes makes me anxious. Happy, but anxious. I've seen it a few times, but never through my own eyes, only through magic. How does it feel to have nothing above your head? How does it feel to... feel the sun? Or to feel the cold?"

"I'm not sure how to describe it..." Andromalius replied slowly.

"The temperature is almost always the same down here," Inanna continued as if she didn't hear him, "I can't feel it through the astral projection... I don't know if you'll be able to do it, but I'll be forever grateful, really," she looked at him, "I just... want to see what you see every day. I know, it might not be the best reason to free us, but... That's what I'm asking of you."

Andromalius couldn't help but pity her in a certain way, and the image of demons as violent and spiteful creatures almost all but vanished from his mind. Inanna's words couldn't be faked, he was sure of it; and while she might not be his friend just yet, her words sank into him deeply. He saw the sky every day, and yet she lived all her life underground, in Hell, among magma and rock. Would it really hurt to let at least her see the sunlight?

Maybe it was his destiny to show the world to the demons and show the demons to the world. Maybe the common image of the demons wasn't true and they were just victims of a bad situation... but it was for him to find out the truth and see what to do with it. Perhaps, he was the only one who could free them from their underground prison; or leave them forever in darkness.

A question arose – which option did they deserve to realize?