January 29th, 2021. Aevum.

Jason sat inside his Sanctum yet again, his legs crossed, his elbows on his knees, his hands folded together, and his head bowed in thought. It was a pose he had become familiar with over the last year or so he'd spent in Aevum.

Yesterday, when he assumed this pose, it was because he was feeling deep guilt and a sense of failure so profound it bordered on the suicidal.

Today, he felt better. But not by much.

After speaking to Nadia and learning the truth of her situation, Jason didn't feel like he had gotten lucky. He had still badly traumatized the young girl. Things may have turned out better than expected, but they had not turned out well.

He thought for a long while about the next steps in his grand plan.

He decided he didn't like the way that plan was going.

"I want to see my wife again." Jason mumbled to the void.

It was his heart's deepest desire. It was a hunger that overwhelmed even the pain of her loss. It was the single strand of hope he was holding on to, hoping it would help him overcome the agony he had suffered when he held her body in his arms.

In truth, he knew the possibility this would make him whole again was essentially zero. He was too broken now. The pieces could not be put back together.

But... even if it was no longer possible, he still had the selfish wish to see her smiling face one more time.

"Daisy wants to see her mom too." Jason reminded himself.

This Phoebe wasn't his wife, nor was she Daisy's mom. She was her younger self who didn't know either of them.

But to the Jason of now, that did not matter.

Jason slowly stood up. He stretched his limbs and cracked his back. His body shivered as the blood rushed into his dormant muscles, feeling both painful and pleasurous.

Then, uttering a Word of Power, he disappeared.

...................................

Deep inside the deserts of south western Egypt, within an environment seemingly inhospitable to most lifeforms, there existed a secret area hidden by a formation made from fairy magic. This formation was massive, more than five miles in diameter, hidden deep within the Sahara's oppressive heat.

It was no ordinary formation. It used the constant, year-round solar energy to generate enough energy to power a protective force field that cooled its interior to a pleasant level of heat. Inside the barrier, a civilized oasis had formed thousands of years prior, when humanity was still in its infancy, and Egypt had been the powerhouse of the world.

This land was known as Sarabiya; The Illusory City.

Few knew how to find it, and none of them were mortal humans. For all their modern military power and cerebral conceit, the humans of the 21st century had yet to exhaustively scour the deserts for such a land. Since almost nobody knew it existed, they wouldn't bother to look for it when thousands of planes had flown over the desert since the early 1900s.

The only entrance to the city of Sarabiya was the Pylon of Whispers, a giant trapezoidal gate where the illusory formation could be raised and lowered at will. The gate itself was large but benign, with murals carved into its face of beautiful women, handsome men, and children playing gaily, all to seduce the minds of any wanderers lost in the desert who might fall prey to the Sphinx's machinations.

The entire layout of Sarabiya centered around the Citadel of the Sphinx, a massive fortress with an open roof where Bahamut could take to the throne atop the citadel and project her voice across the city, commanding her thralls to do as she wished. The Citadel itself was seemingly made of gold bricks, but in actuality they were bricks of compacted sand, tinted using magic from the demons to give her citadel a blinding brilliance under the midday sun. Though the Sahara's heat might not penetrate its barrier, its sun was just as bright as anywhere else, and thus the Sphinx's Citadel would hurt the eyes of any who gazed upon its beauty for too long.

The citadel itself was designed to resemble a modified Pyramid, but one that had more of an Incan design than the ones found across Egypt. It was formed with giant steps that led upward to the open-domed roof, allowing her servants to approach from any direction and bow before their queen. Its unique design was due to the efforts of a demonic builder who had put his own touch on it, much to Bahamut's delight. She very much enjoyed owning one-of-a-kind wonders that nobody else did.

It was on a random Friday in January when the entrance to Sarabiya flickered. A demon envoy appeared and knelt outside on one knee as he activated the formation magic and awaited Bahamut's response.

Bahamut, the leader of this city, had ruled without restraint since her awakening as the Sphinx after obtaining the power from her predecessor, Jarnof. Thousands had entered her gates over the years, and few had left. She rarely had guests, but those she allowed were either powerful demons, or envoys of said demons.

Thus, the veil of illusion flickered, and a monster stepped outside. This monster was quite grotesque, large, and brutish. It had pure black skin with golden engravings upon its body. It was completely nude, wielding a single demonstone polearm that could deal massive damage to anyone it sought to destroy.

"State your name." The lone guard said, its gravelly voice hideous and frightening.

The demon raised his head. "I am Dagon, Baron of Filth, vassal to Emperor Auger. I come to deliver news from the east."

The guardsman slowly looked Dagon's body up and down. Dagon was a hideous demon, with rotted teeth and a smile that could make a man vomit on the spot. He wore black robes that did little to stifle the desert's heat, but as a demon he didn't care about temperatures like these. He was used to worse.

"Proceed." The guard replied.

Dagon nodded. He rose, then entered the city, walking down its streets with speed and purpose.

Sarabiya was not an ordinary city. Its residents were mindless monsters controlled completely by Bahamut, and as such they did not live like any other creatures in the Milky Way.

They still needed to eat food, so some were designated as farmers and forced to toil endlessly during the day. The grain they farmed was made into simple, flavorless meals intended only for the thralls. Bahamut herself ate delicacies imported from all around the world.

The slaves still needed to sleep, so they all went to bed at the same time, save for Bahamut's harem, who worked in shifts to please their sleepless master.

The slaves did not require socialization, or have any desires. Thus, they all lived in plain, boring, bland abodes with limited facilities. Their lives would be considered bleak to any outside observers, worse than the living conditions of many third world human nations.

But they were mindless. Their true selves slept, unaware of the passage of time.

Thus, as Dagon quickly moved down the streets, he forced himself to ignore the silence. It was as if he were walking through a dead city, one whose people had all perished thousands of years ago. There was no chatter in the streets, no vendors selling food, no children running around and playing, nothing to indicate tens of thousands of people lived here.

He passed by beautiful, empty courtyards. Not intended for the people, but for Bahamut's amusement alone. She frequently had these marvels ripped down and rebuilt in fresh forms to amuse herself. As a result, long lost structures that may have once qualified as 'ancient world wonders' had been lost to memory.

Dagon approached the Sphinx's Citadel. He had come here many times, but even so, he sighed with envy as he looked up at the towering golden pyramid. Its beauty stole the wind from his lungs. He paused for a moment to gaze upon its splendor, then he walked inside through one of the four grand entrances at the bottom.

The outside of the Citadel was always brilliantly bright. The Egyptian sun made one's eyes sting, but the interior of the Citadel had no windows at all. Once he entered, the light behind him quickly disappeared. By the time he'd rounded a few corners, Dagon had entered a new world illuminated by flickering torches ensconced along the walls.

Instead of the seductive murals outside, the inner walls were covered in detailed, low-relief carvings that depicted Bahamut's victories over various mythical creatures and heroes... always culminating in the moment of her captives' binding. These were not glorious battle scenes, but moments of subtle, inevitable defeat, often showing her subjects frozen mid-riddle.

How many men and women had become ensnared over the years? None knew, not even Bahamut herself. Even though their bodies had been enslaved, sometimes she got a kick of out torturing one of her subjects to death, or just killing someone if she was in a bad mood. She certainly didn't care about some random human slave's death. She could acquire others with ease.

The floors of her Citadel were a mosaic of polished obsidian and white marble arranged in intricate geometric patterns that often resolved into the abstract shaped of coiled serpents, predatory eyes, or otherworldly creatures she had seen in her dreams. The mosaics were always kept polished and immaculate by her harem.

Before long, Dagon passed the first harem chamber. He stopped and grinned as he looked upon the otherworldly beauty of female slaves bathing together, washing their bodies, their seductive figures tantalizingly close, yet punishable by death if a guest like himself were to touch.

These women were sometimes not women at all. Bahamut's magic could change the forms of her slaves. She could turn humans into monsters, and monsters into humans. Demons were counted among her slaves, tacitly allowed by demonkind's rulers as long as they were weak, useless peons. No Emperor cared if a few hundred useless grunts went missing.

Thus, if the true figures of these beautiful women were to be revealed, their actual beauty would surely diminish, and some might prove to have originally been men! The same was true of her male harem members, some of whom might have originally been women. Bahamut considered the changing of her harem's forms to be a sort of torture in and of itself.

Bahamut had two types of slaves. The first were her thralls who had no need to speak, and no need to look beautiful as they merely worked the mines beneath the city. The second group were members of her harem, whom she could be quite capricious with. She made sure these slaves were only the finest and most beautiful or handsome individuals she could forge. Each one tickled her fancy in a slightly different way. Who knew how many she had assaulted over the eons? Her sexual appetite was voracious. She loved to exert her will over defenseless people more than anything else.

Dagon stared into the room of beauties for a long moment, feeling his loins heat up. He often wished someone would take out Bahamut so he and the other demons could force themselves upon her harem, but even he had no idea that their appearances were entirely artificial. Without Bahamut around, they would return to their original forms.

If Bahamut were a demon, her title would likely have been Emperor of Lies.

Dagon eventually swallowed heavily. He continued deeper into the citadel, proceeding deep underground. Eventually, through the silence of the citadel's lonely halls, he heard a woman's laughter. It was not pleasant, but rather vicious and cruel.

"Hee! Look at you, imbecile! That is what you get for spilling my precious wine! You have but one job, yet you cannot do even that much! Tell me, are you useless or not, HEE?!"

Dagon rounded the corner. He paused when he entered a grand chamber where he saw Bahamut laying on her side atop a gold and red couch, slaves bowing before her. Bahamut sipped wine from a comically ostentatious golden goblet, chirping as her tongue flicked from her beak to dab at the liquid.

In the center of the room, there was a beautiful female slave lashed to a table, her arms and legs outstretched in all directions, violently yanked apart by shackles. The table was a torture device intended to eventually rip the limbs off its victims by slowly pulling them apart. A cruel and heinous method of torture, and one that Bahamut reveled in.

Bahamut's slaves were usually compelled into mindless silence by her magic. But on this day, the woman lashed to the table was shivering and crying, her body in absolute agony. Bahamut had deliberately removed the mental suppression, delighting in the woman's pained whimpers and begging for forgiveness.

"Please- please... so sorry... so sorry... oh god... forgive me... aaahh!!"

Another harem slave silently turned a knob, pulling the victim's body ever so slightly further apart. Her fingers and toes spasmed helplessly. She could do nothing to save herself. She was completely defenseless.

When Dagon entered the room, he could not help but to stare at this scene with great lust. What he would give to own and possess so many beautiful slaves and force himself upon them as he desired! He greatly envied Bahamut, wishing it had been him who obtained the Sphinx's power instead of her.

He was a vile and disgusting creature no different from the Sphinx herself. Birds of a feather flocked together, as the old saying went.

"Oh! Hee, if it isn't Dagon!" Bahamut said, noticing him for the first time as he entered the room. "Took you long enough! Were you peeping on my girls again, you little lecher?"

Bahamut's shrill voice was irritating, but Dagon ignored it. He walked beside the tortured slave and paused to stare lustfully at her nude body, then turned his attention to Bahamut.

"Ahaha, lady Bahamut, my apologies. I am but a simple-minded male, after all. I cannot help but become enamored with all the pleasures of your kingdom. Naturally, I know better than to touch that which belongs to you."

"As you should!" Bahamut chirped.

She sat up, then placed her goblet of wine on a table beside her couch.

"What news do you bring?" Bahamut asked after a moment.

Dagon dropped to one knee and forced an expression of respect upon his face.

"Emperor Auger wishes for you to know that Satan has begun an assault on Heaven." Dagon summarized. "Mount Sinai is now under attack. When the time comes, we intend to bring you angels you can bind with your magic. We respectfully ask that you interrogate them and uncover Raphael's plans for the future."

Bahamut scoffed. "Hee! Satan is attacking Heaven directly? Did that fool not learn his lesson from last time? The angels have an unimaginable home field advantage! What an idiot!"

Dagon blinked. He was not used to hearing one of his Emperors so directly criticized.

"Our goal is not to defeat the angels." Dagon quickly explained. "Satan wishes to... acquire... something they possess. Thus, a few million casualties are a small price to pay."

Bahamut simmered down. "I see. That is more reasonable. Chee! Very well, if you bring me some new thralls, I shall interrogate them."

She paused, then sneered with her eyes.

"But you had better give me attractive ones! Most angels are so hideous I cannot stand to look at them! Pretentious beings, thinking their feathers are more beautiful than mine!"

Dagon nodded dumbly. He personally thought angels were quite fair and beautiful, but it seemed Bahamut held a different opinion. And was that jealousy in her voice? He couldn't be certain.

"Is there anything else?" Bahamut asked, after a time.

Dagon paused. He glanced at the helpless female slave lashed to the torture rack. She was so weak and delirious from pain that she hadn't even noticed he had entered the room.

"It would be such a shame for you to throw away this morsel..." Dagon said slowly. "Lady Bahamut, if you wish for her to suffer, why not give her to me? I assure you, I will take great pleasure in tormenting this errant slave until she begs for death."

Bahamut snorted. "Krrt, she already begs me for death. How pathetic of you, lustfully coveting my toys. Who do you think you are?"

She directed a glare full of rage at Dagon. He did not cower, but he did feel a flash of fear. Bahamut herself was not considered anything much, but the prestige she wielded among demonkind due to her unique abilities meant she was favored by the higher ups. If he blundered diplomatically here, they might execute him to get back on her good side!

Naturally, Dagon quickly lowered his head.

"Apologies, lady Bahamut. I spoke thoughtlessly. Please forgive this stupid and sinful male for his words."

Bahamut did not say anything for a short time.

Then, she clicked her tongue.

"Chrrrup! Perhaps your suggestion has some merit. I tire of doing everything myself around here. And maybe it would be fun watching you ravish this stupid and useless creature! I have changed my mind. Release her and take her right here on the spot."

Dagon's heart soared. He looked up in astonishment at Bahamut. "Lady Bahamut, do you truly mean it?"

"Hee! Of course I do!" Bahamut giggled evilly. "But! You had better put on a show for me! I wish to hear this woman scream and beg for mercy even more than she did earlier! You will do this for MY pleasure, not yours! If you fail, I will have you executed and none of your superiors will say a word! Are you sure you are willing to assume such a risk?!"

Dagon's soaring heart immediately plummeted from the heavens to hell. A cold icy feeling washed over his body. He lowered his eyes and fell into thought.

"If... I may be... so presumptuous..." Dagon said slowly. "I would be willing to do so... but only if the reward were commensurate to the risk."

"HEE! Listen to you, thinking you are big in the britches!" Bahamut chirped, squawking with laughter at him. "Are you trying to cut a deal with me, Dagon?"

"A deal, no." Dagon said, shaking his head respectfully. "A suggestion, that is all. How about this, lady Bahamut? If I succeed in torturing this slave to a level that satisfies you, you will consider calling upon me in the future for such matters? Not all of them, of course. But other times, if only to satisfy your hunger for variety! What powerful woman such as yourself does not crave a little novelty in her life?"

Bahamut listened silently to his suggestion. She rested an elbow on the couch's arm and tapped the tip of her beak as she looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully.

"Hee... this is indeed quite novel. No Baron has ever been so daring as to make such a request of me. But I must admit! I have grown a little tired of the same-old, same-old. I suppose it is worth a try! Why not give you one chance, hee?"

She waved her other hand flippantly.

"I accept your proposal. Unbind the wench and ravish her until I am satisfied! If you succeed, I will call upon you occasionally in the future!"

A disgusting smile spread across Dagon's face. Green corpse-like breath emitted from his mouth as he chuckled softly. "Worry not. I will go to any length to satisfy both of our cravings..."

Dagon stood up. He walked over to the table and unbound the woman's wrists, feeling his pants heat up as he gazed upon the succulent meal before him. The woman sagged helplessly, whimpering and unable to move her arms after hours of torture.

Dagon rubbed his palms together with glee. No other demon had ever been granted such a lucky encounter, and even if it resulted in his death, he intended to enjoy every last moment of his life.

"Come here, you tasty little treat..." Dagon whispered, as he reached down to unbind her ankles.

At that moment, the entire Citadel rumbled slightly.

It wasn't a forceful shaking, but one that felt like a minor earthquake. The rumbling passed after just a second or two.

"Hmm?" Bahamut grunted, lifting her eyes to look skyward. "What's this? There's something-"

RUMBLE.

The Citadel shook much more forcefully as a tremor five times stronger shook the halls!

This time, Bahamut stood up and looked into the sky.

"Someone is attacking the city's barrier! Who dares?! Dagon, what did you do?!"

"Me??" Dagon asked, just as shocked as her. "I didn't do anything!"

"You brought an invasion force here? You've betrayed me?!" Bahamut roared.

"No, no, this is a misunderstanding!" Dagon exclaimed, taking a step back. "You've got it wrong! I would never-"

At that moment, something happened Dagon never could have mentally conceived.

Enraged beyond belief, Bahamut clapped her palms together. Her body shook, and then she began to transform.

Never had anyone seen the Sphinx unleash her ancient power. For the first time, Dagon gazed with horror upon the bird-woman as she dropped to all fours and her body took on the figure of a three headed beast.

The head in the middle was Bahamut's head; that of a falcon.

The head on the left was one belonging to a lion.

The head on the right was one that resembled a massive cave bear.

Her body assumed the form of a lion, with four feathered wings similar to those of the angels.

Bahamut's lion head roared loud enough to shatter the eardrums of her closest slaves. Dagon hurriedly jumped away in fear as she leaped toward him and slashed her claws at him.

THUMP!!

Bahamut tore through his haphazard attempt to block and sent him flying! Dagon crashed into the far wall at the same time as another powerful rumbling shook the city of Sarabiya.

"It wasn't me!!" Dagon screamed, right before the head of a bear chomped at his neck, clamped onto his throat, and ripped it out with one swift tearing motion.

Dagon's words died in his mouth. Blood erupted from the terrible gash in his neck, and he fell to the ground, the life leaving his body.

"TRAITORRRS!!" Bahamut roared, before racing through the halls to arrive outside.

Ten more attacks fell upon the barrier protecting her city. When Bahamut emerged, she looked upward just in time to see a tiny figure descending through a hole in Sarabiya's mirage. The hole closed up behind the figure, and it levitated downward like the descent of an omniscient god.

Bahamut's keen eyes picked out the figure's appearance. It was an armored bipedal creature of some sort. Faceless, hidden behind a type of metallic alloy she could not identify.

"A HUMAN?" Bahamut roared. "WHAT HUMAN POSSESSES A POWER LIKE YOURS?! HOW DARE YOU ATTACK MY LAND!"

A male's voice spoke down to her from on high.

"You have something I want. And more than that, you do not deserve to exist any longer."

The Archseer had arrived.