They descended.
Not heroically.
Not confidently.
Just because there was nowhere else left that made sense.
The city above kept pretending stability.
The undercity did not pretend anything.
Stone turned older.
Air turned thicker.
Rules turned optional.
Aiden didn't stop moving.
Liora leaned on him, stubbornly conscious when every sensible part of her body begged to lie down and stop existing. Seris matched pace, gaze sharp, expression set in that controlled calm people develop when fear is familiar.
"Are we running?" Seris finally asked.
"Yes," Aiden answered.
"And seeking," Liora added weakly.
They both nodded.
That sounded about right.
The undercity opened like a swallowed breath.
Not grand.
Functional.
Concrete halls once built for things no one bothered labeling anymore had become hollow arteries of a city still pretending it didn't have veins.
It felt honest here.
Not safe.
Honest.
This was where systems ran out of excuses and power stopped bothering to disguise itself.
They found a chamber that felt like it noticed them.
Aiden stopped.
"This," he breathed, "is it."
Seris scanned the dark.
"There is nothing here."
Which was exactly why there was.
Liora squinted slightly, bleeding and still analyzing.
"He'll be somewhere definitions blur. The sort of being that finds comfort in loopholes staying warm at night."
Silence stretched.
Not ominous.
Patient.
Then a presence arrived without theatrics.
It did not boom.
It did not growl.
It did not vibrate with unholy menace.
It simply existed more than the room.
A voice followed.
Dry.
Perfectly measured.
Bored in a way that implied eternity had deadlines.
"This location is inefficient."
A figure stepped from the shadows.
Tall.
Unhorrifying.
Clothed in an immaculate dark suit that did not wrinkle because it refused to recognize the concept of wrinkling.
Not dramatic horns.
Not blazing eyes.
Just a man whose posture suggested that if the universe filed a form incorrectly,
he would make it regret it.
He adjusted his glove with surgical precision.
Looked at Aiden.
Then at Liora bleeding.
Then at Seris calculating.
He blinked once.
Slowly.
"I assume," he said in a tone that belonged in a boardroom at the end of time,
"you are the ones Ardent inconvenienced my schedule over."
Liora swallowed.
"So… demon?"
He blinked again.
"That is the term most frequently used. It lacks nuance. I prefer: binding authority representative."
That was… worse.
Aiden tried.
"You're… the one who never breaks a signed word?"
"Yes," the demon replied simply.
He did not sound proud.
He sounded factual.
Seris narrowed her eyes.
"So you honor agreements."
The demon turned his head just enough to acknowledge her existence.
"I honor the exact verbal and written structure of the agreement as recorded at the moment of mutual assent."
Which did not mean safe.
Not even slightly.
A small pause.
Then, tone unchanged:
"Spirit interpretation is the responsibility of the signee. Failure to anticipate consequences is not grounds for complaint."
Liora exhaled.
"A demon lawyer."
His brow barely tilted.
"No. I dislike imprecision. Lawyers interpret law. I enforce it."
He said it like gravity.
He stepped closer to Aiden.
Not threatening.
Assessing.
"You are unstable," he said plainly. "Untrained. Ridiculously powerful and behaving emotionally. You will cause substantial systemic inefficiency if left unattended."
Aiden flinched.
That… stung.
He continued.
"I have been tasked—unfortunately—to prevent that."
Liora managed a faint smirk.
"He sent us to someone responsible."
A fractional pause.
"I am not responsible," the demon corrected mildly. "I am consistent."
Which was somehow scarier.
He clasped his hands behind his back.
"Lesson one begins immediately. Nothing here is free. Every act, every wish, every hesitation incurs cost. Down here, the world is run by obligations, not feelings."
His eyes glinted faintly.
Not fire.
Not madness.
Certainty.
"Ardent indulged compassion. I do not. I will teach you to survive the way systems survive—through clarity, parameters, and consequences."
He finally gave a very small, very polite smile.
"Welcome to the undercity, Aiden.
Let us ensure you do not collapse reality by accident."
Aiden inhaled slowly.
This was going to be harder than he thought.
And somehow?
That was reassuring.