As Li Yu and Demon Lord Malos left the Whispering Wastes behind, the ambient temperature of the realm began to rise steadily. The gray scrubland gradually gave way to jagged fields of blackened basalt. The skies were replaced by an oppressive canopy of ember lit ash.

  They were entering the domain of Sovereign Ignis, the Demon Lord of Flame.

  "Fascinating," Malos murmured while catching a drifting flake of hot ash in his palm and watching it smolder against his pale skin. "The density here is suffocating. It is an environment completely hostile to ordinary life, yet I see the tracks of massive caravans. The resilience of the drive for commerce is truly a marvel."

  "When the soil is made of cooled magma, you can't exactly farm cabbages," Li Yu pointed out. He was stepping over a narrow fissure that glowed with a dull red light. "They have to import their food and export whatever rare minerals the volcanoes spit up. It breeds a very specific kind of commerce."

  By the afternoon of their third day of travel, that culture was on full display.

  The border city of Cinderholme loomed ahead. It was a brutalist fortress carved directly into the side of a dormant volcano. The walls were constructed from seamless blocks of black stone and towering into the air. It radiated an aura of impenetrable security.

  But it was the atmosphere outside the gates that truly caught Li Yu's attention. In this realm, border crossings were usually a mess of shouting guards, aggressive haggling and the occasional spontaneous death duel. Here, there was only a terrifying and synchronized order.

  A line of merchant caravans and wandering cultivators stretched for a mile leading up to the massive iron gates. Everyone stood in perfect alignment and were quiet. There was no pushing. There was no shouting.

  Flanking the road were the Ash Guards. They are the military force of Demon Lord Ignis. They wore heavy, crimson plated armor that glowed with internal heat and their faces were obscured by iron visors. They stood at perfect attention with their polearms resting at uniform angles.

  As Li Yu and Malos joined the back of the line, they witnessed the local law enforcement in action.

  A few dozen yards ahead of them, a tusked demon leading a pack beast grew impatient. He stepped out of the line and attempted to bypass a smaller group of human merchants to get to the gate faster.

  "I have perishable fire lotus roots!" The tusked demon grunted to a nearby guard. "Let me through first!"

  The Ash Guard did not argue back. He did not issue a warning. He simply stepped forward and swung the blunt haft of his polearm with bone shattering force. The blow struck the tusked demon precisely in the back of the knees.

  The demon roared in pain and quickly collapsed to the dirt. Before he could retaliate, three more guards moved in perfect unison. They didn't draw their blades to kill him; they systematically and brutally beat him with the blunt ends of their weapons for exactly ten seconds. When they stepped back, the demon was bruised, bleeding and gasping for air but was alive.

  "Line infraction. Return to your designated position," the lead guard stated with a flat voice. It sounded like a mechanical bark devoid of any emotion. "Further disobedience will result in incineration."

  The beaten demon didn't utter a single curse. He dragged himself back into his original spot in line, his head bowed in absolute submission. The human merchants he had tried to cut off didn't laugh or mock him; they merely kept their eyes facing forward. They were terrified of drawing the guards' attention.

  Li Yu watched the entire exchange with keen interest. He was constantly analyzing the different methods of governance in this world.

  "Order through absolute and uncompromising discipline," Li Yu muttered softly. "No warnings, no exceptions but no lethal escalation unless necessary. Just immediate and painful correction. It’s brutal but I can’t say it doesn’t work. Look around. No one is stepping an inch out of line."

  "A different flavor from Queen Morrigan’s domain," Malos agreed. "They both rule through strength but in different ways. Morrigan rules through chaotic strength. If you challenge her, she kills you. Ignis, however, rules through structure. She has mechanized fear. I have always appreciated a well maintained system."

  They waited in line for an hour until it was their turn. When they finally reached the gates, the inspection was thorough but highly efficient. The guards swept them with array disks, noted their cultivation levels and demanded an entry toll for each of them.

  Malos, eager to practice his newfound bartering skills, reached into his burlap sack. "Good sir, I offer you something of far greater value. A painted river stone of excellent-"

  "Toll is ten stones. Pay or be removed," the Ash Guard interrupted before he could finish and already raised his polearm an inch.

  Li Yu quickly slapped the twenty onto the toll table. "We are paying. Thank you for your hard work."

  He grabbed Malos by the sleeve and pulled the disappointed Sovereign through the gates before the guards could decide to apply a 'ten second correction' to them.

  "They lack the vision of the Whispering Wastes," Malos sighed while putting his rocks away.

  Inside Cinderholme was a marvel of grim efficiency. The streets were laid out in a perfect grid. The buildings were uniform and constructed from heat resistant volcanic rocks. Channels of molten magma flowed through deep trenches on either side of the main roads and provided both light and a massive source of ambient fire Qi for the local cultivators. It was a paradise for fire cultivators.

  They found an inn near the commercial district called the Smoldering Hearth. It was clean, quiet and also heavily regulated. They rented a room and sat down on the ground floor of the tavern to order a meal. The local specialty was Fire Drake Noodles. It was served in a broth so spicy it made the air above the bowl shimmer.

  "Incredible," Malos said with his face flushed as he took a bite of the noodles. He was sweating profusely. A purely physical reaction he was purposefully allowing his vessel to experience. "It is as if someone has weaponized agriculture against the tongue. I have never felt such localized agony while eating. It is exquisite! It hurts but it makes one feel alive!"

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  Li Yu chuckled while mixing his noodles calmly. He too enjoyed the rich and savory flavor. He didn’t really prefer spicy foods but it would seem that spicy foods were common everywhere. It probably had to do with using the spice to mask cooks that didn’t know what they were doing or the lower quality ingredients. This wasn’t always the case but it was often the case. "It's good. Reminds me of a place I used to know."

  They ate in comfortable silence after that and were surrounded by the quiet murmur of the other patrons. The tavern was full of merchants, mercenaries and local workers but there was no rowdiness. The iron rule of Ignis permeated every layer of society here. People spoke in hushed tones, drank in moderation and kept to themselves.

  It was peaceful. Almost too peaceful. It was the most orderly place that Li Yu had ever seen since coming to this world. Li Yu was just finishing his bowl when the sound hit them.

  It wasn't an explosion but a bell. A massive, deep and resonating BONG that shook the volcanic foundations of the city. It was a heavy, mournful sound and carried an undeniable undertone of absolute emergency.

  BONG.

  The reaction within the tavern was instantaneous. The low murmur of conversation vanished. Every single patron froze in place. Mugs were lowered to the tables without making a sound. The innkeeper behind the bar went completely pale with his hands trembling as he grabbed a rag and began wiping the counter with frantic and nervous energy.

  BONG.

  "What is that?" Li Yu asked while keeping his voice low.

  A merchant sitting at the table next to them turned and his eyes were wide with fear. "The Obsidian Chime. It only rings for two reasons. A full scale invasion of the border..."

  "And the other reason?" Malos leaned in and interrupted. He was already thoroughly captivated by the sudden shift in atmosphere.

  "The death of someone important. A lock down is now in place." The merchant whispered before turning back to his table and staring fixedly at his empty plate. Li Yu frowned. He pushed his chair back and walked over to the reinforced glass window of the tavern and was looking out into the street.

  The grid-like avenues of Cinderholme, which had been bustling with orderly traffic just moments before, were completely empty of civilians. The populace had instantly retreated into the nearest buildings and were locking their doors and shuttering their windows.

  In their place, the Ash Guards were swarming like angry hornets. Hundreds of heavily armored soldiers marched down the streets in perfect lockstep.

  At the center of the city, rising above the uniform buildings, was the local lord's keep. From its highest tower, a plume of thick black smoke was billowing into the ash filled sky. It was a dark and suffocating smoke that reeked of highly concentrated death Qi.

  "Lock down the sectors!" A voice roared from the street and was amplified by Qi. A commander of the Ash Guard was standing at the intersection with his sword already drawn. "Activate the grand array! Nothing enters and nothing leaves! By order of the Sovereign, the city is sealed!"

  Above the city, the sky warped. A glowing dome of fiery runes snapped into existence and completely encased Cinderholme in an impenetrable barrier.

  "Well," Li Yu sighed as he was leaning against the window frame. "So much for a quiet meal. I hope the dangers aren’t serious."

  Malos appeared beside him and his eyes were practically glowing as he looked at the black smoke rising from the keep. "Oh, this is marvelous. A sudden alarm. A locked down city and a populace gripped by terror. What do you suppose has happened?"

  Before Li Yu could answer the heavy wooden doors of the tavern were kicked open.

  A squad of ten Ash Guards marched into the room. Their polearms were leveled and their visors scanning around the frozen patrons. The captain of the squad stepped forward and quickly deployed a scroll made of parchment.

  "Attention!" The captain barked as his voice echoed in the silent room. "Lord Vael, the seventh son of Sovereign Ignis and the overseer of Cinderholme has been assassinated within his private sanctum!"

  A collective gasp swept through the tavern. The merchant next to Li Yu's table actually fainted and was slowly sliding out of his chair. Soon after he hit the floor with a thud.

  To assassinate a Demon Lord's son was an act of supreme madness in this world. They were the top powers here. To do it inside one of her most heavily fortified and hyper disciplined border cities was an impossibility. It required a level of skill, stealth and audacity that defied comprehension.

  "The perpetrators are trapped within the city walls," the captain continued. His tone promised unspeakable violence. "A full inquisition is now in effect. Every structure will be searched. Every individual will be interrogated. No one is to move from their current location. Anyone attempting to flee, resist or obscure the truth will be executed on the spot."

  The guards immediately began fanning out and were moving from table to table. They were aggressive, precise and completely devoid of mercy. They demanded information, checked spatial rings and verified the alibis of everyone in the room.

  Li Yu slowly walked back to his table and sat down. He kept his hands visible and was making sure his aura remained perfectly locked at the Core Formation level. He had no intention of drawing attention to himself. He was a human in a demonic city; he was already going to be a suspect if he wasn't careful.

  "Just play the part of a wandering traveler," Li Yu muttered to Malos out of the corner of his mouth. "Don't haggle with them. Don't show them your rocks. Answer their questions plainly. We arrived an hour ago, we have been eating noodles and we know nothing."

  Malos sat down opposite Li Yu. The Demon Lord’s hands were folded neatly on the table but he was practically vibrating with excitement.

  "Li Yu, do you realize what this is?" Malos whispered with his voice trembling with sheer joy. "I have read such things in literature! A high profile murder! A closed environment! A cast of nervous suspects! We have stumbled into a murder mystery! I’ve never been a part of one before."

  "We have stumbled into a political nightmare that is going to end with a lot of people getting tortured to death," Li Yu corrected dryly. "We are keeping our heads down."

  "Nonsense!" Malos beamed. "This is the experience I look for! The deduction! The clues! The dramatic reveals! As an ordinary traveler, it is my absolute duty to involve myself in local tragedies."

  "Malos, do not—"

  "You there!" The Ash Guard captain barked while stopping at their table. He looked down at Li Yu. His visor lingered on his human features before turning his gaze to the gray robed scholar. "State your names, your origins and your purpose in Cinderholme. And do not test my patience."

  Li Yu opened his mouth to give a perfectly boring and rehearsed answer. It was going to be the truth, they really just got here. Unfortunately, Malos spoke first.

  "Greetings, Captain!" Malos said brightly while offering a wide and entirely too cheerful smile. "I am Malos, a humble scholar of the esoteric arts and this is my traveling companion, Li Yu. We arrived merely an hour ago but as a man of intellect and keen observation, I offer you our full, undivided assistance in solving this heinous crime!"

  Li Yu closed his eyes and slowly pinched the bridge of his nose. The Ash Guard captain stared at Malos for a long, heavy moment. He gripped the haft of his polearm tighter, his knuckles turning white beneath his gauntlets. "You offer your... assistance?"

  "Indeed!" Malos nodded enthusiastically. "For instance I can already deduce that the murder was committed by someone possessing a profound mastery of shadow arts. Given the residual death Qi lingering in the smoke above the keep which completely bypassed your standard arrays. Fascinating flaw in your city's design by the way."

  The captain's aura flared violently. The entire tavern held its breath. The guards at the other tables turned their weapons toward Li Yu and Malos.

  Li Yu let out a long and exhausted sigh. It seemed keeping a low profile was officially off the table. The city was locked down, a prince was dead and he was stuck in the middle of it with an ancient Sovereign who was treating the entire crisis like a parlor game.