"Then why summon me?"

There it was – the matter at hand.

"Because the seven outposts are failing," Gorath said bluntly, all pretense of philosophical musing dropping away.

"Krazax was our linchpin, but the other six are bleeding out. Dra'kul loses ten soldiers a day to attrition. Vor'esh changes hands so often we've stopped bothering to send reinforcements. Mor'ghul's commander is a fanatic who'll get everyone killed for glory. The others aren't much better."

He pulled out a report, threw it on the table.

"We're losing the Ashard Perimeter. Not today. Not tomorrow. But within six months, the Radiant Empire will break through our lines and flood into the heartlands. Everything Lilith fought to preserve will burn."

"Unless?"

"Unless someone turns the tide. Someone the garrisons will believe in. Someone the Radiant Empire does not care enough to send their strongest for. Someone who can do for six more outposts what you did for Krazax." Gorath's burning eyes held something that might have been hope or might have been desperation.

"Someone who can make demons remember what it feels like to win."

He straightened, and suddenly he was every inch the Arch-Demon—powerful, commanding, absolute.

"I'm giving you command of the Ashard Perimeter defensive operations. You'll have authority over all seven outposts, their commanders, their resources. You'll report directly to me." His voice dropped to something almost kind. "And if you fail, I'll kill you myself. Not because I want to - but because a failed god is more dangerous than no god at all."

[New Directive: Ashard Campaign]

[Objective: Secure all seven outposts]

[Reward: Regional Authority, Demon God Domain]

[Failure Condition: Loss of majority outposts = Execution Probability 94%]

Liam looked at the map, at the seven red markers representing seven desperate last stands.

Six more performances.

Six more chances to be the monster they needed.

"I'll need resources," he said. "Mobile forces. Supply trains. Authority to execute orders without political interference."

"Done."

"And when I succeed - if I succeed - I want something in return."

Gorath raised an eyebrow ridge. "Bold. What?"

Liam met those burning eyes with his own cold grey.

"The truth. About Lilith and this war. No matter how bad she wants me to believe it, I know she's far too smart to so foolishly start a losing war without reason." He paused. "And I'm quite certain you know more than most, more than anyone has a right to.'"

[ Hidden Identity - The Demon Watcher ]

[ Warning: Target's Knowledge can not be measured. ]

For the first time since they'd met, Gorath looked genuinely impressed.

"If you succeed," he said slowly, "I'll tell you everything. The things Lilith won't say. The things the Nine Houses whisper in shadows. The things that would make a weaker man run screaming back to whatever world you came from."

He extended a massive clawed hand.

"Do we have an accord?"

Liam looked at that hand—scaled, ancient, belonging to a demon lord who'd survived three centuries of war and politics and desperate gambles.

He clasped it.

"We have an accord."

The Arch-Demon's grip was like iron, but there was something almost... satisfied in his expression.

"Welcome to the real war, Demon God," Gorath said. "The one where the enemy isn't the Radiant Empire—it's entropy itself. Everything breaks down eventually. The only question is whether you break down before or after the things you're trying to save."

He released Liam's hand.

"Now get out of my fortress. You have six outposts to visit and limited time before the Empire regroups." His burning eyes glinted. "Try not to execute too many more prisoners. It's tactically sound but politically messy, and you're going to need political capital for what's coming."

"What's coming?"

Gorath's smile was the most frightening thing Liam had seen in this world.

"The Nine Houses and other Arch-Demons are watching you now. Queen Lilith's gambit succeeded, but success has consequences. You're not her secret weapon anymore—you're a public figure. A symbol. A stake in the ground that every major power will want to test, control, or eliminate."

He turned back to his maps, dismissing Liam with the gesture.

"So win your seven battles, Demon God. Secure the perimeter. Prove you're not a one-battle wonder." He didn't look up. "Because after Ashard, the real performance begins."

Liam walked toward the exit, his mind already racing through tactical calculations and strategic necessities.

He was almost out the door when Gorath spoke one last time.

"Liam Cross."

He froze. Turned.

The Arch-Demon was looking at him now, and there was something in those ancient eyes that might have been pity.

"That's who you were, isn't it? Before all this. Before Lilith. Before the demon god." Gorath's voice was surprisingly gentle. "I did my research. Asked questions to things I shouldn't have."

He pulled out a piece of paper—yellowed, cracked, from another world entirely.

"Failed actor. Depressed. Addicted to pills and alcohol. No family. No prospects. Killed by a desperate man and pulled into our world through a summoning ritual meant for lost souls."

Liam's blood ran cold.

"How—"

"I told you," Gorath said softly. "I curate. I collect. I understand." He set the paper down. "And I understand you better than you think."

He looked back at his maps.

"That Liam Cross was dying long before that day. You know it. I know it. The question you should be asking isn't 'what did I lose'—it's 'what did I gain that's worth keeping?'"

Silence: Heavy and almost unbearable.

"Go," Gorath said finally. "Your commanders are waiting. And the seven outposts won't save themselves."

Liam left without another word.

But as he walked through the fortress, past the beauty and the books and the artifacts of three centuries, he couldn't stop thinking about that piece of paper.

About a man named Liam Cross who'd died in a bar.

And about the monster who'd taken his place.

[Humanity Index: 31%]

[Warning: Identity crisis detected]

[Recommendation: Focus on immediate objectives to avoid psychological collapse]

Outside, Koth and the others were waiting.

"My lord?" the Commander asked, reading something in Liam's expression.

Liam straightened. Pushed it down. Buried it with all the other things he couldn't afford to feel.

"We have work to do," he said, his voice steady. "Six outposts. Six chances."

He looked at his small army, at the demons who believed in him.

"Let's go save Ashard."

And somewhere behind them, in a fortress carved from living stone, an Arch-Demon returned to his maps and smiled.

The game, finally, was getting interesting.

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