"So you fled all the way here from that trading district?"
According to the Lesser Imp Sibya, he had once lived in the northernmost part of the mountain range where Er Dongsheng now resided. Near the forest's edge stood a vast trading ground, established by several powerful Demons and large clans to trade Abyssal Species from the immense forest.
After offending several powerful members of his own kind, the Lesser Imp had been driven from his cave and hunted all the way into Er Dongsheng's territory!
"A marketplace? Interesting. The Abyss even has something like that!"
Er Dongsheng had been in the Abyss for three or four years, yet he knew almost nothing of the outside world. On the few occasions he had encountered other Abyss Demons, they had fought or tried to kill each other. He had never had a chance to learn anything!
Poor Er Dongsheng still had no idea what lay beyond his territory. The Little Succubus was just as clueless, neither caring nor wanting to find out. The two siblings seemed to have spent all this time living in a world cut off from everyone else!
"Then tell me everything you know about the trading ground. The more complete your account, the better. If you tell it well, I might even spare you!" Of course, that assumes I admit you told it well, Er Dongsheng added inwardly.
Believing an Abyss Demon was less sensible than believing an Abyss Tutu Beast could climb a tree!
From what the Lesser Imp told him, Er Dongsheng gained a rough understanding of the Abyss Trading District.
Several powerful Demons and large Abyssal clans kept order there, so Demons could trade in relative safety without worrying about theft or robbery. As for what happened once they left the district, only the Abyssal Will knew!
All manner of things could be traded in the district.
Living creatures, dead animals, ore, plants, food, water—if a Demon wanted it, another Demon would trade it!
Most transactions were barter, though certain valuable goods served as hard currency. Metal was one of them! The most sought-after goods, of course, were food, water, and hides. Clans that lived in groups loved those things!
Er Dongsheng carefully considered everything Sibya had told him. Demons had originally organized the trading ground themselves to exchange goods and information. It had gradually expanded, and its dealings had grown increasingly varied and complex. To Er Dongsheng, it looked like the beginnings of a city.
Even if this so-called city was rather shabby!
"Oh, right, there's more!" The Lesser Imp's eyes suddenly lit up, and he spoke with an air of mystery.
"I've heard that good things sometimes turn up in the trading district—mysterious Demon weapons, for instance, or skill books that great Demons use to train!"
"Skill books?"
"Yes, yes! Some Demons write down the skills they've mastered and sell them! Of course, I've heard most are fakes! But now and then, a Demon supposedly discovers an Ancient Demon's lair and suddenly grows much stronger! They must have trained using one of those mysterious skill books!"
"I see." Er Dongsheng nodded thoughtfully. "Anything else?"
"There's also..."
When the conversation ended, Er Dongsheng felt he had learned a great deal. The ancients had been right: you could not build a cart behind closed doors, whatever you were doing. That was especially true of training!
Sibya knew little that was actually useful, and much of what he said was hearsay. Even so, it had opened Er Dongsheng's eyes. He had been a country bumpkin of the Abyss!
"Now, then, I'll give you a chance. Offer me your True Name, and from this day on, I'll protect you!" Er Dongsheng had decided to take the Lesser Imp as a servant, but first Sibya had to surrender his True Name!
"Wh-what?" The Lesser Imp froze in astonishment!
"What, you don't want to?" Er Dongsheng decided that if Sibya failed to take the hint, he would kill him and be done with it!
"No, no, no! Of course I do! It would be my honor!" As though afraid Er Dongsheng might change his mind, Sibya rattled off his True Name under Er Dongsheng's startled gaze!
Er Dongsheng was baffled. Why had Sibya's attitude changed so quickly?
As Er Dongsheng understood it, an Abyssal Creature's True Name was vitally important and could never be revealed. Once someone else knew it, that person held absolute power over their life and death. How could proud, brutal, savage Demons ever accept that?
Take Er Dongsheng and Lulu. Despite how close they were, each knew only the name the other went by. Er Dongsheng went by Baal, while the Little Succubus went by Lulu. Neither knew the other's True Name!
No one even knew Er Dongsheng's name from his previous life. The Abyss System had sealed his True Name completely; he could not tell anyone, not even a single Abyssal character from it!
That alone showed how important True Names were in the Abyss!
So why had this Lesser Imp given his up so readily?...
In truth, Er Dongsheng simply did not understand what life in the Abyss was really like!
A True Name might be important, but even cruel and cunning Demons valued their lives more! What use was keeping a True Name secret if you were dead?
The Lesser Imp was a useless Abyssal Species. He had no strength, no abilities, and little physical power. What could he do besides eat? Simply staying alive was a struggle, and every day he feared for his survival! Now he could live securely as the servant of a powerful Demon. Who would turn that down?
He had wanted a Demon's protection before, but no Demon in the Abyss had any interest in such a useless servant. That was why he had spent years wandering alone!
If a powerful Abyss Demon like Er Dongsheng put his mind to it, crowds of Abyssal Species would flock to him! To secure better protection, more than a few would surely offer him their True Names!
True Names, then, were not quite so precious after all. Many weak Abyssal Species chose a Demon, offered up their True Names, and asked for protection!
Even when clans of Abyssal Fairies or Succubi sought the protection of a powerful Demon, they would choose several members to sign contracts with that Demon and offer their True Names, strengthening the bond between them!
Creatures from the Sunlight Plane might find that unthinkable. But in the Abyss, where danger pressed in at every moment, weaker clans had little choice!
Otherwise, they would be wiped out! Death was the most commonplace word in the Abyss, yet also the heaviest!
"Give me liberty or give me death"—what a joke!
When the struggle to live grew overwhelming, bowing our heads and clinging to life was the only choice we had!
"Even I am nothing but a tiny ant beneath the Abyssal Will! Freedom—what an extravagant thing!" Er Dongsheng watched the True Name slowly take shape before him. Under the Abyssal Will's gaze, he snatched it up, opened his mouth, and swallowed it!
"I will break free of you. Freedom or death—I mean it!"
At that moment, he finally settled the question that had haunted him for days!
Death was not frightening. What was frightening was living in submission until the day you died!
Before you continue