Demon Lord V - God Realm Read Free Page A

out and collected.
    As they
walked, Bane considered his situation, disliking it. He wondered
where Kayos was, and what he was doing.
     
    The Grey God
studied the spot where Bane had vanished. The Demon Lord's faint
trail led into the ground at that point, which had solidified again
after it had swallowed him. Kayos had avoided the same fate by a
hair's breadth, and wished that he had not. Finding Bane in the God
Realm was not going to be easy. The trap was one of many that dark
gods had set in their wanderings. It had not been there the last
time that he had come this way, for his old trail passed right over
it. He considered triggering it again in an attempt to follow Bane,
but traps were unpredictable in the God Realm, and it was more
likely that he would be flung into a different place. The rune that
marked the trap had been skilfully concealed with a glamour, which
hid it even from a god's sight.
    The only clue
he had as to Bane's whereabouts was the direction in which he had
gone, significant in this many-layered realm. Following the trail
downwards did not guarantee that he would find Bane, but there was
no other option. With a gesture, he summoned an Eye and sought
Bane's image within it. The Eye remained dark for several minutes,
then filled with swirling sparkles. He touched its frame to
increase its power. It cleared, and he studied the image that
formed. Someone had tried to block him, but lacked the power to
prevent him from penetrating their shield.
    Bane would not
block him, and if he did, Kayos would not have been able to break
through. He scrutinised the group that walked within the Eye,
wondering which of them had tried to block him. Bane glanced up,
sensing the Eye, as did a scruffy young girl carrying a torch on
the edge of the group. Kayos watched her, but she gave no
indication that she had sensed him, and her glance might have been
following Bane's. Dismissing her as insignificant, he turned his
attention to the Demon Lord. Bane appeared unharmed, but his hands
were bound in front of him with slender bands of pale bluish-silver
metal. Kayos adjusted the Eye's focus to examine the cuffs more
closely, dismay chilling him. Faint, glowing words were inscribed
in the metal, invisible to anyone but a light god, although Bane
might be able to discern part of them, if he looked closely enough.
Even so, he would not be able to read them.
    Kayos frowned.
A light god had forged the shackles Bane wore, and they were made
from adamante, a metal found only in light realms. Such artefacts
were only made when a light god battled a dark one, which was rare,
and usually only happened when the light god was unable to flee his
domain. They were a last ditch effort to save himself from capture
or destruction during the final confrontation with his foe. If he
could snap the shackles about the wrists of the dark god, he would
win. Kayos had never heard of the tactic working, since once he was
that close to his foe, a light god was doomed. Many were too proud
to accept defeat and retreat into the safety of their shields, and
foolishly tried to overcome their foe with such an artefact. Such
light gods were young, and their names were soon added to the
roster of the dead. Three of his sons had perished in such a
manner, despite his warnings.
    Had a light
god ever succeeded in placing such an artefact upon his foe,
however, the outcome would have been certain. The dark god would
lose his ability to wield his power, and become virtually helpless.
One who was born a god, such as Bane, would retain his inborn
powers, but most dark gods were self-made. As long as Bane wore the
cuffs, he would be unable to use the dark power, not even to cast
it out. If he could do that the cuffs would fall off of their own
accord, but the words written upon them spelt his doom.
    No darkness
shall pass.
    Kayos waved
the Eye out of existence and looked down at the trail at his feet.
Finding Bane was more urgent now. He was in a dark place, where
there