@[Cutlerfan](/user/show/14171) This means a lot to me! Thank you.

@Anonymous Thanks! I’d love to revisit this one at some point.

@[Phil427636](/user/show/915077) Thanks!

@LthrFog Thank you! I have a few more ideas in mind, we'll see how they turn out!

@[SmokingVampire](/user/show/10001507) Very much appreciated! I've already read a couple vampire stories on this site that I thought were excellent, but it's still not enough in my opinion, hah. As for your criticism, I'll agree that I enjoy a nice, descriptive transformation scene, and I even considered expanding on the final scene with our protagonist turned, but I felt that they didn't mesh too well with the rest of the story. I'll definitely keep it in mind for future projects though, so thanks, and happy to see another vamp fan around these parts!

@[MonsterfuckerAnonymous](/user/show/10055289) This is very well written. Scary and sexy! You are talented and should continue to contribute! Great addition to the site!

@[Mrdick](/user/show/1001656) Thank you! I have a handful of other short stories I haven't published, might polish them up so I can post them here!

@[Musclefan1234](/user/show/10055126) You are not wrong about the Jungian shadows

@[darkblade2814](/user/show/243317) @[Musclefan1234](/user/show/10055126) The demons do seem to have had their Id overcome their ego. In such a case, their jungian shadow has overtaken them, and corrupted to some extent their higher faculties. Assimilation is usually considered commendable, but merging into it without control as the demons had is dangerous. Similar concepts of the lower self (muslim theology has the concept of the nafs) abound in religious texts regarding as being the source of desire and also potentially less virtuous deeds, though often channeling, restraining and guiding it are seen as better options than repression all the time. The east I fear tried to suppress their jungian shadows and not find a way to healthily accept them leading to well...everything that has happened. Sybarite was likely a human a long time ago, and was likely born at the latest during the first demon invasion. This chapter honestly reminds me of the Albion arc in berserk in how most people fled to a holy city to seek safety- only to meet their doom. Granted, the dooms those in Albion meet are in many cases horrific possessions and deaths, but in a way, demonization is just as scary- featuring twisting and even death of identity. The infernal demons likely have been completely overtaken by their shadows and lists to the point that nothing except pleasure matters...and more sinisterly- only their pleasure matters. I suspect the truly horrifying and depraved demons lurking in the upper ranks of the demons are of this group. Eddie and Collin right now have seen their shadows overtake them, so as cute as they may seem in a sense- and even erotic- there is real horror lying beneath the surface. Forlorn and callous maybe be happy- but if Eddie or Collin had seen any of this they would have been devastated. Considering how all the supernatural beings in this series seem to love playing the long game, sybarite being a cog in the plan to retake the east spanning centuries makes total sense.

@Anon Oh right, the South is part of the mainline of my story, so expect to see more of the lore of Abyssal Gaze there. I have ask the permission of it from Pcm.

@[JSN](/user/show/10029968) Huh...having alfred wander through the desert amidst trying to cope with losing a loved one sounds like a journey into the wilderness like many a mystic has done. I wonder what Alfred will find there...and what is there. Something tells me people do live there- just not on the coast. If it's mostly desert like, I'd imagine nomadic areas and oasis make the bulk of habitable areas.

@Anon It's Albert though, but yeah, maybe the location of the South will be determined later.

@[JSN](/user/show/10029968) Whoops, I think autocorrect got me or i straight up mixed names. Sorry about that. Either way, the trope of a person (in this case albert) trying to make sense of themselves and what had happened to them (in this case a loved ones death) in the wilderness- which the south seems to be, regardless of its climate- with few people- is very much in the line of the old stories of wandering mystics seeking enlightenment- be it sages, yogis, monks, prophets, the desert fathers of North africa some of whose dwellings are still used in the valley of salt, or sufi mystics. But I might be reading too much into it. Albert I'd imagine would be facing tough questions about how he's even supossed to proceed with his life- not to mention how such immediettly would put doubt upon the promises of demonhood- to say the least of mental trauma and distress. Him reaching a kind of enlightenment in the wilderness after being in the wilds would be interesting to see. If he starts out in despair, he needs to get out of it somehow. Either that or he meets people who contribute to this. And then there's of course the possibility of the abyssal gaze laying their gaze upon him....who knows what will occur in that land? Location wise, I'd imagine geopolitically the south may serve as a sort of extension of the abysall game's thassalocracy (sea empire), and with the demons growing more ravenous...it might reason that if it doesn't pursue security measures....they might hit the south and go for the water. Thus Albert might well run into some....less than desired aquatic encounters. I'm just imagining here though. Alternatively, the south might be empty due to abyssal gaze activities- the humans that lived there might have gotten the horror of insmouth treatment and got turned into sea creatures and left land- and now nobody wants to go there. Alternatively, fleeing refugees from the east may settle there though away from the eastern border as I mentioned prior. Though how they'd eke a living out would likely be a challenge...the climate of the region would also affect its geopolitics, and said climate would be affected by geographical location. Either way, I'm intrigued to see how it goes. Albert in such a story would be like the visitor who goes to insmouth in lovecrafts tale. I hope it doesn't end as grimly as that does for Albert.

@Anon Yup, there's an element of H.P. Lovecraft's Shadow of Innsmouth for Abyssal Gaze, and how it's inspired by the story. Albert may start out as a typical demon in East, before grown to be something far more. I still awaiting the next chapter of the series, before I can properly write my story out.

@[JSN](/user/show/10029968) Please, take your time. With the ideas you've disclosed, this story seems set to be interesting. The idea that Albert could become something else beyond even the demons is fascinating as it is terrifying. If he is currently grieving for his loved ones as William did all those chapters ago...will somebody snare him? Or will he perhaps be able to maneuver his way through an increasingly lovecraftian series of threats.... and political aftershocks brought on by the east falling and refugees fleeing any way they can- including the south- not to mention his own internal struggles? I'm assuming for Albert he's about to get far more familiar with the ocean than he ever thought he would. At the same time, you've mentioned this will have a happy ending. I do hope so. Even if the main cast has been broken beyond repair- perhaps Albert can find peace. At the very least it'll probably keep him far away from Collin- though Collin wanting to make Albert part of his guard means there might be some demonic political shenanigans going on in the background of this story. Let's hope Albert dodges that too. I wonder what he'll become...more aquatic in nature- fair but still terrible- like the descriptions of biblical angels or the demons of slaanesh? There's so many possibilites... And if this is something related to insmouth...we're looking at deep ones, figures like cthulu and all kinds of horrors. Albert is about to have adventure all his own. Heres to hoping his doesn't end like Eddie's or Collins- and that the abysall gaze doesn't get him, and that just maybe- he manages to undo some of the machinations the demons have laid on him in converting him. He'll likely always be a demon, but there's a great possibility for change in the outline you've shown. I'm also curious as to who the other character you wish to write about is? Are they an Eastern survivor, perhaps a western figure, or of the north? And I do wonder what they're angle will be.

@[JSN](/user/show/10029968) The story is kind of the opposite of Pcm's dark erotica style, though there's still some dark elements in there, it's a theme of healing and acceptance.

@[JSN](/user/show/10029968) And for the next character, he is an apprentice of NK. NK in this story have another side not known to the rest, and it's related to his apprentice.

@[JSN](/user/show/10029968) Oh then in that case I really will love it! Tragedies will always be a inpactful genre- but the demons being as they are forever I think belies that things will always change as no thing is eternal- weather the demons are thrown from power as they were ages ago by the dawn, or they wind up changing from the inside out- nothing lasts forever. For Albert to find healing, come to terms with his grief and just possibly learning to accept himself as he is now without negating who he was before would be a delight to read. I've always found that despite this being a tale of doom for the east- hope can come in strange places. I'd look at tolkeins work for this- the first age of his work the silmarillion was haunted and dogged by dooms, madness, and horrible tragedies- and while these were horrors upon horrors- eventually hope came forth. And despite those horrors, there was beauty in that age beyond anything before or after it. Albert in that context reminds me of maglor- who is often seen in Fandom to have spent centuries near the shore repenting for his deeds- and in some fan tellings, eventually finding healing. To see Albert taking the steps to healing in a place far from the disguised horror the east has become (pleasure and even real happiness on the surface, but horror underneath as to how it came about), would be a fascinating inversion. I'm more than intrigued to see how you go about it. Even in this series, it's likely hope will rise from the north and west. Maybe not now, but eventually. No sole nation can reign on top forever- every nation is checked by another in one way or another, cycling in power in the great game of geopolitics. I would argue that even in the main story people like Albert are likely more common- demons who lost loved ones to the invasion and are now stuck in limbo between pleasure and despair- than the demons want to think. And well...if demonhood starts failing on what it promises- then the east will have troubles brewing. Maybe not now, but eventually. Some of them might divert themselves with pleasure...but I suspect that will never sate them for long to distract them from their loss. Either way, I'm excited to see Albert's travels in the south- as he sees the wonders and horrors of the sea.

@Anon You will have to expect a lot of nightmare fuels and tearjerker's moments, though. Only through pain would you grow, as someone says.

@[JSN](/user/show/10029968) Oh I do expect that. With how all encompassing the mental rewiring demonhood causes, Albert will likely first have to break past what would be considered proper demon behavior (near mindless hedonism or good pleasures warped by the latter) and his cognitive dissonance of knowing his loved ones are gone and his need for pleasure amidst his grief. That will likely require painful and terrifying epiphanies and events to go forth- to say the least of who Albert may meet. With how demonhood has warped the easterners, and how logical persuasion is very much a dead end due to the morals dissonance between them and humans- its likely only very charged emotional moments would really make them reconsider things, and then using logic would work afterwards. Sometimes, some lessons are learnt in grief. And sometimes, grief is a means of empowerment all its own, should one not lose themselves in it. Here do I see nienna of tolkeins works- a near literal lady of sorrows- whose grief and pity for the world also lead them to compassion and patience.

@[JSN](/user/show/10029968) This will be my last comment as I don't want the thread to go too long, but if the necromancer king- the dusk had another facet- what do they symbolize? A quality of mercy...of curosity and intelligence...of might...or of wrath? And what will they seek out? I'd imagine they'd be against the demons, if this is yet another apprentice but luckily on e the demons (or wolves) didn't get.