Evolution: A Warlock’s Rise To Power

"Alright, talk." Lucan said, lowering his scepter.

"I was imprisoned in this tomb. While I did create a portal from the nine hells to the material realm, I wasn't the one who collapsed the ethereal realm in that area. Why would I do that? A portal is much easier to manage compared to destroying space."

"But you did unleash the devils on the material plane?" Silent asked.

"Eh, yeah, but it was in controlled numbers. I even had a contract with one of the rulers of the nine hells. We were both happy with the arrangement, I didn't want to mess it up. But that damn detestable, despicable, half-brother of mine made a deal with a demon king from the abyss and destroyed a section of the ethereal realm and blamed it on me. Being a respected tribe leader, the guardians believed him instead of me, the planeshifter who defected to build his own faction."

"Wait a minute, isn't the abyss where demons come from? Why are they involved?" Silent asked.

"Hmph, that just shows how ignorant you are." The Ghost king said while scorning Silent.

"Whatch your tone when you speak to her." Lucan said while raising his staff again.

"Fine, fine, sorry. Let me explain. The demons and devils have been locked in a war for control of the underworld since the beginning of time. The other realms would have been overrun and conquered by them already if not for this war. The majority of their forces are locked in battle where the yellow river splits the two realms. The nine hells is on one bank of the river while the abyss is on the other. Since they are currently locked in a stalemate, if one side were to divert their attention to a different realm, the other would be able to conquer the underworld."

Lucan lowered his scepter and allowed the ghost to keep talking.

"This doesn't mean they never reach out to the other realms. It means they can only do so in small numbers, and the truly powerful figures of these realms can only give their attention to the underworld. I made a deal with a pit fiend, one of the most powerful types of devils. I would let his lower ranking subordinates into the material plane to try to establish some contracts with the mortals. If they succeeded, they would gain the soul of the mortal to serve them and bolster their numbers but if they failed, the devil would lash out and kill the mortal, and I would gain a ghost."

"Sounds like you really are scum." Silent said.

"Hmm, it is not like I am a mortal from the material plane. I am just pointing leopards towards some deer, and they share the meet with me. I did nothing wrong." The Ghost King said, trying to defend his actions. "The one in the wrong is my half-brother. After coming to an agreement with a demon, he collapse part of the ethereal realm bordering the nine hells. When it fell apart, hundreds of thousands of devils were thrown into the mortal realm. Unable to control their urges, they ravished the mortal realm. Sure, I collected a lot of ghost after the collapse, but if you found a coin on the ground, wouldn't you pick it up. I made the best of a bad situation."

"So it was your brother who really made a mess of things?" Lucan asked.

"Half-brother, and yes. A few lieutenants in the devil army and numerous foot soldiers were thrown into the material realm. The demon forces in the underworld were able to gain a firmer footing. With the devil's army only losing such a small amount of fighting force, the war wasn't won, but the devil's position was temporarily weakened until there soldiers were killed and transported back to the nine hells. The guardians blamed me for the collapse. The pit fiend I made a deal with assumed I betrayed him and severed all of my ties to the nine hells. And everyone blamed me for what happened, my powers were sealed, and I was banished from the ethereal realm."

"Oh, I feel so sorry for you." Silent sarcastically said.

The Ghost King ignored her. "I wandered the material plane for many years, unsure of my next move. I eventually managed to get a bit of evidence that could prove that it was my half-brother's doing. I tried to take it to the guardian to prove my innocence, but the guardian wouldn't listen. In the end, I ran into a few people from the tribe that raised me, they said they were dissatisfied with my half-brother's leadership and promised to go to the guardian with me to try and bring the truth to light. But… they imprisoned me here and destroyed the evidence. Apparently, it was my half-brother that sent them to find me."

The Ghost King sighed as he sat back down on the throne.

[Alternate step 4: Prove the innocence of the Ghost King.]

Lucan took a moment to think about it. He could be done with his race change quest if he killed the Ghost King here and now. Helping to prove his innocence would likely include a lot more work, but usually extra work meant extra reward.

"What do you think?" He asked Silent.

"An endless war between devils and demons sounds fascinating." She said, not really helping with his current dilemma.

"Question." Lucan said, turning back to the Ghost King. "Why can't you just float through the walls or do ghost stuff to escape from here?"

"This prison is surrounded by an ethereal lock. While both inside and outside are in the material plane. They are separated by a portion of the ethereal realm, without my abilities, I can't pass through it."

"I thought ghosts could move into the ethereal realm easier than anyone else." Silent said.

"That is true when the ethereal realm is weak, but this locking ability compresses the ethereal space and makes it incredibly dense. No being, ghost or otherwise can slip through unless they have ethereal powers."

"Makes sense." Silent said.

The Ghost King pointed to the ethereal mana spread across the ceiling. "That mana powers the lock. By the time it is all used up I will be long gone. I have already fallen so far, even as a ghost, I am only a fraction of what I used to be. In a few more years I will dissipate and cease to exist."

"Hmm, I will believe you for now and I will help you if… you can teach me the spell to create portals with ethereal mana."

The Ghost King frowned. "I don't know the spell, when I created portals in the past it was my natural ability."

"Damn." Lucan cursed.

"But if you can help me get back to the ethereal realm, I will let you into my vault in my castle."

"Psh, your vault has probably been raided long ago." Silent said.

"Maybe my castle has, but my vault isn't an ordinary vault, I hid it in a realm of its own through my use of portals. You can only find it if you know its location and I have never shown it to anyone before. There is no way someone could have raided my vault."

Lucan rubbed his temples not sure of what to do. On one hand, completing his race change would free him up to deal with the other matters that were stacking up on his plate. On the other hand, if he proved the Ghost King's innocence there was a good chance that he could gain the power to break through his current situation, or he might end up walking into the Ghost Kings trap. The guy literally made deals with a devil. He wasn't an upstanding person.

Lucan turned to Silent.

"Whatever you chose, I am with you."

He nodded. "Alright, I will help you get to the ethereal realm. In return you will let me access your vault and you won't betray me. Deal?"

"Deal." The Ghost King said without hesitation.

Lucan activated pact magic to seal the deal. He figured that getting to the ethereal realm would be the first step to proving the Ghost King's innocence, after that, he could reevaluate his options and decide what to do next.

Lucan turned to the ethereal mana on the ceiling. He reached out his hand to try and control it like he would control his ethereal essence, but there was no change.

"Any ideas on how to get out?" He asked the Ghost King.

"That's easy. Both of you have ethereal abilities. I just need to posses on of you to leave this place. It will also keep me from dissipating. So, who wants to be possessed?"

"That's not going to happen." Lucan said.

The Ghost King was starting to get angry.

"Are you thinking of backing out of our deal already? How dare you!"

"He, he, you just need a body that is capable of having ethereal mana run through it right? That's not hard, I have the perfect idea."