Taylor visited home again with the family; little Johnny's grandparents were keen on being a part of his life, so it seemed it would start to become a common practice. While he was here, Taylor and his dad had a talk; he suggested for Taylor to take a hike, and see some nature...

Taylor hikes up the forest trail, enjoying the scenery. There was a quiet place above with a beautiful view overlooking the forest hills and the mountain range ahead. Taylor was hoping to do something he's been avoiding for a while; clear his mind. As his cultivation progressed, Taylor had been acting willfully and free with his impulses, and his vices have been making themselves apparent. Taylor wouldn't have cared normally; so what if he was a shitty person? He would still die with a smile on his face… Or so he thought…

But his father informed him of a few things… For demons, life was always an uphill struggle; it was to swim against the tide and push at every step, lest they get swept away to the abyss. A demon’s soul… was very degraded in comparison to a normal person… It was not something a person could act willfully with and build random shit on; if too much crap was piled on, the already degraded soul would continue to crumble. As it stood, the soul still required its foundation to be reinforced before it could take any more in.

For the spiritually rich, it didn’t matter as much; as the saying goes, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. They were so far away from the abyss that they barely felt its pull; but for demons, the gravity they felt was very strong, and if they gave in, it wouldn’t take much for their souls to be obliterated. Unfortunately, demons didn’t have much of a sober consciousness to navigate their way out of this predicament, but for Taylor, the part of him that was human gave him a chance. And I’ve been shitting on the opportunity like an idiot. Taylor thinks with a sigh. He very much wanted to find his younger self and beat his ass to the ground.

Taylor found the clearing at the end of the path and breathed the air in, taking in the scenery. Taylor smiles and sits down, clearing his mind as he lets his mind settle onto the nature around him.

Taylor thought he would have a chance at learning some discipline, even if it was a little late, but his father woke him up from his delusions. It’s too late, Taylor. You’ve already grown to this stage and it would destroy your identity if you wanted to establish control at a foundational level. But there’s still hope… His father had told him.

His father explained that although his demonic identity had grown with his vices, his humanity had also grown. You found love in this life, Taylor. If anything is going to keep the demon at bay, it will be this… His father informed him. As it stands, the two sides of you will continue to fight it out until a foundation is established or until you are destroyed. But the longer you let it play out, the higher the chance of your demonic side growing and taking over. You have to find a way to accelerate the process while your humanity is still able to hold it’s own… This could kill you, but if you don’t succeed, you will already be lost…

Taylor empties his mind, but just as he was about to look inward, a large impact hit him in the face and forced him to roll to the ground and groan. Taylor looks up to see a masked man dressed in dark leather. “For the Dark Lord…” He says as he raises his staff to strike down and finish the job.