Ink did not immediately go to a meeting with the archdemon, at first he wanted to walk a bit and think. It was not so simple. Walking with wings was that task, they pulled the body back and it was necessary either to hump or move the body forward. From the first, the squeezed ribs began to hurt, and from the second, the feet started to hurt. Some compromise was walking on toes with a slight forward bend.

Ink have suddenly thought, that from it should appear to slide along the ground. Give him what kind of cloak is on the floor and from the side it will not be clear where such smoothness in movements is coming from, and the forward displacement of the body seems a little unnatural and partly magical. As a result, even this method of movement did not seem convenient - the calves began to reduce quickly enough, and put the heel on the ground ... It turns out to be pulled back, which recalls a painful technique with pressing the foot in the direction of the shin. Tendon stretching is the lesser problem. Ink now assessed all abilities from the point of view of the arena, realizing how important it was to be able to defend his opinion not only with a word, but also with a rough scuffle.

Lack of maneuverability upset much more than physical inconvenience. How much will you have to stay in this form? Ink did not know. It was logical to use wings as a kind of counterbalance in order to take a position unusual for a person. Animals can make good use of the long tail to control the body during the jump, but the two balancers opened up significantly more possibilities in this regard.

"It takes too long to learn these tricks," Ink did not build any illusions about this. "Will these wings even support my weight in the air?" If forces run out during the flight? "

Ink tried to wave them and make small flights. It turned out naturally and without any tension, as if he always knew how to fly, but at the same time he did not allow these feelings to deceive himself.

Thoughts on how to build a conversation with the archdemon turned out to be fruitless. Memories of the scenes seen in the "dream" did not add calm. Farewell parents, an incredibly realistic winged tiger, aspirations, hiding certain information from friends and vivid feelings, a word carved on the soul itself ... This gave rise to quite definite assumptions, but Ink did not even want to consider such a version.

"I was also sent to the zero world, but was not born in it?" Like Gran , only better hidden? - Ink embarrassedly rubbed his face with his hands, hiding his embarrassed expression. - Is memory loss associated with this? Or not? .. No ... This is nonsense! I definitely can't be an alien from another world. Can't you? "

The questions remained unanswered. Ink decided that he would try to get more memories out of a frozen layer in the space of the mind. When his feet brought him to the altar and a hole in space, the archdemon was not there. The demons roamed, it seemed without purpose, but there was something strange in their movements. They jerked their hands, poked, as if they were trying to do something, but lost their way in the process and tried all over again.

The appearance of archdemon Ink felt. As if something enormous hung overhead, casting a shadow the size of a multi-million city. Blackhorn did not look surprised; he did not show any noticeable emotions at all.

"Do you know where the way out of this small world is?" - Ink decided to start the conversation with the most important and only at that moment he felt that the thread of consciousness of this creature was attached to him. Only in this way could they communicate and understand each other. Vision faltered and thin and flickering threads like lava became visible. They came out of the sparkling distortion of space and covered almost the entire space of this flattened rectangular hill.

- No. I was hoping that you could put my servants on the buffer, - the archdemon did not seem upset.

- Not to the zero world?

- Bad land. Nobody needs it, otherwise it would have been captured long ago. From the buffer, you can start climbing and gain power.

"And ... how many worlds?"

"Have you visited the library?" - the archdemon was surprised.

"I didn't have time," Ink grimaced , "all the time someone is chasing after and building intrigues."

- Draw up schemes against sharmis? - the archdemon first showed emotion. His smile seemed very human and open, sincere. - This is a pretty funny joke. Now I will have something to tell during ... "- the black-footed man turned to the side somewhere and frowned. - Get out! Do not bother me with such trifles.

Ink noted that some sentences, the use of words and phrases are different from his usual ones. They understand each other through the contact of the threads of consciousness, but this translator is not perfect.

"You didn't answer," Ink reminded of his question.

"Nine," the blackhorn began to look calm again. His thoughts were completely impossible to understand by facial expression. - If you count the zero world, then ten. With a buffer of eleven, and if you take into account all the small worlds ... who knows. I understand your interest and train of thought, little charmis. My life span is almost unlimited, but for so many years I involuntarily get tired of all these ceremonies and ritual words. The buffer is not considered a separate world. It was created by a certain artifact, although I don't know the details.

"What else ..."

"Don't interrupt," the black-footed one said in a steady voice, but Ink shuddered, remembering the blow he had suffered not so long ago from seemingly extremely simple words. He closed his mouth and did not dare to finish the question. "All worlds are like a pyramid." Do not think of it as the size of the world, evaluate the number of creatures that have successfully managed to overcome the next stage of verification.

"Ah ..." Ink wanted to ask a question, but his voice faltered. He coughed, and yet he spoke. - In what world are you now?

"Seventh," the archdemon smiled, as if he found amusing the momentary indecision of the interlocutor. So they smile at timid children, laugh at their attempts to imitate adults or hide something from them. - He is called the world station. Reaching even here is extremely difficult. Why nobody was exposed to the paths from the barren desert you were born into. Many secrets are available to me. Once a chain of worlds was a dragon treasure. This is also a kind of set of small worlds, incomparably better quality than the one where you are standing now. The dragon created them to temper their descendants, to give them strength, but in the end was killed by a powerful man. He stole a dragon necklace, perverted it, connected it with a buffer and zero world, and then left.

At Ink and dizzy. Questions appeared, but seemed stupid. His whole picture of the world has been changed. He wanted to know how this was even possible; what technologies were used; where did this man and the dragon come from - questions multiplied, but it was impossible to choose the most important one.

"I want to know more."

"You will find out," the archdemon looked at Ink with emotion. This aroused rejection, but also increased fear of this creature.

- Tell us about these worlds. What is the difference? If they are needed for development, then how does this all happen, what is the best in them? How to get the greatest power? - Ink stopped when he noticed a change in the expression of the archdemon. He flashed, as if he had noticed something important and was very happy about it.

"The first world is the Abode of imaginary dragons," the blackhorn began to speak, which is why Ink had to put aside his suspicions and focus on new information. - This is a huge space with many planets. Each of them is a kind of jewel. If you want a unique and incomprehensible power - capture one of them. You will understand what to do when this happens. Second World - Garden of Evil. Contrary to the name, this is a very good place without any terrible creatures. It is compared with the abode of the gods. There are no diseases, no wars. This is an extremely beautiful area, but rather small. There is only one planet. It is believed that this place was created for the rest of applicants for the conquest of the dragon necklace.

The third is the World of demons. I was born there and never saw the first two pearls or your house. It took hundreds of years before I could become a strong enough demon to get into the fourth world - Animal Blood. They say that he looks like a second pearl, but very far from the peaceful zone. To get there means an almost guaranteed death for the demon. People living there become stronger, instilling in themselves the pedigree of the beast. Whether you are a slave or an aristocrat depends only on your strength.

Fifth - the world of Metal Life. There is no air, no familiar land and ocean, and plants and animals are so strange that even in the world of demons it is impossible to see such a thing. All clans of the zero world seek to have metallization at their disposal so that they have a chance to survive in this pearl. I got there just becoming an archdemon, but even so - I almost died in the first seconds. Nobody attacked me, just this space itself seeks to destroy any form of life. This world quickly teaches you never to overestimate your strength.

There is a gate between every world. From the buffer you can go to the first world and undergo baptism by the fire of origin. Spirits of the zero world receive bodies for themselves, and those who change their flesh smooth out all the differences. You can sew on the hands of the beast and after baptism, the body will stop tearing them away. Perhaps the children of this creature will also be able to get such limbs. This is the greatest jewel that everyone craves, but it is impossible to get into a world of a lower rank. I do not know about the transitions to the second and third world, but in my homeland there is only one place through which you can go to the next pearl area. This is a huge altar that requires rivers of blood as a sacrifice, but there is never a shortage. A very limited number of creatures can enter the world of animal blood. Each time it is different, but in any case, there are never many places. Even if the altar prepares a passage for hundreds of thousands of creatures, battles still cannot be avoided. For the right to leave hell, fierce battles always unfold.

- What is he like? - Ink became interested . - The world of demons?

"It's useless to describe him." The landscape is unstable, and creatures devour each other and turn into impossible creatures for other pearls. No matter what I say, when you get there, you are unlikely to know this place. Invariably, only one thing - the strong devours the weak. Do not even try to get into the third world unless you conquer your planet in the first. Without this, going there means becoming fodder. "The black-footed man looked at Ink very carefully , as if trying to convey to him the full significance of his words. - From the fourth world there are many exits to the fifth world. They are not even guarded. If you are strong enough to survive in the pearl of metal life, no one in the fourth world will be able to stop you, if not ... why save your life? You can leave the fifth world in the sixth or seventh. I acted reasonably and went straight to the Crossroads, because the sixth world is unknown. No one knows what is there. If it were not for the rare cases of people leaving the gates of that pearl, then he would simply become a synonym for death. Not a single survivor spoke about the experiences in the sixth world, no one could get any information from them. Moreover, they were all very weak. I barely survived in the fifth world and quickly crossed its space to enter another pearl, but in the seventh world I can be called one of the most powerful creatures. If I went to the sixth world ... I'm afraid I could not leave it.

The eighth and ninth worlds are somewhat special. You should not think about it for now. The seventh world allows you to leave the dragon necklace and go beyond the stars. Only here you can get an understanding of the real face of the great world. The final pearls are not cruel, but strange ... There is nothing particularly valuable that could not be found outside the stars. Much of the story of a stolen dragon necklace remains obscure. Some believe that a powerful man simply abandoned him at the zero world without any specific purpose. This is most likely true.

"You never said how you can get power in the third world," Ink did not miss this detail. The archdemon did not know anything about the first worlds and the fifth one slipped through, but he had to know almost everything about his native.

"This information is in the book that I sent to these little shoots," the black-eyed one pointed at the demons roaming around. - Send the thread of consciousness inward, and you will receive the knowledge contained in it. Unfortunately, you will not benefit from this knowledge.

- Why? Ink frowned .

"There are many sharmis in the third world, but not one of them could walk on the bloody altar himself." You cannot use these kinds of methods because you are not one of us. Sharmis are not demons, as many of the other pearls believe, sharmis are the descendants of a defeated dragon.