The cradle of demons.

A dark forest with no light passing through the high treetops, twisted and sinister trees. Full of apparent loneliness, with various unevenness in the ground and no roads in sight. Within this forest, an androgynous and slightly shrill voice is heard from time to time in the distance.

"Hey then can you tell me what's your name?" I ask that same voice.

"How many times do I have to tell you to shut up." Another male voice answered.

It could be seen in the distance that a man was transported with a large bat moving from the only hand of him walking aimlessly in the middle of this immense forest.

"You won't answer even something so basic?" Said the bat with some dissatisfaction.

"..." I was silent for a while and thought to myself.

*It's not that I don't want to answer, I'm just not entirely sure. The only name I could take as my own is the one mentioned by that woman in my earlier dream. *

His question made me reflect, while I waited for myself, I inadvertently murmured.

"Luis…"

"So your name is Luis!" He suddenly yelled at the bat, making me jump a little and giving me a little scare. Before he could respond to what he said, he continued to shoot words in rapid succession.

"Did it cost you so much to answer? I'm not going to eat you for telling me your name, in fact, I couldn't, even if I wanted to, I'm half crippled by the wing that hurt me. But don't be confused, even though I'm in this situation I'm not at your grace, I have my pride like a demon" he said stretching the wing that was wounded a little sadly.

Feeling like he was going to pop a vein on my forehead from his nonstop chatter, he cut her off and shook a little, scowling at her.

"Is it so hard for you to keep quiet?"

After the shake and harsh comment, it was like he was turned off, he went limp growing out of my hand, like he was depressed by what I said.

"Tell me more about this place. What exact part are we in?" However, what he answered me was silence.

"Hey, answer what I'm asking you." I told him again with a slightly annoyed voice, but received the same awkward silence.

"Are you going to answer me or do I have to throw you into a bush and go on alone? I'm carrying you because I have questions to ask you, if you don't answer I'll leave you hanging" I said with a truly annoyed voice. I see him give a little start and stiffen, but he remains silent.

On the other hand, when making this comment, I realized. *How much does this thing weigh and how far walked? * I think it is too big for me to carry it all this time with one hand and continue walking normally. Although it looks like a being just a black fur ball with eyes on the outside, it maybe weighs a whole ten kilos.

After an awkward silence on both sides, he decided to relent.

"Haa, it's okay, it's not that I don't want to, I just can't answer everything, it's hard for me, I don't remember many things. The name Luis is one of the only things I think I know about myself." I told him, along with a sigh.

The bat, as if the power button had been hit, began to speak again.

"So that was why, on the other hand, you can't remember things that are very weird. How can you talk if you don't remember anything? Don't you forget how to breathe? What other things do you know? Do you really just do you remember your name?"

He had started talking non-stop again.

"Hey hey hey, I already answered your question, now you answer mine" I said with the calmest face I could muster.

"What had he told me?" I ask back with a slightly calmer voice.

"Where are we? I mean exactly, assuming you're right and we're in hell, I don't remember anything about hell being related to this kind of forest." Make the most of it by clearly asking the most pressing question.

"Is that just what you wanted to know? It's easy, we're in ✟╗₱﷼₩㎍" He said with a confident tone.

"What do you mean? I don't understand what you're telling me." I mentioned this to him because he left me very confused, I didn't understand anything after half of his sentence, they were just roars in my opinion from that point.

"Oh, sorry, I started speaking demon language without realizing it. To put it in words you understand, it's like a cradle, the place where demons are created or born. You can call it a demon cradle if you want. This place is where demons they take their first steps and can become familiar with the workings of hell, since adult demons are forbidden to enter here"

"What the hell with a demonic cradle?! You're telling me that there are demons everywhere, right? And what do you mean by demonic language" I say with a questioning voice, while I continue walking aimlessly. I'm a little concerned that the more questions I ask, the more I need to know.

"Don't worry, normally there are only small demons like me in these parts, but there are exceptions, you can find quite large demons that are dangerous. They are born with an enormous size and even if they are "children", do not let your guard down for it.

On the other hand, the demonic language is the one used by some demons that have the ability to communicate with each other. By the way, until what time will you be carrying me like this?" He asked me with some discomfort in his voice.

"How else could you get along?" I answer him with another question in return, holding him up until he's at eye level.

"Good point, how about it on your shoulder, for example?", she replied, turning her eyes away.

"Actually it's a good idea, carrying you like this can also be tiring for me" I told him as I took it with difficulty, due to my only hand and I start to put it on my shoulder like a kind of parrot, which fits him very good because he does not close his mouth. As I do this I can feel his soft fur, it's ebony black and smooth to the touch, like silk, tempting me to pet him like a cat.

He took it gladly, as if he hadn't really expected him to.

When I put it on my shoulder I feel like it gets heavier. After leaving it there, it begins to move, moving to find the most comfortable position, I try to find a balance point between the comfort of the bat and mine.

As I walk around doing all this, the question comes back, because I feel like I have more strength in my arms and I feel much better than when I woke up and not in a sense of just recovering, I feel like I can give 120% of myself, even my eyesight it has improved helping me to see in this darkness better, also when I woke up, even though I didn't have my hand back, it was no longer bleeding and it was scarred, as if it had healed after medical care. I decide to ask my only source of information.

"Hey, do you have any idea why I feel stronger, have better eyesight, and my arm was scarred when I woke up?"

"Mmh? Isn't that obvious? It was because you ate that demon earlier. Don't you remember how those things work, either?" he asks me in a voice that's decidedly in a better mood, probably because of his new position on my shoulder.

"I have a feeling that what you just mentioned is very important and not common knowledge to humans, can you explain more about it?"

"Sure, here in hell it's always eat or be eaten, you can devour the existence of other creatures and make your energy grow... maybe humans know it better known as mana. The more energy you have, the more things you can do with Thus, strengthening the body and fast healing is only a small use of them."

"Are you telling me that I have mana inside me from killing that dog? I don't feel much different, apart from the little improvements I told you about before."

"Seeing your reaction, I think you've never devoured another being, maybe that's why you don't feel very different, in other words, you lacked mana and being your first contact with it it doesn't have a great effect." He answered me with a slow tone so that he could finish processing everything he told me.

After a brief silence in which he was trying to organize this new information, I ask him a little hopefully.

"Since you're explaining things to me, I can get my hand back right?"

"Pfff, getting your hand back is one of the most basic things you could do hahaha." She said it in an amused tone, like she was watching a kid who doesn't know anything about the world as he squirmed back and forth on my shoulder.

"For now I'm just interested in getting my hand back and finding a way out. Will I have to look for more creatures like the one before, not to increase my mana right?" I tell him with a small smile

* This guy is not so bad, he even I'm starting to like him. * I thought to myself.

"Yeah, but you can't always have the same luck as..." he Suddenly he fell silent in the middle of his sentence. He stared in a certain direction for a moment and then he turned to see my back, where the pieces of meat from the dog were, after a few seconds he tells me with an altered and somewhat urgent voice.

"Shit, speaking of them, quick, drop that thing on your back and run, we need to get out of here fast."

"What are you talking about? If I drop this I'll have nothing to eat" I said with some confusion in my voice.

"Make it quick! A demon is coming our way!" He yelled his voice at me, now with a hint of desperation. My face changes several times when I hear him say that and instinctively I touch the weapon that I have on my waist.