I remember that day perfectly. How could I forget the day that split my life into before and after? But this time, I saw it all differently. No excitement, no joy, no daydreaming about treats. No — sitting on Dad's shoulders, I was thinking about what had happened.

  I'd nearly killed Ramuil, and then that Sphere of Eternity... Did it grant my wish? When I thought about it — yeah, it did. I was seeing my parents again. My teacher was still alive, somewhere far from here. He hadn't been sent to the twelfth ring yet. I had my old life back. But for how long? Right now it felt more like the universe playing a sick joke. Send me back to the past just so I could be dragged to hell again in seven days? Not funny.

  Still, one thing was very different this time around. My body might be five years old, but the mind inside it belonged to the warrior I'd become in hell. With everything I knew.

  Everything played out exactly the same. There we were, pushing through the crowd. There was the governor, giving the exact same speech. Word for word. Even the people around us were the same ones as last time. And just like before, the prefect's speech went right over my head. The usual garbage about how great and important we are to the Spiral Empire and the Lords, how wonderful the Lords are, how hard we'll work in the future, and a whole load of other bullshit.

  I studied my surroundings carefully. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed the blue sky and the warm sunlight. Hell has a sky too — blood red, with cold light. The first few weeks there, my eyes ached from it constantly. But this sky was so beautiful, so warm and familiar that I spent the first half hour of our walk just staring up at it.

  Then I started looking at the buildings, the people, their clothes. Everything was so different. Demon architecture is crude, sometimes outright ridiculous. A house shaped like a giant skull? I'd seen a dozen of those. Pyramids covered in spikes? Plenty of those too. But here — neat little houses of white brick with clay tile roofs. Narrow cobblestone streets, except for the main roads. Lampposts lit every evening by a spiral artifact manufactured far away, on one of the inner rings.

  They say cities on the inner rings are nothing like ours. I'd heard stories about colossal metal towers reaching into the sky, and ships that float through the air. Most of those stories came from Mirion, but unfortunately I didn't remember much. Too much time had passed since his death. He'd known hundreds — maybe thousands — of tales he used to entertain his army with.

  But the Eternal's arrival yanked me out of my thoughts.

  "Greetings, aspirants who have chosen to walk the Spiral and become apostles of the Spiral Lords. I am Delarael, and I have come to select the worthy and punish those who have earned punishment. Well then... I see worthy ones among you, and they are..."

  Everything repeated. The same names, the same young men and women stepping forward to salute the Eternal, while I waited for what came next. Would history change? Would this steel maiden say my name?

  Some part of me was terrified to find out, wanted to bolt from the square as fast as I could. But I knew it was pointless. The gatekeeper demon would find me regardless. I knew that now.

  "Nathaniel Crane."

  When the Eternal spoke my name this time, I felt a strange sense of relief. A faint smile tugged at my lips. I lifted my gaze to the blue sky.

  "In seven days, you will be sent to hell to suffer for your sins. Say your goodbyes and settle your affairs, so that you may face your punishment with a clear conscience."

  "Go fuck yourself," I whispered, staring right at the Eternal.

  Now I knew the truth. All this "punishment" the Lord of Justice dealt out was nothing more than a way to elevate himself — to break past the barrier of the first step and ascend to the divine.

  "It's fine, Nate, don't worry," Dad muttered, pulling me away from the square. I knew he was saying it to himself more than to me. "It's just someone with the same name. That's all."

  Unfortunately, it wasn't. In seven days, the gatekeeper would come for me. And by then, I'd be ready.

  By the end of the day, my optimism had taken a hit. I'd grown so used to my strength that I'd completely forgotten what it felt like to be a weak five-year-old. And no matter how many techniques I knew — most of them demonic — none of that mattered if my body wasn't ready for them.

  First things first: I needed to work on my focus — the inner vessel for one type of energy. The techniques my teacher had passed down required a spiral focus, but I'd also picked up plenty of demonic techniques along the way, like the bone blades I'd pinned Ramuil with after our fight. And demonic techniques were what I planned to use, because there was no way to form a proper focus in seven days — especially not at my age. Under Mirion's guidance, creating my first focus had taken a little over six months. I'd probably manage faster this time, but definitely not in a week. So the demonic path it was.

  That evening, my parents put me to bed, and then a fight broke out downstairs. I remembered how much it had hurt to hear that the first time around. But now, with an adult mind, I understood them. No matter what I did, this week was going to be hell for them.

  While they argued, I slipped out of bed and got dressed — though the coordination in this young body left a lot to be desired. That would improve with time. I opened the window, climbed out, and took a deep breath of night air.

  God, that felt good.

  I was savoring every moment of being home, but I wasn't about to waste time. Rest could wait until after I dealt with the gatekeeper coming for me in seven days.

  I cut through a few streets, reached the edge of town, then kept going through the fields. If I remembered right, there was an old abandoned warehouse out here belonging to Mr. Urivad — my father's employer. They were planning to tear it down next year and build a new factory wing, but for now it sat there, unused.

  "Should be around here somewhere..." I murmured, circling the tall stone wall. If I wasn't mistaken, there was a small hole dug under it — just big enough for someone my current size to squeeze through. And sure enough, my memory didn't fail me. I found the gap and wriggled inside.

  The warehouse was a rickety two-story wooden building, its interior littered with junk: crates, metal pipes, and other useless garbage. Now I had to figure out how to put all of it to use. In a straight fight against the gatekeeper, I didn't stand a chance. That meant I needed a battle plan. Luckily, I had a rough idea of what that demon could do and how to kill it.

  "Right then. Let's get to work."

  I got started on preparing the battlefield, but didn't get much done that evening. My body was just too weak. All I managed was to clear some of the junk out of the main building, dragging everything I wouldn't need to the edge of the property.

  I really hoped nobody would show up this week and see what I was doing.

  I got back home just before dawn, and barely had time to fall asleep before Mom came to wake me.

  "Nate, breakfast is ready. Get up. And... we probably won't be taking you to Mr. Duryar's today."

  Mr. Duryar was the local teacher. A couple of months before Reckoning Day, my parents had decided it was time for me to start getting an education. The old man taught me and a few other factory workers' kids how to read and write, and had promised to start on basic math soon. And for that, I wanted to thank my parents. As a kid, I'd thought school was a waste of time. But after everything I'd been through, I was grateful I'd at least learned to read. Education on the outer rings isn't a given. Usually, the bigger factories and plants have a teacher for the workers' children, but that's it. Private lessons are a luxury only noble houses can afford.

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  Honestly, I wouldn't have minded going to class today — if I hadn't slept for maybe an hour at best. With a sour look on my face, I dragged myself out of bed, brushed my teeth, and headed downstairs to the shared kitchen. The house we lived in was built for two families — ours and the Vilazars, who occupied two rooms on the first floor. We had the two rooms on the second, and only the dining room was shared.

  "So, word is you're going to hell, shrimp. The demons are gonna tear you apart with their cla-a-aws, raa-a-wr!" Chloe laughed, making her best demon impression. A bad one, I should add. This dark-haired, tan girl was three years older than me and absolutely loved picking on me. She was hoping I'd burst into tears. That's exactly what happened last time, actually. But now I just smiled.

  "Sure. But you'll die first," I shot back with a sinister grin. "Before I go, I'll make sure you pay for every bit of your bullying. Maybe I'll gouge your eyes out."

  Chloe hiccupped, stumbled back, burst into tears, and ran to her room. And then I felt a small sting of guilt. She was just a dumb kid. Why was I stooping to her level? Could've just ignored her.

  "Nate," Mom shook her head disapprovingly, carrying out the porridge. She'd only caught the tail end of the conversation. "Why would you say that?"

  I just shrugged and sat down at the table. Mom kept giving me that look, like she was waiting for an apology, but eventually let it go given the circumstances. Even if she hadn't, I wouldn't have apologized. To Chloe? Please. As a kid I couldn't stand the girl, but after everything I'd lived through, her little jabs were nothing — just childish nonsense. And honestly? I was glad to see even her.

  A light breakfast, and I headed out despite Mom's protests.

  "Nate, don't go far."

  "Of course," I lied.

  I went to the park nearby and sat under a tree where Mom could spot me if she looked. Why? So she wouldn't worry too much for now. Let her think I was playing somewhere close.

  Meditation pose, and I sank inward, reaching out for the spiritual energy around me. I found it almost immediately — the skills hadn't gone anywhere — but the amount was depressing. The inner rings are an ocean of energy, and according to Mirion, it only grows denser ring by ring. The lower rings have plenty too, though the deeper you go, the more it gets displaced by demonic energy.

  With a frustrated sigh at this unpleasant discovery, I folded my hands over my stomach in the Unity symbol. Mirion had taught me it was the best way to create your first focus, because it weaves the streams of spiral energy together. The second focus is better formed through Harmony, which involves merging two energies — spiral and spirit, or elemental. In my case, it would probably be demonic.

  Mirion's first lesson: close your eyes and picture the world around you as vividly as you possibly can. "Imagination is everything when you're shaping yourself. If you can't visualize the energy around you, you won't be able to interact with it."

  I miss you, old man.

  But I didn't need to strain much to begin interacting with the world's energy. More proof that skills tied to the mind rather than the body had carried over just fine. Soon I was surrounded by hundreds of thin, barely perceptible streams of energy — less like water and more like threads drifting through the air. Like an artist had tried to sketch the wind with a pencil.

  I reached out to the threads with my mind, concentrating on the Unity symbol at my stomach. The first thread was drawn toward the symbol, seeped into it, and flowed inside me. I could barely believe how easy it was this time — getting that first grain of energy.

  But I wiped the satisfied smirk off my face and refocused. One after another, the threads streamed toward the symbol, passed through it, and were absorbed by my body. The next step was to merge them into a river, a current, spinning it into a spiral whose center would eventually become the focus.

  Thread after thread was absorbed, and a warm knot of power was already forming in my stomach. Not a focus yet — just its seed — but the progress was remarkable. I still couldn't create it in a week, but it wouldn't take six months either. A month, maybe a little more.

  And then it was over. The energy was gone. I'd consumed every thread around me, and that was another frustrating discovery. How long would it take for the spiral energy here to replenish? An hour? A day? Longer...

  If I were on an inner ring with unlimited energy, I could probably form the focus in a couple of days. Then I might actually come up with something to surprise the gatekeeper demon.

  "Hey!" The shout pulled me out of my meditation. I looked up with a scowl at the approaching group. Chloe — no longer crying, but not exactly cheerful either.

  "Happong, maybe just leave him alone? He's just a dumb little kid," she told him, but the boy had other ideas.

  "Hey, runt. Didn't anyone teach you it's wrong to pick on girls?"

  That was Happong. Nine years old, son of the local butcher. Biggest kid around, which wasn't surprising — his father stood two heads taller than mine and could even boast the second stage of the tenth step of Ascension.

  "Why so quiet?" He frowned, and his two lackeys, the brothers Colin and Avok, took up positions on either side of me. "Huh?"

  I sat there on the ground, saying nothing, studying the group.

  They'd messed with me before, but it was always casual — if I happened to be in the way. This time the aggression was radiating off them. Chloe must have told them I'd scared her, and the trio had come to teach the little brat a lesson. Though judging by her face, the girl was already regretting it a bit.

  Lords... Didn't I have better things to do than deal with children?

  "Didn't anyone teach you to answer your elders?"

  "I was taught to be polite only to those who deserve it," I replied flatly, brushed off my pants, and stood up. "You want to be treated like an elder? Earn it first."

  "Why you—" The kid bared his teeth and clenched his fists but held back. One of his cronies, Avok, apparently decided to show off and took a swing at me. Not hard — more of a slap — and all I had to do was step back. He missed, lost his balance, and face-planted into the grass.

  "Huh?"

  "What?"

  I gave a restrained smile as he struggled to get up.

  "You think just because the demons are coming for you, you don't have to be scared of anyone or respect anyone?" Happong was back on his favorite tune.

  "That's exactly right," I confirmed. "You're not scarier than demons. Just small-time punks who think they're tough. I have zero reason to fear or respect you."

  Another smile — the most obnoxious one I could manage.

  That did it. Happong shoved Avok out of his way, wound up, and swung at me. But I was smaller and far more experienced, and the kid had clearly never fought anyone who knew what they were doing — the swing was way too wide.

  I dodged easily, stepping left, and drove my fist into Happong's gut at the same time. I hit as hard as I could, but the kid barely noticed. He winced, but it didn't slow him down one bit.

  And that was bad news. I was way too weak in this body. Experience was great, but what good was it when my punches didn't have enough force? He was four years older and more than two heads taller.

  A moment's pause, and he came at me again. The second swing missed too. I ducked behind him and kicked his shin, nearly dropping him to one knee.

  "Done?" I asked.

  "Grab him!"

  Colin and Avok didn't need to be told twice. They both lunged at me. I slipped past Colin by diving under his legs and sliding between them, but Avok got me. I didn't even realize how — he snagged my jacket sleeve, and before I could break free, Happong was on me.

  He didn't hold back. He put everything he had into a punch straight to my face. A five-year-old's body couldn't take a hit like that, and I went down hard. The brothers piled on immediately, kicking me. Getting up and running was out of the question, so I curled up tight to minimize the damage.

  "That's enough. He's still little," Happong snorted, grinning now. "Keep hitting him this hard and we might actually kill him."

  "Eat dirt, moron!" Colin cackled, ripped up a chunk of grass and earth, and shoved it right in my face.

  "Ptoo." His brother spat on me.

  "I don't know if the demons are gonna eat you down there, but from now on, we'll teach you manners every single day. By the time they come for you, you'll know exactly how to bow so the demons take it easy on you."

  "Bahahaha!"

  "Ahahaha!"

  They were already turning to leave, and I was remembering how we used to kneel before Ramuil whenever he visited the pens for the Condemned. How they'd drag people out for his amusement and torture them while the demon roared with laughter.

  I clenched my teeth and got up.

  What was I doing lying on the ground? I was used to fighting opponents far stronger than me. Used to knowing that one mistake meant death.

  I picked up a rock lying nearby and went after them. Happong, busy telling Chloe something funny, noticed me at the very last second. Mistake. Never leave a wounded enemy at your back. Especially someone like me.

  The first blow caught him in the knee. I heard the crack and the scream of pure agony. He dropped, and I hit him again with the rock — this time in the head. The other three were so shocked they froze. I was already on top of Happong, straddling him.

  "You were going to teach me manners?" I asked, and hit him again, knocking out a couple of teeth. "Huh? So where's the lesson? Why aren't you talking? Didn't anyone teach you to respect the younger ones?"

  "Stop! You'll kill him!"

  "That's enough!"

  I raised the rock for another blow — and stopped. Happong was sobbing, trying to cover his face with his hands. There was blood on the rock, on my hands, and I think on my face too.

  What the hell was I doing?

  I really might kill him.

  I stood up, looked at the three of them, and after a moment walked away without hurrying.

  "Psycho!"

  "You're insane!"

  "You're gonna pay for this!"

  "We're telling our parents!"

  They yapped at my back, but I didn't care. I tossed the bloody rock aside and left the park, heading for the edge of town.

  I had too much to do.