RED… for a guy who holds all the cards, he sure acts nice. You hate to admit it, but he DID give you your powers, and based on your previous experiences with the guy there’s not much keeping him from taking over while you sleep and fileting your friends like trout!

That doesn’t mean he WON’T ever do that, but… but if he can help you with your memories, well…

Steadying yourself with a deep breath, your eyes meet with where you assume RED’s are… and you nod.

Okay, RED, you mutter, you’re in.

For a moment, all is quiet… deathly so. Even the roaring hellfire seems to grow silent as the hat-clad hellion regards you for the longest moment you’ve ever felt…

And then he laughs.

Laughs so hard it manages to echo in your weird slice of dreamworld. Laughs so hard his towering form nearly topples onto you like a redwood!

“YESSSSS!” He shouts as the flames roar back to life with renewed vigor, “THAT is what I like to hear, Anton! Two mad bastards raisin’ Hell! Shaking the very foundations of Heaven itself! A pair-a outlaws on a midnight ride!”

Snatching you into one of his colossal hands, RED makes a sweeping gesture at the lake of fire spreading into infinity around you!

“You won’t regret this, son…. You and me? We’re gonna make a few changes in Zoral!”

Yea, well, you stammer, still a little queasy from being picked up so suddenly, would he mind waiting a little longer? Like until you get back to town? He can have his pick of those Spice Cartel prick-

“Mob goons? Oh no, no, no, Anton…” The devil laughs, the sound rumbling across the hellscape like rolling thunder, “We’re gonna aim a little higher on the bounty board than a few bootleggers…”

You knew it. You KNEW he’d pull something like this! Every drop of enthusiasm leaves your body as you cast a steely gaze on your would-be ‘partner’. WHO, RED?!

Even without a face you can sense the smile in his voice. “FOUR LORDS, Anton… Four immortal sovereigns the common folk get goosebumps just thinking about:
WARLORD KHODRA: El Jefe de Skogs...
TRIER: Ruler of that Umberal joint…
SYSSKA THE DEVOURER: Scourge of the Western Wilds…
And MIKK: The Southern Shadow…

An unnerving creak emanates from RED’s neck as he cocks his head to the side. “We steal their souls, Anton, and we’ll be more than just a pair of handsome devils-turned liberators…” He brings his palm and, by extension you, close to his blank face.

“We’ll be GODS!” Another raspy laugh leaves his unseen lips as he waits for your response.

“How’s THAT for a plan?”

It’s… it’s insane, you snarl! Stupid! Everyone speaks about those guys like they’re immortal! Hell, they might just BE immortal! And even if you WERE insane enough to go after one of them, how do you know he isn’t gonna fast-track you down to Chaa’tai!?

>CONTD.