"Hmmm... I suppose I shouldn't be surprised how chaotic her memories are." Korex said as he continued 'walking' through Akagi's mind. His current visual experience was merely an illusion, one that made it easier to understand his travels through the Demon's 'mindscape', and it was about what he'd expected. Walls of distorted memories flowed like rivers of mud, the sky seemed to crackle and fracture like glass before reforming and nothing seemed to work quite right. He figured Akagi's mind was already heavily damaged and Korex was more than happy to take advantage of this opportunity.

"Despite that outward facade of hers, her mind feels... fragile... A sure sign that the Demon Lord's true nature as a mindless beast is tucked just under the surface." He said as he watched lightning crackle above him as memories began an ended, shattering into a shower of particles only to then reform.

{Now, all I need to do is find what is restraining that side of her and tear it apart. Then, she'll be nothing more than a mindless beast. The people of Enoris will suffer under her rampage, but her threat level will drop considerably if she no longer puts thought into her actions. A Demon Lord might be powerful but when it does nothing but act on instinct its little more than a feral beast, and thus predictable and far easier to deal with.} (Korex)

"It will be here somewhere, likely tucked away in a place her mind is desperately trying to keep hidden from me." Korex said as he continued walking as he examined the strange sites around him.

A search through one's mindscape, especially one as fractured, chaotic, and broken as Akagi's was bound to take a great deal of time as he need to investigate ever possible corner of the Demon Lord's psyche.

As the God continued to push deeper into Akagi's mind, he came across a rapidly shifting landscape that swapped between a chaotic mixture of Earth and FWO. Tall buildings rose and fell around him, while meadows turned into decayed forests that withered and stunk of death. It was a place that seemed devoid of rhyme or reason until eventually, Korex found a point at which the somewhat 'normal' landmarks vanished as the environment took a more 'digital' appearance. There were still trees, cliffs, and other familiar things. However, they now began taking on a glitching appearance, looking more like unfinished levels in a video game with jagged ends, visible wire frames, and generally unstable appearances. Naturally, he had no idea about any of that, but presumed this meant he was heading into a much more sparcely populated portion of the Demon's mind.

"Judging by the relative lack of memories and constructs I must be getting closer." Korex said as he stopped in front of a rapidly glitching mound of what he assumed were rocks that were eerily similar to skulls. "This part of her mind feels almost most devoid of thoughts. I suspect she's shielding the rest of her psyche by cornering her instincts and excising them from the rest of her mind to hide them. An effective method of keeping one's sanity, but it means my job here will be easier. Without all this clutter, finding and releasing her feral mind will prove easier." He laughed as he continued forward, not noticing that the darkness swirling in the distance seemed to twist and turn as if it were laughing at him.

After walking for what seemed like an eternity, avoiding strange jagged objects along the way, Korex eventually found himself in a part of Akagi's mind that appeared to be completely falling apart. The terrain glitched even harder than before, and platforms raised into the sky like a staircase at the top of which was a large floating island. Seeing this large mass made Korex internally smirk as he was confident he'd found exactly what he was looking for. Happy as his journey had seemingly come to an end he leaped up the staircase of platforms before eventually landing on the island, noting the massive metal cage that sat at its center, surrounded by fog that only barely made the bars visible from where he stood.

{There it is...} (Korex)

"Over the many times I've done this I've seen it take many forms, but I suppose a cage tends to be the most common." Korex laughed as entered the fog and approached metal cage. This was far from the first time the Murder God had done something like this, and it was his favorite tactic for dealing with particularly irritating opponents. Releasing one from all restraints and unleashing their most primal, animalistic instincts was something that he truly delighted in, especially as it typically caused people to go on murderous rampages.

"I wonder what you'll be like once that facade of intelligence melts away? Will you simply become a mindless beast that froths at the mouth? Even Vikes had some measure of intellect to him so I never did get to see what he was like when all his extra parts were torn away." Korex chuckled, stopping just in front of the cage, the fog making it difficult to see within. "Now, let's break the chains you've imposed on yourself! Be free Demon Lord! And show the world just what you really are!" He laughed as he pushed away the fog, only to lay eyes on something he never expected to see.

"What?!?" Korex exclaimed in shock, his entire body trembling in what he believed to be anger. "No... No... NO! This isn't possible! It... It's inconceivable!" He screamed as he was greeted with the eerie sight of an empty cage within which was little more than the scattered remains of a white porcelain like substance within. Chains littered the floor and while it was clear that something resided within at one point in the past, there was no longer anything contained within. "This... This doesn't make any sense." He said, backing away from the cage slowly. "I know for a fact that this is what I'm looking for, I'd never mistake it!" He roared in anger. "The Demon Lord's inner nature should be here! This is the darkest most secluded place in her mind! But... But there's nothing! It's as if-" He froze in place, a realization dawning on him that made his nonexistent blood run cold. "A-As if she-"

"Already let it out." Akagi's voice echoed around him, causing the Gods to spin and turn as he attempted to find her. "Unfortunately for you, your little plan is a bit late."

She laughed demonically, the shadows in the distance seeming to swirl in laughter alongside her.

"How?!? How are you here?!?" Korex screamed into the darkness. "This shouldn't be possible! You should be completely invalid while I'm within your mind!" He'd never come across someone who could remain active and conscious while he infiltrated and probed their mind, so this was yet another shock.

"Why wouldn't I be here? After all, this IS my mind." Akagi's said a smirk of razor sharp teeth seeming to form in one of the distant shadows"I have complete control in here, and there is nothing within me that happens without my knowledge and explicit consent." She laughed as the darkness swirled closer to him. Unbeknownst to the Murder God he'd effectively walked directly into Akagi's shadow which was more or less a representation ofher very being. A place that transcended all logical understanding. A place in which Akagi was law. "I'll admit that you're the first person to actually WANT to come into this place, so I'll commend you for your stupidity!" She laughed, her voice seeming to warp the shadows that continued to slink closer to the floating island.

"How can you still be in control of yourself?!?" Korex asked out of desperation as he hoped to buy time to escape, but found himself blocked from retreating by the Demon's will. "No being should be capable of rational thought when its inhibitions are broken! You... You should be nothing more than a raving lunatic! A monster hell-bent on world destruction! Remaining sane when the most base part of you has been unchained isn't possible! Even Gods aren't mentally strong enough to resist such a thing!"

{This must be a trick! If she can control things in here she must've lured me to the wrong place! That's the only thing that makes sense!} (Korex)

"Resist? Ha! No." Akagi laughed at his commentbefore slamming a vortex of shadow in front of him and appearing 'in person.' " Rather than hide and suppress what I am I embraced it, you fool." She smirked, her mouth curving to show her razor sharp teeth. "I did not run and hide from my nature as a Demon Lord. Rather I bent it to my will. I faced it head-on, and on that day, the day I confronted who and what I am I decided that NOTHING would control me, not even my fate as a Demon Lord."

{I take orders from nothing and no one. None shall compel me, and nothing shall control me. That is what I decided that day and its what guides my every action.}

(Akagi)

"Impossible." Korex replied, completely shocked and nearly lost for words. "A mortal may have the strength to keep the beast within him at bay for a time, but a creature like you... That's simply not possible. You should've been driven mad instantly. Your instincts should've swallowed your personality whole and taken over completely. After all, that's exactly what happened to-"

"Part of it did and part of it did not." Akagi shrugged as she interrupted him. "I told the part that wished to control my fate to fuck off and I simply kicked it out of my mind, and poof, it was gone. Granted that does not mean I'm some bastion of stability." She said, gesturing to the distorted and torn landscape around them. "Even I don't like coming this deep into my own mind. It's a truly broken place that no one should ever enter, least of all an intruder like you." She said, her gaze growing sharp as the shadow began to write like an angry crowd. "Now then, you are an unwelcome guest in my mind and I will not tolerate your intrusion any longer. But your folly does present a wonderful opportunity to deal with you." She said as the shadows swirled around her body. "In the physical world I couldn't do anything to you, but in here..." She smirked as chains clamped onto and bound Korex by his arms and legs. "In here I make the rules..."

"Impossible!" Korex yelled as he struggled against the chains. "How can your mind overpower my own?!?" Try as he might he couldn't overcome the Demon's will, and his mind was quickly subdued by her power. “I am a God!”

"Mental fortitude and strength is an acquired skill." Akagi chuckled as she watched him squirm. "And unfortunately for you, I've had quite a bit of TRAINING." She said before snapping her finger, using the chains to drag him into a black swirling vortex that appeared below him. "Luckily for you even in here I cannot kill your physical form, but I wonder... What happens if I break a God's mind? What will remain?" She smirked. “How about we find out, together?”

"You... No... You won't get away with this!" Korex thrashed as he was dragged into the shadow, the screams of countless devoured souls echoing in his mind. "You monster! The other Gods will stop you, and once I get out of here I'll come for you and all your little friends!" He said, his eyes meeting Akagi's as he was dragged further in. "They'll be slaughtered before your very eyes! I'll make sure of it! You'll regret setting foot in this world! DEMON LORD!" He screamed before vanishing into the shadow, Akagi's mind growing quiet as she stared at the spot on which he vanished.

"Try all you like, but I won't let you people lay a finger on any of them." Akagi said, her face partially darkened. "I won't allow anyone to take my family away again."