Bienvenue, mes amis!!

  Please, You Are Waiting to Be Seated. We 'Ave Almost Finish Preparing.

  Do Not Touch Ze Silverplates, silvoplate.

  Ah, welcome, welcome! Please, step out of ze cold. Let me take your coate.

  I know, I know. You 'ave been waiting in ze foyer for quite some time now. Ze tables are set, ze silver is polish, and your stomaches are rumbling for ze next course of our little tragedie. I assure you, your patience is entirely justifié. In ze back, our esteemed sous chef, Monsieur Parf?me, is currently sweating over ze stove.

  He is cooking 'arder zan he 'as ever cook in 'is life, reducing ze despair into a fine glacé, perfecting ze emotional devastat?on, and ensuring ze pacing is absolutely without flaw. You cannot rush a Michelin-star disaster, my friends. Ze pacing must rest. Like a braise. Like a very sad, very violent braise.

  'Owever! As ze Maitre D'Spectacle - and resident Démon du Septième Cercle, Pain et Entertainmente - I cannot simply leave you starving in ze corridor like a peasante.

  Now. I understand we 'ave some new visages in ze dining room tonight. Some of you 'ave wandered in demanding Volume Two without 'aving tasted Volume One at all.

  Shame on you ??!

  It is an absolute culinaire crime to skip ze first tasting menü. 'Ow will you appreciate ze exquisite numbness of our protagoniste if you did not watch 'is soul get tenderisé first? 'Ow will you feel ze appropriate devastat?on about ze distance of our favorite sub-plot de romantique if you did not see when zey were standing CLOSE? You cannot arrive at ze dessert and complain it is bitter. Of COURSE it is bitter. Zat is ze pointe. You 'ave nobody to blame but yourself and also slightly your upbringing.

  For ze uninitiatéd, and as a small palate cleanseur for our returning patrons 'oo may 'ave forgotten ze details, allow me, Monsieur Malgrin, to present:

  (A dramatis personae, if you will. Which you will. I am insisting.)

  Our story, she begins wiz a délicieusement bitter bite. At age eight, little Yozi was sold to ze Arena Master by 'is own mère for exactly three copper coins. Tossed into ze blood-soakéd sands against a fully-grown gladiatour, 'e learned ze fundamental rule of zis establishment: fight or die. 'E chose to fight. With ze sand in 'is fist and ze ruthless calm of a child 'oo 'as already decided zat warmth is not a viable stratégie.

  Years of trauma and organise violence aged our boy into a remarkably efficient killing mach?ne. Bound to a Blood Ring and operating on a délicieusement ruthless progression systême, Yozi became ze Bloody Left 'And. 'E optimisé 'imself. 'E suppresséd 'is emotions because feelings are inefficient in a deathmatch, and 'e was always watching ze deathmatch efficiency very carefully, our boy. 'E acquired ze Shinobi variant (for ze infiltratione and ze general creepin') and ze Reaper variant (for ze less subtil occasions), turning shadows into blades. 'Is defining trait? A pragmatique murder-mathématique zat calculates survival at any cost, in any currency, including ze emotional ones.

  At ze climax of Volume One, to survive a divine Portal opening in ze sky above 'im, 'e literally CONSUMED ze 'oly torture razer zan be burned by it. Magnifique. Deeply alarming. Five stars.

  Just as ze blood-spatter was becoming aesthet?quement repetitif, we introduced ze perfect contrast. Commander Nyssara of ze Imperial Inquisition. Righteous. Fiercely competente. In possession of a moral compass zat severely irritated Yozi's cold calculations and 'is general tendency to treat 'uman beings as variables in an equation.

  Naturally, zey teamed up.

  OOOOOH ze simmering tens?on! Ze reluctant truste! Ze agonisingly slow burn of two very damaged professionals realising zey might actually, genuinement, tragiquement, care about each ozzer. She is ze anchor tying our bloody boy to 'is fading 'umanity, and watching 'er try to reach 'im as 'e optimises 'is own feelings away is a flavour profile of pure, unadulterated angste. Chef's kiss. Mwah. Ze kitchen wept. We do not speak of how long ze kitchen wept.

  Ah, ze royals. We 'ave Damian — a tragic, well-meaning prince 'oo was crowned Emperor at ze end of Volume One wizin a storm of political machinat?ons and betrayale. Damian wants to do what is right. Damian is a good man. Damian is trying very 'ard.

  Unfortunately for Damian, 'e is currently occupied.

  Small détail: he is secretly possessed by Azrathel, an ancien Demon Prince 'oo is currently wearing ze Emperor like a very expensive tailored suit 'e 'as been alterating from ze inside for three centuries. 'E is patient, 'e is terrifying, and 'e is quietly steering ze entire Empire toward an abysse of 'is own making with ze calm of someone 'oo 'as been planning zis particular dinner reservation since before your grandmère was born.

  You always save ze best for last, oui? When our pragmatique boy Yozi decided to consume ze divine torture at ze coronat?on, 'e accidentally opened a door. And I moved in. Ze 'ost and ze parasite, sharing one skull! I am a Démon of Pain et Entertainmente, and I currently reside in Yozi's mind, broadcasting 'is ongoing misery to an audience of millions of demons in ze Abyss 'oo 'ave become, and I find zis both flattering and philosoph?quement concerning...deeply, personally investéd in 'is continued existance.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  I provide ze running commentaire. Ze theatrical flair. Occasionally, ze exact wrong advice at ze exact right moment. I am, in short, indispensable. Ze chef would like me to clarify zat 'e does not agree with zis assessment. Ze chef is wrong.

  (For ze uninitiatéd and ze forgetful alike. You know hoo you are.)

  Before Yozi was anyone's problem, 'e was ze Arena's problem. Three copper coins bought 'is childhood and ze Arena spent it. Ze early arcs of Volume One are a masterclasse in what 'appens when you take a child with genuine capacity for warmth and subject 'im to a progression systême zat rewards only results. 'E learns. Et mon dieu, How 'e learns. 'E learns to fight dirty, to count 'is odds before 'e opens 'is mout, to treat every room as a battlefield and every person in it as a variable wiz a threat assessmente.

  Enter Nyssara. (Monsieur Parf?me insists to call 'er Nice - Sara. Nice? Zis is nothing but a cité in France! OHOHOHOHO.)

  I digresse.

  Nicesara, and wiz 'er, ze complicat?ons.

  Ze circumstances of zeir first collaborat?on are, let us say, not ideal. Two people 'oo operate on fundamentally incompatible principples, forced into proximity by a situation zat requires boz of zeir particular skills and will not wait for zem to sort out zeir differences first. Ze early tension between zem is not simply romantic (zough it is also zat, and it is délicieux) it is philosophical. She believes in justice as a principle. 'E believes in survival as ze only principle. Ze question ze plot is asking, from ze moment zey enter ze same room, is wezzer zese two tings can coexist in one partnership wizout destroying each ozzer or ze people inside zem.

  Ze answer Volume One arrives at is: yes, but at considerable cost, and not wizout leaving marks zat do not 'eal cleanly.

  Ze cracks appear in a future arc where ze partnership is tested by an operation zat requires Yozi to do something Nyssara cannot formally sanction. He does it anyway. She covers for 'im. Zey both know what zis means. Zey do not discuss what zis means for several chapters because zey are, boz of zem, very good at not discussing tings zat would require zem to admit what is 'appening between zem. Ze emotional subtext is, if I may say so, extremely well season. Ze reader can taste it long before ze characters can.

  Ze kitchen notes: a slow-roasted tension, basted frequently in reluctant respect, finishing with ze first signs of something zat will become, in Volume Two, a genuinely 'eart-breaking problem.

  Ze political arc of Volume One concerns itself with ze question of 'oo sits on ze throne and at what cost. Prince Damian is, on ze surface, a reasonable candidate for Emperor: intelligent, principled, aware of 'is own limitations in ways zat most powerful people are not. Ze Inquisition 'as been assigned to protect ze succession. Yozi and Nyssara are, through ze particular machinery of plot, embedded in ze events surrounding ze coronat?on.

  Ze Shinobi and Reaper variants are born 'ere. Ze [redacté] , ze corruption in ze shoulder, ze capacity for darkness zat is also, in its own peculiar way, a capacity for survival. Flavour notes: bitter, efficient, with a long finish of loneliness zat 'e 'as not yet learned to identify as loneliness because 'e 'as no reference material for ze alternative.

  What zey discover ( and what takes most of ze arc to fully understand ) is zat ze succession 'as already been compromised. Not by any of ze obvious candidates, not by ze rivals or ze foreign interests or ze noble 'ouses with zeir own claims. By somezing much older. Ze signs are zere in retrospect: ze moments where Damian's behavior is slightly wrong in ways zat are 'ard to articulate, ze decisions zat seem out of character, ze occasional flicker of somezing behind 'is eyes zat does not belong to ze man everyone in ze room believes zey are speaking to.

  Azrathel 'as been in zere for three centuries. 'E is very good at being Damian. 'E 'as 'ad a long time to practice.

  Ze finale of Volume One is, if I may be permitted to say so wiz ze appropriate 'umility, an absolute fête of narrative pyrotechnique.

  Ze coronat?on of Emperor Damian proceeds. Ze Portal opens. A divine force descends into ze city and begins its work of judgemente...which, in practical terms, means it is burning people. Not randomly. Wiz a terrifying specific interest in ze unrighteous, ze compromised, ze morally complicated. Which is, you will note, a significant portion of our main cast.

  Yozi's response to ze divine fire is to do what 'e 'as always done when confronted wiz a force designed to destroy 'im: 'e looks at 'is options, 'e calculates, and 'e finds ze move nobody expected because nobody expected anyone to consider it. Ze Merging of memoirs avec l'enfant non terrible Alia!

  Ze coronat?on completes. Damian is Emperor. Azrathel is, quietly, delightedly, on ze throne. And Yozi stands in ze aftermath wiz ze 'oly fire still sitting in 'is chest like an ember zat will not go out, and Nyssara beside 'im, and ze beginning of ze six feet of distance zat will define Volume Two.

  We left zem victorious and entirely broken. A spectacular vintage. Five stars. Ze chef, 'e needed several days after zis one. We gave 'im ze days. 'E 'as used zem well.

  Now zat your palates are refresh and you remember exactly 'ow 'igh ze stakes are, I 'ave a small propos?tion for you.

  Ze kitchen doors are lock, but I 'old ze key. Monsieur Parf?me 'as Volume Two, Chapter One plated and waiting under ze cloche. In fact, 'e 'as been cooking with such terrifying efficiencye zat ze first TEN chapters of Volume Two are already finish and resting in our VIP Lounge (also known as Patreon).

  If you are ravenous ; if you simply cannot wait to see what ze Bloody Left 'And does next, 'ow ze Inquisiteur 'andles 'is growing coldness, or what 'appens when ze Abyss starts fighting back (in ways zat are both legalement complicated and personally inconvenient for me) you can secure a table in ze VIP Lounge right now. Ze link, she is right below. It is very simple. Even you can do it.

  But fear not, my patient patrons in ze main dining room.

  I am not a cruel Maitre D'.

  I am, as I 'ave already mention, a generous one.

  Magnanimeux, even:

  Volume Two, Chapter One will be served publiquly ze exact moment zis establishment reaches 150 Followers.

  OR (and I consider zis ze more entertainant optión)

  if 20 of you leave a comment on zis very recappe.

  Tell me 'oo your favourite character is.

  Tell me 'ow much you 'ave missed my narration (ze correct answer is: enormément, and you should not be embarrass to say so).

  Tell me your wildest théories about ze Emperor.

  Tell me anyting at all! Ze Abyss, she feeds on your engagemente, and frankly I am getting quite 'ungry and I would prefer not to eat ze decoratif candleholderr.

  'It zat follow button. Leave your compliments (or your complaints, I am a demon, I find zem equally nourishing) for ze chef below, and prepare yourselves.

  Because Volume Two is going to be bloody rare.

  — Monsieur Malgrin

  Démon du Septième Cercle, Pain et Entertainmente

  Maitre D' of Ze Abysse

  Resident Parasité, Skull of Yozí

  (currently on administratif leave pending ze outcome of a court case I am absolutely not worried about and will not be discussing at zis time, not even a little bit, please stop asking)

  Welcome to ze VIP LOUNGE!