A few hours later, he spotted a city on the horizon, glimmering in the light of the sun. As the light swept across the realm, it sparkled off the minarets and towers of the largest settlement Jonathan had seen yet in the world of the Infinite Hells. Even from the distance that Jonathan was, he could see its scope, easily hundreds, if not a thousand, miles wide.

  In the Infinite Hells, there was no curvature in the realms. As such, the horizon was determined by one’s sensory abilities, or obstacles. It was very different to Earth, but Jonathan had gotten used to it.Most things in his life were different to the Jonathan who was fading into the realm of dreams and faded memories. His stats were approaching levels comparable to, or exceeding, most of the fictional characters that humans had created.

  “You see that city over there?” Jonathan asked.

  Eliza frowned. “Not really. Your senses are a lot sharper than mine.” She pointed in the vague direction of the city. “Is it that smudge over there?”

  “It is,” Jonathan replied. “We might as well check it out. It’s where we’ll find some answers.”

  “Are you sure?” Eliza asked. “There might be Tier 6s there, or even stronger.”

  “The cities of the Infinite Hells are some of the few places approaching normality in this realm,” Jonathan explained. “They’re the safest places for travelers to go. Also, the number of elites will drop the further we go through the Hells. There’s probably not that many Tier 6s in the realm.”

  “I suppose you’re right. Even in Telvaria, the elites were few and far between. Strength doesn’t really mean anything if everyone else is at the same level.”

  Jonathan smiled. “That’s a good point. So, shall we?”

  It took about an hour to reach the city, time in which the landscape continued to change. The fields gave way to more settled areas, filled with villages and homesteads. The overall theme of the circle did not change, though, and in fact, some of it became even more disturbing. Jonathan saw wagons pulled by men instead of beasts, with more the obese demons watching over them. He was beginning to get an idea of what this circle represented. The overall theme of the greater circle was that of Sloth, and this flavor of the sin seemed dedicated to the concept of having others labor under you. It was why the demons were so fat, having long since foregone hard work in favor of slave labor. For them to still be so at Tier 5 meant that it was an evolutionary trait, rather than a physical disability.

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  With the cloak of the Void protecting them, Jonathan and Eliza made it to the city undisturbed. Once, a mage had looked in their direction, but then lost interest.

  The city walls were immense, easily three hundred feet high. A dome of energy extended up above, neatly encircling the entire settlement. None of that compared to the sheer size, however, easily that of a small country. With billions of years to grow, and an economy focused on chattel labor, it seemed as if the demonic overseers had expanded the population to an immense scale.

  There were gates into the city every few miles, with lines of people and wagons waiting for entry. The gates were guarded by Tier 6s, and larger groups of Tier 5s. For the first time, Jonathan saw non-demons in positions of power. In fact, there were none to be seen among the guards. Perhaps he had gotten everything mixed up, and the demons were simply slaves in turn, just at a somewhat higher rank.

  In any case, they still needed to get into the city. Jonathan was confident in his ability to hide from the guards, as none of them seemed especially elementally attuned. He and Eliza slid into the line at the nearest gate, clambering up on a wagon. As the wooden vehicle trundled across the ground, Jonathan cast his eyes over the city and the surrounding land.

  Tens of thousands of people could be seen within the nearest slice of the realm, most of them slaves. As Jonathan looked closer, he saw a bit more variance in the overseers. Many of the demons were gone, or, if they remained, were under the gaze of someone else. Now that he was near the city, there were a lot more of the races and species that he would have expected, like humans and elves, and many of them looked quite well off.

  “There’s a lot of powerful fighters here,” Eliza whispered. “You sure your skill can hold up?”

  “Nobody else has the Void. I’m pretty sure this will work. If it doesn’t, I’m confident in getting away.”

  Eliza frowned. “What about me? I don’t have your stats.”

  “I’ll carry you,” Jonathan said blithely. Then he realized that Eliza’s face had turned slightly red. He sighed quietly, and continued to scan his surroundings, trying to ignore the looks he was getting from his companion.