From Introduction: “Should I tell you of the fires of creation? Of the many roads and pathways that wind through the fields of transmigration? I have seen where your souls go when you die. I could tell you of your fate if you could make it worth my while. No? I see, your desires are more... immediate. “But why should we quarrel? I am a prisoner here in this world just like you, only (perhaps) more aware of it than most. But these temples and palaces, the streets of these towns, I abhor them. How these people march to the crack of a whip just so they can form some foul pyramid, the gilded apex of which they will never so much as catch a glimpse of. “But you want more than just a glimpse. And what devil has promised you this throne, these riches? Oh no, I have no wish to serve, no wish to strike deals with that kind of creature. But still, I could help you. It wants things from you, no? Do not think I will judge you, mortal. I would not dream of it! But I want things too. Just like this demon whose debt you have descended into. I will help you pay that debt, and for a price much less than it will ask of you. “Yes, yes. Why borrow from one to pay the other? But isn’t that what all merchants do? They buy and sell and trade until they make a profit, and you stand to profit here. And why would I help you profit? Because I too want things. And you can give them to me.”