A chess game for a A**hole

I felt a chill crawl down my spine as I stood at the precipice of a lava river, its fiery glow casting eerie shadows across my face. The ground trembled beneath me, I was exploding with power, Dehya being kidnapped while in her possessed state outraged me. I was unable to protect her. I failed her.

"Where are they?" & muttered, gripping my blue katana tightly. The sword pulsed with the power that I've built in this cursed place, eager to fight. My heart raced; Dehya was out there, possessed by darkness and taken by darkness.

Beside me, Orion perched up onto my shoulder.

"They must be close," Orion murmured, his whiskers twitching with both fear and worry. "I can sense her."

With little time to waste, we forged onward, every step heavy with the weight of impending dread. Orion shimmered, my earring flickering as he darted ahead. The air swirled with the scent of sulfur and sin, and with it came the echo of laughter that sent my blood boiling. Viscoff, Ben, The twins and June followed behind me, just as angry as I. They wanted to save their family and kill the demon who took Dehya.

——

The demon was seen, loathsome and magnificent, with three faces twisted in cruel pleasure. He leaned over Dehya, bound and suspended above a grotesque bed, a mocking display of depravity.

"Dehya!" he spoke, rubbing the side of her face. The demon lifted his gaze, his faces grinning with malevolent delight. "Ah, you sure are something special." He licked his lips, observing Dehya with the obsession of a predator.

Dehya shivered as she felt the demons finger running around her body. A flicker of her violet eyes broke through the blackness the still controlled her. "Zain! Please, I'm… fighting…" then the darkness took back over cutting her off from trying to talk.

The demon shown an unpleasant look on his face and strapped a gag into Dehya's mouth. "I never said you could talk, now you've lost that privilege." He smirked.

The demon spoke again shortly after, his voice dripping with salacity, "I'm Asmodeus, emperor of hell and the master of lust. You should be proud that I've chosen you." Dehya squirmed, the look of disgust quickly washed a cross her eyes as a flicker of purple broke through the darkness again.

Asmodeus snarled, disgust tarnishing his handsome features. "Don't fight it, I've chosen you to breed with, the demons kings blood inside you will bring me an incredibly powerful offspring! If you keep fighting it, I'll just have to make you submit!" He raised his staff, the red orb emitting a pulse of malevolent energy.

——

"Zain," Orion nudged my ear, his voice a whispering wind, "we're close."

We were running hard, urgency prompting every muscle in our bodies. Dehya's energy pulsed in the distance like a beacon for Orion. Anger stirred deep inside me. I swore to protect her, I failed her. The ground beneath our feet was treacherous—fiery fissures split the terrain like angry mouths, eager to swallow anything that dared to tread near them.

"Over there!" Ben yelled, his bow already nocked with an arrow, eyes scanning the hellscape for lurking threats. The marksman's keen instincts made him invaluable in this wretched domain.

I nodded toward an approaching horde of grotesque creatures, snarling and thrashing in the distance. "Looks like we don't get to avoid a fight this time."

We prepared ourselves, my dragon sword glinting ominously as I drew it from my back, ready to taste the chaos that had become our reality. The others took formation around me: Viscoff with his massive axe, the dwarf twins Gimola and Gimli flanking either side, arms poised with their small Blades, and June, her stance steady as she summoned energy into her outstretched staff.

As the beasts charged, I felt the adrenaline course through my veins. Viscoff swung his axe with brutal precision, cleaving a beast in half, while Ben's arrows found their marks in the creatures' eyes before they even had a chance to roar in agony. The twins darted about like shadows, their blades flickering in the dim light as they struck like snakes from the underbrush. My heart pulsed alongside the rhythm of battle, each clash heightening the desperation to reach Dehya.

But as quickly as the fight began, it ended. The last creature fell with a meaty thump, and for a moment, we stood in silence, panting and wary. The city of black obsidian loomed ahead, sharp and unforgiving like the teeth of some ancient beast. I knew in my gut—we were close.

Orion leapt down from my shoulder, his eyes glowing. "This way!" he urged, darting forward, leading us toward an enormous castle that dominated the skyline. My heart pounded in solidarity with the intensity of my will to find Dehya.

We'd barely crossed the threshold of the city when a figure emerged from the shadows. My hand instinctively tightened around the hilt of my sword, ready to fight. But as the figure approached, the familiar sheen of white hair and crimson eyes struck me cold.

Satan stood before us.

His presence was a mixture of regal menace and dreadful charm, clad in a pristine black and white tuxedo with gladiatorial confidence. "Ah, Zain and company," he said, his voice smooth like molten silver, "is our little game treating you well?"

Every fiber in me tensed. Here was the ruler of Hell, the architect of our trials, the one who had orchestrated our recent challenges. "What do you want?" I spat, fighting back my anger. "I'm not here to entertain you."

Satan chuckled softly, his horns glinting ominously under the surreal light of hell. "I'm not here for a fight." He gestured casually, as if we were acquaintances sharing a drink instead of adversaries on a battlefield. "I come bearing information."

I narrowed my eyes. "Why should we trust you?"

"Because," he said, his voice honeyed with danger, "I'm bound by my word. Emperor Asmodeus has taken the precious Dehya. A Master of Lust, he is. Desires are his delight. He thinks to toy with hearts. To toy with my prize."

My blood boiled. "Why are you telling us this?"

"I yearn for a fair game. I wish to keep my promise—to not interfere until you step into my territory. But be warned, Zain—I want Dehya just as much as you do, and I'll outlast anyone who stands between us."

I hated hearing those words. Dehya was no trophy to be won, and the very notion that Satan—fiendish and deceptive—hunted her as part of his game infuriated me. "And how does that help me?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

"Make it to the castle in ten minutes or less. If not…" His grin twisted into something far more sinister. "Well, we'll see then. I won't break my word, but that does not mean there won't be consequences."

Before I could respond, he vanished like mist before the dawn, leaving us silently shaken.

"Damn it," I cursed softly, fists clenched. "We need to move, NOW!"

With one final look at one another, we pushed forward, the race against time igniting our resolve. I took a deep breath, reminding myself—hell and all of its denizens would not deter me. We had to reach Dehya.

——

In the suffocating darkness of his castle in the middle of Hell, Satan sat upon his obsidian throne, his long white hair cascading like moonlight against the backdrop of his pitch black skin. The chamber was cloaked in shadows, except for the glow emanating from a chessboard that sat between him and the abyss beyond—a board where each piece mirrored the darkness surrounding him.

He leaned forward, his red eyes gleaming with mischief and malice. One hand, graceful and deliberate, lifted the black knight, its surface gleaming, polished obsidian. With a deft flick of his wrist, he toppled one of his own red pawns, sending it clattering into the void.

A sinister laugh reverberated through the chamber, echoing off the stone walls. "Ah, beautiful chaos," he mused aloud, a calculating smirk creeping across his face. "Sometimes you must sacrifice a pawn to claim victory in the end."

The pieces trembled under the weight of his words. Outside, the howling winds of the inferno echoed his laughter, as if the very flames recognized the eternal dance of strategy unfolding in the gloom. With each move, tension built in the air, thick enough to cut; a prelude to the inevitable battle ahead.

As Satan shifted his pieces, the stakes rose—a sinister game, where the consequences would reverberate beyond the chessboard and into the hearts of the damned. The game was afoot.