Chapter 1: He Who Protects Gods
How had things turned out like this? I was free, for the first time in a millennium. This was supposed to be a joyous occasion, my momentous return! Yet here I was about to die, alone in a frozen wasteland, with none the wiser. This was not right; this was not how things were supposed to go! I who was once worshipped as a god, now barely clinging to life? Why? How many had I saved, how many prayers had I answered, how many beings had I conquered, how many lives had I protected? For what? To end up betrayed and sealed away, and the moment I regain my freedom, I am to be snuffed from existence?!
Mortals pray to gods, but who do the gods pray to? We protect the weak and they sing us praises until they grow envious of our power and turn on us. Well, who protects the gods? Do we not deserve to be saved, do we not deserve to have our prayers answered?
Slowly, I trudged through the Arctic tundra. Each step more difficult, each breath more shallow, each second that passed a moment closer to my end.
(You can't keep this up. We can't keep this up. I don't know why you took over my body, but I doubt it was so you could get us both killed. I'm sorry you got betrayed in the past but please listen to me, we need to-)
Shut up, wretch! Banging my fist against my head, I scattered the incessant ramblings of the mortal woman. I thought my possession of the unsuspecting woman had been perfect, and yet somehow her consciousness remained, somehow, we were cohabiting within the same body. Nothing had gone according to plan!
She had heard my call and fell right into my trap, the moment I was free, I sought to take over her body only to discover I was the one trapped. It took some convincing but I had managed to get her to turn control over to me. Silly mortal, little did she know I would never return control! From now on this body was mine!
Strangely enough, when I'd cackled and revealed my true intentions she had not blown up, or begun cursing my name. Instead, she had tried to help me escape from this wasteland. Giving me a path and certain directions to follow toward what she had stated was the "evac" terminal.
Ha, I laughed in her face. Clearly, she thought I was born yesterday. Such an elaborate ruse to entrap and capture me would never work! I knew the scheming minds of humans well. Ignoring her words I took off in the opposite direction and have been traveling since.
(For the last time, this isn't a trap. And you know I can hear all your thoughts, right? You should be able to hear mine too, see for yourself, I'm not lying. Please before it's too late. This is above your petty distrust and anger toward humans. We are going to DIE. We're not getting sealed, or sleeping for a thousand years. Do you understand that?)
Her words echoing in my head, I paused for a moment. A storm of emotions and thoughts raced through my mind in a split second, and in response, I could only roar into the night sky in anger. All of this is your fault, stupid human! Why would you awaken me in such a place?! Hearing her thoughts of indignation and rebuttal I immediately began banging my hands against my head again.
Be silent. Every word out of your mouth is a lie, thought a scheme, every idea a plot to further yourself at the sake of others. Never again will I fall to your mortal lies and manipulations! We will continue forward and you will see, once I am free of this land I will once again become a god.
(I don't care what we become. I just want to live long enough to become something.)
Time passed quickly. Compared to the millennium I'd been sealed in eternal darkness the minutes, hours, and then days I spent walking were nothing. At least it would have been nothing if not for my physical body. Without the power or ability to resist, I had begun to physically break down. No longer could willpower and my intense desire to stand keep my footing. My legs gave out and I fell to my knees, head hanging low I could barely keep my eyes open.
This is how it ends? What of my revenge? What of my glorious return? What of my ascension? What of my life? For the first time in my long life, I felt something strange begin to gather within my eyes. They began to swell and swell before, like a dam bursting, something poured outward.
Mere moments after leaving my eyes, the liquid froze and turned to crystal that clattered down my chest and lay at my feet. Were these tears? Was I crying? Ha, how truly pitiful I had become.
With a self-deprecating laugh, I turned my head upward, the night sky and its stars being my only comfort as an intense frost began to cover my body from head to toe. The tears that had crystalized on my face began to melt away as an intense anger seemed to flow outwards from within me. My sadness had quickly dissipated and was replaced with only wrath toward my luck, toward my situation, and toward myself.
This is not right; it is not fair! Recalling how I had once answered the call of my once loyal subjects and come to the aid of those in need. I screamed with all my might. I did not ask, I did not, I demanded recompense from the world. I was not stupid I knew beings greater than I existed, I knew I was no true god, I knew that the powers that be were watching my plight with amusement in their eyes, and I knew that those above them didn't even acknowledge my existence.
"I will live! You will answer my call! Someone, anyone, I do not care who. You will come to my aid. I am owed a multitude of lives; however, I am only collecting on this one. I send this beacon, this prayer, this behest to any who will listen. To he who exists, and to he who does not. I command you, protect me from the embrace of death!"
In a surprising turn of events, I heard the previously silent mortal echo my words. Unlike my wrathful declaration, hers was one of peaceful acceptance. Stated as if they were fact.
(We will live. Someone will answer our call. Someone, anyone, we don't care who. They'll come to our aid. We are owed a multitude of lives; however, we're only collecting on this one. We send this beacon, this prayer, this behest to any who'll listen. To he who exists and he who doesn't. We command you, protect us from the embrace of death!)
The last of my energy used, I felt the frost that had long since encompassed my body, creep upward and begin to gloss over my eyes. It was then that the stars in the night sky appeared to vanish, followed swiftly by the white snow-ridden landscape surrounding me. In their place was a world of black. Devoid of light the darkness somehow retained a reflective quality, as if it were a diamond.
The pitch-black world that engulfed me, seemed to repel the frost that once clutched at my skin. Despite warmth returning to my body, I discovered I still couldn't move. As I remained kneeling, I felt the once soft snow beneath me begin to harden until it too became solidified darkness. Glancing downward, I almost leaped backward, if not for my inability to move.
For within the crystalline floor instead of my own reflection, I saw the eyes of a beast. A bright and burning green light lay within them. Inhuman, unholy in nature. Seeing my reaction, the eyes showed an amused glint.
"You asked who it is gods pray to, didn't you? What you should have been asking, is what do people turn to when prayer doesn't work? What is that last resort, that whisper in the back of a person's mind?" A resonant and calming voice filled the air. There was a dignified air to the creature's tone.
While it seemed, I was momentarily stumped at the creatures' words, it seemed the same could not be said for my mortal parasite.
(Demons. When our prayers aren't answered and all hope seems lost, it's a Demon we turn to.)
Following her response, the ground beneath my feet began to crack and split as a towering figure steadily emerged. Easily around 3 meters in size, with pitch black fur, white markings forming a pattern along its sides, and a skull resemblant of a beast's head. It had rows upon rows of fangs filling its skeletal maw, four resplendent horns that jutted outward, a mane of black cascading down its back, and a pair of tiny green embers within its eye sockets that blazed to life. ~IMAGE~
Observing my expression closely, the Demon extended one of its clawed arms toward me. While initially, my eyes watched its large clawed appendage with apprehension, my attention was soon drawn to its other arm that seemed to hang rigidly at its side. Eyes narrowing, I noticed that, unlike its fur-covered arm, the other one appeared to be made entirely of a familiar crystalline material.
Perhaps not appreciating my dismissal, I suddenly felt a claw prick my chest with enough force to draw blood, and before I could admonish him a gust of wind and energy surrounded us.
"You called and I answered, Witch. There's no escaping this now. A contract must be agreed upon. With our blood as witness, our minds as jury, and our souls as judge. Request of me what you will, and bear the cost of your wrath."
(I'm not sure what's going on, but do I get a say in this too? I'd prefer not to have my soul damned to eternity because of someone else controlling my body.)
Quiet ingrate, you have no say here! I hissed, not daring to make a false move before the ancient being before me. Against my expectations, the Demon cracked what I could only assume was a smile.
"No, in fact, she does. You both must agree on the request, for it to be valid. One body, two minds, but a single being nonetheless." His words crushed the spirited outburst that was moments from spilling from my lungs.
He could not be serious! I had to share a request with this mortal?! While I was in the process of raising hell internally, I heard the wretches' words echo in my mind once more.
(I know you don't want to hear what I have to say, let alone take my advice, however, I plead with you to listen to me this time. This concerns both of us, your life is mine, and mine is yours. What's in your best interest is in mine, and vice versa. I don't think we should take this lightly, or request too much. Based on the reputation of Demons throughout text and history, they don't make contracts with the intent of being fair. If we slip up and say the wrong thing, who knows what he could take in return? I suggest we ask for something we absolutely need, not for what we want.)
An eternal frown found itself engrained upon my face. I hated the fact that I agreed with the mortal woman's words. I could not afford to ask for something too great, nor could I afford for the cost to outweigh the reward.
AURGH!
This was ridiculous! Of all beings I managed to draw the attention of it was a Demon! Forget it, all that matters is that I cannot die! Not before becoming who I am meant to be. But this damn mortal's wishes will surely not line up with mine own. She'll want something stupid, like a new dress, or a new steed to gallop around on.
(Actually, as long as you make a deal with me, I'll go along with whatever request you have.)
Hm? What trickery was this? Speak wench, what games are you playing at!
(I told you, as long as we keep the wish simple and it doesn't cause us harm in the long run, I don't particularly mind what we request. All I ask in return is that you give me back control of my body any time I request it. Agree to stop holding my body hostage and the request is completely yours.)
Ha, consider it done. What a silly mortal, does she not know that once I get out of this place, I can simply switch hosts? It is a win-win scenario for me.
"Very well, Demon. We have decided! Our contract is as follows, you-"
"The contract is already complete." Before I could continue, the Demon cut me off, and the drop of blood in the center of my chest began to float upward. In the same instant, the Demon pricked his own chest, and his blood began to mix with mine own.
From seemingly nowhere, a black tablet appeared before us, and our blood splattered on it before squiring and twisting into various words. It read, as follows.
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Clause I
Crownless Demon, Algor Tenebrous Mortis, the Black Sabbath does hereby agree to protect the Enchantress/June Moone, from those who seek them harm.
Should the Enchantress/June Moone die before Crownless Demon, Algor Tenebrous Mortis, the Black Sabbath outside of natural causes, the contract can be considered null and void.
Crownless Demon, Algor Tenebrous Mortis, the Black Sabbath does hereby agree to follow the Enchantress/June Moone's orders, so long as they do not intend to directly cause him harm or disgrace.
Should the Enchantress/June Moone attempt to indirectly/directly harm or kill Crownless Demon, Algor Tenebrous Mortis, the Black Sabbath, the contract will be considered null and void.
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Clause II
The Enchantress/June Moone do hereby agree to become Crownless Demon, Algor Tenebrous Mortis, the Black Sabbaths anchor to the mortal realm.
The Enchantress/June Moone do hereby agree to turn over any and all claim to deceased souls encountered to Crownless Demon, Algor Tenebrous Mortis, the Black Sabbath for consumption.
The Enchantress/June Moone do hereby agree to assist Crownless Demon, Algor Tenebrous Mortis, the Black Sabbath to regain the Emperor of Hell's favor.
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Clause III
If Crownless Demon, Algor Tenebrous Mortis, the Black Sabbath is ever forced to perform OrEzEtUlOsBa on behalf of the Enchantress/June Moone, then the contract becomes null and void, or they must sacrifice an offering of equal value to the abilities cost.
If you cannot sacrifice an offering of equal value to the abilities cost, you will face Crownless Demon, Algor Tenebrous Mortis, the Black Sabbath's sentence in his place.
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Quickly trying to read through the contract, there was a lot I had to say and wanted to object to, however, before I could the Black tablet shattered into millions of pieces, before descending into what I assumed was hell itself.
Exhaling a deep breath of air, the Demons intimidating presence suddenly plummeted. As if he was exhausted and had been merely putting up a front, the aura that once encompassed him, and the world of black that had engulfed me abruptly vanished. The sound of ice cracking and shattering filled my ears, and as black crystals rained down from around me, I saw the Demons body slowly but surely shrink.
In mere moments the terrifying creature that had answered my call, and forced a contract upon me, now lay on his back, unconscious.
(What the hell?)
"What the hell?"