Of Heaven and Hell (Chapter 8) The Gathering

What would you do, to just be in the presents of love? What would you do save a loved one, be it family, friend, or relationship? Would you drive for hours just to see them? Would you cross the oceans just to receive the message, 'They are okay.' Imagine, one moment you feel on top of the world, you realize just how in love you are. You walk in, looking for this someone, and then, a friend comes to you saying, “There was an accident.” Your world is shattered, as tears flood your face.

What would you do? How would you cope? The question overflow you mind as though the gates of a dam were opened. Where do you go for answers? Also, would anything give in your way? Would one person stop you in shoes, and force you to turn tail, or would you let your inner darkness take control, would the blood began to flow?

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There, in the middle of the empty room, I stood frozen, and I was PISSED!

Never, in all my life, had I felt to cold, so empty... Hollow. Anger and rage filled my being. I was just about to go berserk, when I felt w wonderful warmth come over me. It took a moment to realize what it was, the ring my Dawn had given me. I brought my hand up to my cheek, as it touch, it was if he had placed his very lips on my cheek. I kiss it, and said a small pray, and a promise. There will be Hell to pay, literally.

I walked out of the shelter, and into the tunnel. I have make up my mind, I was going to goto the gathering, just to see what this was about. The unlit tunnel echoed the screams of the damned souls. I could still feel the rage deep in the pit of my stomach and I exited the tunnel into the main cavern of Hell. From the ledge of the spiraled walkway, I could see the symbol of the Ocularus Infernum engraved in the center of the pit. Demons used the Ocularus Infernum's power to pass through the Veil. For a moment, I thought of just going back to find Dawn.
“Yeah, I'm the best Shadow Caster there is...” I hear someone say, echoing through another tunnel. “Yes, I can even do that.” I entered another clearing, there was about five or six demons crowded in a huddle. I summoned the darkness of the cave to engulf me with a robe of haze. It whirled around be like fog and smoke, and made my identity anonymous.
“Wow, a Shadow Caster,” I said with sarcastic tone.
“Who the fuck are you?” The 'Shadow Caster' yelled.
“Just a fanatic for Shadow Casters.”
“Really, well you are know in the presents of the greatest.” He boasted. I laughed to myself, there was no possibility that he was a true Shadow Caster. “I learned all my abilities from Farycor himself, the so called 'Great Guardian of the Veil.' To bad I kept beating his weak ass.” My blood began to boil. My rage and wrath returned from moments ago, and I needed to release of anger. There is no better feeling than misplaced aggression.

I grinned broadly, “Really, mind a small challenge then.”
“You dare challenge Me!” He said with arrogance.
“Consider it a demonstration of your great abilities.”
“Okay then, you have a challenge. Prepare yourself fool!” The other demons ran towards a tunnel's entrance, as walked along the wall. The dim lit opening was covered in darkness.
“May I ask for the name of my competitor?” I asked.
“Ter'an, and what can I call you fool?” He said, not really caring.
“Whatever feels comfortable, you seem to favor Fool.”
“Whatever, Ready.” He poised himself. With my left hand, I held my index finger letting him know that I wanted a moment more. I snapped my finger, and two wide ribbons of blackness flew from the corners of the room. They folded into a very comfortable chair. “What the fuck? Can't you stand!”
“I just prefer to sit, it allows me use more of my energy.”
“What the fuck ever! Fight!”
“Pearl before swine.” I said calmly, and smiling. He was becoming agitated. He a spin he sent hurling black blades at me. I snapped my fingers again, and a dozen black ribbons stretched from the dark entrance. They each twisted and touched like the ribbons worn for special occasions, mask-like faces and three bladed finger hands. With a whirl of of their hands, the blades where cast aside.
“What the Fuck?” Ter'an shouted.
“Oh, these are just my Rubesh K'Murenf, Shadow Pawns. They are not very powerful. Every Shadow Caster has a type of Pawn, let us see your's...” He was turning red with anger, he spread his hands wide apart, flexing his muscles, and shouted loudly. The darkness flowed to a position infront of Ter'an. Soon a rather large creature formed, very muscular, with glowing red eyes. “Is he not rather large for a Pawn?”
“He isn't a Pawn, He is my Pride!”
“oh, o-o-okay.” My criticism was beginning to fluster him. He shouted loudly as his 'Pride' came towards me. My Pawns hurled themselves at it, their blades digging into his surface, but I knew I needed more out there then Pawns. I stretched my hands apart wide, and slapped them together, the clap summoned four solid robed figures from the ground as though they were dust devils. They stood erect and proud, sleeve cuffs end to end. “These are my Rubesh K'Wathen, my Masters, Attack!”

They lunged at 'Pride' and began to absorb his material. “What is going on?”
“My Masters do exactly as they sound, they can take control of any shadow. They are assimilating its essence.”
“I don't think so.” He shouted, and began to whelm loudly. The darkness streamed on the ground toward his 'Pride.' It began to build his stature, he sprouted new arms, first four, then six. The eyes multiplied into four, and he doubled in size. My creatures fought back, my Pawns even amputated an arm, and my Masters began jettisoning projectiles at the five armed figure.

I stood up from my comfortable state, and conjured my favorite creature. The darkness stretched and slithered towards me like an arm, and rose from the ground. It took on a solid form, one of a serpent with ruby colored eyes and small wings about the size of its head. It flew and landed in my hand, and twisted around my arm. This serpent was my perfect achievement, he was my familiar. Falycor told me that a true sign of a powerful Shadow Caster is creating a familiar. A independent creature bound to your mind and will, it was to guide and follow. This was mine, Nexus.
“You are fulling into a bad habit.” He hissed. “It has been too long since you summoned me.”
“I apologize Nexus, I should not have left you in oblivion for that long,” I softly spoke as I stroked his upper body, he purred with pleasure.
“Not oblivion, I was not forged for the shadows-s-s of reality, I cannot just fade away.” His tongue flicked wildly with his words. His eyes glowed, burning with their own fire, as he watched the battle before us. “The shadows-s of you mind are thinker than you th-th-think.”

“Finally decide to stand up, to late to stop me kicking your ass!” Ter'an shouted over the commotion of the fighting.
“He has-s-s no idea who he is-s-s up against.” Nexus hisses and he raised to look at me.
“Are you ready friend?”
“Always-s am.” The, now, four armed figure throw one of the last Masters left on the jagged stalactites of the ceiling, disintegrating it. 'Pride' torn the last Pawn from his other arm, and started running towards me. I through Nexus into the air high above me, keeping my hand raised above my head. I could hear Ter'an laughing, he believed he had already won. Nexus fell straight down into my hand, but he was not limp and moving, he was firm, rigid and straight like a staff. 'Pride' was meters away from me, I bounced Nexus off the ground by the tip of his tail. From Nexus' mouth, a blade ejected from his mouth, he became a scythe.

Before the creature 'Pride' could get any closer, I twirled my Nexus/scythe and sliced two more of his arms off. Now left with two right arms, he tried to back hand me. I leaped on to his air in mid swing, and calming walked up his arm. I jumped from the base of his neck and slit him smoothly in half from the head down. As his beast's two halves felt to the ground and faded back into the darkness, Ter'an was furious, and as he was charging at me, he invoked a short-sword. As he swung to take my head, he was caught off guard but my shield. “You thought I would spread myself so thin that I could not even protect myself! You are no Shadow Caster, in fact,” I grabbed his throat and rammed him into the caverns wall, “you are not even a mix-blood, you pathetic Guilden. Show your true form!” I raised the scythe to his neck. The quivering being in front of be morphed into a grotesque slug-like monster, lime green slim oozing all over. Ter'an wined and cried, sounding like a swine, begging for mercy. “You picked the wrong day, the wrong master, and the wrong student to boast about! I am Dazengoth, you bastard! The last apprentice of Falycor, and you will have no mercy from me.” I whispered and mashed the razor edge of the scythe through him. His head fell to the ground, and rolled in the direction of the other. “Any others wish to challenge me?” I asked, smiling, they speed off into another tunnel.
The scythe blade vanished back into Nexus' mouth, and returned to his limber self. “That was entertaining, when is the second cours-s-se?” He purred.

“Soon, the gathering is moments away, and I have every intention of attending.” Nexus smacked his lips, there was still droplets of blood smeared on them. “It has been a while since you last feed.”
His tongue flicked out franticly, “I cannot wait for my second serving.”

The grand center pit of Hell was a buzz of demons, devils, and other hell-spawn. I was still cloaked in my dark disguise walking through the crowd. I could hear groups guessing what this assembly was for, most were so far from the truth it was not even funny. Others were surprisingly close.

There, around the high lords cave, stood a fraction of Legion, ten in all. They stood, unmoving, guarding the entrance, like the british palace soldiers. One marched forward, and with a ram horn, and trumpeted an alert to the crowd. Carved before the cave's entrance, was a platform of stone, and from the void of the cave, a number of Legion carried the thrones of the High lords.
Hecate, queen of the Dark arts, witchcraft, and mischief, skin a palm green and eyes the color of sea foam. Her hair was an elderly gray, and her robes, tattered and aged, was just as murky gray. She wore a toothless grin and Legion paraded her onto the platform. Behind her, was Beelzebub, he was horrifying in appearance, having mutilated his own body to that of insects and vermin. From the waist down, was that of a serpent, the rest of his flesh was slimy like a fish or eel. On his back, was the shell of a beetle, protecting wing of the same. His eyes, were a milky yellow, like puss, and meshed like a fly's, but the remained of his torso was human like. Last, entirely covered, head to toe, with burnt black cloth, was Lucifer. Even his throne was wrapped in this cloth.

One of Legion stepped to the front of the platform. “Silence is demanded from the Lords!” The congregation hushed in a wave. The army of Legion marched and aligned the Great Pits walls, each dressed in metal armor, and on their left shoulder, wore the Fangs of the Dragon, a dagger with a blade with a divide down most of the middle, and on both sides of the base, horned projections.
Beelzebub slithered forth, a mad smile cut across his disgusting face. “It has come to our attention that an abomination has occurred. A demon, a half-blood, has fraternized with a celestial.” All the hell-spawn shouted in disapproval. “He has been infected, and will betray us all. The Celestial has given the demon unimagined power, and we must join our forces to capture and eliminate this abhorrence before he is aware of his situation. He will become a hybrid, and bringing forth the end of our power. He will cast us into the oblivion, into non-existence. We might live in this abyss, but we live, we have adapted and even came to love this torture.