Heaven and Hell

Chapter 4: Evil Emerges
Far away from the Great Monastery of the Holy Light, a lone figure stood on a mountain overlooking one of the human cities. He didn’t know the name of it, nor did he care. The sun had just set over the horizon, the only light came from a nearby camp fire The man wore very worn out, old rags that covered his entire body. The only part of him that was still visible was his solemn face. His eyes were a cold grey, his lips very thin. His hair was as dark as the night sky above him, save for a wisp of grey along his temples. A cool breeze brushed passed him, he didn’t even blink. He stood there on the mountain, waiting. He stood motionless for several hours. It was nearing midnight when he finally moved, he turned his head to the side, his thin lips twisting into a smile.

“How long have you been here Sato?” he asked in a smooth voice. A shadow against the mountain shifted. It morphed and took the shape of a human’s silhouette. The silhouette began to dissipate, and a young man stood next to the man in rags. His hair was black and hung like a curtain over his face. He brushed it aside to reveal a pale face. He wore a glum expression, his yellow eyes gazed at the man in the rags.

“We’ve been here almost as long as you have Serin,” the young man replied, his voice seemed to have a faint echo. He looked at his own shadow against the wall as if it were another person speaking to him. He then nodded his head and returned his attention to the man known as Serin.

“What did he say?” Serin asked.

“Tyrin says he will take over once the other two are present,” Sato replied. Serin nodded and resumed staring away from the mountain. The two stood together in silence, waiting. After fifteen minutes, a faint grunting noise could be heard from behind them. The two men turned to see a large muscular figure bounding towards them. Serin flexed his fingers, Sato just looked bored as the figure stepped into the light of the fire. The large muscular figure looked like an abnormally large human, except that his skin was a crimson colour, muscles bulged to an impossible size, for a human and two large curving horns crowned his head.

“Must you be in your demon form Ragar?” Serin inquired, a hint of exasperation in his voice. Ragar grinned at the other two.

“I love making an entrance, you know that,” he said in a low, almost guttural voice.
“Well there is no need for it, change back,” Serin ordered.

“Only the Fiend has the power to make me obey Serin!” Ragar growled. The sound of a blade being drawn and a howl from Ragar could then be heard. A knife was buried in the flesh of Ragar’s left arm. Serin had thrown the knife with such blinding speed, it was like he hadn’t even moved. Blood ran down Ragar’s arm. He snarled viciously at Serin.

“You will comply,” Serin hissed. “because if you don’t, I will aim for your heart Ragar, and I never miss my target.” Ragar growled again, murderous intent in his eyes. Serin flexed his fingers and watched. He gazed at the larger demon with a cold expression. The larger creature nodded his head, thinking it better to obey than to fight needlessly. He roared loudly as his body began to shrink, the sounds of bones cracking could be heard. Soon the roars were replaced with screams of pain. Ragar had gone from a hulking and menacing, red skinned monster, to the guise of a human with short brown hair. His body was scrawny and half naked. His eyes were narrow and black. Ragar panted heavily, the ordeal of shrinking down to his human form was great.

“There, I’m in my disgusting human form. Satisfied?” Ragar then pulled the knife from his arm and threw it to Serin, who caught the blade easily. Serin nodded his approval as the knife vanished beneath his rags.

“Syra is late again,” Sato sighed. “She’s always late!”

“Patience Sato, Syra will be here soon,” Serin said reassuringly. Sato merely rolled his eyes and began muttering under his breath. Serin knew he wasn’t talking to himself however, he was conversing with his inner demon Tyrin. Sato was but Tyrin’s vessel. Unlike most demons, Tyrin didn’t have a physical form, so he relied on Sato. Without him, Tyrin wouldn’t be anything more than a mere shadow in this realm.

Serin noticed a figure heading towards them. As the figure drew near, the smell of vanilla perfume wafted in the air. A young, attractive blond woman stepped into their midst. She wore a bright pink dress that had a red stain in the middle of it.

“Sorry boys,” Syra said licking her crimson lips. “I stopped for a bite to eat.” she smile devilishly.

“You’re late again,” Sato said.

“Be quiet little boy, we don’t want you here, bring out Tyrin!”Syra snapped. Sato glared at her. He looked over at his shadow and bowed his head, his dark hair covering his face. A low hissing sound could be heard from him. He jerked his head up suddenly. His expression had changed from glum to sinister, his pupils had become dark slits. Tyrin smiled broadly, revealing pointed teeth.

“Feels good to be in control again,” he hissed. The demon looked at his hands and flexed them. “I don’t think I’ll let the boy out for awhile.” he chuckled.

“Well now that we are all assembled, lets get down to business shall we?” Serin said pointedly.
“Yeah Serin, what do you want of us?” Ragar demanded. “It’s been two hundred years since we last spoke to each other. What is so damn important?” Serin moved towards the campfire. The others followed, encircling the fire. Serin held a hand over the fire. The flames grew in size, the sound of it crackling echoed all around them.

“The time has come,” he began. “The Fiend is gathering his strength. He has been dormant for a very long time, summoning up his strength, gauging our enemies for centuries. He is ready to make his move against them. He has called to us.” In the fire an image of the Fiend trapped in his prison flickered before them. He gazed up at the other four, as though he could see them. A faint smile twisted on his lips.

“The signs have been clear. Everything the Fiend has predicted has come true. Lesser Demons have been showing up in this world more and more recently.”

“Pathetic weaklings,” Ragar growled. Serin glared at Ragar, then continued.
“These Lesser Demons have been killing many humans all over the world, leaving the mark of our Master in their wake. They have heard his call and we too shall answer it. We shall assume control of the Lesser Demons and begin our ascent!”

“The Order of the Holy Light is about to be snuffed out. The Fist of Buddha shall be broken, Abraham’s Shadow shall be surrounded by darkness and even the Arabian Knights will fall to our might.” As Serin spoke images of humans being attacked and killed appeared in the flames. Buildings burned, the world enveloped in chaos. Demons roamed freely, the gates of Hell smashed open, allowing all free reign over the Earth.

“Armageddon,” Tyrin hissed.

“The humans will be wiped out and the Earth will belong to us once more. We will no longer be shackled in the depths of Hell! We will rise upon the Earth and then Heaven itself!” an image of the gates to Heaven appeared with a army of demons marching upon it. The gates were smashed open, the horde charged.

“We will finally be able to strike back at those who have damned us! The Fiend has foreseen it all. The time has come, to free him and begin our ascent.” The flames flickered out, leaving nothing but darkness.