Screams of pain echoed in that brick chamber lit vermilion red. A man, completely naked, was lying on the ground with his arms and legs spread. He, positioned over a demonic symbol drawn on the floor with blood, wept and begged not to be killed. He couldn't move. He couldn't escape.
Five individuals, with white masks and black priestly robes, murmured prayers in a language unknown to him.
For each verse of the prayer that was completed, the symbol lit up and the body of that poor man was crossed by strong bursts of pain.
Valentus Polaris arrived.
He walked over to a table from which he took an old tome which he leafed through a couple of times. He took a bronze candlestick; he lit all three candles and then the prayers ended. The priests broke the circle they had formed around the man and let Valentus pass; he placed the candlestick near the prisoner's head.
"The time has come," Valentus said in a triumphant tone. "Tonight we will give birth to Rahav the Conqueror. It's all ready."
"Please ... have mercy on me ..." the poor victim whimpered. "I did nothing …"
Valentus treated the man's words like the opinions of an ant. He didn't even deign that prisoner a glance. Without anger or even hatred, he proceeded to perform the ritual.
Raising his hands, Valentus exclaimed in a soft voice:
"Ata nunfaan paradon, paradon nunfaan kos, kos ista un’haan milata. Kos istansul olgan dalakai. Kos istansul orfan dalakai. Dalaka! Edunaan ista Rahav Gorai! Dalaka! Ilaan olgan!"
The prisoner's cries of pain grew louder. His chest swelled. The bones of his chest were breaking one after another; Blood gushed from his mouth and his body was wriggling violently. The screams stopped. In an instant the man's chest opened and this anonymous figure of blood came out and gradually obtained the shape of a half-horse monster.
Valentus, with a satisfied tone, asserted, addressing his companions:
"Ladies and gentlemen ... this is Rahav the Conqueror, one of the greatest demonic leaders ever."
The energy released by this terrible ritual terrified the fauna of the Wood of the Nymphs ... even Immanuel perceived something anomalous. A shiver of cold ran through his body and he felt the air fail for a few seconds. His first thought was: "I have to move!".
He ran imprudently into the woods and put his foot in a hole. He fell into a chasm and ended up inside an immense cave. He crashed into a rock ... then into another and eventually landed in a pond of water. Luckily he had protected his head.
Immanuel got up with difficulty, his arms and body were sore and severe cramps prevented him from leaving the water immediately. He took a breath and raised his head; he made a mental estimate of the distance traveled in the fall… maybe it was ten meters or twenty, he wasn't sure but he knew he couldn't climb the rock face.
He looked around. The deep darkness hid the identity of that cave under its cloak. Immanuel cursed a few times before leaving the water and rearranging his ideas.
The man got up and without hesitation ventured into the cave.
He walked for a good thirty minutes without meeting anything or anyone. The road was winding, full of obstacles and inhabited by mice, spiders and even snakes, but Immanuel didn't stop. He proceeded relentlessly in the darkness.
A demonic roar rang out in the cave. Immanuel stopped. He clenched his fists. He braced himself for the worst. Without fear he started walking again, aware that if the danger had been present it would surely not have been long in coming.
The man ventured into five minutes of pure silence.
He stopped again.
That quiet wasn't normal. Immanuel closed his eyes to focus only on hearing. His eyes were useless while his ears were more than essential. He heard noises coming from afar; they were approaching him. He couldn't be wrong: they were clattering of hooves. Probably three or four Pale-Lilin were looking for him; they had smelled him and were chasing him.
Immanuel opened his eyes. He started walking again.
At the fourth step the silence was broken. A beast jumped out of the darkness and tried to tear Immanuel's face with its claws; the man lowered himself and when he had the demon behind him, he turned to start fighting.
But another Pale-Lilin arrived and attacked Immanuel in the back. The claws wounded the man, but he didn't allow himself to give in to the pain. He counterattacked without hesitation.
"An Sich!"
The fist wrapped in celestial energy caused the demon to explode. The other Pale-Lilin, who was in front of Immanuel, was about to be helped by a second and a third. The man knew that facing them all would be suicide. He touched his chest and exclaimed:
"Anschauung!"
Five individuals, with white masks and black priestly robes, murmured prayers in a language unknown to him.
For each verse of the prayer that was completed, the symbol lit up and the body of that poor man was crossed by strong bursts of pain.
Valentus Polaris arrived.
He walked over to a table from which he took an old tome which he leafed through a couple of times. He took a bronze candlestick; he lit all three candles and then the prayers ended. The priests broke the circle they had formed around the man and let Valentus pass; he placed the candlestick near the prisoner's head.
"The time has come," Valentus said in a triumphant tone. "Tonight we will give birth to Rahav the Conqueror. It's all ready."
"Please ... have mercy on me ..." the poor victim whimpered. "I did nothing …"
Valentus treated the man's words like the opinions of an ant. He didn't even deign that prisoner a glance. Without anger or even hatred, he proceeded to perform the ritual.
Raising his hands, Valentus exclaimed in a soft voice:
"Ata nunfaan paradon, paradon nunfaan kos, kos ista un’haan milata. Kos istansul olgan dalakai. Kos istansul orfan dalakai. Dalaka! Edunaan ista Rahav Gorai! Dalaka! Ilaan olgan!"
The prisoner's cries of pain grew louder. His chest swelled. The bones of his chest were breaking one after another; Blood gushed from his mouth and his body was wriggling violently. The screams stopped. In an instant the man's chest opened and this anonymous figure of blood came out and gradually obtained the shape of a half-horse monster.
Valentus, with a satisfied tone, asserted, addressing his companions:
"Ladies and gentlemen ... this is Rahav the Conqueror, one of the greatest demonic leaders ever."
The energy released by this terrible ritual terrified the fauna of the Wood of the Nymphs ... even Immanuel perceived something anomalous. A shiver of cold ran through his body and he felt the air fail for a few seconds. His first thought was: "I have to move!".
He ran imprudently into the woods and put his foot in a hole. He fell into a chasm and ended up inside an immense cave. He crashed into a rock ... then into another and eventually landed in a pond of water. Luckily he had protected his head.
Immanuel got up with difficulty, his arms and body were sore and severe cramps prevented him from leaving the water immediately. He took a breath and raised his head; he made a mental estimate of the distance traveled in the fall… maybe it was ten meters or twenty, he wasn't sure but he knew he couldn't climb the rock face.
He looked around. The deep darkness hid the identity of that cave under its cloak. Immanuel cursed a few times before leaving the water and rearranging his ideas.
The man got up and without hesitation ventured into the cave.
 |
| Immanuel by BikoWolf |
A demonic roar rang out in the cave. Immanuel stopped. He clenched his fists. He braced himself for the worst. Without fear he started walking again, aware that if the danger had been present it would surely not have been long in coming.
The man ventured into five minutes of pure silence.
He stopped again.
That quiet wasn't normal. Immanuel closed his eyes to focus only on hearing. His eyes were useless while his ears were more than essential. He heard noises coming from afar; they were approaching him. He couldn't be wrong: they were clattering of hooves. Probably three or four Pale-Lilin were looking for him; they had smelled him and were chasing him.
Immanuel opened his eyes. He started walking again.
At the fourth step the silence was broken. A beast jumped out of the darkness and tried to tear Immanuel's face with its claws; the man lowered himself and when he had the demon behind him, he turned to start fighting.
But another Pale-Lilin arrived and attacked Immanuel in the back. The claws wounded the man, but he didn't allow himself to give in to the pain. He counterattacked without hesitation.
"An Sich!"
The fist wrapped in celestial energy caused the demon to explode. The other Pale-Lilin, who was in front of Immanuel, was about to be helped by a second and a third. The man knew that facing them all would be suicide. He touched his chest and exclaimed:
"Anschauung!"
His body was enveloped in blue energy. The previously aggressive demons stopped. They were as if lost. They could no longer perceive Immanuel.
The man knew he had only thirty seconds available, so approached the two Pale-Lilin who had just arrived.
No one could see him, no one could smell him or hear the sounds of his footsteps. Immanuel had completely disappeared from the demons' perspective; they didn't know that he was actually preparing to eliminate them all with a decisive move.
Immanuel needed to be at least three feet away from the demons in order to block them with his Magic. At the right moment he exclaimed:
"Begrenzung!"
A cobalt-colored magic circle surrounded Immanuel and also the two Pale-Lilin. The third demon, when it saw Immanuel appear, threw itself at him but in doing so it fell under the effect of that Magic and was paralyzed.
"Nice play, demons… but the game is over. An Sich - Totalität!"
The man hit the magic circle with his fist. All the creatures that had been paralyzed exploded. Within seconds, only pieces of flesh and pools of blood were left of three demons.
Despite the victory, Immanuel didn't feel well; the use of four Magics had tired him. The severe pains in his head, similar to neuralgia, were putting him on alert. The only way to avoid worsening symptoms was to avoid using other Magics.
The man wandered without a clear destination, but his path was abruptly interrupted by dizziness. He had to stop. He sat down on a rock and rubbed his temples with his eyes closed. The neuralgia became a little stronger but then subsided and finally disappeared.
"So it won't go away," said a female voice.
Immanuel turned and was shocked to learn that there was someone else there with him. It was a pale girl with two blood-colored eyes and black hair. Apparently she might seem like a child but Immanuel immediately understood that the person he had in front of him was not even human.
With a hostile manner, the man stood up and exclaimed:
"Did you think you were deceiving me, vampire?!"
"Ahah! If you believe that I want to hurt you, then you are on the wrong track. I'm not going to fight you."
"Give me a reason to believe you, vampire. Those like you serve demons, you are not friends with humans."
"Do you want a reason to believe me, băiat?" (Note: băiat = boy in Romanian)
The girl picked up a hand-sized stone. She passed it to Immanuel and cordially made him a request:
"Can you break it?"
He didn't even try and, throwing it at the girl's feet, he exclaimed abruptly:
"Go to hell. I'm not going to play your games."
The girl, without replying, picked up the stone and, with one hand, crumbled it. Immanuel didn't move a muscle.
"Are you trying to threaten me?" he asked.
The man knew he had only thirty seconds available, so approached the two Pale-Lilin who had just arrived.
No one could see him, no one could smell him or hear the sounds of his footsteps. Immanuel had completely disappeared from the demons' perspective; they didn't know that he was actually preparing to eliminate them all with a decisive move.
Immanuel needed to be at least three feet away from the demons in order to block them with his Magic. At the right moment he exclaimed:
"Begrenzung!"
A cobalt-colored magic circle surrounded Immanuel and also the two Pale-Lilin. The third demon, when it saw Immanuel appear, threw itself at him but in doing so it fell under the effect of that Magic and was paralyzed.
"Nice play, demons… but the game is over. An Sich - Totalität!"
The man hit the magic circle with his fist. All the creatures that had been paralyzed exploded. Within seconds, only pieces of flesh and pools of blood were left of three demons.
Despite the victory, Immanuel didn't feel well; the use of four Magics had tired him. The severe pains in his head, similar to neuralgia, were putting him on alert. The only way to avoid worsening symptoms was to avoid using other Magics.
The man wandered without a clear destination, but his path was abruptly interrupted by dizziness. He had to stop. He sat down on a rock and rubbed his temples with his eyes closed. The neuralgia became a little stronger but then subsided and finally disappeared.
"So it won't go away," said a female voice.
Immanuel turned and was shocked to learn that there was someone else there with him. It was a pale girl with two blood-colored eyes and black hair. Apparently she might seem like a child but Immanuel immediately understood that the person he had in front of him was not even human.
With a hostile manner, the man stood up and exclaimed:
"Did you think you were deceiving me, vampire?!"
"Ahah! If you believe that I want to hurt you, then you are on the wrong track. I'm not going to fight you."
"Give me a reason to believe you, vampire. Those like you serve demons, you are not friends with humans."
"Do you want a reason to believe me, băiat?" (Note: băiat = boy in Romanian)
The girl picked up a hand-sized stone. She passed it to Immanuel and cordially made him a request:
"Can you break it?"
He didn't even try and, throwing it at the girl's feet, he exclaimed abruptly:
"Go to hell. I'm not going to play your games."
The girl, without replying, picked up the stone and, with one hand, crumbled it. Immanuel didn't move a muscle.
"Are you trying to threaten me?" he asked.
"I'm clarifying our differences. As you are now, you are not a threat to me. You're weak, tired and in the dark. You're at a total disadvantage against me, băiat. If I had wanted to kill you, I would've done so already," she explained.
He couldn't contradict her. She was right.
"So what do you want, little girl?"
"I'm not a little girl," she said annoyed. "My name is Morgana. Morgana Crowley. What's your name, băiat?"
"Immanuel."
"Surname?"
He raised his middle finger in response. Her cheeks bulged with anger.
"For your information, băiat, I'm keeping you alive out of compassion. You should thank me by showing me a little more kindness."
"I promise you that when I get strong I will give you a quick death," he said.
"Don't make me regret saving you, it doesn't suit you."
"I don't even know why you did it. From what I know you might as well be the servant of some demon ... or Valentus Polaris."
Upon hearing that name, Morgana's eyebrows arched. She, in a conciliatory tone, asked:
"How do you know that name?"
"So I was right. You work for him."
"No, no! You're wrong. You're completely wrong," she exclaimed, shaking her head. "He's after me."
"What? Why?" he investigated.
"Er ... it's not easy to explain. Mm ... how much do you know about Chaos?"
"I know what I need to know: it's a hellish dimension, the cradle of all demons."
"You're not wrong ... but it's not that simple," she corrected. Morgana sat opposite Immanuel and explained: "Chaos, as we call it, is, in fact, an empire. The demons call it 'Sheolydaar' which translates to 'Empire of Sheol'. It's not so different from those empires that have shaped the history of humanity, the only difference is that it's destined to be eternal."
"You talk about it as if it were a certainty," he commented mockingly.
"The empire was established hundreds of thousands of years ago by Sheol. She has reigned over every demon for hundreds of thousands of years. It was she who shaped the reality of Chaos by giving certain demons specific noble titles along with specific powers. The higher the noble title, the greater the powers. In this way, Sheol, won the loyalty of the majority of demons." She paused briefly. "The rebel demons, on the other hand, were facing certain death. With her powers she conquered entire planets in less than a century. Sheol has subdued everyone. All Chaos is in Sheol's hands."
"But that doesn't answer my question," said Immanuel, annoyed.
"As you already know, băiat, we vampires serve demons. But we don't serve just any demons. We take oaths of allegiance to Hell Princes and Hell Kings. Whenever they leave Chaos to reach the Tower, we vampires are forced to serve them to death. But our luck is that they cannot command us if they are in Chaos."
"But things are changing now, aren't they?"
Immanuel's acumen surprised Morgana.
"Yes," she replied, "that's it." She then she added: "There was a kind of balance at the beginning. The only way the demons had to reach the Tower was through the Tree of Chaos ... but the Tree grows once every hundred years. So this meant, before, that vampires were forced to serve demons only when the Tree of Chaos arrived."
"But now the demons have found another way to reach the Tower."
"No, you're wrong," she said. "It's not the demons who have found the way. The fault lies with the Brotherhood of Polaris. We are talking about priests who are experts in the forbidden art of demonomancy, they were gathered by Valentus Polaris and practice rituals to summon demons."
"Son of a crone," Immanuel muttered. "Listen, little girl, what else do you know? Have you ever heard of a certain Atalya?"
"Who?"
"Forget it. Nobody important." Immanuel left the rock but before leaving he asked Morgana one last question: "Have you ever heard of a demon called Hush de Void?"
"No, never heard of it."
"I understand ... well, thanks."
Immanuel resumed his journey but Morgana blocked his way.
"Where do you think you're going in those conditions?" she protested.
"Move away, little girl," Immanuel said coldly.
"I'm not a little girl! I'm mature!" she exclaimed stepping on the man's foot.
"Ouch! Little bastard-!"
Immanuel tried to hit Morgana but the girl nimbly dodged the punch and, with superhuman speed, counterattacked with a kick that sent the man flying against the rock face.
"Perhaps it's not quite clear to you, băiat, that you are weak. You will never be able to defeat Valentus in those conditions."
"I just need to rest," he asserted, getting up breathlessly.
"Come with me," she said with a sigh.
"What-?"
"Come with me!" she repeated angrily.
Morgana took Immanuel out of the cave. Crossing the Wood of the Nymphs, the man realized that they were moving away from Valentus Polaris. He protested but she ignored him and led him in front of this immense tree with a trunk that could have been about fifteen meters in diameter. Immanuel immediately recognized that giant of wood; around the tree there was a large cyan lake that gave off its own light.
"Do you know it?" Morgana asked.
"Yes, it is a source of ápeiron. We used it, my comrades and I, during the Breach War." He paused briefly. "It serves to restore the Odic Force."
"Exact."
Ápeiron, the primordial element at the base of everything. An indeterminate, indefinite and infinite matter. What Immanuel saw wasn't pure ápeiron, otherwise he couldn't have perceived it in any way; what he was seeing was a synthesis of the ápeiron produced by the immense tree.
Immanuel knew, through the teachings he received when he was a child, that trees like that were called Anchors; these trees, through the Root, accumulated ápeiron and, through the fruits that fell from the branches, formed these shining lakes.
The liquid was nothing more than the result of a transformation of the ápeiron that had taken place inside the Anchor.
Immanuel already knew what to do. He took off his clothes and, once naked, immersed himself in the water.
That shining water was neither too hot nor too cold; it didn't wet and was not inhabited by any creature.
The man felt the pains vanish, his mind was relaxing and the wounds were healing. Floating in those waters gave him a feeling of bliss.
Within about ten minutes, the man left the lake; there was no scars or traces of dirt left on his invigorated body.
Morgana, who had taken a seat on the bank, handed the clothes to Immanuel and, with her gaze, demanded thanks. His silence was punished with spite: the girl refused to deliver the clothes and she walked away from Immanuel.
"What are you doing?!" he protested annoyed.
"After everything I've done for you, I deserve thanks at the very least. I won't ask you to apologize for before, even if you should, but I ask for gratitude." She exhibited the clothes and rocked them."Otherwise I think you'll have to face Valentus without these."
"Don't you think you're a bit immature?"
"How dare you?!" she thundered aloud. "Would I be the 'immature' one? You're the one who can't even show a minimum of gratitude for the person who helped you!"
"Oh, come on! Don't pretend to be a good person!" he exclaimed. "We both know that you vampires have never been allies of mankind. You're evil creatures, with no dignity and no respect for those around you. You're selfish creatures, you're manipulators, rattlesnakes and bloodthirsty monsters! I bet what you want that you're none other than some Hell King's bitch!"
There was a moment of silence.
She blinked in shock. She didn't say anything. Her brow furrowed, her eyes tinged with pure hatred ... but also with sadness.
Morgana dropped Immanuel's clothes to the floor. She turned her back on Immanuel.
"Goodbye," she murmured with rancor.
The girl ran into the woods.
Immanuel, left alone, approached those clothes and thought back to that expression that had been painted on Morgana's face. A strong sense of guilt stabbed his heart. He felt he had gone too far and acted like a lout.
After getting dressed, Immanuel ventured into the Wood of the Nymphs to look for Morgana and be forgiven.
In the midst of the search, Immanuel sensed a strange presence. There was a smell of demon in the air. Hearing the sound of hooves coming from the bush, he prepared to face a Pale-Lilin, but then, to his surprise, he saw this demon emerge at least four meters high. A half-horse monster with a deformed face and purple hair. The demon brandished a mighty war ax in one hand and gripped Morgana by the throat in the other.
The girl was thrown into a tree.
Immanuel immediately reached out to the vampire to make sure she was okay. She opened her eyes and, faintly, asked:
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to help you ..."
She cried.
"You have to go, băiat ... this demon is not like the others ..."
"We'll see," he said in a voice overflowing with confidence.
Immanuel, therefore, turned towards that horrible creature and, running towards it, struck his blow:
"An Sich!"
That single punch would've been enough to finish the fight. One punch and the demon would be dead.
...
"Rückblende." Two jaws, in the center of the demon's face, had opened to utter those grim words.
The creature disappeared, like a ghost, leaving a transparent image of itself. Immanuel hit that ghost but nothing happened.
Within seconds, there was a roar and that image of the demon, which had remained motionless, began to writhe ... to dilate ... to lengthen ... and then, in the blink of an eye, the demon returned to its exact position as before and it was no longer transparent like a ghost.
The demon, with its ax, struck a blow that cut Immanuel's belly. The man let out a cry of pain and fell to the ground bleeding.
"Did you really think you were stronger than me, Guardian?" asked that dark monstrous voice.
Morgana tried to get close to Immanuel to help him but she was immediately hit by the heavy hooves of the demon.
"I'll take care of you later, vampire. I will be glad to devour your soul in the name of Sheol. But I'll take care of your new friend first…" He hit Immanuel with a hoof. "What happens, mortal? Where has the courage you had a little while ago gone? Did you realize you were crazy?"
"Who are you?" Immanuel asked with the little energy he had left.
"You don't know? Well let me introduce myself: I'm the commander of ten demonic legions, I'm the leader who led the advance on Alkiesh in the Fourth Century of Sheol and who put dozens of your settlements to fire and sword during the Breach War. I'm the Hell Baron Rahav the Conqueror."
"So what do you want, little girl?"
"I'm not a little girl," she said annoyed. "My name is Morgana. Morgana Crowley. What's your name, băiat?"
"Immanuel."
"Surname?"
He raised his middle finger in response. Her cheeks bulged with anger.
"For your information, băiat, I'm keeping you alive out of compassion. You should thank me by showing me a little more kindness."
"I promise you that when I get strong I will give you a quick death," he said.
"Don't make me regret saving you, it doesn't suit you."
"I don't even know why you did it. From what I know you might as well be the servant of some demon ... or Valentus Polaris."
Upon hearing that name, Morgana's eyebrows arched. She, in a conciliatory tone, asked:
"How do you know that name?"
"So I was right. You work for him."
"No, no! You're wrong. You're completely wrong," she exclaimed, shaking her head. "He's after me."
"What? Why?" he investigated.
"Er ... it's not easy to explain. Mm ... how much do you know about Chaos?"
"I know what I need to know: it's a hellish dimension, the cradle of all demons."
"You're not wrong ... but it's not that simple," she corrected. Morgana sat opposite Immanuel and explained: "Chaos, as we call it, is, in fact, an empire. The demons call it 'Sheolydaar' which translates to 'Empire of Sheol'. It's not so different from those empires that have shaped the history of humanity, the only difference is that it's destined to be eternal."
"You talk about it as if it were a certainty," he commented mockingly.
"The empire was established hundreds of thousands of years ago by Sheol. She has reigned over every demon for hundreds of thousands of years. It was she who shaped the reality of Chaos by giving certain demons specific noble titles along with specific powers. The higher the noble title, the greater the powers. In this way, Sheol, won the loyalty of the majority of demons." She paused briefly. "The rebel demons, on the other hand, were facing certain death. With her powers she conquered entire planets in less than a century. Sheol has subdued everyone. All Chaos is in Sheol's hands."
"But that doesn't answer my question," said Immanuel, annoyed.
"As you already know, băiat, we vampires serve demons. But we don't serve just any demons. We take oaths of allegiance to Hell Princes and Hell Kings. Whenever they leave Chaos to reach the Tower, we vampires are forced to serve them to death. But our luck is that they cannot command us if they are in Chaos."
"But things are changing now, aren't they?"
Immanuel's acumen surprised Morgana.
"Yes," she replied, "that's it." She then she added: "There was a kind of balance at the beginning. The only way the demons had to reach the Tower was through the Tree of Chaos ... but the Tree grows once every hundred years. So this meant, before, that vampires were forced to serve demons only when the Tree of Chaos arrived."
"But now the demons have found another way to reach the Tower."
"No, you're wrong," she said. "It's not the demons who have found the way. The fault lies with the Brotherhood of Polaris. We are talking about priests who are experts in the forbidden art of demonomancy, they were gathered by Valentus Polaris and practice rituals to summon demons."
"Son of a crone," Immanuel muttered. "Listen, little girl, what else do you know? Have you ever heard of a certain Atalya?"
"Who?"
"Forget it. Nobody important." Immanuel left the rock but before leaving he asked Morgana one last question: "Have you ever heard of a demon called Hush de Void?"
"No, never heard of it."
"I understand ... well, thanks."
Immanuel resumed his journey but Morgana blocked his way.
"Where do you think you're going in those conditions?" she protested.
"Move away, little girl," Immanuel said coldly.
"I'm not a little girl! I'm mature!" she exclaimed stepping on the man's foot.
"Ouch! Little bastard-!"
Immanuel tried to hit Morgana but the girl nimbly dodged the punch and, with superhuman speed, counterattacked with a kick that sent the man flying against the rock face.
"Perhaps it's not quite clear to you, băiat, that you are weak. You will never be able to defeat Valentus in those conditions."
"I just need to rest," he asserted, getting up breathlessly.
"Come with me," she said with a sigh.
"What-?"
"Come with me!" she repeated angrily.
Morgana took Immanuel out of the cave. Crossing the Wood of the Nymphs, the man realized that they were moving away from Valentus Polaris. He protested but she ignored him and led him in front of this immense tree with a trunk that could have been about fifteen meters in diameter. Immanuel immediately recognized that giant of wood; around the tree there was a large cyan lake that gave off its own light.
"Do you know it?" Morgana asked.
"Yes, it is a source of ápeiron. We used it, my comrades and I, during the Breach War." He paused briefly. "It serves to restore the Odic Force."
"Exact."
Ápeiron, the primordial element at the base of everything. An indeterminate, indefinite and infinite matter. What Immanuel saw wasn't pure ápeiron, otherwise he couldn't have perceived it in any way; what he was seeing was a synthesis of the ápeiron produced by the immense tree.
Immanuel knew, through the teachings he received when he was a child, that trees like that were called Anchors; these trees, through the Root, accumulated ápeiron and, through the fruits that fell from the branches, formed these shining lakes.
The liquid was nothing more than the result of a transformation of the ápeiron that had taken place inside the Anchor.
Immanuel already knew what to do. He took off his clothes and, once naked, immersed himself in the water.
 |
| Morgana by BikoWolf |
The man felt the pains vanish, his mind was relaxing and the wounds were healing. Floating in those waters gave him a feeling of bliss.
Within about ten minutes, the man left the lake; there was no scars or traces of dirt left on his invigorated body.
Morgana, who had taken a seat on the bank, handed the clothes to Immanuel and, with her gaze, demanded thanks. His silence was punished with spite: the girl refused to deliver the clothes and she walked away from Immanuel.
"What are you doing?!" he protested annoyed.
"After everything I've done for you, I deserve thanks at the very least. I won't ask you to apologize for before, even if you should, but I ask for gratitude." She exhibited the clothes and rocked them."Otherwise I think you'll have to face Valentus without these."
"Don't you think you're a bit immature?"
"How dare you?!" she thundered aloud. "Would I be the 'immature' one? You're the one who can't even show a minimum of gratitude for the person who helped you!"
"Oh, come on! Don't pretend to be a good person!" he exclaimed. "We both know that you vampires have never been allies of mankind. You're evil creatures, with no dignity and no respect for those around you. You're selfish creatures, you're manipulators, rattlesnakes and bloodthirsty monsters! I bet what you want that you're none other than some Hell King's bitch!"
There was a moment of silence.
She blinked in shock. She didn't say anything. Her brow furrowed, her eyes tinged with pure hatred ... but also with sadness.
Morgana dropped Immanuel's clothes to the floor. She turned her back on Immanuel.
"Goodbye," she murmured with rancor.
The girl ran into the woods.
Immanuel, left alone, approached those clothes and thought back to that expression that had been painted on Morgana's face. A strong sense of guilt stabbed his heart. He felt he had gone too far and acted like a lout.
After getting dressed, Immanuel ventured into the Wood of the Nymphs to look for Morgana and be forgiven.
In the midst of the search, Immanuel sensed a strange presence. There was a smell of demon in the air. Hearing the sound of hooves coming from the bush, he prepared to face a Pale-Lilin, but then, to his surprise, he saw this demon emerge at least four meters high. A half-horse monster with a deformed face and purple hair. The demon brandished a mighty war ax in one hand and gripped Morgana by the throat in the other.
The girl was thrown into a tree.
Immanuel immediately reached out to the vampire to make sure she was okay. She opened her eyes and, faintly, asked:
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to help you ..."
She cried.
"You have to go, băiat ... this demon is not like the others ..."
"We'll see," he said in a voice overflowing with confidence.
Immanuel, therefore, turned towards that horrible creature and, running towards it, struck his blow:
"An Sich!"
That single punch would've been enough to finish the fight. One punch and the demon would be dead.
...
"Rückblende." Two jaws, in the center of the demon's face, had opened to utter those grim words.
The creature disappeared, like a ghost, leaving a transparent image of itself. Immanuel hit that ghost but nothing happened.
Within seconds, there was a roar and that image of the demon, which had remained motionless, began to writhe ... to dilate ... to lengthen ... and then, in the blink of an eye, the demon returned to its exact position as before and it was no longer transparent like a ghost.
The demon, with its ax, struck a blow that cut Immanuel's belly. The man let out a cry of pain and fell to the ground bleeding.
"Did you really think you were stronger than me, Guardian?" asked that dark monstrous voice.
Morgana tried to get close to Immanuel to help him but she was immediately hit by the heavy hooves of the demon.
"I'll take care of you later, vampire. I will be glad to devour your soul in the name of Sheol. But I'll take care of your new friend first…" He hit Immanuel with a hoof. "What happens, mortal? Where has the courage you had a little while ago gone? Did you realize you were crazy?"
"Who are you?" Immanuel asked with the little energy he had left.
"You don't know? Well let me introduce myself: I'm the commander of ten demonic legions, I'm the leader who led the advance on Alkiesh in the Fourth Century of Sheol and who put dozens of your settlements to fire and sword during the Breach War. I'm the Hell Baron Rahav the Conqueror."
