Dying Embers

by MrSpartan

A Broken Man

Authors Note: Short chapter is short. I would have made it longer but I have been rather busy getting ready to move in about a mounth and I felt that ending it on the part I did was a better idea from a story standpoint. Anyway here you go and please leave comments, thumb ups and all that good stuff.

“Wakey Wakeeey. You’re already dead, now your just being lazy. GET UP!”

Ahdean arose after that while feeling a pointed kick to his gut. He grunted in pain.

“Gooood. Now that you’re awake I have a little proposition for you.”

Ahdean looked up through blurry vision to a sight he would never be allowed to forget. Standing over the silver clad man was a monster that made his worst nightmares more closely resemble dreams about frolicking through the meadow like one of those sissy elves. The monster possessed a head of a bull, but with the addition of another, third yellow eye on its forehead. Its body was a grotesque mass of melted flesh that still managed to look incredibly well built. There were three golden orbs stuck in its chest. Its arms were similar to its torso but they ended in dragon claws with red spikes on them. Finally, its lower body was much like a griffin’s with a barbed tail emerging from its hind quarters. The whole creature was the color of polluted water.

“W…where am I?” Ahdean asked.

“Why my boy,” the demon said deeply that sounded as if it were many voices speaking at once “you’re in hell.”

The demon offered a toothy grin that could have frightened a blind man.

“The third layer of nine to be exact.”

The horror was evident in Ahdean’s voice. “Hell? I may not have believed in the gods, but is that such a sin?”

The demon turned away from him and walked to a throne made of yellowed bone he hadn’t noticed. Ahdean looked over his surroundings for the first time. He could see that he was in some kind of room made of bloodstained ivory. There were two massive doors behind him made of yet more bones, as well as a chandelier similarly crafted from bone. There also appeared to be some kind of torture table in the corner whose particular functions Ahdean preferred not to think about.

The infernal monstrosity deigned to answer the mortal’s question. “Well, actually no. Not believing isn’t enough of a transgression to warrant being sent here. I merely wanted to make you an offer.”

“What if I refuse?” the human soldier boldly asked.

“Then off to the lonely summit and the final realm you go. It would be as if you never met me. However…you’ll want to hear what I have to offer. What do you say?"

Ahdean paused to think. This monster was unquestionably evil, that was certain. The curiosity at what it had to offer him was piqued though. Besides, he could always say no.

“Alright, but make it brief,” he said.

“Wonderful,” the demon said clasping its claws together. “Now you may not know this mortal, but the hierarchy of the nine hells isn’t set in bone.”

“You mean set in stone right?”

The demonic entity scowled and said “No. Don’t interrupt me again worm. As I was saying, I am one of the nine lords of hell under our grand lord. We each keep our positions through force, trickery and power. My position is closer to the lower end of the latter then I’d like. Every demon, devil, abomination down here can gain the title of Lord of Hell if they successfully kill the previous one. We gain power by absorbing souls. But there is an obstacle that keeps us from rightfully taking souls whenever we desire. They have to agree to trade it, or they must die by our minion’s hand. Now you, my boy, you’re dead as dead can be; but I can grant you a second chance. Before you say anything…no, I won’t be needing your soul. I will trade you the power to kill the gods that took everything from your Empire. Think about it. You get a second chance at life and extract revenge on the ones who killed you and your emperor. I, of course, will get the powerful souls of a pair of godlings. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement. Now,” the demon stretched out his hand to Ahdean. A wicked smile spread across his lips that sent a chill up the human’s spine despite the supposed friendliness it represented.

The human was understandably hesitant. “So you give your word you won’t take my soul? Or the souls of others except those wretched alicorns?”

“Don’t insult me. A High Lord of Hell can never go back on their word. I will not take your whole soul. I will only take the souls of those you slaughter with the gifts I grant you.”

The hot wind sounded like a tortured moaning outside of the demon’s fortress of ivory as the human named Ahdean made his decision.

A wave of pain the likes of which Ahdean had never experienced shot up the hand he had extended to the demon. There was fire swirling around it like a blazing tornado. The muscle and skin turned crispy. They crumbled off his hand and lower arm, leaving only the bone structure untouched. The entire time Ahdean was screaming at the top of his lungs and actually crying from the pain.

In between one of his screams he managed the words, “It BUUUUUUURRRNS!!!”

The monster standing over him responded as casually as if he were answering a small child’s question about something. “Of course it does maggot. Hellfire burns not just the body but the soul. Did you honestly think my power came without a price?”

A black ring with a ruby gemstone affixed to it appeared from thin air on Ahdean’s bony ring finger. The colors then abruptly switched on the ring and his armor was replaced by a brand new solid black coat and a commoner shirt and pants underneath. The human’s face was sweating profusely as he fought the agony in order to speak.

“But, ergh, but you promised not to take my soul,” Ahdean struggled to say.

“I promised not to take your whole soul. I only used about an eighth of yours. Next time listen more carefully. You owe me until you get me those two souls. Now,” the nightmare said as it lifted back its clawed hand. “Enjoy!”

The back of its claw slapped across the man’s face. Ahdean felt like he was sent flying across an immeasurable distance before landing IN something squishy and cold. Then he blacked out.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Ahdean awoke once again. Instead of being kicked in the stomach though, he slowly opened his eyes to peer into the face of a Chuthuluite or more commonly known as a mind flayer. He rolled away, expecting to have his brain devoured. Thankfully, the squid like being was no longer among the living. Its eyes were a milky white instead of the normal colorless pupils they usually possessed when alive. Ahdean picked himself up off the brown grass.

Ahdean looked down at himself. His armor was gone. He instead wore the new cloths the demon had given him. He slowly looked at his actual body, afraid of what he might see. It was as bad as he feared. His skin was pale like a month old corpse. It was painfully clear he had lost more weight than seemed at all healthy. He found himself wishing for a mirror to see what the state of his face was, but that would have to wait. His hand was still a bony claw with that ring attached. He tried pulling it off. It didn’t budge an inch. He put more effort into it this time, but it was being stubborn and refused to move. The warrior gave up and looked around. It was a gloomy cloud-filled evening. He was still in the central plains, right at the spot where he had died, only now there were thousands of bodies from all four armies. He saw his emperor, still charred and broken on the body of his wyvern near that damned god spiri-Wait a minute!

He ran closer to the winged and horned body. His body felt oddly heavy as he forced his limbs to obey. It was almost like there was an invisible aura about him that caused his every movement to feel like a marathon. The so called “God of Natural Order” was dead like he deserved. The body was slightly mauled from several different types of injuries.

Good. He deserves no better then a painful and unceremonious death, the ghastly undead human thought. Another thought gained entrance to Ahdean’s skull. How am I to get the demon the soul of a god that has already died? Oh yes, there is another that yet lives. Or if not, then perhaps they had, ugh, children. They’ll pay for the damage they’ve done to our Empire.

At that anger driven thought the man noticed something shining in his eyes a ways off. He got up, inextricably drawn to it. Ahdean noticed the bodies around him had started to decay. How long was his soul missing from his body? The meeting with the monster had only been a few minutes, right? He arrived at the source of the shiny glare. Ahdean went completely numb. It was Illitheous in his miraculously undamaged looking plate mail among a pile of bodies.

Ahdean didn’t move. At first it seemed like he hadn’t a scratch on him. Perhaps he was just sleeping. Yeah, that was it. That’s when Ahdean noticed his brother’s armor.

It DID have a scratch on it or more specifically a hole. It was in the weaker area around the abdomen that allowed better movement. It seemed that he had been hit by some type of destruction magic. The rusted blood stains that ran down from the gash implied he had probably died of blood loss after the actual blast had made contact. Illitheous’ death mask was a happy one; utterly content to finally be with his wife, children and presumably his previously deceased brother in the afterlife.

The undead brother, Ahdean, collapsed to his knees in despair. Lightning flashed and rain chose that very moment to fall from the sky.

Why do you have to look so peaceful? You’re dead and I’ll never see you again. Ahdean thought. “I’ll keep your memory alive brother. You have no more children to do it. I will become you, Illitheous. I’ll make sure everyone will remember your name…everyone.”

The last tears the undead human would ever shed were lost with the rain. He had no more tears to give. The newly named brother didn’t notice. All he could think about was the true Illitheous’s last words. Everything will be okay. Always with that smile of his.

“No,” the newly christened Illitheous spoke.

_____________________________________________________________________________

After the human archer finished his story of past events, there hung a deafening silence between him and Princess Luna. Tears flooded down her cheeks like waterfalls. She desperately wanted to say something, anything that would justify what her father had started. She did not utter a word.

Tears flooded down her cheeks like waterfalls.

The human archer spoke for her, “That’s the way I hear it anyway.” With a stern expression he tucked away his knife into its sheath on his right boot. Then he tossed the little wood carving he had finished during the telling in front of the weeping princess’ magically conjured prison. “Just ponder this, princess,” the human said after getting up to take his leave, “who are the real villains here?”