A man named Marcus: Red Eyes

I was in shock, my body refused to move. I was looking at myself, or at least something that looked exactly like me. It wore my favourite hooded sweater, one of the few things that survived my journey from the ruins of my old room all those months ago while I stood with my back towards the wall bare naked. It didn't have my eyes, instead it gazed at me with two large black voids, like a swirling whirlpool of darkness.

“Well...” The thing spoke. “Aren't you going to say hello?”

My mind finally returned to me and I snapped out of my trance. I panicked and reached for the sword that held on to the crystal and put it in between myself and the mirror image of me.

“Oh, I wouldn't do that.” It grimaced. “Wouldn't do a thing, go right through me and you may ended up breaking something...Or someone.”

“What the hell are you?” I asked, swallowing the dryness from my throat.

“Well, I could try to be deep about it and say that I'm you. But that would be a lie.” It said to me. “So I'll just tell the truth.”

The thing pointed at my sword, or rather the emerald that was attached to its pommel. “That.”

“That?”

“That. I'm that. I'm the little jewel there. Or rather, I'm the spirit within it. One of the few entities that the Demon Lord could never get her little hands on.”

“A spirit...Then who are you?” I asked him, lowering the sword.

The spirit tilted his head and gave me a pursed half smile. He locked his hands behind his back before continuing.

“Titos Ekkins, second born of House Ekkins, brother to Titus Ekkins: The first of the patriarchs, and commander of his armies: The longest march.”

“The first patriarch?” I asked him. “How old are you?”

“If its the same year your danuki friend over there purchased me.” He said, pointing towards the still sleeping Moriko. “Then very old. And you only know of the last patriarch roughly a thousand years ago.”

The way he stated the last sentence made me raise a brow. “Wait. How do you know about what I know?”

“Because you touched the sword.” He said. “I know everything about you.”

“Everything?”

Titos sighed and unlinked his hands. “You were born in New York, your father was English and your mother was American. You stayed behind when they moved to London, You spend two years as a waiter and six months in construction. Your favourite colour is blue and your favourite food are meat buns. Your favourite comic book character is Captain America, and your “hoodie” makes you feel safe and secure.”

“So wait, you know what all that stuff is?” I asked him. “Captain America and America?”

“What, still don't believe me?” He asked with a humoured chuckle. “Alright fine.”

Titos turned and pointed to the girls still sleeping in the centre of the living room.

He pointed to Lupa on the far left. “You like the sounds she makes during sex.”
Then Moriko “You wonder if she would let you hold her tail one night while you sleep.”
Then Mouse “You fantasize about her in a maid outfit constantly.”
And then Cleo “And her lips are the softest and the way she purrs makes you go wild.”

I turned redder than I've ever been at his words, kicking at the wood floor bashfully and scratching my head in complete embarrassment. “Okay...I believe you.”

“If it makes you feel any better.” Titos fought back his own laughter. “Cleo would more than likely make cute poses for you and say “Nyaa” if you ask her.”

“Okay okay okay!” I cried. “I believe you!”

“Good.”

“But this doesn't explain one thing.” I started again. “Why do you look like me?”

“Its easier for me than to look at myself.” Titos explained. “I was eight when the first Demon Lord: Drogoth the Unbound, flayed the skin from my face.”

“She did that to a child?” I asked in disbelief.

“The Demon Lords before the current were very, very different from what you know.” He explained. “Each one had their own depiction of perfection, each one had their own way of eradicating humanity from the face of the planet. And -he- was the most terrible.”

Titos approached me, at first I flinched and backed away, but I then noticed that I was nervous or afraid any more.

“We fought Drogoth with fire and steel and war machines like you have never seen before.” He said as he raised his hand and placed his thumb against my forehead. It felt like nothing at first, but then I felt his skin against mine, like he appeared from thin air. And suddenly I was no longer in my living room.

I stood in a field with Titos, its muddy landscape as grey as the bleak sky above. I heard voices, shouts, battle cries coming from all directions. Titos pointed behind me and I turned to see what he was aiming for.

Before me stood an army, a grand army like which I had never seen. Its soldiers wore silver armour that covered their entire bodies like a symbiotic suit, the openings and lines at the joins and parts where the armour clicked together glowed bright neon colours that seemed to course through their battle gear like water. They carried swords with edges that were white hot, and rifles that were large and block like.
Within their ranks were large humanoid walkers, graceful and articulate unlike anything I would have seen even back on Earth. They carried large cannons and swords and axes that would cleave through even the toughest of armours.

And standing on a platform in the centre, I could see them even from here. Two men, one with his helmet off, his mouth was surrounded by hair and his face was covered in scars, the other hid his face away behind his helmet.

“Those two, standing on the platform.” Titos spoke again. “Is me and my brother Titus... He brought countless under his banner and I led his armies. Stalwart men and women that never fled, never coward, for every soldier that fell, they would take ten of theirs...The first Paladins.”

“And over there.” he pointed me to the opposite side, an endless swarm of horrid abominations like I had never seen charged towards the paladins. “Are the first monsters. Primitive, brutal, horrifying, all sculpted in Drogoth's image.”

“We should get out of here!” I panicked, now realizing that I was caught between two of the most powerful armies I had ever laid my eyes on.

“No need.” Titos said. “I give visions, I'm not a time traveller. You'll be fine.”

The Titos and Titus standing on the platform looked at one another and nodded, then Titos drew his blade and raised it into the air. He shouted in a language I did not understand and his army charged.

The monsters closed in as well, their bodies a sickly green and their faces like locusts. They walked on all four, claws that could tear a man to shreds or blades like that of a mantis. Even the giants looked like primordial insects. I turned back to the paladins and yelped as a ball of blue light went right through me. It crashed into one of the monsters in the front lines and exploded, ripping its body to pieces and splashing blue onto its allies, melting through their carapace quickly.

“Our blades weakened the molecular bond of whatever it cut.” Titos explained. “Our rifles fired plasma at such speed in velocity it could go through multiple enemies. But still the monsters advanced.”

Paladin after paladin charged through us, their weapons drawn. Then one of the metal giants kicked through me, at least twenty metres tall. Its fist crushed the face of the first giant it made contact with. Then I was deafened completely by the two god-like armies crashing into one another. Blood and gore, both red and green, tore through the air at a horrifying pace.

“Our civilization was advanced, our technology unbound.” Titos continued. “When I was a boy, scientists and scholars spoke of going to new planets and finding new life. But with each Demon Lord came an army, with every army came opposition, with the opposition came the Crusaders, with every “Final” confrontation, we lost a little bit more. After the tenth crusade humanity fought with rifles like the ones you're familiar with. By the fifteenth it was muskets, then finally bows, swords, catapults, and anything else you could use to kill something.”

“What happened to you?” I asked him. “Why are you in that jewel?”

Titos snapped his finger and I was suddenly in the air, I had a birds eye view of the carnage before me. It went for miles upon miles, men and monster cutting, smashing, shooting, punching, and biting one another in a brutal dance of death.

He pointed my gaze further into the fight, and I saw them. Titos and Titus cutting through the monster ranks side by side, their weapons large and monstrous, but they wielded them like a sabre or a knife.

“I may have been the strategist.” Titos explained. “But my brother was a warrior to the bone. They said back then that he was the herald of the old gods, an avatar of their wrath. I respected him more than anyone.”

The vision of Titos yelled something to his brother. Titus nodded and charged off a head, cutting down dozens with every swing of his axe. I looked further down the monsters rank, and there it stood. A creature larger than any of the giants, its face like that of a devil, it snarled and spat terrible bile with every roar. In each hand it carried a gnarled blade that could cut entire sky scrapers in two. It walked on three toes on each foot, claws that dug into the ground and left permanent snares.

Titus wasn't intimidated, he cut down any monster that stood in his way, even giants were bisected by his weapon. He leaped into the air like a super hero and created entire gaps in the enemy swarm wherever he landed. This continued until he finally reached his target: Drogoth the unbound.

Titus let out another war cry and leaped into the air, his axe ready. Drogoth answered with a shout of his own and brought both his weapons to bare. But with two moves, without ever touching the ground. Titus swiped his first weapon aside and cut through the second entirely. The colossal Drogoth reeled back in what I could only tell as panic before Titus fell on him and closed the distance. Titus' axe cut into Drogoth's neck at an angle, removing his head from his body soon after.

Both Titus and Drogoth's head landed on the ground, followed by the Demon Lords body that keeled over and crushed the ranks of monsters behind it. Titus dug his axe into the ground and lifted Drogoth's massive head into the air, letting out a cry of victory as the Demon Lord's host scattered in all directions.

“The monsters then returned to the darkness that bore them.” Titos told me. “But we knew that this wouldn't be the last of them. Someone would rise from the ranks and take over.”

“Beings of unimaginable magic, the Demon Lords. Whomever led the monsters shaped them to their will. Titus and I knew this, we needed a fail safe, someone to warn future generations of how to fight the monster threat. Our only option was soul linking.”

“Soul linking?” I asked him. “So that's how you got in that jewel?”

“Correct.” he confirmed. “After the last battle, Titus was deified. He was tasked with leading humanity to civilization instead of the militaristic society we had created. So I volunteered instead. He argued with me at first, but he knew as well that I would be the best one for the job.”

“So he created that jewel, your vessel.”

“He held on to the spirit until his time came. And then I was passed down to the next. And then the next, and the next, until I eventually found my way into the hands of the last Patriarch. But he was different, he saw the dwarves and the elves, creatures that broke their ties from monster-kind until the current Demon Lord took control. He thought, that deep down, monsters and humans were not so different.”

“And did you believe him?”

“I didn't, at first. I thought he was a naive child. He became Patriarch at sixteen, and spent most of his time sneaking away from his room and studies to help the common folk with their work and problems. He was a kind, sweet boy and loving boy, but he was also strong and wise and brave. I began to see things the way he did.

His first battle was against Red-Devil Akuji,  a powerful goblin general within the Demon Lords army. Akuji was soundly defeated and captured, and in an act of mercy, the Patriarch released Akuji from his capture. I scolded him, told him that he was being a blind fool. But four months later, Akuji returned and laid siege to Broncodo, a town you know as Bouceroc, your home. Instead of attacking the town immediately like most demon generals did. Akuji gave the inhabitants and defenders a term of surrender. Unhand the town to Demon occupation, and they may go free.”

“Did they accept?”

“Five hundred men would not hold out against fifty thousand, the commanders begrudgingly accepted the offer. And much to the worlds surprise, Akuji kept his promise, no one was harmed leaving the towns wall.”

“So...” I coughed. “What do you think of the current Demon Lord, then? And her image of monsters?”

“It was Draken the Slayer that created the Succubus, used them as infiltrators and assassins. But it wasn't until the vampire lord Kharak that they came into power.”

Titos snapped his fingers and I was once again standing in my living room, the girls still sleeping in a curled up cuddle.

“Kharak was weak and smitten by a succubus much older than he. It didn't take her long to suck him dry of his power and take over the throne. In a way, the Demon Lord is the same as the Patriarch. She wants peace, but her methods are extreme. I have no hate for these new generations of monsters. To hate them would be like blaming Zant for a crime committed by Cartuga. And as I can clearly see--”

Titos glances over at the naked pile with a stupid smile. “You don't seem to have a problem with their methods either.”

I blushed again and looked away. “Really, man?”

“Sorry.”

“So is that why Tiberius Crom wants to get a hold of you? He thinks you can help him stop the Demon Lord?”

“I don't know what Crom's objective is with me. I have never been in the possession of someone who knew him well enough. But from what I can tell from other memories I've gathered, he plans to rid the world of both God and the Demon Lord.”

“Can he do that?” I asked. “Is God an actual thing?”

“I couldn't tell you.” Titos shrugged. “When I was still in command of my brother's army. The Paladins found power in their own inner being, their magics came directly from themselves. But these new Paladins, the ones fighting for this “Ecclesiarch” draw their power from something else. Something very alien to me.”

“You knew the Ecclesiarch then?” I stepped forward. “How did he lose you?”

“He threw me away.” Titos answered bluntly. “He demanded I tell him how to kill the Demon Lord once and for all. When I refused and told him it would go against the wishes of the Patriarch, he screamed at me and tossed me into a sewer drain. Good riddance, I say. Cunt.”

“What's his deal? Why is he so damn genocidal?”

“Couldn't say.” Titos shrugged. “May be possessed, may be this worlds equivalent of that guy you call Moses. Found a burning tree, let the tree talk him into parting oceans, most of his memories are a fog to me--”

“Marcus?” I looked over Titos' shoulder, and saw Cleo sitting up and rubbing her eye in her paw. “Who are you talking to?”

“She can't see me.” Titos informed me. “Can't hear me either. Hasn't touched the jewel.”

“Uh.” I stopped for a second. “Just talking to myself, I guess. I do that sometimes, y'know?”

“Oh.” Cleo didn't seem to believe me, but took it anyway.

“Moriko can see me, however.” Titos informed me. “Kept myself hidden when she found the sword. Didn't know exactly how much of an opportunist she is, last thing I want is for her to sell me off to the Demon Lord.”

The rest of the girls began to wake up as well, stretching and yawning loudly. Moriko and Lupa didn't really look at one another, not that I blame them.

“I see you found a sword to your liking.” Moriko snickered. “I'll give it to you for a good price...Unless you have some other idea of how to pay me~.”

“Keep it in your pants, lady.” Mouse groaned, hopping to her feet. “I need to get the smell of cat off me...”

“Hey, I have an idea!” I spoke up before a fight can break out. “Most of you only have one pair of clothing, what's up with that? What is this, a hobo den!?”

Lupa's ears perked up as she was tying her cloth around her waist and chest, and blushed. “W-well...Its not like I have any money or anythi-”

I ran up the stairs and into my room, nearly crashing into the ground as I hopped back down into the living room with a bag of coins in my hands.

“How bout this, you girls go into town and get yourself some outfits, huh? You can make it like a friend date or something.”

“We're not really fri-” Cleo tried to talk.

“You've all participated in the same orgy and Lupa went down on Moriko.--”

“H-hey!” Moriko protested in between my sentence.

“I'm pretty sure you're all as close to friends as you can get.”

“Well, he's right.” Lupa spoke up. “I -did- go down on you.”

“You too!?” Moriko cried.

“I'm not going to deny it. Blame the cat.”

“WELL!” Mouse suddenly shouted. “I'm not going to pass up on free clothes!”

She swiped the coins from my hand with an impish grin. “C'mon girls. Lets go shopping!”

The four got dressed and then went out the door, each of them giving me a cheerie little wave on their way out.

“Smooth.” I heard come from the other room, followed by Titos stepping out of the kitchen.

“I guess she didn't see you?”

“I was fast enough to get away while she was still rubbing her eyes.” Titos confirmed. “What now?”

“Now?” I questioned it myself. “I guess I do chores around the house. Take the time to think.”

“Think about what?”

“Think about if its the right thing to hand you over to Tiberius.”

“Fair enough.”

“You want to come with?” I asked. “I'm going to chop some fire wood, take some time to actually, y'know...Relax.”

“As exciting as that sounds.” Titos sighed. “I think I'll go back into my little jewel for awhile. You tend to learn how to make a place comfortable when you spend so much time in immaterial.”

“Suit yourself.” I said dismissively. “I'm going to go get my place in order.”

I can't remember the last time everything was so quiet. There was no knock on my door for work or someone crashing into or sneaking into my house. I wasn't being held captive in an underground town as a sex worker and I sure as shit wasn't making a mad dash across a war torn country in the hopes that I don't turn into a raving zombie.

At first I had a twinge of worry at the ancient ghost man that lived in the sword sitting in my living room, but that worry seemed to slowly fade away the longer I toiled away at home, he seemed to be content just sitting in his little bubble and I wasn't going to force him out of it. As naive as my trust seemed to be, he wasn't hurting anyone and doesn't seem to have to eat food, so whatever, he can stay.

I made my way outside and walked around the house towards the back with a skip in my step. Even with everything Titos showed me, I can't really saw I was having a bad day. Call it misplaced enthusiasm, but I'm pretty positive about the idea of a few of the girls living here now. The house is rather large and I would be lying if I said it didn't get lonely from time to time. Besides, after what happened last night, its not like they have much of a choice of getting along.

I rummaged around in the shed out back until I found the axe left behind by its previous owners. They didn't have any service help or yard workers from what I understood. What kind of hard times do nobles have to go through if they have to do their own yard work.

I pulled a log from the side of the house and placed it on the stump, giving myself a few practice swings before giving it a go. The axe dug into the stump with a triumphant 'THUNK' and the log split in two and fell into the grass. I lost myself in the work, splitting log after log in a routine of back and forth between the wall and the stump. It wasn't until I came back with the ninth log that I had to stop and do a double take.

It was Mouse, standing in the field at the bottom of the hill that my house stood on. She was staring at me, unmoving and unflinching, looking at me from a football fields distance. What was she doing out there? Was she coming home early? Why was she in the field and not walking up the road? Don't tell me that they got into a fight or something.

I put my axe and log down and looked at her with my hands at my side. She didn't move and just continued to stare at me. I looked to each of my sides before throwing her a wave. Mouse tilted her head to the side and threw back a wave of her own, it didn't look or feel natural, like someone was trying to imitate a gesture they had never done before, stiff and robotic.

“Hey!” I called. “You alright?”

“Yes.” She called back. “Alright.”

I looked away from her and towards the town, wondering where everyone else was before looking back.

...Did she get closer?

Mouse was standing at the bottom of the hill now, looking up towards me. With her closer, I noticed that her eyes were different, red pupils to match the red iris surrounded by the a unsettling black. “Mouse” noticed my apprehension and tilted her head to the side as if she was thinking of what to do next.

“Yes. Alright.” She repeated before throwing up another limp wave.

“Come here.” She ordered and took a few rigid steps forward.

I noticed the closer she got the more the air changed. I was surrounded by the pleasant smell of strawberries, but it wasn't coming from here, it was more like it was coming from the air around her. I had come to the conclusion right away that this wasn't Mouse, and had one plan of action.

“Nuh uh.” I denied her, stepping backwards until my back pressed against the house.

I didn't take my eyes off her as I followed the wall, her eyes following my every movement until I reached the end of the wall and moved along the side of my house.

I blinked once and this “Mouse” was once again in front of me, stopping my heart from beating for a second. I almost pissed myself this time, scrambling on my feet and catching myself on the wall to my left.

“What do you want!?” I shouted at the strange creature.

“You.” She answered bluntly, flashing me a crooked, forced smile.

The smell of strawberries was overwhelming now that she gained some ground on me. She seemed to move slower as long as I had my eyes on her. I moved along the wall again with my right hand until it ended, turning to my right and making a mad dash for my door. I slammed it behind me and looked around the living room.

“Titos!” I cried out. “Titos, I could use some help!”

“Its only been an hour...” I heard my own voice coming from beside me. “I like time to myself, you know.”

“Titos, I need your help!” I told him in a panic.

“Why, whats going on?”

“I'm being chased by...by some kind of monster! It looks like Mouse and it's speech is all messed up and it moves all weird!”

“Is it that one?” Titos asked, pointing towards my kitchen.

I turned to where his finger was pointing, my breath becoming sharper as I saw the thing that looked like Mouse standing at the doorway.

“W-what do I do?” I asked him, eyeing the sword at the other end of the room.

“Looks like a skin walker to me.” Titos explained. “Disguised itself as someone you know to get closer to you. Must have smelled what little demonic energy that was still in your blood.”

“So what now!?” I asked him, keeping my distance as this monster followed me around the living room.

“I can't do anything.” He told me. “I can't interact with anything material... I'll give you some privacy though.”

“Privacy!?” I made the mistake of looking at Titos as he disappeared, only realizing what I did when I looked back at the skin walker.

I let out a rather regrettable feminine yelp as the skin walker pressed her hands against my chest. She was much stronger than she looked and managed to force me to sit down against my sofa chair. The pink nubby fingers and fuzzy silver fur that were Mouse's hands and wrists began to flake and fade away, giving way for milky pale fingers that followed up her arms and across her entire body. The mouse ears disappeared in favour of two curled horns, the short silver hair was replaced by long blond hair. Soon, a completely different person was straddling on top of me, a pointed devilish tail flicking back and forth behind her. Her skin was pale and her eyes were a bright red, she wore a very thin, very revealing top that cut off just under her breasts, and she stood on two hooves with fur that travelled up until her thighs.

“Got you.” She said softly, scooting up closer on top of my laps.

Her grip around my wrists were like a vice, and she pulled me along even against my struggles. I didn't even want to think about how much it would hurt if she applied any more pressure. She took my left hand and push it under her flimsy top, cupping my fingers around her breast. A small tint of pink formed on her white face and she smiled a more natural smile than before.

“Look, lady!” I tried to reason with her. “I already got enough girl problems as it is! I don't need you adding to it!”

The monster let go of my right had and cupped her fingers around my jaw. She ignored my grasping hand and leaned my head to the right, leaning in close and sniffing deeply against my skin.

“Smell it.” She said. “Smells good.”

“What smells good?” I asked her.

She ignored my question and opened her mouth, I felt something drip against my cheek. Her tongue was hanging from her mouth, it had a strange pinkish glow to it. She pressed it against my cheek and licked me gently, moaning to herself as she did so.

The smell of fruit was now unbearable, it overcame my senses and made it hard to breath. The monster let go of my other hand and held on to each side of my face. With a sultry look, she plunged her tongue into my mouth and sealed our lips together. I struggled against her, but my mouth and throat was being overcome by a completely intoxicating sweetness. It ran through my body like strong alcohol, and soon my struggles became weaker and weaker as my limbs became tired and weak.

My breaths became deeper and softer, like my body was acclimating itself to this foreign substance. I wanted to rest, to go to sleep in the comfiest bed I could find and never wake up again. My heart was warm and relaxed and my stomach felt as though it had just the right amount of food to be happy. The monster retracted her tongue and pulled her lips away slowly, flashing me another smile and a giggle before running her hands down my chest.

“Mine now.” She told me. “All mine.”

“Like hell he is!”

The skin walker gasped in surprise, having lost herself in the moment to hear Cleo and the rest come up the hill.

“See!” Lupa barked. “I told you something was wrong!”

Cleo's tail stood on end as she flicked her claws together, I couldn't see what she had formed through the haze but it crackled something fierce. The skin walker didn't wait around, watching it actually move in view was a strange sight to behold. She leaped back and landed on all fours, crawling away in a manner not to dissimilar to those ghosts from Japanese horror movies. In all the time I've spent in this world, I don't think I've seen a monster so strange and uncanny like that one.

“Marcus!” I heard a voice cry out, followed by the four gathered around me.

I looked at all of them in the face, stopping lastly with Mouse.

“Oh hey, there you are...” I murmured. “I thought that maybe something happened...What with that thing dressing up like you and all...”

“We need to get him to a doctor.” Moriko announced. “He must have ingested a lot of her toxin.”

“No, its okay.” I yawned. “I think I just need a nap.”

“You think he drank too much?” Cleo asked, her ears low with worry.

“No, if it was too much he wouldn't even be able to talk right now.” Said Moriko. “Lupa, you're the strongest, you carry him.”

“No, no, I'm fine.” I said again, my head lulling to the side and landing against Cleo's shoulder. “Just a little nap is all I need...”

Just a little nap.