taste of divinity

Travel towards the southern regions of the country went as expected. Hunters come for them but are dispelled quickly. The goal was an old chapel heralded in a time since passed. Rumors remark how strange the Church is centuries later. Though, words are like air. It would have to be witnessed and judged.

After a long journey by foot, the demons arrive at a place held as a holy sanctuary. Separate from the Essharn Celestial Church which once centered in Osrona before the siege and eventual schism. While many Essharns looked towards the cosmos and heavens, this was a place that held hands high for the divine, saviors and their kin: Angels.

[ https://youtu.be/hGKp2bUJ27Q ]

The Church was large and stranger than murmurs did justice to. Constructed, or said to, centuries ago but it looked brand new. As they approach, it beams with a pristine white exterior, towers high and windows adorned with stained glass and doors taller than the tallest among them. There’s a sound, too. In the distance but too far to exactly pinpoint, a melody expressed in very, very faint horns and organs.

Fauna stretched along the Church’s walls, red and violet in shade with budding yellow flowers. They trail from a garden on the right. Will they proceed forward or check the garden? All radiate with a prominent presence of that holy, good… divine.

Yet also strange. There’s no -presence- felt that ones with a keen sense of smell can pick up.
[Narrate]

If Demons were created by humanity, and are better in some ways..
What purpose do the Angels serve?

Each time a hunter is shoved aside, defeated or killed, such questions rise within the back of Fidi's mind. What purpose they could potentially serve, but to be evolved by those that have arrived as their betters? What purpose would they hold still, when the Angels refuse to do anything?

Do they weep for this world?
Or do they deem it dead?

"Ah.."

It's rather strange.. because he remembers talking about this with Jianyu. He remembers talking about the presence of the Angels and their role in this world - and it is here that he would have a moment of revelation. Surely, if Angels exist..

They would stop them here, right?

They won't allow the deaths of these people, and they would intervene- they would do something, anything, just to show that they exist and that their punishing hand would smite them for this. But so far..

There's nothing.

"If gods wished for humanity to remain unpunished for their sins.."

"We would never exist."

A fatalistic, often rather strange viewpoint of the Serpent. And yet, his gaze wanders about.

"I wonder.."

"What will we see?"
(Fidi)

Voraz turned his attention to a garden. While taken care of it seems as though it wasn't as well. Left to the qualms of nature and time itself but it withstands and flourishes.

There's nothing but time for creatures such as themself. They can explore every nock and cranny for what they desire.

What is it that they seek? Journeying too far from home for... what?

Churches guide lost souls, beckoning them forward for a new beginning, a new era. Though, these are demons and spawns from meteors beckoned by magics of Hel.

No guidance for the blissfully lost.

It seemed as though focus went to the garden, as Voraz suggested. Flowers blossom, beautiful ones that may not be native to the area in particular.

Not a soul was sensed, still. No smell or anything. Everything had a strange scent to it, one of nothing. Will further inspection occur to find that out of the ordinary?

A keen, watchful eye would notice, in the midst of a patch of green grass something was... different.

Any inspection attempts /roll. Be careful, however. Something tells teh demons they should proceed with upmost caution.
[Narrate]

Quiet.

The distant sounds proved to be of no particular resource at all, and instead, it was up to their inspection to detect something entirely else- the shadows stretch out and extend forth, the crystal of Lady Erie's Greed hums in the Serpent possession, and yet..

It seems as if he tries to distort the reality itself; the air becoming wavy, almost as if a ripple of heat passes - a signature of Helheim's presence cast when the crystal buzzes some more.

"How strange.."

His gaze turns towards the patch of different grass; something off about it, something that could end as a necessity for them to advance further.

"Hrm.."

What's so off about this one?
(Fidi)

Those who bring their gazes closer to the garden, to its felt oddities will notice something. It’s very brief, however, there appears to be a slight twitch in the air, as though something covered the garden. It isn’t physical nor felt in touch. The eyes take notice upon it:

Angel is quick to note it. It wiggles- No, distorts and a patch of grass twitches and reveals a shade like that of the Dreadwoods. Ugly and dreadful, drained entirely.

Voraz can see it, too. Along with Fidi.

Szora and Jaeger make their attempts but eyes seek what they’re not meant to seek and pay the price for it. Failure to comply with the will of that above was meek with divine punishment. Where they stared, it stared at them in return. Like a hand, on of illusions and not truly -felt- reached out and touched upon them.

Shocking them for their insolence.

Szora and Jaegar receive a temporary injury for having eyes that sought what they shouldn’t. They move with a slight haze, reactions are slowed. Punished.

Though, it revealed to all that the garden isn't what it seemed. How far did this illusionary magic extend to? Who placed it here?
[Narrate]

So there was more of it.

But these illusory magics.. already the shadowy hands of the Serpent extend out to draw out the Abyssal Core - an item acquired on another excursion, alongside with the Lady Erie's Greed; much like all of them are capable of draining the energy of anything in particular, they were most susceptible to taking upon the darker energies.

The darker energies that no doubt concealed this behind illusion, or so he thinks.

"Let us see.."

"If this works."

The bond between two items and the Serpent was evident; already they begin their work in attempt to dispel the illusions, to reveal the true extension of this illusory magic. Considering they're at the right place..

Perhaps there's more to see.
(Fidi)

Could a presence as this withstand the tests of time? Holy and untouched, pure?

It's yet to be told, but the unmasking of this illusion proved something. What they see is not real. Angel's own inspections reveal that the grass feels different when touched directly.

Real.

While the green grass applied like makeup to an unsightly face. This did not occur naturally and the scale of the illusion isn't quite yet determined.

That's where Fidi makes his own attempts with a particular item. He and Szora could try to dispel such a thing and reveal the truth but, with this core, Fidi would have a much easier time...

Yet something goes terribly wrong.

While a bond had been established, something was lacking within the Serpent to draw out the truth. Was it his lack of a mature form? His lack of ascension?

Is an illusion of this power able to be bested by a mere Kaor.

How it ensnares him with...

Doubt.

Failure, a failure he is. Bested by whatever presence lurks here. It's better than he is.

Fidi suffers from an extreme doubt. Like the illusions came back at him, filling him with images of his inability to accomplish anything. Temporary injury.

Was it demonic presence in holy lands or were holy lands already....
[Narrate]

Impossible.

To be driven to such doubt with illusory magics.. as an illusion magi himself, he was almost certain that this would be something that could drive him to the border of insanity, if he's not careful enough - but despite this driving feeling of doubt.. is it one to amplify something that he already feels?

It isn't.

For Fidi often lived fearlessly as a daredevil, especially in circumstances such as this; yet, his mind is plagued with doubt that could take time to grow accustomed to, the time that would otherwise be needed to perform something greater. Though..

"Pitiful.."

"Perhaps, it would be wiser to simply examine the garden as it is.. or to advance inside the holy grounds."

"Standing on a single place would lead us nowhere."

And yet, even about that, he feels a doubt. It feels strange to sense this.. almost unnatural for the Serpent.

What if they were to get hurt ifthey wander inside?
(Fidi)

While Fidi had an advantage over everyone else with the usage of his Abyssal Core, it did allow for a very, very slim chance for one not attuned or well versed with illusions to cut through.

Very slim...

Raw, condensed mana sought to force the illusion away. Voraz has ascended in a manner of his own, overloading himself and kicking it all into overdrive.

Potent, but this chance was only allowed thanks to Fidi, and the Angel's own attempts. While not physical, the illusion isn't meant for harsh winters.

The temperature drops immensely and the two's combined efforts work away at the illusion entirely.

It spread further than thought. Stretching across what seemed to be miles- All green shriveled into that familiar purple, trees bore no leaves and the Church went from a white to a groddy old, grey, worn by time and...

ugly.

The only place to go is in with the illusion dispelled. Did it extend to the inside?
[Narrate]

The illusion of space.

Is it something that the crystal has failed him with, or perhaps it's something that he could not perform well on his own? Whatever the case, it feels like this would be something he may need to further work with, still.. and perhaps, further improve it as well.

Potent.
Yet, not enough.

"How terribly bothersome.."

"I suppose there is still room for improvement." That's not surprising. He was not fully skilled with the art of Riftmancy yet, one that was most closely attuned to the crystal of Lady Erie's Greed; the means to warp not only space, but reality itself with the subtle ripples that belong to Helheim.

The means for them to transcend to another realm.

"Let us see what lies ahead."

Even if the doubt from such curse plagued him, he was not going to fret; one way or another, they had to accomplish what they wanted initially.

Or end up wasting their time.
(Fidi)

As they part through towering doors, the illusion was beginning to change indoors. What's meant to be a bright, beautiful chapel turned into what it truly was.

Abandoned... With an awful stench. That of decay, one putrid overloaded the strong senses of the demons. It's fresh and old.

Benches hold bodies, ones long since passed. Skeletons and fresh corpses- Maybe a week or so since they were killed. All, however, are lined up, positioned in a manner that assumed they were attending Church.

But nothing indicated they died that way.

Someone placed them there.

Eerie. The horns and organs since stopped the moment the demons and their Hel Star companion entered the Church. Replaced now with a silence that allowed for their very blood rushing to bene heard with chilling accuracy.

Sunlight did shine through the stained glass, painting the floor with a colorful light and beckoning for their attention. Did they turn their eyes to the stained glass window or explore more?

There's a singular door and an alter- One with a skeleton of a person in priestly robes set up.

Preaching to none.
[Narrate]

What are you?

Death.

It's symbolic with how they were all lined up here in the sanctuary of safety for humanity- the countless dead gathered here after the preaching has turned to their end. Was it the master work of something that they're yet to encounter? A beast, just like them, or something else?

After all, just because they cull the weak..
Does not mean they're a friend to the Demonkind.

They could be walking to someone that would try to enslave them, or kill them - and where the horns and organs stopped after they entered, the snake-eyes narrow at the stars, looking up at a single person in priestly robes. A dead man preaching to none.

"They know.."
"That we're here."

The Lady Erie's Greed crystal, as much as it failed the Serpent once, is now used to draw upon the essences he's stolen before- complex arithmancy is employed in order to create an extraction point at the very beginning for them, right where they stand. Runes of bizarre design are laid across the floor, ones that could almost be too similar to Wayfinding- yet, holding a greater potential, and connected to Helheim's origins instead.

A lifeline for Fidi - to try and flee with teleportation, should they meet an unfortunate circumstance.

Yet, the shadows extend forth; the shadowy hands that are made to slither ahead of the group, and mostly, ahead of Fidi himself. He was already injured, and it's only natural he would look out for himself.

To scout ahead with the shadowy hands.

To touch, but not physically; a way for his mana to extend his senses.
(Fidi)

Unholy. Death riddled the isles but is it truly unholy? What feats, what miracles did the Angels preform to deem that as something...

Righteous?

Everyone begins to explore this place, one strange with overgrowth poking through the stone grass, crimson, dried and fresh, along the long rug that led to the alter with the priest.

Szora makes an approach to the priest's skeleton. It doesn't move, nothing lurks behind it. Though, any use of smell would be clouded by the rot in the room. Putrid, even for demon standard.

Fidi sets something up within this main hall, utilizing an ironic crystal. Greed, all must look out for themself. Runes come to life and shadows roam. Much like Szora, however, nothing is noted. But like him, a presence is sensed. Several. Below.

Through the singular door at the very back of the room, at the end of the stained glass window, one Angel turned his attention to. As he stared, he could see a story depicted in the images pressed along the window.

The more he looked, silence broke and the story unfolded but only to his ears, in his mind.



"Kraus breathed in life onto Eternia. He is our creator, our savior. From him came those like Gods of their own. Saved by Maltziel and brought here for a new life. His children thrive and bask in the bountiful crops Esshar has to offer. We follow Him, we follow His light and guide even if he isn't here. But He gave us something, He gave us something else to look towards"



As it spoke, it guided his eyes down the stained glass window, a mural of some sorts. His eyes land on the door.

As for Jaegar, there is nothing of worth. All here is rusted over.
[Narrate]

The presence noted below.

One by touch.. and one by ensuring that the shadows stretching far enough indeed find something. Does he dare immediately try and teleport to the area that he has acknowledged? Of course not. At most, he would try and return to the spot he observed within his immediate perception. Anything else..

It's just too risky.

Instead, he begins to advance, to search around for the means for them to go down below- assuming that there is such access behind the skeleton of a priest, he speaks out to the rest.

"Search for the ways to go below."

"They're there. Waiting."

But who are 'they'? Many questions could be asked about it. Although, while Szora intends to wait here for somebody to arrive..

Fidi doesn't.

He'll come to them first.
(Fidi)

They aren't alone.

Szora makes an attempt to sense beyond the layer of rot. That death that clung to the air and would surely turn a normal human into a vomiting mess in a corner.

Absolutely horrid.

But, with his attempt and each slip of his forked tongue, he can pick up something from the floor below the one that stand on. A presence of occult.

Though, the exact level of it can't be determined. Be it a demon in the basement or an occultist, or some divine, occult abomination.

There's no way to tell.
But it calls for them all.

It is more than a risk to teleport into the unknown, especially with this nature noted by Szora. Whether they are waiting or even aware of demonic presence is up in the ear.

Regardless, the group makes their way to the only door within the chapel that wasn't the exit. As they made their way there, Angel came to his own realization of Kraus.

While Kraus himself is no more, his creations truly do forget. Where are the Angels? They're no better than what the mural is reduced to. The temperature drops once more, snows cover the benches and with a single clap.

The window- All the windows shatter and no longer are the floors painted with colored light and instead, the sun shines through, oddly enough, shining upon the door they all make way to.

Who is guiding them? If they're even being guided at all?

[ https://youtu.be/QazC81DqAWU ]

Is it all merely faith? Through the door and now, to a long corridor with yet another door at the end. But these have walls with pictures, paintings.

Detailed and worn. It depicts an Angel with bright white wings but upon each of them, blood splattered along the Angel's wings but, it's not from the paintings.

Blood trailed across the walls, over every painting.

Beneath them all, lined against the wall were skeletons in an upright position, devoidof life. Placed by an outside hand.

Lurking shadows sense a coming presence.

From the door.

It bursts open and reveals a young woman in robes of her own, white and bright. Everything about her alluded to snow. Though nothing can be sensed from her.

[ https://i.pinimg.com/originals/99/4a/86/994a865a211972b5703eedc96cd2b5ab.jpg ]

Her eyes widen and she shrieks.

"A-Ahhh!! Wh- Ah-! Demons! Somebody hel- help!" The young Priestess stumbled upon her words, legs shaking before she tried to make a retreat.

A snack? Or someone with answers? She's... not fast but she could get away were the demons not prepared.

All who wish to make haste? /random 1 100

"Help me!!"
[Narrate]

The Panther is slower than both Serpents. All manage to cacth up with her but Fidi ultimately catches her. Whatever he decides is up to him.

The only one with real legs is left in the dust. Perhaps Angel was too occupied with staring at the Angel in the paintings. He is a rather attractive man, wearing robes like one of Sheng would.

Voraz was outplayed with one without any legs... One step behind Fidi.
[Narrate]

The origins and history of this place.

It is a testament of something out there existing, but is it to say that Fidi could truly invest himself in such? Whether the Angels exist or not, they're mostly the beings of a fairy tale that has long passed. Even as they appear, it would be something that holds mostly no relevance, save for the group that the Angels have come for.

Much like the first arrival of Maltziel..

But such observations promptly end with a shout that he hears coming from ahead- the permeating presence of the Helheim was growing stronger with every essence consumed within the crystal of Lady Erie's Greed, and it served Fidi as a 'crutch' in order to further amplify the art that was rediscovered by Hades Task.

For him to learn it on his own too.

"Not so fast."

The warp shifts around the Serpent, and with a sudden surge, he appears right infront of a woman- the shadowy hands grasping at her arms, her legs and torso. While she's quickly trapped, and is held in a single place by Fidi, the snake-eyes stare at her.

A priestess? Here?

"Quiet."

The buzz around the air begins to grow. Much like one would expect of a demon to do, he invades her mind- just as he speaks out, the same voice repeats this very same phrase inside her mind.

"You shall tell me what this place is."
"Why the dead linger around, and why the essence of demonkind lingers too."

Just because there was familiar presence, it doesn't mean Fidi would be friendly towards it. As far as he's concerned, a Demon whom he does not view as an ally..

Might as well be just another contender. An enemy.

"Speak all that you know."

"Or end up devoured."

They were loathsome parasites, in the end. And sometimes, Fidi didn't have to wear this mask around humans..

Sometimes, he didn't have to pretend that he doesn't abhor them.
(Fidi)

Too slow, far too slow.

She appeared to be sixteen or so, maybe eighteen at best but she's young and outpaced by a majority of the Demons. Apprehended by Fidi, held in place with shadows that fetter her limbs.

Hues with a rose tiny stare in terror. She stammers, tears fill her eyes when her mind is invaded, spoken whispers speak aloud, too.

Questions or this place, why the dead are present and threat of death. While she may provide something... In his hold, no pulse could be sensed from her.

Nothing is present but she walks and feels and cries.

"P- Please he'll... He'll kill me if-" She stops abruptly. "We're His servants... We follow... Him and He grants- us the ability to serve him..."

"Forever."

But the Priestess began to struggle. The door she came in revealed a dark staircase with torches along the wall and sounds of metal against stone.

Chains?

"If I- can't serve Him then nothing matters anymore!" Legs kicked and the girl began to put up a fight even when cornered by a foe she couldn't hope to defeat. Lies didn't comfort her.

The Priestess didn't seem to be a magi at all but magics kept her alive...

Whose doing is this?
[Narrate]

What people often forget..

Is that demons can be very ruthless creatures. As much as Fidi learned much about humanity, in his eyes, these tears were useless. They did not instil a sense of pity within him- they did not cause him to weep for her, and they most certainly did not make him feel sorry for her either.

She was just a slave.
Captured as a living stock by somebody else.

"Your life does not exist."

He notes the lacking pulse. When the forked tongue extends in and out, he realizes that she distinctly does not smell alive- at least, not in the ordinary way you would consider a living.

Yet, these sounds of metal against stone..

The shadowy hands extend further to scout ahead- to touch and sense across the different sections, to potentially find this source. For now, he only asks her.

"Tell me about who 'He' is."

Despite asking such, the shadows seem to swallow her further; they leave only about her head exposed still, enough to speak and observe around, but she's consumed by the shadows entirely - to keep her detained.

A hostage, one could say.

Although, he has no interest to make any comment about her situation. The Serpent was methodical...

And while he could be ruthless in action, it served no purpose to insult her pride.

The pride of a walking dead woman.
(Fidi)

A master, a puppet or a slave.

Still, her tears rolled down her cheek. Who is this person she served? Her master? Lips part, though they quiver. Fear instilled itself within her, lurking in every inch of her frame.

Who is he?

The name should be easy to speak but as the do. Another voice rang from downstairs, one of a man, older, but in a manner that alluding to preaching.

"Jenna! Get back down here with that! You're missing the gift prepped for Him!"

This Priestess, now named as Jenna looked towards the path which she came in horror. Her body trembled and nothing further escapes them.

She merely stares with wide eyes.

Shadows this time have no luck. It's as though something blocked it as soon as they made away down the stairs.

"And stop all that damn screaming!" This man yelled.

The presence of the demons wasn't entirely noted. Or perhaps the 'several' below did not care in the slightest.

Nothing more can be gleamed from the hostage, or at least for now. When any descent is down, her head hangs low.

"I... failed you, Malachy..."

As moves are made down the stairs by Jaegar who pushed forward now. He's greeted with a rather horrible sight. First chains and then...

It's something the others should see.

Rattles of these metals against the stone only grow louder.
[Narrate]

The gaze of the Serpent turns towards the woman captive.

And then, towards the source of a voice. For a moment, the Serpent remains terribly quiet, content with only listening to what's going on- his mind assesses the situation, and only eventually does he produce a quiet remark.

"So Jenna.."

"And Malachy."

Yet, it seems that the priestess is terribly afraid. Is it because she would die, if she fails to perform this service? Is it due to her devotion to this master, or because she wished to perform for her owners all the time? In all truth..

The Serpent cared little.

"I won't allow anyone.."

"To threaten my path to greatness."

None shall threaten the throne he would try to take. None shall threaten all that he stands for - and now, when the revelation of the voice has become clearer, there's only one thing on his mind.

To eliminate this threat.
Or take yet another captive.

The head of a woman is forced to sink further in the shadows. She would not be allowed a revelation - nor she would be allowed to be a witness. Instead, the crystal of Lady Erie's Greed begins to beam once more, and complex runes of Arithmancy are steadily produced and prepared- a longer process, considering the fact that Fidi hasn't mastered this yet.

But it's quick enough..
To cause the ripple of the warp; a smaller rift, for Serpent to enter.

One that intends to make it behind the target ahead.

And as the rift is made to appear behind this target, the fangs are made to sink into his flesh; the shadows extend to grip, to incapacitate him as well.

Fidi would not hesitate.

He will not wait to remove something on his way.
(Fidi)

Unholy in every regard.

This place may have once been a place of divine worship- But is it still? What counted as holy as righteous? Who plaid about this claims and qualities?

As the group descends down the stairs, wails join in the melody crafted by the jingle of chains. Lined against the walls were cages of people, sat in the center of it was a main with white robes and a head of long, blue hair.

He appears to be in his late thirties, glasses and a more stern demeanor. Clutched within his grasp can be discerned as holy text.

Fidi makes an attempt to claw through reality itself. Jenna's head is forced into the shadows. Even if she wanted to witness it, her guilt clouded it all.

It's a success and he does appear behind this Priest.


"He saved us! He pulled us from the ashes when the Angels wouldn’t answer our calls and plight. Without Him, we’re nothing! Nothing! Leave us, you filthy cretins."


It's unnatural, how he retorts against the Serpent. His body bends, head turning to face him while his body remained in place.

The Priest ducked down, dodging this assault.

While such occurs, another sight presents itself, altering the group's attention behind the Priest.

Several robed and hooded people held a young woman, maybe eighteen or nineteen. Her hair like snow and eyes of a blue deeper than the ocean. She cries but of all present.

She's alive.

They restrain her to the table, hands chained, ankles, too. All chanting in a language the demons cannot comprehend.

It's a party alright...

"You won't disrupt the preparation of His gift! Foul... ugly things... You will not" An ugly occult shrouded itself around the man, it feels as though it's been pushed to the very limits yet not quite breaking any treasure.

The basement shakes slightly.

The girl on the table cries and pleas to be saved by anyone but the Priest needs to be dealt with first.
[ https://youtu.be/wQDL-q1-UHI ]
[Narrate]

A dodge.

As much as the Serpent tried to take down the Priest in a single go, to sink his fangs in him and either weaken him or incapacitate him entirely, that was a failure; the Serpent hisses quietly in frustration, but soon his posture straightens. The wailing of a young woman..

Seems to evoke nothing from the Serpent.

He is a demon himself, and to think that he's here for any 'righteous' cause would be very, very wrong; what he pursues is the ultimate way for his technique to be mastered - only to use it to bring about the Helheim's gate, necessary to shake foundations of Esshar as a whole. But here..

"I'd like to ask you why."

"You could've let me bite you, become paralyzed, and perhaps even live." Yet, the shadows extend- the ripples of Helheim permeate existence as a whole, and it soon becomes evidently clear.. the Serpent has no peaceful intentions whatsoever.

"What's the meaning of this?"

"Did you become so greedy in touting over weaklings that you think you stand above us?"

"Or did you overestimate your powers and get cocky, thinking you can come out of here with your head in tact?"

"Thinking you can actually surpass us?"

Humanity. So riddled with flaws, with imperfections that make them inept at so many things - and even Occultists, there are but few of them who are actually worth anything.

This one?
He's not one of such people.

"My purpose has nothing to do with you."

"But you made it so."

With how Serpent imposes himself, the runes prepared previously with Arithmancy and complex techniques of Riftmancy, the notes taken from Hades Task, made for a necessary arrangement that could set up a ripple in reality.

One connected to Helheim.

"Consider this.. a parting gift."

"Since this is the end, I'll fill you in."

The gates widen. Weak still- the hostage that was concealed within the shadows would have her essence drained, to power this imperfect technique - the energy of Helheim itself intending to smite the priest where he is.

"What you witness and feel.."

".. is the future of Esshar."

The screams echo through the dungeon, emitted by the tormented spirits that try to escape Helheim- as they exit, filled with pain and anguish, they would go on a rampage against..

Anything. Including the priests that chain the woman.

"Unfortunately for you - you're not invited."

The shadows strike again.

This time, they will strike true.
(Fidi)


"Interruption is not tolerated! His gift will not be tampered with!"


They're all intercepted by the Priest. Each hooded figure around the girl, praying upon her body as one figure which seemed to be drawing forth a dagger.

Oddly enough, they all ignore the demons. The ritual and sacrifice rivaled paying them any mind. Such was their duty and they would die fulfilling it.

Other figures don't allow for the demons to interrupt. They stand alongside this Priest.

There's no fighting the chanting 'Church' members.

But the Priest's attention turns to the Serpent who wished to take a bite out of him. His lips curl into a devilishly smile when runes place.


"He gave us life and purpose. If I cannot fulfill my duty to him then there is nothing. No point, vile Serpent."


With how he speaks, he isn't the ringleader of this operation. Perhaps overseeing the ritual, but...


"Malachy gives us strength and courage! We follow with hands risen in his name! Brought by Maltziel, but He heeds our prayers and words and you... will taint-"


Then there are screams. Stemming from the very gates of Hel, a truly unholy sight for anyone to witness. All within the basement, save for the wailing spirits.

It sought to drain the girl within the shadows. Jenna, a soul taken too soon and made to serve. Whether by choice or not doesn't matter to a demon.

She's drained quickly, the magics that bind her bend to the wills and wants of Helheim- Perhaps because it was only thing strong enough to break it?


"...Our gift to Him? I will suffer for him."


Even when the room shakes, and as tormented spirits defile a holy sanctuary and place of worship, the Priest and assisting hooded members charge at the demon.

The sacrifice is protected from the spirits as the dagger slid along her skin, cutting her, first shallow, then deepening. All proved to be too stimulating. Released spirits from Hel and attempts to attack those who tended to the sacrifice.

A gold chalice soon reveals itself in the hands of the men.

Steel slit her throat. The process shortened due to the visitors present. Her heart stabbed, blood flowed into the chalice and all the robed men preach around the table.


"We cry to the heavens! Abominations tread in your holy sanctuary, in the home and Paradise you’ve built for us, dearest God! He whom we serve! Malachy! Malachy! Malachy! Malachy!""


So much... chaos. The Priest makes his assault with his Church.
[Narrate]

The final blow to the mutated Mad Priest goes to Voraz. The wolf saw an opening and was allowed to strike the man now. However...

Fidi, Jaegar, and Angel get a 4 day temp.
Szora a 1 day temp.
And Voraz? Scot free.

It's a dangerous fight, one within a small room with hollowing, unchained spirits. The Priest overloaded his systems with potent occult energy. The room shook violently. Air struggles to bend as the Priest and several demons take hold of it.

Fidi had a taste of his own energy, the Priest seeped into the shadows and appeared behind him, clawing at his body with searing purple flames. He turned to Jaegar, a cry passionate and unbecoming of a humble Priest left him, the earth crumbled, ceiling shaking and sending a rock to his head, dazing him entirely.

Angel? He comes to the man, "Join us! Join Malachy!" There's no choice. Searing occult flames target te man's face but the shake and pull of gravity instead leaves his arm with a nasty burn.

Szora feels the pull of gravity in its entirety-- Like it pulled at his soul, touching upon him with the word of God... But really, scales peel and tear but he'll heal, moving moving would be more than difficult.
[Narrate]

It's a constant struggle of shadows.

One against another, and as they bounce about, the struggle is maintained to the point of a constant competition of who would be able to strike down another. To say that he was easy to defeat would be wrong.. but at the same time, it feels like something they simply must overcome.

Or else, they would have no future.

Not because they could perish here, but because if they were unable to overcome someone like this, then surely, it would be a calamity unlike any other for the promise of their growth - if they cannot take down a single cult like this here, then how could they achieve all that they wanted?

It's this motivation that drives him.
This doubt of their success, too.

One that was inflicted upon him from the very start. And as the shadows cleave him from behind, the pained snake-eyes widen momentarily, before..

He sinks into nothingness.

And takes the position behind the priest that he sought to take when opposing the Serpent; it's a game of cat and mouse, almost all about chasing one another in such manner. Sharpened and outstretched, the shadows pierce to wound him. But...

It would not be Fidi who kills him.

"What you've seen before, in the past, before we fought.."

"It was your future. Now, walk to it."

With such stab, the Priest is flung forth.

To be torn apart - by others, and to be finished by Voraz. It was, after all, a team effort.
(Fidi)

The young maiden on the table was no more. Her blood harnessed into a golden chalice. While Jaegar's search on the main floor was fruitless, this here was something to behold.

Whilst the tainted clergy engaged the demons, those with the fallen maiden raise their hands to the heavens above.


"Malachy! Malachy! Malachy!"


Yet another chant that brings tremors to the very ground, like their prayers were answered. Blizzards wage in the basement and the Priest and his clergy are struck down.

But he's been called... He answered.

The Wolf had a chance and took it, like a comet, crashing into the Priest's body and tearing away at his flesh. While fangs sink into him, and he's eaten alive, he laughs, one deranged and maniacal.

Jaegar soon joins- While a husk of a man playing the part of a Priest puppet, there's potent magics within him. It's consumed in a bloody fashion and noother clergy member stops it.

They all, those alive, pray, hands holding the Chalice with care as the room shakes and shakes.


"Hear us! Hear us!"


And heard they are.

The ceiling completely collapses in on itself. Crushing all of the clergy members and killing them. Thankfully, the demons can find some means to protect themselves.

Though the damage was done, the Church above fell in a manner that going up was no answer but, save from the destruction was a door behind the table where the body of the maiden rested.

Though a rock rests upon here...

Bloody... Entirely. Was it the battle that caused the Church to collapse? The only way is through.
[Narrate]

World collapses around them.

And it is feel within the rumble that permeates their surroundings; the shadowy claws extend upward to block out the falling debris and chunks of the building itself that could otherwise injure them - much like an 'umbrella' made of shadows would shield one from such consequences. But..

When he sees the chalice, out there in the distance?

The complex runes of the Riftmancy that he studies are used to short-range teleport the chalice towards him; a minor feat of someone who studies such, but considering he both needed practice and experience, there's no wonder that he would use it whenever possible in such manner.

Until it's stashed away in the shadows, much like all of his belongings.

"To the door. We have not much time."

The Serpent makes a dash for it. Evidently, he wasn't very fond of the idea of being buried beneath the rubble.
(Fidi)

Only one way through.

This sole door, when opened after the group emerged from the rubble, feast eaten and collapse survived, they're greeted with a small set of stairs with yet another door, though this time, there's a question.

Written in both the common tongue then assumed once more in what appears to be gibberish. It's the only way out and it poses something that requires an answer, there is only one right answer:


'Who do you serve?'


If answered correctly, the door would open. Many voices weren't needed, only the correct answer. If answered incorrectly?

Punishment.
[Narrate]

There are times when pompous attitude of somebody could be needed..

To scare an enemy, to show charisma, or anything of such - after interacting with humanity for so long, he knows that this is something they grow rather fond of; but there are times when Demons have to lie.

To deceive, to wear masks.

He's all too familiar with that. Quite often, he pretends he would not abhor humans that surround him- tolerate them momentarily, if only to gave their service done to him.

There are only few whom he did not loathe.
A rarity. But the rest?

They deserve no truths. They deserve no closure - they could live in ignorance their whole life, and Fidi wouldn't care. Only few deserve to know what lies beyond.

So for this.. he doesn't hesitate to lie.

To try and cheat.

"Malachy."
(Fidi)

Who do you serve?

It's quite obvious. His name was preached so much that it grew tiresome.

The answer did not need to come from the heart, it needed to simply be correct. While others lie, clearly, Szora stuck to his passions.

Angel thought too outside of the box. It was straight forward.

'Come, my loyal subjects... And learn, you wenches.'

Without fail, the door opens- But, of course, the true and creative are punished. From the door came a zap, one that invaded their mind.

Szora and Angel will learn who they serve.

Both suffer yet another temporary injury...
[Narrate]

"..."

The glare is given towards Szora. How could he, being a Serpent, actually fail at the most straightforward task in deceiving somebody, when the answer can't get more obvious?

"Disappointing."

"Your passions matter little if you're reduced to ashes long before closure. Remember that."

Does he seek to admonish, to scold another? He absolutely does. This was rather shameful to do. Yet..

The Serpent slithers forward. He leaves another Serpent to contemplate within his own shame.

While being shocked, that is.
(Fidi)

The door opened to reveal a room overflowing with treasures. Golds and other precious... Of note? Arcanium, several chunks of the stuff alongside weapons and that of the like.

Church donations from long ago.

In the very back of the overflowing treasure room was an opened arch, one where the sun shone through. An exit... But not one approached that easily.

In the center of the room, in front of a statue of an Angel depicted in the paintings and one flooding Szora's mind...

Was a woman on a throne of some sorts. Her legs crossed and she wore a crown and long dress. She bears a blank expression as mid-back length hair framed her. Eyes like that of emeralds peer at the looting demons.


"You enter the hall of His most treasured…? Creatures… demons.." The woman shudders. "Out with you all..."


Around her neck is a pendant, gold with traces of arcanium yet... an odd taint. It's in the shape of a cross.


"I don't want to have him... angry..." Her dainty hand clenched at the armrest of her throne."


His hall of treasures. Is this woman no more than a treasure?
[Narrate]

Does she think she could command him?

Does she think that she could threaten them all, or even try to tell them what they're supposed to do? Of all things, he feels like this is something she doesn't understand - that she doesn't realize they would not bother stopping before anything..

Even as she tries to dictate the rules.

"Woman, do you hear the screams of your servants?"

"They were slaughtered, one after another. Whatever you may hide, whatever power you think Malachy holds - it is nothing before ours." Before mine.

After all, Fidi was always in pursuit of something greater.. and is it any surprise that he would not even bother stopping when she demands that?

Instead, he slithers on about, to see the room and to observe it better.

"Tell us more about him."

"And maybe, you will be spared."
(Fidi)

One leg crossed over the other, her gaze doesn't wave. She focuses upon the most human of the bunch, Angel first.


"Guests? Mmh... I'm sure he wouldn't mi- no... He'll be angry. People aren't supposed to see me. Only he is...When I became His, He called me Sera."


Though her more cooperative behavior shifts. Brows come together and her lips part slightly. "He's given this throne to me... You're intruders to our Paradise... In the room of his most treasured. His followers put things of value here."

Sera remains on her seat, unmoving and quite delicate, like a calm lake. Meadow hues peer towards Fidi. "They scream all the time. Is the sacrifice done? He'll be most pleased..."

"Fresh girls please Him... And how far they're willing to go for Him without the influence of His magic... What do you wish to know of my husband? I can't... guarantee this will go as you see."

Slowly, she rose from the throne.


"He's no one I can disappoint. I... would gladly give my life for Him, suffer through any Hel or any torment you have so long as His anger is not towards me..."


Delicate digits touch upon the cross-shaped pendant around her neck when her eyes close, all goes black. She comes to a halt in her speech.


"That settles... I... will place myself between you and Him. I won't see Him perish or deal with those He would consider... pets..."


Gentle energy surges around her. Unlike the others, she emits a rather pure aura, one alive and brimming with something that can be seen as a delicacy.

She's a woman whom fangs should be sunk into, and for her beloved?

Dainty hands rise... Tides can be heard, yet not seen.
[Narrate]

Devotion.

To many, it's a beautiful thing- to be so entirely obsessed with somebody else that they would very well throw their life away just to protect another, no matter how twisted they may become. Is it any wonder, then, that she would do anything to protect someone like her husband?

Despicable.

"So you're just a broken toy."

"With no will of your own, with nothing that you can call your own - because even you are not your own."

"You are everything that's wrong with humanity."
"A parasite that I will sanitise."

She would only leech from the riches of her husband - and her husband is no better. Fidi shared a rather.. strange relationship with humanity; he loathed them for their flaws and imperfections, and would go any lengths to drag them through evolution, no matter how painful it is..

But in the end, it's for their own good.

"Allow me to put you out of your misery."

"It would be the first time I kill someone out of mercy."

The seething energies of Helheim that he commands already conjure the gate that would potentially appear before them; the passage ways, made with arithmancy and complex runes, all to close the gap to her and strike..

She would thank him for it.
(Fidi)

She was a mortal human... One changed like the rest but still very much alive. She was his pride and joy, his treasure and one he...

Would not die in turn for.

He is an Angel, is he not?

The woman brought waves into the expansive treasure room, washing away who they can but overwhelmed quite a bit.


"M-... Malachy, please... Give me strength, please, my love!"


Waves grew large, blasts of water condensed into beams of blinding holy light.
[Narrate]

Angel is fine, dodging these waves from the woman, he's an opportunity to strike her down.

Szora is victim a condesed blow of holy mana. It struck on the opposite of the side of body with torn scales, searing him with a healable streak of elegant, holy energy.
[Narrate]

A woman, lost in her own daze of devotion.

A puppet, with strings attached so deeply that they defined who she is. But did Fidi have any pity for her? No, not really... she got herself into this mess, and as far as he could tell, she held no worth outside of being just a possession to this man. She was... a nobody.

A hollow shell.

And where the shadows rend and tear her, it's almost as if the Serpent feels little to no excitement about this one- it's a mercy-kill to him, more than anything, one that he's done out of the fact that she was standing in their path. Perhaps, she did so on purpose.

Just to die.
Just to be free, at last.

"A pitiful woman."

"But we took his servants, his wife, and his treasury."

This means that there's only one last thing to take. There would be only one last thing that should be taken before they're done.

"Where is he?"

"It's about time we take his life too."
(Fidi)

She's strong for a single woman but she's a mere hallow shell of one.

But she's very much alive with no true purpose other than serve her beloved. Even her life was forfeit if it meant having his anger.

The anger of an Angel, how he bends humanity to his will without even the use of magic. How powerful was he, exactly? Cloaked in illusions, his place of worship...

Yet abundant in death.

Sera does her best but was bested in the end. Waves cease, the floors drench in water and leading towards the arch, the escape, were a trail of whit feathers.

The black feathers.


"He... I'm sorry-"


Beaten down by fierce winters. A once beautiful man turned out to be a monster like the rest. She screams but- Who will answer them? Her beloved?

No.

Her body breaks down, every second painful and agonizing but, in truth?


It was better than his anger.


Essence and lifeforce was feasted upon by the woman and her pendant was up for grabs... It bore a curse but what's that to a skilled artificer or magi?

Someone awaits.

[ https://youtu.be/rPTHtyvKPgM ]
[Narrate]

They were injured, almost broken.

But would that even stop them? Of course not. Even the Serpent who had experienced a lot of anguish so far would only work further to ensure that they see this a completion of their dream.. that they would see this as a means for their absolution - it awaits them right around the corner, and it would be something they must face.

Or perish.

"At last."

"The true challenge is right here."

Without fear, the injured Serpent slithers on. He was so close, so terribly close to break all of his limits; he could practically feel it coming onto him. Soon, there would be pursuit of greatness unlike any other. Soon..

It would be the absolution that causes his growth to become the end of it all - and the beginning of a new chapter.

"Now come to us..."

"Malachy."

"Show us what they worshipped you for."
(Fidi)

Through the arch revealed the outside world. Grass of purple and few bones stick out. Crimson dried upon the blades. Feathers trail to a large arch.

The sun shone bright but a shadow covered it as the demons emerge from the lowest points of the Church. Wings flag, every so often, a feather fell to the ground. All very large. His wingspan seemed quite large though it's a mix.

Both white, pristine and beaming, and pitch black like the very night itself. Along with that, large chunks of his wings missed feathers entirely.

An Angel with blackened wings.

His arms cross, a languid, quite bored gaze on the zoo that had approached him and tainted his holy sancutary. Silent for quite some time until his lips tug just a bit. "Demons... In my place of worship? Have you come to give yourself to me in seeking higher power? So many have come to me... 'Malachy, grant us strength!'. If you serve me, you'll be spared."

Not once did he blink though his gaze did lid. As he flew several meters in the air, legs cross over one another. Bored, really. "I've always wanted to have a snake's skeleton in my collection... Oh, were you the one's making all that noise? I had to give them a show. I love when they say my name..."

The collapse of the Church was his doing. Clouds began to form, covering the sun and shielding all from its light. All feel a slight rumble at their feet.


"Will you say my name? Who is it that you serve?"


Born from an unholy union of righteous and humanity, a combination of such traits. His exact origins wouldn't be revealed, but he falls like all of his kind do eventually. As he is, one of half divinity, it began a millennia ago.
[Narrate]

The divine always fall.

When he sees the demi-angel before him, the Serpent's maw turns to a grin at first, and soon.. he laughs. It begins as a quiet cackle, as a bellowing laughter that begins to rise further, no matter how much he could try and intimidate them, or belittle them.

"Ahahaha.."

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

It's almost like Fidi lost himself for a moment. The Serpent can't stop laughing.. and the cackling echoes through, unable to calm himself. But why?

"And this.."

"This is what humanity praises? Their jailor, sat upon the throne that does nothing for them?"

"Pathetic."

Humanity truly has fallen very low. That's why he hates them. That's why he loathes them all. And that's why he insists so much that they should be changed. Already the essence of Helheim drips through the gates that are created through complex runework and arithmancy- one that just keeps getting better by the hour. In all truth..

"I expected a savior of humanity. Someone who would let me know that humanity can be redeemed - that they're worth anything with their faith, that maybe I was wrong."

"But you only confirm all of my beliefs."

"I was right all along. They're parasites that have to be sanitised - and you're the biggest parasite of them all."

He can feel it. This deep-seated hunger. Just a bite of divinity, just a bit of an essence that he could grasp from this one..

And he'll pierce the skies.
He'll touch the heaven.


"Let us not waste time, Malachy."

"You disappointed me once already, so quickly."

"Don't disappoint me again."

(Fidi)

Laughter first. Malachy remains where he is, flying idly. A savior?


"I have saved them from a pointless cycle. I saw humanity be given another chance. Astya crumbled, wiped away and existing only in memory and scripture but,"


His pinky finger rose, nail twisting between his teeth. An Angel in the flesh, radiating from him both holy and dark as the sky darkened.

When his hand lowered, lips remained curled into a widening smile. Devouring, him?


"There's no beauty in what they do, who they praise. Where's my kin? You may ask, I may ask. Residing up there while we..."


Lightning cracks within the sky, its hue tainted and red. The smile ceased entirely and cold eyes stared upon the demons.


"Make ourselves as the Gods we're meant to be. Only once did He come and all He did was speak to foolish humans. No gifts, no reasons to keep them coming. Falsehoods promise for false worships."


His legs uncrossed and he began to make his descent to the ground.


"I give them everlasting life, they give me loyalty."


Moisture formed within the air and another thunderous clap shook and rattled the ground. His arms spread wide. "There's a beauty here... I look forward to your eternity of worship."

When all make their move, another crack of lightning strikes, the target the very space around him with no care of his own form.

Malachy is divine... Half divine.
[Narrate]


"AHAHAHAHA! Oh, how fun this is! You think you can kill me? I'm taking one of you! You're coming... with me! Worship me and I'll give you a purpose."


The winds howl. He's getting stronger.
[Narrate]

Evasive. Every last one of them. Quick and using magics that effect his perception. Of all things to come to his place of worship, his Church that praised him...

Demons were the most interesting of all.

Does he hold back? That of partial divinity against nightmarish beasts? Or are they nearing their ascension? Strength that could grasp at... somewhat what an Angel would be.

He moves about, lifted. Each flap dropping a feather or two from his wings, both light and dark. Two are the lightest and darkest of all present.

Malachy isn't weak by any means. He battles five at once as a storm conjured whirrs and threatens the life of every demon with each strike to the ground.

By some miracle are they all not maimed terribly Likely due to taking him on together. Voraz was a target of his- The Demi Angel moved within the storm, melding with it and nearly taking his face off with a flung ball of searing starlight.

Ice mixes in with his storm. It's a lovely symphony as he flies, raining upon them all a mixture of light and dark. Wielding both he does, driven mad by neither.

But... entertained. Malachy can't shake his smile in the slightest.

He's wide open.
(Malachy the Demi Angel)

The divine were weak.

They were unable to hold up a candle to those with the greater power- the Demonkind, the ones that would no doubt find themselves feasting upon this one. But all that Fidi needed was just a drop of his essence, taken within the crystal of Lady Erie's Greed, ensured that he would provide further for his closure.

It would be the end of him.
The end of a demi-angel.

And now, it was time for them all to take all that he had to offer- a bite from the Serpent, enough to take upon his essence with each evasive maneuver, until the riftwarp of Helheim could deliver the Helheim right to the demi-angel.

It's a taste of heaven.
A touch of something divine.

Fidi takes that essence greedily; if only eventually does he finally remove himself off from the demi angel, satisfied with what he had. He could feel it, deep within..

That something would change.
Soon.

"--At last."

He'll have what he sought after for so long.
(Fidi)

Somewhere, something went wrong.

Very, very, very wrong.

To exist since the beginning of Esshar's recorded history, while paling to the others, the inactive in Avalon, he gave as a God would.

Are idle figures of worship truly Gods?

His mind does wander for the first time. Death felt like it could touch him. His smile didn't once waver. What truly runs about isn't spoken.

Malachy doesn't utter a single word.

Roaring blizzards, weighted pulls, claws and swipes. Crimson draws from his form, that of divinity. How do the heavens taste? What would a mere drop do? An arm? A heart?

Blow after blow. To him, the storms become like white static, buzzing within his ears. Will he plea? Far from it. Though when plucked from the sky and at the mercy of another-

Does he scream and cry?

"How do Angels taste? Tell me."

His last words, life sniped from him, a thousand or so years, maybe less, maybe more. Immortal, to a degree. Skull and brain severed from the body.

There's no ceremonious end in consumption. Blood spewed from his neck as he's consumed further. Devoured and eaten upon for essence, for energy...

Like... Berries, strawberries with a kick, followed by bitterness. A representation of that descent and fall he went to.

Selfish to the very core.
Bitter.
[Narrate]