Aria watches from the window of her small house as the winds blow dust across the plains and ruins of the wasteland. She sighs as she turns her back on the window and her attention on the bottle of whiskey that once belonged to her father.

She grabs the bottle and sits down on the small armchair.

The whiskey sloshes around inside the bottle as she uncaps it. The potent odor of the liquor isn’t enough to put her off as she brings the bottle to her lips and takes a swig. The fiery liquid burns its way down her gullet making her gasp with surprise. The flush of warmth is welcome since the night in the wasteland can grow bitterly cold.

She takes another swig as a cloud of greasy black smoke forms in front of her. She lets out a sigh, expecting her uninvited guest to be the Devil. But she’s surprised when a monk in a heavy black robe appears before her. There are strange gold symbols around the cuffs and hood of his robe. She squints expecting to see a face under the hood but there is nothing but darkness.

‘Who are you?’ She asks, placing the cap back on the bottle.

‘My name is Myrle, I belong to the order of black monks,’ the voice that comes from beyond the hood is obviously male and surprisingly soft.

‘The Devil never said he would be sending his henchmen,’ says Aria, setting the bottle back down on the table and getting to her feet.

‘He did not send me. I came of my own volution because I believe that you can help me and my brothers with a small issue we have,’ says Myrle.

Aria stares into the darkness of his hood.

‘I have a feeling that your master would not be pleased about you coming to me,’ she says.

‘This is true. But I believe you can help us and if you agree to do so, in return I will help you free your father and break the deal that you are bound to,’ says Myrle, his robes rustling softly as he moves.

‘Now you have my full attention. What do you want from me?’ Asks Aria.

Without warning a freezing cold hand shoots out from the monk's robe and grabs her by the wrist.

‘I’ll explain along the way,’ says Myrle as he snaps his fingers.

Both of them disappear in a cloud of black smoke.

The darkness recedes and Aria finds herself standing in a long hallway made of granite with the monk. Myrle motions for her to follow after him and they walk towards a door at the end of the hallway. Aria notes that the door is made of thick weathered wood and has black iron fixings on it.

‘Before we go through this door can you at least tell me where I am?’ Asks Aria, stopping suddenly.

‘Hell is made up of many different kingdoms, this is one of them,’ says Myrle.

Stunned, Aria follows behind the monk as he pushes through the door and they enter a large barn-like room. The ceiling is so high the apex is shrouded in darkness. The floor has a light covering of hay and beyond a large cross-shaped table are rows of cages stacked high. Each cage contains a shivering, naked person. Most of the faces that stare out of the cages look sad and dirty.

‘Who are these people?’ Asks Aria, her jaw hanging open at the sight of so many people.

‘Those are the souls of the damned,’ says Myrle as he motions for Aria to continue following him.

They walk towards a stack of hay bales and move just out of sight as the barn doors swing open with a heavy thud. Two, huge winged creatures with leather-like skin storm inside.

‘Those are Grimoyle’s,’ says Myrle, wrapping a cold hand around Aria’s wrist and pulling her towards the barn doors.

They walk out onto a street lined with medieval-style houses that don’t sit quite right. There are no signs of life beyond the crooked windows. After a short distance, they reach a stone water fountain. Children hold hands and dance around the middle section of the fountain. Instead of water, blood pours from their mouths and eyes and into the basin of the fountain.

Beyond the grotesque fountain are a large set of steel gates and beyond them lies a crumbling castle with black smoke billowing from a hole in its roof. Aria finds this strange and turns to Myrle once again.

‘What is this place?’ She asks, noting there are winged demons flying around the smoke.

‘Beyond those gates is Argol’s castle. He is the overlord of this kingdom and recently his minions stole a very valuable scroll from my brotherhood,’ explains the monk. He seems to regard the castle with unease.

‘What does the scroll do?’

‘When used correctly it can create a permanent portal between this world and yours. This can’t be allowed to happen as the brotherhood is supposed to be a neutral party. If Argol opens the portal our master may believe that we helped him to do so.’ The monk turns his attention back to Aria.

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‘Ok, so you want me to get it back for you, but how do I get in and out of that place without being torn to shreds?’

Myrle motions for her to follow after him. They walk to a smaller gate which is normally used for discreet access to the castle.

‘Getting you in won’t be a problem,’ says the monk pushing open the gate, ‘the problem is getting you out. There is a secret passage that can lead you straight to the church of darkness, but it's located under Argol’s throne.’

‘Ah, there is always a catch,’ sighs Aria.

Aria follows the monk through the wooded area surrounding the castle. They eventually spot a door near the castle's rear that Myrle says should lead to the kitchen. She starts towards the doorway, expecting the monk to follow. But he doesn’t.

‘I can’t go any further. If I’m caught on castle grounds I could be expelled from the brotherhood,’ explains the monk. He nods towards Aria’s hand and the gold bullet it was holding. ‘That artifact should provide you with the power you need to at least subdue Argol and grab the scroll.’

Aria sighs and is about to say something. But the monk explodes into black smoke and disappears before any word can leave her mouth. She sighs again and turns her attention to the castle.

Licking her lips in anticipation, Aria dashes from the tree line and toward the door. It occurs to her it may be locked only by the time she reaches it. Panting, she grabs the door handle and twists it. There is a clunk and the door creaks open.

Carefully, Aria peeks inside. For such a huge building the kitchen is relatively small and empty. Her gaze falls on the stairs at the far end of the room which seems to wind upwards to a higher part of the castle.

The door creaks shut behind her as she enters the room and heads for the stairs. She is about to pass a large sink when she notices a meat clever laying in it. There are still chunks of meat clinging to the blade as she grabs it by the wooden handle and grips it in the same hand as her golden bullet.

She starts up the stairs. Higher up she can hear a door open and realizes that she can’t go back. Instead, she charges upward, rushing to meet whoever is coming down the stairs.

The small cloaked figure never stood a chance as Aria lashed out with the cleaver in a wide arc. The figure wobbles on its feet before falling forward, its head rolling down the stairs first.

Once the body is out of sight, Aria continues up the last few steps and finds herself in a long hallway. To the right, there seems to be nothing but infinite darkness but to her left was the familiar orange glow of a fire. She starts walking towards the light, guessing that Argol will be nearby.

‘Have you figured out how to use the scroll yet,’ Asks a deep and menacing voice.

Aria reaches the end of the hallway just in time to see the mammoth demon called Argol sitting on his throne made of human bones. Before him stands a small, robed figure who seems to shuffle nervously as it clutches an ancient scroll to its chest.

‘No your highness. We have been unable to locate the incantation the brotherhood would use to activate it,’ says the small figure with a nervous dip in its voice.

‘Then you better keep looking or you and your kin will be my next meal. Now be gone with you and don’t come back until you have something to tell me,’ says the huge demon.

Aria’s eyes drift downwards toward the base of Argol’s throne and she can see the hatch leading to the secret passage. She quickly merges back into the shadows as the small figure approaches clutching the scroll and waits until it is just about to pass her before lashing out with the meat cleaver again. The scroll slips from the figure's gloved hands and Aria catches it before it can hit the floor.

With the scroll in her possession, all she has to do now is escape. She peaks around the corner again and notices that Argol is starting to fall asleep. Even with the power of the gold bullet, she doubts that would be enough to take down such a huge creature, which means stealth is going to be her best friend in this situation.

Clinging to the wall, Aria makes her way around the corner and into the throne room. A giant cauldron with a huge fire takes up most of the space, with Argol and his throne taking up the rest. She can hear the demon begin to snore as she approaches the rear of the throne.

Taking a deep breath, Aria runs for the throne's underside. Dust and debris kick up around her as she grabs the metal handle of the trap door and pulls hard. A gust of warm air hits her in the face as the door lifts and she is able to slip into the passageway.

The tunnel seems to go on forever. Aria is beginning to doubt that she has found the right passage when she encounters a wall of black smoke. Inside the smoke, she can see metallic twinkles and small bursts of light. Gripping the scroll tight, and the golden bullet even tighter, she walks into the cloud only to find herself standing in front of a slim nondescript door.

Aria tries to open the door by turning the handle but it doesn’t budge. She decides to bang her fist against it instead and a second later there is the sound of a heavy bolt being slid out of the way before the door swings open to reveal Myrle.

‘I knew you wouldn’t let us down,’ says the monk as he steps aside to let Aria pass.

Aria can feel her mouth drop open as she stands inside what is a huge cathedral-like building.

‘Welcome to the church of darkness,’ says Myrle, putting his hand out for the scroll.

‘This place is huge,’ says Aria, absently handing over the scroll.

‘Yes and you are the only human to ever set foot in this place,’ says the monk, bowing his head in appreciation. ‘Now, as promised I will reward you for your effort. Will you allow me to hold your gold bullet?’

Aria narrows her eyes at the monk. If he takes it from her she won't have the strength to get it back.

‘I can understand your reluctance but if you allow me to, I can make sure you never have to worry about it losing it,’ says the monk, outstretching his free hand.

Reluctantly, Aria hands over the gold bullet. She watches as the monk begins to mutter something indecipherable while holding the artifact. The magic symbols around the cuffs and hood of his robe glow with a deep gold color. Then, out of nowhere, he slams the bullet into Aria’s forehead.

The pain is immense as Aria stumbles backward from the shock. Her whole body feels like it has been set on fire, but it's a fire that seems to come over her in waves. She drops to her knees, blinded for a moment by a brilliant white flash. Then the world starts to come into focus once again. The burning sensation intensifies around her wrists and when she looks she can see the same magic symbols appear wrapped around them.

‘Now you will never lose the power of the artifact. It has been absorbed deep into your soul,’ says the monk, offering a hand for Aria to grab.

‘Thank you,’ says Aria, accepting his hand and pulling herself to her feet.

‘There is more I will be able to help you with, but that will have to do for now. Our master will be calling for you soon and it's best not to raise his suspicion,’ says Myrle.

‘When will I see you again?’ Asks Aria.

‘Soon,’ says Myrle waving his free hand over the assassin.

He watches as Aria disappears back to her own realm in a cloud of smoke. He looks down at the scroll in his hand. The prophecy is indeed about to unfold.