“Where are you hiding?” The voice in Uriel’s mind screamed with strenuous and malefic fury.
Her eyes peered through the swirling darkness adjusting to the passing by of the deformed clouds. She was floating in the endless abyss, her body feeling weightless. There was no up or down, no gravity or other force acting against her. Her gaze was hazy, with a ravenous headache pulsing in the front of her skull. She tried to position herself upright, but she was already so. Then the voice shouted again, this time quieter, with a greater menace in its tone.
“Where… where are you hiding? I know you’re there, out there. Watching me. Waiting for me. You will not have me. Not yet. Not yet.” The voice echoed.
Blood-red mist began seeping out of Uriel’s eyes. A deep bloody shade that slowly expanded, swallowing the nothingness. There was no pain, but still she was enraptured by fear. She tried shutting her eyes, but the redness still pushed even through that darkness forcing her to open them. Upon doing so, she found herself in a different place entirely.
It was a strange, decrepit place, with a lingering, rancid stench like burning plants and rotten trash in the air. The smell overpowered Uriel, who stepped back and bumped into the wall. But immediately she noticed the wall was not truly there. It was merely an illusion. This place was nothing more than a vision of the past that her mind was inhabiting. She did not exist in that place, and as she put her hand against the torn gray wallpaper and focused, her fingers slipped through the physical matter.
I guess that confirms my hypothesis. I’m like a phantom in this place, as long as I don’t strain myself too hard I won’t fall through the floor... Uriel thought to herself as she scanned the room she was in. Where am I…? This is not how I imagined Evan’s house… what was that voice… whose… voice was it?
The angel found herself in a fetid kitchen, garbage and bags littering the walls and drawers, with mountains of putrid dishes and chunks of half-eaten rotten food overflowing from the sink. Cockroaches, flies, and countless other small critters and insects swarmed through the area.
Well, I suppose that’s where the smell comes from… Uriel thought as she rubbed her palm against her nose.
“But I swear I smelt something… burning…” She said out loud.
Inspecting closer she also spotted numerous candles placed on top of the drawers away from any possible fire hazard. Additionally, numerous incense of varying kinds were suspended from the ceiling, letting off a gentle trail of smoke.
“Pathetic attempt at masking… that.” Uriel said, followed by a few coughs. Uriel then noticed all the cobwebs and spiders that clung to the incenses. “What a ghastly sight.”
How long has it been since they’ve been touched? Why are they still burning then…
Before she could take another step, a storm of boots clacking against the floor echoed from the hallway beside her, making her jump. An incredibly distressed-looking man rushed inside the kitchen aiming straight for the kitchen.
“He can’t see me.” Uriel sighed in relief. “And he can’t hear me either. Right, of course. This is a vision. This has all already happened. Now… are you… Evan’s father?” She said, trying to get a better view of him. Her body gently floated to the side, staying close to one of the windows for ease of breathing.
Uriel’s main impression was that of someone unbelievably plain. The man had simple, unremarkable facial features, save for his thin straight glasses. His cashew-colored hair was, matching the room they were in, dirty, unwashed and unkempt. Strands drooped over his face, reaching down to his chin. The rest of him was much the same. Tall, unnaturally thin, with a noticeable hunch. His filthy clothes draped over him like a second skin. Uriel could tell at some point in the long gone past the beige suit he wore was one of pristine elegance. Finally, Uriel noticed a simple black handgun attached to a holster on his belt.
Sweet God, what led this man to such depths of depravity?
She just continued watching, unable to interrupt as the man ravenously tore open the doors of the drawers and the fridge. He was searching for something, for someone. He kept mumbling to himself as he did.
“No… no, you’re somewhere here aren’t you… Come out Costy, come out and I won’t be mad… I s-swear.” His voice trembled. It was strange sounding, like the broken melody that played from a scratched vinyl. But it was not the way his voice sounded that made Uriel freeze in place, her eyes go wide and her breath sharply cut off.
C-Costy? He doesn’t mean… Constantine?
He quickly slammed a door shut in rage and ran off into the other room. Uriel followed quickly, floating behind him. He let out a groaning scream as he ran from room to room, upturning every piece of furniture he could find and throwing piles of clothing and trash.
“WHERE ARE YOU?” He shouted one final time before standing up straight, as well as he could.
Uriel had heard it too, and clearly the man had as well. A single squeak, quieter than a mouse. But it was enough. The man’s face contorted into a strange smirk that showed both worry, relief, and sadistic fury. He ran to one of the closets in another room as Uriel fruitlessly tried stopping him, her hands and body passing through him like the fingers of a spectre. Fear gripped her, as sweat began to drip down her forehead.
No, no, no, please, don’t… not this.
But despite how afraid she was, she followed him nonetheless. She followed him, and watched as he reached into a chest deep in the side of a wardrobe and pulled out a screaming, crying young boy.
“No! No! P-phlease daad! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry p-please!” His young voice cried out in pain.
Uriel tried unleashing her blades against him, trying with every ounce of her strength to stop him but nothing happened. Her wailing was useless. With heavy resignation, she stood back and observed the terrible sight unfolding before her. The man took the boy and shoved him hard against the wall. He shouted furiously in his face, spittle flying everywhere as he asked him how dare he run from him. At that moment, Uriel finally got a glimpse of the young boy’s face. In his eyes she saw the same flash of sadness she had seen so long ago, buried deep in those dark oceanic irises. Her shoulders slumped, and her facial expression turned to one of pure numbness as her worst fears had been confirmed.
It… it is him…
Unable to intervene, she watched as the man continued to berate and scream at his child.
“I told you to NEVER leave your cage AGAIN! H-how fucking DARE you disobey me, you stupid fucking BRAT!” As he shouted, he arched himself back raising his arm high before bringing down a terrifyingly hard slap against the boy’s face. There was a sickening crack as the hit landed.
Uriel’s own neck snapped to the side, her eyes tightly shut. Vomit crawled up her esophagus and almost out of her mouth had she not clasped a hand over it. In that moment she swore the boy was murdered. With tears flowing down the sides of her shaking eyelids, she slowly opened her eyes. Her trembling hand kept cover over her mouth to stop her from screaming as she watched the man continuously beat, slap and punch the feeble child, shouting about his ‘disobeyment’.
“P-please… please stop… please…” Uriel begged, hoping that maybe someone will hear her.
Please... She thought as she fell to her knees and looked down, unable to bear the sight anymore. But just as quickly as it started, it ended. Her prayers had been answered. The man stepped back, almost tripping over a stray can, and let out a horrific scream of anguish. When he was done, he grabbed the boy’s limb body by the hair and pulled him up to inspect him.
“You’re still alive right? Hey, look at me, look at me!” He said, his voice loud and panicky as he gave the child a few gentler slaps across the face. He let out a long sigh of relief when the boy opened his hazy eyes before closing them. “Don’t fucking scare me like that you ungrateful cunt!” He shouted, immediately exploding into anger and giving the boy another backhanded slap.
The man then dragged him across the room and through the hallway, heading somewhere else.
Uriel stumbled to her feet, following them. She was no longer curious, she was compelled to learn what this miserable vision was and why she was seeing it now.
“When will you fuckin learn… the safest place for you is here.” He said, unlocking a strange door that had numerous markings on it. Uriel glanced at them as she walked inside, and thought for a second one of them matched one of the many she saw outside of Madame’s house.
The room inside was completely different from the rest of the house. Those same markings that were on the door now covered the entire walls of this candle-lit room. The substance used was a black, tar-like goop that Uriel did not recognize. She also did not recognize the many strange tomes and schematics that were spread around the place, writings made in chalk all over the floor, walls, even the ceilings and at the end of the room, a singular cage with rusted iron bars. The man stomped over to it and violently shoved the child into the cage, slamming the door behind him as he softly began weeping. Uriel’s heart ached as she watched. It was a quiet sob, one practiced and done many times before, perfected to reveal as little in the face of this monster.
“I told you… I told you… Until I find her… I can’t let it have you… not you too…” He rambled, not even facing the child as he did. He paced around the room, paranoically checking every little unholy instrument. His bulging eyes found no solace despite him double, triple checking each corner of the room. “You’ll be safe here. As long as I live. I swear you’ll be safe.”
Despite his precautions, Uriel felt the presence of something else in the room. He felt it as well, and his fears became material as a shadow slowly spread across the room extinguishing every light along its path. Every light, except the one candle the man was holding as he backed against the cage. Uriel found herself surrounded by pitch blackness, with only a glimpse of that flickering light. The burning scent of candle smoke quickly faded, and Uriel could only feel the corrupt stench of a hundred corpses filling her senses. The room seemed to have expanded endlessly in every direction and in that abyss, Uriel glimpsed two wide deathly white eyes.
“D-don’t have the guts to show yourself, Death?” The man’s trembling voice broke Uriel’s intense focus and fear.
Don’t worry Uriel, this is a memory… It cannot harm you… It can’t harm you… The angel consoled herself when she looked back. But there was something in those eyes that stared back. Their shapeless features seemed to stare back at her, as if amused by her presence. But it cannot be me. I do not exist here… it can’t see me…
The beast that crawled out of the darkness hissed, creating a ghastly howling before revealing the whites of its razor teeth. Light slowly trickled back inside the room, as if the beast was pulling the darkness into its shape, becoming more corporeal. It revealed its true size as dozens of unnaturally long limbs tried fitting themselves into the room knocking furniture, papers on the walls and arcane marks aside. Like a spider trapped in too small a bottle. The black flames on its back roared to life, billowing like dark sails on a wild ocean night.
“Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh.” It hissed. “You forget your place, Christian.”
Uriel paused for a moment, taking a step back. The lumbering sight of the beast still filled her with an all too familiar dread. Her missing leg ached from the pain of memories passed. I… recognize that voice. She thought. Its… Her… The voice from the pale shadow’s skull, That being that saved me in Gausville.
“What place would that be? I d-do not fear you, Death.” Christian valliantly replied with confidence about him. In that moment, his weak, frail demeanor from earlier vanished, and it was as if a completely different person took his place. If this was an act, Uriel could not tell at the moment and was convinced.
“No, I’ll give you that much. You’re most certainly not a dull person. But you wanted something from me no? You think I will indulge these trifling whims of yours?” The pale shadow continued speaking, its gaping mouth unmoving as the voice of Death spoke from within.”Why have you summoned me again?”
“Whims or not, we had an agreement!” He shouted. “I pulled you into this plane of reality, and I bound you to me!” Christian continued, tearing his shirt open and revealing a black, pulsating mark over his heart. It was a fantastically bizarre geometric shape on his skin that seemed to fold in between and through itself, like silver serpents coiling around each other. It was otherworldly in its appearance and the way it acted.
“Bound?” Uriel said in utter disbelief, thankfully without anyone other than her hearing. You convoked Death itself, brought her out of her realm of dreams, and bound her? J-just who are you Christian? What… how did you manage such a feat? Uriel stepped back, suddenly horrified not at the hulking monster of the shadows before her, but the one unimposing man that stood beside it.
She quickly turned aside to one stack of books in the corner of the room. She pulled a random one of the heavy notebooks, flipping through the pages. Maddened scribbles littered each page, strange esoteric diagrams and paragraphs after paragraphs of a language not even she could understand. Her eye caught on one of the pages, seeing an incredibly elaborate and detailed index of the stars and constellations of the night sky. She ran her finger over the schematic, almost entranced by its elaborate beauty.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
T-this is… dark... twisted science. This is neither holy nor demonic. This is… beautiful… something else entirely. She thought, mesmerized, before her concentration was broken by Death’s icy voice echoing through the room once again.
“And? Have you fulfilled your end of the bargain?”
“Yes. I found the glass coffin. But it was… too dangerous for me to attempt opening it.”
Uriel’s eyes went wide. A chill passed through her body, as a memory of long ago faded through her conscious mind. A glass coffin? Like the one… my mother put me to sleep in? The one I woke up in? Why… Why would you of all people be searching for that?
Silence filled the room. The pale shadow sat unmoving, more still than a statue.
“Then I must repeat myself... why have you summoned me again?” Her voice called once more, with a slight annoyance in its tone.
“Wh-what… what do you mean why? I’ve fulfilled my part of our pact! I-”
“My vessel is not here, you cannot claim that to be true.”
“I FOUND YOUR VESSEL! YOU CANNOT GO BACK ON YOUR WORD! NOW I COMMAND YOU TO TELL ME WHERE MY WIFE IS LIKE YOU PROMISED!” Christian shouted, fearlessly stepping forward to the pale shadow.
“Insolent cur. DO NOT DARE assume I will not fulfill my end of the deal…” The pale shadow threateningly howled, raising one of its extremely long arms and pushing it against the ceiling. The monster then seemed to stand up higher, becoming more imposing as it looked down upon Christian. The man however seemed unperturbed. “Your wife is dead.” Death’s voice continued. ”I claimed her soul and dragged her to the afterlife, as is my duty. But you knew that truth long ago did you not?” Said Death.
“Bring her back.” He said without hesitation. ”Bring her back to life this instant. All my studies, my experiments and attempts at necromancy failed. If she is truly dead like you claim, you’ll bring her back.”
“Heh, You are truly mad beyond description. Why would I do that?” Her voice boomed, as the pale shadow turned to leave. “Your pathetic jokes bore me. I will ignore your impudence for now and take my leave. Do not dare summon me again until your end of the contract is fully complete.”
“No. I refuse.” Christian said, stepping forward once more. “Our contract is complete. I am not bound to your will, lest you forget. You are bound to mine, Lady Death. And at this moment, I am feeling incredibly disrespected. I command you to show yourself before me. Your true self.”
Uriel just silently watched the scene unfolding in front of her. She could not believe the audacity of Christian, and so she awaited the pale shadow’s response. The beast just slowly turned around, its movements fluid and calculated. Its body moved like mist. When it stopped, it opened its mouth once again, but its jaw kept widening. The pallid whiteness within kept growing and growing as the shadow’s maw opened beyond unnatural lengths. From the nothingness, a being stepped forth, clad in a cloak blacker than the night that hid all of her features. The pale shadow then disappeared into smoke and ashes behind her.
Is this… Lady Death? The angel questioned. The same Lady Death?
Uriel’s pale eyes watched as the embodiment of finality materialized her eternal weapon, a massive ethereal scythe. The angel was entranced by the shape of the blade, the miasma of colors that emanated from it. The handle of the weapon was like a phantom, a phantom that Uriel could not see fully. But after her eyes adjusted to the unnatural manner of its existence, she found it just as awe-inspiring as the blade.
“Its so... majestic.” She found herself saying. The sight the blade, even through the hazy veil of this memory, somehow managed to... entice the angel. Her mind filled with images of herself grasping the helve of the weapon, feeling the power within. Carving reality as she pleased and making her deepest desires come true.
W-what are these thoughts… this is not me. These strange whispers in my mind… they can't be me... Uriel thought, shaking herself out of this illusion. With this clearer view however, Uriel noticed something strange, just like earlier. Lady Death’s cloak seemed just slightly turned in her direction. The black void within her shroud seemed to stare directly into her soul.
“The God-Reaper Scythe.” Christian exclaimed, awed by its visage. “But even so, with all the endless power of this blade, you cannot strike me down right now, no? All that cosmic glory, and yet this humble man standing before you is impossible to cut down, isn’t that right?” He smugly laughed.
“You toy with powers you do not understand fully, Christian.” Lady Death’s voice echoed, causing the temperature of the room to drop noticeably. “I advise you to choose your next words… very... very... carefully.”
Christian took note of his breath now visible in the room, but this did not deter him. “Or what? You are bound by the Pact of a Thousand Creations. You cannot interfere in the mortal realm, you cannot touch me without breaking that pact. And not just! We have a pact of our own as well don’t we? Oh yes Lady Death, I’ve found many interesting things in my studies. I must thank you for showing me that transcendent library. I know you were only doing it for your own gain, but still.” He paused, adjusting his position before continuing. “Now, I command you to bring back my beloved.”
The cloak on Death’s head turned ever so slowly, stopping in Uriel’s direction. The angel stumbled back, panicking briefly.
Why are you looking my way? Y-you cannot see me. It can’t be possible… can it?
“Hmmhm.” Was the only sound Lady Death made. To Uriel, it sounded like a chuckle.
“What’s so funny?” Christian asked, turning his head to the corner and back towards Death.
“Your bravado and intelligence have been nothing short of admirable Christian. I must admit you are one of the more interesting people I have met.” Lady Death said, raising her gloved hand, flicking her index into the air. “But our time together is now at an end.” She said.
“G-glhk.. What the… hell?” Christian winced as his arm trembled, reaching for his own gun despite his desperate attempts to stop himself. “You can't do this... You don’t even know where the coffin is! You cannot open it without me bitch, what are you DOING?”
“Of course, but I appear to have no need for you anymore. I have just been gifted an omen of the future. It seems someone, or something else will eventually open that coffin. You’ve been useful, but it seems I had it backwards. You were not needed to find my vessel - you were needed for my vessel to find you instead.”
Uriel stepped even further back, but she hit the wall with nowhere else to go. She stared, unblinking at the dark spectre before her.
N-no. It cannot be me. How could she have seen… She couldn’t have, it must be someone else. It must.
“This is a memory… You couldn't have… seen me. All the way back then. No… she did not see me, she just knew I would come here.” Uriel mumbled to herself, barely a whisper. “I understand now. But… what do you want from me?”
“But our bargain!” Christian unintentionally interrupted her. “This mark on my body, the same on YOURS. You swore it cannot be broken. You gave me your word!” He kept shouting as he unwillingly put his own gun to his temple. His knees buckled and he stumbled back into the cage behind him, rattling the bars as he fell to the ground.
Lady Death was silent for a brief moment, before the specter burst into laughter. “You do not realize how measly you are before me do you? How outmatched you truly are? You are like an ant before a mountain whose peak is towering out of sight beyond the clouds. I have no further desire to keep my bargain to you. Whatever consequences this might incur upon me, I gladly accept. You have insulted me greatly, and that I cannot accept. I gave you the chance to save yourself, but your pride and confidence in the petty power over me doomed you.” Her voice grimly condemned him.
“W-wait, wait, please! You cannot do this!” His voice screamed in anguish. “Please! You can’t do this! You’re going to let this chance slip away for however many more years? Please, I just… I just wanted her back. I can’t... I can’t open the coffin.”
Death walked forth, kneeling down on one knee and placing her hand on his face, gently caressing him. “Look at me.” She said. “I have existed since the nascency of time itself. I have witnessed the birth of Gods, and watched as they and the heavens they created fell into ruin and decay. I watched them beg me for the end, and watched as they spun the fires of the cosmos against me, as they pathetically believed their war could change what I had done. I watched entire realities explode into existence and fade into nothingness countless times. I think... I can wait a few more years for the inheritor that will free me.“ Her voice said, freezing the very blood in Uriel’s veins.
Her cloak was enveloped by a billowing black flame that became a dark perpendicular halo above her head. Then another appeared, larger and further up. Then there came one more to the left of the previous, and finally one more opposite that one. Next, from the darkness at the center of her face, the eyelids of a massive eye opened. It was an eye born of the same blackened fires that now adorned her head. The moment the eye opened, the halos all opened, revealing the same eyes staring back. Five glorious stars refracting light from beyond heaven and hell adorned her head. The sounds of the fires that burned therein was the same as the sounds of an endless legion of souls, being born and dying, again and again in a never ending cycle.
It was only a glimpse, one glimpse of the true vastness of Lady Death’s power, but it was enough. Uriel glimpsed within that eye and saw her worst nightmares staring back. The angel looked away, but her mind was scorched by that hollow emptiness she witnessed. It was a vast eternal oblivion of loneliness and fear. Her will crumbled, and she fell on her knees, clutching her head as she began sobbing uncontrollably. That perpetual agony was what awaited her. Stinging tears fell down her cheeks, though for how long she did not know.
Eventually however, the colors of the world came back into focus, and her thoughts were sensible and back to normalcy once more. The aching feeling of despair was still there, but she could now rise from the ground, and wipe her puffy red eyes. She turned and saw Christian, frozen in the same position he was in earlier, eyes fixed towards Lady Death’s eyes. Uriel made certain she avoided looking their way at all costs, and instead stared at the man. His expression was blank, numb, his eyes glazed over as the very light within his soul seemed to have faded away.
“But… but… bu... b... buh…” Was all Christian could babble during this time, his mind and thoughts painstakingly flaked away from his synapses one at a time. Drool, tears and snot, dribbled out of his facial orifices, no longer any involuntary reflexes holding them back. Blood dripped from them as well, down his chin from the corners of his mouth, from his nose in large viscous globules, and especially down his cheeks from his bloodshot, bright red eyes. Blood even began to drip from his forehead, his very sweat taking on a crimson hue. His body had an usual twitch and jitter to it, as if it was some deeper consciousness trying to resurrect him. Uriel clasped her hand over her mouth, unable to watch the sight of the man before him. It was almost as ghastly as what she had seen mere moments before.
No… he shouldn’t die... It isn’t right… he might be a monster but… not... like this… Uriel thought to herself as her thoughts seemed to collapse, her mind throbbing with immeasurable pain from earlier. But… he's a monster... a monster… Why shouldn't monsters suffer? Why shouldn’t monsters die? Why shouldn’t he die? Why? WHY?
“Shh. Your time in this world is coming to a close. Cherish this moment, this liberation that I grant you.” Death whispered as she grabbed his hand and moved the barrel of the gun it was holding towards his gaping mouth.
Christian’s body violently flailed forward, as if he somehow woke up from a paralyzing nightmare. Something had pulled him back to the world of the living. Some greater part of him, some twisted, sickened desire from the very depth of his soul dragged him back and allowed him to say his final words.
“My son… My son... please. There’s so much I want to tell him please!” He begged one final time as his finger clicked the hammer of the weapon.
“Look into my eyes, and witness finality.”
“CONSTANTI-” He screamed as the bullet exploded through his skull, spraying the cage behind him with brain matter and blood before his body limply fell to the side.
"Goodbye, Christian. You were truly peculiar, for a meagre human." Her voice fell cold and hateful, yet with the slightest inkling of fascination.
Uriel’s shocked state seemed frozen in time. She watched, unblinking, as the shade of Death rose to her full cruel glory. Something dripped down the side of her face. She reached with a quivering hand and wiped away a trail of viscous red fluid. She felt nothing but bitter coldness. She stared as a droplet slid down her finger, before her vision caught something behind her hand. It was the child, locked in his cage, his eyes wide open as his face was covered in the bloody remains of his father.
“Y-you just going to leave him there?” Uriel hatefully spat out, her voice shaking now with despair.
There was pure silence in the room as the great celestial fires above Death’s head faded back to nothing as if they were never there. She turned to leave before that silence was shattered by the squeak of a single word:
“Dad?”
Lady Death spun around with quickness, pointing a finger at the child and uttering a single command: “Sleep.” With it, the child keeled over on his back, fast asleep. Death stepped forward once again.
“Hmpf. Is this the progeny that was in your final thoughts, Christian? The one you tried so hard to protect with this room? I suppose the child will die, starving in this cage. Unless I am willing to alter fate yet again…”
Please… I’ll do anything. Uriel silently pleaded. You must, please.
“Hmm. Perhaps the mark you’ve left on me Christian goes beyond just our broken bargain. But perhaps the bargain was not so broken in the end. After all, we both fulfilled the favors the other desired of us.” She said, laughing to herself. “This child… I foresee great possibilities in his future. Perhaps every moment of cruelty deserves a moment of kindness...”
Uriel stepped forward silently, watching the black emptiness in Lady Death’s cloak. Within that darkness she could tell the being was weighing this decision greatly. This one decision that would alter the fate of so many others beyond that room. Then the being reached its armored arm through the very bars of the cage, reaching into the child’s chest, and placing a mark on his heart.
Uriel began feeling the corners of her vision fade into the red darkness from earlier. She felt the pull of abnormal energies as her eyes saw the void once more, and a single final statement echoed in her mind as the vision came to an end.
“Very well then, Constantine Sancthos, consider yourself lucky, for I shall permit you to live.”