His reasons were his own, and Aberlain knew that not a single creature alive within Yggdrasil could see eye to eye with him. A threatening and overwhelming presence is what he commanded, only to be feared and obeyed by the masses. His pursuit was a noble one at heart, yet as he moved towards his goal of total control with heavy footsteps, the nobleness of it seemed to fade from the eyes of others. To control all of Hell one must rule with an iron fist, no exceptions. The demons running amok within the fiery pits of Yggdrasil were just as ruthless and cunning as he. To rule a land of madness, one must succumb to a greater madness themselves.
It was a necessary sacrifice in his eyes, to become the symbol of hatred within all of existence. If he were to bring forth order, he would need to unite the masses against a singular overpowering threat. The King of Hell, he deemed himself, is what would cause the armies of Hell to unite once more. Under the leadership of the previous king, his weak mindset allowed himself to be slain by mere demon foot soldiers. Ever since that day millennia ago, Hell had forever placed themselves on the losing side of this eternal war. A weak ruler brings nothing but pain and torment to their people, and Aberlain refused to be anything but in total control.
He scoured the lands below him, and noticed a small flashing light signaling to him from the rooftop of a nearby building. It was still dark out, but the city lights shone brightly as if to fight back the night into submission. Humankind had truly surpassed the infrastructure of both Heaven and Hell alike, leaping forward several eras above each respective realm. Aberlain watched as a helicopter sped through the city airspace for a few moments, before landing upon the same rooftop as the small flickering light. The time had finally come for this world to know the truth, humanity had been in the dark for far too long. He would see to it personally that the war ended within his lifetime, and to do so, he would traverse towards his goal by any means necessary.
As he walked away from the window of CEO Ryan Bailey's office, rolls of yellow tape stuck upon it as if it had been shattered, he made his way toward the elevator doors past the receptionist area. Everyone had gone home for the night beside a lone janitor humming to himself as he sat upon the receptionist's desk. Walking past the janitor slowly, he looked down at the human man sadly. It was never his intention to mix others up into this mess of a world, but it was just how it had to be. The world was a cruel and unforgiving place which seeked to destroy all beauty from within. Innocence and peace were a foolish and unattainable notion for the weak to cling to, only to have those notions ripped from their hands by a force such as Aberlain. The only way forward is to travel through the marching of time with your head held high, ready for every punch reality throws your way. To live is to fight, and to fight is to live. This was the motto he lived his life by, and had brought it upon himself to be alone with this struggle. If the King of Hell could shoulder the entire burden of war thrust upon him and him alone, then he would do so.
There was no greater destiny than to unite the world under a common goal. Every demon, human, and angel alike would fight against the likes of Aberlain. To achieve his perfect plan, the steps necessary would be just as cruel and unforgiving as reality was to all its inhabitants. The embodiment of evil shall live within the heart of the Rootlord, corrupting him until the day he goes mad. If his sanity was the price to pay for salvation, so be it. It was a worthy cause to give oneself to, and this he knew.
If only his daughter and the demon E had never made themselves into a threat, his plans would have moved along smoothly. His daughter had been a long-time concern of his, seeing just how powerful she'd grown over the years. There was no telling when she would turn against him and destroy all the hard work he'd prepared for this day to finally come. He knew what he was doing was seen as an act of malice, but it didn't matter anymore. May would never allow her own father to destroy the world for the sake of unification, she would do all in her power to stop him. If that was the case, Aberlain knew in his heart that she would succeed.
For all the power and influence he wielded amongst both Hell and Earth alike, his daughter was the one factor in which he could never hope to control. She was just as wild as the whipping wind she commanded, unable to be tamed by any outside force. The only way to ensure his own survival was to have her dealt with, along with her newfound companions. E especially proved to be quite the nuisance, but there was still something amiss about him.
Ever since meeting the demon in the hat within the palace walls, Aberlain had noticed the aura E gave off. Emanating waves of tortured pain and anguish fled from his body like people fleeing a hurricane. Inside that particular demon was a storm waiting to strike, and there was no telling when. Something about E was dangerous, and every fiber of Aberlains being told him to get rid of the monstrosity his daughter had befriended. The field mouse as well posed a threat, but it was of little concern to the Rootlord seeing as how weak and feeble Silo had proven himself to be. He was only good for a bit of reconnaissance and espionage, something Aberlain felt no need to fret over.
As the elevator doors opened and Aberlain stepped inside, he watched as the confused janitor looked up towards him. He couldn't see the demon standing within, and had been startled by the seemingly empty elevator suddenly opening its doors. Putting it out of mind quickly, the janitor went back to slacking off upon the receptionist's desk.
Aberlain watched the doors slide close slowly, and upon seeing his reflection of the mirrored doors, he couldn't seem to recognize himself. He wore a full dark suit and solid black tie, with a sleek pair of black loafers. Upon his head was a simple and small golden crown with a single large yellow jewel proudly displayed upon the front. Along with the yellow and black robe he had draped over his shoulders, his appearance screamed out 'power'. There was no demon, man, or angel alike that commanded the authority of this Rootlord, and he was very aware of that fact.
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His yellow eyes shone like the sun as he stared into them, searching for a hint of the demon he once was. When he was just a fledgling many years ago, the only thing he seemed capable of was to sit and writhe in agony at the current state of the world. Feeling just as powerless as the others of his kind after the old king had been killed, the boy Aberlain had lost all sense of reason. It was only when coming to the Earth for the very first time with his now deceased father that he recognized the potential the world still held.
Humanity was seen as the weakest of the races, their only reason for existing had been to provide a gateway for the war to oneday end. Earth was nothing more than a battleground for the kingdoms of Heaven and Hell to wage war upon, yet, for some reason this place resembled no battleground he'd seen before. As a child, Aberlain had seen the construction of many skyscrapers and towering giants, reaching up to the clouds as if to stand strongly against the cruelty of their own reality. Humans were resilient creatures, and would stop at nothing to survive. A trait even demons once held long ago, nearly forgotten by his own people.
Growing up traversing between the two realms, Aberlain slowly regained his motivation for living in the form of his newfound sense of unity. To unify the three realms against a single powerful enemy was to end the war entirely, creating a new and bigger threat to fight for the rest of eternity. Creating an era of perpetual unlimited potential.
*ding*
The elevator shouted as the doors slid open once more, revealing the main floor to the soon to be demon king. As Aberlain stepped out and looked out towards the dark night ahead of him, he noticed the source of the flashing light dissipate upon the rooftop of the next-door building. It was only a matter of time now to reach his destination, and he could finally enact the first stage of his plan.
...
"Took you a while, didn't it!?" The voice of the CEO shouted under the swirling wind of the helicopter blades.
"Let's be off now, shall we?" Aberlain responded, climbing into the helicopter before the CEO could spout anymore nonsense at him.
He noticed how extravagantly dressed Ryan seemed to be, and was caught slightly off guard from the odd choice of suit color. He wore a dark crimson red suit with similar black loafers to the demon, and a shiny gold wristwatch sparkled under the moonlight as the CEO climbed into the helicopter after Aberlain. Underneath the dark red suit was a black undershirt also similar to Aberlains, and the Rootlord noticed how unflattering it was to be copied like this. Imitation may have been flattery for some, but for him, seeing the human man dress like him was extremely off putting. It was like staring into a mirror which made you weaker and more annoying by the second. Although, Aberlain did have to admit to himself that the brown hair and eyes of the CEO complimented the suit quite nicely.
As the human man quickly slid a pair of headphones over his ears, handing the Rootlord the same device, he beckoned for the elderly pilot to take off. It was only when everyone had their headsets on did the helicopter begin to lift from the ground softly, ascending into the air like an angel's first flight.
"Hey, Mike? I'm gonna need you to turn off your headset for a moment while I talk to my... benefactor." Ryan spoke into the microphone, and the old pilot switched off his device. It was wondrous how many questions were asked when told of a handsome compensation to stay silent for an entire trip.
"Alright Abby, let's get to it, yeah? Why do you need to be flown to L.A.? And why in God's name do I have to come with you?" Ryan asked angrily, obviously frustrated with having to be in the dark for whatever Aberlain had been planning.
"Never call me that again, and you'll see when we get there. I'll fill you in once we get where we need to be, alright? I promise, Ryan, that you are an integral part of this plan. Without you, none of this would be possible. I need you." The Rootlord said, filling his words with a sweet toxin capable of worming its way through the mind of any man, manipulating the CEO into bending to his every will.
If the human felt needed and thought himself to be an important piece of the puzzle, there was no way he'd up and leave all of a sudden. Aberlain really did need Ryan for what was to come, but not in the way the CEO had envisioned.
"Well when you put it that way, how can I say no?" The CEO laughed heartily, obviously grateful for whatever opportunity he was about to be given.
As they rode in silence for most of the remaining flight, the demon and man alike thought of what was to come next. Aberlains plan had finally been put into action after all these years, and there was no way the human was going to miss out on this mysterious spectacle yet to come. As Ryan looked over towards the demon once the helicopter found the landing pad upon a tall L.A. glass building, he noticed something odd beginning to happen.
Aberlain reached out slowly towards the man, outstretching his arm until his hand grasped the man's face firmly.
"What... are you doing? I can already see you, you don't need to share your eyes?" Ryan asked confusingly, but never got the chance to hear Aberlains answer.
As soon as the CEO had asked the question, he began to scream out in pain as the demon revealed his true power to the ignorant man. Just as the Rootlord had possessed Restavel not long ago, he began to enter the mind of Ryan Bailey, forcefully worming his way inside the psyche of the man. Both their eyes began to shine a bright golden hue as the screaming slowed to a halt, and the kingly form of Aberlains demonic body slumped over within his seat, the golden light fading away from his eyes.
The elderly pilot spun around concerningly at the sight of his boss's apparent fit. Turning on his microphone once more, he reached out for the man to check if he was alright.
"You okay!? What happened!?" He shouted, but was met with a swat of the hand from the CEO.
"I'm fine, don't worry about it. I'll wire you the money by tomorrow, so get going. Now." Ryan said, but it was no longer the voice of the CEO. Aberlain had taken full control over the human's body, bending it to his own will as he ripped off the headset and stormed out of the helicopter, heaving his demon body out within his arms as he took the headphones off himself.
Carrying his own body down the steps of the helipad, Aberlain in Ryans body began to smile madly with joy. It had been quite some time since he'd last inhabited a human body. It felt refreshing somehow, as if this was the way life was meant to be lived.
As he approached the large black van parked neatly in the corner of the lot beneath the helipad, he began chuckling softly under his breath. Thinking of the long and grueling days ahead of him, Aberlain laughed in the face of reality as it tried once more to throw him down. The Rootlord, however, was done being cast down into the forgotten pile of memories Yggdrasil had grown accustomed to losing. He would be remembered as the unifier of all existence, and to enact this plan, he would triumph over all who stood in his way.