Braj regained consciousness some odd time later. He opened his eyes in a fit of coughs, spitting grass and dirt out of his mouth and nostrils. Placing one shaky arm against the glass, he pushed himself up to his knees. He rubbed his forehead, trying to rub away the countless aches all over his bruised body. Some type of tall grass covered his vision, but the sounds of the forest were still there, and were still hounding him. A light drizzle fell on onto his shoulders.
“Howdy,” something said, it’s voice and smooth.
Braj attempted to jump away, but legs gave out half-way and ended up throwing himself head first into the soft dirt and rogue stones. He began to crawl away, but stopped once the thing voice spoke again.
“I wouldn’t go that way, if I were you, friend,” it said, and then cackled.
Braj shuddered. His turned head around slowly, while his body kept facing the other way.
It was a few feet away. It was sitting down comfortably, with one hand dangling freely on one raised knee and the other resting on its lap. The darkness hid most of its features, but it was a humanoid, bald and unclothed, with a normally proportioned body with dirty silver skin and the same two dark gems for eyes, just as the other creature possessed. It’s dingy lips smiled widely.
There was nothing inside its mouth. Even when the moonlight fell through the branches above and snuck through the surrounding grass, it showed nothing but a dark and empty hole.
Braj swallowed, his eyes nearly falling from their sockets. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He opened it again, but only a whimper escaped this time.
“Demon got your tongue?” it asked, raising one of its thick brows in question.
“A...A...A…” Braj responded.
The Thing frowned visibility. “This is… rather unfortunate. I had many potential uses for you, but if she got you first, then it’s unfortunate to say that you are of no use to me alive. Go on, crawl that way,” it said, it’s vicious smirk returning to its fullest. It waved Braj away in tiny giggles.
“I...I can talk,” Braj said, inching away as he said that. “What do you want me? W-What do you want with me?”
“Oh, so you can speak! That changes things. Many things. Good things. Careful there, a couple more feet and your...No, nevermind. You don’t need to know.” It said, then chuckled further as Braj crawled back to his original position, and then upon noticing how close he was to the creature, began to wobble away. “What am I, you ask?” it began again, and raised both of its brows in question.
Braj stared back emptily for a few moments. He then got the hint and nodded quickly, shaking his entire body in the process.
“Wonderful question! Absolutely wonderful! I am, good sir, named Válte ton vathý Énas, or, in simpler terms, what you call a Devil. That thing you saw? That was a demon. Now, what do demons and devils typically want from humans, as the legends foretold, Braj?” It asked, emphasizing his name.
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If Braj turned any paler than he already was then his body would probably succumb to the lack of blood and perish. “M-m-my...S-s-soul?” he rasped, the rattling of his teeth upsetting his paralyzed tongue.
“Yes! Absolutely!” it yelled, slapping the bottom of its fists into his palm. “Now, there are two ways to do this,” it said, and then paused. It glanced around, and then leaned forward its head. “Wanna know what they are?” it said giddily.
Braj nodded nervously.
“Perfect! Ok, here it is. I can eat you, right now. Just open wide and stuff you down my mouth. You don’t want that, no?” it asked.
Braj shook his head feverishly.
“That’s fine. You don’t look particularly appetizing. You want to know the other way I can take your soul?”
Braj paused before inevitably having to nod his head.
“Well, through a ritual, I can take your soul, but leave your body intact. But I wouldn’t eat it, no, it would taste even worse that way! No, no. I would take it, and then I would put it somewhere else, in a different body, maybe. Probably. Who knows? I don't. You would become my spawn, then. You would do my bidding. You would sprawl before my sight. What does sprawl mean? I don't know but it sure sounds like spawn, so it fits!" the creature rambled on, and then fell into a fit of boisterous laughter. IT rang in the night and lifted leaves from the ground.
When Braj did not laugh, the creature gave him a look. It was difficult to describe the look he gave him, as his eyes consisted wholly of two dark gems that jumped from being empty to being full of darkness, but it was a look that clearly said to laugh the fuck along.
Braj began to laugh. At first hesitantly, but when the creature also began to laugh again, it grew in size and pitch.
But then the creature abruptly stopped. "Yes. As I was saying," it began again, as Braj instantly silenced himself. "You would murder and pillage. You would suck on this strange thing...what was it called? Oh yes, penis! If I so wanted to. But I won’t. But you need to be willing to do it. But I won’t. Get it?”
Braj nodded.
“No no, I don’t think you get it. You take the ritual, pass it, then become my minion, and you get power in return. New body. Much better than flimsy bones. And you get the added bonus of not being eaten by the devil, as you humans call me. That’s one choice. You follow? Good. The other choice is that you get eaten by the demon. Got it? Great. Now, decide which one. The first will only work if you are completely willing--there can be no doubts. The second will work regardless of your willingness.”
“I…” Braj began. He struggled to find his tongue, but then found some of it. “W-what...happened to L?”
The thing stared back empty. It did not arch its cheeks, did not smile further, did not frown, and nor did it raise its eyebrows. It simply looked back into Braj’s eyes for a few long moments. It then burped. Loudly. “This child?” the Thing said, the shadows that clung to him vanishing in a quick breeze, leaving behind L's face and body. “He failed the ritual,” it said, with L’s voice. “I wouldn’t advise it,” and then morphed back into its devil form. Braj stifled a yelp as it went on. “Now, decide quickly. If the demon gets here and chases me away, then she won’t just eats you. No, she has a taste for madness. She’ll drive you insane before taking one limb at a time. Vicious, if you ask me. Absurdly cruel, though it does add a certain taste to it.”
“What do I have to do?” Braj asked, gaining more and more control of his tongue.
“Ah, it’s simple really,” it said with a shrug. I will toss a part of you into a different dimension. Not your body, just you. Similar to this one, really. But darker. Much, much, darker. All you have to do, is to not go mad until then, and return to your body when I tell you to. You’ll become a suitable spawn then. Your weakness will wash away. You’ll be able to rip the skin off of humans when you return, trust me. Just sit still and let the time pass. Ponder your impotence. Ponder the power you want to gain, the control that you achieve. Imagine the things you will do with it--it is vital. Do you understand?”
Braj nodded slowly.
“See, it is simple,” it said, and then began to scratch its chin with one long finger. “I wonder why so many people can’t do it,” the Thing said, and then snapped its fingers together.
Everything then turned dark for Braj. He felt the weight of something on top of him, and through it heard the muffled voice of the creature telling him to lay down and reflect on the voices.
He did. Nothing happened at first. It was just dark. He still heard owls and birds and crickets cry, slightly muffled, however, and still felt the grass below his ears.
Then the whispers began to sound in his ears. They were slight, like a breeze, and inaudible. But Braj knew what they said, he just knew what they meant.