To say it was difficult for her to return to Inferno was an understatement. The difficulty wasn’t getting in or out of the place, as she was already dead and lacking a physical body. What made her return difficult was the time she knew she would waste by being forced to stay there. Still, Sunila returned with as much grace as she could manage. After all, this was the only way for her to make a difference. The only way for her to change things for the better.
“The maiden returns”, the Devil mused right beside her as she entered the edge of the Wood of the Suicides.
“And the maiden does not wish to engage in conversation with the likes of you”, she replied, tense.
“Indulge me, girl”, he said, and sauntered around her. “Your situation is rather unique among the damned. Not all lost souls can leave their punishment for some time.”
“Says the one who can walk free as well.”
“Free? I’m not free. This whole place is as much my prison as I am its warden. Free…”
“Go bother someone else.”
The Devil let out a sharp breath, but before he could continue to pester her, he looked to his left. Sunila followed his gaze and saw a warm glow manifest in the clearing.
The glow dimmed soon and revealed two humanoid shapes. After her eyes had adjusted, she realised those shapes were angels. One was half dragging the other by the wrist as if they were a misbehaving child.
“Welcome to my realm, Gabriel!”, announced the Devil with open arms and moved into a mocking bow. “If I had known your wish to visit me, I would’ve offered you a worthy welcome.”
“Please, Lucifer, there is no need for such… hospitality”, Gabriel replied with a pained expression. “I am merely here to see the Lord’s will be fulfilled.”
Sunila perked upon hearing the angel’s voice. She had heard it once before. It had been the voice, which had warned her of Rosomil’s downfall and what she had to do to be able to save not only Lodwin but Rosomil as well. That the angel was actually here when she was close by, meant that something important was going to happen.
“I see”, the Devil replied and looked over the other angel, who just glared at both of them. “I guessed as much. As for you, Uriel, I’m surprised to see you this soon. Considering your drive, I thought you would take a little longer to return.”
“Why canst thou not choke on tine words?”, the other angel asked in an almost animalistic growl.
“I do like your attitude, but it won’t help you here”, the Devil replied with a smirk.
“He is just meant to stay within the Inferno for five hundred mortal years”, Gabriel explained, visibly unwell. “And during this time he is not to be tortured or harmed in any way.”
“Then what’s his punishment?”
“He is to perform any menial tasks as thine servant without compromising his soul or causing him harm.”
“I’m not even to have some fun with him?”
“No.”
“Beggars can’t be choosers, but this is hardly a punishment at all”, the Devil remarked amused and shrugged. “Yet if the Lord’s sees it fit, then who am I to complain? Anyway, you’re not just here to drop him off.”
“I am also here to take the young maiden over there with me”, Gabriel replied uneasy and pointed at Sunila.
“Me?”, she asked, trying to sound confused and moved towards them.
“Yes, young maiden”, he cleared up. “I am to take thou with me.”
“To where?”, she asked, reluctant.
“To the mortal realm. Thou art to resurrect and walk the earth once more for as long as thine beloved needs thine help to drive the Transient from the realm.”
“The maiden has committed suicide”, the Devil remarked while side-eyeing her. “Her place is among the trees in this forest.”
“If she can fulfil her destiny then she shall not return here”, Gabriel replied and turned afterwards once more towards her. “But the choice is thine to make, maiden.”
“I don’t have a choice”, said Sunila with conviction. “Not since I took up the offer you presented to me in life.”
“And the condition is that she has to stay here”, the Devil said perturbed. “She committed a grave sin, despite it being suggested by you on the Lord’s orders, and as such she needs to serve her punishment here in the forest.”
“The maiden’s actions were not governed by the deadly sin of despair”, Gabriel replied softly. “She was driven by love.”
“Still, her life was ended by her own hand”, the Devil remarked and glared at her. “Her place is here. Forever.”
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“Only if the maiden fails in her duty”, Gabriel replied.
“Only if she fails…”, he murmured with a dangerous glint in his eyes.
Sunila took note of it, but outwardly didn’t show any sign that she had heard his murmur or noticed his reaction. If her first few years in life had shown her one thing, then that everyone immediately trusted a gentle not too attentive girl.
“Then you’ll take me out of here?”, she asked timidly.
“Yes, young maiden”, the angel replied with a soft smile and held their hand out towards her. “A mortal soul may only leave Inferno to be resurrected if guided by the soul of an angel. Let me be thine guide.”
“Gladly”, she replied and took their hand.
A moment later she was pulled with blinding speed towards the angel. Looking at them, she saw a multitude of halos, each turning in its speed and pattern, intermingling to form a beautiful kaleidoscope of light and colours. Adding to the kaleidoscope were also the multiple gilded wings, which shimmered in a rainbow of colours. Never before had Sunila seen something more beautiful than this.
But a heartbeat later, the glow vanished and left her blinded for a few moments. Despite the incapacitation she didn’t felt afraid as she still held the warm hand of the angel within hers.
“Do not be afraid”, the angel murmured and touched her eyes with their other hand.
A moment later she could see again and looked immediately around. To her surprise, she stood in front of a grave covered by crimson flowers the likes of which she had never seen before. There was also a stone slap within the flowers engraved with her name and a beautiful silver inlay showing vines and flowers.
“This is my grave?”, she asked and let go of the angel’s hand.
“Yes, maiden”, Gabriel replied softly. “It was created on the orders of the man called Rosomil.”
“Then he buried me?”
“He ordered the Transient to burry thine remains with great care. It was the demon’s hand on orders of Rosomil which created this.”
Sunila couldn’t reconcile this beautiful design with Rosomil’s actions. There was still love there. A love even the Transient must’ve felt and understood, for Sunila could hardly believe that such a vile creature could create something so beautiful.
“My body must be bones already”, she mused and looked around.
Snow covered the area save her grave which looked like spring was eternally caught within the soil. The ruins surrounding her grave were clearly what remained of the Order of the Crimson Hand’s headquarters. A sad display devoid of any live.
“Man was created from soil and to soil man returns”, the angel said and stepped towards the graveside, raising their hand above the mount. “It is an easy task to reform the flesh and blood from the soil. Especially from such soil filled with life.”
“But what about the Transients magic?”, Sunila asked concerned. “The flowers, while beautiful, surely are a creation from this creatures hand. Won’t it pose a threat of corruption?”
“Indeed it does, maiden”, Gabriel replied, saddened. “I can not clean the taint, and I do not know if it will affect thine mind and soul once thou willst be resurrected.”
“I can hardly guess what the taint can do to me”, she mused, tense. “But I can’t stay a ghost either. If the Lord wants me to walk the earth once more, than I gladly place myself in danger. No matter if it means my very being will be tainted by the soulless demon, who took my friend’s soul and forced him to commit the vilest of crimes. The chance to save Rus and Milith is worth the chance to lose myself in the process.”
“Thine courage art remarkable, maiden”, Gabriel commented with a warm smile. “If thou art ready, I shall resurrect thou according to the Lord’s wishes.”
“I am ready”, said Sunila with conviction.
The angel nodded and started to speak an incantation in Aramaic with their hand held palm down towards the gravesite. The earth upheaved and pushed the flowers aside. Soon, a skeletal hand emerged from the ground and became immediately covered by the soil to reform flesh and skin. Sunila could already feel the pull of her body and looked down at her hand, which became more and more transparent until it had fully vanished. Flexing it, she could see the hand above the soil close around the air.
The more of her body emerged the more she felt the cool of her grave and the winter air.
Then, upon her skull emerging from the ground, she was pulled fully into her body and gasped for air. A choked sound escaped her reforming throat, followed by a few clumps of loose soil. Tears immediately clouded her vision while she thought her heart would give out any second. But once a warm hand was placed on her back, she calmed down and felt her body regain its composure. Still, the hand couldn’t dispel the cold.
Shivering she looked at the angel who looked at her with warm concern and relief.
“Take these clothes”, they said, and handed her undergarments and a dress just like the one she usually wore.
Without hesitation, she thanked the angel and got herself dressed. As she did so, she felt odd. Perhaps because of being alive once more. Or perhaps because of the Transients magic… She could almost feel something else within her. Something powerful yet dormant.
“The taint…” she said hoarse and cleared her throat. “I can feel it…”
“Doth it commune with thine mind?”, Gabriel asked alarmed.
“No”, Sunila replied and cleared her throat once more. “It feels asleep. Barely conscious, if at all.”
“If the Lord wills it then thou shan’t suffer from this taint.”
“I do trust in the Lord to guide and protect me, but a part of me fears getting close to the Transient. The demon will certainly know its own magic and investigate it.”
“That much is certain, young maiden.”
“But I’m willing to take any risk if it means I can save those who mean the most to me.”
“Then I shall guide thou to the place where thou wilt be safe for now and where thou wilt be reunited with thine beloved”, the angel said with a warm smile and held out their hand once more. “Taketh my hand, young maiden.”
Once more she was pulled along but this time she closed her eyes. A moment later, she found herself in front of the entrance to the still serviceable ruins of a church. Feeling the presence of someone within the dark portal, she moved ahead and saw a young Friar emerge from within. He looked shaken and confused. Upon noticing her, he tensed up and looked towards Gabriel, who stood beside her, still holding her hand and guiding her forward.
“Father Tremo”, the angel, addressed the Friar. “Fear not.”
The Friar paled but remained where he was to listen to Gabriel explaining the situation. Usually Sunila would prefer to listen, but she could feel the Transient’s influence. While a mere trace of the demon’s magic was resonating with the fragment within her, she could tell that it was far from enough to wake whatever it was inside her. It felt more like a distant memory. A shadow of a shadow.
“Milady?”, the Friar addressed her with uncertainty. “Are you alright, Milady? I… I can’t offer you much but, please, come on inside. The cold wind will only cause you to get sick.”
“Why, thank you for the offer”, she replied with a warm smile. “I won’t decline, but I need to ask you something.”
“Please, by all means, ask, Milady”, he replied hasty.
“Do you know the Divine Lord’s demon?”
The question took him visibly off guard. But instead of denying or arguing against knowing it, he immediately told her his story while showing her the way inside the church. While he did so, Sunila couldn’t help but wonder about the demon’s motives. Something definitely didn’t fit.