The sun sank low, emitting its light so bright that it was as if there were fire in the sky. The lower the sun dispersed itself, the more the clouds seemed to hug around it and consume its very existence. All seemed well with the world of the mortal core, however, little did these mortals know of what goes on in the realms beyond. Is there really a heaven? Is there really a hell? Is there a god or even a dark being that lives in fire and brimstone? Many questions fill the hearts of these mortals with only more questions for an answer. Seek and you shall find is the saying. However, with that being said, are you really prepared both physically and mentally for the answers of the unknown where good and evil fight at war for the sole right to rule all? This is where our story begins with the two realms at a steady battle and a certain fallen Arch who had been chosen single handedly by Hell's Commander, Akiva, to carry out a mission to find the imp who holds vital information about The Chalice of the Immortals.
The sun had now fully sat, darkness would soon be taking over, however, that didn't much matter to one said demon, Kain, who stepped forth from the darkened temple with a newfound purpose, his meeting with Arch Midori and Hell's Commander, Akiva, had came to an end. He let out an exaggerated sigh, rubbing his forehead, unsure of where to perhaps even start. "I don't know much, but I know what I must do." he said to himself in deep thought.
Still quite unsure of what his first step would even be, Kain walked through the depths of hell, listening to the wailing of pain from the eternally damned souls, which he seemed to find pleasure in as he continued to walk towards some cocoons that were hanging from the cavern ceiling. Climbing in one, he sat to meditate on his thoughts, hoping maybe a vision or even a thought would come to him. He breathed in, exhaling slowly as he closed his eyes, allowing his mind to wander. All he knew at the moment was that this artifact was created by the light for use by the Angels, and that if they have a demon captive, the information he holds could tip the balance of power to the dark. And IF he is still alive, then action must be taken soon before they break him or worse, banish him.
As Kain's mind relaxed even more, he reached out mentally to see if he could get any kind of indication where the other demon may be, however, before he knew it, time started to draw to an end in the cocoon. Just when it looked as if meditating had failed, Kain received a hint of an image of a slow moving creek, he heard the nauseating sounds of happy birds singing their songs, that under normal circumstances, would make Heaven light up and sing along with the sound of creation. He also saw tall trees everywhere, signs of life from every corner as well as sunshine. "This has to be a cruel joke." Kain thought to himself upon snapping out of the vision. He knew that what he saw was in the mortal realm and his stomach instantly went into knots, knowing he would have to go there to search out what he saw. "If my guesses are correct, it's a large, expansive forest." he continued in thought as he leaped from the cocoon and left the meditation temple.
Walking for what seemed like hours, Kain spoke to many demons, asking if anyone appeared to be missing but his search was done in vain, for no one had any information he could find useful, however, word of his search found its way to the ears of many throughout hell as word traveled like wild fire. Continuing to walk about the depths of hell, unsure of where to even try looking next, a hand then suddenly reached out, grabbing Kain who stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face who had grabbed him. Upon meeting his eyes with the demon behind him, he found it to be a Drude.
"I know of your search, Kain.' the Drude spoke, which instantly struck Kain's interest. "My minion has not been seen for many days. He was sent to find seek information on a group of angels that was rumored to be guarding a special artifact." The Drude continued to speak. "I fear his true form may have been expose. Those of us demons in the higher ranks are not new to possessing others to walk amongst mortals but an Imp does not yet have the power to retain their true shape for very long." Kain nodded his head in agreement that it could have been that very thing that got the younger demon captured. "I hope this information helps with your search." The Drude said before turning and leaving Kain to his thoughts.
"As this young demon's Overlord, why would he send someone so young and inexperienced on such a treacherous task." Kain thought to himself with a shake of his head also thinking how irresponsible it was of the Drude not to take on the task himself. Kain knew young demons had to start somewhere with their learning but it should be done in small doses. If only he knew Incognito to help with his disguise, then its possible things could have turned out much differently.
With the information he had gathered at hand, Kain went immediately to Arch Midori. He told her of the vision he had received while meditating and the information he had gathered while speaking to others in hell of a young demon who'd gone missing. Upon asking for permission to proceed with the information and the approval of his Arch, Kain then prepared for the journey ahead. Making sure his backpack was stuffed to the brim with potions and spells, then repairing his Lunar Steel armor, he knew he needed to be ready for anything. Kain then headed then to Hell's pylon and got his temporary mana boost for the journey, He was going to need it. Summoning words softly that many mortals would devote their life to learning but never knowing, he open a gateway to the mortal world, which, once walking through, puts him in the back yard of a mortal church. "Go figure." Kain muttered under his breath, disgusted at the mere sight of the holy cross.
Realizing quickly that he would be seen in his demonic form, Kain shape shifted into a rather oversize human, though quickly fixed things to a better portion so he didn't look deformed to the mortals of this realm. Once the final adjustments were made, he immediately cast Incognito to hide myself from detection by any angels. Feeling prepared, Kain made his way from the back of the church and found himself up the busy sidewalks of the mortal realm. He looked around, standing a moment to make sure no one would recognize him and a being of a different type. However, upon seeing that no one seemed uneasy by his presence, he decided to walk amongst the mortals a little bit.
Upon stopping, he saw neon lights flashing above a building where the mortals were entering and exiting. "Aah, a bar. I have heard of these places." Kain said to himself as he then decided to go inside to see if there was any information he could perhaps find out in there. Walking in, he noticed the place was rather rowdy and much reminiscent of a regular weeknight in Hell. Temptation, sin, gluttony, desire, debauchery, they were all here. Taking a seat at the bar, the mortal approached him, "Hey stranger, what's your poison tonight?". Catching himself before he said "a hot round of tainted blood". knowing that would be a sure giveaway, he let out a soft sigh. "Water will do just fine for now", he replied, and just thinking about any form of water cooling his burning soul would surely feel refreshing and a nice change of pace. "Coming right up!" he said and hands him an ice cold bottle of water.
Drinking it down quickly, it was almost a form of ecstasy the way the water made Kain feel. Letting out a long sigh, Kain sat the empty bottle side, listening intently on many different conversations at once, hoping to hear anything that would give him any sort of a clue where. However, between, the pathetic attempts the males were making to impress the opposite sex, and the drunken slurs that even another drunk would have a hard time understanding, there wasn't much to be found out.
Gathering his things, standing to his feet, and walking towards the exit, he overheard this older male talking to a younger one. "Have no clue who they were. They just came through town and headed into the mountains. They stopped at the store and got some camping stuff, said they were "tourists" and going to watch the wildlife." the old man said. This greatly peaked Kain's interest and he walked over to where the old man was sitting. "Excuse me." Kain said to the old man who turned to look at him. "Is anything else you can tell me about the people claiming to be tourists?" Kain asked, continuing to press for as much information as he could. "There was about 6 of them. Five nice looking young men and one kind of straggly looking guy. They headed in the mountains not far from here. You might could even still catch up to them." Thanking him graciously, knots forming ever deeper inside at having to be nice, Kain took his leave in search of these proclaimed tourists and mountains.
Exiting the bar. Kain took in his environment. This was a small town and with mountains all around, this by far was not going to be an easy task. Closing his eyes, focusing on the realm around him, he used his power of perception to see if he could find anything. Upon finding nothing at first, he walk for a while not knowing what or who to even expect when suddenly he came to an abrupt stop, for he heard the sound of a nearby creek and birds singing. It was like Deja-vu. The vision he had was exactly like the sight before him. Now filled with a newfound urgency to pick up his pace, Kain knew he had to make haste and make forth the best progress he could but do so to his own safety.
Picking up his pace, Kain sent out perception again not expecting to find anything yet, however, to his surprise, it came back with traces of 5 angels and 1 demon and he knew had at last picked up on their trail. What had astounded him was they were not hiding they were angels. The Chalice inself intrigued Kain as well but as much as that made him want to know more of this artifact, he knew that was not the mission. Getting the young demon out of the angels captivity was the mission at hand and the primary focus.
Knowing he had to close the gap to get close enough to scan them in order to know what kind of angels he would have to encounter, Kain kept a steady pace. One thing time had taught him was that cunningness and being ready for anything were a much more effective strategy. than straight recklessness. One thing he also had to consider was how outnumbered he would be. He had to think of an effective way to get in there and get him out with as little blood and light shed as possible.
After a quick, steady pace, Kain came to a small clearing in the forest. "How cliche" he thought to himself. However he stayed hidden in the shadows to make sure he was undetectable by the angels, and proceeded to scan each one. Two Ophanim and three Power. He knew he could easily take out the three lower ranked ones, but the two Ophanim were obviously the two leaders and were equal in power to him. They could possibly be the biggest problem. It was obvious they, if they fought together, they were much stronger than Kain. So it was imperative he moved fast and get the young demon out quick. Being a demon, his mana refilled much faster than that of the angels, but there was the numbers problem.
Doing some quick thinking on his part, Kain had found a solution, for that he had at last found the group of angels and decided to move out of the shadows. He moved closer to their party in hoped of making an attempt to engage them in conversation. "Good evening guys, nice to see I am not the only one out here enjoying all of nature's gifts today." Kain said as each in the group turned their heads to look upon him. "Yeah, we are just out taking in nature. Heard this is some of the best scenery out there once it gets dark." The oldest angel said whom Kain took as the main leader of the group. Kain nodded and replied "I was just passing through and saw you guys so I figured I would stop and say hi, but Im just passing through. Enjoy the rest of your day." Kain then looked around at everyone with a simple nod of his head, however, one seems a little off and he instantly knew that had to be the young demon. Raising a hand in a wave he bid them goodbye and continued to walk passed them slowly till he was out of sight and hid within the shadows once again, but kept them within his sights.
Kain knew he had to plan his next move just right or he risked his own life as well as the young demon's life. Hoping to make contact with the demon, he tried to best to reach out to him mentally. Closing his eyes, he then focused his thoughts to the young demon. "I am here to rescue you." Kains said mentally. "This will not be easy but I was sent by Hell's Commander to get you back and deliver you to her." Kain awaited a response from him but to no avail. The young demon just stared blankly into space as if he had not heard anything Kain has said. "Damn it" Kain thought to himself. "They must have casted Mana Vampire as well as paralyze on him to keep him in such a catatonic state."
Kain continued his close visual of their whereabouts and actions, noticing they were setting up camp for the night. Casting incognito yet again, he knew the time was near to make a move. Doubling back, he made his way quietly through the shadows back to the outskirts of their camp with a thought in mind that the two leaders had to be the ones casting the spells on the young demon, which would be good for him, because it meant that their mana would possibly be extremely low. He wasn't fully sure of this, so he just had gut instinct to go on.
Awaiting nightfall patiently, Kain continued to observe them and wait for just the right moment to make his move, allowing the darkness to disguise his intentions as it at least began to fall upon them. The angels had settled in, a calm serene upon them, thinking nothing could possibly go wrong. Kain proceeded to get a few potions as well as a stone skin potions and a vile of haste and drank them down. He then casting Magic reflection and protection upon himself for even more protection as he prepared for his next move. After some given thought, he knew what he had to do. The plan was to paralyze all of the angels while they were resting and unaware, giving the younger demon time to snap back into reality where afterwards he would sneak in, grab the young demon and make haste. Kain wasn't sure if everything would go as he planned, but he was surely gonna give it his all.
Falling asleep at least, the angels were in a blissful slumber. Kain sneaked over in a crouched position, keeping out of sight and in the darkness, stepping on a twig that cracked loudly and he stopped dead in his tracks, which made one of the older demons jerk in their sleep and let out a enormous snore, but it did not wake him. Letting out a silent sigh, Kain moved in closer, still very observant on his surroundings. He then noticed that there were a pair of celestial cuffs on the young demons wrists that are invisible to the mortal eye, but he was sure the Hell's Commander would be able to remove them as long as he could get him back to hell alive.
Upon getting closer, the angels closer within his sight and reach, Kain proceeded to cast Paralyze. The first of the two leaders twitched a little, but remained otherwise motionless. The second of the two leaders let out another loud snore and jerked, turning over on his cot he slept upon. Waiting for his mana to refill, Kain proceeded to make contact with the young demon who was seemingly coming to his senses. "I am here to get you out of here." Kain said to the young demon mentally who seemed to hear him this time. The young demon then sat up, looking about until he saw Kain who motioned him to be quiet and remain still. The young demon looked around at the sleeping angels and was very uneasy but done as Kain told him. Casting two more paralyze spells on two of the younger angels, Kain then moved in closer, motioning for the young demon to come to him, however, upon standing, weak and someone still dizzy from the spells that were cast on him, the young demon fell with a loud thud and grown, which instantly awakened the one angel Kain had yet to cast a paralyze spell on.
"Oh no." Kain thought to himself and he knew he had to take immediate action. The angel stood up from cot, noticing the young demon and knew he was trying to escape, however, before another move could be made by anyone, a ball of fire was launched into the center of the camp as Kain casted a flame strike and it blew all the angels in different directions. He then ran in, fully aware that the young demon's captors were now fully awake and would soon start to realize what was going on. Kain ran over and helped the young demon to his feet as he started to come out of confusion. "We need to leave NOW." Kain said in a rushed voice, wasting no time in running away with the young demon at his side who tripped over his own feet. Stopping to help the poor demon up, Kain felt a tingle, now knowing that an energy bolt had been cast at him and the magic reflection had shot it back at the caster. He heard a grunt but was unsure of which one it hit and at that moment didn't care which angel it hit. All he knew and cared about was getting himself and the young demon out alive.
Before Kain could cast another magic reflection, he felt a burning pain in my back and ribcage, which sent him and the young demon flying forward from the impact. The impact alone was almost enough to kill the young demon if Kain had not of used his body as a shield. As Kain stood back up, blood poured from his mouth and nose and he cursed under his breath. The plan now was to get far enough away to cast invul and it could protect him and the young demon from harm.
Time was now not on their side. Making it to their feet, Kain and the young demon made a run for it. Paralyze had worn off of the other angels as they also staggered to their feet, now realizing what had happened and were close behind them. Going as fast as they could move through the woods, they tried to make their way for town when the young demon screamed in pain as he was struck down by an energy bolt, which stunned him a little but he was able to keep running with Kain's help who gave him a potion to heal himself with and then magic reflection was cast as a precaution to another attack. Kain awaited his mana to refill, which did not take long at all and he also casted magic reflection upon himself when suddenly he felt a burning sensation but it was a very light feeling. The spell had been reflected back onto the caster who screamed in pain and fell to the ground. Two of the younger angels stopped to check on the caster while the other two kept chase after Kain and the young demon.
As Kain and the young demon tried their best to put distance between them and the other two angels, it seemed they were much faster and agile. Continuing to run, they could hear them coming not so far behind. Chanting the ancient words to open the gateway back to Hell and scanning both himself and the young demon, he noticed that both their health was very low. And as the portal opened, invul had taken its place of protection, unbeknownst to the two angels who was now upon them. "Stay where you are demon!" the younger demon demanded. Kain pushed the young demon through the portal, feeling a slight nudge from a spell attempt, but it failed. He stepped into the portal, laughing at the angels as the portal closed around them With the opening of the gateway back into hell, Kain stumbled forward, falling to his knees only to roll over and lay on his back from exhaustion. The young demon joined him, both looking up at the red sky above, breathing in relief and everything then went black to Kain who passed out from sheer exhaustion.
"Hey, are you okay?" a faint voice was heard. Kain eyes slowly fluttered open only to see Arch Midori kneeling over him. "Are you with me?" she spoke softly. Kain then sat up, seeing Arch MIdori at his side, the young demon looking at him along with Hell's Commander before him. "This battle was won thanks to you Kain." Hell's Commander spoke. "But the war is far from over. Many tasks yet await you, but for now, the deed is done." And as Hells Commander leaves with the young demon and the important information at her grasp, Kain was proud that he conquered what he had set out to do.