Chapter Text
"MERRY CHRISTMAS!"
Hello friends! Yeah, this is not really a chapter per se. Not proper one really, but I thought of doing this as a sort of funny experiment. I wanted to do something of the sort for chapter proper, but then I realized I can just do this like that as a Merry Christmas gift. A small prelude to what will be going on next.
I know it is strange format I am doing here, but I thought it would be fun. What you will see below is what I planned for chapter 18 proper. A delayed title drop, but timing made me think I can do this like that. But before we get to the fun stuff (fun for us all in reality, not for people inside this story) I want to tell you all how much I am grateful for you all. For everyone here that reads this story. Everyone who cares for it. Everyone who leaves a comment and tells me their thoughts. And overall to everyone who read it to this point. I thank all of you and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and amazing new year. I know I am not good with how long I write. With how my release schedule frankly SUCKS BALLS and I want to make it better. I really do want to make this release schedule better in the future because there is still A LOT I want to tell.
Which also brings me to good news that "Torments of Sinners and Imps" may also get an update soon. You know. That Angel/Moxxie thing I left in the dust for a while now. I want to go back to it because that one will be fun as well. It will be overall less frequent (I mean what is with me?), but I hope to make more for that because I have SO MANY ideas for that part of the story as well. Some I may reference in this story too.
Okay delaying over. Merry Christmas to all of you. Thank you all so much again. Here it is. Prelude to chapter 18. Enjoy.
***
Walls whispered, darkness covered almost everything around, chains clanged creating a sickly melody and in the air was a dreadful stench of death and misery. The hall within the colosseum all of them have gathered was more a kin to a prison with no guards or cells. Just one large hall with it’s ground covered with very thick bone dust and it’s walls were made of pure metal covered in spikes and blood. Some bones were still sticking out of the dust and it was used by some of the Demons dwelling here as makeshift bonfires.
Demons from all over the ring of Pride and below were gathered here. All to be contestants in the War of Blood. Some through their own will and others through will of others. Some willing, some not. Among them were little Imps of Satan to whom this event was dedicated for and his eternal feud with King Bhaal, Hounds born of Gluttony by the will of their tyrant 3 faced Queen, Baphomets, shards of greater whole long forgotten, Lower aquatic Demons of Envy and half breeds. None among them were of noble lines. The closest ones were those born through mixture of low and high. Most likely all discarded to be forgotten. There were many of them here. Maybe even a hundred.
In between them all was one Incubi of claws and teeth sharp as steel, his ashen hair were long looking like a mane of a proud Lion or a tail of a Wolf and his wings large and mighty covered in fur. He wore a leather armor, it would not do much, but it was better than nothing. He was a half breed of Hound and Succubi. Unholy union by the standards of Lust for it was not the Succubi who forced and therefore was punished by having to bear him and let him be the continuation of their bloodline. Forever a stain never meant to be washed by the will of Asmodeus. He believed it, for a long time he did. But…
“I do not want that to be the end.” He said with certainty. There had to be a meaning to the fact he exists. He chose to be here unlike many others. Maybe to die to no longer live an existence full of disdain or maybe “There is something I can do. I know it.”
“If you say so *Belch*” Baphomet said to him as he drank more from his bottle. He was of colors purple and white, the flame a top of his head was of the same colors. He heard sometimes that those flames are parts of the power of once mighty Baphomet before becoming shards, one that sits now beside him. He was wearing a steel armor adorned with spikes, clearly someone well versed in art of combat. It bore no marks, no allegiance to anyone so must have been either a deserter or a scavenger. “I am here to get out of my debts. Sorry for no big sob story. Ya mommy is a weak old bitch. Who do you think cares here?”
No one probably. Around this bonfire were several combatants ready to draw blood. All clearly bearing their own pains. One a Hound with paws showing signs of abuse and chains and under both of his eyes were maws filled with teeth, clear sign of experimentation. His eyes already dead and his clothes tattered clothes. Clearly thrown out like he was.
Another was a succubi with skin like beautiful velvet and her short hair in color of darkest night, dressed more like she was about to go to a festival than a battle. Captivating sight. She looked innocent, too innocent. Either there was something hiding beneath or this innocence is part of why they are here. Neither sparked hope.
And last one was a female Envy Demon with lights exuding sapphire light, her maw was large filled with teeth the size of daggers, but thin as needles and 3 pair of eyes, her body was huge, bigger than all of them, covered in sharp spikes, some of which looked more like horns of Imps. Another half breed. This one probably choosing their fate like he did. There was not much better for any ofthem
“Change is part of life, but this right here is end of the road. There is no change at the end.” Succubi said in a whisper. It was true. They live in Hell. In a miserable pile of garbage meant for suffering of others. Sometimes he wondered if it wasn’t for humanity if they would all live better here. He had no way of knowing, but he felt disdain towards humans all the same. Did it have to be the end?
“If this place means this all can be finally over for us then I will take that chance.” Hound said with all of their maws speaking. There was clear sorrow in it. Their expression told a story of their own of all the pain they went through.
“…” Envy Demon was silent. She said nothing from the moment all of them met each other. He wondered if she could speak at all. She simply looked into the flame as if the heat didn’t bother her.
“I still want to believe. Our lives cannot just end… here.” Incubi said not letting himself accept this “There has to be more to our existence.”
“Why are ya so shertain?” Baphomet Demon said clearly more drunk now “Didn’t ya choose to be ‘ere?”
“Yes, but I wonder if I ever had a choice.” Incubi admitted, he came here to either let his name be erased or rise to glory that would deny him being a stain. For the mother that didn’t love him and he also didn’t love. Strange. “But now that I am here I want to see if there is something I can do. WE can do.”
“WHA!? Ya fink ya SO special huh!?” Baphomet said as he pulled out a sword of his, he could barely swing it, but Incubi could tell one cut of it would be deadly “I killed more than ya can imagine! I saw LOT’S of lil SHITS like ye! All of ‘em! SCREAMIN’ for betta lif! Knowin’ fur SUR there was somethin’ to life for. And where they end? In the dust!”
“And why are YOU here?” Incubi lost patience
“To die mostly.” Baphomet admitted as he looked at his now empty bottle “Me already dead. I saw some ‘orrid tings… Woman and kids burn. All city dead of my people. All for sum justice. So I ran right after. Kill some thugs from me squad and now I am ‘ere. If I end anywhere else I am dead. Best way for me to go out is on my own term. At least my corpse will be on TV hehe… Eh… Like that piece of shit sinner ‘turned on by burned cow woman’. How much I wish I could choke that lil’ FUCK!”
“If we share stories now, mine is not so special, Bee threw me in a grinder of some weird experiments. All hurt. All broke something. Often things I never knew me had. I am here to show how resilient I am now. That why she gave me so little to defend. How far this little thing will go along. That is my purpose.” Hound said with a lot of pain. There was nothing behind those eyes besides empty torment.
“A succubi who wishes not to force or manipulate is who I am. Lord Asmodeus saw me as useless and so decided to tell me to go here. Show if I I can be another kind of Demon if I see myself as better than the rest of my kin.” Succubi seemed genuinely hurt “I wanted something real. Is that so much to ask for?”
“No.” Incubi answered as he felt similar. He never wanted to be what he is, but the urges from both of his bloodlines made it harder to ignore his urges. He was popular in more deranged circles demanding something more ‘unique’. But not once in his life did he ever felt real touch untainted by depravity. Is that maybe why he is here? To feel purity of touch not of lust, but simple battle? He could not tell.
“…” Envy Demon said nothing, but she draw in the dust the image of a large bubble and within it lines, one of the Domes of Envy. It was crossed. And then image of pentagram also crossed. Belonging nowhere. So simply going here to find a place to belong. That was Incubi’s guess. Given her size and possible prowess maybe it was a good choice.
“Ain’t that sweet!” Baphomet said in bitter tone “All of us ‘ate being here. None of us have better choice huh? Why wont we start kill each otha already?! We wait so long we may as well. End this early I say!”
Incubi looked around and saw some Demons start to get at each other’s throats. All around them were more and more frantic screams, wild movements and clear threats. There was about to be slaughter here.
“Maybe it make sense.” Incubi said
“Wha? Should we kill already?” Baphomet said as he looked at his sword
“No… wait.” Incubi said as he started to dig beneath the dust and at some point he got to a strange metal floor. It looked like a drain and when he looked at the wall where it would lead he saw a small hole at the wall “Do they… want us to kill each other?”
“So that river of blood in the old recordings…” Succibi thought out loud
“Huh?” Baphomet seemed unfazed as he looked around “I wondered why this time there are SO MUCH more candidates.”
“Okay… I must…” Incubi stood up
“What are you doing?” Hound asked
“ENOUGH!” Incubi’s scream rang all across the hall. Making the arguments all around come to a halt. “What are you all doing?! Do you really want to kill each other here?!”
“Of course!” One demon said
“FOR THE GLORY OF SATAN I WILL FIGHT OUT THERE!” One imp said
“Why else would we be here?” Another Demon answered
“And yet all of us still live.” Incubi said, but then he saw a body fall off one Demon’s axe to the ground “Mostly… But still. Most of you have not yet started a slaughter here. Why is that?!”
“Got to save my strength!”
“Only good to give everyone chance for final words”
“Better to wait until the right moment”
Excuses. So many excuses.
“NO! You are all afraid!’ Incubi said, some Demons started to approach him, but the Envy Demon that was sitting beside them got in their way “You are afraid to die here. So am I…” Incubi said as he looked over everyone “We are all here, most if not all not of our own choice. We all suffered. We all felt pain and torment this world gives us. We are all here because we were cast out in one way or another. Into a War made for the pleasure of those watching outside! TO BE A RIVER OF BLOOD!” Incubi screamed as he pointed at the walls “Is that what you all want!? FOR YOUR LIFE TO END UP AS! A River of Blood for one lucky bastard to come out of here and DIE AS WELL!?” Incubi got more and more agitated “I am here because my life has no meaning, abomination is what I am called. A creature made of weakness of sin. Of lowest of low. Maybe they are right. Maybe I am lowest of low. Maybe we all are... BUT DOES THAT MEAN WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO CLIMB!”
Incubi screamed at them and one had any answer as they looked over at each other.
“Climb where? Wha- you think you are some Demon who can match to those noble monsters!?” One demon said
“No. But maybe we all can!” Incubi answered “All of us who struggle, all of us pulled into this pit to slaughter each other. Maybe there is a choice for us! To not slaughter each other, but maybe to break down those gates keeping us here and come out as unified force!”
“And then what?” Another demon said
“Then we refuse to kill each other once we win out there! Because together I know we will! We will show the strength of those this world has abandoned! We will show our worth and our right for life better than to die in darkness!” Incubi approached the Demon horde, those who were sitting around him followed, even the drunk Baphomet “Together we will make a stand that we can choose our fate! This may be the end for Sinners who failed, but just because we are born here, hated here DOES NOT MEAN THIS IS OUR END!” Incubi said as he looked at the Succubi next to him. She smiled “I refuse to believe this is the end for most of us. It wont be a river of blood that opens those gates. It will be a force of our very lives and we will be like a tide that will wash over those rotten traditions! Maybe we will succeed and what we will start could be beginning of something greater for us all. For our homes! Our families! We can truly make a mark on this realm! That is what I believe!”
Whispers begun to circulate. Weapons were slowly lowered and smiles have appeared and fears dissipated.
“I believe in that our lives have meaning. DO YOU AS WELL?”
“YES!”
“Do you believe this meaning is greater than to be a meat for Slaughter?!”
“YES!”
“DO YOU BELIEVE THIS MEANING IS BEHIND THAT DOOR!? THAT IT IS TO BE SOMETHING WORTH OF REMEMBRANCE!?”
“YES!”
“Then break them down! And let us together walk on that path! LET US MAKE WAY FOR SOMETHING GREATER!”
Demons all around started to cheer. Some charged towards the gates and started to hit against them. Making dents in it’s powerful image of Satan battling King Bhaal.
“Oh my… I…” Incubi halfbreed started to shake and grabbed his head. Succubi, the mouthed Hound and Envy Demoness held him up “What came over me… I…”
“Ey” Baphomet smiled at him “That was a good speech.”
“Do you think we have a chance?” Hound asked
“Yes. Yes I do.” Incubi felt faith for the first time in his life. There was a chance this all had meaning in the end
“…” Then envy Demon pointed at something. A small flame in the far corner of the hall. Someone was sitting there.
“Wait here.” Incubi said as he approached
*tink**tink**tink**tink**tink*
Near this bonfire there was a small imp girl. On her lap was a peculiar very large axe with little teeth on it’s blade. She was cutting rocks in half with each one, as if testing the sharpness of each. She seemed very occupied with this task and probably missed what they were doing. Then again, maybe he can muster this confidence again. He did once so… always worth a try.
“Hello sister.” Halfbreed said and tapped her arm, she stopped her task and looked up at him “We here in this hall. We want to go against what this war demands of us. We want to make our own purpose without needless slaughter. To create something better for our lives. Will you join us?”
He reached out with his hand. Little imp looked back at Demons who tried to breach the gates and then back at him. Her hands clenched her weapon… and she gave him a bright smile.
Then came silence
Then came
Chapter 18
“Slaughter”