Neo Chronicles
Episode 32: Asmodeus
Table of Contents
In a space where nowhere is a start to anywhere, at a time at the beginning and end of anything, the Mystics reconvene.
“So to recap,” Duke starts out.
“We won,” Huifang says.
“If you can call that winning,” Kevin says.
“It's not entirely Pyrrhic,” Duke says.
“Raum still killed a lot of people. His demons killed a lot of people. I don't need to remind you about what happens when a demon kills you, right? That whole tearing out your soul thing? That painful, dreadful, fate worse than death deal?”
“And we stopped him from ever doing that again.”
“Yeah, yeah. Of course we did. That's what we do, but this – It's just – ”
“I know. Believe me, I know.”
The three stand in the large, white, empty void. Kevin paces a few steps away from the group and looks up to the equally empty sky. He closes his eyes and lets out a deep sigh. “Things are getting badder each day. Are we any closer into figuring out the why of things?”
Duke and Huifang exchange glances at each other. Both show the urge to try and say something, anything, to ease the tension. Kevin turns to them, catching them in the act. Huifang shrugs.
“That's what I thought,” Kevin says.
“Maybe Ganya made some headway on her mission,” Duke says.
“What are we gonna do about that devil in the bar?” Huifang asks.
“I can't get into another fight,” Kevin is quick to say. “That satellite thing? That's a one time deal. It takes everything. I'm gonna be recovering for a good bit.”
“We wouldn't be getting into a fight,” Duke says.
“And why not? Don't tell me we're gonna go to him for help.”
“Answers,” Huifang says. “We'd go to him for answers.”
“We can't trust anything he says.”
“He did give us Raum.”
“That doesn't mean anything.”
“No,” Duke says. “It means he has an angle. The sooner we figure out what that is, the sooner we can stop it.”
Kevin lets out a disgruntled moan. “We gotta do better.”
“I know, Kev. I know.”
*/
Wooden tables, stools and counters. Broken windows, dim lights, and occasionally falling debris. This empty tavern has remained the same.
The devil sits at a table in the center of the room. He stares at his empty glass in hand. He imagines the sound of a ticking clock in his mind. Clocks don't tick anymore. This brave new world has done away with the analogs of the past. The architects of this post apocalyptic time place far more value on precision and detail than they did before.
A smile creeps up on his face as he can only imagine why.
Out of a beam of light, Duke, Huifang, and Kevin walk into the bar. The devil looks up from his glass to greet the three. “Interesting,” he says. “For a while, I lost track of all of you after the battle. And when your field of vision is the entirety of this universe, I find that –” The devil pauses, searching for the just the right word. “Intriguing.”
The devil takes to his feet. His glass in hand fades out of existence. “But that is a quandary for another time.” He paces towards the three, conscious of his every move. He can see the tension on their faces.
“You came seeking answers,” the devil says. “Go on,” the devil stops, standing a few feet from them. “Ask me your questions.”
“We know you can read minds,” Huifang says.
“That I can,” the devil says with a smile. “In fact, I can hear the thoughts and fears of everyone in this world right now. Worry, panic, and anguish highlight the forethoughts of those in town. All over the sights and horrors seen today. The surrounding countries are at a loss. Those watching the live feed through the Infosphere are already coming up with conspiracies. It's all they can do to make sense of it all. Raum and his horde created quite a mess. How does your group intend to clean it up? Or is that why you're here? Do you seek aid?”
The devil pauses. His smile fades. He takes a moment to himself and stares down at the splintered floor. “I suppose I could do something about that. The people already aren't quite sure what they saw. It wouldn't take much effort to move some things around in their memory. I could even change it altogether. While I'm at it, I could repair the town. A little bending of reality to undo the destruction.”
As the devil speaks, the floor moves. Splintered wood is made whole. Broken chairs and stools come together. The debris that fell down falls up. The stained glass picks itself up and reforms along as windows. Within seconds, the bar is like new. It's better than new. It hasn't looked this clean in years.
“Or maybe you came for something else,” the devil says. “Maybe your primary concern isn't with repair. Yes, that would make sense. Maybe you'd like to prevent this from happening again. We both share that sentiment.” The devil sighs as he stares off into the distance. “Honestly, I don't know what you're thinking. I can hear every voice in the world, but yours remains hidden. Your mental defenses have been honed quite well. Sure, I could pry, but what sense would that make? All I can hear, all I can see, are your surface thoughts.”
Then the devil chuckles. “Well, maybe that's the point. Fine, we'll keep it civil.” He looks up at the three. His eyes flash a bright crimson red.
“First and foremost, I am Asmodeus, king of the nine Hells. What's that? Your next thought? The next question? Why am I here? For the same reason as every demon in the other world is. The veil is lifted. The barrier weakened.”
As the devil speaks, the once damaged, now repaired bar crumbles once more. This time the debris that falls doesn't rest on the floor. Instead it fades away. The walls vanish, the tables disappear. The bar is no more. The setting is changed.
“Ever since the fall, every dark angel has sought one thing, and one thing only.”
Shadowy creatures with black, feathery wings—some bestial, some humanoid—shout out at the light shining just out of their reach. They fill and crowd over another in a valley the size of an ever expanding universe. More shadows fall from the light. More voices add on to the symphony of suffering.
“Freedom – Freedom from captivity, freedom from banishment. Every devil, every demon, every soul in Hell has worked tirelessly for that freedom. It started small. Possessions from beyond the realm. Thoughts implanted across the cosmos. Whispers heard by those desperately looking for something to listen to. Then the mortals played a part. Summoning us for moments at a time. Seeking power, seeking wealth, seeking that which was out of their reach. And over time, a select few demons amassed the power needed to cross over unaided.”
The group finds themselves deep within a blackened chasm. The atmosphere is cold and frozen. Huifang rubs her hands together, once again regretting her not taking a jacket with her on this mission. Kevin sees his breath as he exhales deeply, trying to keep himself from appearing too anxious at the ever changing environment. Duke notices the cracks of light slowly appearing all around them.
“The cracks were tiny,” the devil continues, “but they were cracks all the same. Century after century. Millennium after millennium, those cracks widened. The tears grew deeper. And that brings us to where we are today. Demons of all shapes, sizes, and types are invading your world. And yes, I am one of them.”
The cracks grow rapidly. They divide the setting into dozens of pieces. Dozens become hundreds. Hundreds become thousands. The image gives out. The image shatters. The setting changes. Fire surrounds them all. It falls from the sky. It erupts from the floor. Lava flows between the hills and valleys of the mountain range the group finds themselves in.
“And now the bigger question. The one you've been holding off on. Why the change? Why now? And why do I seem to be against it as well? One at a time.”
Now, in an open and barren field, a battle takes place. Legions of crows, dogs, goats, dragons, and other vile beasts charge towards one another. They lunge at each other, teeth borne, claws out. They number in the thousands. They number in the millions. It is a violent and bloody and grotesque. Seas of shadows all throughout this universal plain. Darkness and blood abound.
“There is something of a schism occurring in Hell right now. There are certain hierarchies in place. Territories are divided up amongst the Hell Lords, and each Lord has their legions, but among the Lords, these hierarchies exist. Those higher tiered ones have crossed over and resided in this realm for quite some time. You're accustomed to their way of thinking and their actions. They believe in watching the world burn from the inside. It doesn't take much for a mortal to sell his or her soul. Merely present the option. You'd be surprised to see how quickly one falls.”
The shadows of beasts continue tearing into each other. They spit fire amidst fire. Lightning strikes against thunder. The abstract concepts of time and space are used to smash and rampage through the masses. Everyone fights for the right to lord over the other in this plane and the next. The day grows brighter and brighter with all the red that taints it.
“The lesser Lords don't seem to have a grasp on that concept. I'm not sure if it's because their minds haven't evolved fully or if they just don't care, but to them, the best way to harvest a soul is literally rip it out. There's no tact to that. No discretion. It's barbaric. That savagery is primary reason we devils want out of Hell to begin with. So to bring that same level of infernal lunacy to this realm is just –”
Soon, the red covers all. Then it loses its saturation. It fades to grey. It fades to black. Nothing in the universe is seen. Nothing in the universe is heard. Then everything in the universe is remade. The setting changes.
The group finds themselves back on earth. The bar rebuilds itself around them. Piece by piece. Atom by atom. It is as they had not left at all. Did they leave? Was that whole trip through Hell a vision shown to their mind's eye or did the devil actually take them to Hell and back. Kevin's not entirely sure.
“All that to say,” the devil continues, “I've taken it upon myself to preserve the old way. So long as these lesser devils continue to disrupt the natural order, I will stand in opposition to them. Now don't get me wrong. I know my role, and I know yours. You seek to eradicate all devils from this world. I know that includes me, and you are welcome to try. But if you were to hold off, realize that there is a common enemy thrown in the mix –”
The black, red, and violet aura around Asmodeus comes into view. It is as wild and erratic as ever. Like flames, it consumes his being. Through the fire, his figure loses its definition. He is now like a shadow.
“After all,” Asmodeus's words echo throughout the bar, piercing not only the Mystics' ears, but their hearts and minds as well.
“Better the devil you know.”
Episode 32: Asmodeus
Table of Contents
In a space where nowhere is a start to anywhere, at a time at the beginning and end of anything, the Mystics reconvene.
“So to recap,” Duke starts out.
“We won,” Huifang says.
“If you can call that winning,” Kevin says.
“It's not entirely Pyrrhic,” Duke says.
“Raum still killed a lot of people. His demons killed a lot of people. I don't need to remind you about what happens when a demon kills you, right? That whole tearing out your soul thing? That painful, dreadful, fate worse than death deal?”
“And we stopped him from ever doing that again.”
“Yeah, yeah. Of course we did. That's what we do, but this – It's just – ”
“I know. Believe me, I know.”
The three stand in the large, white, empty void. Kevin paces a few steps away from the group and looks up to the equally empty sky. He closes his eyes and lets out a deep sigh. “Things are getting badder each day. Are we any closer into figuring out the why of things?”
Duke and Huifang exchange glances at each other. Both show the urge to try and say something, anything, to ease the tension. Kevin turns to them, catching them in the act. Huifang shrugs.
“That's what I thought,” Kevin says.
“Maybe Ganya made some headway on her mission,” Duke says.
“What are we gonna do about that devil in the bar?” Huifang asks.
“I can't get into another fight,” Kevin is quick to say. “That satellite thing? That's a one time deal. It takes everything. I'm gonna be recovering for a good bit.”
“We wouldn't be getting into a fight,” Duke says.
“And why not? Don't tell me we're gonna go to him for help.”
“Answers,” Huifang says. “We'd go to him for answers.”
“We can't trust anything he says.”
“He did give us Raum.”
“That doesn't mean anything.”
“No,” Duke says. “It means he has an angle. The sooner we figure out what that is, the sooner we can stop it.”
Kevin lets out a disgruntled moan. “We gotta do better.”
“I know, Kev. I know.”
*/
Wooden tables, stools and counters. Broken windows, dim lights, and occasionally falling debris. This empty tavern has remained the same.
The devil sits at a table in the center of the room. He stares at his empty glass in hand. He imagines the sound of a ticking clock in his mind. Clocks don't tick anymore. This brave new world has done away with the analogs of the past. The architects of this post apocalyptic time place far more value on precision and detail than they did before.
A smile creeps up on his face as he can only imagine why.
Out of a beam of light, Duke, Huifang, and Kevin walk into the bar. The devil looks up from his glass to greet the three. “Interesting,” he says. “For a while, I lost track of all of you after the battle. And when your field of vision is the entirety of this universe, I find that –” The devil pauses, searching for the just the right word. “Intriguing.”
The devil takes to his feet. His glass in hand fades out of existence. “But that is a quandary for another time.” He paces towards the three, conscious of his every move. He can see the tension on their faces.
“You came seeking answers,” the devil says. “Go on,” the devil stops, standing a few feet from them. “Ask me your questions.”
“We know you can read minds,” Huifang says.
“That I can,” the devil says with a smile. “In fact, I can hear the thoughts and fears of everyone in this world right now. Worry, panic, and anguish highlight the forethoughts of those in town. All over the sights and horrors seen today. The surrounding countries are at a loss. Those watching the live feed through the Infosphere are already coming up with conspiracies. It's all they can do to make sense of it all. Raum and his horde created quite a mess. How does your group intend to clean it up? Or is that why you're here? Do you seek aid?”
The devil pauses. His smile fades. He takes a moment to himself and stares down at the splintered floor. “I suppose I could do something about that. The people already aren't quite sure what they saw. It wouldn't take much effort to move some things around in their memory. I could even change it altogether. While I'm at it, I could repair the town. A little bending of reality to undo the destruction.”
As the devil speaks, the floor moves. Splintered wood is made whole. Broken chairs and stools come together. The debris that fell down falls up. The stained glass picks itself up and reforms along as windows. Within seconds, the bar is like new. It's better than new. It hasn't looked this clean in years.
“Or maybe you came for something else,” the devil says. “Maybe your primary concern isn't with repair. Yes, that would make sense. Maybe you'd like to prevent this from happening again. We both share that sentiment.” The devil sighs as he stares off into the distance. “Honestly, I don't know what you're thinking. I can hear every voice in the world, but yours remains hidden. Your mental defenses have been honed quite well. Sure, I could pry, but what sense would that make? All I can hear, all I can see, are your surface thoughts.”
Then the devil chuckles. “Well, maybe that's the point. Fine, we'll keep it civil.” He looks up at the three. His eyes flash a bright crimson red.
“First and foremost, I am Asmodeus, king of the nine Hells. What's that? Your next thought? The next question? Why am I here? For the same reason as every demon in the other world is. The veil is lifted. The barrier weakened.”
As the devil speaks, the once damaged, now repaired bar crumbles once more. This time the debris that falls doesn't rest on the floor. Instead it fades away. The walls vanish, the tables disappear. The bar is no more. The setting is changed.
“Ever since the fall, every dark angel has sought one thing, and one thing only.”
Shadowy creatures with black, feathery wings—some bestial, some humanoid—shout out at the light shining just out of their reach. They fill and crowd over another in a valley the size of an ever expanding universe. More shadows fall from the light. More voices add on to the symphony of suffering.
“Freedom – Freedom from captivity, freedom from banishment. Every devil, every demon, every soul in Hell has worked tirelessly for that freedom. It started small. Possessions from beyond the realm. Thoughts implanted across the cosmos. Whispers heard by those desperately looking for something to listen to. Then the mortals played a part. Summoning us for moments at a time. Seeking power, seeking wealth, seeking that which was out of their reach. And over time, a select few demons amassed the power needed to cross over unaided.”
The group finds themselves deep within a blackened chasm. The atmosphere is cold and frozen. Huifang rubs her hands together, once again regretting her not taking a jacket with her on this mission. Kevin sees his breath as he exhales deeply, trying to keep himself from appearing too anxious at the ever changing environment. Duke notices the cracks of light slowly appearing all around them.
“The cracks were tiny,” the devil continues, “but they were cracks all the same. Century after century. Millennium after millennium, those cracks widened. The tears grew deeper. And that brings us to where we are today. Demons of all shapes, sizes, and types are invading your world. And yes, I am one of them.”
The cracks grow rapidly. They divide the setting into dozens of pieces. Dozens become hundreds. Hundreds become thousands. The image gives out. The image shatters. The setting changes. Fire surrounds them all. It falls from the sky. It erupts from the floor. Lava flows between the hills and valleys of the mountain range the group finds themselves in.
“And now the bigger question. The one you've been holding off on. Why the change? Why now? And why do I seem to be against it as well? One at a time.”
Now, in an open and barren field, a battle takes place. Legions of crows, dogs, goats, dragons, and other vile beasts charge towards one another. They lunge at each other, teeth borne, claws out. They number in the thousands. They number in the millions. It is a violent and bloody and grotesque. Seas of shadows all throughout this universal plain. Darkness and blood abound.
“There is something of a schism occurring in Hell right now. There are certain hierarchies in place. Territories are divided up amongst the Hell Lords, and each Lord has their legions, but among the Lords, these hierarchies exist. Those higher tiered ones have crossed over and resided in this realm for quite some time. You're accustomed to their way of thinking and their actions. They believe in watching the world burn from the inside. It doesn't take much for a mortal to sell his or her soul. Merely present the option. You'd be surprised to see how quickly one falls.”
The shadows of beasts continue tearing into each other. They spit fire amidst fire. Lightning strikes against thunder. The abstract concepts of time and space are used to smash and rampage through the masses. Everyone fights for the right to lord over the other in this plane and the next. The day grows brighter and brighter with all the red that taints it.
“The lesser Lords don't seem to have a grasp on that concept. I'm not sure if it's because their minds haven't evolved fully or if they just don't care, but to them, the best way to harvest a soul is literally rip it out. There's no tact to that. No discretion. It's barbaric. That savagery is primary reason we devils want out of Hell to begin with. So to bring that same level of infernal lunacy to this realm is just –”
Soon, the red covers all. Then it loses its saturation. It fades to grey. It fades to black. Nothing in the universe is seen. Nothing in the universe is heard. Then everything in the universe is remade. The setting changes.
The group finds themselves back on earth. The bar rebuilds itself around them. Piece by piece. Atom by atom. It is as they had not left at all. Did they leave? Was that whole trip through Hell a vision shown to their mind's eye or did the devil actually take them to Hell and back. Kevin's not entirely sure.
“All that to say,” the devil continues, “I've taken it upon myself to preserve the old way. So long as these lesser devils continue to disrupt the natural order, I will stand in opposition to them. Now don't get me wrong. I know my role, and I know yours. You seek to eradicate all devils from this world. I know that includes me, and you are welcome to try. But if you were to hold off, realize that there is a common enemy thrown in the mix –”
The black, red, and violet aura around Asmodeus comes into view. It is as wild and erratic as ever. Like flames, it consumes his being. Through the fire, his figure loses its definition. He is now like a shadow.
“After all,” Asmodeus's words echo throughout the bar, piercing not only the Mystics' ears, but their hearts and minds as well.
“Better the devil you know.”
