Message #82874

[D'Espana]

Preliminary Events

Another day goes on in the human world. The clouds form a thick layer which, though not blocking completely the sun, fills everything with a ghostly appearance. The very same air seems to be heavy, as if anticipating a storm, and there is some sort of uncomfortable chill. However, the locals don’t seem to notice it in the slightest, something understandable when taking into account that it has remained exactly in that fashion for ten thousand years.

The closure of the Heaven Gate and the Netherworld Portal has been mostly forgotten, a few memories of it surviving because of the existence of the Demons, which lead the efforts to break the seal over the Netherworld Portal. They promised to the humans, now thousands of years ago, that if they gained their full powers by opening the connection to their mother plane they would be able to grant any wish without consuming the soul of the petitioner. And, since that moment, vast legions of their followers have been performing rituals, always in the sake of what seems to be a perfect deal.

But neither Demons nor their acolytes have noticed that the Netherworld Portal is not the only dimensional connection affected by the rituals. And that is something that the Church, a secret organization encompassing humans who negate the Demons and worship the Angels, has predicted and perceived.

In one of the isolated settlements of the Church, the sacred weapons are being blessed and the holy relics prepared. The two most eminent members of the village, who have been training for this moment during their whole lives, kneel in front of the village chief, and receive his last sermon and their combat gear with only a fleeting blink in their cold eyes and stale face. Later on, they part towards their destiny, vanishing as shadows in the surrounding mist. Once they have done so, the rest of the Church members prepare their own ritual, which will hopefully give the last hit to the seal and break it to pieces.

The Angels, for their part, are ready. They know what is going to happen, and their whole army is waiting for it in complete silence, all of them forming in front of the Heaven Gate. They can perfectly feel the closure being lifted, little by little, and they are more than eager to leave the Heaven for the first time in ten thousand years. They want revenge… and they will have it soon. Very soon.

Ignorant of all this events, the human race continues its comfortable existence, some making rituals for the Demons and some others enjoying the beauty, power, money or women that they had obtained when selling their souls. The Demons, completely focused on the Netherworld Portal and fulfilling the human wishes, are also alien to what is about to happen. Poor fools…

Finally, at midday, all the accumulated tension bursts and the impossible happens. A huge thunder marks the start of it all, and all the demon worshippers and their lords look at the sky, some surprised, some afraid. Suddenly, a terrible typhoon comes to life, taking both human and Demons with it and sending them flying in all directions. The ritual circles are torn apart by the fury of the elements, and the chaos spreads everywhere as everyone tries to save their lives by hiding in whatever shelter they can find.

In the middle of the devastation, something happens, bringing even further terror to everyone: the clouds start to lift for the first time in ten thousand years, and the sun rays, the brightest nightmare that one can possibly imagine, make their way to the ground. But the worst thing of it all is neither the typhoon nor the sun: in the inside of the breach in the clouds, some movement can be seen, and the first waves of Angels start crossing from their plane to the human world.

Everyone still alive was thinking that they were all doomed. The Angels were back, and they had not the strength to oppose them after living hedonistically for millenniums. Not even the Demons could match them, being trapped outside of their own dimension. However, not all the hope was lost…

As soon as the first thunder had made its appearance, some Demons and their acolytes had run for the nearby caverns, and hided there from the typhoon. Immediately after being safe, they started another ritual, though completely different than the usual sort: this was not for opening paths, but for closing them, and reinforcements were made in the ritual to strengthen its power. For it, everyone participating in it sacrificed their lives, bursting in flames as their energy was consumed in the ceremony.

It had not the same strength of the one of the wise men, now ten thousand years ago, but it was enough to make an emergency temporary seal. The typhoon stopped right there, and the Angels, feeling that the Heaven Gate was closing once again, tried to return to their plane or make it to the exit quickly, so as to avoid dying in the closure.

Another huge thunder echoed, and the clouds took over the sky as they used to do. The only difference was the devastated landscape, the fear in the heart of the demon worshippers and two little beams of light, falling from the sky and crashing with the ground at some miles of the epicenter of the catastrophe.

A week after the incident, a group of figures climbs the last meters and reaches the sanctuary on top of the mountain. The building, old enough for losing its origin in the trails of time, remains exactly as it was left, untouched by man or beast in all these years. The group enters the ancient structure, closing the door behind them. It is in that moment when a young woman takes off her coat, walking in front of all the rest.

- My brothers, you already know why we are here. A week ago, the Heaven Gate was opened, and many lives were lost because of that. Thanks to the sacrifice of our brothers and some of our beloved demon lords, it has been closed again. But…

She looks to all the presents with a serious gesture, her hands on her generous hips. Her black hair is spread over her voluptuous body, and her green eyes pierce everyone as she speaks.

- The seal is not permanent. In fact, it will disappear in less than a month. For that reason, we have come here: the most notable sanctuary of our faith. Here, we will perform the needed ritual for reinforcing the seal of the Heaven Gate, and we will remove the barrier of the Netherworld Portal so as not to let this happen again. So, let’s prepare ourselves, brothers, for tomorrow we shall start our work!

Everyone starts speaking, mostly about rumors of this expedition. They were in charge of sealing properly the Heaven Gate, but for that a Demon was needed. Did that mean that there was one amongst them already? It was said that since Demons lost their powers they resembled normal humans until they used their powers, but that did not dissuaded them for making wild guesses. Was it the attractive woman that gave the speech? Possibly, since she seemed to be in charge. Or was it another one of the crowd, trying to stay undetected? But if so, why? They were all demon worshippers… right?

What nobody notices, though, is the mischievous glance between four of the gathered. Looking at their respective couples, they nod, and once the assembled disperse themselves all over the sanctuary they also imitate the rest. Talk, eat and drink, fool mortals… as tomorrow might be too late.