170 The Alternative
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(General P.O.V)
In the Threshold, the realm of Desire of the Endless, Lord of desire, satisfaction and fulfillment, a beautiful androgynous figure stood in a chamber filled with their sibling's sigils. Desire paced slowly along the wall holding all the symbols of power.
"The time to convene is upon us, my siblings, yet...none of you except for dear despair seem eager for this conversation." They stopped and smirked dangerously at a sigil in shape of a mask and a long spine. The helm of dreams.
"Are you not the least bit curious on what news I have?"
The smirk on their face froze, an interested spark appearing in their eyes.
"You're always welcome in my chambers...big brother."
They said, languidly stretching out across the comfy seat in the room.
Light steps sounded out as a form materialized from sand. Lord Morpheus' face was stone cold as he stared down at his younger sibling. Someone who had been the cause for much of his pain throughout their long lives.
"They're not coming for they see this for what it is...one of your many many schemes."
His voice was deep and smooth, managing to convey his disdain very well for the anthropomorphic entity at his front.
"Aaww, now that just breaks my heart."
Desire answered back, though in actuality, they didn't seem too bothered my the information. Dream walked closer, trailing his eyes along the wall, where the Endless' sigils were framed.
"I do not understand why you keep this futile game afoot. One would think that after testing my patience for all these eons, and my forgiving you at every turn, you would know that all your actions are ultimately... a fruitless endeavor."
Desire laughed.
"Is that so...Killala..."
That word caused the shadows in the chamber to expand, as a shroud of grim mystery clad Dream's form.
"You would dare?"
The question came out as a thin whisper. For the first time during the whole exchange, Desire's smirk fell off their face.
"Do not forget, big brother, where you stand. This is my realm."
A tense mood hung in the space between them.
"We have all come to an unanimous decision. Stay away from the boy. No contact until we learn more about the circumstances surrounding his possibility. I could feel your gaze piercing into the mortal realm. He is...an enigma. A miracle. One that should be treated with caution, not malicious intent. I warn you Desire, step out of line and I guarantee...this time you will regret it."
With that, Dream's presence faded into thin air, leaving Desire all alone in the chamber. Their mouth twitched, a black tail swishing behind them slowly.
"Stay away? Stay away!??" A creepy laugh bubbled out of them, to the point they clutched their ribs and folded upon themselves.
"Oh my sibling..." Desire moaned. "Why would you tell me to stay away... when you better than most understand, we are but slaves to our... desires?"
His yellow eyes penetrated through the walls of his realm to land on a figure clutched at the rooftop of a building in Las Vegas.
"I can't help it..."
(Aden's P.O.V)
More than 6 hours. 6 fucking hours spent scouting this whole city, before I remembered I possessed sensory abilities and used them to locate my mark.
Las Vegas was different from L.A or any place I'd ever been before. It felt in a word more, alive. Which I guess was an obvious observation, based on the fact that it's whole deal was based on having a good time. Still, the energy the city gave off felt a bit...dirty. Not in a bad bad way but...yeah.
I was crouched on the rooftop of a building, in one of the most expensive sections of the city. The casinos here catered for the truly filthy rich. An opulent building stood tall at my front, light shining through it's transparent structure. The upper society, driving expensive cars with some of the most elegant women I had ever laid my eyes on, walked around, chatting and enjoying themselves. It was currently inching closer to darkness and I was busy following my mark as she navigated the social scene with grace and expertise that totally outshined every other woman present.
Underneath that beautiful exterior however, was a demon. To be precise, a succubus called Calliope that drained men of not only their vital life force but also their overflowing bank accounts. Using that money and beauty, she had managed to build an empire and this hotel was only one of her many properties around the city.
I was going to kill her and send her back to hell.
It was the alternative presented by Maze. Lucifer had given me a choice. Choose between Constantine's freedom or Vandal Savage's meta-human gene. One would give me a good relationship with a badass magic expert and the other was even more useful to my personal power.
Savage's meta-human gene was coupled with a high speed regeneration factor. Which meant I could actually use my adaptive physiology to finally get to the upper limits of physical power I wanted. I could train under 20× the gravity of earth, go skinny dipping in hot lava, subject myself to all sorts of extreme temperature, poisons and basically come out stronger than ever and with resistances to basically anything.
I could forge my body anew. Make it into something that could support the upper limits of my sonic abilities. Internal lightning bending to increase my speed and reaction speed. All of that would be as easy as breathing. And all I had to do for that monumental amount of progress was kill one demon. Kill one demon when I had taken down millions? 'Get outta here.' I thought with a snort.
Yet... something was different about her. Especially how she registered in my senses. Now...demons did not possess a soul. That was an indisputable fact. But, she did. Or at least her core was wholesome. A bundle of self energy wrapped up in the bare hints of immortality. Calliope had the stirrings of an artificial soul!
It was enough to make me question almost everything I knew up until that point. Did Maze know this? Was it the reason why she particularly wanted to get this demon back to hell? I didn't lie to myself and think that just because I had destroyed a lot of the infernal beings, the others had fled back to hell in fear. The had to be thousands of more demons loose in the world. Most of them contracted while others were here to tempt mortals. Even in the city, I could feel the pulse of many different demons. I was planning on doing some clean up when I was done with the weird mission. So why her specifically?
I brought up the mission log once more. The rewards section had been placed at PENDING. Probably in response to the new mission Maze had given me. I'd also found out that the system had divination abilities to some degree, otherwise the chain quest would have been completed with the whole challenge thing. That one last mission I needed to carry out had been a mystery up until Maze had issued it. This was normally Lucifer's job but the King of Hell had been thrilled that his replacement was taking charge and immediately agreed.
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(Chain Quest Updated)
(Destroy Galiel's Known Associates: 3/5)
(Updated :- 3/4)
(Associates remaining:- 1)
UPDATE!!!- (Last Associate)
(Due to the actions of a being with the AUTHORITY of a level 12 entity, an update to the chain quest has been prompted. Galiel's last associate Calliope is still loose in the world. Take her down and see the completion of the chain quest. Mission parameters, objectives and rewards have been updated accordingly)
(Due to the actions of the client who issued the chain Quest, one of the associates has already been dealt with. You made the Devil wait, wow…so much for good work ethic. As a result of this, a replacement mission has been issued)
(The Final Act:- Save Jason Blood and Allyssa from the schemes of the Hell Lords, who seek to use this chance to undermine Lucifer's influence in the recently tension wrought realm known as the Hell Dimension. The client wishes to test your mettle before this challenge. As a consequence, he has revealed your position to a…few interested parties. Think of this as a test. Survive, get to hell and kick a few demon asses)
Mission Objectives:-
Come out on top in the following Encounter. - Complete.
Find a way in to hell, preferably without dying. Complete
Defeat The Hell Lords. Complete
Just…Survive. Complete
Update!
Take her down mercilessly. Incomplete.
Mission parameters:-
-Mission Time limit- Do you really want to keep him waiting again?
-Mission Difficulty- Hell (Pun Soooo Intended)
Update!
-Mission Difficulty- Normal.
Mission Rewards:-
-> 25 training points for each objective cleared for a total of 100 training points, if all objectives are cleared.
-> 100 training points for mission completion.
-> One Boon From Lucifer Morningstar.
-> Mysterious Reward.
-> A New Perk.
Rewards PENDING!
-> 20 training points.
-> One more added boon from Lucifer as opposed to the initial singular one.
Rewards PENDING!
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If I completed that Last Associate mission, I was practically free from the Chain Quest and could take other unrelated missions. But still, something rubbed me the wrong way about this whole deal. The mission difficulty was set at normal which meant as compared to every other mission, this would be a cake walk.
Maze wanted her to be cut down mercilessly. There in lied the suspicious element. She didn't want me talking with her.
Mmmh...I studied her for a few more minutes. At the half hour mark and just as 7 rolled around, though from the way the city instantly went alive you would know that the party was just beginning...she excused herself and left for her penthouse. Momentarily disappearing from my sight but not my senses.
I rose up from my crouch just as I felt her pour herself a drink. Time to end this thing and collect my rewards. The black blade I had taken from one of the demons appeared in my hands. The saber seemed to blend into the natural surroundings and with a little tweak from Sai, the nicked part was fixed. Sai had unfortunately disliked the blade the first time laying his eyes on it. But it was a good replacement for now as Equity completed it's evolution.
The winds lifted me up and I flew above the streets, clearing the distance between the two buildings in a single second. I aimed for the skylight, smashing through the glass and landing on the ground, blade poised to slice the Succubus from head to toe.
Calliope's eyes widened, too slow for her to do anything as the blade fell. Then...
"Noooooo!!!!!"
That single shout, stopped my blade at her forehead. A trail of blood ran down her face from where the blade had touched her skin. I kept it there as I turned to look at the source of the shout. The cry had been gut wrenchingly heart broken and panicked but the reason why I did not follow through with the action was the familiarity of the voice.
Standing in the doorway was a very familiar figure.
"You?"
I asked the girl who had served Gabriel and I during our talk at Lux. In L.A. The cute girl had been very curious and interested about me, to the point where I had felt something was up. To find her here... defending a demon...
"What is the meaning of this?" I asked coldly.
"Paige...leave! Now!"
Calliope shouted, gritting her teeth. The cute girl looked between us, hands trembling as she shook her head.
"Mom!! No! I'm... I'm not going to leave you here..."
She defiantly begun only to be interrupted once more. Wait, mom?
"Paige, you will listen to me and GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" Then Calliope stared derp into my eyes...almost pleadingly.
"Your business is with me, Demon Bane."
Demon Bane? What the? Paige flinched but stood her ground.
"I have a better idea, no one is leaving."
I decided.
The wind blew through the room and closed the door behind Paige with a loud bang. Calliope's gaze turned devastated, as a pink mist escaped out of her form, swirling around the both of us like Sakura leaves. I used the wind to get rid of the sudden attack but I could already feel a stirring from deep within me.
Dammit!
I jumped back to create distance between us, calling onto my inner energy and running it inside my body to get rid of whatever she had done to me.
I cursed myself. If I had been a little more ruthless...none of this would have happened.
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Love it when everything just comes together.
