3 The 4th Harbinger's Name
The Harbinger drew a symbol in the air, creating a shortcut portal rimmed with vibrant red patterns. Aisha peered over her shoulder and observed what was on the other side of the portal. The place looked much different compared to where they were now.
In the rotunda, red brick walls and fire blazed on and on. Screams of tormented souls were everywhere. Lost souls and demons run amok unsupervised. It was utter chaos.
On the other side though, the buildings were slicked black granite, and the windows were made of red-tinted glass. Nothing looked off aside from the fact that there were occasional sobs that escaped the building.
The Harbinger was about to take a step forward and bring Aisha over to the other side of Hell, but then she suddenly yelled for him to stop. “Hold on a minute!” Aisha screamed at the top of her lungs.
The man skidded to a halt and then turned his head to look at Aisha. She gulped as she noted his face was undeniably pissed off with her. Who was she to suddenly demand him to stop?
“Please hear me out and let me go home, sir!” she begged, “It was all an accident and I’m not meant to be here!”
“I’m not having that, Miss Hot Chili Condoms. If you’re in Hell, you’re meant to be in Hell,” he responded coldly, “Why would I bring you back home? I am, by no means, obliged to do so.”
Aisha was running out of options. What was she supposed to do now? She was held hostage by a man with flaming eyeballs who was both dangerously hot but could kill her in an instant.
“Please! I am much too young to die,” Aisha pleaded once more. She can’t say if it was a stupid move, but she gazed into the Harbinger’s flaming eyes. Maybe she could evoke just a tiny bit of pity in his heart – if he had one.
The man mulled over what he should do with Aisha, and to her surprise, he suddenly let her go. He tossed her behind him and she tumbled backward, almost hitting her head. If she hadn’t known how to land with a roll, Aisha would’ve had a broken neck by now.
Aisha scrambled to get up on her feet, and the Harbinger turned around to face her. He grabbed her chin and tilted her face from side to side, not even allowing Aisha to protest. He hummed, and then withdrew his hand.
“Alright then, I will give you a chance to plead your case,” he said. Aisha’s heart skipped a beat as she almost jumped in joy when she heard him agree. “However, you must first find out my name.”
The man smiled wryly, and dread coursed all over Aisha’s body as she felt herself turn cold. The man pointed to himself and then said, “Find out what my name is, and then call it out three times. Only then will I hear you out. You have until sunset.”
As quickly as Aisha’s excitement shot up, it instantly crashed and landed with dread. Of all the things he wanted her to do, it had to be finding out who he was?
“Your name?” she repeated with confusion.
The man smiled wryly, winked at her, and then snapped his fingers. Fiery symbols lit up around him, a magic circle enlarging behind as the energy coming off of his magic ruffled his hair handsomely. He took a step back, and then the magic circle gobbled him up, leaving embers as he left Aisha with his weird quest.
In the blink of an eye, the Harbinger suddenly vanished from Aisha’s view. She turned around, and there was no one else in the rotunda but her. The portal had instantly disappeared as well.
“Name? How am I supposed to even know who he was?” Aisha grumbled, “He didn’t even give a goddamn clue!”
Sunset… he had mentioned she had until sunset to find out what his name was. Aisha observed the skies above her and saw it was slowly getting dark. The sun was about to set over the horizon, which meant she had more or less an hour left.
Where was she supposed to get his name in this damned place?
“Think, Aisha, think! There must be something you can try,” she beat herself, “Wait, I should try to ask around, yes!”
Aisha recalled what the demons who chased her mentioned while they argued with the Harbinger. The demons pointed out the man being an oddball in this part of the city. They had said something about being under the protection of a ‘Lord Barbatos’ and the man who saved her being the 4th Harbinger.
Yes, that was where she should start.
Aisha toned her panic down with a little bit of a trick she used to do before a tournament. She breathed in and out in a steady rhythm, bringing herself into a manageable and less panicked version of herself. She was still anxious, but she’ll have to push through.
She passed by a dumpster where shards of broken glass scattered about. Aisha saw her reflection and then realized one crucial thing. She looked too clean and healthy for someone in Hell.
“I can’t go about looking like this,” she mused, “Demons might end up chasing me again!”
Aisha grabbed a piece of glass and tore bits of her clothes. Then she went back to the rotunda and knelt down as she dabbed her torn jersey on the scattered black blood. It smelled horrible, but she hoped it would at least mask her identity from demons.
She also put a bit on her face, as if to make her look injured and akin to those lowly demons. With determination, Aisha moved forward. She wasn’t going to get herself killed that easily.
Wandering aimlessly, Aisha soon found a group of ghosts huddled and moaning in anguish. She slowly approached them, and with a whisper in her voice tried to get their attention, “Hello? Do you know the name of someone called the 4th Harbinger?”
The ghosts didn’t respond to Aisha, and she thought perhaps they didn’t hear her over their moans. She tried again, this time a bit louder, “Hello? Do you know a man called the 4th Harbinger?”
One ghost seemed to have heard Aisha and turned its head over to look at her. He was grey and translucent, and his eyes were hollowed out. “Who is the 4th Harbinger? Who are you?” the ghost asked her instead, “Who am I?”
Aisha knew she wasn’t going to get much from the ghosts, and she looked up to see the skies had turned a shade darker. “Crap! The sun is about to set!” she exclaimed.
The moans of the ghosts turned louder, and Aisha had to run away as they started to become agitated with her presence. She didn’t want that cold feeling of a ghost passing through her again! That was just too unnerving for her taste.
Aisha escaped into a narrow alleyway and hurried over to the other side. There wasn’t enough time left. She must hurry or else the 4th Harbinger will kill her!
Just as Aisha was about to pass through the alleyway, she heard a slight groan from a tiny niche to her left. She stopped in her tracks and inspected the niche. It was about half her arm’s length wide and was just about her waist high from the ground.
The groans actually sounded to her like a voice calling her out. What was it saying? It wasn’t quite audible.
Aisha crouched and tried to call out, “Uh? Hi, is anybody there? I don’t know if you can help me, but I am quite desperate right now. Do you know anyone named Lord Barbatos and a man called the 4th Harbinger?”
Aisha listened for a reply, but after several seconds of silence, she was ready to give up thinking she might have just imagined the voice out of despair. But then suddenly, she heard something shuffle inside the dark niche, and someone replied with a much clearer voice.
“Yesss…” came the hissing reply to her question.
Why did it sound like it was a snake? Never mind that, Aisha rejoiced with the reply. Finally, someone who can answer her questions!
