The Eternal Void

"At the midpoint of the journey of life, I found myself in a dark forest, for the clear path was lost." – Dante Inferno.

    And thus, the path was lost. Obscurities of the departed strayed upon these areas. Light was absent, but light was always absent-minded in the entrails of Hell. To the Otis, how could such be a hell? Declarations of lost souls. Such couldn’t be lost in eternity. Paradise was naught, but anguish was perpetual. The rules to which applied in life, had applied so to the afterlife. Requisites of becoming an angel, was far more inestimable in complexities than the finite cognizance of humankind could comprehend. One would be lucky to have not made it to heaven, but roam these obscure forests than to forever plummet from the precipices of heaven into the burning lakes of interminable fire or more assured in the clenches of Lucifer. In its dimmest corner, amid the highest standing tree, under its frail bark slept the young Otis. His sword rest upon his shoulders, his rear sat upon the wet damp dirt of the forest, from here he viewed the ceaseless nimble souls stroll haphazardly through the forest. With each passing second, the expansion of the forest enlarged to match the numbers of souls which arrived. Though light was absent, vapor of the nomadic disembodiments emanated these shadows. It wasn’t till one soul had caught his interest. Traditional souls would frequently have the spiral mist of limbo wrapped around them, whether they were in heaven or hell. This one had no vapor, even worse the soul had seem to stand on complete blood and flesh. Both the eyes of the Otis and the soul connected. Quite the eerie emotion had overwhelmed the both of them, as the Otis coughed a small vapor from his mouth and continued to face the other. His steps were concaved, dull, marching towards the Otis. Fear never stricken the devil, a calm demeanor was always presented towards friends or foes. It didn’t take too long for the soul to stand a couple of feet away from the Otis, letting his presence be known. “…I knew I couldn’t be the only one here. It must be the mercy Lucifer has given me” said the soul.

   The Otis smirked, shifting his head to the side. “Listen. Get out of my face, I haven’t bothered any souls here, so it’s best you don’t bother me. Before I get angry” said the Otis. The soul’s eyes widen a bit, before releasing a small chuckle. To his left chest plate, he slid his slinky hands down to a pocket where he pulled out a small scroll. Wrapped around it was an insignia of the Maciful family. “…Please. You’ll meet one of my students by the name of Valeria. She doesn’t know what happened, and she will not know what happens to him if she doesn’t kill him. The more days that pass, the stronger Lucifer gets. I cannot stand by and see the one thing I’ve carried become part of his plan. It wasn’t fate that brought us here together Otis, Alexander” said the soul. It was within an instant, Alexander shifted his eyes over to the soul. “How did you—“ Alexander was cut off. “…I came looking for you. The one who has defeated the six princes of hell, but cannot defeat Lucifer. It’s a pity, he allows you to sleep here” said the soul, Alexander released a small growl. “It’s because this is the edge of hell, Lucifer’s body would not be able to augment with the power of the souls that are in here. The moment I leave here, I’m already tracked” said Alexander. “…I see. Apparently, you have slept here for too long. I’ve only been here for a year, roaming through hell. Lucifer’s powers are more powerful than you have ever predicted. It won’t be too long till the wars between Heaven and Hell commence. You must kill him before then. Take his eyes. You still have the power of humility God handed to you” said the soul. Alexander scoffed under his breath, but was more than amazed the other knew so much. “Listen. As devils, we need a ligament of Lucifer alive. If he dies, the quintessence of the devil will leisurely begin to dissipate” responded Alexander. The soul’s body had begun to flicker a gentle distortion. “…This is a lie. You know this. It was 2 angels who fell into the river of Styx, Ba’al and Lucifer. The third of devils became lower demons. Do not play with me Alexander” said the soul. Alexander lightly lifted himself off the ground, with hands clenched into a tight fist. He turned about lightly before throwing a punch towards the soul, but saw that the solid manifestation had seemed more like an illusion as it went right through him. A power of vacuum of which Alexander had himself. “So this is why you were able to avoid Lucifer for so long. You’re stuck. Just like I” said Alexander.

   The soul nodded, and placed the scroll on Alexander’s hands. “Please. Send this to Valeria. Lucifer has already put together his Kings to replace the Princes that you have killed. Those eyes will no longer work against these kings. Please help her. I will not allow Lucifer too—“ the soul had begun to disintegrate before Alexander’s eyes. The more it spoke, the more indistinguishable he became, stretching his hands out towards the distance, he became nothing but ashes. Was what Alexander seen really a soul? Or an illusion? For it had to be real, the scroll sat on his fingertips. This mattered not, blowing a soft sigh out his lips. Since this was a form of hiring, Alexander would’ve taken the job. Lucifer had to die, and the time of waiting was nil. To think, such a large battle would come so soon. He made his way out of the dark forests of hell and out to the river of limbo. The air was smothered with soul particles which fell from the heavens and onto the river. Such smell of death had disgusted Alexander, standing on land away from the river. Because the air was so pasteurized with souls, Alexander was proficient enough to craft a wormhole collapsed to construct a portal to where he wanted to go. It took a vast quantity of souls to construct the realm of the humans and it was there his destination aligned. Frivolously sliding the scroll inside of his trench pocket, he took a single step into the portal not knowing where he would end up. Sinuous currents of electricity had started to bash through his body, before making contact with the scroll. The scroll had conducted a path, which sent Alexander just 200 feet away from a graveyard. It was slightly cold, hoarfrost nipping on the skin of the Otis. He was usually an admirer of the snow, but expenditure down in hell can change one’s discernment. It was then, she vanished, moving at astonishing haste. It was like she hadn’t realized she was being stalked. Precipitously the jolt of the scroll pierced his chest, causing him to move right behind her. The Otis’s velocity was great, through a vacuum of space, his capabilities were like light but he wane down his speed to remain a couple of miles behind her. It was then she stopped. Alexander had stopped also, on top of a tree branch. He never got a glimpse of the female, and he never moved too quickly, so she could spot him. For her to stop, she had to of sensed something around the area or possibly she was waiting. It was then the Otis had used his vacuumed speed to manifest just a few feet behind her. Electricity continued to puncture his chest from the scroll, the closer he got near the female. On both his feet, bent down immensely, Alexander’s sword was already pulled out from its scabbard, hitting the ground and faced the female. “…You must be Valeria” he said. Sparks of electricity continued to pop, crackle and snap about his body. His eyes looking down her physique from behind.