No Turning Back

Chapter Thirty-Five: The Devil's Footsoldier

Richtofen, continued to operate on his tight leash without complaint. Even so, the orders from above insisted that he be placed in charge of more and more areas of the agenda. As his cup had runneth over with the power he craved - Richtofen quickly found himself jaded. Reality had not met his expectations. And this disillusionment became apparent to the brotherhood - who quickly assembled their asset, Baron von Rohr. 

He was to intervene and quickly talk Richtofen around - just as he had been originally instructed to do so when he was thrust into Richtofen's life. It was a necessary evil - or so the brotherhood thought. Men like Richtofen have such great minds yet their loyalty is nonexistent. They need someone to anchor them; someone who could just suddenly appear in their lives and induce the state of loyalty that was so terribly lacking. 

And so, in Richtofen's case, each time he found himself reaching the precipice of abandoning ship; his father would be deployed to goad him along with the proverbial carrot on the stick - his father's approval.

At this point, Richtofen had been completely naive to this ploy. And any time his rational mind tried to rouse his common sense - he would bat away such thoughts. He wanted so desperately to believe that his father's love had been achieved by his hand alone.

Richtofen tried to convince himself to endure the nonsense and bask in the acknowledgement he now received from his father. But as he continued the work of the brotherhood; he soon realised that his father really had only been using him. As the evidence mounted, Richtofen could no longer run from the knowledge that Baron Wolf von Rohr had merely been instructed by the Illuminati to persuade him to join their ranks. They played to his weakness - that he longed for his father's presence - and set up that fateful meeting at Mr Gernsberg's estate. 

During this time, Richtofen had ascended to the 33rd degree. Even with the hurt and betrayal he felt towards his father; he persisted within the fraternity as he approached the final hurdle. As the illusion of his father's love fell like sand between his fingers - all he had left to comfort him were his plans for world domination. These were the very same plans that had grown with him through life as he progressed to within reaching distance - and which did not have the capacity to betray him.

Richtofen vehemently believed that reaching the Illuminati's highest rank would finally grant him access to the most intimate of the brotherhood's knowledge. And he indeed got more than he bargained for during his initiation rites. Up until this point, Richtofen had struggled to hide his loathing of these repetitive occult rituals which bored him to tears.

With eyes once full of amazement and wonder; they had quickly grown tired and apathetic towards the pompous ceremonies and rituals that the brotherhood insisted on performing. The excitement and rush of adrenaline which invigorated Richtofen during such rituals quickly grew stale as he watched the umpteenth life be snuffed out in the exact same way. It was insanity - and to him - lacked any finesse or creativity in devising the kill. The kill was merely something to be offered before being sidelined for the main event.

Each soul was always offered to the same entity -"The Lightbringer" or "The Morning Star" -  as they called "him". Richtofen found this obsession with the supernatural far too disinteresting and idiotic. After all, he was a man of science! The supposed gods the ancients worshipped were merely figments of these backward civilisations' imagination. No such beings actually existed - he thought.

But during his initiation into the thirty-third degree; Richtofen was exposed to the unseen realm for the first time in his life. The very realm which was once met with Richtofen's scoffs and dismissal was to change his perspective forever.

His fellow masons had set up their ritual circle and inscribed sigils which had been created by King Solomon himself. They then instructed Richtofen - cloaked in the innocence of white robes - to step into the circle. As he did so, he felt himself break through an invisible barrier. Once inside the circle, Richtofen had stepped into this unseen realm - the realm of demons. 

Richtofen's eyes gleamed as they marvelled at the grotesque yet aethereal manifestations of these ancient demons. His brothers outside the circle looked on with regret that they had been reluctantly instructed to expose Richtofen to this power. Their orders had come from non-human authority.

Each demon maliciously hissed Richtofen's name as they swirled around and eyed him like prey. Then, the grand master of the lodge read out an incantation. The indecipherable words of this dead language seemed to bind the demons in aethereal chains. And one by one, the demons found themselves reluctantly bowing to Richtofen as his fellow brothers looked on apprehensively.

Richtofen loved seeing these beings bow at his feet. There was a great sense of power to behold that these mere incantations could bend their will. Richtofen became drunk on the heady thoughts of power he could wield with these beings at his mercy.

The grand master then instructed the demons to aid Richtofen in his duties. The demons whined and groaned against their restraints before falling on their faces at Richtofen's feet. Then, with a loud shout from the grand master, they suddenly stood to attention before lunging towards Richtofen. As each demon passed through him; Richtofen could feel his heart shrivel and blacken as each demon began to empty it and turn him hollow.
 
And with the sheer force; Richtofen fell to the ground. As he lay there, he could feel his body writhing with the essences of the demons as each imparted polluted offerings related to their mastery. Richtofen had become completely opened up to these demons as they all eagerly laid roots within his being - attaching themselves to him. Once the ceremony had taken place; the grand master banished the demons - dragging them back to their aethereal prisons. 

Richtofen remembered the feeling of laying there - feeling violated and polluted - but also imbued with powers and vigor that reanimated his hollowed heart. Being a psychopath was one thing - but this was on a whole new level. He had been infused with the essences of gods. From that day onwards, Richtofen knew he had been permanently changed. Where ever he went - the shadows followed behind. Even in an empty room by himself; he could feel their presence looming over him. 

At the human level; the brotherhood had simply been instructed by their unseen Masters to recruit Richtofen - by any means necessary. Because, at the aethereal level; these beings of the unseen realm knew that Richtofen could achieve what would take the brotherhood hundreds of years. 

So, even after his ascension to the highest rank in the fraternity; Richtofen's disdain for the human proceedings of the Illuminati's agenda continued to grow - but so too did an opportunity. Ever since his possession, the demons had gained even greater control in leading him down another path. One that was separate - and hidden - from his Brothers.

Richtofen continued to engage in his horrific experiments right up to and during the throes of war. He had been instructed by the Illuminati to infiltrate Group 935 - comprised of Nazi Germany's most prized intellectuals. And in doing so, Richtofen became the assistant of their leader - Dr Ludwig Maxis. All the while, the demons continued to gently nudge Richtofen in the direction they desired.

What Richtofen had failed to realise was that his encounter with these beings had not been his first. Each twisted twist of fate throughout Richtofen's life had been by design as he proved more useful to them far beyond his love of sadism. Since his birth; they had been watching him - waiting for the day they could claim his soul for their bidding.

But, for a such an intelligent man; it had taken all this time for Richtofen to finally realise this. All his life, he had held fast to the belief that he had been the master of his own fate - that his path had been painstakingly carved out by his hand alone. But now, after the encounter back at Ragnarök, Richtofen could finally feel the strings which had been manipulating him.

And now he could see the puppetmasters looming above him. 

She had been right all along...

End of part thirty-five...