The Days Of Hellfire

Prologue (count.)

THEY ENTERED the Parthenon silently and approached the colossal statue of Athena, finely carved and dipped in a rich color of gold, resting peacefully in the center of the room. Perched next to her was a mighty serpent, its body curved dramatically and eyes unfocused. Her trusty spear and large shield were also placed near her, signifying to everyone that she was a mighty warrior. Surrounding the walls were large Doric columns, an elegant spin to give the Temple a prestigious appearance. Standing at the foot of the statue was a priest, wrinkled with age and exhaustion riddled through his whole body. He was the guardian of The Scroll, coming from generations upon generations upon generations of guardians before him. All his ancestors, and his ancestor's ancestors had guarded it with their very lives. They received the easy part of the deal, in Kaos's opinion.

Many other bloodlines had it much worse than watching a flimsy piece of paper. He knew of other families who would cut off their left arm and right nut just to switch positions with the old bastard for a day. And to be a priest, no less! The irony of it was indeed sweet on Kaos' tongue. Preaching the word of God while guarding the single most important piece of parchment on earth, the parchment that contained two hundred years' worth of the names of families who will either be condemned to spend their eternity with him on the Lower level, or to be with his brother and his do-good goons. How sweet indeed.

The old priest eyed both of them with fear in his eyes. Kaos knew that the old man's whole life had been leading up to this moment. To meeting the God's who have yet to determine his fate, and to give them the scroll that will determine his son's fate, and his son's son's and daughters fates, and will continue on as so until it does not anymore. Once he handed over The Scroll, he would be released of his duties as guardian, and it would befall to someone new from his family line almost two hundred years from now. And so the cycle will continue.

Kaos ripped off his mask and tossed it to the floor, glad to be rid of it and its horrific material. It was necessary for him to wear something that would cover up his face on this day. Not only could he not stand the sunlight and its godawful rays, but it also served the purpose of keeping his identity concealed. No human could look upon him and see his otherworldly features without knowing that he was not human. He was too pronounced. Too... Godlike, to put in the lightest of ways. They would immediately know that something was wrong with him, presence wise and aura wise. Humans had an unexplainable knack for knowing when something or someone was not quite right; and he oozed 'not quite right' through every pore in his body.

It was the same with his brother. He was too good and too otherworldly for anyone to think him human. But rather him being insanely evil, he was devilishly angelic, his eternal light would shine through his skin and blind mortals with its rays if he allowed it. Only they did not fear him. Because to them, in their own twisted way of thinking, light ultimately meant good. Light is what kept them safe. It was only the dark and what lurked within it that they had to fear.

The priest cast nervous glances back and forth between Kaos and his brother, carefully taking in both of them and their dramatically different features. Despite the fact that they were twins, they looked nothing alike and acted nothing alike. They were on two different dimensional planes, both in body and in mind.

The Brother of Light was the first to greet the old man.

"Hello," he said cheerily in Greek. "Thank you for your services and keeping watch over our precious scroll for so many years. For your faithfulness and dedication to your duty, you will be rewarded handsomely with your afterlife."

The old priest smiled. He was missing a few of his front teeth.

"Thank you! Oh, thank you, so much. That is a relief to hear. A very big relief."