***WARNING***
This chapter is extremely dark compared to my other chapters. I have reworked this chapter five times and this is far from how dark the original was. I apologize to anyone who finds this offensive in anyway.
Imp
Imp was in the middle of talking to the Dasari that had taken over while he was absent when he felt it. Felt it rather then saw it, for the magic protection he had placed on oasis nearby vanished, as if absorbed by something.
Imp quickly turned around to look in the direction of the oasis only to find Grall standing before him. Grall looked disheveled, grime and dents rendered the once pristine armor as if he had just returned from a battle. Imp paid little attention to his armor, his eyes fixated where the bandages once was.
The light around Grall where the once white bandages lay seemed to bend inward toward him. Two black orbs that looked to absorb the light sat where his eyes should be. Crimson streaks stained his cheeks as what appeard to be blood tears ran down his face uncontrollably.
Imp suppressed a gasp as he looked upon the once valiant figure. "What do you want, Gra-"
"Open a portal to hell." Grall said in a voice that wasn't his own. "Do it now."
Imp frowned, he knew how to open a portal to hell and has done so many times since they left in order to study the inhabitants, but he had not realized Grall knew he could. "I'll do it in a moment," Imp said as he started to turn back to the Dasari, "I am in the middle of-"
Grall, impatient and showing signs of madness, grabbed Imp and turned him around. "Do it now." Grall spoke with such a commanding voice that Imp found himself lost for words.
Imp lifted a hand and a portal appeared, inside the portal, Imp could see some strange activities among the demons. Grall, seemingly not noticing the strangeness, leapt through the portal without a word. As Grall jumped through the portal, a great gust of air hit Imp in the face, all the greenery weathered and died with the gust.
Imp stared at a once green patch of grass in horror. The portal was already closed and Imp hadn't told Grall how to escape. Imp hoped against hope that Grall, The Reaper, would never escape.
Thinking quickly, Impartis pulled out his communication stone, he had made it a long time ago in order to stay in contact with the others, and rushed to tell the rest what happened.
Grall?
Madness had taken its hold of Grall, but he still clung to a sane part of his mind. Because of this, he was able to move with a purpose as he stepped through to hell. Grall quickly scanned the area, not finding the one he wanted and pushed forward.
As he walked several demons jumped in his way to block his path. Grall easily cut them down, his blade gleamed red and seemed to emit a dark aura about it. Grall cared little about these fodder and found himself swatting them away like flys.
Grall traveled through hell for what felt like a year before finally finding the demon he was searching for. The demon was knelt down on the ground, bones lay at his feet, he was in the process of sucking morrow out of a bone when Grall caught sight of him.
Grall silently approached the demon, Oathbreaker in hand. The demons back was turned towards him as he finished sucking the morrow out of the bone he held. Grall, without saying a word, brought Oathbreaker down onto the demons arm, cutting it off in one swing.
The demon let out a howl of pain and anger as it turned to look upon Grall. Its eyes widened in horror as it recognized the change that had taken place when he left Grall in the material realm. The once puny, weak, slow, and stupid orc he had sought to make suffer now stood before him as The Reaper.
The demon looked Grall up and down before realizing Grall had yet to gain his full power. The Reapers powers coursed through this orc, that the demon knew, but it was only a tenth of The Reapers full powers. The demon chuckled openly, he was no match for Grall and he knew it, but the soul of his love would be lost forever with his death and the foolish orc had no idea.
"Any last words, filth?" Grall asked as he pointed the tip of his blade to the demons throat.
"You will never see her again, filthy orc." The demon replied in cold mockery, he was already dead and he knew it, but as long as the demon remained constant in this orcs thoughts, he will never truly die. "She is gone, I made sure of that. I defiled her, hacked her head off, and played with her body before consuming every last piece of her."
Grall stared at the demon, his facial features never changing. He kept a mask over his sorrow and did not let the demon have the satisfaction of getting a rise from him. "Is that so?" Gralls voice sounded cold, colder then the winds that blew in the furthest layer of hell. Colder then even the strongest of the demons kind.
The demon bit his lip to keep from showing his fear. He knew the orc was in turmoil over losing his elf lover to him, he just wasn't going to show it. "If you don't believe me," the demon said, his remaining hand pointing to the bones that lay at his feet, "then take a look at-"
The demon wasn't able to finish, his words cut short by Gralls sword. The demons head rolled on the ground stopping at his feet. For a moment all Grall could do was stare at the pile of bones that lay partially obscured by the demons body. He couldn't believe what was said, yet he knew it was true.
Suddenly, Grall let out a shout of pain, his hands shot to his head, holding it in his hands as he felt the last of his sanity disappear. He was no longer Grall, he had become The Reaper and all life in hell was going to end today.
Grall, or rather The Reaper, started to chuckle, what he laughed at, not even he knew. The Reaper started forward, still chuckling like a mad man as several demons began to file out, weapons in hand, to attack the orc that had killed so many of their kind. Grall smiled a wicked smile at them and with a swing of his blade, the bodies of the demons fell to the ground in pieces.
"All demons must die." The Reaper muttered under his breath as he began to walk forward. "You all must pay for her life. Only then will she come back to me. Only then."
The Reaper stalked through hell killing all the lesser demons he came across before confronting the demon lord that resided in the layer he was on. It was the same demon the party had ran into the last time they visited hell. Its giant body sat in its hollow as it ate the leg of a dragon. It had yet to notice Grall, but a part of Grall wouldn't allow him to attack the demon from behind or unaware.
"You. Demon. Die!" Grall shouted as he launched himself forward, Oathbreaker swinging. His sword cut deep and with his swing the demon lord was no more. "No. She has yet to return to me. Leah," The Reaper shouted, his voice hoarse from screaming into the empty abyss that stood above him, "what must I do to bring you back to me, my love?!"
No reply came, at least none that anyone could hear. The Reaper nodded his head as if a reply that only he could hear came. "Yes. You are right. Maybe if the demons are all gone she will return."
Grall turned towards a stair way that led down and proceeded. Hell suffered greatly this day as almost all of its inhabitants were killed by a single orc. Story's of the fearsome orc that stormed hells nine layers and killed all but one of its lords would be told till the end of time. Even after thousands of years had passed, the demons of hell would coward in fear at the sight of an orc.
The Reaper, however, wouldn't hear those tales, nor would he ever bother to return to hell. Unbeknownst to The Reaper and all who inhabit the world of Xeno-Movia, even the Source had no idea this glad tiding would happen. In the Shadow World, a lone soul walked beside Wreag as they spoke.
The lone soul, that was known as Grall, talked to Wreag about his own death. Told him everything he had learned about the reaper and the fate that had befallen his wife. He spoke of how he clung to the very last thread that kept his soul tied to his body, but in the end The Reaper had severed that thread himself.
"Sounds like a pain in the ass if you ask me." Wreag said as they walked through the halls of a magnificent building.
"It truly is, but," Grall said as he peered around at the new layout that stood before him, smiling, "at least you and the others have been freed from your prison."
"That we have." Wreag shouted smacking Grall on the back with joy.
Grall brushed his hand away with a chuckle. "In truth," he said as he watched a couple of orcs toast to a war story, "we need to prepare."
"Prepare?" Wreag said, his voice sounding falsely with surprise. He knew what Grall meant, he just wanted him to say it. "Prepare for what, chieftain of none?"
"Prepare to stop The Reaper, of course." Grall spoke hastily, he hadn't wanted to involve the others and knew it should be him alone who stood in front of The Reaper and stopped him from using his body against those he loved.
"You're right, chieftain of none." Wreag spoke with a sense of knowing, what he meant by his words though, Grall wouldn't find out until later. "We do need to prepare, prepare you that is."
Two orcs grabbed Grall from behind, holding him still as Wreag began to approach. Grall tried to break free of them but found the strength he once had had vanished along with his body.
The Reaper
The Reaper approached the lowest layer of hell. His armor and blade were drenched red with demon blood, his face ashened gray from the ashes of those he burned. He had no love for the demons and even less now as he called out for Leah begging for her to let him know what he must do for her to come back to him.
As he called out, a demon approached, looking to have been sculpted out of ice, and attacked. The Reaper hadn't bothered to lift the sword. He found the thrill of attacking the demons without to more satisfying. He side stepped the demon, grabbing it by what could only be small spiked horns and pulled, ripping its head off in a grandiose display of strength.
"Is this enough, Leah?" The Reaper shouted, his voice torn with agony. He had spent what had felt to be years in hell, killing all the creatures one by one. This was the last layer, ice covered the walls and ground. "And soon," The Reaper said as he peered at the walls, taking in the surroundings and looking for any place the demons may hide, "they will also be covered with the blood of the demons that had caused my beloved to run away from me."
The Reaper chuckled to himself at this as his body moved forward on its own. "Ah, but," The Reaper said as he continued to walk, "I am getting ahead of myself, aren't I Leah?" The Reaper turned his head as if to speak to someone who wasn't there before pausing and letting out a moan of pain. "Leah? Where are you my love?"
The Reaper hunched over as if in pain, the Crimson stain on his cheeks deepened as fresh tears of blood slid down them. "Thats right." He said as he peered around. "They took you from me and now I must find them. Find them to end their lives just as they ended yours."
The Reaper seemed to smile at this, chuckling as his eyes noticed a small crevice where some small demons lurked. "Found you." He said as he stood and approached.
He hadn't expected any resistance but still felt disappointed when all that had happened was one of the small ones tried to stab him. He had easily killed it by slamming his fist down onto the small demons head. The rest he killed by stomping their heads in, they were to small to fight back, almost even appeared to be infants.
The Reaper gave it no heed as he strolled further and further into the final layer killing all of the demons that approached him. He took great satisfaction out of finding the smaller ones and ending them as he searched for the bigger ones.
"All demons must die. All demons must suffer. All demons must pay for her death. Then she will come back to me." The Reaper muttered this over and over as he slaughtered and butchered the helpless demons that seemed to not even hold a candle to the orcs power.
Most demons tried to hide from the orc but were sadly found. It seemed none could get away from this creature that even demons feared. As The Reaper attacked a small demon, a loud booming voice shouted causing The Reaper to pause for a moment, just a moment before slaughtering them.
The Reaper hadn't heard, nor cared what the demon had shouted. He just smiled and turned to face the angry demon that towered over him. The demon was no ordinary demon, he was the final and strongest demon lord in hell. He had the strength to do what The Reaper did but found no amusement in tormenting the weak.
The demon appeared to be saying something incoherently, The Reaper stood in place for a long moment, letting the disgusting thing speak, until finally, he could take no more talk. The Reaper began to laugh, his laughter echoed off of the ice and sent chills down the demon lords spine. It wasn't the laughter of any living thing, it was the laughter of a being that had seen death countless times and grew stronger with each of them.
The demon lord acted instinctively and brought his giant sword down on the puny orc. The demon lord had hoped it would cut the orc in half, his hopes died out instantly as the mad cackle that had echoed in the room before continued. The dust settled to reveal the orc holding the blade of the sword in one hand.
The demon lord tried to pull his sword away to attack once more but found his strength lacking. The monster that stood before turned its black orbs upon the demon lord and for the first time in his life, the demon lord knew true fear.
The Reaper was done fooling around with these weak demons. He wanted to fight a demon lord already, yet no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find one.
"Where is your master, weakling?" The Reaper asked, his voice taking on a taunting tone.
"Master?" The demon lord asked, his voice shook with uncontrollable fear.
"The demon lord, or high lord, whatever it is you call yourselves now days." The Reaper seemed to be goating him into saying something, something that seemed important to him.
The demon lord hadn't spoken a word for a while, he was lost in his own mind. Demon high lord? He asked himself dumbfounded. There hasn't been one of those sense we were imprisoned here. No one in the material realm should know what they are.... unless.
"Who are you?" The demon lord shouted, panic now mixed with the fear he felt.
"I am the one known to all as The Reaper." He spoke with a hint of madness in his eyes, a smile upon his lips, and a snare in his voice.
The demon lord knew what this meant. It meant those two vile brothers have finally came to end the race they had created in the beginning. The race they feared most was going to end by their own creatures hands.
When the demon lord said nothing else, The Reaper snared and punched the demon lord in the gut, sending him flying into the air. The Reaper watched with grim amusement as the demon lord hit the ceiling but didn't stop. The demon lord continued through, tearing open a hole in dimensions.
The Reaper smiled as he peered through and found the material realm waiting on the other side.