(Warning, this chapter contains strong violence and gore)
Back in the dark obsidian castle, screams could be heard echoing through its dreary murky halls. As one followed the screams to their source through the dimly lit passageways, they would come out onto what at first glance was a party. Candles flickered, floating in the air with a cold blue light. Well laid tables covered in suspicious looking meats and blood red wines were plentiful as two Demon Lords, He of Gluttony and She named Envy, toyed with their prey.
Gluttony resembled a fat man beyond what normal proportions could possibly allow, at 10 feet tall his bald head almost reached the ceiling, his face caught in a foolish grin. Envy however appeared as a woman of unimaginable beauty, ruined only by her cruel, sadistic smile and her elongated fingertips looking like nothing so much as red hot pokers. Her nails switched easily between those, vicious fishing hooks long enough to pierce deeply into a humans fleshy parts and knives able to cut a man to pieces.
Humans caught from raiding parties were the main guests as Envy took vicious delight in torturing them slowly, her sharp fingers piercing flesh as easily as a hot knife through butter. She took extra special care in maiming the pretty ones, savoring their screams, squeezing out every single morsel she could.
Each time one would break she would indifferently throw the mutilated body in Gluttony's direction whos' ghastly fanged mouth opened wide to consume them in one bite, or at most two, if of course the humans in question had developed a serious allergic reaction to exercise.
As each indulged in their chosen activity, the shadows surrounding their bodies grew deeper and darker, until finally becoming a pitch black barely visible. The 'party' had been going for hours and was now reaching it's culmination.
"Enough" A voice called from the dark, like nails on a chalk board.
Even the lesser demons bouncing around in delight at the 'festivities' immediately stilled, while the man and woman remaining, having seen the fate of their companions, finally wet themselves in fear. Despair consumed them as two more Demon Lords approached, footsteps making barely a whisper strode towards the center of the room.
When the pair finally stepped into the candlelight the horror in the two pairs of eyes amplified beyond measure, as they appeared to be shadows, with white painted masks on their faces. The smaller one Demon had a mask of man sneering, the larger was a woman crying. Nothing else was decipherable about the two, their shapes were fluid, at one moment a human body the size of a building the next a massive 8 legged monstrosity.
Two hands reached down gently, encompassing the humans and lifting them with the utmost care. It was foolish, beyond so even, but for a mere flicker of a second, the pair allowed themselves a moment of hope they may survive this. Surely the beings wouldn't treat them with such care just to kill them?
The next moment the hands both squeezed like a vise, crushing their bodies to oblivion. As their heads popped off like dandelions and great gushes of blood joined that already coating the floors, the Demon with the Weeping Lady mask spoke again, her voice full of malevolence.
"It is time"
"A little early to ruin the fun" Envy sighed "But my thanks for the going away party. I hope our return is half as exciting"
"It will be much more so you can be sure of it" The Sneering mask replied.
"There will be bodies aplenty for all our brothers and sisters to return. When that night comes, blood will run like oceans"
"And plenty to eat I hope" Gluttony growled with a moronic smile on his lips.
"Of course, my brother"
The pair of masked Demons approached the two demon lords, grasping their shoulders firmly, as neither made any move to defend themselves.
The masks seemed to rotate on their faces, before the mouths opened horrifyingly, causing all the lesser demons to flee the room in fear. The two Demon lords felt their essence and all the strength they'd gained from feeding being pulled irresistibly into the masks gaping maws, until finally they were both absorbed without leaving a trace, leaving no evidence they had ever been there besides the remaining carnage of their banquet.
One of them took the Scrying Crystal ball out of a subspace dimension and placed it on an altar that also appeared in the center of the room. Pouring over it the ball displayed a thrall, sitting in a chair in a faraway warehouse. Chaotic energies poured out of the two shadowy creatures, ever growing until it appeared that a large piece of each of them separated from their bodies and was sucked down into the crystal ball.
Through it they could see the intense energies enter the body of the thrall, its body going from a sitting position to fully erect, then arching it's back wildly as power coursed through its body. The original bodies of the masked creatures shook violently as the backlash of passing such a large portion of their power and essence hit them. The shadows that had rendered them mercurial and awe inspiring now faded until little was left but shadowy cloaks around two humanish looking bodies, still wearing the white masks.
The Weeping Lady looked up at the crystal ball wearily as her compatriot gasped on the floor. Taking the ball in her hands, her eyes locked unblinkingly behind the mask, she focused all her attention on what was to come next…
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The thrall, infused with the power and essances of two mighty Demon lords looked around the room once more. Not one or two, but twenty one slabs surrounded the glowing red magic circle on the floor. They were arranged with 7 slabs on the inner layer and 14 encircling them. Strapped to each of them were an equal number of random men and women. They were not special in any way, yet each of the kidnapped souls had been injected with a special ingredient. Demon blood.
The Sun finally reached its zenith and the sunlight poured directly down into the glowing magic circle, yet still it did not activate. Were Aedir there, before burning the place down and murdering every Demon on sight he would have noticed many differences in the magic circle here to the one they were currently preparing.
The Thrall walked into the magic circle and as it passed the circumference, the light red staining the walls turned into an intense, powerful bloody crimson. It waited a moment, till a brilliant, golden magical pillar exploded out of the nearby Cathedral. The Summoning had begun. In response the Thrall raised its arms and a powerful red light burst through the ceiling of the warehouse, edging closer and closer to the golden pillar.
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"But father, why is Aegan down there then? Isn't he already a Champion?"
Wulfric sighed and looked around. Several looked at the boy with sadness, others pity. Only Hallgrims was uncaring as he completely ignored the others, picking the pork or perhaps chicken out of his teeth with a long toothpick.
"How many Champions are there?" Wulfric questioned, wanting the boy to find the answer himself.
"12, one for each god"
"Why do you think that is?"
"Hmmmm" Diego pondered. "I'd guess it's because the gods only have so many gifts to give out?"
"Mostly true" Wulfric replied somberly. "So how could a new Champion inherit a Gods gift while a previous Champion still has it?"
"I guess he'd need to give it back…." Diego reasoned. So close but not quite there.
"Very true, that's what he's doing right now" Wulfric's eyes locked on to Aegan as he slowly picked up the knife.
"New Champions cannot be summoned, not as long as even ONE of the previous Champions live."
And there it was, the truth lurking in the corner of everyone's minds. Diego was horrified. Aegan may not be as close to him as he was to his father, yet he and his brothers and sister all looked upon him as something of a favorite uncle. Not seen often but each occasion that he'd visited their lands in the past Aegan had always had sweets and strange objects from the other distant lands to entertain the young princes and princess, sharing tales from his homeland beyond anything they could have imagined or displaying magical light shows that brought wonders from that other world to their bedrooms.
Thankfully he possessed enough decorum to not make a scene, but he grasped his fathers sleeve firmly and asked.
"Is there anything we can do?" Tears streaming down the young Weremans face.
Seeing the tears from his son released the waterworks that Wulfric himself had been holding back all this time. As thick rivulets of salty tears coursed down the pair's faces, Wulfric pulled his son into a fierce hug.
"No, my boy, there isn't"
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Aegan stepped up and with his one working hand, flipped open the lid of the heavy enchanted box (luckily someone had been kind enough to unlock it) Inside, settled on a velveteen cushion and sparkling like a thousand stars in the sky, was a large glowing diamond. It was roughly a little larger than an apple and had a surprising heft to it.
Deep inside a golden light seemed to shine, refracting outwards in a multitude of hues. Aegan picked up it with difficulty, taking a moment to appreciate it's beauty. It's like was something he had never seen, even in his many years in this world. The moment he spent staring into its depths with his one clear eye felt like an eternity. When he finally drew his focus back, he smiled, and threw the diamond in the air, right in the center of the glowing blue magic circle.
Instead of falling to the ground, it stopped, floating in the dead center of the circle and began spinning slowly. A low hum resounded in the air. The outline of another magical blue circle appeared, encompassing all the slabs with those strapped to them and Aegan.
"Allaan" Aegan said in a quiet voice, somehow still able to carry over the background noise as the circle began to activate.
Allaan's eyes had not left Aegan since the ritual began. Yet he was shocked as he turned around, holding the heavily bejeweled knife in his good hand, a silent plea in his eyes. He would do anything to lessen the burden his friend was already carrying, yet at that plea even he took a half step backwards in shock.
Aegan took several steps forward stopping at the edge of the newly created outer circle. There was no need for words, Aegan could not cast any spells without possibly disrupting the ritual. His 'good' hand had only just the strength for everyday tasks and despite many changes in the man since he had arrived in this world, his religious beliefs which he'd tried to hold true to, even after being blessed by foreign Gods and being reincarnated in a strange land, exclusively prohibited taking one's own life.
Holding the knife out gently, Aegan's eye focused on Allaan's two, conveying everything that could be said between them. Decades of friendship since Allaan was just a boy. Support in the most trying of times. Nights of carousing in the city and quiet discussions on how best to lead this land into the future. And most of all acknowledgement of how difficult this moment was for the both of them. All of this was expressed and understood, culminating in only a single word.
"Please…"
Allaan steeled his nerves. At his side Aedir's heavily lidded eyes streamed with tears. He felt no envy for Allaan. Being chosen for such an act by your closest friend in the world… There could be no words for the difficulty of committing such an act, not to mention the pain of carrying it for the rest of one's life.
Allaan stepped forward slowly, each footstep closer, each heartbeat, resounding like drums in his ears, eyes never leaving the knife in Aegan's hand. He couldn't think about it, couldn't picture it or he'd lose the strength to move another step. An eternity later, he arrived before Aegan.
He forced himself to look once again up into his friend's eye. The trust and relief he saw almost staggered him. Neither of them were young men, both had looked into the face of death before, sometimes at each other's side. Yet not like this. Tears streamed from all eyes, including those in the room above, at the sight as Aegan placed the knife in Allaan's shaking outstretched hand.
None could fault the king as he openly wept, Aegan's face brightening into a smile. A smile that said you are forgiven for everything, that acknowledged his pain. And that more than anything said the last words to ever leave Aegan's lips.
"Thank you."
Allaan thrust the knife into Aegan's heart and a brilliant golden beam shot up into the sky.