The winds rustled against my ashen hair, casting a chill that made my skin crawl and my heart seize. The indescribable howls of beings bellowed in the wind caught my attention only to fade under the grim eyes of a child whose entire existence seemed like nothing more than a meal.
Belphegor wasn't someone anyone could face. To be a Pontiff, one needs to have a special attunement with their God. It's one of the highest honors, akin to the connection I share with Lilith.
There were many things regarding Lilith and myself I learned from Bael. One was the abstract force that connects us, the indescribable attraction that seems to twist our ability to think and feel. Was Grey not a victim of such a force? Was he not just a simple man who had fallen for another? But the moment she was extinguished, something similar to that of Hell grew within him.
That force, that insanity, and that connection is how a Pontiff has towards their God. These selected people are all men or women, trained from birth, with only a single goal in mind, with only a single intention.
'To be the vessel.'
And to do so, children and infants are subjected to some of the darkest fantasies a person can imagine. Some are taken sexually. Some are forced to feast on the flesh of those pure of heart, usually infants. While there are righteous encounters, there would be nothing angelic about what anyone from the Hells was doing, especially someone like Belphegor.
The foul air was billowing with the winds, slithering against my clothing, with the ever so faint sound of laughter and cries, pleads of mercy, carrying the insanity that could only belong to the Hells.
"A hell gate is beneath our feet,' Said Lilith.
Pushing down this unease creeping into my soul, I sucked in a long hard breath and slowed my emotions, crushing them into dust, as I took a step forward after the boy, who had already started his way down the spiraling stairwell.
It was pitch black, with nodes of Tenebraes blessing refining the darkness, yet with each step we took, an emerald flame lit up and hovered in the pitch of night, carrying its dark glow.
"Arsene," Loki stated solemnly, "You must defend your soul. A single doubt, and you die. Those who've mastered the Dao of Fear are said to control the flow of battle. Remember our goal."
I ignored his words and listened to the harsh echoes of footsteps against the stone beneath my feet. It was subtle, but I could feel Tian Wang shake with each step he took and see goosebumps prickling his skin. The wife was in the same position as she trembled, in his arms, slowly beginning to grasp for air.
It was getting colder with each step, and the emerald torches did little to warm our bodies, not that I needed it, as the cold could not affect me, but there was something about this place that made me feel a chill, unlike anything I've ever felt before.
"Oh, and I forgot, there is another guess hear." The small child informed. "Not physically, but he's here."
I didn't comment.
But by the time we had made it to solid ground, the sinister emerald lighting emanating its glow revealed a cathedral that could be said to come out of the victorian era.
Carved from the stone and away from the wretched sun, I saw a grand sanctuary of ill proportion. The stones were an obsidian black, with intricate markings written over their edges, known as the primal Infernal.
A dialect said to have been uttered by the Fallen born from a demon's womb. It's the origin of the language spoken by both demons and the devil.
My heart picked up its beat, gazing upon one of the noblest of languages written so brazenly over the Cathedral, giving the ambiance a dreadful air that could stifle even the strongest of men.
I shuttered as something tried to pierce my soul when Lilith's arms interloped with mine. She leaned her head against my shoulder and smiled, "The Pontiff went all out. Can you imagine how many died writing those runes?"
"I was never one to be afraid, but it seems even I am subjected to the Dao of Fear," I remarked, unable to stop myself from feeling scorn towards myself.
"One cannot stop a Devil's Heart, so what makes fear different?" She questioned softly, "Both are a Mortal Dao."
I chuckled wryly and pushed ahead towards the Cathedral as hundreds of Emerald Flames came to welcome me and the others.
"Yor'fenli sure has a thing for the theatrics." Said Loki smiling.
"I'd agree, but Mephisto had taken the time to bring up Beelzubub to us, so I can only guess he's the noble Guess," I concluded, glancing at the boy who had not even seemed to flinch at my words.
Like everything was air to him, he stopped before the towering door molded by notable alloy found only in the hells and bowed.
The towering gate trembled, as did the ground beneath our feet, as it opened, revealing a young-looking devil with red horns at the base, but near the end, the horn's revealed a pigmentation that showed a dark color, like that of dried blood. Dressed like a butler, the young man's red skin and scarlet eyes blazing like an inferno welcomed us with a half bow.
"The Master would like to see you in the Sanctuary. It will seem you will be dining there." The Butler said.
A high god? A Peak High God!
Lilith squeezed my arm, but a smile only seemed to show on our faces as we stepped forward at the moment the Butler stepped to the side.
We were greeted by twelve towering statues of a being of dark skin blacker than the deepest night, grim demonic curled horns piercing out on each side of the head of what seemed like a goat's skull.
Each of the twelve statues, six on each side of the hallway with their hands pressing together, seemingly to pray, but I felt more like they were thinking.
Standing from a distance, I could feel their rejection. There was only disgust towards the Heavens, the abyss, and me.
There was only hell here.
No Heaven, no Earth, only Hell.
"Who the fuck are we up against," Said Tian Wang.