Derrick woke up in what looked like a void. There was no light, no dark, no noise or even any sensation of movement, yet he could still hear breathing, feel the wind that caressed his face and arms as if it had actually come through the air.
"You're awake." A voice spoke in his mind. It sounded vaguely familiar. He tried to put together who it might belong too. "I thought you wouldn't be so quick to get here."
He turned around trying to see where the voice was coming from, but couldn't make out anything. Then it hit him. He really was dead and had no chance of resurrection . His eyes filled with tears.
"Don't cry." The voice said again.
Was it just a dream? A memory? He shook his head. No it wasn't, not one bit. "I know it's a little bit strange but you need to bear with me." The voice echoed once again. "And who are you?" Derrick asked as he turned around still trying to find who it was that spoke.
He saw nothing. It was completely black, not a single sound nor a speck of light to be seen. Just an endless abyss surrounding him on all sides. He took one more look around trying to decide whether this was indeed a memory or if it was truly happening.
"I have to give you some answers, I'm afraid." The voice began explaining. "But don't be alarmed. I promise nothing will happen unless you allow it to."
The voice paused, giving Derrick time to compose himself before continuing. "I am the Void or Nothing if you will. I am where angels and demons come to when they die, call it am afterlife for their kind." The figure explained. "Anyone who comes here is cursed to an eternal sleep but for some reason, you seem to have awoken. Why is that?" The figure questioned?
Derrick didn't respond right away, choosing instead to let the question hang in the air. He knew exactly why he was here but didn't quite know how to explain it without sounding crazy.
"I don't know... I just felt something calling me here and then I woke up here…" Derrick paused. "This would be a whole lot better if I had a physical form to look at." Derrick said and with that a figure appeared before Derrick looking very much like him, one could say it was like looking into a very detailed mirror.
"Now where were we?" The Void asked as he folded his hands. Derrick nodded. "Oh yes. You wanted some answers. So what are they?" The Void questioned.
Derrick thought back to what happened before he passed out. That day he lost to Lucifer, Lucifer ripping out his wings, then nothing before he awoke in this place. He thought of what the demons would be going through now that he's gone, What would Wrath have become? Would they all go back to Lucifer? All these thoughts spiralled through Derrick's head faster than he could process them.
He was finally able to take a breath before answering the Void. "I need to ask you about something first." He said as he sat cross legged. The Void nodded. "Shoot." He replied.
"How can I go back?" Derrick asked hesitantly. "Well... you can't. You've served your purpose and now, it's time for you to rest." The Empty said with a straight face.
Derrick frowned. "What? Wait, I didn't do anything! What did I miss?! How does being asleep bring me back!" Derrick shouted.
The Void sighed. "You're not supposed to wake up." The Void said. "Why?!" Derrick yelled even louder.
"Look, kid I didn't make the rules, and you're no exception. Please go back to sleep, this is a quiet place and the noise is infuriating. And please don't try to fight me because the second you do your death will be inevitable. Now go to sleep or I'll make sure you never wake up again." The Void threatened.
With that he disappeared before Derrick could answer him and left him alone once again in the darkness. With a sigh, Derrick laid down and closed his eyes, as he tried to sleep a thought came across his mind. 'What if I just ran? There has to be some sort of door around here.' Derrick thought to himself as he got up once again. "I've got to try." Derrick said before he took to his heels and made a run for it.
When he ran for a while, the Void stood still waiting for him with a smug smile on his face. "Goodbye now." He said as he raised his hand and sent bolts of energy in every direction, hitting Derrick and sending him flying backwards. He landed hard on a patch of ground covered in thorns that pierced into his flesh, leaving deep scratches everywhere. "You should have listened..." The Void stated before teleporting away.
Derrick stood up quickly, wincing slightly as pain shot throughout him from the wounds he sustained. His entire body ached but somehow he managed to stagger forward. He stopped for a moment when he heard the Void laughing behind him, but he soon continued on his way. The only thing he was focused on was finding a door and getting home.
Derrick was starting to feel dizzy as he began to consider giving up and going on the eternal sleep when a thought crossed his mind. "What if I've been going about this wrong? What if the gate has been in front of me all this while?" He wondered. As he kept running he suddenly decided to stop as he turned around to call the Void. "Hey! I need you to come here now!" Derrick called out.
The Void floated towards Derrick as if pulled by invisible strings. "I know how to get out now, and if I'm right you have to let me go." Derrick pleaded. "What makes you think I care about your problems? I've already told you, I'm doing you a favor by letting you pass without torture and endless torment." The Void said as he hovered there in front of Derrick. "You need me to sleep in order for you too to sleep, and as long as I'm awake it irritates you. To be awake for this long must be torture considering the fact that I'm probably just a protozoa compared to you." Derrick said with a smirk.
The Void stared at him for a second before he laughed again. Derrick noticed that it sounded a little forced, like the Void was holding back some sort of emotion. Derrick knew he was playing a dangerous game but he was tired of running in circles that led to nowhere. At least he was beginning to learn something new about the place he found himself in.
The Void flew closer to Derrick and looked directly into his eyes, causing Derrick to stagger slightly. "What do you want from me?" The Void asked him, tilting his head to the side. "I want you to help me get home. I want you to take me home." Derrick answered truthfully.
The Void looked him over a few times before nodding his head, seeming to have decided something. "Very well. Follow me, I won't lie to you, you really are a tough case. But then again I will be seeing you soon." The Void said as he laid his hand on Derrick before a bright light erupted from his body and with a deep breath Derrick was back in the land of the living, startling Pride and the other prisoners in Lucifer's cage.
It took a second for Derrick to realize where he was, but it didn't take long for him to understand why the others were so shocked to see that he actually came back to life. He turned to look around at his surroundings and was taken aback by what he saw. He saw the seven demons in a terrible state, blood was all over their clothes and they all were bound in chains as if chained together. Some were bleeding from many different places which showed how much trouble they were having just to stay alive.
The sight gave Derrick shivers, he had never seen anything like that in his entire life and yet here he was. The others were staring at him wide eyed and their mouths hanging open. "S... Sloth?" Derrick said as he turned to look at Sloth who still had a shocked expression on his face. "Derrick! Derrick is alive!" He cried out happily as he ran to meet him.
"S...Sloth…? Are you alright?" Derrick stammered in shock. The others slowly walked up to him as well, most of them looking just as shocked as Sloth. "We thought for certain that we'd never see you again…" Pride said as tears flowed freely from his eyes.
"Yeah. It's great to see you again man… We were worried sick about you." Envy said wiping his eyes as he smiled brightly. "Are you guys okay? Where's everybody else?" Derrick asked nervously.
Pride shook his head sadly. "Lust didn't make it, he died in the battle against the archangels. What about your wings?" Pride asked as he gestured to Derrick's backside which was now red from all the bleeding Derrick glanced at it then looked at Pride with an ashamed look. "They were ripped off, I'm sorry." Derrick said guiltily.
Pride couldn't help but feel sorry for his friend. "It's alright, we need to find a way out of here." Greed said as he emerged from where he'd been sitting. "Yeah I agree... where... is here exactly?" Derrick asked. "Lucifer's cage. We're in Hell." Envy said as Derrick wore a shocked expression on his face.