In the Heaven Realm, King Constantine, had sent several gods to patrol the plane. In this particular unit, there were the war gods Enis and Lyri, subordinates of General Tasai. They organized the patrol of the troops and sent them out to different regions to keep the peace and fight off demons and spirits if necessary. Enis and Lyri themselves, headed toward the eastern lands to conduct their own investigation. They had originally descended in the North but were now making their way East. Despite the land being vast, they would still make it to the eastern lands in no time. Speed was no issue for a god of the Heaven Realm. Gliding across the land on wisps of clouds formed at their feet, they scanned the surrounding areas until they fell upon a ruined village shrouded in thick fog.
Lyri clutched the pommel of her sword still sheathed at her side in a defensive gesture, while Enis closed his eyes to concentrate. He was trying to see if he could sense any signs of life. He felt nothing. Opening his eyes, he looked to Lyri and shook his head. Lyri still kept her hand on her sword but started toward the village. Enis fell into step beside her and they began to search from the streets.
They passed huts of various sizes and states of dilapidation, occasionally peering into the open doors to find blood splattered across the walls and floors of each home. There were no bodies, however. Strange. They both continued their search for any humans that could still be alive, but once they had made their way to the last hut at the edge of the village, they furrowed their brows in confusion.
This village was small but had been annihilated. There was blood and signs of struggle, but no dead bodies. Just where were the people? Judging by the coagulation of the blood, it hadn't been long since the village had been attacked so where could all of the people have gone. Enis continued to walk and turned the corner of the last hut. He focused his line of sight beyond the trees when his eyes settled on something. Walking toward the trees, what caught his attention, slowly began to come into focus. It was a pile of human remains.
Bodies in different states of decomposition, were stacked on top of each other. Half-eaten faces and body parts littered the ground around them. It was a grizzly sight, but it was the smell that made Enis stiffen. He lifted his gauntlet covered hand and covered his nose and mouth with a displeased look on his face. Just then Lyri came up behind him and gasped. Taking in the sight in front of her, she also covered her face with her forearm.
"Enis! What is the meaning of this? Was the entire village devoured by demons?" Lyri couldn't look at the gruesome sight in front of her any longer. The sight of body parts and half devoured men, women and children were too much for her to bear. Without waiting for a response from Enis she turned on her heel and headed back toward the village. She bent over after retreating to the edge of the village and placed her hands on her knees. She was trying to settle her stomach. The smell was still permeating her nostrils and it was all she could do to keep from gagging. Enis came up behind her with an angry look on his face. He rested a hand on Lyri's back to stabilize her as she bent over on shaky knees before scanning the village around him again.
"I sense small traces of demonic energy. A powerful demon was here," Enis said as he continued to look. He walked over to a hut toward the right of the village and bent down on one knee. He was staring at the ground. Pinching away some dirt from the ground he rolled the soil between his fingers before sticking the tip of his thumb to his lips. His brows then furrowed before saying, "A demon god was here, Lyri." He spat at the ground and stood.
Lyri had finally regained her composure and walked to Enis. "Do we know which one?" Lyri had made it to Enis' side and crossed her arms. He could only shake his head.
"It would seem it wasn't alone," Enis said turning to Lyri. "I believe there were other demons present. I can see the residuals left from their demonic energy. Likely two demons that accompanied the demon god."
"So, they're the ones responsible for this village's destruction? We need to report this to General Tasai immediately," Lyri said to Enis. The situation with the demons was worsening, it would seem. With the appearance of a demon god, they feared that another great war would break out soon. They needed to return to Heaven Realm to prepare.
Upon returning to the heavens, Enis and Lyri were about to report their findings to their General. However, before they could reach the great Tasai Palace they were intercepted by a lower god. He wore the standard uniform of the heavenly couriers, which consisted of light blue robes tied with tan sashes.
"Sorry to impose, but His Majesty, wishes to see you both in the palace of the king. If you could hurry…," the courier gestured toward the king's palace. Both Enis and Lyri frowned but changed direction to walk toward the palace. They were both confused as to why King Constantine would summon them so soon after their mission. They hadn't had a chance to debrief with the General. Surely, he would become incensed at them for reporting to the king before giving him their detailed report. But it couldn't be helped. After all, it was a summons from the king.
Making their way past the great palace doors they walked the grand aisle down to the throne where King Constantine sat waiting for them. Once they arrived within a foot from where he sat, both Enis and Lyri bowed and then knelt on one knee. "Your Majesty," they both said in unison.
"Ah arise, you two," Constantine said with a smile. His soft spoken voice soothed the two gods and they stood once again. "Please report to me your findings from the Demon Plane. You both ascended again so quickly, surely you must have discovered something."
Enis and Lyri shifted uncomfortably on their feet and looked at each other. Constantine's face still kept a serene look as he waited for their response. Finally, Lyri spoke up, "Well, Your Majesty, it would please us to report to you our findings however….," Lyri struggled to finish her sentence before Enis continued for her. "You see Your Majesty, we have not yet had the chance to report to General Tasai. Surely, he would also want to know the details of the report at once."
Constantine smiled and said, "Do not worry, he won't be angry with you two. After all, it was I who summoned you both. Now…tell me what you found." Enis and Lyri sighed in relief before they both reported what happened in that small village they encountered. Constantine looked disturbed at the end of their report. He raised a hand to his chin and gently stroked his jaw in contemplation.
"I see…a demon god resurfacing after so long is indeed not good. And I'm curious as to who the other demons were that accompanied him." Constantine then stood and walked toward Lyri and Enis. He placed a hand on Lyri's shoulder but spoke to them both. "We will have to prepare for war soon. These battles we have had up until now with the demons have been nothing but child's play compared to what's to come. Tell General Tasai, to gather the war gods and prepare them for war soon."
Enis and Lyri nodded their heads in confirmation. Enis then spoke, "That's a wise decision Your Majesty. Surely, there's only a matter of time before another demon god resurfaces. If it's Nostos, we'll be in serious trouble."
Constantine smiled lightly. Looking at Enis he said, "We needn't worry about that one. It's been a long time since he's been seen. I doubt it's him. For now, we need to focus on finding and finally destroying the demon god that has shown his face. We only need to lure him out into the open."
Before anyone could speak further, the palace doors opened and the three gods snapped their heads in the direction of the one who had just entered. It was Sarra.
She walked down the long aisle, footsteps barely being heard before she arrived in front of the three gods. "I'm sorry to interrupt, Your Majesty. I did not know you were holding a private meeting," Sarra said to Constantine.
"Nonsense, I was just finishing up my business with Enis and Lyri," Constantine said. He then looked to the two junior attendants, dismissing them. They gave a quick bow to the king and turning they bowed to Sarra. "Lady Sarra," they both said in unison before walking toward the palace doors.
Constantine waited until after the doors closed before turning his eyes to Sarra. "Now, what can I do for you Sarra? You seem concerned," Constantine looked at Sarra with worried eyes. Etched on her beautiful face was anxiety. "Your Majesty, I have been growing concerned with the Human Plane. The activities from the demons and spirits that reside there are growing more and more pronounced. This is more than their usual mischief and temptation, I fear it will soon spiral out of control if we allow it to continue. If it would please His Majesty, could you allow for me to descend…"
"No," the king interrupted.
Sarra blinked in surprise and then furrowed her brows. Before she could say anything more, Constantine spoke again in a soft tone.
"As you already know Sarra, I have sent gods to investigate the Human Plane, they report to me their findings and assure me things are still under control. The Spiritualists are also there and protect the humans from these evil entities. They are more than capable of fending off the enemy without assistance from the heavens." Constantine then took his left hand and cupped Sarra's cheek before continuing, "I appreciate your concern for the Human Plane Sarra, but it is being handled, rest assured." He dropped his hands and then dismissed her.
Leaving the palace Sarra thought to herself, The king is so sure of the Human Plane's condition, but I am not so confident. The situation was growing more unstable every day and yet the king does nothing…Why is that?
.
.
.
Nessa was seated across from the four elders, engaged in a serious discussion. "You confirmed the fluctuations of energy we all felt, came from a demon. A pretty powerful one you say…," Head Elder Wynn said.
"Yes, the demon is pretty elusive, but does occasionally destroy evil spirits." Nessa said honestly. She wanted to give them accurate information from what she gathered on her surveillance. One of the other elders spoke then, "How does that make sense? Since when do they randomly kill their own unprovoked?"
"I'm not sure, but it is so," Nessa said firmly. The four elders looked amongst themselves before Elder Wynn asked, "And you're are unable to track down this abominable demon? With your skill?"
Nessa felt her cheeks burn. Her of all people should, without a doubt, be able to track such a demon. It wasn't some overly powered demon god, but just a demon who was slightly stronger than the average one. She clenched her fists in her lap while the other elders looked at her with disappointment. But what the elders didn't know was that Nessa knew exactly who that demon was, and had in fact, encountered it twice now. It was Rin. However, despite their judgmental stares, Nessa refused to tell them of this fact. She had decided to keep this information to herself for now.
Shaking herself from the memory of that night at the temple, Nessa sighed dejectedly. That night she sat with the elders was several nights ago and now she was in her loft sitting at the dining room table. She was tired and was beginning to get a headache. Rubbing her fingers against her forehead with one hand, she used the other to pick up her teacup. Taking a sip, she thought about Rin and what to do with him. Suddenly she put her teacup down and clasped her hands together in determination. It was time for her to make a decision. An important decision that could decide the fate of the Human Plane.
.
.
.
It had been several days since Rin had encountered Nessa on the street and was invited back to her loft. That night he had left her home abruptly, feeling like he was about to walk into a trap. Ever since then, he had been on edge. At home, he was moody and constantly in bad spirits. Ruru and Arty didn't like seeing Rin upset so they tried to stay out of his way.
Kief on the other hand, matched his moodiness and made attempts to scold Rin whenever he could. It was annoying him greatly. If Rin were to come home later than usual, Kief would tell Rin how he was slacking off on his chores at home and to stop staying out so late. With the way Kief suddenly began to nag at Rin constantly, he couldn't help but think it was a bit unlike Kief. He had never cared before, so why would he now suddenly be upset?
Things were only slightly better at school. Truthfully, it was a little awkward. Leah would act her usual self, oblivious to the world around her, but Zel had grown a bit distant. Rin didn't really care though, his mind was focused on other issues. He had to find a way to avoid any encounters with more Spiritualists.
It was this thought that made Rin head out toward the city's burial temple one night. It was the only place he could think of where he wouldn't be disturbed. He passed through rows of cenotaphs, a few of which had lit incense atop the stone. He walked all the way to the trees that lay beyond the burial grounds and found a small opening between the large oaks to sit and meditate. Meditating would help him to stabilize his demonic energy and hone it at the same time. He wanted to concentrate on regaining his powers but didn't want to alert any Spiritualists. He sat cross legged, placed his palms flat on his legs and closed his eyes.
While he meditated, the world melted away. His focus so resolute he couldn't hear the distant city noises, the cicadas singing, or grasshoppers chirping. He didn't know how long he sat there until his concentration was finally broken. A demon was there hiding. It wasn't a powerful one as far as he could tell, but he didn't want to take any chances.
Before he could make a move, the demon finally made its presence known and spoke in a broken voice, "come home…you must come back home…" The hair on the back of Rin's neck stood up at that moment. He couldn't see it before but when it spoke it revealed its location behind Rin. Standing up, Rin turned around and now faced the demon that had spoken. It was on its hands and knees and looked like it was crawling. Its disfigured form was bent at an odd angle, dragging its legs along the ground. The face of this demon was horrifying. Its eyes were bloodshot and its lower lids sagged onto its ashen face. Its mouth was twisted awkwardly, yet when it opened its mouth, its sharp teeth were clearly visible. It wore no clothes and as it continued to drag itself toward where Rin stood, bits of skin would be left behind in a trail. Rin was repulsed by the demon and wanted the vile creature out of his sight.
"What do you want?" Rin demanded. The creature stopped in its tracks and repeated itself, "come back home…you've been here too long." Upon hearing this, Rin's face blanched. Just who was this demon and why did it seem like it knew who he was? Rin took a tentative step back as it continued its mantra, "we await your return…come home…"
"This demon…It's not from the Human Plane…could it be that it's from the Demon Plane?" Rin's head was spinning. The Human and Demon Planes were two different realms. Only a few could traverse between the planes and that was the gods of heavens and some select demons. The stronger the demon was, the more likely it would be able to cross into the Human Plane, but it was still rare. The demon before him couldn't have possibly been strong enough to have crossed into the Human Plane. Yet here it was…
Rin was so consumed with his thoughts that his attention had faltered. He didn't notice the demon before him had opened up its black mouth and aimed a demonic power blast right at him. Red light of demonic energy blasted from its putrid throat when Rin suddenly snapped back to attention. He didn't have enough time to dodge the blast and braced himself for the impact when suddenly, white light roared past his left ear and hit the demon head on.
When the light disappeared, there was nothing left of the demon but smoking cinders and ash. What the fuck just happened? Rin thought just as he felt a presence walking up behind him with an extraordinary aura. And it wasn't just any aura. It was the aura of a god, Holy Aura. Shit…Rin prepared himself to attack the god who had just saved him. Clearly the heavens had found out about him and they had sent a god to come subdue him. Rin began to concentrate dark energy into his palm. With the little demonic energy he had, it would only startle the god long enough for Rin to escape. Rin's back was still facing the god and before he second-guessed himself, he turned on his feet and shouted, preparing to unleash his attack.
Turning around, he abruptly stopped in his tracks. The energy he had gathered in his hand had dissipated as he stood there with his mouth agape. He closed his mouth and opened it again, stupefied by who stood before him.
"Rin, I don't want to do this but…I don't have a lot of options, right now. I hope you'll forgive me," a familiar voice rang out. Before him stood a person shrouded in Holy Aura so immense it almost made Rin's knees buckle. He recognized this Holy Aura. He originally thought this person wasn't a god but looking at the scene in front of him now, he instantly knew he was wrong. It was Nessa, and she wasn't smiling.
"Oh, fuck…," was all Rin could utter.