No one suspected that the first bowl was about to be poured out. Not even the Lord of Anarchy and Chaos—aka Belial—who was still in diaspora after unsuccessfully shaping the leadership in Hell.
Raising his scarf to shield half his handsome, tanned face from the heat waves and the dirt mixed with ashes swarming in the air, Belial dodged the outstretched hands reaching for him from beneath large veils and murky shadows.
Turning toward the crouched figure on the floor—and discovering the four-legged mutation—Belial scrunched his nose at the grotesque creature no one would ever believe had once been human; even Baalzeebub wouldn't contend with this degree of ugliness.
Staring up at the sky, now desolate of any heavenly bodies, he sighed. Two days ago, this place had been a beautiful green park—he could tell by the torn, melted metal fences touching the decaying corpses on the floor.
If he were honest, going on his knees to plead allegiance and forgiveness—to and from Helel—seemed likely, because there was no way he had fled Hell only to stay in this hell.
And although not everywhere was as bad, he couldn't help but wonder if the humans could recover from this.
"Out of the way," came a warning before he was shoved aside by a staggering figure—someone who, by sheer karma or deteriorating physical ability, landed on the floor just behind him.
That was going to die; anyone hit with that amount of heat—enough to dry out half the rivers—had at most twenty-four hours to join the numbers in Hell.
It had been two days since the shrill screech had caught everyone's ears, and the few who had lived through it spoke of the agonizing pain that tore at their skin, the suffocating wind, and, most of all, the sight of everything collapsing.
The first bowl had ravaged the earth; the second bowl was on its way—and even the Eternal knew that none of his creations would survive any further afflictions.
But then… anything to get his point across.
Who's the bad guy now, ehn?
A hand grabbed the hem of his pant. Belial scowled, stomping away the touch. "Hey, bug off!"
The slurpy clump that had once been a hand dropped down as the creature dashed away.
A small chuckle echoed through the eerie silence. "Scarredy cat."
A soft thud landed behind him.
"They'll keep coming, you know," drawled a voice like silk but burning like cyanide. "Ashspawn adore idiots who wander alone."
Belial didn't turn. "Levi. Still stalking me, I see."
Leviathan sat atop a collapsed lamppost, tail flicking. The demon had chosen today's form carefully: a snow-white cat with eyes like polished obsidian. Cute—if you ignored the way its shadow stretched ten feet too long, ending in hooked talons.
Belial glared forward; he had accepted his fate. After all, he had stolen the devil's pet in a bid to escape Hell—and the monster wouldn't just bug off. It could go back to Hell, go back to its master, but the pet demon had developed a fond taste for being a pain in his ass and wasn't about to give it up.
"For a while there I thought you were thinking of actually going back to Hell," Levi purred. "Why? The great Belial, ready to grovel on his knees?"
"And miss this?" Belial gestured at the wasteland. "There's a chance one of these ashspawns might take you for a tasty meal and have a go."
Levi chuckled, "Now that you mention meal, is it just me, or does something smell like sizzled mana…"
With a groan, Belial continued forward among the city ruins; even Hell wasn't this grotesque, nor was the flood this terrifying.
For now, he stopped in front of a half-collapsed diner, its neon "open" sign still buzzing fitfully.
Inside, a family of ashspawns huddled over a destroyed grill, shoving dirt and debris into lipless mouths.
Humans. Belial realized with a jolt—those things were once humans.
Levi's tail brushed his neck. "Aw, is the Lord of Anarchy growing a conscience?"
"Shut up."
"Or what? You'll—"
A scream split the air—high, human, alive.
Human? Alive in this place? After the first bowl?
Belial moved before he could think, dashing over a smoldering car, but the further he moved, the darker it became.
"Fuck it," he whispered, letting his eyes blaze with glowing silver so that he could see everything. He came to a sudden stop at the sight of her.
A girl—maybe ten—crouched beneath a slab of concrete; ashspawns circled her like hyenas, their overly long tongues lolling out and salivating for a taste.
But the strangest thing wasn't that the girl was surviving—it was the light.
Her veins were like golden threads, glowing brighter the more she panicked. And when an ashspawn touched her, the light flared; the creature recoiled, grilled and smoking.
She reeked of mana.
Light bearer. Belial realized, his stomach dropping—the eternal little time bomb.
What was she doing here? Did she fall? His eyes trailed her mud-smudged body.
No, not fall. He should know.
Levi materialized on his shoulder. "Oh, this is rich. You've found Heaven's favorite weapon!"
"She's a kid."
"She's a matchstick. Burn bright, burn fast." The cat's claws pricked his skin. "Let's see her light when I—hey!"
Belial grabbed Levi by the scruff, hurling him into a pile of rubble. "Touch her and I'll turn you into a real cat—litter box included."
"Don't you fucking touch me ever again, bastard!"
He couldn't believe he was doing this, Belial thought, drawing out his sword. The last of his strength lay there, yet here he was, about to waste mana for a light bearer.
"Hey!" he shouted, stepping forward, sword clutched in his right hand. "How about you pick someone your own size?"
Ashspawns' sickly purrs filled the air as their attention flickered toward him, then with a roar they lurched into the air from all sides, intent on getting the first of whatever he was. Belial groaned as he saw the girl pull her knees up to her chin and wrap her arms around them.
He wouldn't survive for long if he didn't find a way to preserve himself.
Still moving with the speed of light, he lurched—this was going to be the last save before he found his way back to Hell.
His sword struck thick clumps of flesh.
Two minutes later, he stood with a frown. Ashspawn bodies littered all around him, greenish, jam-like liquid dripping down the edge of his sword onto the sizzling sand.
"That is the most disgusting shit I ever saw," Levi sang, licking his paw. "Helel will soon be here; your mana is so strong it's choking."
The last manas always were.
The girl stared at him, tears cutting clean cracks through the ash on her face.
She had purple hair and hazel eyes, quite normal now that her lights had dimmed, flickering like the neon sign.
Above them, the sky rippled—a grotesque green stain spreading eastward.
The fucking second bowl. Belial's teeth clenched. At least give the creatures a fucking break.
"Please," the girl whispered, drawing his attention back, "I don't want to glow anymore."
"Ticktock, B," Levi emerged from the rubble, still pristine. "Heaven's next tantrum is coming—leave the brat. She's theirs anyway."
"No, please," the girl sobbed, cutting through Levi's bickering. "Don't leave me."
She staggered up from her covering, her light beaming brightly again as she stumbled toward Belial, shaky fingers clutching the neckline of her white robe.
"Don't..." Her sobs grew stronger as she dropped to her knees. "Please..."
Belial studied the girl. This was going to be hard—not that hard now that he had already made his choice.
This child was a key.
Or a weapon.
Or both.
But she was still a kid...
"We're taking the child," Belial declared, sweeping the girl off her feet. She burned a little.
"That's funny," Levi chuckled. "I thought I heard you say we were taking the girl. Silly."
"We are."
"Are you fucking crazy!"
The girl trembled, her eyes widening at the sight of the cat, then she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, burying her face in his shoulders.
Without a word—as his sword dimmed, the last of its strength—Belial sighed and began making his way toward the light westward.
"So that's it, you're just going to make bad decisions and ignore me?" Levi demanded.
If only it were that easy.
"Hey," Belial whispered as softly as he could, "what's your name?"
He thought she was asleep, but then her light flickered fully off and she murmured, "I don't... I don't know."
Belial hid a sad smile. Of course. "How about Kael—do you like Kael?"
The girl pulled back, her eyes searching his, then with a warm smile she nodded, "Yeah." She nestled back against him as they closed in on the light. "Are you an angel?"
"No," Belial answered, looking heavenward. Was it just him, or were the clouds clearing?
"You smell like an angel."
"You're burning up."
"You know, I could just go back to Hell." Levi appeared beside him, strutting among the ruins like he was on a runway. "But I just can't miss a front row view of your choices blowing up in your face."
Silence.
"Look, man, just promise me we'll drop her off once we find a safe place."
Clutching the girl tightly, Belial muttered, "Okay."
The girl chuckled, and Belial understood. He smiled—another smile in the span of centuries.
"They put the light in me, but I didn't… explode," she whispered drowsily. "The man in white robes said I was a defect. Then the sky screamed, and everyone burned." She held him tighter; she was glowing again. "They'll come back for me."
Yeah, they would—to get things back to order, perfection. That was all they were about. If only she'd learn to control her glow.
Heaven needed to up their game if this was what their light bearers were becoming.
He'd find a way to get back to Hell, but until then...
Belial stared down at his sword—now just an ordinary piece of metal.
Till then...
***
Behind them, a few feet away amid swirling hazy ashes, a dark bluish screen flickered on.
< SYSTEM ACTIVATION SEQUENCE INITIATED >
[User: Belial // Designation: Lord of Anarchy & Chaos]
[Location: Post-Apocalyptic Sector 7 // Time Since First Bowl: 48h 13m]
---
< CURRENT OBJECTIVES UPDATED >
[Primary Objective: Protect Asset "Kael" (Light Bearer // Mana Signature: Ω-9)]
[Secondary Objective: Evade Celestial Hostiles (Helel // Probability of Detection: 87%)]
[Warning: Second Bowl Imminent // ETA: Unknown]
---
< MANA RESERVES >
[Capacity: 10% // Corruption Level: Critical]
[Warning: Mana expenditure exceeding limits. Sustained use risks soul-fracture.]
---
< COMPANION STATUS >
[Name: Leviathan // Designation: Eternal Pain in the Ass]
[Loyalty: Fluctuating // Current Mood: "This is the stupidest questline ever."]
---
< NEW ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED >
[Title: "The One Who Stole Heaven's Spark"]
[Reward: Unknown // Description: You've bonded with a Light Bearer. Heaven now hates you 200% more.]
---
< CRYPTIC MESSAGE RECEIVED >
[Sender: The Eternal]
[Content: "You tread where even shadows fear, Sham Hazai. Return the child, or become the kindling for her flame."]
[Translation: You're so screwed.]
---
< SYSTEM NOTICE >
[Alert: Divine-Paradox Protocol Activated // Kael's "Glow" now synced to your mana core.]
[Effect: Her light now fuels your reserve. Side effects may include: spontaneous combustion, existential dread, becoming a target for literally everyone.]
---
< END TRANSMISSION >
< DISPLAY CORRUPTED >
[Redacted Text Detected: "...she is not what she seems..."]
[Redacted Text Detected: "...the second Bowl will rewrite the rules..."]
[Redacted Text Detected: "...remember the...the..."]
[System Shutdown / Error/]