(Today, I, your favorite narrator, will tell you a story. To avoid introducing myself the same way every time, from now on I will simply be N, from Narrator. As you already know from the title of this chapter, today's story is about "The Winged Demon." Let's begin).
In the beautiful wastelands of the Kingdom of Claitus, ruled by King George IV, on the exoplanet Kingdom II, located near the Elven Solar System within the Solar Flower Galaxy, a splendid day was unfolding.
Samuel, a 24-year-old young man, walked joyfully under the sunlight, which bathed his face with a warm glow. At first glance, he was the kindest man in the kingdom, always ready to help others. He worked as a messenger, a cook, and performed multiple trades, but he hid a secret that he never wanted anyone to uncover. However, fate had plans for him, plans that you wouldn't even wish on your worst enemy.
As he walked through the kingdom's market, the bustling merchants and the joy of the people filled the air.
—Hi, Charlie! Hi, Jennifer, you look beautiful today! Hi, Carlos, don't let those sheep escape, or you won't be able to sell them! —Samuel greeted with a radiant smile.
But that smile wouldn't last long. Fate called his name, and a planetary tremor shook every corner of the world, including the Kingdom of Claitus. The majestic castle of the king began to crumble piece by piece. Fortunately, thanks to the intervention of the kingdom's guardians—giants made of stainless steel, brought to life by the fusion of forbidden magic and pure magic—no one was crushed. However, the kingdom's inhabitants would soon wish they had perished in the destruction, for the worst was yet to come.
When the earthquake stopped, everyone believed the worst was over. But Samuel saw something that no one else noticed: a shadow emerging from the gloom, heading toward him with a hoarse and worn voice.
—Samuel Martínez Guzmán, son of Catrina Guzmán Hernández and Pablo Martínez, today is your final judgment. Today you will pay for your sins, for what you did to her.
Samuel, with a pale face and his body paralyzed by fear, asked:
—Who are you?
The shadow emitted a soft laugh and, little by little, revealed its face: a female skull from which worms emerged through its holes. There were still remnants of putrefied flesh clinging to its bony structure, and through the opening of its throat, the vocal cords could be seen, vibrating as it spoke.
—I am Death, and I have come to claim your soul, Samuel Guzmán —she announced, this time with a female voice, though still hoarse.
Samuel stood frozen. A chill ran down his spine, and his body refused to respond. In the blink of an eye, everyone present saw Death, who raised her voice to address the crowd.
—Innocents, do not worry. I will take your souls to paradise. But yours, Samuel, will be the one I most enjoy seeing burn in hell.
With an impossible speed to follow, Death approached Samuel and, creating a grotesque tongue made of worms and rotten flesh, licked his ear. Samuel felt the worms writhing against his skin and, with a strangled scream, immediately stepped back.
Death chuckled softly and, turning around, began to fade into the shadows. Before disappearing completely, she uttered her final warning:
—The Winged Demon will kill you all. And you, Samuel, your heart will be devoured. No matter where you hide, it will always find you.
The silhouette of Death dissipated into the darkness, leaving behind an indescribable feeling of terror. The kingdom's inhabitants were bewildered, but no one more than Samuel, whose heart was racing, stunned by what he had just witnessed and heard.
But there was no time to comprehend the Reaper's message, for the sky, which had previously been beautiful and radiant with its blue color, was suddenly covered by a wave of energy. Everyone saw it travel across the planet, but it didn't stop there—it expanded throughout the universe. (However, let us continue Samuel's story; the consequences in other corners of the cosmos will be addressed later).
The wave of energy slowly faded, leaving behind something no one expected to see, and certainly not from such a close distance...
"A FUCKING TEMPORAL WORMHOLE!" someone shouted from the crowd.
The hole, which manifested right in front of the planet, began to exert its influence. It was not just a simple space tunnel (being temporal, it not only absorbed matter but also sent it through time. It did not have the power to kill, but it could alter the very structure of everything it touched, including living beings), transporting them to unknown places.
The phenomenon began to wrap around the world like a blanket. Many people ran desperately for their lives, while others sought refuge in the shops, naively believing that the fragile structures could offer some form of protection. But what else could they do in the face of something so incomprehensible?
Samuel, the "kindest" man in the kingdom, was in shock, paralyzed by what he saw. It was then that Charlie arrived, shook him, and dragged him into a shop, just before the wormhole covered the entire planet. At that moment, the sky turned black, darker than the night itself, and even the sunlight couldn't penetrate that darkness.
Then, as if the disaster wasn't enough, the magical portals—the key to humanity's travel between planets and moons—were destroyed. Their power stones, the core of their operation, shattered, preventing any escape. (Here, your friend N forgot to mention that humanity expanded throughout the universe thanks to magic and portals found on planets and some moons). And just when everyone thought they had reached the worst moment, the unimaginable happened.
The wormhole disappeared, and for a brief moment, hope was reborn. But when the inhabitants of the kingdom stepped out to see the sunlight, horror hit them head-on. An unimaginable pain ran through their bodies. Everything distorted.
The wormhole reappeared, bigger than before, bringing with it an even crueler fate. It consumed the entire planet and began to deform life within it. Animals twisted their bodies in impossible ways, their skin turned inside out, and their organs were exposed. The people suffered indescribable torment: the pain became so unbearable that their emotions completely shut down. They then understood the gravity of the situation when they saw their own bodies lying on the ground. They were watching the Reaper approach, touching their foreheads, marking each one with a different curse.
However, some received worse punishments. Those who couldn't bear to see their own bodies reentered them prematurely. As a result, they convulsed violently; foam spilled from their mouths as their organs were forcibly expelled. Their brains partially melted, leaving them in a state of atrophied existence, retaining only a minimal trace of consciousness. They became what would later be known as LFM (Living Flesh Mass), beings trapped in eternal suffering. Others, in a no less macabre fate, became human noodles, their bodies elongated and twisted without any sense.
Samuel, however, remained outside of his body, avoiding the fate of becoming an abomination. Then, those who managed to resist the transformation returned to their bodies, and little by little, the survivors began to rise from the ground. Then, inexplicably, the planet reappeared in the universe, in the same location, but with a terrible difference: much of its population was no longer human.
When Samuel and the others looked up at the sky, they realized something alarming. Kingdom II no longer had moons orbiting around it. And worse still, they could clearly see its twin planet, Kingdom I, without the need for a magical observation spell. What they witnessed was horrifying.
They saw how Kingdom I was slowly being devoured by a colossal entity, the size of a planet. The creature tore at the surface of the world with its jaws, savoring each bite as if enjoying a delicious delicacy. Suddenly, the entity lifted its gaze and fixed its many eyes of different sizes upon Kingdom II. But Samuel knew immediately that it wasn't looking at the planet. It was looking at him.
The creature opened one of its three mouths and created a portal. Then, with the lower part of its body, it took a piece of Kingdom I and dragged it into the dimensional vortex. As it disappeared, the impact of its immense body colliding with the remains of the planet caused a shower of asteroids to head directly toward Kingdom II.
To make matters worse, Kingdom I, now fragmented and in ruins, began to dangerously approach its twin world. The survivors, terrified, sought refuge in what was left of their homes, while Samuel watched in shock, unable to comprehend the magnitude of the disaster unfolding before his eyes.
It was Charlie who, once again, snapped him out of his stupor. He grabbed his arm tightly and dragged him out of the store, shouting, "Move your ass, unless you want to be crushed by that!"
What Samuel saw when he stepped outside was a sight of pure horror. The screams of pain and despair echoed in the air. He saw how parents, transformed into deformed monsters, devoured the intestines of their own children through their open stomachs. And worst of all: the children were still alive.
The chaos had begun, and there was no escape.
The atmosphere was thick with the stench of blood and decay. Suffering reflected on every face, while the entity gazed at the planet and used dark telekinesis to manipulate the minds of those who were unprotected. Inside every house or store, there were Anti-Curse amulets, which prevented some from succumbing to its influence, but on the streets, chaos spread uncontrollably.
Cracks appeared out of nowhere, swallowing whole people. Some opened in the heads of the unfortunate, separating skulls from bodies and sending them to unknown places The victims, however, were still alive, feeling every wound due to an invisible magical connection.Charlie shouted at Samuel again:"Let's go before we die here!"They both ran desperately toward the portal, as chaos reigned around them. The crowd pushed and trampled anyone in its way in an attempt to escape. Just as Samuel and Charlie were about to cross, an amalgamation of decaying, dying flesh grabbed onto Samuel's pants and muttered in a broken voice:"S-Samu... Samuel..."Horrified, Samuel stomped on the living mass. But something caught the attention of the crowd. Everyone stopped moving. A deathly silence filled the place. Charlie touched Samuel's shoulder, and as he turned, he felt heavy breathing on his neck.Slowly, Samuel turned and came face to face with a terrifying sight: Charlie was trapped in the claws of a gigantic creature. A winged demon. Its burned skin gave off the stench of ashes and charred flesh. With a single hand, it held Charlie's head. Samuel, paralyzed with terror, watched helplessly as the demon licked his friend's cheek with its rough, long tongue.Suddenly, Samuel saw a figure in the distance. The Grim Reaper. With a macabre smile, the Reaper showed him a strange clock. Then, it placed a skeletal finger to its lips in a gesture of silence and disappeared laughing. Samuel felt a chill run through his body.The demon squeezed Charlie's waist with its other hand. Samuel fell to his knees, pleading for the demon to let her live. But the beast just smiled and, with a brutal movement, began pulling her in opposite directions. Charlie's screams echoed through the air until the demon, annoyed, shoved its claw into her mouth and ripped out her tongue along with her vocal cords. Blood splattered across Samuel's face.Mercilessly, the beast resumed its grim task. Charlie's bones cracked, her skin tore. Desperate, Samuel charged at the demon, hitting it with all his strength. But the creature didn't even flinch. It merely yawned, bored. Other people joined Samuel, throwing stones and sticks, but the demon roared with such intensity that they were all thrown through the air.Without effort, it tore Charlie in two. In one swift movement, it devoured the top half of her body. Then it spat out the bones, leaving her heart intact, still beating. As if it were a trophy, it placed it in a bag.The demon stretched, ready to continue the massacre. It tore off a horn, emptied it with its power, and used it as a trumpet. A chilling sound spread through the air, and then, from the portal, emerged those who had escaped before… but they were no longer human. They were zombies, followed by hordes of demons of various sizes.
Before the creature could give the order to attack, Samuel grabbed the bloodied sword of a fallen knight. His gaze burning with rage, he lifted it and shouted:—"Today, more blood will spill onto the earth, but this time it won't be human! Our comrades will be avenged! And you, spawn, will die by my hand!"
The demon laughed mockingly, but suddenly, an unnatural silence took over the place. A deep, penetrating voice, capable of chilling the blood, was heard:—"I like you, kid. That's why I'll make you an offer. Let us devour your people, and I'll let you escape."
Samuel gritted his teeth in fury. The creature continued:—"By the way, my name is Adrien Colón, but you can call me 'The Winged Demon.' Although I see in your face that you won't accept. So... how about a new deal? I'll return the girl to you, and I'll only take the others. In exchange, you and she will guide me to more humans to torture and consume. What do you say?"
Samuel smiled... and then began to laugh. A manic, uncontrolled laugh that made the demon lose his grin.—"You want me to hand over these good people to save my own skin?" —Samuel mocked—. "What a shitty offer! And your nickname is even worse! 'The Winged Demon,' for God's sake! It sounds ridiculous! Oh, look at me, I'm a demon with wings and I kill humans!" —he said with a mocking tone, while pretending to flap imaginary wings.
The demon frowned. The fun was over.
The Winged Demon became enraged. His fury knew no bounds. Without warning, he launched a fierce attack, accompanied by his army of tiny devils and zombies. Samuel, with his sword in hand, ran toward certain death, and others followed him, even to the very end. Amid the chaos, Samuel heard a voice, whispering and seductive, coming from the shadows of death:—"Not yet, darling..."
Then, a miracle. A giant worm emerged from the depths of the earth, attacking the little devils. (The giant worms had once been simple worms until they mutated through teleportation. They still remembered their arrival and would defend anything related to their homeworld, whether it was objects or living beings.)
The Demon, enraged, lunged at Samuel, grabbing him by the throat. The people around them fought with sticks, but their efforts were in vain. The demons used their abilities to rip out hearts with a single strike. The women were dragged into the portal, and what should have been their hope had now become their doom.
Samuel, on the brink of suffocation from the Demon's grip, decided to stab the monster in the heart with his sword—and he did. But the Demon, showing no signs of pain, the Demon pulled the sword from his own heart without hesitation, without losing a single drop of blood. He didn't need to breathe, he didn't have human organs—well, not all of them.—"Weren't you supposed to be strong, Samuel?" —the Demon said with a cruel smile.
But just when it seemed death would claim Samuel, another worm emerged from the earth, swallowing the Demon's hand. With a scream of pain, the Demon released Samuel, trying to free himself from the beast that was biting him.
Seizing the opportunity, Samuel watched as the people, despite their fear, fought valiantly, but they wouldn't last much longer. With strength, he shouted:—"Retreat! To the portal!"
Everyone began running toward the portal, but Samuel, wounded and on the edge of his strength, realized not everyone would escape. The demons, seeing the weakest, killed them or dragged the women toward their doom. Meanwhile, the Winged Demon approached, his dark presence dominating the battlefield.
When nearly everyone had passed through the portal, Samuel, with the last of his energy, gripped his sword and ran toward the Demon. The Winged Demon rose into the air, ready to deal the fatal blow, but just before it ended, a gleaming strike, like a steel fist, hit the Demon's face, saving Samuel. It was a Guardian.
The Guardian wielded his sword with skill, imbuing it with his magic. The weapon, bathed in demon blood and reinforced with the Guardian's magic, became a deadly tool against the demons.
Samuel, taking advantage of the distraction, ran toward the portal, but saw how the Guardian was thrown through the air, breaking the portal with his impact. The fall caused Samuel to be pulled into a crack that appeared behind the portal. The Guardian, with fierce determination, got up and charged at the Demon, who began using his wings to try to blind the Guardian. However, the Guardian didn't give in, and with superhuman strength, he grabbed the Demon by the tail and slammed him to the ground, causing a small tremor.
The little devils tried to intervene, but the Guardian, with a single swing of his sword, wiped them all out. The few survivors fled to hell. The Winged Demon, wounded but not defeated, rose into the air, licked his wounds, and smiled.—"You're a worthy opponent, better than Samuel. Too bad you don't feel pain, Guardian. Now you'll see my evolution. Thanks to you, I'll reach the rank of Infernal Prince."
The Demon began to prepare his attack, tensing his muscles, while the Guardian gripped his sword with more force. At that moment, a great tremor shook the ground. Both rivals had forgotten that a planet was about to collide with Kingdom II.
The Guardian, seeing the imminent catastrophe, created a shockwave with his sword, sending a powerful strike toward a fragment of rock that contained the portal's power. When the Demon recovered from the blast, he saw the Guardian disappearing through a teleportation portal. In his fury, the Demon roared at the sky, frustrated at having let his perfect rivals escape. However, he left the planet and vanished through a portal of his own making.
Kingdom I collided with Kingdom II, unleashing a devastating explosion. Kingdom I was completely destroyed, leaving Kingdom II with 45% of its surface ravaged and deep cracks that would mark it forever.
Somewhere in the Flor Solar galaxy, on a lush green exoplanet, Samuel fell through the portal—wounded, but alive. The fall through the rift had caused an irreversible change: his once brown eyes now gleamed an intense red, like those of demons.
On the moon of that very exoplanet, the Guardian landed, exhausted. He sensed a strange energy emanating from Samuel, prompting him to hurl his sword down to the world. Meanwhile, Samuel, still bewildered by everything that had transpired, found a glass-like screen on the ground. As he touched it, an image appeared on the screen, making him jump.
—"What is this?" —Samuel muttered, staring at the strange display.
Suddenly, a power-infused rock that had fallen beside him shone brightly, absorbing the data from the glass screen and transferring it directly into Samuel's mind. That's when he understood—the planet Kingdom II had vanished for a period of [Data not yet calculable]. The concept of "present" had ceased to exist, and time itself seemed distorted across several regions of the galaxy—not the entire universe, but in certain places.
—"I just hope this world doesn't have that time-warping effect…" —Samuel murmured, pocketing the rock and setting off toward a new tomorrow—or rather, toward a yesterday. Time, in some places, was no longer what it used to be.
(Well, dear readers, until the next chapter, which will no doubt captivate you. Remember, not all chapters will follow Samuel, and I dis— Wait a moment, the secret scene of this chapter is still missing!)
In a far-off corner of Kingdom II, far from the kingdom of Claitus, stood a cabin that seemed completely abandoned. The remains of what were once human lives lay scattered across the ground—their bodies burned and mutilated, victims of a terrible being. The scene was gruesome, and the air felt heavy, as if Death itself lingered in the atmosphere.
Suddenly, a dark figure emerged from the shadows—Death. With its imposing presence, it began to claim the bodies, commanding them to rise from their slumber, for they had not yet reached the gates of the underworld, where they would finally find the "peace and tranquility" they had been promised.
With a swift and precise motion, Death teleported to the ruins of the kingdom, where the amalgamation of flesh that Samuel had trampled before the arrival of the Winged Demon remained. With a solemn gesture, Death took the deformed mass into its hands and, with a mere touch of its power, brought it back to life.
—"Let's go home, my dear new family," —it murmured, as it carried the resurrected creatures away, leaving behind the destruction and chaos the Demon had wrought.