Darko Cernovsek
Soul Of Vengeance
Year 4,672,210,774 AD. February 11th.
At the end of the world, beneath a dying sun throwing off lethal solar flares that have long since flensed Earth of all life, wildfire winds burning through the xeno-ammonia laced atmosphere, the surface of the hellish planet reaching 3,000 degrees... a pocket of the past still existed. A small, 500x500 meters patch of land. Shielded from the ravages of time and the merciless universal clock, by a power beyond imagination, a single meadow, a farmhouse, and a barn with a beautiful steed in it, were seemingly preserved in a picture-perfect state of tranquility, from four and a half billion years ago. Green grass, clean air, unnatural sunlight, birds chirping in the lone tree next to the house, and a country road leading from the fenced gate to... the edge of the pocket... into the blasted, seared, burnished hellscape beyond. And a vast graveyard behind the house.
In front of the barn, two figures could be seen. A very well-dressed, stately man in a suit, with a strong jaw and piercing blue eyes, and a youngish woman in farm clothes, golden hair cascading down her shoulders in twin braids. She was beautiful, but her green eyes, streaked with tears, also betrayed an ancient... curse, in them.
"Did you find it?" - she asked, frantically, digging through a crate next to the barn.
"If I say yes, will it make a difference?" - the stately man countered with a mocking glare. She stood up, and stomped towards him.
Her fist came flying toward his jaw in a blur, following a scream of rage. He only smirked. Her punch was like a feather touch, on his cleft jawline, doing way more damage to her tender knuckles, then his jaw.
"Awww. Little girl is upset. How sad." - he chided mockingly, crossing his arms, as she cradled her sore knuckles. Then he moved away, feigning a thoughtful expression.
"Hmmm. Will you cry if you don't find it? Or will you throw a tantrum? I wonder..."
"I'm NOT a little girl, you bastard! And I have had enough of all this!" - she yelled at his back.
Still glaring daggers at his back, swallowing a sob, she then stomped over to the wooden fence next to the barn, now starting to dig through horse manure. With her bare hands, not even putting on a pair of work gloves hanging on a rack in the barn.
He looked at her with a disgusted expression on his smirking face.
"Oh my. I always did know you're a dirty girl, but not literally. This is even below your usual low standards. Is it really worth THAT much to you?" - suppressing a fit of laughter.
"Fuck you!" - she screamed in fury, throwing a handful of fecal matter at his face. He ducked it, losing his chuckle.
"Lucky for you that didn't land. Or you would spend the next week, in agony." - he growled. But at least he was no longer amused.
"SO HELP ME FIND IT!!! GIVE IT BACK TO ME!" - she broke down, crying, next to a pile of shit.
"You didn't answer my question. How much is it worth to you?" - he countered, mercilessly.
She wiped her eyes, with her unsoiled hand.
"More then my life." - she pushed out, still glaring daggers at him.
He whistled at that, shaking his head.
"Oh my dear Lianna... you really should be more careful about making proclamations like that, to the devil. I just might take you up on it. I already have your soul. You sold it to me all those eons ago, in exchange for immortality. You sold yourself, you murdered and quartered your entire family for it, offering me their hearts in a blood ritual. Now you wish to give that away in exchange for my help finding what is left of your soul? As far as trades go... that is a poor one indeed."
This was all it took, for her to burst out in tears, in earnest.
"What else is left for me? Living alone, in the world, in this gilded cage, for an eternity?! Time doesn't exist for me. I've condemned my family to damnation, and I've condemned myself. There is no more world. No more life! I'm tired of averting my eyes from that nightmare out there! I want it all to end... and I want my soul back. I know you threw it away as soon as I gave it up... just to torment me more! Hidden it somewhere. Buried it in the dirt. Maybe even made this... cage... from it! Yes, I wanted immortality, and I got it... but what's the point of it, when there is NOTHING left?!" - she raved. But not once, did she express regret for what she did. Not. Once.
She picked herself up off the ground, cheeks streaked with tears.
"I only want my soul back, for that briefest moment, before you release me. P-please." - she approached him, pleading in her eyes.
The devil's eyes grew even colder, if it was possible.
"And why should I do that? How does it benefit me to release you? Do you have any idea how much I have enjoyed having you? Mine, for all eternity? Mine to fuck, mine to use. Mine to control, since you have no-one, and nothing else? Mine to provide you with illusions of happiness, then take them away from you, just to torture you? How many children have we conceived? Millions? And how much pleasure I got, as you watched each and every one of them die in agony, as soon as they were born, as they fell victim to the curse you put yourself under, when you made a deal with me? Do you really think a blood pact with me can be ended so easily?" - pure sadistic pleasure dripping off the demon's lips.
"AAAHHH!" - she swung at him again, but this time he easily caught her arm, and shoved her back down to the ground.
"Enough histrionics. If you wish to give away your immortality for that last fragment of your soul, so be it. But I'm warning you... it may not be what you're expecting. In fact... it may very well be just the opposite." - he growled.
"Wh-what d..do you mean?" - the young woman looked up, wide-eyed.
"Your soul has been slowly corrupted, over time. Existing without you... languishing in limbo. It is full of vengeance now, angst, and rage. It no longer retains any trace of humanity. Your instinct was on point, for you to dig for it in manure. Because that is what it is now. Manure. If I return it to you, you shall not become your old self. You shall become a demon, like me. So there is no such thing as a release. I either keep you this way, an empty shell of a foolish girl, in a gilded cage, sitting upon the corpse of this world... or I restore your soul to you, and you join me in Pandemonium, as my demonic concubine, for all eternity. Your decisions and actions have led you here, and there is no absolution." - he declared, coldly.
"No.... NOO... NOOOOOOOOOOO!" - she screamed, clawing at the flesh, green grass, gnashing her teeth. She screamed, and screamed, until her throat was raw. But she knew it in her heart, that he was telling the truth.
There would be no absolution, for her.
Slowly, she calmed down, looking at her hands. The hands that cut out the hearts of her parents, her brother, and her younger sister. The hands of a monster. Their blood would never be washed off of her. And as much as she tried to summon any trace of remorse for what she did... she failed.
Her expression turned... contemplative. Even as the devil's expression turned knowing, as if he could read her state of mind. Which, of course, he could.
"I'm already a demon. May as well make it official. And anything's better then staying here." - she finally spoke out, with surprising... coldness.
Then she looked up at him.
"And I'll have more power then just to be your fucking toy. I'll make you pay for what you did to me." - with soft menace. He only laughed at that.
"Now, that's the spirit, you nasty little bitch!" - then turned quizzical, "Frankly, part of me was wondering what took you so long to realise your reality. For everything else you were, you never struck me as slow-witted."
She smirked at that, getting up, and wiping her hands on her dress.
"Guess I wasn't thinking clearly. So... what happens now?" - crossing her arms in expectation.
The devil paced away, down the road, towards the gates... and further... towards the edge of oblivion, and the firestorms beyond. He looked back, extending a hand.
"Now you make a final choice. Stay here, and remain Lianna. A shell. A slave with no soul. Or join me... and become Lilith. The Snake. The Succubus. The Temptation leading to Death. You will become my herald, and my consort, when the next world arises, and the foolish cattle flock to our worship. I am Lucifer. I am eternal. But there must always be a Lilith, at the beginning of each new cycle. You have proven yourself worthy."
Not looking back again, he opened the gate, and paced down the road, towards the edge.
She smiled wickedly, not a trace of fear or sorrow remaining in her eyes..
"Well... time to take the old country road again." - and followed him.
At the end of the world, beneath a dying sun throwing off lethal solar flares that have long since flensed Earth of all life, wildfire winds burning through the xeno-ammonia laced atmosphere, the surface of the hellish planet reaching 3,000 degrees... a pocket of the past still existed. A small, 500x500 meters patch of land. Shielded from the ravages of time and the merciless universal clock, by a power beyond imagination, a single meadow, a farmhouse, and a barn with a beautiful steed in it, were seemingly preserved in a picture-perfect state of tranquility, from four and a half billion years ago. Green grass, clean air, unnatural sunlight, birds chirping in the lone tree next to the house, and a country road leading from the fenced gate to... the edge of the pocket... into the blasted, seared, burnished hellscape beyond. And a vast graveyard behind the house.
In front of the barn, two figures could be seen. A very well-dressed, stately man in a suit, with a strong jaw and piercing blue eyes, and a youngish woman in farm clothes, golden hair cascading down her shoulders in twin braids. She was beautiful, but her green eyes, streaked with tears, also betrayed an ancient... curse, in them.
"Did you find it?" - she asked, frantically, digging through a crate next to the barn.
"If I say yes, will it make a difference?" - the stately man countered with a mocking glare. She stood up, and stomped towards him.
Her fist came flying toward his jaw in a blur, following a scream of rage. He only smirked. Her punch was like a feather touch, on his cleft jawline, doing way more damage to her tender knuckles, then his jaw.
"Awww. Little girl is upset. How sad." - he chided mockingly, crossing his arms, as she cradled her sore knuckles. Then he moved away, feigning a thoughtful expression.
"Hmmm. Will you cry if you don't find it? Or will you throw a tantrum? I wonder..."
"I'm NOT a little girl, you bastard! And I have had enough of all this!" - she yelled at his back.
Still glaring daggers at his back, swallowing a sob, she then stomped over to the wooden fence next to the barn, now starting to dig through horse manure. With her bare hands, not even putting on a pair of work gloves hanging on a rack in the barn.
He looked at her with a disgusted expression on his smirking face.
"Oh my. I always did know you're a dirty girl, but not literally. This is even below your usual low standards. Is it really worth THAT much to you?" - suppressing a fit of laughter.
"Fuck you!" - she screamed in fury, throwing a handful of fecal matter at his face. He ducked it, losing his chuckle.
"Lucky for you that didn't land. Or you would spend the next week, in agony." - he growled. But at least he was no longer amused.
"SO HELP ME FIND IT!!! GIVE IT BACK TO ME!" - she broke down, crying, next to a pile of shit.
"You didn't answer my question. How much is it worth to you?" - he countered, mercilessly.
She wiped her eyes, with her unsoiled hand.
"More then my life." - she pushed out, still glaring daggers at him.
He whistled at that, shaking his head.
"Oh my dear Lianna... you really should be more careful about making proclamations like that, to the devil. I just might take you up on it. I already have your soul. You sold it to me all those eons ago, in exchange for immortality. You sold yourself, you murdered and quartered your entire family for it, offering me their hearts in a blood ritual. Now you wish to give that away in exchange for my help finding what is left of your soul? As far as trades go... that is a poor one indeed."
This was all it took, for her to burst out in tears, in earnest.
"What else is left for me? Living alone, in the world, in this gilded cage, for an eternity?! Time doesn't exist for me. I've condemned my family to damnation, and I've condemned myself. There is no more world. No more life! I'm tired of averting my eyes from that nightmare out there! I want it all to end... and I want my soul back. I know you threw it away as soon as I gave it up... just to torment me more! Hidden it somewhere. Buried it in the dirt. Maybe even made this... cage... from it! Yes, I wanted immortality, and I got it... but what's the point of it, when there is NOTHING left?!" - she raved. But not once, did she express regret for what she did. Not. Once.
She picked herself up off the ground, cheeks streaked with tears.
"I only want my soul back, for that briefest moment, before you release me. P-please." - she approached him, pleading in her eyes.
The devil's eyes grew even colder, if it was possible.
"And why should I do that? How does it benefit me to release you? Do you have any idea how much I have enjoyed having you? Mine, for all eternity? Mine to fuck, mine to use. Mine to control, since you have no-one, and nothing else? Mine to provide you with illusions of happiness, then take them away from you, just to torture you? How many children have we conceived? Millions? And how much pleasure I got, as you watched each and every one of them die in agony, as soon as they were born, as they fell victim to the curse you put yourself under, when you made a deal with me? Do you really think a blood pact with me can be ended so easily?" - pure sadistic pleasure dripping off the demon's lips.
"AAAHHH!" - she swung at him again, but this time he easily caught her arm, and shoved her back down to the ground.
"Enough histrionics. If you wish to give away your immortality for that last fragment of your soul, so be it. But I'm warning you... it may not be what you're expecting. In fact... it may very well be just the opposite." - he growled.
"Wh-what d..do you mean?" - the young woman looked up, wide-eyed.
"Your soul has been slowly corrupted, over time. Existing without you... languishing in limbo. It is full of vengeance now, angst, and rage. It no longer retains any trace of humanity. Your instinct was on point, for you to dig for it in manure. Because that is what it is now. Manure. If I return it to you, you shall not become your old self. You shall become a demon, like me. So there is no such thing as a release. I either keep you this way, an empty shell of a foolish girl, in a gilded cage, sitting upon the corpse of this world... or I restore your soul to you, and you join me in Pandemonium, as my demonic concubine, for all eternity. Your decisions and actions have led you here, and there is no absolution." - he declared, coldly.
"No.... NOO... NOOOOOOOOOOO!" - she screamed, clawing at the flesh, green grass, gnashing her teeth. She screamed, and screamed, until her throat was raw. But she knew it in her heart, that he was telling the truth.
There would be no absolution, for her.
Slowly, she calmed down, looking at her hands. The hands that cut out the hearts of her parents, her brother, and her younger sister. The hands of a monster. Their blood would never be washed off of her. And as much as she tried to summon any trace of remorse for what she did... she failed.
Her expression turned... contemplative. Even as the devil's expression turned knowing, as if he could read her state of mind. Which, of course, he could.
"I'm already a demon. May as well make it official. And anything's better then staying here." - she finally spoke out, with surprising... coldness.
Then she looked up at him.
"And I'll have more power then just to be your fucking toy. I'll make you pay for what you did to me." - with soft menace. He only laughed at that.
"Now, that's the spirit, you nasty little bitch!" - then turned quizzical, "Frankly, part of me was wondering what took you so long to realise your reality. For everything else you were, you never struck me as slow-witted."
She smirked at that, getting up, and wiping her hands on her dress.
"Guess I wasn't thinking clearly. So... what happens now?" - crossing her arms in expectation.
The devil paced away, down the road, towards the gates... and further... towards the edge of oblivion, and the firestorms beyond. He looked back, extending a hand.
"Now you make a final choice. Stay here, and remain Lianna. A shell. A slave with no soul. Or join me... and become Lilith. The Snake. The Succubus. The Temptation leading to Death. You will become my herald, and my consort, when the next world arises, and the foolish cattle flock to our worship. I am Lucifer. I am eternal. But there must always be a Lilith, at the beginning of each new cycle. You have proven yourself worthy."
Not looking back again, he opened the gate, and paced down the road, towards the edge.
She smiled wickedly, not a trace of fear or sorrow remaining in her eyes..
"Well... time to take the old country road again." - and followed him.