Dancing In The Void

Part 69: The Sun Will Set



Uriel floated down on the soft grass next to Constantine, staring up at the starlit night sky that seemed so high above.

There was a quiet moment of tranquility that passed between them. Both tired after a long day of arduous mental and physical training. She did not know what Constantine was thinking at that moment. If she strained herself, she could peer within and find out, but her mind would rather focus on the stars. The clouds and darkness that stretched over the sky ever since her powers and Katherine's hand unleashed the eclipse seemed to swallow all semblance of light and hope. Even the very sun seemed to shine less bright each day. But here and now, the two of them looked up, and the twinkling lights shone down upon them. The crescent moon's blue light seemed to smile at her, with reassurance and grace as the darkness was powerless to touch it.

Is that you smiling down upon me, Grand-Mother? Is it even right to call the moon that…? Uriel thought, her brow furrowing slightly. I mean its not wrong…

Her thoughts were interrupted by a light melody that Constantine hummed to himself. She blinked a few times, and then quietly listened to him for a while. It was pleasant, cheerful yet soft, a side of Constantine she rarely got to see nowadays, all focused on his training and the mission. He paused all of a sudden, sensing he was being spied on.

"Hmm? What?" He chuckled, trying not to show his embarrassment.

"Nothing, I was… enjoying it." Uriel said sincerely, her voice echoing in her angelic manner. "What was it?"

"Oh… n-nothing important…"

"Oo, alright." Uriel said, trying to sound slightly disappointed. Her wings slumped sadly.

Constantine sighed, and Uriel smirked. "It was a… lullaby." He said, and a deep sadness revealed itself from within his eyes. "My mom… she sang it to me when I was really really young. Its… one of the few things I can actually remember of her." He chuckled. "I remember after she was gone, even my dad would sing it to me at night… that was before he lost his mind."

"I'm sorry to hear that Constantine… how did she die?"

Constantine laughed heartily. "You need to learn to be more tactful, Uriel. You don't just bluntly ask someone how their relative died when they're opening up to you about something real personal like that!"

Uriel pouted, embarrassment shining on her face as she turned away. "S-sorry."

"Heh, don't worry I'm just teasing you. Trying to lighten the mood and all. But to answer your question, I don't know. She was just… gone one day. And that led to my dad losing his mind over the years trying to find her again…"

Silence lingered between them, threatening to ruin the pleasantry of their peaceful moment. Before Uriel could ask another awkward question in an attempt to carry on the conversation, Constantine intervened, singing softly with a trembling voice.

"High above the stars,

Beyond light, beyond dark,
The maiden alone weaves her thread.

Her smile bright with love,
Silver needle in hand,
Heaven-sown by the tears that she sheds.

She yearns for the lost,
The ghosts of her past,

And all painful memories left unsaid,

So she weaves her soul
In an unending strand,
That they all might gain life beyond death.

So she'll never be alone,
Never, be alone,
Never, be alone,

Be alone,
Be alone,

Anymore."

Uriel stared at him, frozen by the beauty of the melody. Her eyes began to well up with tears, and thus she turned away not letting Constantine see her.

"W-wow… its quite a beautiful melody, my love." She said softly. There was another moment of silence during which she saw Constantine wipe away his tears before he spoke.

"I like to imagine she's up there somewhere, looking over me. Guiding me. I hope…" He sighed, and laid back down onto the chill grass.

Uriel scooched herself over and tried sitting down next to him, but instead she accidentally fluttered her wing in his face. They shared a hearty laugh.

"What are you doing, Uriel?" He chuckled with a mouthful of feathers.

"I… wanted to sit beside you." She said, mildly disappointed. She positioned herself next to his head, kneeling with her feet off to the side. Seeing his opportunity, Constantine pulled himself up closer to her, resting his head against her soft thighs.

"How's this?" He said coolly.

Uriel's pale cheeks turned a deep red, but she did not seem to mind. "This is… acceptable." She said as she put her hand on Constantine's head, massaging his head and ruffling his hair gently.

"This is… very acceptable." He echoed her, smiling as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensation.

"So what were you hoping for Constantine?"

"What I was hoping for? I… don't really know, I wish for many things… Right now I was hoping I'd get the chance to make my mom proud, if she really is watching over me. Hah!" Constantine suddenly laughed.

"What's so funny?" Uriel asked.

"Talking about her… just reminded me of an old memory, one of the best days of my life. When I was a toddler, mom took us on a trip to the Sea of Sunsets. Have you ever seen the sea?" Constantine asked, his voice brimming with joy and curiosity.

"No. I have not. I've heard of them though, and I saw the Danaway river from Gausville. I believe that same river passes near here in Venandis as well…"

"Well, trust me, its much bigger than a mere river. But to be honest, the sea was nothing during the day compared to the beach. The beach was king when the sun was high. Dunes of flowing, soft, hot-white sand stretching in every direction. I remember by the edge of the sea she taught me how to dig up seashells from the wet sand. Where all the good spots were, between the ebbs and flows of the waves. I always liked finding those spiral ones, especially big complete ones…" Constantine said, looking up at Uriel with a gleeful smile, before he leaned back and closed his eyes once more. "Then, after a tiring day of digging and running around, the sun would set… like it always does. That's when the sea transformed. The water near the sand had this weird plantlife in it that absorbs light during the day, then, at night, the entire sea lit up as if it was on fire. It was incredible… I hope I get to show it all to you one day. We could compete to see who can find the most cool-looking seashells!"

"That sounds… absolutely amazing. I would love nothing more than to see that with you!" Uriel said, her cheeks beaming, but her joy faded briefly, remembering that there was much to go before she could see such beauty. "I'm sure you will make your mom proud Constantine. All this hard work you've been putting in, it'll pay off. You'll see. No demons could stand before us."

Constantine nodded, and opened his eyes. "The world seems so stacked against us, as if fate itself fights against our desires. But I know we can endure, both of us. I hope I get to make you proud too. When the time comes."

Uriel's hand froze, she then gently moved it to caress his cheek. "Well, I hope when the time comes, we'll both make each other proud, fate be damned." She said, her echo brimming with reassurance. With her heart filled with joy and hope, Uriel looked up at the moon and stars. She then smiled peacefully before she bent down and kissed Constantine on the lips.

Uriel advanced with caution, making sure whatever awaited her deeper in the dark catacombs of Dudael had no warning of her approach. Her heart was filled with sounds of screams, and steel striking against steel. With a single bead of sweat dripping down her face, she flew forward. The tunnel she was in opened into a larger cavern with many diverging paths littered by dozens of corpses, of men, demons and monsters alike. Charred corpses that looked as if they had been shredded to bits by something vicious.

"Haah… haah…" Heaved the only man left standing in the middle of the arena. He yanked on his chain, pulling it back through the blood and sinew of those unfortunate to cross him. His hand rested limply near the tip, against the dripping morningstar. He wiped some blood off of it before he set it down against a notch on his belt. "Damn there's a lot of these bastards here…" He said. "I can't believe I lost the snake and then myself…"

Uriel approached with quiet steps, trying to gauge whether this person was a threat to her or not.

Should I attack him while I have the chance? She briefly considered. No, its not right. He does not seem like a monster, though there is no doubt in my eyes, he is a demon. Very well, let's see which side you're on…

"I found it is quite easy to get lost down here… especially after a chaotic battle." Uriel called out from atop a pile of rubble, still wearily keeping her distance.

"Jeez don't sneak up on me man- Wait…" The demon jumped, ready to unleash his weapon, but who his eyes laid upon gave him pause. "No… fuckin way." He grinned, but his eyes were brimming with fear and concern. "Never imagined I'd run into the angel down here… Damn!"

"The angel? I take it you know me…?"

"Know you? Hauh." The demon scoffed. "You're like the hottest topic among demons right now. Especially our boss, he talked about you lots. An awful lot, I'd say he's obsessed with you. Getting an angel on his hands is why I think we even came here… Anyway I'm Kaidan, a demon, but guessing you figured as much."

"My name is Uriel Fladium, an angel but I guess that was also apparent. I would say it's a pleasure but I haven't decided if that is the case yet." Uriel said, fluttering her wings during her introduction. "I was not aware that I'd gained a reputation in the underworld."

"You sure have… Our boss brings you up quite frequently, and how he needs an angel to fulfill his plans. So what brings you here in this darkness, angel-girl?" He said, relaxing his pose somewhat.

"The warden, we fought earlier. But I'm here with the intent of rescuing my friends. They are deeper in the prison." Uriel answered plainly.

"Oh… you fought him huh… I got lucky, I didn't yet run into him. I've mainly been chasing his top underling, scuffled with her a bit but she escaped. But she's on the prowl around somewhere… I know it."

Top underling… and she's around? Hmm, whoever this is, I have to be careful then…

"Listen, Kaidan… I appreciate finding someone sane to converse with down here, the dark corridors were quite samey and monotonous… but I'm in a hurry to reach my friends like I said. I have to keep going deeper down, and you're in my way. You will let me pass, will you not?" Uriel said, her voice echoing with an intimidating aura.

Kaidan sucked air through his teeth long and hard, before letting out a sigh. "Man, this was going real well too. I was enjoying just shooting the shit for a bit there." He said, his body stiffening, his pose turned to minimize himself as a target while also hiding his hand reaching for his weapon. "Unfortunately Angel-girl, I can't just 'let you pass'. Boss' orders."

Uriel flexed her palm forward towards Kaidan, forming a ring of three golden blades around her wrist. "You do not want this fight, Kaidan!"

"No I really don't…" He said, smiling dejectedly. "Don't really have much choice though. Besides…"

With a flash of his hand, he flicked the morningstar forward towards Uriel. The flaming ball of metal was barrelling towards her from the left, and she quickly moved her blades to defend against it. However, the instant she moved her arms, and thus her blades, the ball froze in the air. Kaiden yanked on the chain that wrapped around his chest and shoulder and twirled the rest of it around his hand in an unusual manner. The motion completely shifted the spikeball's direction as it spun away through the air, and now it barrelled towards Uriel's completely exposed right side.

"...I know you don't want this fight either!" Kaidan shouted as his weapon smashed against Uriel's ribs, sending her flying into the walls of the cavern. She attempted to block some of the impact with her arm, but to no great success.

"Ghuuuh!" She groaned in pain, droplets of blood spitting from her mouth. Her heart thumped for an instant, and she leaped forward, gritting her teeth through the pain. She dashed through the air, unleashing a flurry of light swords towards Kaidan, but her mark was not found. The fiery chain flicked through the air deflecting them away. On top of that, Kaidan himself was agile on his feet, never still and never stopping his back and forth onslaught.

Uriel was trapped in the air, forced to block or avoid Kaidan's blows, no opening left to be found. So fast, so savage were his attacks, that Uriel felt she was being pummeled by at least a dozen flaming morningstars on a chain, instead of just one. The cavern itself could not hold back their onslaught, as his chain smashed into its walls, chunks of rubble and stone flying everywhere and littering their battleground.

"HAHAHAH! Come on! Show me more! Stop holding back! I'm supposed to believe you went toe to toe with Asmodeus? Get real!"

"Thsk!" Uriel grunted at her aggressor's taunt. Unwilling to just accept such an insult, her body tensed with determination. First, she jumped back into the air, trying to gain a bit of distance and reset herself. Her hand then moved through the air in a graceful, flowing motion, and the line she drew soon sparkled with the light of a dozen more blades. The swords surrounded her, flowing and dancing around her body following every motion of her hands, and before Kaidan could realize and retaliate, she plummeted forward towards him. Uriel attacked with vicious force as Kaidan jumped and dodged, swinging his weapon wildly in an attempt to block her slicing maelstrom. The clashing of burning red steel against her golden flaming blades showered the depths of the prison with a spectacular and dazzling array of rainbow sparks. Still he was just barely out of reach, just barely fast enough to avoid the dancing lights, just strong enough to deflect them away!

NO! It's still not enough? No… Uriel screamed in her mind as sweat dripped from her brow. No! I am an angel, I am stronger than you, I am faster than you! Push harder, I must push harder, through the pain, through my doubts, here, now, push through his defenses, Uriel! Push through! Her eyes flared with brilliant flaming light, and her blades shone brighter with valiant fury. Her movements quickened, her strikes fell harder, and her blades cut sharper, closer and closer to their target.

Kaidan was now noticeably sweating, his confident smile rapidly fading as he attempted just to keep himself alive. He had gone fully on the defensive, but even so, his space was running out rapidly. The constant barrage of blades was wearing him down, and as he danced on the razor's edge, a single slip would be his undoing. Uriel had cleverly been pushing him all this time in the direction of a pile of rubble the two of them had created during the battle. He was not as lucky as her to be able to fly, and the precarious ground slipped beneath his foot, causing his chain, a weapon that needed precise movements and inertia, to stumble. His defenses faltered for only a moment, but it was enough. Uriel's blades exploded towards him, sending his chain flying from his hand and giving her a clear path toward her wide open opponent.

"PUSH, THROUGH!" Uriel screamed with fervor as she flew towards Kaidan. Her wings propelled her in a spinning motion forward as she thrust her metal leg directly into his chest, below his neck. A debilitatingly powerful blow that sent him flying back into the walls of their arena, carving a dent in the porous rock. His body lingered there for a moment, before it peeled from the wall and fell face first onto the floor, several small chunks of stone falling afterwards on his back. His chain clinked as it fell to the floor near him, the morningstar thumping to the ground and rolling gently towards him. It tapped him on the bald side of his head, its flames now extinguished.

"G-ghiuurh…" He groaned as he lay there trying to absorb the pain. "Thhhch, thhch, That's… w-what I get for thhch-taunting an angel…" He said, coughing between his words.

The clacking of Uriel's boots against the floor as she landed woke him back to reality. "My earlier offer still stands." Uriel said, looking down on him. The golden flames around her eyes and wrists now faded into nether shards, only a slight ring remaining around her right hand.

Kaidan slowly pulled himself together, trying to recover from the pain in his body, in his chest especially. He spat blood as he pulled himself into a fetal position, before he rolled around on his back, facing his victor. He panted, taking deep, pained, gasping breaths, his whole body unspooled before her, as he lay in his uncomfortable bed of rocks. All the while, Uriel watched him, listening to the annoyingly pitiful clinkling of his chain.

"Y-you…" Kaidan began after a while, when he had recovered his vigor somewhat. "You had me wide open there… you beat me good. Why'd you hold back? Y-you coulda torn me to shreds with your blades. But you didn't… why?"

Uriel pondered for a moment. "I don't enjoy needless bloodshed." She said. "I defeated you, that's all that matters."

There was silence for a moment, before Kaidan exploded, startling her. "That's fucking HORSESHIT!" He shouted. "You really think so little of me? I could have been some pawn of Asmodeus, some real fucking sicko, and you say I don't deserve your proper strength? You're so stupid!" He screamed, angry, and weak. "Such an idiotic decision could get you killed!"

"But you weren't. I made sure of it, I looked within your soul when I arrived." Uriel said calmly. "You fought bravely, and I fought you with all my heart. Do you truly want me to kill you?" She asked, manifesting a blade of light in front of his face, his trembling lip betraying his desires. "That's precisely it, isn't it? You yearn for death, desire it. That's why you threw yourself at me so willingly, is it not?"

"Yeah aren't you fucking cool?" He lashed out at her. "What are you, my fucking psychiatrist? Of course I want to fucking… I just… thought I could finally be free." He mumbled, with disappointment in his hoarse voice. "Or at best, if I did somehow win, I'd be the fucking demon prick that managed to defeat the angel, and bring her to Octavian, imagine that." He smirked, but his smile quickly faded as another painful cough erupted from his chest.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"I will not strike down a helpless enemy, demon or not, you're free to find a hole in this prison to die in without my help." Uriel said, crossing her arms and turning away. But as she moved to make a single step, an aching in her soul compelled her to turn and speak once more. Her voice was softer this time, her echo less grandiose. "I know what it's like to be there on the precipice of despair. To believe that there's nothing left but death, but even there on the cusp, I was pulled back from the endless void. I made the choice to stand once again."

"Heh, hehe… You know?" Kaidan giggled hysterically. "How could you possibly know what its like? What it's like to be a demon? To have a cursed, tormented existence, bound to the whims of some man or demon that doesn't give two squirts of shit about me? How could the cool, sexy angel with the flaming swords and wings possibly know what that's like?"

"I am half-demon, my father is the inanimaliat demon Mephistopheles." Uriel confessed.

"I…" Kaidan's mouth stood ajar, as he silently took in this revelation. "A demon..?" He echoed her earlier words. "Ssh, damn, who would have thought…"

"Ever since I awoke in this world, ever since… I first opened my eyes…" Uriel continued. "...I've done nothing but bring death and destruction to those I care about. Not only that, but these accursed powers of mine have brought devastation upon the entire world. Every day I wake and have to face the countless deaths that my powers have brought, and the countless more that my powers could have prevented but didn't because I, myself, my soul, my mind, was too weak." She said, clenching her fist and looking down, trying not to show her weary eyes. "And yet… Kaidan, still I fight. I fight, because of the hope that love has instilled within me. When I laid down and accepted death, my savior brought me back and showed me that while I draw breath, I can still make a change, I can choose to stand and fight."

"We're all cursed to be what we're born to be, angel-girl… not all of us are as lucky as you."

"I believe now that if I fight enough, with all my strength and ability, I can undo the sins I've committed. Or at the very least, die knowing that I gave it my all." Uriel said as she walked a bit closer to Kaidan, kneeling down to his level and opening her palm towards him. "That is why I did not kill you. Despite the great differences, of our circumstances, these parallel paths that we tread upon, when I looked within your soul I felt a similar yearning as me. I do not know what path you've walked in life to lead you here, but I know that perhaps, if you heed these words, you too will be able to fight. Escape from these shackles you've been ensnared with. To hell with these curses. To hell with fate, and destiny, and all that garbage. We are more than physical shells to be born and to waste away. Be greater than just what you were born to be."

Uriel stood, her words clearly giving the demon much to consider. They sat in quiet contemplation for what felt like several hours despite being several minutes, but then his eyes suddenly flared and her heart sank. She had lowered for guard, for just a moment, and at that exact instant the demon rushed on his feet, grabbing his morningstar once more, and flinging it in her direction. The chain clanked loudly pummeling towards her, and from such a close distance, she was completely caught, unable to move a muscle to block it in time. But the spiked ball completely avoided her body, whizzing perfectly between her head and wings. Uriel was frozen in shock, but she heard the ball smash against something awfully squishy behind her with a sickening squelch.

After Kaidan pulled back his weapon, the two of them shared a deep stare of confusion. Uriel broke it off by turning her head and looking over her shoulder at the creature that almost pierced her spine. A massive insect-like abomination, an unholy mixture of a stallion and a hound, had its scaly swordlike appendages primed and ready to cut her to ribbons, were it not for the fact that its skull was pulverized, and its brain was now spurting onto the floor. At least, Uriel presumed that was its skull, given that there were many hands and fingers grafted in that area.

"D-did you just save me?" She said with a stutter of disbelief as she faced Kaidan once more. "Wuh, why? Why did you do that?"

Kaidan just stared back in a similar state of dumbfoundedness. "I… I don't know. My hand just… moved without thought." Before Uriel could ask anything further, Kaidan continued. "Hey, I know you're confused I am too but before we figure that out you might wanna turn around real quick."

Sure enough as Uriel turned her head she saw dozens of similar-looking creatures crawl from a previously empty tunnel into the chamber. They swarmed towards them with some climbing onto the walls, and even the ceiling, all while keeping a generous distance, for now.

"What the hell are these things…" Uriel asked, readying her blades.

"Locusts… of Abaddon." Kaidan answered, walking up next to her with a strained step. He reached an open palm towards her, his eyes still peeled towards the monsters. "Listen, we can continue our battle later, truce for now? No backstabbing the other? Fight these things together?"

Uriel looked down at his hand, and grabbed it awkwardly by the fingers. She gave it a concerned but determined shake, before shouting: "Sounds good to me, truce!"

As soon as they agreed upon it, the riptide of monsters was unleashed towards them. The screaming, chittering creatures blared as some charged towards the two of them, while others stood back and unleashed flaming artillery from their strange mouths. Uriel quickly rushed her arm forward in front of Kaidan, creating a barrier of light around them. At the same time, Kaidan pulled on the chain around his body, igniting it, and spinning it like a wheel around his chest. He flung the flaming morningstar out, through Uriel's barrier, sweeping the incoming first wave of locusts.

"Hah!" He grinned.

Uriel seized the opening, rushing forward with her blades at her side. Her eyes closed, as she drew breath for a moment, and unleashed a devastating dance of light in the next. Her blades pirouetted alongside her, following the movements she traced. Kaidan watched in sheer awe and delight as the blades cut through the beasts he had stunned with ease, the immaterial light razor-sharp. It was a radiant, beautiful, yet stunningly deadly dance. But as the foul blood of the creatures sprayed into the air spurting from their opened veins, the sparks and flames ignited it with explosive force, and Uriel was caught at its epicenter. Kaidan reacted faster however, his chain wrapping around Uriel's chest and neck, and yanking her painfully towards him, to safety.

"GHRUH!" Uriel choked and coughed as she found her footing once again.

"You okay? Sorry about the-"

"I'm fine." She said, with a hoarse voice. "What the hell are these things?" Uriel asked as she quickly jumped back into the frey.

Her question was found answerless, as her partner was too busy fighting another onslaught of these foul beings. Uriel sharpened her focus, beating her wings to keep distance as she dispatched creature after creature. One of them lunged at her with its sword-like appendages, but she quickly avoided, and caught both by the soft, exposed joint, one in each hand. Uriel screamed in pain, the earlier burns on her hand stinging and aching as her bandaged skin was exposed to the creature's scaly flesh. Nevertheless, she endured, pushing her feet against the ground and ensuring that the creature was stuck in her iron grip, as both of them struggled for control by overpowering the other.

The locust's hideous hand-like jaw slowly unhinged, screaming, and threatening to fire a flaming ball of blood from its gullet all directly in Uriel's face. The angel panicked, and jumped, kicking the beast in the face with both feet while she pulled on its appendages. Until they snapped, ripped from their body as the locust was sent flying back. Uriel gracefully twirled in the air, landing on her feet before she arched back and flung both of the insect's limbs like spears. They shot through the air like bolts of golden lightning, the first of which impaled the locust they'd been ripped from, the other pinning the head of another to the wall behind it with a sad groan and gurgle.

Kaidan gave her a quick terrified nod, thankful to be saved from that exact locust. They both jumped back to safety as the blood in the creature's expiring bodies exploded in a violent chain reaction once again. This time however, another creature was waiting, lurking from the side, and as Uriel jumped closer, it pounced. Uriel sensed the incoming blow, but even so, she did not avoid it fully in time. Her reflexes had been slowed by the prosthetic she had, and even now, despite her training, it hindered her. The creature's swordlike appendage crashed into her head, thankfully not slicing into her skull but instead slamming into it. She dashed up into the air, unleashing a vicious salvo of blades raining down upon the creature. With the creature impaled and dying, she waited for its explosive reaction to begin, and once ready, used her blades to send it flying through the air at another cluster of creatures. As limbs and chunks of their flesh exploded in a fiery crescendo, Uriel stumbled back, trying to regain her footing.

"You okay? Hanging in there?" Kaidan shouted at her as he flailed his chain around them, trying to keep the creatures at bay so she could recover.

"T-there's so many of them…" Uriel's trembling voice escaped followed by a pained groan as she clutched her head where she got struck. "G-guuuuh…" She winced, looking down at her hands. The bandages were all but ripped at this point, and the pulsing, blistering skin underneath was revealed. Red. She could only see red. Drops of shining red blood dripped from her head down her forehead onto her palms, stinging her frail skin. It felt… cold. A strange indescribable feeling gripped her, draining the warmth from her bones and tying a knot in her throat and her stomach. A frigid spark ignited within her very soul.

W-what's this? Uriel's thoughts rang out to her. Why am I so afraid? Why am I still so… hesitant… I thought I was beyond it… No… No perhaps… no this isn't fear… this is… anger… A dizzying feeling began to overwhelm her, and her breathing became errant, unnerved. Uriel watched with pale eyes as her fury permeated through her skin and caused the blood on her palms, her blood to ignite with holy flame. A different flame, a cold bed of blue followed by billowing silver wisps. "What… is this…?" She said out loud. Is this… the influence of my demonic blood? This feeling is… ecstatic… But… It does not feel… right… Her mind fought within itself, blocking out the images of the horrific shadow she saw when she fought the executioner. A horrible dark grin that kept her awake in the dead of night. I cannot walk this path… Stumbling in the dark…

"No!" Uriel shouted, clenching her fist. "Not now. I am stronger than you, I do not need you." She reassured herself.

"You okay?" Kaidan called out to her between the swings of his morningstar.

"Kaidan." She answered, her voice now different, filled with determination. "When I tell you, spin your chain wildly, like a tornado."

"What're you thinking?"

"Your fire alone doesn't scare them, but perhaps… I have an idea." She said triumphantly, as the outlines of her eyes flared with golden flames of light.

Uriel quickly doused her fingers in the blood that dripped from her head and rushed to Kaidan as he retracted his chain. She quickly drew a trail of red upon its length, drawing a rune of blood on the morningstar. The swarm meanwhile rushed in on the two of them, their attacks absent and no longer preventing their advance. But the trap had been set. Uriel nodded, and Kaidan revved up his chain like a motorcycle. She jumped into the air, staying afloat high above him so he could spin freely. And spin he did. He let his chain go at max length, and just spun it around the entire chamber, setting everything ablaze. Uriel clasped her hands together, gritting her teeth to the point of drawing blood and readying herself to empower the fiery chain.

"You might wanna close your eyes!" She shouted as her prayer finished, and her power immolated the entire length of Kaidan's chain. The flames that ran across the chain were amplified by the Uriel's holy flame, illuminating the darkness with unbelievable radiance. It was a blinding, gorgeous white flame that billowed loudly as it followed the motions of the demon. The flames coalesced quickly, forming a halcyon light around the entire length of the chain and beyond, shaping itself into the form of a massive blade. As the demon kept spinning, the long yet thin chain became a gigantic sunblade that cleaved through monster, stone, and darkness alike.

"WOOOOAAAHAHA, THIS IS SICK!" Kaidan shouted gleefully.

He kept spinning until the locusts had all died or fled, and nearly collapsed when he finally stopped. Uriel slowly descended beside him, finally able to take a deep sigh of relief. She scanned the massive chamber, taking in the carnage and destruction the numerous battles caused. The black ruined stones and walls were now a sparkling, gooey red from the insect's blood, and wherever there weren't stones there was a ruptured limb or chunk of sinewy black flesh.

Uriel sighed, letting out a much needed breath of air. "That was well fought… It's going to be difficult for us to go back to killing each other after that." Uriel said with a slight hint of sarcastic joy in her echo.

"Nonono, nononono! No!" Kaidan protested. "Lets… let's figure that all out later. Keep the truce going until we get out of here." He chuckled as he stood and shook himself off. He then turned to Uriel and lifted his open palm at her. "You fought really well, I'm actually a little relieved you didn't go and unleash something like that on me, are you kidding me? High five!"

Uriel stared at his palm awkwardly. She looked back at him, then at his hand, before she lifted hers and gently gave it the lightest tap against it. She then lifted both her hands in front of her and slightly shook them saying just one word:

"Burns."

Kaidan broke into uncontrollable laughter. "Alright alright, my bad. Here…" He rushed to a pouch on his belt, and pulled out a certain indigo-colored cream and a roll of bandages. "I often get burns cause I use a flaming weapon, that cream's real good. Patch yourself up. We should get out of here when you finish."

"T-thank you! Very much Kaidan." Uriel said as she began undressing her bandages on her right hand. "W-where are you going?"

Kaidan rushed off, squatting next to one of the locust's carcasses. He dipped two of his fingers in a pool of blood that dripped from it, and gave them a quick sniff. "Did you see how violently those things exploded?"

"Yeah…?"

"That's cause this blood of theirs is basically better than gasoline. Shit burns like the fires of hell." Kaidan said with excitement as he pulled out a small vial from that same pouch and filled it with blood.

You'd know about that more than me… Uriel thought to herself as she silently endured the pain in her trembling hands. A small whimper escaped from her lips as she tightly wrapped the bandages around her palms. She lingered for a moment, her eyes fixated on the spot where her blood ignited earlier, the image was scarred into the deepest folds of her mind. In that one droplet, she saw the black threads of her demonic soul unwinding, sparking to life. It was a black flame glowing with a blue-ish silver around the edges. A dark, all consuming flame capable of more devastation than she could ever imagine. Whispered words forgotten from her past once more passed through her mind, words of advice from a priest of Ichtinon, Splintered mountain of Purgatory.

We all hold a cold ember of death in our souls. A singular fragment, waiting patiently for us to falter. We are its kindling. Beware, beware its flame, sweet child. It seeks naught but your ashen corpse. The promise of lighting the darkness is falsehood, for once it touches your tender skin, it will never let go until it has consumed you.

She shuddered. Her skin crawled with bleak fear. The thought of that godless flame overwhelming her filled her with dread. She heeded the words of that man, and shook herself off, trying to focus her thoughts elsewhere. Uriel focused on the rest of her recovery, bandaging the wound on her head next. Finally, she checked her right ribs, where Kaidan struck her earlier, but thankfully no bone was broken, as far as she could tell with her lacking medical expertise.

"Should we move up?" Kaidan asked after a while. "Your super-move didn't kill every locust, who knows if any are still prowling the tunnels."

"Yes, yes just… give me a second. I'm… quite tired."

"Rough fights?"

"Not just… I've been having difficulties sleeping lately. The darkness keeps me up at night. Mayhaps it is the stress of this mission…" Uriel said, immediately realizing she revealed some information that was perhaps too personal.

"Ah yeah, insomnia's a bitch… you get used to it though."

"Anyway… we should get movi-" Uriel's voice caught in her throat as she stood up and took a look around. "There's… no doors." She said softly, emotionlessly.

Kaidan immediately spun around, and his eyes grew wider and wider. "Fuck." He said. Then he walked closer to where some diverging tunnels were and swung his flail at the cold rock that blocked the way now, to no effect. His weapon carved chunks into the stone, but it remained unmoving. "I expected as much. Damn it… that's gotta be her doing…"

Before any of them could suggest anything else, an eerie chill began to creep across the lower parts of the floor. A trail of purple mist like the scars of the night sky. Uriel noticed it right away, the phantom hands of a malevolent being closing around the two of them like a noose.

"Get ready Kaidan…" Uriel called out as she backed herself towards him. As if enticed by the sound of her voice, the mist intensified, turning into a billowing blizzard around them. Uriel braced herself, but it quickly became impossible to see or hear anything around her. She beat her wings against the powerful winds, before she wrapped them around herself and Kaidan, clutching him tightly in her grip.

"W-what are you doing?" He called out to her, shouting against the blizzard, despite the two of them being so close together.

The storm intensified with biting speed, but as soon as it reached its apex, it stopped. The frozen mist radiated outward, fading into a white nothingness, and revealing a new location around them.

"I figured that's what it was…" Uriel said as she unwrapped her wings and quickly studied the new surroundings.

"What?" Kaidan echoed, confused.

"Divide and conquer. Someone's been watching us, and they didn't like how well we cooperated. That was a transportation ability of some kind, perhaps like what Asmodeus used. If the warden can move himself and others through the prison as he pleases, it serves to reason that his most trusted underling can do the same. They tried to separate us, so I made sure they wouldn't be able to." She explained. "Sorry for grabbing you so hard."

Kaidan nodded. "I see. Thank the lord for your quick thinking. Who knows what hellish part of the prison I'd get whisked off to…"

"But now, exactly what hellish part of the prison did we get whisked off to?" Uriel said calmly, her eyes razor sharp against the horizon. The room they were in seemed endless, or it was the mist still clinging to her sight, obscuring the boundaries. She took one step forward, then another, slow and careful. Then her boot went through the floor. Except it wasn't a rusted iron panel beneath her feet as she had thought, but ice. Ice the color of blood. She heard the whip-crack of ice breaking, and jumped back just in time it tipped forward beneath her.

"This is... ice?"

"I know where we are…" Kaidan said, his voice drifting in the cold wind. "Be careful!" He warned. "This is a lake… kept frozen by the coldness of the souls imprisoned here; anyone still capable of feeling love or compassion will begin melting the ice." He said with distress in his voice. "You should move quickly, or better yet, try to fly over. I believe it was called… Cocytus, the Lake Of Betrayers, and it is just as treacherous as its inhabitants."

Uriel edged closer to the hole she just broke, and made the mistake of looking into it. Cold eyes stared back at her from the deep, with malice and calculation. She hurried on quickly, hoping her passing wouldn't allow those eyes any closer to the surface as her wings lifted her above the lake.

"How do you know this Kaidan? You knew about the locusts as well… also you're not melting the ice…"

"I'm a demon, Angel-girl. Love and compassion aren't really things I'm bursting at the seams with." He smirked, adding a quieter comment under his breath. "Unlike someone here… It'd probably take me several centuries to melt the lake with my compassion. Also, I was the one that led the vanguard attack on this prison. While not mandatory, I like to prepare myself as best as I can. Being a demon underling is a risky job, and many of my goons would gladly watch me die to take my place. I'm a Son of Darkness after all, taught by Belial himself. He was always fond of being prepared, so in his honor I hit the books and studied what little I could find about the prison."

Uriel listened intently, keeping herself afloat above the ice.

"Welcome!" A fel voice on the wind called out to them. "I'm glad you both have decided to join me for my feast!"

"That's her… that's definitely her voice." Kaidan said, readying his weapon.

This voice, a woman… its so far away… Uriel thought. I cannot risk a surprise attack out in the open here… I must… I must… She decided to use her powers, and peered into the darkness and mist focusing her ability and searching for the soul of the villain responsible. But no sooner did she close her eyes, that her mind was flooded with screams of the wailing souls beneath the ice. An endless howling cacophony of tortured, damned souls whose voices shot spears of blood into her skull. Uriel screamed, falling down onto the ice. It rapidly started becoming a puddle underneath her, but she quickly recovered and jumped back into the air.

"What the hell was that?" Kaidan shouted again. "Can you warn me when you wanna do some stupid shit?"

"Sorry I was…" Uriel began but the voice cut her off.

"Ohoho, how cute. You tried finding me in the mist? How wonderful, but there was no need my dear, for I am right…" As she said that a clearing occurred, the mist parted and formed a red path across the ice and at the end of which stood dozens of beings, completely still. "Here!" The ethereal voice echoed loudly, as if she was right next to either of them.

Are those… those are statues? Uriel realized as she peered towards the dark-red lights. But what was worse was the crimson shadow that slithered between them, standing tall and proud as she waited for them.

"I'll go first." Kaidan mumbled. "I got unfinished business with this snake bitch. You got my back?"

Uriel nodded, eyes glued to the enemy ahead. The two of them approached, and quickly reached the statue graveyard. The serpent still lingered in the shadows that were cast, but her shape was more visible now. Uriel gulped, seeing the horrific stitching of her face, and the dreadfully massive serpentine tail that was her lower body.

"Ohh, I did not expect to see you here, pathetic insect that you are." She began, addressing Kaidan first. "No matter, I did not intend to bring you along anyway, aahh." The serpent moaned seeing Uriel as she flew closer into view. "There you are… angel… Uriel Fladium. Hmph, I expected more to be honest. Your beauty is… lacking."

"Fuck you too." Uriel replied quietly, irritation audible in her echo.

The serpent laughed, her laughter turning into a grotesque maniacal sound. "To think! I was the least bit worried about your arrival! Haaa… ha…" Her laughter faded, and her sultry voice became a vicious, dreadful timbre full of malice and hate. "Very well Uriel, Kaidan, know this: The sun will set for you today. You will both die here, and your souls will join the chorus of the damned. You will spend the rest of your vile eternity looking up from under the blood-ice with blind eyes, knowing in your hearts and souls that you were slain by Aramia, Viper-Empress of Dudael!"


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