Dancing In The Void

The flower of the abyss can bloom only in the deepest, most desolate pit of purgatory, once every ten thousand years, but its beauty is unmatched by any object that man, demon, or god can craft.

Uriel blinked. She wondered where she learned of that. Perhaps she read it somewhere, in one of the many books her mother Cassandra collected for her. Perhaps she heard it from a stranger in purgatory, relating an interesting bit of information to her for one reason or another. Or perhaps she just always knew that to be true, some form of divine proof passed down within her blood. Whatever the case, she then further began to wonder why this was the thought that passed through her mind now, on the edge of death.

I always wished to be able to see one, before I... Uriel thought to herself with a faint smile. The drawings and paintings I saw of it were beautiful, but they did not do it justice at all…

Uriel gasped, suddenly invigorated by a strange sentiment. She shot up from her resting position but she was already standing. There was nothing surrounding her except for endless darkness. Looking down, she stamped her feet a couple times, creating a few echoing thuds despite the fact that no floor or surface was beneath her.

What is this place? She asked herself. Am I… dead? I remember… the cold… the lake! What… what happened…?

Her questions went unanswered as she explored what could charitably be called her surroundings. But nothing changed. No matter the direction she walked in, there was nothing but darkness. No sense of reference to guide her, no visual stimulus to change and indicate progress. She tried organizing her thoughts, but soon, or what felt like soon to her, she noticed something in the distance. A change. It was a small, barely visible speck at first, but it was just different enough to break the monotony of constant blackness that surrounded her. A white morsel of dust on the horizon that grew with each step she made. Her breathing quickened along with her feet. She ran as fast as she could, a strange worried sentiment bubbling in her heart. Uriel didn't even notice when her feet began to splash water, unseen water floating on an unseeable floor, too focused on the growing spec to notice anything else. Her shoulders slumped and her body stopped dead in its tracks once she was close enough to see what it was. A man, cloaked in a bloody white overcoat, sitting in the water and staring off into the distance.

"Constantine?" She asked shyly, with a sullen, grim expression on her face.

He turned to her quietly, confused at first but then simply hesitating. "What are you doing here? Is this… another figment of my mind…?"

"No… its… its really me. I don't know what this place is. What… happened to you, Constantine, my love?"

"I… can't recall… not entirely… not yet. Is it really you, Uriel? God… I hope its really you. "

"We should try and find a way out then, maybe its another of Asmodeus' tricks!" She said with a fervor, jumping into a battle stance.

"No." Constantine said plainly, looking out at the horizon once more. "We're not in Dudael here. I don't… know what 'here' is but, I don't think anything exists here. No life, no death, not even time. Just us two. Come, sit with me, let's enjoy the silence for a bit."

Uriel nodded, floating over and sitting beside him. The water was not cold, nor hot. It didn't even feel like anything, just wetness against her clothes. She stared at her love, his body seemed unharmed, unscarred, unscathed, but his clothes were covered in piles of splashed blood. So much blood that his coat seemed a deep red instead of the pale white it used to be. Scared, she reached into the water and grabbed Constantine's hand, reaching her fingers between his and gripping it tightly.

"Is this what death is…?" Uriel asked after a while.

"Is it? I always hoped it would be… more colorful, I don't know." Constantine answered. "Heaven, hell…"

"Purgatory. This doesn't remind me of any part of it I've seen either."

"So what makes you think we died then?" Constantine asked with subtle resignation in his voice.

"I… lost." Uriel said, swallowing her guilt and pain, trying very hard to push the word between the barrier of her lips. Tears welled within her eyes. "For all that training… all that bullshit about being a strong angel, about protecting the weak and saving our friends… I just… lost."

"Ah…" Constantine said softly. "You too, huh?"

"W-what do you mean…?"

"I failed as well… I lost against Cain, a silence, a demon of the deep. But moreso, I feel like I lost against myself…" Constantine paused, adjusting his legs a bit. "I just… wished I could have been great…"

"Great? Why strive for greatness of all things?"

"I don't know, I guess I just thought that if I was great enough I could have kept my promises, my vows. I could have… saved everyone. Especially you… I could have been there with you…"

"Hmm… I guess we're both just a bunch of failures in that regard. I was too weak to be there for you as well. Had we been together… maybe things wouldn't have turned out like this."

"I just wished… so hard for things to change… I'm so sorry Uriel I…" Constantine couldn't stop himself from bursting into tears. "I've done… something horrible. I gave in to something I shouldn't have and now… I can't take it back."

Uriel looked at him, her face wracked with guilt and dread, but she braced herself, closing her fist and breathing in deeply. Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around him, as well as her dark wings, and rested her head against his shoulder.

"I don't care!" She said between her tears. "I don't care what you've done. You promised me. You promised me you'd come back for me, that you'd never leave me behind ever again. Did you forget all the promises you swore to keep?"

"Of course I haven't but… I'm so lost… how can I possibly come back now?"

"I don't know, but I can't hear you say that this is it, Constantine! That's it? We're just going to lay down in this pool and die? Let nothingness claim us?" Uriel shouted. She angrily looked at their reflections staring back at them in the water, and with a furious beat of her wings, shattered them into ripples.

"But how… How can either of us come back?" Constantine pleaded, clutching Uriel tightly, looking up at her with wonder. "These dark whispers in my mind, they're blinding me, fraying away my very sanity. I can't… shut them out."

"The same way you showed me to. The same way you brought me back from the brink, showing me that love can prevail despite the great horrors of the world. Listen to my voice. Nothing else. We cover our wounds, conquer the demons in our souls and fly, reborn like the phoenix of the stars. You taught me that. You taught me to always, just keep moving forward, with hope in your heart! Remember hope! Remember our love!" She said dutifully, her very soul alight with defiance.

"I've lost control completely, Uriel, my… heart doesn't beat inside me anymore." He said looking down, ashamed to even face her any longer.

"But mine does… remember? Even now, I can feel a part of my soul lingering inside you. Inside the storm of sorrow and anguish that has enveloped you. I can feel it. You're not alone. Not now, not ever will you be alone. We can overcome this together, like we've done so many times before. I am proud of you, no matter what." Uriel said, as her hand gently lifted his chin and she stared deep into his eyes. Hers were alight with tears and hope, and his were lost, faded and distant. Her words however, reached deep within, grasping the frail crumb of love and hope that still reigned therein.

"What if its not possible? Not this time? What if fate itself wills it so?"

"Then I will have to keep hoping that fate itself can be changed. I have to believe in you, just as you believe in me. I have to believe that our love is stronger, that our love cannot die here!" Uriel shouted, her echoing voice billowing with thunderous hope. "And if fate truly cannot change, cannot be averted somehow, then it just proves it was real, right? If fate itself is what managed to break our hearts and tear us apart, then it must mean that our love was real. That's all that matters to me. That I've been alive for over three-thousand years, but I've only felt truly alive from the day I first met you."

"Uriel… I'm… so glad I met you, what feels like years ago…" Constantine confessed, looking up with wonder in his eyes. "I'm sorry, I truly am sorry. I should have cherished the time we had together more. Your soft, gentle smile is what helped me through the darkest times of my life, when I was lost and scared the most. I should have strived to make you happier every day, all so I could see your beautiful smile more. I was an idiot, I was an idiot many times, and you deserved so much better."

"Yes, but you h-have the chance to make it all right again! W-why are you acting like this now? You heard my words, now come back with me!"

"Yes, I heard your words loud and clear. I remember everything now. And I know that I'm grateful. I'm grateful that God, or the Universe, or whoever it was, allowed me to see you one last time, in these final moments of mine."

"D-damn it! Constantine don't say that!" Uriel shouted, clasping Constantine's hand tightly as she did. "You're coming with me damn it! You're coming BACK! Don't leave me alone please…"

"Thank you. Truly, I'm thankful. My heart and soul were filled with despair at what I've done, but you showed me that hope still exists. That love, our love, can still endure. You're right, our love cannot die here, because you will not die here. Not now. You alone are the phoenix Uriel, you alone must spread your wings and fly. Our friends are waiting, only you can save them now, please, fulfill the promises I couldn't. Please Uriel, make me proud. You must do what I could not, what I never could. You must let go."

"NO! DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE, PLEASE!" Uriel screamed, slowly feeling the water rising above her, as Constantine began to fade from her view. "NO, I CANNOT DO THIS WITHOUT YOU! "

"I wished I could come with you, believe me my heart yearns for nothing else but… this world is cruel. Perhaps too cruel for someone as gentle and kind as you. I know you are angry. I know you are scared, and I will not tell you 'don't shout, don't be angry'. Now is the time for you to rise, now is the time for your fury to be unleashed. That precious love of yours, that love I cherish, please, encase it in a shell of rage against the world, against this place, and make sure you save it from this hellish prison. Make these demons remember you, make them rue the day they dared cross you."

"D-don't… leave me behind… please…" Uriel's tears streamed down her face, each gentle droplet searing agony and anger on her skin. She clutched Constantine's hand tightly between her fingers, afraid to weaken her grip even a moment. If she did, it would be accepting that she would never see him again.

"Please, you must do what I could not. You are strong Uriel, and your anger will raze this mountain to dust, I know it. Don't let them see your kindness, your gentle beauty, show them only your divine fury. Now please, let go of my hand. You must let me go. Your love already saved my soul. Perhaps, your love will weave fate itself anew, and save my body as well. If not, if this is truly goodbye then, well…" Constantine said softly, leaning forward to kiss her on the lips. It was a warm, pleasant kiss, like the touch of soft rain on a chill summer day. "Please always remember that I love you."

Uriel savored the kiss, despite how much her trembling heart wanted to scream, to drag him down into the waters with her, but she couldn't bring herself to, frozen in a terrifying feeling she could not name. She watched him fade from view, hand still reaching out to him as water and darkness obstructed her vision once more. A phrase escaped from her lips in a soft, silent whisper: "I… love you… come back to me… come back… Constantine…"

Come back… The words echoed in Uriel's mind. Come back!

The cold. The unbearable cold all around her burned into her skin, like miniscule nails stabbing into her over and over. Her senses were numbed to such a degree that the lack of feeling cycled back to unbelievable pain. Her mind awoke, startled by the howling souls around her. Her eyes were still shut from her burning wounds, but the way the damned clawed at her skin and body was confirmation enough that she was alive. Her blood was alight with an indescribable storm of emotions, but she silenced them all with a single thought.

Do not hesitate. Do not falter. Not now. Defeat her. Kill her. She deserves it, she deserves nothing less than death. Do it for him, and you will be able to mourn later. This is not the time to be asleep. Wake up, wake up and fight! Uriel's thoughts shot through her mind like bolts of lightning. Her mind was now empty, clear. Slowly, her tranquil fury coalesced at its center, like a swirling cosmic black hole. She shut out the screaming, the wailing, the endless cacophony of the damned, and focused. Her divine soul-sight was unleashed, and now, she could see clearly. The cursed souls of Cocytus could not interfere, as they did not pose an obstacle anymore. She was now in the eye of the storm, and there was only dead, peaceful silence all around her and in her thoughts. Her mind's eye looked up at the ice, searching, hunting, stalking for the true Aramia. There it was. The stain of her black and red soul was all too apparent, hidden between her false forms and illusions. I… see… you!

Her holy force erupted from her wounds, pouring out and propelling her through the icy waters. The beating of her dark wings aimed her towards the white surface of the lake, and sooner than she expected she crashed through, shattering the ice like glass. She hovered in the air, uncaring for the cold billowing wind biting against her wet skin and clothes. Golden fiery flames of white and blue flowed through her veins, before they enveloped her shut eyes and hands entirely. Her head snapped towards the serpent, her crimson ghostly form visible like a blood moon. She did not have to imagine the shock and surprise she must have felt seeing her once again, as Aramia's terrified scream said it all.

"REFRACT!" Uriel screamed back, causing her powers to break into multiple rays across the ice before they coalesced in the center of her forehead with arcing helixes. The light she now emanated blinded the serpent with its intensity. Her dark wings seemed to glow with a burning orange aura, her feathers becoming like blades of pure sunlight. The first beat of her wings unleashed a dozen swords swirling around her, and the second propelled her forward through the air with eye-blurring speed. The wind exploded in a shockwave around her as she rushed the serpent, her swords obeying her every thought, every slight movement of her wounded fingers. Uriel struck Aramia with the force and fervor of an unrelenting halcyon whirlwind.

"W-WHAT… ghhhrkk!" Aramia shouted as she defended herself, blocking and deflecting blades before blasting Uriel back with a point-blank explosion of scarlet magic. "H-how… How are you still alive? The l-lake… no one can survive the lake!"

Uriel did not answer, not even considering letting go of her focus. She bounced back from the serpent's counterattack, and rushed forward with an overwhelming wave of swords, slicing and dicing and stabbing towards her foe. Aramia slithered backwards, letting illusions take or deflect blows where they could, but no matter how many clones she made or how she tried hiding, Uriel seemed fixated on the real her.

"D-damn it… blinded… yet you can see me now can't you?" Aramia said, her voice shrill with anger. She stopped, standing her ground and lashing out at Uriel. The angel did not expect the sudden strike, but she dodged it nonetheless. With a quick recovery, she engaged the serpent, the two now locked in brutal combat. The ringing screaming of steel striking against sunsteel echoed across the surface of the lake. Bolts of stray magic exploded against barriers of light. The ice beneath them cracked from the shockwaves of their attacks, but it didn't matter, as both moved and slid and flew across the battlefield, never in one place.

One aspect of the fight was rapidly becoming clear however: Uriel was the one taking the lead. Her attacks were precise, and there was a strange air of calm fury about her that made her all the more aggressive. Her attacks were stronger and faster than Aramia's, but most importantly, they were more brutal. Uriel's swords sliced and cut as if condemned by their own vicious rage. The fluttering of her azure hair gave her an unusual appearance, as if her hair were the limbs of a vengeful spider goddess, each strand painting a web. Aramia seemed afraid at the sight of it. Slowly, with each spin and thrust, with each dodge and block, with each step she made, she felt herself closer and closer to breaking Aramia's defenses wide open.

"Hiiiiissssss! Don't… get… too fucking cocky, you stupid angel!" Aramia hissed, lunging towards her with hideous strength. Uriel was quick on her feet, but she did not anticipate the additional transformation Aramia underwent. She could not see that her twintails of hair became live pythons that coiled around her ankles during the heat of combat. The Angel quickly grabbed something thin, and nearly invisible from her prosthetic leg as she was yanked upwards. Uriel was caught, suspended upside down before the gorgon, her long black-scaled tail binding her arms at the wrists. Aramia approached her, savoring the taste of apparent victory. She yanked Uriel by a flock of her hair and pulled her head towards her massive eye. "You might have unleashed your new fancy powers, but you're still just that silly Little Bird from before. And your death now stands before you."

Uriel giggled. Her giggling rapidly crescendoed into a full, guttural laughter. Her voice echoed unnaturally, her laughter becoming a hideous maddened screech that frightened the serpent. She leaned back slightly, a bloody bead of sweat dripping down her long neck. "W-what's w-wrong with you?" Aramia chuckled with worry. "D-did you truly lose your mind?"

"Ghahahyggahyaahahahaghyahya-snort-rhhiaghihahrhhaha!" Uriel's mad laughter propagated across the lake, and the souls of those below seemed to laugh with her. "Death… is coming for no one else but you, foul serpent. Look up."

Unable to stop herself, Aramia's neck shot upwards, directly at Uriel's prosthetic leg. It was immediately followed by a sharp pair of sounds:

Sssh-twoosh

The angel pulled on the unseen wire wrapped around her finger and a small razor knife shot from the mechanical pocket between the wireframe of her prosthetic leg. It stabbed Aramia's massive eyeball before she could react. Agonizing howls filled the air as Aramia stumbled back, clutching her face in pain. Uriel floated down, gracefully landing on her feet. She walked slowly towards the serpent, and with ice in her veins, thrust her blade into her heart. It was a singular move, devoid of any grace or elegance, a thrust of pure hate. But it was not the only one.

Uriel unleashed a fan of sun-blades, and with dozens of fervent swings of her arms, she began slicing Aramia's body. The slashes were lightning fast, and their numbers only grew with each passing second. Uriel did not hold back a single ounce of her fury. She eviscerated her foe, ripping her fair skin apart, cutting the entire length of her tail with thousands of deadly swords. It all happened in a blur, so fast that Aramia did not even get the chance to scream, to yell out in pain. When Uriel stopped, Aramia just stood there. Her body was still somehow kept together, despite the countless lines across her body that began to drip red with blood. She lifted a trembling, weak, hand to her arm and watched as her fingers began to fall off one by one, sliced clean off.

"M…m-mercy… P-please…" Aramia managed to blurt out with a mouthful of blood. She was terrified, staring up at Uriel. Her clouded, shadowy silhouette towered over her like a dark phoenix of the night. "H-heh… t-the s-sun… sets…"

Uriel touched her face, her palm gently pressed against her skin. Her hand, alight with divine energy, reached deep into the darkest pit of Aramia's soul. She illuminated the shadows therein with a gentle touch. Then, without a moment's hesitation, she lifted her other hand, aligning the tip of her fiery blade with the dead center of Aramia's eyeball. The angel uttered a single word, a single merciless command that pierced through the encroaching darkness:

"Perish!"

Her sword stabbed into the eye, radiating out with pure power. Such devastating power coursed through Aramia's body, light bleeding from her wounds before her entire being shattered like the ice she was so fond of. Her body was blasted back, exploding into chunks of guts and flesh. Blood, bones and scales flew back through the air, raining down and staining the ice a deep black red. Uriel listened, waited until the rain of bile ended, which took longer than she expected. While time passed, she calmed her raging powers, dispelling her blades and blinding light. She leaned down, her mind's eye noticing something close to her. A black scale, still brimming with the aftermath of Aramia's soul. She picked it up, inspecting it closely, and as she did, her mind was flooded with visions of something that had long passed, a life before this one.

Uriel looked down, seeing herself clad in a traditional nun's outfit. She was walking somewhere, through a brightly lit corridor. Crosses and holy icons were hanging on the walls as she walked past them, seemingly in a hurry.

I can't control myself… is this… her life? I thought Asmodeus created her… but perhaps that was not always the case. Uriel tried controlling her thoughts as she adjusted to this strange new world. Time moved faster here, chunks of reality flowing by in a blur. One moment she found herself in the hallway, running somewhere, the next she was running back. It was like watching a movie reel that had been chopped and pasted to bits. But one feeling was consistent throughout all those moments. Whenever this woman talked to anyone, whenever she cared for the weak and the wounded that frequented this place, whenever she cared for children or knelt before the altar in prayer, there was a constant yearning. A burning desire, an obsession, for love. Uriel felt that hollowness, that empty void that bore a hole in her chest. Uriel listened to herself as she prayed. It was an intense, personal prayer filled with tears and begging. The light however, would not show itself. It never did.

"Sister Aramia?" A voice came from the darkness besides the pews. Uriel felt a chill course through her veins. The voice was familiar, too familiar, despite not being one she'd heard before.

"Lord Beaumont?" She said, as Sister Aramia. "What are you doing here so late?"

As she turned around, Uriel laid eyes upon him. It was unmistakably him. He appeared human, with a gentle smile and a kind gaze, all dressed in a fanciful black cardinal's outfit. His crown was absent, as was the unblinking, unwavering stare that induced nothing but dread, but even so, the moment Uriel saw him, she knew she was looking upon the archdemon Asmodeus.

"I could not sleep." He said as he walked closer. "Decided to take a small walk, consider some of the things we talked about these past few weeks."

Aramia looked around worried, but Lord Beaumont reassured her. "Oh don't worry. None of the Superiors are awake at this hour. It's just us. And… I understand you Sister. I've been thinking about it for a long time and it was important to me to find someone with an equal plight. Someone I could be open and truthful with. Desire is said to be a root of sin but, I do not believe it to be so. I believe desire is merely the other side of a coin, a coin that bears despair."

"I do not… understand, my Lord. Is despair not something one must avoid or avert? Something we must strive to abolish?" Aramia asked, approaching the altar to light a candle.

"No!" Lord Beaumont said, his voice loud with excited glee. "We are humans, Aramia. We are not perfect godly beings, and God created us in this way. Flawed. Flaws like despair, fear, doubt, are important. They allow us to experience the wonders our God tried to show us, beauty, happiness… love." He took great care to accentuate the last word. Aramia's sudden wide-eyed stare was proof he had completely drawn her in. "I know you crave love, Aramia. I know of your condition, your obsession but I… I know of ways to cure you."

"I-is it… really possible?" She asked meekly, hands clasped tightly in prayer. "I would… want nothing more! I've only… ever wanted love."

"Of course!" The Lord smiled. "You know I will be leaving soon, correct?"

"Tomorrow night."

"Indeed. If you would like to taste the delicious fruit that is love, I have a task for you before then…"

Uriel listened to the words of the Lord, finding herself in another place. She realized Aramia was already executing his request. It was dark in the night, and she was walking through a tight, damp tunnel, guided only by a dim hand-lantern. Uriel felt fear, both from herself, but also the fear Aramia was feeling in that moment. So many thoughts swirled through her head, but above all, the elating feeling that love was finally in reach. Finally, within her grasp.

She reached the deepest point of the tunnel, a small circular chamber therein. With trembling hand, Sister Aramia drew the symbol on the floor, just as instructed. She uttered the words, exactly as told, and Uriel watched with terrified eyes as the stone gave way to a dark and dreadful pit. She could only watch through Aramia's eyes as she screeched a prayer filled with madness and threw herself inside. Immediately, millions of crawling spiders and bugs enveloped her, eating her alive. Uriel screamed, screamed in unimaginable dread as spiders filled her mouth, her eyes, her nose and ears, eating her alive from within. Asmodeus' last words filled her mind as she faded back to reality.

Throw yourself to the insects and spiders and serpents of the deep, and I will make sure you are reborn anew, my dearest Aramia!

"GYAAAAAHHHHHHRHHHG AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Uriel cried out in terror, sliding across the ice as she fell back. She scurried away from the black scale that was in her hand, eyes bulging with fear, breath short and shallow. The vision had snapped Uriel out of the battle frenzy she had found herself in, and now, laying on the cold hard ice, she felt the sting of her painful wounds. She clutched herself, feeling her muscles, her bones, her very flesh burning with pain. A thick trail of blood poured from her forehead, dripping into her eyes and mouth.

Worst of all, seeing the littered corpse of the serpent filled her with that same freezing fear she felt moments ago. Her hands trembled. This was not the first life she had ever claimed, but it was nothing she had done before. She was afraid of herself. She had lost herself in her brutality, her rage, and instead of offering a clean, just death, she offered pain and suffering. Tears began to pour from her eyes, staining themselves red with blood. She cried for a short time, and she would have cried more, had she not forcefully stopped herself.

I… I cannot linger here… I must… Constantine… I must find him… She thought as she pushed herself off the ice. Trying to stand was pure agony. Her muscles could not stop from wobbling, given the numerous cuts that now stung her flesh. She paused for a moment, grabbing the black scale and placing it in a pocket of her jacket. A reminder… for just deaths, not torturous ones.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

She scanned the surface of the lake with her mind's eye, listening as the mist and billowing wind fading from sight. The endless horizon was soon replaced by the walls of Dudael, and in the far distance, a tunnel. But Uriel did not see that, instead, as she investigated her surroundings, she saw something she did not expect. A blurry sight filled her with a dram of hopeful jubilation: a demon's soul, still alive, crawling on its knees and hands towards her.

"Kaidan!" She shouted, flying over to him.

"D-don't… yell so loud." He coughed, spitting blood as he collapsed on the floor. Uriel quickly reached him, holding him as she inspected his wound with her hands. "S-sorry angel-girl." He began. "I s-saw you fighting her but… I couldn't join… as much as I wanted to… not in this state."

Uriel waited for him to pull back his bloody hands, revealing the gaping wound on the center of his chest, slightly above his stomach. It was as if his body was hollowed open, a hole of flesh scooped out of him.

"D-damn it." said Uriel, gently tapping around it with her hands.

"G-ghaaa… It fucking burns when you touch me!" He yelped. "It's… alright… leave it. You did great job with the s-snake." Kaidan chuckled, followed by more coughing. "I wish I… could have been more useful. Seems like the shadow of the day has come for me as well…"

"Shut up, Idiot!" Uriel shouted. "I'm not letting you die here!"

"I… I've lived through many things, but unles-ghack-you have a sewing kit… in that bag of yours…"

"No… but I have something better." Uriel said, spreading her wings.

Kaidan watched with heavy breath as Uriel plucked a dark feather from each wing, holding them in her hand like inkless pens. She then tore a massive rip in his clothing, creating easy access to his chest and abs.

"W-what the hell are you doing?" Kaidan asked, mildly worried.

"I… need to seal up your wound. Your organs are damaged but, I can burn the opening shut."

"You're gonna perform surgery on me, blind?!" Kaidan shouted.

"Not entirely, I can see with my mind now that I overpowered the spirits of the lake." Uriel said, her voice trembling. "B-but don't move around so much."

"Oh… f-fuck me, do it!"

"This will hurt, a fair bit." Uriel warned him.

Without hesitation, she stuck the tips of her feathers inside Kaidan's wound, searing the damaged organs as best as she could. All the while, Kaidan screamed, feeling his painful gash burning with the angel's holy fire. Once Uriel finished what she would consider a decent job, she moved on to the issue of sealing the entire wound. While uttering a prayer, Uriel stabbed the tip of her feather in the surrounding skin and flesh. The holy power that coursed through her feather caused a white eye to open upon it, an iris-less eye like Uriel's. The feather passed through the top of the wound's opening, sealing it shut in its entirety. The feather was etched into Kaidan's flesh, glowing like a holy brand or tattoo. Gently, she made him turn over on one side, and used the remaining second feather to seal the injury on his back. Kaidan gasped for air as he felt the second feather stab into him, like a holy dagger painfully jabbing into his flesh. A few moments later, the same brand, the same feathered eye was embedded in his back, with his wound sealed entirely.

"F-fuck m-me…" He bemoaned, finally able to rest. He looked down at the hole in his clothing, seeing and tapping the new scar on his body. "Y-you know, holy symbols on a demon don't do well in the after-gym lockers. A feather with an eye though… You got some artistic vision when it comes to tattoos, angel-girl"

"Would you rather be dead?" Uriel said, taking a deep sigh of relief. "Once you get out of here you should make sure I didn't leave anything permanently damaged, aside from… your skin."

"Getting out of here… not something I thought was still gonna happen." Kaidan sighed as well. "F-fuck… T-thank you though. I guess that makes us even, doesn't it?"

"I couldn't just let you die… not after you saved my life so many times tonight…" Uriel said softly. "I should be thanking you."

"Well… don't thank me too hard. I got some more aloe for your eyes if you want some." He said with a cough.

Uriel nodded. She quickly took the time to bandage up her eyes after she gently applied the ointment on them. Following that, she patched up some of the more major wounds she had that were still bleeding.

"How do I look?" Uriel asked with a slight laugh, looking up at Kaidan with a white strip of bandages covering her eyes, and going around her head under her hair.

"You really concerned with your appearance, huh? Looks great." He taunted and laughed at her. "You're gonna still be going after your friends right? Are you sure you're going to be okay through the rest of this prison?"

"I can see foes and other beings without issue, but navigating the tunnels blind will be… a bit of a challenge. But once I get closer, I can track my friends more easily."

"In that case, let me help you out. To your left, in that direction, is a big tunnel that seems to lead out of this place. Also, there's a big elevator on this layer, leads straight down through the layers, even to the seventh layer. Try and find it, shouldn't be too far."

"The seventh?" Uriel asked. "Why the seventh?"

"I… I came here under orders from our boss, Octavian. He… he wants you, an angel. What for I don't know, but I know me and my troops were only meant to be a distraction. He, Katherine, and a few others infiltrated Dudael from below, from the seventh layer."

"K-Katherine?" Uriel gasped, her face going pale with shock. "Katherine is… alive? Katherine is here?"

"Y-yeah? You didn't know? I guess… you'd have no way of knowing. Boss bound her with a pentagram seal, she's practically completely under his control. She's still higher ranking than us… the bitch… But anyway, if your friends did the smart thing and ran down, they ran straight into her hands. The sixth, or seventh layer would be where they'd be. I can only hope they have been fortunate enough to not encounter her yet…"

Uriel rushed to her feet, almost collapsing right back down from her wounds. Still, she endured, and with a determined, defiant face called out to Kaidan. "I have to go save them." She said, turning to leave. She hesitated, turning back to Kaidan. "I'm glad we met, Kaidan. I hope we'll see each other again some day, and not on opposite sides of a battlefield. Goodbye!"

"Goodbye… Uriel…!" Kaidan said with a pained smile as he watched her take off in a hurried flight. As she became smaller on the horizon, Kaidan looked down at the ice where she had sat.

Huh… the ice is stone cold now…

"You pitiful fool… you were meant to accept death!" Cain shouted, his voice brimming with anger. "All that mighty talk of acceptance, of being true to your death, you blithering idiot! Why did you try to avoid it? I thought you would be able to defy your ghastly fate, by accepting your death, but perhaps it was wrong of me to think you could do such a thing, spectre." The demon's voice fell like a block of black stone, his hands quickly starting to draw out another symbol.

I cannot hesitate, even for a moment it seems. Cain's mind raced, as he quickly glimpsed into the fate that was about to unfold. The enchantment I placed on myself still has time, I need to finish this before it runs out. Let's try this one instead! He decided, starting to draw another shape of power in the air.

The Owl monstrosity before him however, unleashed an ear-rending howl, a damned mix of a trembling pained screech and a beastly scream. It rushed towards him in a blink, swiping with its claws and the dagger still clutched in its cursed hand. The stars that Cain had propped up between them as a wall did not even slow it down, as the beast seemed to pass right through it like a shade.

"Hmmph!" Cain grimaced as he braced himself against the shadow's savage strike. The sheer force sent him flying back, but it interrupted him for only a moment. He quickly recovered while in the air, landing gracefully on his feet. With the distance given, he finished his symbol, this time, a pentagram. He launched that pentagram on the ground in front of the owl, and without hesitation, it charged right through it. This time however, once it was fully inside, the symbol expanded in a gigantic space beneath it, and the void of gravity began pulling the foul creature down with unimaginable strength. Its limbs were locked in place, its dark wings and head rapidly being pulled down, and yet, it endured.

"GHYEEEEERRRRREEEAAAAHHH!" The Owl screeched as it held itself straight, not letting its entire body be pulled down to the floor. Slowly, with trembling, vibrating muscles tensed to the point of nearly ripping through its skin, the Owl began to lift its hands from the void beneath.

He can withstand such absolute pressure? Unbelievable… Cain basked in the wonder of what lay before him, unable to stop himself from smiling at the sight.

"But don't think that's enough, Fool!" Cain called out as he engaged the trapped beast once again. With blinding speed, he proceeded to blitz past the Owl, smashing it with his fists, cloaked in demonic energies. First he struck from the front, then the back, the side, from up above, from below. Then came a kick, a knee, an elbow all from what seemed like a dozen directions by a dozen different demons all at once.

Each blow struck with all the earth-shattering strength Cain could muster, each blow unleashed a deafening shockwave, and with each blow Cain realized more and more that he was damaging himself more than the Owl. With heaving, gasping breaths, he put distance between himself and it, as it thrashed and howled, nearly tearing itself apart trying to get freed. Cain looked down at his hands and saw the flesh and skin on his knuckles and fingers razed brutally off of his bones. He looked down at his legs, seeing blood beginning to seep from under his armor near his knees and ankles.

Unbelievable… its like I just spend hours beating myself against a steel wall for no reason. Cain's gaze sharpened, looking up at the beast. If anything, I just made it angrier. This won't do, I have to use my strongest abilities…

"Is this that hope you were so adamant about?" Cain called out as he began preparing another shape in the air. "Look at yourself, flailing about like an animal caught in a bear trap, on the verge of chewing your leg off to escape. Your salvation can still come, fool. Just give in, accept the death you tried to flee from, and maybe fate will have mercy on you." At the same moment he finished his statement, Cain finished drawing two parallel lines in the air. He grabbed both with each hand and pulled, summoning two black blades from the nether. The swords were thin, long, and without any sort of remarkable detail about them. Their edge was stained a deep black, in contrast with sheens of silver and white, and the pommels were simple lacquered black wood.

"Ghhhhhreeeehhhhhhaaaaaaaaaah!" The owl screeched, feeling the power of the pentagram void underneath it weakening as Cain focused his strength into the blades. With great, strenuous effort, it managed to rip itself from the gravitational pull and then it instantly rushed forward like a hound let off the leash.

Their blades clashed and the arena was filled with the echo of steel striking steel. The owl attacked recklessly, with brutal, savage strikes that unleashed waves of pure darkness, but Cain deftly avoided them with swiftness. His attacks were precise, calculated and perfect. His blades did not strike deep wounds in the monster's flesh, but unlike his fists, they cut through that impenetrable ethereal flame that enveloped it. With each passing second, the cuts began to expand, the skin and meat around it beginning to crumble and decay away.

"GHRYEEEEE!" The monster shrieked in painful rage as its wounds began to mount. It broke free from the demon's combo and immediately melted from sight, vanishing into the shadows with a bell-like chime.

"Ghhhk!" Cain winced, trying to defend himself from its next attack. He can teleport through my domain, even though he's still trapped in it… quick I need to see, where is he gonna attack from next… from…

"...BEHIND ME!" The demon shouted, quickly spinning on his heels and crossing his swords, just as the Owl stabbed forward with its spear. Its teeth gnashed with blood and pain as the tip of the spear was stopped by the black blades. The beast howled, and then immediately disintegrated into shadows once more.

LEFT! Cain shouted in his mind as he once again parried the blow. The instant his blade prevented the shadow's claw from touching him, it teleported, striking from another direction. Each time he parried, it vanished and attacked, howling faster and faster each time.

D-damn it, soul unbound… at this rate! He screamed in his thoughts, but he knew what was to come and he silenced himself. The brutal agility grew far beyond his capabilities and soon despite him knowing where he'd attack, his body could not physically move to protect himself in time. The Owl grabbed him by the leg, whipping his entire body back against the floor. The stone underneath crumbled like porcelain, as did the stone on the other side when the Owl viciously smashed him again on his frontside. It grabbed the demon's limp body by the head, and rushed into the shadows with it, carving a trail into the rock. It stopped, then lifted Cain's bruised, battered, bleeding head and shoved it up into the edge of his domain. At first, it was as if he'd hit a wall, but soon a crack began to form in the very darkness.

"SHRKEEEEEAAAHHHHHH!" The owl roared as it repeatedly began beating Cain's head against the darkness, until the crack shattered like glass. Freed from its cage, the beast threw Cain's body through the hole it made, stepping out into the painting gallery from before. Cain's domain faded behind them, and the shadows that clung to the Owl seemed to follow them through.

"Blhrlleah…haah… haah… haah…" Cain heavily gasped for air after spitting a large puddle of blood. He wearilly stood, tightening his finger's grip around his blades as he faced the Owl once again. "You… cannot… escape this place. I have made… certain of it. The only escape for you… is death…" The demon called out ominously, swords ready at his side. "Come then… face your true death, CONSTANTINE SANCTHOS!"

The two charged at the other, not an ounce of hesitation written upon the dark clouded faces of either one. But as time slowed to a crawl and that moment stretched on into eternity, something happened. Something changed. Cain would only realize it later, but him screaming out Constantine's name caused an echoing within him. His soul, that had been trapped deep within the shell of shadows and fear, reverberated in that same moment with that same name while it was called out by the being he loved most as she fell below the waters.

A moment of clarity within the eye of the storm. A remembrance, that awakened a yearning within him. A yearning to fight, to open his eyes once again, but most of all, a yearning of pain. Pain of all that he had endured, the torment and loss, all came crashing down upon him. Pain that was most concentrated and focused physically within his left leg. The leg that ached him always, never relenting, never abating from the singular truth that he had lost his greatest love. That pain echoed out through his leg as he charged the demon and a singular twitch would change everything, as his foot missed the step, and he slipped ever-so-slightly. Cain's eye went wide as instead of the Owl cleaving through him, killing him as he had always foreseen, Constantine's holy dagger only took his left arm cleanly off.

There was silence, as Constantine's malformed body collapsed in a screech on the floor behind him. Cain's mind raced, trying to piece together the madness that was unfolding as his power spiraled out of control. What, no, no this cannot be possible! THIS CANNOT BE! And yet, it is. I saw it, the thread of fate shivered. His thread… the everstatic, unchanging line of fate… trembled. This fool… actually did it? Him not killing me… changed fate itself… Was it truly him? His thoughts raced, until they were broken by the sound of his disembodied arm falling to the ground.

"Hah… hahahahahahaha… In every possibility, every single path of fate that I foresaw…" Cain began with a powerful laughter as he turned towards Constantine. "You slay me. You give yourself fully to the darkness, and kill me in that exact moment. Yet here we stand, treading new paths." The demon chuckled as he approached the writhing beast. "I do not know if you did it out of a sense of justice, mercy, or if it was merely an accident, but whatever the case, you've done more than enough. Allow me."

Instead of standing down, Constantine lashed out at Cain, swiping with rabid fervor. The demon avoided him in time, and even without an arm, he carefully and expertly danced around him. This time however, he used his blades not to attack or harm, but mainly as a tool, a method for him to get through closer to Constantine.

"Not going to make this easy, are you?" Cain smirked. "Good, I expected nothing less from you, Spectre!" The demon laughed as he engaged once more. He ducked and weaved his body, avoiding Constantine's large pouncing sweeps. His attacks seemed to lessen in intensity however, the darkness not clinging as tightly to his fingertips, the flames burning with less dark ardor. Cain's quick eyes noticed it, as he peered through the Owl's pale eyes for the briefest moment. He saw the battle for supremacy that was occurring from deep within his soul, the burning willpower and hope that stood tall against the shadows of despair. Hang in there Constantine, I'll drag you out!

As if the fearsome beast heard his thoughts, the owl scurried towards him, thrashing as its flaming wings unleashed waves of black flames towards him. But Cain deftly flicked his blade forward, and carved another pentagram into the floor. Instantly, another gravitational void opened in the floor, like a protective shield before him. Any flame that touched it was immediately crushed down by cosmic force. When the flames completely dissipated, but before Constantine could react in time, Cain stabbed down into the void with his blade and charged.

The gravity well bound itself to his blade like a pommel guard, and the demon swung it through the air towards Constantine, spinning it. The Owl realized dodging would be impossible, as the blade would just pull itself towards him no matter how fast he moved, so he charged into Cain with monstrous fury. He was fully intent on finishing what he started and tearing the demon apart before the blade would hit him. A flash of light in the dark, and then stillness.

Cain was on his knees, his own sword stabbing through his gut, and Constantine was frozen. His blank white eyes moved downwards, trying to understand what had just transpired. When Cain had activated the void of gravity from his blade, it was not to make certain it would strike him, but instead to pull the demon faster towards him. And now Cain's right hand was on his forehead, through the burning owl mask, and a singular line was drawn by his finger. A line of blood, all the way down to the bridge of his nose.

"Return!" His fel voice echoed through the gallery.

Constantine remained frozen, as Cain finally stood, stepping back. He thought about pulling his sword from his gut, but decided against it. His unholy magic worked slowly. It started as only a twitch, a small trembling of Constantine's muscles. Slowly, the vibrations and twitches intensified until his whole body erupted with the wild black of pale death. However, it was less as if they were enveloping him once more, but as if he was expunging them. The blinding darkness was accompanied by his agonizing screaming. Slowly, his mutilated body was pulled back from Cain's domain, dragged by ropes of demonic writing back to his unbound soul. The damage, the butchery, was slowly being mended as the tendons of fate stitched his broken shell back together. Once the shell was whole once more, his soul was encased within it, and he collapsed on the floor. Cain moved over to his body, piercing him through the back with a finger and etching a simple mark on his heart.

A precaution, assurance… for later… He thought as he then simply sat down in front of him, crossing his legs and meditating quietly. Several hours passed in the blink of an eye for the demon, but he jolted himself awake exactly when he intended. His septagram had expired by now leaving him weakened, and teetering on the brink of death. Yet despite that he stood and walked up to his unconscious foe. A gentle tap on his head and a pulse of crimson power were enough to wake him, as much as Cain might have wished to allow him more time.

"G-GHAAAH-H" Constantine began to scream, but the demon quickly interrupted him.

"Easy Constantine, easy… Relax, try and take deep breaths. Constantine, you've been through something I cannot even fathom, but I'm afraid I cannot offer you the mercy of recovery now. There is a fight yet to be finished." Cain said, trying to give his most soothing voice.

"W-what… the hell, what the absolute fucking HELL, what... I don't…" Constantine mumbled as he scurried against the wall, pulling himself into a curled ball. As he did, he noticed something clinging to the right side of his face. Terrified, he started trying to yank on it, pulling it away despite the pain.

"I would advise against it."

"What the hell is this? What the FUCK IS THIS?"

"From here it looks like half a mask." The demon said quietly. Indeed, the right side of Constantine's face was adorned by a mask of black glass depicting an owl's eye and beak, as if the flames of the pale shadow had congealed and solidified. Before Constantine could try and rip it off once more, Cain was beside him, pulling out the bottle of water from his pouch. "Drink." He ordered, offering what little water was still left within it.

"C-Cain… w-what happened? Everything is… a blinding blur."

"For now, I would advise trying to calm down. I will explain as much as I can."

"Jesus Christ." Constantine exclaimed as he finally took in the demon's state. His face was brutalized, with both eyes bleeding and bruised, countless large cuts and swollen bruises over it, with his bones visible through his skin in numerous places. His eyes moved down, seeing his deathly thin, skeletal physique that looked even more frail than when they first met. Especially now given the arm whose absence Cain seemed completely unbothered by. Lastly, Constantine saw the blade embedded all the way through his gut, the flesh surrounding it like crumbling stone. "D-did I do that?"

"You're responsible for a decent amount… the sword is my doing however…" Cain said with a simple smile.

"How are you-"

"Still alive? Same reason you are. Fate still has plans for us I suppose." He said with a wince and a groan. His body trembled, as if a stiff breeze was enough to knock him over. "Mine are nearing their end however…"

Constantine slowly moved his hand to the back of his neck, and he immediately pulled it back when he felt a bloodied stitching there. It felt… unnatural, as if the twine used was not a physical material. His eyes went wide as he gulped in realization. "C-Cain… I don't know exactly what happened but… you saved my life didn't you?"

"No. In truth, I do not know exactly how you are still here before me. I don't know how your soul was saved. If it was your doing, Uriel's, fate's, some mix of all three perhaps… I was merely the tool necessitated for your salvation. But you were the one that laid the path for fate to be defied."

"How did… you do it? How did you save me?"

"My most powerful ability, reversing fate itself. I unwound you back to the point before you mutilated yourself, and bound your soul to your body once more. But this was only possible because your soul was… somehow saved prior to, though how I have no idea."

"I thought you knew everything? I thought you couldn't defy fate?" Constantine pressed with more questions.

"I couldn't, not until you did just now. You altered fate when you failed to kill me during our battle, and then after that point, fate willed itself to be changed by my hand. Don't… try and wrap your head around it too hard." Cain said with a chuckle.

"I… can't believe it… w-what happened to me Cain? Why did… I become that thing?" Constantine asked, trying so very hard to not break down into tears.

"You became a pale shadow." Cain began. "A pale shadow is just a projection of the soul. The dark shadow of a vile, twisted soul. When a human's very essence is stripped from his body, torn from its rightful cage of flesh, and not allowed to pass on, it remains in a state of limbo. Unless the soul is carefully preserved through other methods… with agonizing slowness, the soul breaks. It shatters, unfurls at the seams, thread by thread, decaying into an unholy, abominable form." Cain sighed, and continued. "So close to death, yet never allowed to die. The corrupting nature of the other realm makes it so. But still, a bare soul can never exist in the physical world for more than brief flashes, no matter how twisted. That's why the men of old called them pale shadows. It is a form, an incomplete shape cast by something greater. A much grander and much more terrifying eldritch being from beyond casting its shade onto our world."

"A-and I… nearly became that?" Constantine asked with wide eyes. "How is that even possible?"

"Normally, this process is slow like I said and it requires a soul removed from the body but you… you're unlike anything I'd ever seen. Your soul decayed and broke while still trapped in your body all this time. I don't… I don't have the slightest idea how that is even possible, what sort of twisted obsession and hope kept you going all this time. But that is why… the moment your body almost died, your soul unbound itself and erupted."

"Can one even kill… such a thing?"

"Only in the faded realm of death from which they exist. Only there can such a beast be truly slain."

Constantine looked down at the ground, searching for his dagger. Cain kicked it over towards him, being closer. Then Constantine picked it up and saw his reflection in its edge. "The pale shadow's voice… like an infection placed in my mind, an infection that only worsened every time I used this dagger." He muttered to himself.

"Perhaps, but what is done is done. That dagger is an exceedingly powerful weapon, do not fear it, instead, embrace it, and use it."

"Use it? And risk going crazy again?" Constantine shouted.

"Constantine… that will happen eventually no matter what." Cain said, his voice falling like a guillotine. Silence lingered between them as Constantine's mouth hung wide open.

"B-but you said-"

"My power reversed your fate, but in truth it only delayed it. This was not a cure, I was only able to buy you more time, the most precious thing there is. A year, ten, a month, or a day, no matter the length. The porcelaine shell that is your body has cracked, and I merely patched it, but eventually the soul within will shatter it once more."

"So should I not try to preserve it as much as I can?" Constantine questioned.

"Why preserve when you could embrace it? You've proven to be… adaptable. The dagger is your only guiding light in this darkness, and if you wish to be the savior you desire to be, the savior your friends and lovers need, then you must become one with it. Do not fear it. Every knight needs his sword to slay dragons."

"Please tell me dragons aren't real too…"

"Not a dragon per se, but there is one that awaits you at the end of this prison, and his name is Asmodeus."

Constantine gulped. "I'm going to have to fight him again, aren't I?"

"Yes ghhk… Haack, yes… but you won't be alone this time." Cain said, as he coughed some more blood into his fist. "And now you know the demon's secret."

"I… do?"

"Indeed. Asmodeus… is like a pale shadow. He exists in two forms, one here in the physical, the other in the realm of death, one hand encompassing his essence in both realms."

"That's why… the gloves?"

"Indeed, the gloves contain him and grant him power, allowing him to manipulate flesh to his will, but there is an even greater target. His eyes. His eyes are the only bridge between both realms, the only aspect of him that exists in both realms."

"W-why are you telling me this, how do you even know this… is he your ally? Is he a Silence like you?"

"He is indeed. The Silence of despair, one of the first of us… but I hold no love or affection for him. In fact, trying to kill him many times is precisely how I came to learn of this secret. And I'm telling you because I believe you can finish what I could not. You and Uriel, both of you can defeat him." Cain said with a faint smile. The demon groaned sharply, before he collapsed on one knee. "Grhhk… haah… I think with that… my time is coming to a close."

Constantine jumped to his feet, but froze with uncertainty. "W-what do I do?"

"At the end of the hallway, a stairway that will lead you down into Violentia, the seventh layer of Dudael. Find your friends Constantine, and save them from this hell."

"How do I get out…?"

"The key in my heart… take your dagger, plunge it deep within and carve it out of me. Do not be squeamish now, I'm already practically dead."

Constantine gulped, and nodded solemnly. "I understand… thank you Cain… for… bringing me back." He said as he walked closer and lifted his dagger, trying to embolden himself for what he was about to do. As he approached, Cain grabbed his wrist, holding him in place.

"Wait." He said weakly. "There is one more thing I must tell you, one more thing I must do… before this ends. I watched you earlier. You made the choice to stand, Constantine. You chose to rise, and face the darkness of your prison. You stood against fear, against despair, and for that I've chosen to help you. I am a demon and yes, I've done horrible things. I've killed, maimed, tortured, and so many other things I've lost count over the long dry years, trapped in this hellish existence, unable to defy the path laid out before me. But you've shown me that change… hope is possible, and for that I thank you. We will meet again, sooner than you might expect. And please, this time do not turn away from Death. But first, you must live. You must be filled with strength through the certainty that not only can you fight back against the encroaching dark… but you can win." Cain said with the truthful blood-filled smile of a broken man. "Do not forget your hope. Do not forget your love. You have proven that you truly can change this world, let it be for the better."

Upon finishing, Cain pushed Constantine's hand against his chest, plunging the holy dagger in his heart.