The spider demon skittered over to the circle the abbot once occupied, its 8 legs maneuvering gracefully. It blew the ashes of the dead abbot and began to recite the same text.
“I can see you are hurting, god,” it said, “It won’t be much longer now. How does it feel to be atop the world overseeing mortals and in the next moment be killed in the basement of a dilapidated chapel, the tale of your end forever forgotten?”
Jalen smiled through the pain. “If dying means I don’t have to hear that horrible voice of yours grating my ears any longer, then so be it.”
The demon hissed and redoubled its efforts to end Jalen’s existence. His skin was bubbling now, his insides dissolved by the very life force that created this vessel. It was only a few moments from the end now, so he glanced at the demon and made one last request.
“Since you have won, and I’ll be dead soon. Please, tell me your name. So that I will know in my last moments the name of the demon that killed me.”
“And why would I do that? What difference does it make?”
“None you see. It’s just that… for millennia, I have faced countless demons. I never knew I would meet my match or better yet, my better. It would please me in my last moments to know your name.”
“What is your name, god? Your real one,” the spider demon asked.
“Erebus,” Jalen said. “god of might.”
The demon’s human eye’s narrowed. “I have never heard of your name, nor any of your supposed feats.”
“That is because I left no witnesses. Not in the thousands of times I battled demons.”
“And this is where you met your end, great god,” the demon said, sneering. “Very well. I shall tell you the name of the demon that orchestrated your fall. I am Jigoku Kumo, a Tsuchigumo once serving under Belial, the blazing Archdevil, and Lord of Ira. I extend my gratitude to you, Erebus. With this power, I shall ascend the ranks of hell. And perhaps, even challenge Lord Belial himself, in the near future.”
“You’re welcome, Jigoku Kumo.” Jalen said. He flashed a smile for only a moment.
The last drops of his life force slipped away, rendering his vessel an empty husk. His body fell onto the cold stone floor, his eyes devoid of life.
❊ ❊ ❊
“At last.” Jigoku Kumo skittered over to Erebus to confirm he was dead. She determined that there wasn’t a morsel of life force in the now smoldering husk. Just to make sure, she smeared the bubbling sigils and symbols, breaking the spell, then dragged his body over to the dead woman. Jigoku Kumo longed to taste the flesh of the young woman more than any of the flesh she had consumed in this monastery. But time was of the essence. She betrayed her master. Once Lord Belial caught wind of her treachery, the Archdevil would not stop until Jigoku Kumo was engulfed in his flames under his fortress while being flayed and mutilated for eternity.
Maybe there is time for one bite.
After ripping a mouthful of flesh from the woman, Jigoku Kumo set the bodies aflame, then fled the monastery towards the setting sun, its destination, far away from the Archdevil that once ruled over her.
❊ ❊ ❊
From the crackling inferno consuming everything in the chapel’s basement, a figure emerged, his body charred and melted beyond recognition. Wrapped tightly in his left hand was the seed Laufey gave him, what felt like eons ago now. In his right hand was the remains of a rosary that belonged to a young nun, Abigail.
Jalen walked out of the chapel, his steps labored and tired. The cosmic life force that powered him trickled slowly, with its pressure ever increasing. The stench of burning wood and smoke was all he could smell. He headed to the nunnery, where the nuns kept their belongings. The temptations of revenge burned like a furnace, but he cast that aside. Jigoku Kumo was long gone now, and he had more pressing matters to attend to. Her time will come.
With his renewing strength, he struck down the old wooden doors and looted any money he could find, along with anything that would help him in his travels. After going through ten doors and with 250 dollars now in his coffers, Jalen, dressed in a monk’s garments, left the nunnery. The 3rd degree burns covering him had already scarred, rapidly healing. The fire had spread to the ground floor of the chapel now, red flames and smoke escaping through the windows. Jalen stepped into the night without a second glance.
❊ ❊ ❊
In the humid summer afternoon, a transit bus from Philadelphia stopped at the bus station in Hermsoville. People of various shapes and sizes stepped out of the bus, going their merry way. One such person was Jalen Nkanga, dressed in brown robes. He scurried out of the station, his paranoia forcing him to take occasional glances behind him. It was only yesterday that a spider demon killed everyone in the monastery and set it aflame.
His journey here had been grueling, starting with an overnight trek from Muncy to Harrisburg. Half way into the night, his life force had reached a sufficient level to facilitate a transformation into his god form, allowing him to cross vast distances with his flight. Upon reaching Harrisburg, his life force levels plummeted again. At least, he caught up on some needed sleep during the bus trip.
Jalen hailed a taxi, his destination being his former apartment. He was sure his sister, Ella, had moved, but seeing as he couldn’t remember her phone number, talking to the new tenants would be the first step in locating her, he hoped. Viewing the city streets and its people through the car window, Jalen could attest that not much had changed, from the surface at least.
The taxi stopped in Southside Haven, the district of dilapidated buildings and crumbling infrastructure, affordable housing, and a resilient cesspit of diverse people all striving to carve out a place in this world. Jalen’s former apartment was in an aging apartment complex nestled amongst other similar structures. He took the stairs since he remembered the elevator never working. He knocked on the front door of his former apartment and waited.
No answer, huh? Maybe they are at work.
He was about to leave after knocking a third time and getting no answer, when someone shouted from within the apartment.
“Go away! We already found God.”
Jalen was confused until he remembered the clothing he was wearing. “I’m not a priest or Jehovah’s witness. I just need to ask a few questions and I’ll be on my way.”
“We pay our taxes,” the female voice called out. “We aren’t interested in any surveys. We—”
“Look. I just wanna ask about the previous tenant. That’s all.”
The door slowly opened up to the chain latch. A middle-aged Chinese woman peeked through the narrow opening. “What do you want?”
“There was someone living here before you,” Jalen said. “Black girl with the afro hair—”
“Yeah, what about her?”
“She is my sister and I would like to know her whereabouts.”
The woman’s eyes narrowed. “What is your name?”
“Jalen.”
“So you are the missing boy,” she balked in disbelief, before opening the door fully. “Where did you go, a pilgrimage?”
“Yeah… something like that.”
“Well, uh… hold on.” The woman shut the door. Jalen heard footsteps rushing away, then coming back a few minutes later. The woman opened the door again and handed some food in takeaway plastic to him. “It’s not much but uh… if you find your sister, tell her Wei sent these. She is at The Narrows.”
“Where in The Narrows?”
“I don’t know. I don’t have her phone number, nor do I know her exact address. It’s been 4 years since she left this place. Good luck.”
“Thank you so much,” Jalen said.
As Jalen descended the old building, his dejected mood compounded. The Narrows was in a forgotten corner of the city where hope went to die. Over a hundred years ago, it was a place beaming with industry and wealth. But the movement of factories and jobs overseas, greed, mass riots, technology advancements, and gang violence killed the district. In many ways, Southside Haven was quite similar to The Narrows. The latter was just further along in its decline. If Ella was pushed to move there, he could only hope she was still alive.
Jalen hailed another taxi, this time spending the last of his money. The taxi dropped him well aways from The Narrows, but that was understandable. It was a few hours after noon and yet the pothole riddled streets were devoid of cars. That was what you got when generation poverty was the norm here. He did not know how and where to look for his sister, so he stopped by a dilapidated brick building and drank some water while formulating his next steps.
I have other relatives.
He slapped his forehead in shame. There were other people he knew that could know about her whereabouts. Aunt Darcy, his mother’s sister, was very close to Ella. His first step should have been to contact her. Now, he didn’t have any money to pay for a ride or even make a call. After confirming that no one was watching him, he transformed into Erebus and shot into the sky. Clutching the food in his arm, he navigated over to where aunt Darcy lived. Her apartment was situated a few blocks away from his former home.
Jalen was careful to land in a secluded spot before making it over to the apartment. After knocking on the door, a female voice asked.
“What do you want?”
“I’m Jalen Nkanga. I’m looking for aunt Darcy,” he said.
Then he waited, listening to feet shuffling and muffled voices. After a few minutes, the door opened, revealing a young black woman with a nose piercing.
“I thought I recognized you,” the woman said. “But you can never be too sure. It’s been long, Jalen. Remember me?”
Jalen squinted his eyes. “Jessica?”
“Yes!” She hugged him, then recoiled. “Ugh, you need a shower.”
When he left Earth 6 years ago, she was just 13. Now, she was a woman. It made Jalen sentimental about the passage of time and the mortality of humans.
Jalen laughed, stepping into the house. Then, he spotted a boy, about 12, standing behind the kitchen island.
“Mom said no strangers in the house, Jess,” the boy said, his tone meek.
“How many times do I have to tell you? He isn’t a stranger.” Jessica turned to Jalen. “Frank, meet Jalen, your cousin. And Jalen, the shower is to the right.”
Jalen waved at the boy. “Jesus, Jessica, I can’t even take a breather?”
“Nope. Not on any seats in this house. That’s for sure.”
Jalen had to admit he needed a shower. And a long one at that. Jessica brought him some old but clean clothes when he was done and also prepared spaghetti, sauce, and meatballs for him. She gave him some time to enjoy the meal before bombarding him with questions.
“So, where did you go, Jalen?” She asked. “You just disappeared for 6 years, and now you show up out of the blue. No calls. No texts. No nothing. You know, we all thought you were dead, right?”
“Yeah… It was a tough time for me so I… went on a pilgrimage.” Jalen said after downing a cup of water.
“Bullshit. I remember you dodging Sunday service like a cat avoiding water.”
Jalen chuckled. “Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future.”
“What does that even mean?” Frank asked, while looting some soda from the fridge.
“It means people change.” Jalen said. “So Jessica, where is your mum?”
“She went to New York for a work thing. She’ll be back next week.”
Jessica retrieved his plate when he finished and dropped it in the dishwasher. Then she returned to her seat beside Jalen, looking him in the eye. “What’s up with the golden eyes?”
“I am superhuman. That’s all really,” Jalen said.
“No fucking way.” Frank came running from the living room.
“Frank! No swearing.”
“Fuck off, Jess. This is amazing.” Frank stood uncomfortably close to him, examining his eyes. “What powers do you have mis… Jalen?”
He searched his brain, thinking about the powers he had in his human form. Other than his healing factor and peak human abilities, his human form didn’t possess any other powers. And no way was he transforming into a god just to impress the boy.
“It’s better I show you,” Jalen said, an honest smile appearing on his face. “Jessica, please lend me a knife.”
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