THE DAY THE EARTH SHOOK

Right through the castle, a river was flowing, cutting the stone building into two large pieces. The river was narrow but deep, filled with black liquid which was anything but water. Helios remembered the water and it left a strong impression on him. It was clear and refreshing. He could still remember the cold grasp of the waves once he dived into the ocean and the first time he placed his palms on the side of the lake. The humans used the water to stay alive, revitalize, and wash.

 He noticed that the girls he lured smelled better if they bathed in water before. That’s why he often preyed on them while they were swimming naked, charming them into consuming their sudden love and after he was done with them, he would easily toss them inside the river or the lake without needing to worry about how he will dispose of the body. Nobody ever found any of the victims and none of the girls could ever return from the depths he sentenced them to.

He was ready to relive all the memories he created there as the Earth was crowded with numerous wonders he didn’t manage to witness in a such short time, but he knew, almost felt their presence, as the sweet reminders were swarming his mind. Every day was different and compelling in its own way on Earth. Even the most trivial things humans did were enough to entice a desire to stay there and just indulge in the spoils the Earth offered.

The summoning site wasn’t far now, and Helios’s excitement grew with every additional step he took. Suddenly as he glided through the darkness the sky above him opened. The sharp line of purple light was now cutting the upper atmosphere over him and that was the signal both the Summoner and the Ruler were approaching the field where the Ritual was to take place.

Their arrival was abrupt, and Helios looked at the sky while his eyes jerked from all the light coming his way. The dark was always present here and even his eyes were used to sudden changes, the power of the Ruler was too strong for his eyes to withhold.

He came down the small hill which was between the castle and the field and now he could see and hear the consequences of summoning the portal. Far ahead of him a thin but long line spread. The Cursed which will be used for the portal were chased down the terrain in order to form a sigil which will be used as a connection with the one the Summoner will use for the procession.

The Cursed coming his way were whipped and beaten and the closer he came to them, the more he could see. Those Cursed were best known as the trash of the realm. They were all traitors, unimportant creatures, and those who tried to fight the system of the Ruler. He hated them all and as he was approaching, he couldn’t help but feel the sweet rush when he saw them getting hit and molested.

In front of the line and on both sides walked the guards of the Abyss. They were almost as ruthless as Helios was, enjoying their work to the maximum. They used their whips on the back of the Cursed without any remorse, and along the long line, you could hear the screams and whimpers of the chased party.

Helios now came to the edge of the field and stood on a large stone rune in the middle of the terrain. The rune was engraved into the stone spreading over a large area of the surface. He knew, once the Ritual takes place, the rune will blind him with a strong light and the rift under him will open to let him through. He could almost taste the prey which will feel his wrath on the Earth soon.

He sat down nonchalantly and took a long look at the party in front of him. There were so many expendable bodies coming to the field now that he was almost losing track of the number. He knew the number would be big, but once put before him, the amount of the Cursed looked even larger in quantity.

The sky was now on fire. The Abyss was enveloped by raging flames coming from the upper atmosphere. The Ruler was strong and magnificent. The amount of power he held in his hands was beyond this world, but not even he was able to walk the Earth freely nor he ever got a hold of the secret some of the Cursed carried to the other realm. Helios knew that made him mad and blind for this world he ruled over.

The guards now guided the creatures to create a necessary form. Some of them screamed bewildered at the fire coming upon them and some of them screeched with their mouth full of raging foam. They knew they were going to their doom. There was nothing after this realm, nothing besides pure nothingness. Some of them walked with calm expressions residing on their tortured faces. They wanted to leave this place and they didn’t care what purpose was behind that.

“My beloved servants.” A voice echoed from the sky, now piercing Helios’s ears. “This is the day you must sacrifice. This is the day your body will provide fuel for great changes.” Helios smirked. He approved of the mission, but he couldn’t help but notice how the soon-to-be piles of dust didn’t care much for the future. There was no future for them. Only death awaited at the door, which was in Helios’s opinion, very ironic, since all of them were already technically dead.

However, the will of the Ruler was absolute, and his decision was definite.

“Your high general will be sent on a mission today which will open the gates to the Earth and when that happens the Cursed will be unstoppable. We all must sacrifice for the sake of that. We must stand together and reach the realm we desire so.”

Helios got a strong urge to laugh. He will be drinking and fucking in a matter of hours. He doubted they all signed for that wish of his to come true.

“Fear not. Once the gates are open your Ruler will find a way to bring you back. Fear not, you will feel the taste of victory and you will be rewarded for your sacrifice.”

What a bunch of trash, Helios thought at this moment, still sitting peacefully on a rune that started to emit weak light. The Ritual will happen soon. The Ruler knew what to say to the masses, but he doubted there was a way to bring them back ever again.

Suddenly, the sky exploded. Or so it seemed when Helios saw that the strong light erupted above him and the rift opened, letting the Summoner come down in front of the masses.

“My kin, the Ruler is merciful allowing us to support his great endeavor. We must be thankful to the Almighty and surrender our bodies for him to wield. He will guide us to victory. He will guide us out of this hollow place.” The Summoner spoke and Helios took a good look at him.

He was now in his demon form and judging from his appearance, he was a Banshee. Her eyes were two blue fires, piercing the scenery below her. As she was slowly coming down from the sky to the stand on the second rune, Helios could take a better look at her. Her figure was slender and long, and she resembled the women from Earth. That was the only similarity they had as the hands of the Banshee were long and veiny with strong and sharp fingernails. Her skin was a mixture of blue and dark gray.

Helios now got up and stood on the rune looking at the Banshee curiously. She was a cunning creature, posing like a man of Earth to the one she would meet. He wondered why she showed her true form at this moment and concluded that it was probably because the spell was too strong for her to withhold the human appearance. He believed her flesh would deteriorate as she was performing the seance.

Her eyes were two marbles burning blue and her head was distorted with a malicious look on her face. Her hair was cascading freely around her shoulders which were veiny like the rest of the arm. Her lips slowly broke into a sly smile and when her feet touched the ground Helios could finally see that she wore no robe and stood there in her rawest shape.

The Banshee raised her hands towards the sky creating a transparent light sphere that was slowly growing in size. Helios knew what the sphere did as he experienced the blow from it a long time ago.

The rift above them opened again and the hand of the Ruler appeared lingering between the two sides. It was long and black made out of shadows that folded on the ends of it. Helios felt sudden fear as the hand twisted from one side to another, breaking the chains around his wings.

The chains broke so abruptly, smashed into a million small pieces which now evaporated into thin air. Helios felt instant relief when such a burden was lifted off his chest and back. He was too scared to spread them and decided to just stand there patiently, waiting for the next part of the ceremony. He was so close to freedom. He could almost taste it. There was no room for mistakes and strange feelings of happiness.

“Thank you, my Leader,” Helios spoke silently, raising his head towards the rift above him.

“You are free now.” The Ruler spoke and the hand moved one more time creating an elliptical shape that was now traveling to the transparent sphere on top of the Summoner’s hands. When the two collided, the portal would be open.

At that moment, all the creatures will instantly burn and only ashes will be left on the ground. Helios will not be there at that moment to honor the greatness of this Ruler, instead, he will be on Earth, making his will come true.

The next moment, the transparent sphere started to fill with strong golden light which was creating stripes inside of it that reminded Helios of glorified chains. That was the Bind, a spell that would connect the Summoner and the Incubus in a relationship that was controlled only by the Summoner.

The final thing he remembers was Banshees eyes which were directed towards him at the exact second when the two summons clashed. She pierced him with her blue marbles and her lips split into a devious smile once her very flesh started to burn under the pressure of the spell. Her skin started to fall off at certain places revealing the burn scars quickly. The Ruler was healing her, so she doesn’t burn with the other creatures.

The sphere and the ellipse finally clashed and the rune below Helios’s feet suddenly started to tremble. The next moment, a strong light shone out of it blinding him and overpowering his body. He now floated above the rune and his wings spread uncontrollably. Rune was crucifying him for the sphere and he was left to linger in a place where he saw nothing, but felt everything.

Suddenly he felt a strong blow that made him feel the strongest pain imaginable. He tried to run from it, hide from it, and fold his body into a ball of defense, but it was impossible as the rune took over his body entirely. The pain magnified as the light before him grew stronger and then the pain stopped, just like it was never there.

He slipped through the portal, now leaving the Abyss behind. He closed his eyes and opened them again, just to see darkness before him.

It was no ordinary Abyss darkness, filled with only black void and shadows lurking through the clouds. This darkness was filled with little white dots of light that Helios remembered the humans called stars. He was falling from the sky at a large speed, now trying to unfold his wings and take control of the flight.

His wings were chained for too long and he continued to fall without control, now turning into a dark ball of fire coming from the skies.

The people on Earth looked above themselves and the event was soon noticed by many, but they thought it was a meteor and looked at the scene with great joy.

Helios crashed on the ground with full power, naked and in his human form. He again carried that beautiful face with pitch-black hair and deep, green eyes humans loved to look at. He fell in the middle of the woods, breaking the trees around himself and creating a strong shock wave to the ground below.

He crashed but felt no pain. The pain on Earth was almost nonexistent for him and he appreciated that very much. He landed on his knee and tried to move his wings. They were still very still and not under his control.

He stood up and looked around himself. The sweet smell of fresh moss and falling leaves touched his nose, and he inhaled deeply. Not because he needed to, but because he wanted to.

The Earth was his to dominate once again and it will shake below his feet as it shook now when he arrived.

He was ready.