Apollyon

     With the silvery, curling plumes of smoke that twisted toward the thatched ceiling of the hut, Blue felt his soul slowly ease from its bonds. Drifting away, no longer shackled, it would move on to another place, free from all ties but one- the Silver Cord. That final bond would guide him back to the body that waited, vacant, on the Universal Plane.

     “Is it dangerous?” Chieko had asked that afternoon as they’d sat within the hut. Only Keisuke, Mina and Ayame were absent. The Commander had stalked off in disgust after Qa Haran had bidden them farewell. The two women followed him.

     “This kind of journey is not without its risks,” Blue explained. “If the Silver Cord is severed, I won’t be able to return to the body I leave behind. My physical manifest on another Plane can be killed, just like the one I was born into on this Plane. If that occurs, my soul will return to the Cycle, and my body here will die.” He paused. “In Pandemonium, souls themselves can be destroyed. Should that happen, I’ll cease to be entirely. It’s not easy to destroy a soul… but I suppose this Caiaphas must be capable of it, from what Qa Haran said.

     Blue turned to look directly at Harata, as though he wished the others to be spared from what he would say.

      “My body on this Plane, without its soul, will appear dead. You won’t be able to tell one way or another. Only Yukiiae will know the difference. If she tells you I’ve passed, just listen to her. Do what you will with the remains and know that I did whatever I could. I don’t know what lies in wait… it could very well be beyond my abilities.”

     Harata only nodded.

     “I wish I could go with you,” whimpered Chieko.

     “As nice as it would be to have the company, fate would have it that I have to go alone. And I should go as soon as possible.”

     “Understood,” Harata said.

     An hour later, Blue slid open the door to a tiny room within the hut. He heard a noise behind him, and turned to see Takaeyama, standing gangly and awkward, fidgeting nervously.

     “I just… um, I wanted to say good luck,” the Corduran said, his eyes lowered.

     “Thanks,” Blue replied.

     “Don’t get killed or nothing, ok?”

     “I’ll do my best.” The Night’s Herald smiled. “I’ve been there before, remember? It won’t be that bad.”

     “Yeah…” Takaeyama trailed off. The two remained in awkward silence for a few breaths. “I…”

     “Yeah?”

     “Never mind. Just good luck.”

     Takaeyama turned abruptly and walked off.

     Now Blue was alone, lying on the floor. The scent of incense- a gift from the head of an Anrakshi temple- hung in the air heavily. The Night’s Herald felt the dizzying release come over him, and with a final breath, sent his soul to wander. The Universal Plane slipped away, fading like consciousness before sleep.

     “Erishkegal.” 

     She was waiting, as Blue knew she would be, in the barren land before the First Gate. The unchanging, alluring goddess smiled warmly as he approached.

     “I’ve been awaiting your return, little Wanderer, though today I am not the only one. Caiaphas is eager to meet you.” The red eyes of the goddess narrowed as she smiled slyly. “Of course, that won’t make your passage any easier. If you aren’t strong enough, he has no need for you.”

     “It is I who has need for him,” Blue replied with a hint of defiance.

     The stunning goddess crept closer.

     “Maybe so, child of mine, but he has laid claim to your soul, and I have no argument. I’ve long wanted you by my side.”

     “I belong to myself, Erishkegal.”

     She was so close that wisps of her hair, blown on the breeze, brushed his cheek.

     “For now you do,” the goddess conceded, “but perhaps not for long. Along the path you walk today, you will face nothing but your own darkness. You may not even wish to belong to yourself when you reach its end.”

     “We’ll see.”

     “So we shall,” Erishkegal grinned again, her face very near Blue’s. He smiled in return. “This is your final warning, Wanderer. You can turn back… or you can put yourself within my reach.”

     “I’ll continue, if it’s all the same to you.”

     “Very well, then. I’ll be meeting you at each Gate to collect my toll. Speaking of…”

     Blue removed his rush sandals and handed them over to the goddess.

     “Caiaphas’s minions will not be gentle. Fare thee well, my child.”

     “See you later, Erishkegal.”

     He turned from her and entered the First Gate.

     Blue stepped through the First Gate into the ankle deep, stagnant waters of the First Tier. He wasn’t all that surprised to find that his physical manifest in Pandemonium had both legs intact. The body he left behind bore all the marks of its sojourn on the Universal Plane, but his soul bore no such scars. He stood a moment and surveyed the misty atmosphere. All was quiet. Blackened, twisted trees writhed up, as if in agony, from the shallow, muddy waters. In another area of the First Tier, tortured souls would be burbling out their pain. Here, Blue thought himself quite alone.

    The soft splashing of approaching feet proved him wrong. This would be the first of Caiaphas’s henchmen, no doubt. Blue squinted through the haze to see what manner of being had been sent to dispatch him. The form looked familiar.

     When she finally came into focus, Blue saw that it was Kat.

     “So…” she said. “You think yourself strong enough to travel all the way to the Ninth Tier? How typical.”

     “Typical?”

     “Of you. You’ve always been that way- seeing yourself as so able, so capable. You have no humility. You’ve frowned on me for thinking myself above the others, but you’re no different. You look down on all of us, like we’ll never be as holy as you. That feeling itself is a blemish on your soul.”

     As quickly as Blue wished to deny her claim, images flashed through his mind confirming them. It was true, sometimes he did see their souls as more base than his own… but was it that, or simply that he thought they lacked the lessons that had been taught to him? Did he really see them as lowly, wretched creatures, or as souls that could be as pure if only they knew how? Memories of Chieko, Yukiiae, Takaeyama, even Harata, flooded him, confirming that the words this “Kat” had said were only a version of the truth, misconstrued.

      “That blemish can be overcome, as can you, minion,” he said, drawing his dagger. The false Kat fell on him, but she was easily defeated. Blue didn’t look back on her bleeding form, but proceeded to the Second Gate.

     Erishkegal said nothing to him as he handed over his sopping wet socks.

     The land through the Second Gate was dry and cracked, a barren desert. Nothing grew there, and waves of heat radiated from the very ground. At first, the light was blinding after the mist of the First Tier. Blue waited a moment for his eyes to adjust.

     Once they had, he could make out the huge form ambling across the dry land. It would be the image of Kazuki that he would face here. The big man was chuckling.

     “Why ya botherin’, Little Man?” he asked. “Ya can’t go much farther, an ya know it, too. Weak. That’s all ya are. Ya can’t do this. Yer body is weak. Yer mind is weak. And yer spirit? Ha! Ya ain’t got nuthin’ on Caiaphas, boy. Jus’ turn around.”

     “Who are you to call me weak, lackey? What do you even know of it?”

     “Heh. Look at’cha, sweatin’ in the sun. Ya always lag behind, can’t keep up wit the others. Yer pride keeps that mouth a yers shut, but I kin see it. Not up to much since that little accident ya had, are ya?”

     “Perhaps not, but that’s not much of an issue in the here and now, is it? I’ve come here on the strength of my soul, not the strength of the dying creature I inhabit on another Plane.”

     “Yer soul, huh? Buddy, ya might think yer tough, but ya ain’t got much goin’ fer ya here. An’ ya been getting sloppy lately, distracted as ya are by the mysteries a the pretty little humans ya surround yerself with. Yer makin’ mistakes. Ya know it, too.”

     Mistakes? Yes, Blue supposed. He had been choosing easier paths lately. He’d allowed himself to bend his own rules to spare the feelings of the others. Slowly, the value that he’d placed on the well-being of his own soul ebbed, replaced by a growing concern for the people he’d come to know. Yet, did that weaken him? He’d never been able to reconcile his choice of the other souls above his own, but something deep inside had told him that it was a grace, rather than a downfall.

     He looked hard at the creature masquerading as Kazuki, and thought about the big man himself. It was quite possible that Kazuki’s soul truly did bear marks of a strength that Blue did not possess. His hidden suffering surfaced only through snatches of conversation. He cheerfully endured what others might have seen as insufferable tragedy- the dying, drug-addicted brother, the early loss of his parents, concern for a beloved wife who rose early every morning to operate heavy machinery in a dilapidated factory, love for children who would grow up rough and uneducated, packed off to work before they’d lost the flowers of their youth, the filth and poverty, the cruel foreman. Nothing crushed the Pantagruel. Nothing stopped him from laughingly carrying on. Blue had come to realize that walking a mile in Kazuki’s shoes might very well kill him.

     Looking at the evil thing before him, dressed in the image of that gentle man, filled Blue with fury. Without warning, he dashed forward, plunging his dagger to the hilt in the huge man’s stomach. The mock Kazuki reacted by backhanding Blue across the face. His mouth filled with the taste of blood as he felt a few teeth knocked loose. Dazed, he staggered backwards, but the giant offered not a second of recovery. The weight of the Pantagruel hit Blue with incredible force, knocking him off his feet. Dust billowed from the ground as they fell in a heap. The Pantagruel’s enormous hands wrapped around Blue’s neck. Fighting panic, the Night’s Herald reached up and twisted the knife in the gut of his opponent. Blood spattered his face as the false Kazuki retched, but didn’t loosen his grip. Starting to see starbursts before his eyes, Blue realized that he’d have but one final chance before passing out. In desperation, he yanked the dagger from the creature’s gut and swept it forcefully across his neck. Blood rained down as the Pantagruel released him, clutching his own throat. He fell back to the desert floor and did not rise up again.

     Blue waited a few moments to regain his composure, spitting blood and teeth into his hand. He gave the teeth to a silent Erishkegal as his toll for the Third Gate.

     A drifting snowflake melted on Blue’s cheek as he crossed onto the Third Tier. An expanse of white spread out before him. All was frozen under filthy snow. His bare feet protested as he stepped into a snowdrift and began wading across the barren plain. The light snowfall soon turned heavier, until finally he was nearly blinded. He almost jumped out of his skin when he heard a voice off to the side.

     “Cold here, isn’t it?”

     Mina’s form emerged from the eddying snowflakes.

     “Yeah,” Blue replied without feeling.

     “You’re not dressed for this weather. That’s your problem, really. You never do think things through. You’re always plunging ahead, taking life as it comes, when you could save yourself a whole lot of trouble by just thinking a little. Look at you! You don’t even know how you’re going to get Caiaphas to give you the answer you want. You don’t have any idea what’s going on. The sad thing is, I doubt you care. Simpleton.”

     “I know enough to know that standing here chatting with the likes of you will only end up freezing me to death.”

     “See? Still not thinking, not asking questions. I could tell you a lot, leave you better prepared.”

     “Tempting, but I’ll pass.”

     “Suit yourself.”

     The false Mina drew a gun and fired. Blue dropped, but not quickly enough, and felt the sting of the bullet rip through his shoulder. He rolled where he lay on the snow-covered ground, and in one motion, cut the tendons behind the Sabian’s ankles. She fell into the snow and he rose, looking down on her.

     “You can stay here and freeze. I’ll take my chances elsewhere.” He reached down and picked up the gun from where it lay on the snow.

     Blue tore the ripped sleeve of his robe and used some of it to bind the wound on his shoulder. At the Fourth Gate, he handed it to Erishkegal, who shook her head at him sadly.

     “You’re not looking well, Little One. It’s only going to get worse.”

     “I’ll be ok, Erishkegal. I’ll be fine.”

     Her gaze followed him through the Fourth Gate.

     Brambles tore at his skin and clothing as Blue made his way slowly across the Fourth Tier. The dark forest was full of the stench of decay. Dead creatures hung in the brambles and from vines in the trees. Bones scattered the ground. Cuts made by the thorns all around grew inflamed quickly, becoming red and itchy.

     When Blue came to the clearing midway between the Fourth and Fifth Gates, he found the next minion of Caiaphas waiting for him. This one bore the likeness of Harata, complete with that easy warrior’s grace he had. Blue found it slightly disconcerting.

     “Hello, Blue.” The would-be Harata smiled.

     “Hey.”

     “You know, I really think you ought to turn around. I mean, even if you make it all the way to Caiaphas, it’s gonna be all for nothing anyway. You could even get what you came for, and it wouldn’t make any difference. At least, not to you, anyway.”

     “What are you talking about?”

     “So we ‘save’ the world once, who’s to say the same thing won’t happen again in a few thousand years?”

     “Wouldn’t be my problem.”

     “See? That’s what I really hate about you, Blue. You’ve got no faith in mankind, no belief. You don’t say ‘Oh, people will learn from our sacrifice’ or ‘Things can change’. I don’t really think you’re even cut out to be a Champion. You’ve got talent and all, but you’ve always lacked that… that conviction. You just go along, doing it just because you are. I doubt you even care.”

     “I don’t think it’s important for me to even answer that.”

     Was it true? Did he really lack faith in humankind? Perhaps, Blue realized… but was it important? As he’d done nothing but live his life moment to moment, he’d never considered his own vision of the future. He understood now that he didn’t have such a vision. Blue was sorely tempted to give it some thought, but swiftly realized the pitfall. Should he stop to worry about things that may or may not be, to consider his own shortcomings, he would fail and none of them would have any future at all. In the end, his own intentions were good, and perhaps it was better that he acted without judgment.

     Smiling ruefully at the imposter Harata, Blue shot him between the eyes with the gun he’d taken from the Third Tier challenger. Somehow, the killing didn’t sit well with him, and he carried on with regret. When the Fifth Gate came into view through the tangled growth, Blue steeled himself. He wasn’t hurting the people he knew, only their likenesses. At the Gate, he handed over the gun to Erishkegal, glad to be rid of it. She didn’t speak to him this time, only unlocked the Gate and ushered him through.

     It was only the glowing light of lava flows that lit the mountains of the Fifth Tier. The going was painfully slow as Blue picked his way through the jagged rocks that scattered the path. He was beginning to feel tired, aching all over- from his swollen mouth to the tiny, infected cuts made by the brambles in the poisonous forest.

     A lithe form made its way toward him, sliding playfully down an incline.

     “You look like shit, pal,” Ayame said without mercy.

     “Feel like it, too,” he replied lightly.

     “Don’t expect me to feel sorry for you. It’s not like you cared much back in Mianuus when the roles were reversed. Just a Dauern with a Dauern problem, right? Getting beat-up and raped is just part of the whole lifestyle. You saw it every day. You and all the rest of them up there, up at the top of the hill. You’re supposed to be holy. You’re supposed to care. Dammit, Blue! We’re people, too. How could you know what was happening to my Clan and not do anything? Why do all you Night’s Herald just turn a blind eye? You could save us… but you don’t. You just let it happen. You’re the cause of all my sorrow. Why? Why don’t you care?”

     She was crying, tears glinting red in the lava’s light.

     And he knew that there was nothing he could say in his defense. He could try to justify his inaction, argue that nobody was trying to help the Dauern. What could one man do, alone? Yet it was wrong.

     “I’m sorry,” he breathed, the shock of his true regret aching within. How many people had been like her- lovely, vibrant, bright? How many people like that beautiful girl had lived lives of brokenness and slavery until meeting their untimely deaths to fill the needs of the system? He did ignore it… but he knew that after knowing Ayame he’d never ignore it again. He wouldn’t be able to save her- the damage had been done- but perhaps her children, should she be lucky enough to live to have any. “I’m sorry,” he said again.

     “Not good enough!”

     Ayame’s long nails raked against his face, drawing blood. Blue grabbed her arm and twisted. She cried out in pain. He had his dagger to her throat. Kill her. Blue found himself unwilling. What she’d said was true. He had no righteous anger to make it easier. It’s not Ayame. Just a shadow. Finally, Blue slit her throat. Shaking, he turned and scrambled up the mountainside.

     He was coughing from the poisonous fumes of the volcanoes when he at last reached the Sixth Gate. With the bloodied dagger he cut the other sleeve from his robe and handed it to Erishkegal.

     “The worst is yet to come, child of mine,” she said. “Give me your soul, Blue. Give yourself up to me, and I will take you to Caiaphas myself. I’ll make him give you what you want. You can go back to the Universal Plane, finish your work there. Just say that you’ll be mine, and all of this can be over.”

     “It’ll be over in its time, but not before. Take your toll, and let me pass.”

     “As you wish, but it pains me to see you suffer.”

     Blue didn’t answer, but walked through the Gate.

     He found himself on the grounds of a slaughterhouse. The whole of the Sixth Tier was as such, and in the distance he could hear the screams of animals as they were tortured unto death. The stench in the air was unbearable. Unable to help himself, Blue retched, then vomited. Stumbling, he continued on, past the piles of rotting byproducts and overturned vats of lye.

     What seemed like hours of wandering through the carnage ended abruptly when Blue heard snatches of soft singing. He looked up to see Yukiiae, seated on a vat. She was holding the skull of some animal, maybe a pig. Her gaze was full of sorrow as her eyes met his own.

     “This is a terrible place,” she said softly.

     “It is,” he agreed.

     “Why do places like this have to exist? Everything here is full of pain.”

     “Pain has its place in life, just like joy.”

     “Even your own? It seems to me that all you ever do is hide from your own pain and ignore everybody else’s. You haven’t got any compassion, Blue. You never loved anyone but yourself. That’s why you can walk through a place like this and only think that it’s dank and smelly and uncomfortable for you. You’re surrounded by suffering, but you don’t notice anything other than your own. You’re empty. You have no heart.”

     “I’m changing,” he began to argue. “I care about you.”

     “Don’t kid yourself. I know you think I only suffered because I was stupid enough to love, and foolish enough not to let go of that love after its time had passed. At least I’m not like you- killing my love out of fear. Don’t think I haven’t noticed. I’ve seen you trying to extinguish that flame in your cowardice. Love won’t taint you any more than your lack of empathy already has, but I guess you’ll never know.”

     Yukiiae looked lovingly down at the skull in her hands, then flung it with all her might at Blue. It smashed against his arm, sending splinters of bone into his flesh. Fluidly, without thought, he flung his dagger. It lodged in her heart and she pitched to the corpse-littered ground.

     He walked slowly over to where she lay. As he slid the blade gently from her chest, he reached down to stroke her lifeless face. With a feeling of mourning, he gazed into her staring eyes.

     “You’re right,” he whispered. “I’m afraid… but for reasons of a far more human nature.”

     Swallowing hard, he turned and left the body behind to decay with all the others. At the Seventh Gate, he handed over what remained of his robe.

     “I’ll not beg you, Wanderer.”

     “It’s for the best that you don’t.”

     On the Seventh Tier there raged a battle. Eternal, it had not purpose and would never be won or lost. The ground was pocked with divots from small arms fire and craters from large shells. Rockets lit up the sky. Trees smoldered, and the scent of sulfur and burning filled the air. Far off, men screamed in pain.

     Blue found Keisuke seated on the remains of a bomb-blasted tank. From his bearing, one would think he was astride a chariot.

     “Thought it would be a nice place to meet up… appropriate,” Keisuke said, grinning as he hopped to the ground. “Surrounded by death. Cause that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?”

     Blue looked over at Keisuke, his expression puzzled.

     “With us, you and me. Death’s all that’s really important. Sure, we’ve got different reasons for feeling that way, but we both do. All you ever think about is dying. You live your life just for the end result. Morbid, isn’t it? I’m sure that if you tried to live just for being alive, you wouldn’t know what to do with yourself. At least I can appreciate the joys of life, indulge in the little pleasures. I can be thankful for the great things that the gods have provided us. I guess that makes me holier than you- you just spit at the wonders of the living world, thinking yourself above them. Have you never considered that maybe the gods really think you’re a little snotrag, turning up your nose at all the gifts they offer? A little bit of happiness isn’t going to make you a heathen.”

     “Point taken.”

     “Liar. You’ve got all a man could want lying on a platter at your feet and you’re just going to piss on it. I’ve had enough talking to you. I’ll just kill you now and you can go apologize to your gods in person for throwing away all the wonderful things they did for you.”

     Dawn and Dusk were drawn, and Keisuke fell on Blue with ferocity. Armed only with the dagger, there was little the Night’s Herald could do to defend himself. Feeling the blades slice his skin, Blue jumped back, but stumbled, pitching backwards. Seeing the steel poised above, he rolled. Dusk plunged into his arm and Blue defiantly refused to scream. A kick shattered Keisuke’s kneecap and he fell. Furiously, he struggled to stand up, leaning on Dawn. Blue stood, and the weight of the blade buried in his arm caused it to sag and finally fall. Blue felt a fiery wave of pain followed by a numbness in his fingertips. Keisuke dove for the blade, and as he did so, Blue buried his dagger in the back of the Commander’s neck. Keisuke thrashed for a while, then lay still.

     Blue fought the urge to lie down, to pass out. With a feeling of intense exhaustion, he cut strips from his pants and used them to bind his wounds. He gave what remained of the fabric to Erishkegal. She looked at him standing there, bleeding, clad only in his underwear and sighed heavily.

     “You can still change your mind. If you go on alone like this, you’ll only be killed. Give yourself to me, Beloved Soul. I’ll see that no more harm comes to you, my precious one.”

     “No, Erishkegal. There’s only a little ways left. I’ll make it.”

     Wearily, he pushed through the Eighth Gate.

     The river was of blood. Blue had heard of it, but had never seen it, having never ventured so far into Pandemonium. The stench of it hung in the air, and the white and bloated corpses of the sleeping dead drifted lazily by on the current. The river must be waded through- there were no boats. If those dead were disturbed, they would wake from their slumber. What tortures lay in wait varied from soul to soul. Yet Blue knew they would not trouble him. As Erishkegal had said, the only darkness he would face would be his own.

     As Blue climbed onto the far bank after wading through the thick, sticky liquid of the river, he heard a voice, full of dismay.

     “You’re dying.”

     It was Chieko.

     “Yes, I suppose.”

     “That’s so sad. You won’t be able to help us. Everyone will die. Does dying hurt, Blue?”

     “It depends on how you die.”

     “Does it hurt now?”

     “Yeah, but I won’t die now. I can’t. This is too important.”

     “When you fail, Erishkegal gets to keep you. Bet you didn’t know that. It’s the fate of a Champion who dooms the rest of us by dying. But maybe you did know that, because you already watched yourself fail, in the dreams. Did you see what happens to you after that?”

     “No.”

     “Well, I won’t spoil it then. Poor Blue! You walked right into a death trap. It’s kind of stupid of you really. I guess maybe you’re a bit more like me than you think- naïve, innocent, just taking for granted that things will work out in the end. You saw that you wouldn’t be able to do this, but you tried anyway. I think maybe it would be nice of me just to put you out of your misery right now. That way you won’t have to suffer any more.”

     From her pocket, Chieko withdrew a long syringe. Dazed, he watched her take him by the wrist. Was she right? He had appeared defeated in the dreams, broken. Was he simply prolonging the inevitable? It didn’t matter. He had to follow through.

     “Chi, don’t,” he pleaded.

     “You won’t feel a thing- just like going to sleep.”

     The needle was about to pierce his skin.

     With his free hand, Blue punched the girl in the throat, crushing her windpipe. She collapsed, choking. So as not to prolong her suffering, Blue plunged his blade into her temple.

     He crept over to her, cradling her body in his arms. Unable to hold the pain at bay any longer, he wept. He’d just killed Chieko. Chieko, of all people.

     No, not Chieko- a likeness, nothing more.

     Yet she seemed so real, so much like that cheerful, sweet girl he’d left behind on another Plane. What kind of person was he that he could take the lives of his only friends? Perhaps he really did belong in this vile place.

     No. If you give up now, the real Chieko will die. They’ll all die along with the world. Go. Keep going. You can hate yourself when all of this is finished.

     He rose, fighting waves of pain and nausea. The body he was in wasn’t going to last much longer. At the Ninth Gate, Erishkegal waited. She looked from the dagger he carried to his undergarments and chuckled.

     “What’s it going to be? Strength or modesty?”

     “I’ve need of strength right now. Besides, these are ruined from the river,” Blue replied as he stripped down.

     “You could have all the strength you wanted if you gave yourself up to me. Last chance.”

     “I’ll finish what I started. And I’ll be glad to at that. I hate this place.”

     Sighing, Erishkegal ushered Blue through the final Gate.

     He was met at the shore of the frozen lake which surrounded the Pandemonium Metropolis by a bodyguard of Caiaphas. The man was huge, and resembled a cross between a pig and a human being. Blue was unceremoniously tugged across the ice, then dragged through the city streets to the place where Caiaphas waited. The city itself was cold, misty and stinking.

     In a large but dimly lit room, Blue was shoved to the floor by his “guide”.

     “Blue. How thoughtful of you to bow before me.”

     “Caiaphas.”

     Blue stood. The man Caiaphas was seated in a large chair, almost a throne. It appeared to be made of ivory. Caiaphas himself did not appear as aged as Qa Haran. He wore clothing of blood red, cut in a mockery of the fashion worn by Night’s Herald. His dark hair was graying, his face slightly lined, especially around the eyes. Those eyes were hauntingly familiar to Blue, who’d seen them looking back at him every time he faced a mirror.

     “Yes,” Caiaphas crooned. “Even your newly-born form bears evidence of our kinship. My dear great-grandson! We are united at last.”

     “Only for a little while, Caiaphas.”

     “Blood of my blood, how could you not want to spend more than a ‘little’ time with me? There’s so much I could teach you.”

     “I’ll just take the knowledge that I came for.”

     “Ah yes, Qa Haran sent you to me to retrieve that little piece of the puzzle I withheld from him. He treats you as his errand boy! And look how you’ve suffered for it!”

     “That was your doing.”

     “To enter Pandemonium is to suffer, unless you are a Lord here, as am I. You knew that when you came. Don’t play stupid. It doesn’t suit you.”

     “Whatever,” Blue answered, mimicking Keisuke. “All I want from you is that ‘puzzle piece’ as you call it.”

      “Think on this a moment, my boy. What is that world to you but a place your soul inhabited on its journey? Why should you sacrifice the grace of your soul for it? Already Qa Hara robbed you of your chance at Holy Death when you lived as my great-grandson. You’ve seen your own faults through the eyes of your peers. You’ll not be granted Holy Death as you are now. Surely you can see that.”

     “I’m not dying now.”

     “Take a look at yourself! You’re bleeding to death before my very eyes. It’s hard for me to see you in such pain. I’ve long wished to have you with me, my son. You are a testament to our bloodline. You should rule with me here. What an aid you would be in my plans! Forget Qian Ra. Forget Diasminion. That its corruption would end the world is very fitting indeed. There are times when destruction is a necessary part of the Cycle. You know that as well.”

     “I do. But I also know that it’s up to the gods to decide. Not mere souls such as you and I.”

     “It is time for Qian Ra to pass. The one going against the gods is Qa Haran, by fighting the natural order. Let it go. There will be other planets.”

     “If it is the will of the gods that Qian Ra be destroyed, then why didn’t the Guardians leave of their own accord? Gods don’t just go down with the ship.”

     “Sometimes the natural order needs a little help.”

     “You? You destroyed the Guardians?”

     “Not I, myself. I sent a manifest, from Pandemonium, to do the dirty work. Should you defy me, I’ll send more.”

     “Why does it matter to you what happens to Qian Ra? Why should you even care if the Champions save it or not? It can’t make any difference to you, dead as you are, here in this dark place.”

     “Ah, but it does matter, my son. It’s a matter of pride. Qa Haran thought he could play me for a fool. They all laughed at my warnings- not just about what’s happening in your world as we speak, but also about the fatal flaws I saw in the society Qa Haran was building. You have him to thank for all the injustice in Qian Ra. That was his doing. He is the child of evil, not I.”

     “Then why is it that he resides in Elysium while you pass your time in this wretched place?”

     “We are where we belong. What is evil, Blue? I’m sure you do not know. Has Erishkegal ever treated you ill? Scoffed at you in your pain? Those gods in Elysium were going to kill you. They tortured you with unsettling visions, all because they were furious that your soul was Holy enough to find their secret hiding place. Yes, Erishkegal tortures the evil. That is her lot, and she bears it with patience. You were tortured for your goodness. While she holds the souls that became so vile that your gentle mind couldn’t even comprehend, the gods of Elysium hold back forever those that might’ve made their worlds better places through their rebirth. You might see Holy Death as a reward, but it is merely the gods’ way of ensuring their supremacy. What is evil now?”

     “From your point of view, yes, the Elsysian gods are evil. Or at least they do evil. You ought to know that I love Erishkegal, as any other god, and she knows it, too. That’s not the point at hand. You ask what is evil? To damn a planet full of human souls to suffer for the sake of myself. You’ll not sway me, Caiaphas, and you’ll not kill me. I’ll get what I want from you, even if I have to drag it from your broken body.”

     “You seem determined enough. You won’t be able to harm me. Though Erishkegal favors you, I’m the one that serves her. But I’ll let you have the Litany. Someday I’ll make you see the light, already I can see the effects of my words on you. You’ll be by my side one day… and if I can’t have you, no one can. I’ll destroy your soul entirely. That I promise. Yes, you can have the Litany… as soon as you defeat my final challenger.” Caiaphas grinned broadly. “I’m sure he’ll be pleased to see you as you are.”

     “I’ve already seen him naked, Caiaphas. And not all beat up like this. Last time was better.”

     “Takaeyama?”

     With a smile, Takaeyama stepped from the shadows.

     “Hiya, Blue.”

     “You’ve never seen me naked.” What a stupid thing to be worried about right now!

     “Sure I have- at the beach near Chieko’s place. I was watching you.”

     “Oh.”

     “You really looked fabulous. I can’t stop thinking about it. You’re beautiful, and I want you.”

     Blue was silent.

     “Kind of sad, really. I know. All I want from you is a quickie, and it’s going to break your heart to say goodbye. Try as you might to fight yourself, you’ve got to admit it. You’re going to feel sorry every day for the rest of your life when this is over and we go our separate ways. You’ll try to sweat all your regrets away rebuilding that ruined temple, while I sit and drool and band my head against the walls of some Decameron asylum. Slowly, I’ll forget you. You messed up, Blue. You finally started to give in, to let yourself care about someone… and you chose a person who will never love you back. You chose a person whose mind will turn to mush, a person already so in love with the past he has no future. Did you do it to prove to yourself once and for all that love really is foolish? If so, I congratulate you. You did a bang-up job. If not, I fear for your sanity as much as for my own.”

     “I didn’t mean for it to happen.”

     “Then you’re just stupid. Let me ask you… Do you find me attractive? Wanna give it a go?”

     Blue remained silent, face flushed.

     “That blush on your face says it all. Give it up, Blue. You’re a fool. It’ll be your downfall. Your broken heart will be the gateway to your exquisite fall from grace.”

     He was close now. He touched Blue’s face, causing dried blood to flake from it. This is where I fail… I’ve already failed, now all that’s left is the point in which I die.

     “I’ll never love you,” Takaeyama whispered in his ear.

     “I don’t care!” Blue yelled, plunging his dagger into Takeyama’s side.

     “Then die.”

     The fire, the tongues of blue flame, brought pain worse than any Blue had ever felt. Not true, not real, he repeated over and over within his mind as he grasped Takaeyama and burned him with his own fire. Still aflame, Blue pulled the dagger out and plunged it repeatedly into Takaeyama’s heart, even after he had died.

     Charred, flesh falling from his bones, dying now, truly dying, Blue gasped out,

     “Give me the Litany.”

     “As you wish, but I’ll still have you, blood of my blood. Let that mark be upon you for the remainder of your life.”

     Blue felt the awareness, the knowledge that he needed, come to him. Drawing every ounce of strength he had left, he sent his soul back along the Silver Cord, hoping he’d have enough to make it.