Post by rich on Jul 26, 2017 20:40:08 GMT -5
There was a certain calm that the endless twilight summoned to the mind of the warrior. It was a black void filled with sparking cosmos, a scene similar to the galaxies far beyond. The pulsing of chaotic waves was emanating feverishly throughout as bursts of violet and emerald energy arced in a continual manner from the man’s outstretched hands. His spectral eyes scanned along the nonexistent horizon; he knew that there was nothing further out than more shadow.
There was nothing at all to find because in fact Elrich found himself in a place of no material substance at all. He had sunk into the deepest recesses of his mind, and from his many experiences with this scene he had become familiar with the fact that this was a visual representation of… something. He wasn’t sure of what this expanse was representative of. His mind, his psyche, his will; none of them quite fit to him as to what this place actually was, but he knew that it was him, that it was inside of him, and that it was so that he could understand.
This realm was also representative of Elrich’s state of being. As the specter of the demon continued his ritual, there were signs of weakness and destabilization. The edges of his figure were collecting droplets of the malefic energy. He was unwillingly attracting them and they were attempting to overtake him with its corrupt ways. It was not at a point of no return, he could stave off the influence for now, but the years had not been kind to the man. Cracks had begun to appear in the realm similar to the cracks one would find on a mirror. There was no glass surface however, and he knew that there would be more in store for him than bad luck should this shatter. So long as his will stayed vigilant, and he didn’t let the evil inside of his core win, he should prevail.
But why continue to resist?
The sudden thought hung in his head. What was the point of resisting? The power standing before him had claimed all. To attempt to escape what was before him, it was as mad as attempting to escape one’s own destiny itself. Once, when he had been a younger man, Elrich hadn’t believed in destiny. His specter couldn’t help but smile to himself.
All of that time you spent running from what you cannot avoid, and yet here we are.
The smile morphed to a scowl as Elrich’s attention was diverted in front of him. These thoughts weren’t his own, this was another trick, a cheap act of influencing his emotions. The darkness that had been attempting to leech from his spirit a moment ago detached and coalesced into form before him. The small beads of darkness continued to swarm into a spherical eye. Black ooze dripped from the pupil and the iris colored into a deep blood red. Elrich was all too familiar with the physical form of the kindred spirit within him, ShadowHavoc. As the form completed, he was greeted with the customary screeching that came with, a sound reminiscent of a collection of tortured, harrowing screams.
“I will not fall for your tricks, ShadowHavoc. The darkness does not claim my soul yet. You know the terms of our deal. So long as I am able to maintain control, I am the one in control. Not you. I haven’t had to remind you in a few months so I understand if you have forgotten.”
Elrich’s tone was relatively light-hearted, but there was legitimate concern within him as well. ShadowHavoc had been taking material form with alarming regularity as of late. This very event is what had spurned Elrich’s latest trip into his mind, he needed to get a good handle on himself before he could progress any further in his activities. The spirit followed Elrich’s train of thought, an unfortunate side effect of hosting two entities within one living being. A shallow hiss emanated from it, and Elrich was familiar enough to know that this was a sign of amusement to the creature.
I understand the terms of our damned bargain; however, I question your ability to resist much longer. You have resisted the Call for so long, and for what precisely? Was it worth it to you? Did you truly accomplish that which you set out to do? Did you get enough out of selling your soul and living this doomed existence, Elrich? What do you have to show for yourself that was not gifted to you by me, by us? All that you love, all whom you care for… that is all gone. They are all gone. They do not care about you, they do not think about you. You are a worthless man too afraid to live in the world of mortals or the world of the damned. You belong nowhere.
As the words flowed into his thoughts, Elrich averted his gaze from the monster. He knew he could not deny these thoughts, twisted against them as they may be. He knew he could not deny them because he had had these thoughts himself. Truly what was he? What had he done in his life that he could truly be proud of? He was a monster, brutal and terrifying, but nothing more. He belonged to nobody and he had nothing of significance left to show for his trials, his battles. The memories of those in the past had become bittersweet to him; not so because he regretted them but because he feared that they would remain simply that, remnants of the past never to be replicated nor reached again. These thoughts troubled him deeply, and perhaps were a primary reason for why the darkness continued to slowly touch his spirit more every waking hour. He found himself playing back the faces and times of those people again, those damned people who brought him back and reintroduced him into the world again. These thoughts scared him because they were his weakness, all of them. He was weakened by their kinship, and he was weakened also by their absence.
A sudden, familiar surge of energy jolted Elrich from this destructive train of thought. He shook his head, and his face showed a clarity that had been stripped of him but moments ago. This was a familiar essence, he could never mistake it. It was perhaps the most complex piece to him, and he knew he couldn’t look away.
“Perhaps so, but I do not think I have come to the conclusion quite as quickly as you have, old friend.” The sarcastic emphasis on the last words would have been utterly impossible to miss. “Luckily for us both that I am done here, lest I spend any more time with such unpleasant company. You will do good to remember that for the time being, I’m not going anywhere. Well, it doesn’t really matter if you remember or not, you’re stuck here anyway.”
The hissing from ShadowHavoc transformed into a low growl. As the two continued to glower at each other, the slivering cracks in the realm expanded ever so slightly, an untrained eye might have missed it. However, these three eyes were all trained, and the growl soon receded and was replaced with a smug expression, should a floating eye creature ever be capable of such an expression.
Spoken as brashly as ever. But once again you speak so bravely yet have not a thing to back yourself up. The signs are evident. You can lie to everyone else in the world, but there is one whom you cannot lie to and that is me. I do not have to remind you this.
With the last words, the spirit receded and disappeared into the starry beyond. Elrich sighed and closed his fingers over his palms, halting the flow of energies from himself and returning his focus back to his physical body. As the expanse receded from his conscious thought and he was re-entering the material world, he could not help but continue to feel a vile mood hanging over his thoughts. Elrich rose from a cross-legged meditative stance. A small room dimly-lit by pure white candles was where he currently presided, jade flames melting the wax to the stone floors. Darkness had been concentrated and formed into a demonic ritual circle, the intricate patterns fading into the crack of the stone floor now that their purpose has been served. This was a private channeling room in one of Elrich’s hideouts in the mortal world.
As much as he hated to admit it, the words of the foul eye spoke true, at least to an extent. There were many doubts that Elrich had begun to endure, and though he would never truly admit it, he wondered if he was strong enough to do what was needed of him. As he opened his eyes and took the stone walls in front of him into his sight, he reached out to localize what he had just felt.
Reast. I’m sure of it. But what was that? It was her power signature, it felt different. The darkness embedded within her is unfamiliar to me. Perhaps I should see what it is.
Elrich froze at this thought. He was nervous to make this move, for he was nothing more than a stranger to these people to them now. Whatever reception he could expect, it surely wouldn’t be a warm one. However, instinct gnawed at him. The feeling was very foreign to him, and something was off. He could explain his random interest later, answers to him seemed more important.
Besides, you probably deserve a good slapping around by now. Elrich chuckled to himself as his body melted into his own shadow, disappearing from the chamber.
There was nothing at all to find because in fact Elrich found himself in a place of no material substance at all. He had sunk into the deepest recesses of his mind, and from his many experiences with this scene he had become familiar with the fact that this was a visual representation of… something. He wasn’t sure of what this expanse was representative of. His mind, his psyche, his will; none of them quite fit to him as to what this place actually was, but he knew that it was him, that it was inside of him, and that it was so that he could understand.
This realm was also representative of Elrich’s state of being. As the specter of the demon continued his ritual, there were signs of weakness and destabilization. The edges of his figure were collecting droplets of the malefic energy. He was unwillingly attracting them and they were attempting to overtake him with its corrupt ways. It was not at a point of no return, he could stave off the influence for now, but the years had not been kind to the man. Cracks had begun to appear in the realm similar to the cracks one would find on a mirror. There was no glass surface however, and he knew that there would be more in store for him than bad luck should this shatter. So long as his will stayed vigilant, and he didn’t let the evil inside of his core win, he should prevail.
But why continue to resist?
The sudden thought hung in his head. What was the point of resisting? The power standing before him had claimed all. To attempt to escape what was before him, it was as mad as attempting to escape one’s own destiny itself. Once, when he had been a younger man, Elrich hadn’t believed in destiny. His specter couldn’t help but smile to himself.
All of that time you spent running from what you cannot avoid, and yet here we are.
The smile morphed to a scowl as Elrich’s attention was diverted in front of him. These thoughts weren’t his own, this was another trick, a cheap act of influencing his emotions. The darkness that had been attempting to leech from his spirit a moment ago detached and coalesced into form before him. The small beads of darkness continued to swarm into a spherical eye. Black ooze dripped from the pupil and the iris colored into a deep blood red. Elrich was all too familiar with the physical form of the kindred spirit within him, ShadowHavoc. As the form completed, he was greeted with the customary screeching that came with, a sound reminiscent of a collection of tortured, harrowing screams.
“I will not fall for your tricks, ShadowHavoc. The darkness does not claim my soul yet. You know the terms of our deal. So long as I am able to maintain control, I am the one in control. Not you. I haven’t had to remind you in a few months so I understand if you have forgotten.”
Elrich’s tone was relatively light-hearted, but there was legitimate concern within him as well. ShadowHavoc had been taking material form with alarming regularity as of late. This very event is what had spurned Elrich’s latest trip into his mind, he needed to get a good handle on himself before he could progress any further in his activities. The spirit followed Elrich’s train of thought, an unfortunate side effect of hosting two entities within one living being. A shallow hiss emanated from it, and Elrich was familiar enough to know that this was a sign of amusement to the creature.
I understand the terms of our damned bargain; however, I question your ability to resist much longer. You have resisted the Call for so long, and for what precisely? Was it worth it to you? Did you truly accomplish that which you set out to do? Did you get enough out of selling your soul and living this doomed existence, Elrich? What do you have to show for yourself that was not gifted to you by me, by us? All that you love, all whom you care for… that is all gone. They are all gone. They do not care about you, they do not think about you. You are a worthless man too afraid to live in the world of mortals or the world of the damned. You belong nowhere.
As the words flowed into his thoughts, Elrich averted his gaze from the monster. He knew he could not deny these thoughts, twisted against them as they may be. He knew he could not deny them because he had had these thoughts himself. Truly what was he? What had he done in his life that he could truly be proud of? He was a monster, brutal and terrifying, but nothing more. He belonged to nobody and he had nothing of significance left to show for his trials, his battles. The memories of those in the past had become bittersweet to him; not so because he regretted them but because he feared that they would remain simply that, remnants of the past never to be replicated nor reached again. These thoughts troubled him deeply, and perhaps were a primary reason for why the darkness continued to slowly touch his spirit more every waking hour. He found himself playing back the faces and times of those people again, those damned people who brought him back and reintroduced him into the world again. These thoughts scared him because they were his weakness, all of them. He was weakened by their kinship, and he was weakened also by their absence.
A sudden, familiar surge of energy jolted Elrich from this destructive train of thought. He shook his head, and his face showed a clarity that had been stripped of him but moments ago. This was a familiar essence, he could never mistake it. It was perhaps the most complex piece to him, and he knew he couldn’t look away.
“Perhaps so, but I do not think I have come to the conclusion quite as quickly as you have, old friend.” The sarcastic emphasis on the last words would have been utterly impossible to miss. “Luckily for us both that I am done here, lest I spend any more time with such unpleasant company. You will do good to remember that for the time being, I’m not going anywhere. Well, it doesn’t really matter if you remember or not, you’re stuck here anyway.”
The hissing from ShadowHavoc transformed into a low growl. As the two continued to glower at each other, the slivering cracks in the realm expanded ever so slightly, an untrained eye might have missed it. However, these three eyes were all trained, and the growl soon receded and was replaced with a smug expression, should a floating eye creature ever be capable of such an expression.
Spoken as brashly as ever. But once again you speak so bravely yet have not a thing to back yourself up. The signs are evident. You can lie to everyone else in the world, but there is one whom you cannot lie to and that is me. I do not have to remind you this.
With the last words, the spirit receded and disappeared into the starry beyond. Elrich sighed and closed his fingers over his palms, halting the flow of energies from himself and returning his focus back to his physical body. As the expanse receded from his conscious thought and he was re-entering the material world, he could not help but continue to feel a vile mood hanging over his thoughts. Elrich rose from a cross-legged meditative stance. A small room dimly-lit by pure white candles was where he currently presided, jade flames melting the wax to the stone floors. Darkness had been concentrated and formed into a demonic ritual circle, the intricate patterns fading into the crack of the stone floor now that their purpose has been served. This was a private channeling room in one of Elrich’s hideouts in the mortal world.
As much as he hated to admit it, the words of the foul eye spoke true, at least to an extent. There were many doubts that Elrich had begun to endure, and though he would never truly admit it, he wondered if he was strong enough to do what was needed of him. As he opened his eyes and took the stone walls in front of him into his sight, he reached out to localize what he had just felt.
Reast. I’m sure of it. But what was that? It was her power signature, it felt different. The darkness embedded within her is unfamiliar to me. Perhaps I should see what it is.
Elrich froze at this thought. He was nervous to make this move, for he was nothing more than a stranger to these people to them now. Whatever reception he could expect, it surely wouldn’t be a warm one. However, instinct gnawed at him. The feeling was very foreign to him, and something was off. He could explain his random interest later, answers to him seemed more important.
Besides, you probably deserve a good slapping around by now. Elrich chuckled to himself as his body melted into his own shadow, disappearing from the chamber.