Darkest Desires → Caliban [CAOS]

xx. when it all burns down

WHEN IT ALL BURNS DOWN
CHAPTER TWENTY

The scorching heat of Hell's fire burned through Dahlia's skin. Sweat beaded on every surface of her body, and a sharp ache filled her bones. Her droopy eyelids barely allowed any sight to her teary eyes as she tried to make out her surroundings. Distracting her from unravelling the mystery of her location was the heavy burden circling her neck. The collar left red marks on her sensitive skin, and no matter how hard she struggled, the band of icy metal seemed only to grow tighter. Its metallic base was encrusted with different shapes and loops, the most prominent being the Pagan symbols. The heat in the atmosphere only collided with the harsh metal, piercing Dahlia's skin as she grunted in pain. The pain of her scar was no help either, stinging with every breath she took. It was made worse by the pressure of a pagan's hand on her shoulder, forcefully guiding her. Dahlia couldn't fight or resist the pagans' force, her knees too weak and continually buckling before her as the army of pagan witches led her down an unclear path.

The pagans surrounding her came to an abrupt halt down in the dark mines. Dahlia used all her strength to lift her gaze from the floor. Her eyes met with massive doors inlaid with human bones radiating unbearable heat. Dahlia choked on hot air and watched as the gates of Hell parted with a deafening groan of stone against bone. Crimson light shone through the steadily growing crack. Dahlia squinted her eyes at the blinding light of an inferno. The ground rumbled beneath her as the wall scraped against the floor. Dust and pebbles rained down upon them, though none but Dahlia flinched.

Sediment clung to her dark hair, and she had to stifle a very inopportune sneeze. A resounding boom echoed as the doors fully parted, and everyone went silent. Dahlia's threatened to tear her entire chest open as she awaited what was to come. The blaring light from what was clear now to be the other side of the Gates of Hell did nothing to ease the tension in the atmosphere and the trembling of Dahlia's limbs.

There was only one thing Dahlia could imagine The Pagans wanting to use her power for– the domination of the world. Tears pricked her eyes at the thought that she could be the very cause of the destruction of the world. All the pain and suffering she had endured through her life would have been for nothing. She would be wielded as an instrument of pure chaos.

The silhouette of a man appeared in the ash-red and orange light of Hell. Behind the crowd of Pagans, she made out a crown sitting atop his head. Her heart clenched. Caliban. He stood tall and confident as he neared the gates and long, seemingly unending rows of men followed behind him in an army much larger than that of The Pagans.

"We saw you coming," the Great God Pan stated. "Your plan to invade Earth will be to no avail. Give up or face a painful death."

"That sounds like a threat." Caliban's voice bounced off the walls of the mines. Dahlia squeezed her eyes shut at the sound of his voice and tears streamed down her dirt-clad face. She wanted so terribly to stand beside him, for everything to go back to how it was the night before when she'd laid in his arms, her back pressed against his warm front while he hugged her as she slept, safe and loved. "I have an army." He threw up a hand with a grand flourish, always one for dramatics.