Nothing else had lived in the Void for eons, except for the demon merchant Vulgrim. The Void was his home and he craved having it all to himself. It was nothing but open swirling turquoise skies and shifting stone platforms with ancient markings dating back to the beginning to time. Many were never stationary, they formed bridges and crumbled apart, moved like elevators and trains like it was a highway between worlds that angels, demons and Nephilim could use as a shortcut from one place to another. The paths that did not move simply levitated in place but rarely aligned with their jutting edges pointing to the surrounding sky like it was in space where there was no top or bottom.
Vulgrim first arrived in the Void and found it miles from his liking when he saw the inhabitants also made out of stone and glyphs and contrived robotic sounds that irritated him to no end. Such annoyance drove Vulgrim to enlist Fury to wipe them out in exchange for allowing the Horsemen to use the Void's passages whenever they pleased. It was the most selfish thing he had bestowed on another and he never regretted it. After all, no one in Hell liked his deceptions so he refused to involve himself in any wars and preferred to stick to what he excelled at: making a profit out of souls.
Azrael was nearby in a corner with several scrolls and tomes he had taken from his library back in the White City. He had no desire to return there for his regular duties until the End War was over, many angels were also questioning where he had gone, for none of them knew that he had been imprisoned in the Destroyer's tower. After parting ways with War, Azrael was astonished by the number of human souls pouring back into Earth from the Well, and the arrival of the other three Horseman, there must have been an explanation and it perplexed him to no end. He vowed to find out why that was.
Through many readings, Azrael soon discovered that humans were not only meant to evolve, but they were also to have leaders, those who would represent the Third Kingdom, one man and one woman. But who were these two individuals? Azrael realized that they were humans with great endurance, and as the angel of death, he had been monitoring all the souls that passed through the Well. Even when he was not present at its precise location, somehow he always knew. The amount was modest, but he knew the entire population of humans and there were only two that never came, thus from there he determined that he had found the worthy survivors of the Apocalypse.
Azrael knew he couldn't risk informing the Horsemen himself of what he had learned, but with Vulgrim always present in the Void, what could be better than selling information to the demon merchant? There was no doubt he would pass it on to the Horsemen. Azrael handed over several angel souls that he had been holding onto, and witnessing Vulgrim devour them was painful to watch. Those were angels close to him that had perished against Hell, he kept their souls in tiny vials so that they were always with him. It hurt him inside but the current threat was far more important than just some angels that he may have loved.
Immensely satisfied from his hunger, that was when Vulgrim sent out to find the Horsemen and now Azrael was expecting them at any moment, hoping they did not have too much trouble saving the two remaining humans now that he acquired the information he needed to give them. Vulgrim floated over to the angel as he sat rolling up another parchment.
"Any minute now, angel. Let us hope they arrive swiftly! I would love nothing more than to do business with them again,"
Azrael gritted his teeth, "Let me do the talking demon, don't make me regret the payment I gave you. I only do this because the universe is sick and sacrifices must be made,"
Vulgrim retaliated, "Yes, yes! Of course, great Azrael! I was just expressing my desire to help, even if it means making a profit. But oh how wonderful it will be to see humans, not souls but real live humans in a flesh!" he gave a short laugh,
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Darksiders: The Survivors
FanfictionAfter the defeat of the Destroyer, the Four Horsemen now know who their true enemies are. One is who they thought were their masters, while the other is an old familiar foe from Hell. Innocent and cleared of his name, War reunites with his siblings...
