The Great Fall

Chapter Fourteen

They packed up their pseudo camp early in the morning and left in a hurry. Curator had told him where to search for Malhechor and left him to travel. He had not explained why, but he was not spying. His presence had left Haxa altogether. She seemed more at ease without the angel controlling her. He even saw her smile as they rode, something he had not seen her do since waking. Her hair had grown long and ratty while he had slept, and it did not seem as if she had been taking care of herself very well. She had bags under her eyes, which had never been uncommon for her, but the circles were larger and darker than before, and her eyelids fell closed often. She had not slept much during his absence, due in part to his comatose state and the angel that had possessed her. He felt ashamed for having caused her to fall into such disarray.

They rode ever onward, coming across the odd demon and killing it. Haxa insisted on destroying each demon's heart, and while it was strange, Julius did as he was asked. Aside from the occasional violent encounters with their enemy, the ride was uneventful. Julius had spent his life in the southern empire, so he had never had a chance to see the north in its beauty. There was little snow; it was too late in the year for that. It seemed strange, when he thought about it, that the world had no discernable heat source, yet there were seasons, but he supposed the Creator had put in some measures aside from a sun to heat the lands. He looked out over the northern lands and smiled. If nothing else, this is what he would be fighting for. His lands, where his people would rebuild the great empire he had been born to. He even fought for whatever was outside the borders, be it a wasteland or a beautiful wilderness.

Several hours later, Julius and Haxa came to the edge of the demons' siege. The grass was dead and withered, having taken on a purple hue. The ground sunk under the weight of Julius's horse, and it let off a wet squelch when it did so. The stench of rotting corpses was in the air, and hundreds of vultures could be seen circling in the sky. The sky. For the first time in his life, Julius saw the sky completely alight, but he wished that he had not. Close above where the vultures circled, the sky was burning with a sickly green flame. A few vultures had even flown into it, falling to the ground, burning, and chased by their ravenous brothers and sisters.

While Julius was appalled by the sights and smells, he felt like he was...home. He did not welcome this feeling. Julius turned back to Haxa, who he could see was possessed by Curator, again. The angel gave a reassuring smile and ushered Julius into the dead land ahead of him. While they walked, they spoke of the horrors, both ahead of the, and behind.

"How much do you know of the afterlife, Julius," Curator asked. Julius scoffed. "I know enough to know it does not exist." The angel seemed surprised by his answer, and asked Julius to guess again. "Are you suggesting that after I die, I may have to suffer another life," Julius questioned. Curator nodded. "Many. The worshippers of every god have one, even those who follow Malhechor. Our god, the Creator, hand crafted each and every one. The one thing that set him aside from the other gods. This is an exact replica, though made on your world, of the afterlife He created for Malhechor." Julius took another look around, taking in the burning skies and weak ground. "Then it is no wonder he resents the Creator for this shoddy work." The angel shook his head. "It is what Malhechor desired. Anyways, this is where his worshippers go to be tormented eternally. He was not an avid fan of mortals of any species. He lets demons torture men and women. This is his plan for the world you love, and every one that comes after it, if he is able. Every world the Creator brought into existence, and every life after death, shall become this infernal evil that you see before you." Julius felt uneasy. He needed no more reason to do what he planned, yet the angel saw fit to enforce the idea. As if Julius was not to be trusted. As if Julius had reason to betray.

They pushed onwards through the living afterlife, often having to dodge the burning corpses of falling vultures. Demons were much more frequent here than they had been previously, and they often had to stop and dispatch of some. Julius saw hounds on the horizon, distorted, corrupt, and most definitely servants of Malhechor, who knew full well they were coming. There would be no surprise attack, there would be a siege. Curator had been cryptic when asked how they would beat Malhechor, responding only with, "You will wake," though Julius supposed he knew what it meant, if not in full, then in parts. He had come to terms with the demon he suspected he was, though he was still terrified of it. If he had to guess, something within him, something the Creator had buried for His purposes, would boil, and rise to the surface, and there would be devastation, though of what, he could not say.

Julius caught Curator staring at him often, while they travelled, though the angel turned away quickly whenever Julius would catch him. Curator looked tense, as if he were ready to hop off his horse and destroy a demon at a moment's notice, but Julius had a feeling that the demon that Curator expected would not rise from the burning ground, as the others had.

Not much later, Curator motioned for Julius to stop the horse, which he did. The angel climbed down from his horse and brandished his sword, which shimmered with white flame. The angel looked around, turning in circles with his eyes flicking back and forth, watching for something, fearing something. "Curator, there is nothing th..." Julius started. He was cut short by a terrifying roar and the sound of crashing trees. Julius looked around, and surely enough, they were surrounded by a forest. "Do you remember entering a forest, Curator," Julius asked. The angel shook his head and backed himself towards the horses. "Prepare yourself, Julius." As the angel finished his sentence, an enormous mass of rotting flesh broke into their clearing. It was as tall as the dying trees it had knocked down, and as thick as a bundle of them. Many smaller demons followed it, shouting and screeching, claws outstretched to seize or eviscerate Julius and Curator. The giant demon looked down at the duo. Its face was composed of only two holes for eyes and a larger, gaping hole filled with thousands, no, millions, of small, sharp teeth coated with blood and littered with corpses. Yellow crust surrounded the eyeless sockets, and scars and wounds checkered the beast's rotting face. On parts of the demon's body, its skin hung off in flaps that swung as the monstrosity moved about. Though the beast lacked eyes, Julius could feel it staring at them. The other demons had stopped with what Julius supposed was their leader, but he could see that they were anxious to begin the flaying of flesh. The great demon was still for a moment more, and then he raised his fingerless, blub like arm into the air.

Julius and Curator dove away from the horses just as the demon crushed them. Blood and gore now coated the both of them, and Julius looked down at his leg, which felt as if it were on fire, to find a long shard of bone, presumably belonging to one of the horses, protruding from his calf. He did not have the time to even scream, as the demons now advanced upon the duo, wicked grins upon their faces, eyes filled with fire.

Julius tried to pull the shard from his leg, but it proved itself an awful idea. He must have nicked an artery, for blood began spilling quickly from his leg. His vision darkened after but a minute and he saw Curator cutting through demons with his sword. He cast spells as well. Strange. It looked, for the first time, as if he and Haxa were coexisting, instead of domination. Julius slipped into unconsciousness, but not before he saw a demon sneak up behind his friend and his protector. It raised its clawed hand in the air, and with a single motion, it tore through Haxa's spine. Julius tried to scream, but he could not. He could only sli[p frther and farther away. Before he lost consciousness completely, he cried a single blood red tear, and he was enveloped in an unearthly, hellish green glow.