Evil Reincarnated

The Witch

"Ezara. It's been a while." Ezara and I step into a tree that's been expertly carved into a home. "Welcome back, old friend. Where have you been?"

"I've been... busy." Ezara states. "Lilith is here. I had a run in with some of her followers and they made me drink some of her blood. I was wondering if you know how to get rid of it."

"Lilith." The old witch says. She looks from Ezara to me. "You now have a connection with the demon. The only way to get rid of it would be to get rid of her." The witch walks over to me. She was old, I could see the lines on her face. She wore pretty normal cloths. "Who is your scrawny friend?" She asks, looking at me. I take a step back.

"Railis." Ezara says. "I need to find a solution to this Lilith problem. What do you mean "get rid of her"? Do you mean kill her?"

"In a sense." I state. "Demons can't permanently die, she'll have to reform. If we can defeat her, she will have to reform. Once she does so, you'll have to defeat the echo that has infected you."

Railis looks at Ezara then back at me. Curiosity showed in her emerald eyes. "Precisely." She says. "Why come here if your friend could answer your questions?"

"I don't know a lot." I state. "Only what Rathma taught me."

"Oh? You're learned from Rathma. So you're a necromancer. Few had gotten the privilege to learn directly from the first necromancer." I nod. I had gotten that a lot. "Do you know of the lost prime?" I look at Ezara.

"We... don't have time for this, Railis." Ezara states. "We have to figure out what Lilith is up to, and perhaps another demon."

"Another demon? Who?" Ezara shrugs.

"A woman, at least she appeared as one. I don't know who she is, but I feel she has some sort of connection to Lilith. She reminded me a lot of the daughter of hatred." Railis thinks for a moment.

"Iridith."

"Who?"

"Iridith, daughter of Lilith. She's similar to the mother of sanctuary. However, she doesn't follow her mother. She was raised in heaven. Inarius took her there and kept her demonic nature from her." I cross my arms.

"So this Iridith possibly isn't our enemy?" Railis shakes her head.

"She might be of hatred's bloodline, but she's never caused harm to sanctuary, or anyone for that matter. If she is following where Lilith is going, she likely has another goal." I nod.

"She does. Inarius. He killed Rathma, and she is pissed. She intends to kill him."

"Perhaps let her. Inarius has done more harm then good." I almost laugh at that. "You should follow Iridith, perhaps it will lead you to some answers." Ezara turns towards the door.

"Thanks, Railis. Now that we know who she is, it can help us to stop the both of them." Ezara says. "C'mon, Vexel."

"Go on without me." I say, looking back to Railis. "I have a few questions for Railis of my own." I hear the door close.

Railis raises an eyebrow. "You mentioned a missing prime. Ezara told me not to ask, but I am curious."

"Take a seat." Railis says, gesturing to a chair. I do as she says and take a seat. "Not much is known of him, but I believe his realm is torture. I believe there is another prime who is either in hiding or somehow lost. He could be dormant, or fully aware of what's going on. However, his existence isn't known. Perhaps the other primes know of him, but he isn't known by us."

"How do you know this?"

"I was exploring some ancient prime temples. One had a few tomes written about the primes. In one time read "hatred leads to terror, terror leads to destruction and destruction leads to torture." Hatred is Mephisto, terror is Diablo and destruction is Baal. The same tome was written about the primes individually but the last pages were ripped out or burned." I sit back in the chair.

"And you think the other primes know of him?"  Railis nods slowly.

"Perhaps they are the reason he's gone. All roads would lead to torture."

"Do you know where he's gone? If he's truly gone or temporarily?" Railis shrugs.

"You said it yourself, demons reform. They can't die like angels do. The only way he could be truly gone is if another prime stole his power. I'm sure we would know if another prime stole his power."

I nod. "They wouldn't hesitate to lay ruin to sanctuary. If a prime had his power, they'd be the most powerful one." Railis takes my hand strangely enough.

"I've been working my entire life to figure out what happened to the lost prime." She states. "If I am to die, I want you to carry on for me. If I can't find him, maybe you can."

I take my hand from her and stand up. "I can't do that." I state. "I believe we should leave well enough alone. This lost prime should probably stay lost if his domain is torture."

"If this prime was to return, we have no way of knowing anything about him. What we know is in the tomes I have. No one else knows more than I. I'm only asking you to make people aware of him." I sigh.

"You're asking too much of me. I'm not here to stop the demons. I'm here to figure out what happened to Rathma. I will not carry on your work." Railis stares at me with a mix of sadness and annoyance. I turn away from her. "You'll have to find someone more willing to join the fight against demons."

"And you're not? They will destroy Sanctuary and you'd just let them." I shrug.

"Sanctuary has done nothing for me. My mentor is dead because of Lilith. That is why I am choosing to follow Ezara for now." I open the door. "Thank you for the information."

"I hope you decide to change your mind. You are powerful, I can sense it. You could be the sole protector of Sanctuary, if you chose too." I shake my head.

"I don't chose to fight angels and demons my entire life. The Eternal Conflict will always effect sanctuary and I want no part in it." I pass the threshold of the door and close it behind me. Ezara was waiting outside.

"I'm assuming you asked about the missing prime she believes in." I nod slowly. "And she asked you to join her pointless mission."

"She thinks I could carry on and find her missing prime. However, I don't think that is wise. As I told her, the Eternal Conflict will always be a part of Sanctuary and I want no part in it. That's why I don't want to pursue Lilith."

"I understand. However maybe it's a good idea you go after that other demon. She seems to be after the same thing you are, answers about Rathma."

"You may be right. She may have answers to the questions I am asking. I think I may know where she might be headed." Ezara raises an eyebrow.

"Tell me if you find her. I'll be in Kyovashad, figuring out what to do next about Lilith. You may not want to join the fight, but I can't let Lilith open the gates to Hell."

"I won't die to the Eternal Conflict. That is a choice I made long ago. It is your choice to die to this never ending battle, but I chose not too. Everyone hangs on the words of Rathma's prophecy, but I think that will be your undoing. Lilith is not Hatred, Mephisto is. I don't think the prophecy is about her. I know Inarius will think it's about him and Lilith, but he is self-centered and ignorant." A look of confusion crosses Ezara's face.

"What do you mean? The prophecy states that a spear of light will pierce Hatred's heart. If Hatred is Mephisto, then the spear of light Inarius?" I shrug.

"I suppose we'll find out in due time. Mephisto is the greater evil, but Inarius is hell-bent on destroying Lilith. Anyway, I have a demon of my own to track. I will meet you back in Kyovashad."

"Be safe, Vexel. I have a feeling she is more dangerous then she looks." I just nod and walk away from her.