Empowered

Chapter 11:.....Erebos Part II

"Glad you like it!" said Erebos, materializing before her. He had changed back to his original appearance from earlier that morning. "At first, I wasn't sure if I should have gone with dilapidated crack den, the sea of molten rock and fire, or fantasy island, but I think I made the right call in the end."

"And how!" Ember said excitedly, looking around at the splendor and beauty. "How exactly did you make this place?"

"I just opened up a pocket dimension in your living room. It's easy." Erebos said with a smile.

"Easy? Really?" Ember said, still marveling at the world around her.

"Yes, you can do it too, you know." He smiled impishly. "I'll show you sometime." He said as he led her to the temple, which appeared to stand at the heart of the extravagant wonderland.

"What is this place?" Ember asked as she gazed at the decorative columns, marble floors, and hovering lightning bug-esque lights.

"This, dear Emby, is the temple of Erebos!" Erebos announced in excitement. 

"What do you use this place for?" She said, gaping in astonishment.

"Mostly goat sacrifices, but occasionally, I like to use this place for a good old-fashioned Bacchanalia." Erebos inhaled and then exhaled deeply, seemingly proud of the grandeur he had created. "Anyway, did you acquire the music for the party?" he asked, breaking his prideful breathing.

"Of course. I told them to set up at 6:00 P.M., and it's only 5:00 P.M.?" She said, looking at her watch.

"Great! That gives us plenty of time! We still have a little prep to do before they get here." Erebos began coyly.

"Oh, what is there left to do?" Ember asked once again, looking around at the magnificence of her surroundings.

"Well, I have a few guests of my own to invite," Erebos said charmingly. "And I need your help to get them here. They're kind of trapped in this other dimension. There was some misunderstanding about 'slaughtering a few too many innocents,' 'reeking a teensy bit too much havoc,' and 'altering reality to the point of it almost completely breaking down' – blah blah blah – the regular trumped-up charges just to get them off the streets. You know how it is with the police and minorities." Erebos said as amiably as possible.

"Don't I know it! There's this one cop, McSweeny; I'm always hitting him over the head. It seems like every day it's like pointy point my gun at your face; stoppity stop resisting arrest; and I'm just trying to get through the day is all." Ember said.

"Right, well, anyway, I need you to help me create a way out for my friends." Erebos smiled.

"Of course! Any friend of yours is a friend of mine, which is great because I definitely need more friends!" Ember smiled, all too eager to please her new friend.

"Wonderful," Erebos said. "Now give me your hands and close your eyes." They joined hands, and Ember closed her eyes. "All you need to do is concentrate on my words," Erebos said. "Imagine you're in a dark place, the darkest, blackest pit you can imagine. There's no escape from the darkness and nothing in this prison other than obscurity. Suddenly, you see a bright yellow light that glows out of nowhere." Ember began to feel her hands warm until they became burning hot. She tried to fight against the burning at first, but it became too much, and she allowed it to grow and take over her entire body. "The light gets brighter and brighter, destroying the darkness and guiding you towards a way out of your confinement." As Ember and Erebos began to glow in a blinding yellow aura, the energy leaked off their bodies and formed into a swirling pool of radiation on the ground before them. "Now! Jump back!" shouted Erebos, pushing off Ember's hands and sending her backward out of the reach of the pool of energy as something began to rise up out of it; rather, several things started to emerge.