Wretched & Divine

Chapter 3

NEAR THE RITUAL SITE- AFTERNOON

Edward's eyes widen with excitement as he looks at the ritual's creation. Standing before him is the body of a man, with a shadowy mist surrounding him on all sides. His once normal face now morphed into the fanged skull of a monster, his fingers now clad with razor sharp claws. 

Amanda stands beside Edward, choking back a gasp as she tries to comprehend what she was looking at. Though, it seemed that no matter how long she stared at the creature standing before her she could not fathom how this "thing" was once her little brother. 

This is amazing, wouldn't you say?" Edward cheers. 

"Yeah.." Amanda replies absently. "Are you.. Sure this is Dante?"

"A thousand percent." Edward smiles.

Amanda slowly inches toward the creature, unsure of what to make of what she was seeing. As she nears it, she reaches out and touches its shoulder. 

"Dante..?" She asks with caution. Before she could utter another word the creature swings around and with one arm slams her into a tree. 

She screams in shock. "Dante!! Dante it's me, please!!" She cries, its arm still pressing against her chest. It lets out a low warning growl as she looks into its eyes, seeing nothing but pure and undeniable malevolence. No sign of Dante left. 

None at all.

"Release her at once!" Edward calls to the monster. It drops its grip on Amanda, taking one final look at her before slinking off into the forest. 

Amanda drops to the ground and gasps, trying to catch her breath between sobs as her heart pounds in her ears. "What did you do to my brother?" She asks, though she herself isn't quite sure who exactly she was asking. 

"Are you alright, Lady Amanda?" Edward asks, coming swiftly to her aid. 

"I'm fine." She replies flatly. She gets up and brushes herself off before walking back to Omar's house. 

On her way back to the house, she spots Omar running through the trees with a look of pure panic on his face. Relief flashes across his face as he spots her. 

"Oh my God, Amanda! I'm so glad you're alright. I heard screaming, and it sounded like you, and.." He began.

"I'm alright Omar. Thank you. We need to talk. Come back to the house with me, please. This is probably the most unbelievable fucking thing you'll ever hear." Amanda says, placing a hand on his back to lead him towards the house.   

THE WOODS- SUNDOWN

Six bodies are splayed across the trail alongside the ritual site. Each of them have severe wounds; deep lacerations and severed limbs, an all-time bloody scene.

A mysterious man, Arthur, walks the trail. His hand covers his mouth in disgust as he nearly vomits from the smell of blood and decay. He is new to the grotesque scene of death, but he must prove his worthiness to the Light Society. He knows the only thing able to cause this much destruction has to be something that escaped from the Void. 

Arthur leans down to a man whose corpse rests upon a tree. He had a self inflicted bullet wound, showing Arthur that whatever he saw horrified him so much he took his own life before it could take it for it. Arthur closes the man's eyes as he shakes his head. 

He pulls out his voice recorder and speaks. "These souls may have not been the best, but no one deserves a death like this. There's so much to start with.." He sighs.