🎶Arms wide open!
I stand alo-o-one!
I'm no hero!
And I'm not made of sto-o-one!
Right or wro-o-ng?
I can harldy tell!
I'm on the wrong side of heaven!
And the righteous side,
the righteous side of he-e-ell!🎶
(Artist&Song: Five Finger Death Punch, "Wrong Side of Heaven").
**************************************
"What is your name?", I ask and winced, quickly covering my eyes as a sunlight rose above the statue of the Hell-mongrel Pyramid. In the beaming light, you could see the intricate details of the monolith. It was carved from the darkest obsidian rock and only a sliver of its structure flashed an iridescent colour. The sunlight seemed a pale yellow when complementary to the inflamed electric blue eyes of the monolith.
"I do not have a name. I am merely a guardian of an entry into a Hell-mindscape," it informed flatly.
"We can't have that! How about Kerbe?", I offer, a little saddened that it didn't have a name. [Pron.: 'Kirby'].
"W-why 'Kerbe'?", I could have sworn I heard the statue gulp.
"You're kinda like Cerberus of Greek mythology. I just took the Greek name 'Kerberos' and shortened it to 'Kerbe'. It's cute...," I explain with an unconscious soft tone.
"I- okay. I like that. Thank you," it mumbled quickly, yet with the same majesty as when it first spoke.
"Great... so, Kerrbee?" I draw out to tease him in good spirit.
"Yes, Zen?", it rumbled and I could hear its smile, even if it's face remained stoic.
"How can I use you?", I inquire, to be forewarned is to be forearmed.
"I can show you any moment in his past," it answered steadily. Standing so close to the monolith, I could feel the vibrations of its deep timbre in my chest. Kinda feels calming...
"How do I break the bond?", I continued my inquiry.
"That is mongrel-specific...," Kerbe answered.
"Mongrel-specific... that means I have to know the mongrel to understand his motivations...," I mumbled in thought.
"What kind of hell-mongrel is he?", the thought popped up into my head.
"A created one,".
"That means... what was he before?", the plot thickened.
"A Furor," he said plainly.
"Show me the day he was turned," I requested.
"Well, it began with the Conquest of Mousai, home country to the Mousike people, a noble and gentle race...," Kerbe rumbled.
"Legio Alecto, today we conquer the weak Mousike people!", Queen Ira shouted, her voice carried with the wind and incited her legion. One thousand soldiers bellowed in response and announced their siege of the territory.
They sprung from their noble steeds, Legio Malvagìa Cavallerìa Pegaso.
"A breed of Pegasus designed for war: with sharp eyesight, nerves of steel and skin and bones so dense, they stomp holes in the ground with a light cantor, the legion is the most desired cavalry in any army. It is only right that the warrior-race, the Furors, tamed the savage Alec Pegasi," Kerbe explained as the memories played before us on a projector screen through his right eye, a close look would show the glowing Eye of power and fury, Ra.
The cavalry reared up on their hind legs and released a harsh whinny, a heralding of slaughter and slavery.
The Furors most murderous elite descended on the humble island and where their large feet fell, pools of black fire surfaced and crept to the shorelines of the island. The black flames caused no destruction in their path. Instead, they joined and rose like some kind of hellish cell.
YOU ARE READING
The Empire's Descent (First Draft)
FantasíaThey thought this world could no longer surprise them, that every scourge of the earth and all its flaws had been bared to them. Until, a force collided with them and subverted every natural order. The world they thought they knew was a fantasy. Exc...
