Scary ghost stories and stuff (1)

Bow to the master

God looked across the room to the Devil. They had been called many names throughout their lives - Zeus, Allah, Satan, Hades, whatever. But the concept of the two beings never changed; one was good and the other was evil, and they clashed endlessly.

Now the two adversaries stood eye to eye, two figures that drew the eyes of everyone in the Council.

Lady Luck shuffled a pair of dice in a hand, one perfectly drawn and one misaligned brow frowning in concentration.

Fate laid out his tarot cards in midair, but for once he wasn't concerned about the readings.

Even Father Time looked interested; this was unprecedented. His hourglass ran out and magically flipped itself.

The only Council member who didn't seem to be bothered by the meeting was Cupid, his arrows laid out haphazardly on the table, bow by his side. He restrung his bow, occasionally casting a lazy eye at the proceedings, but that was all.

The one on the throne spoke then. "God, Devil. You are aware that of all the primordial forces in this room, you are the only two with an alignment, right? Good and evil? The others do not interfere with human lives at all - except maybe Cupid."

Cupid raised a lazy arrow.

"We're tired, Master," said the Devil. "Of all in this room, we are the only ones who have to keep pitting wits against one another, while the other just sit there unaffected. Sometimes Lady Luck favours the bad, and I get the upper hand, or Cupid gives someone the courage to make a moral decision. We're done. Release us, please."

The Master looked at God, who nodded as well. They looked exhausted. He raised his hand and beckoned, walking over to a chamber. God followed him first, while the Devil stood silently outside. Five minutes and six seconds later - Father Time kept count - there was a flash of light and the Master walked out alone.

Then the Devil laughed. "Master, surely there's no need for me to go now that equilibrium has been established. Everyone is evil now; it's fair."

The Master considered this for a while, then turned to Fate. "What do you think?"

Fate looked at his cards, which had swapped places and rotated in midair. "Yep. They'll finish each other off soon enough, and then our jobs will be a piece of cake."

The Master thus dismissed the council. As the primordial forces turned to leave, Fate's cards remained in midair, but God's card was missing. The World card was slowly fading as well, along with all the cards that divined humanity. Shining bold and strong was the Devil grinning in his card, with all his trickery.

And reigning at the top of the pyramid was, of course, the force that even a God had to bow to.

Death.