Freedom

The Beginning

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love. Beside their differences, they found a way to live in harmony. And they lived happily, ever after.
Unfortunately, this isn't that kind of story.

RAVEN
I pull myself out of my trance, lowering myself to the wooden floor. A peaceful meditation for a stressful day was much needed. It was only a few hours since my last meditation, but the monks insisted on several hours of prayer.
A knock drives my attention to the sliding bamboo door. I concentrate my magic, the door engulfing in black and sliding gently to the side. My master, Monk Merlin, enters the room in his dark red robe, hands behind his back. He sighs slightly.
Bad.
Something bad.
Dark aura.
Bad.
"Raven, someone requests your presence," he says. I nod and move my hand for entrance. Both the monk and a steel man enter. His armor covering his face and body. His mask is one color of a light brown while the other is black. I feel no threat, yet. "He has requested a meeting from you with important questions."
"Pleasure to meet you, Raven," the man greets coldly in an accented voice. "Tell me, how are you today?" Odd. His tone is odd.
"Fine," I say shortly. Odd question. His one eye, red, stares at me, as if my soul was being searched.
"Ah, I am pleased to hear that," he says. "Would it be alright if I ask you a few questions? It is for an investigation."
Hesitation rises in me. "Depending the question, yes," I answer. He gives a slight chuckle before leaning back on the wall.
"How old are you?" he asks.
"Sixteen," I answer curtly.
"How did you come to live with the Monks?" he asks quickly.
How did I come to live with the Monks? After my mother's tragic sacrifice when I was born, I was taken in by these monks. Apparently, my mother contacted them with telepathic energy and called them down from the highest mountain to come and collect me. She died soon after from a demon composed of fire.
Alcohol: a painless way to forget.
"I was adopted by them after my mother's death," I say. He leans in for more, but I don't give him the lenience.
Burning of incense: a way to clear the mind and forget.
"I see, do you know anything of your father?" he asks, his eyes narrowing behind the mask. My left eyebrow twitches in agitation.
Drugs: a way to induce my mind into euphoria to forget.
My father, Trigon, is the lord of Hell. He rules the world of cruelty and fire. He wishes chaos upon the world and everyone to suffer a dark fate. I lived under his rule for all my life, indirectly. All he talked about was my future, how I would be this key. How I would be the ruler of evil. And all I wanted to do was run, but my mother sacrificed her life for that. I have the powers of the dark as a piece of my father, but the morals of my mother.
Meditation: a way to control my emotions, a way to bury everything under layers.
"I do not remember," I say. Last thing I need to talk about is my demon of a father.
"You do not remember?" he clarifies, suspiciously. I nod. "I see. I see. Do you have a dream, Raven?"
Yes. Freedom.
I don't answer.
"Have you heard word of a prophecy?" A prophecy? A prophecy! How would he know about my prophecy?
Immediately, all trust leaves me.
The Brothers of Sight looked into my future when I was born. I am the Raven. Marked by a raven tattoo on my neck, the clarified that I would end the world. I would be the one to end mankind, destroy the planet and kill everybody. I will be the destroyer.
I look to Monk Merlin. I give him an uneasy look and he clears his throat.
"Alright, Master Slade, it is about time for you to retire," Monk Merlin announces. Monk Merlin reaches for the man's arm, but the man whips his arm back with the force that throws Monk Merlin to the wall. The wall cracks, indenting as Monk Merlin's body falls limp.
I am on my feet. Rage is going insane within myself. I look around the room and find a statue behind me. I use my dark powers and throw the statue at Slade. The statue cracks but he doesn't move.
"Little girl," he begins, "I have a message to give you."
I look around me but there is nothing I can use to throw. I think hard, thinking of charging into him, of beating him myself.
"Half-demon and half-human, you are the successor to Trigon," he rants. "You will destroy the world. You are the Destroyer. You are the Raven. Prepare to make mankind suffer!"
Spells. Spells. I need a spell. I can do a spell, I know I can.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" I yell, repeating the words over and over in my head. I push my arms forwards and Slade flies through the walls, not only making a crack, but a complete hole. I quickly take the time to pick up Monk Merlin's body and rush out of the temple. "Everyone! Out now! Everyone get out now!" I run down the hall yelling. Monks slowly exit their rooms but I quickly insist a faster pace.
I give two monks the body before turning back around. I make sure everyone is out the door, but as soon as I want to exit myself, Slade's metal arm blocks my path.
"Leaving so soon?" he hisses. "We were just getting acquainted."
I run back down the hallway, thinking of ways to exist the building.
"You have never been much of an energetic girl," he says, exiting a room. Hold on, he was just behind me, how did he get in there?
I focus my magic and throw another statue of a god at him. This time, the statue hits his head. His head twists back, definitely breaking the neck of a mortal, but he turns his head back to the original place with several cracks.
"Get away from me!" I warn.
"Oh, darling, you will never be rid of me," he says confidently. "I will be with you, everywhere. In your dreams and in your mind, just as he will."
I throw a door at him with my dark magic, but my throws have been getting sloppier. He dodges the blow and swiftly walks closer.
"Looks like my time is up, I must leave you with this," he says happily before lifting out a ball of fire from his metal breast plate. He drops the fire onto the floor and the dry wood bursts into flames. "I hope we meet again, Raven."
Smoke fills the room and he vanishes. Flames lick the walls and floors and my skin. I push myself into a corner before opening a portal to the outside. I fall out of the temple and onto the ground, watching in horror as my home crashes down in flames.
Everything I touch, I destroy.
I am the Destroyer.
I want to be good.
But I can't.