Heaven and Hell

TWENTY-ONE

M Y S T E R I O U S  C A V E S

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DIMITRI STRAYED TO a path that led far away from the castle as compared to towards it. The long winding road had many twists and turns, each eventually leading to a dead end. Along these roads paved with red soil, Dimitri noticed demons littering the area. They were scattered around, forced to roam the empty plains with seemingly no end mission in mind.

When one turned to face Dimitri, black beady eyes glaring into the latter's soul with its fangs bared, Dimitri couldn't help himself but feel frightened. A shiver ran down his spine almost too naturally as if the demons were created to induce fear themselves. They had the ability to force courage away from Dimitri's body, making the hair on his arms stand in fright.

One hissed, saliva dripping past the demon's lips as its tail curled over its head. Dimitri eyed the demon cautiously, quickly stepping as far away as possible. No matter how far he walked, he could still feel the insistent presence of eyes trailing after his every movement. Perhaps it was just Dimitri's own paranoia but he was convinced that Lucifer's demons lurked in every corner possible. They were, after all, the only life that populated these deserted lands.

The wind around Dimitri howled in his ears. Loud and persistent, it was no longer the beautiful orchestra that Dimitri was used to back in the North Garden of Heaven. It was almost too loud for his ears, a roar that resembled a great beast hungry for a kill. From all directions, sand swirled around Dimitri's body, wrapping him in grains of sand that stabbed at his eyes. The sleeves of his shirt served no purpose to keep them out and soon enough, Dimitri found it difficult to even breathe.

Paths in front of him blurred, forming out of nothing and disappearing without a trace all the same.

Dimitri had to squint to properly see his surroundings. With the wind picking up even further and a possible sandstorm starting, he was forced to find his way back to the grand castle. All curiosity had already dissipated from Dimitri's body and it was now replaced with the natural instinct to survive.

Survive this storm, survive this battle, survive this war, survive this life. That is, if he still had one.

Just before Dimitri's legs were about to buckle and give up, a sight made his posture straighten, eyes widened just a small fraction. There was a cave a short distance away, dark red stone against a golden-red background of dust and grime. The opening was surely big enough for him to go in, even with space to spare.

If Dimitri could not find his way back to the castle, this would perhaps be the one in which he could rest his head and hide for the night. Or at least until the chaotic storm died down.

The natural shelter loomed closer and closer with each hurried step Dimitri took. Around him, along with the wind, he could hear the hissing and snarling of demons back to haunt him. Quickening his pace, Dimitri scanned his surroundings for any sudden attacks that might be carried out by the demons. If there were any, the storm kept them out of sight.

All except one. In a distance, there was a man that was hunched over. His movements were sluggish, much like Dimitri's was. When the winds picked up, the man, though bulked with muscles that were most likely the product of working in the fields day and night, seemed like he could be blown away at any second. He turned around, his facial features disheveled from what Dimitri could see and that made the latter frown in confusion. He had not known that there was any other fallen angel that Lucifer had not transformed into a demon after their fall other than his brothers. To his knowledge, all that followed Lucifer's ways had been mutilated into a form of monstrosity. Yet, there this figure was. On his forehead was a glowing symbol, small enough so that Dimitri could not see what it was. However, the symbol glowed with the might of a thousand suns.