What happens when a college dropout accidentally opens up the portal to HELL in his soup? Shenanigans of course! Now, James must team up with a flamboyant scarecrow, a jaded witch, an overzealous knight, and a virgin succubus to lock away what he's...
James awoke to the smell of sulfur and sickly-sweet ebony wood. It took a good moment for his vision to clear, but he discovered Luna sitting patiently in a black chair next to his. The room they were in was extravagantly macabre, like a twisted presidential office. Furniture of flesh and bone made their homes here, along with the constant wailing of twice-removed faces hammered into the ceiling above. Insignias of a lavender tie plastered themselves all over the walls, and the image was burned deeply into James's mind. It was a simple design but held an air of oppression.
"We meet again, little Luna," a deep, reverberating voice forced its way into James's ears.
The utterance shook his very core, and when he looked up to see whom it came from, he thought his vision was still blurry. All James could see was the black silhouette of a man, with a bright lavender tie around his thick neck; the tie almost appeared to be glowing. James blinked a few times to clear his vision, but the man remained a blur, as if he were in a different plane of reality altogether, hiding in a warped existence that James couldn't quite wrap his head around. There was a singular detail James could spot through the obscured veil of his vision. An almost invisible eye pierced through him. He could tell the man's attention was on his companion, but it felt as if there was another presence within the man, studying James's soul and person- poking and prodding until he felt like he was going to implode from the inside.
"Thanks for seeing us!" Luna squeaked.
"Your family had provided me with," The Man with the Lavender Tie cleared his throat, "plenty of favors." his words alone felt like someone was playing handball with James's brain. "I will attune this boy's soul, but if you are unsuccessful in sealing The Eidolon, your faces are mine."
Luna nodded intently, then glanced over James, who was still caked in his own blood. James utilized what strength he had left to grunt; he's been through enough shit for today. The Man with the Lavender Tie pivoted his head toward our wounded protagonist.
"You may not survive this. But something tells me..." The Man with the Lavender Tie trailed off, and James felt that invisible eye probing his soul again.
"I don't even care at this point... honestly. Do, like—whatever, man." James said weakly.
The Man with the Lavender Tie pushed back from his chair and approached James. As he did, James's eyes watered when the hazy figure dispersed and reformed in blotches of shadow, all without losing momentum. The room shook violently, cracks formed along the inner structure, the twice-removed face's screeched. Every step broke the floor, raw power emanated from the man in tidal waves. Luna remained dead still through the chaos as if time was frozen. The man cupped James's face in his hand. It was smooth and textureless—it sucked the color from his face and the reflection in his eyes. A crimson light flickered within the invisible eye, causing James to keel over out of his chair, stiff with excruciating pain. He writhed and rolled until he stilled completely, face down peppered in nasty splinters.
"Guys, I'm just gonna—I'm just gonna like, not live anymore. Kay, thanks bye." James felt his eyelids close under the weight of his exhaustion.
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