There Is Light

Chapter One

__All he could see was darkness. All that was there was black and silence. He couldn't even hear himself think. He couldn't hear himself breathe. He tried desperately to feel everything around him, but nothing, not even himself. He grew mad, yearning to be free. And as if someone, or something heard him, he got his wish.
__Through his closed eyelids he was able to see light. He felt his surroundings, trying to figure out where he was. Cold stone. He put his hand out further and felt it go down. Cold stone steps. After a few seconds, he finally opened his eyes. They hurt for only a second before they adjusted to the light. He looked around and found himself in a familiar scenery. 
__Snap 
__He turned his head and looked behind him. There was nothing.
__He then looked back at the scene, trying to remember where he was. He was sitting in front of the entrance of a temple. He looked down the long flight of stairs and found the back of a large castle. This place. I'm in Soleanna. But why? I thought I was dead.
__He looked up at the sky, his ears flattened as pain fluttered in his chest. "I have failed Iblis. I have failed Solaris."
__"That you have, Mephiles the Dark."
__Mephiles stood up and looked into the temple entrance. He saw a figure in the darkness, but he couldn't make it out. 
__"Who are you?" He asked in caution.
__"I am your savior," A female voice spoke. "Right before Solaris was destroyed I trapped you back into the Scepter of Darkness."
__"The Scepter of Darkness was destroyed," Mephiles pointed out, trying not to sound shocked.
__"I fixed it. I predicted Solaris' fall, and I wanted to make sure you didn't fall in the process."
__Mephiles squinted his eyes, but he still could not see the figure. "Come out so I can see you." He made himself sound threatening.
__There was no sound of footsteps when the figure walked toward him. When she stepped into the light he could clearly see a female brown cat. Her fur was a light brown, her hair a darker shade with bangs, short hair in the back, and braids at each side of her face. She wore gold earrings with a blue gem and a blue jay feather in her hair. Her outfit was strange. The top half of her shirt was black while the bottom half was all fishnet, exposing her back and stomach. She had dark gray leggings going down past her ankles, and she wore no shoes. Her tail was about five feet long and very fluffy. What stood out to Mephiles was the mark on her left shoulder. The mark on her shoulder was the waning crescent of the moon.
__Mephiles shook his head and glared at the beautiful cat. "Who are you?" He asked again. It was then he saw her purple eyes, like amethyst. 
__"I am Athena," Her long tail twitched as she spoke. "I am your savior, so now you must do something for me."
__Mephiles let out a short laugh as he looked into her eyes. "I don't think so. I only do work for Iblis. Don't think I'll be at your service just because you saved me."
__Athena said nothing as she slowly walked closer to Mephiles.
__Mephiles didn't move. He thought this was amusing for her to try to convince him otherwise on what he had said.
__When Athena was close enough she grabbed Mephiles' shoulders and hesitated before she pressed her lips on his forehead.
__"What are you..." Mephiles suddenly felt all of his energy vanish. His head started spinning and he grew dizzy as he collapsed onto the cold stone.

__Mephiles woke up, but something felt wrong. He felt weaker. He looked up to see Athena was standing, looking down at him with a smile on her face. He then stood up and found that the rings around his wrists and ankles had been replaced with chains. He felt something on his chest and found a chain around his neck like a necklace with a heart-shaped lock holding the chain together. Mephiles tried pulling the lock off, but his attempts proved useless.
__Mephiles glared at Athena when she started giggling. "What have you done to me!?"
__Athena's eyes glistened as she spoke. "You belong to me now. Only I can remove your lock and chains." She then walked around Mephiles and stopped behind him. "You will do as I say if you want your powers back. Do you understand?"
__Mephiles looked at her and his body shook in anger when Athena didn't drop her smile. He wanted to escape and just leave her, but he figured it would do him no good to run away. He sighed in defeat and crossed his arms as he locked his gaze with her's. "Fine. What is it that you need?" He asked, now playing her game.
__Athena's smile then turned into a frown. Her tail twitched in anger before she spoke. "You have failed Solaris," She began. "Iblis has gone missing. It is no longer in the body of Princess Elise the Third."
__"Iblis is dead!" Mephiles retorted. 
__"In our time and dimension he is," Athena grinned. "But in the future in another dimension, he isn't." She took a step closer to Mephiles before she continued. "We are not sure whom Iblis hides within now, but when we find him I can assure you that Solaris can walk once again."
__Mephiles stood there, bewildered by what Athena had said. When he replayed the words in his head he crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "What do I have to do?"
__"Not much. All you need to do is guard Iblis' last vessel."
__"Elise," Mephiles whispered to himself.
__"I don't want anything to happen to her while we figure out which dimension Iblis is in."
__"We?"
__"That is not important," Athena warned him. "Princess Elise was Iblis' last vessel. I'm led to believe if anything happens to her then we cannot bring Iblis to this dimension because she's the only one who shares its blood. You do not have to worry about a thing. I've told the princess that I have found her a personal guard, but she does not know what is happening."
__"Won't she be suspicious if she sees I'm her guard?" Mephiles questioned her.
__"Didn't I just say you do not have to worry about a thing!?" Athena asked impatiently. "You will trust my plan. Nothing can go wrong."
__Mephiles didn't respond. He looked down at his feet while uncrossing his arms. I'll play your little game, Athena. You will know at the end of all this that you've made a mistake saving me. He looked up when Athena started walking down the stairs.
__"Come now, Mephiles. We mustn't keep the Princess of Soleanna waiting."
__Mephiles reluctantly followed Athena down the stairs. He looked up at the sky when he realized that something felt different. Everything is...peaceful. There is no disturbance. He looked forward as he continued down the stairs. Not yet anyway.