Magic: The Gathering: Say You'll Haunt Me

Chapter 6: The Tormentor

Kerrick

I knew something was wrong. Why didn't I try and say something? What came over me?

All these thoughts swirled through my head as the demon, or Ob Nixilis, as he called himself, made himself comfortable again.

"Now, Kerrick, I want you to know, before we begin our negotiations, this little display was only to persuade Miss Vess to leave us. And to show you I mean business." He explained, grinning down at me.

"Then why are we doing this?! I came here to deal, and all you've done so far is restrain and taunt me! Let me out and I'll kill you quickly, you-".

Nixilis' tail lashed out at my shin, carving a large gash into it. I yelled out in pain, reeling. The demon laughed, visibly pleased to have inflicted so much pain.

Pausing for a moment, I looked back up at Nixilis. "I thought I saw you on Ravnica. In a Rakdos neighborhood…" I started.

"So that's what those blood-soaked idiots are called? Rakdos? Well, if you know them, give them my thanks next time you see them. I had an enjoyable time tormenting their lot." He cackled.

I looked at Nixilis. "You just want to hurt people?".

The demon chuckled softly and grinned at me. "He can be taught," he replied in a nauseatingly smug tone. "That's exactly what I want to do. But you are not a person I want to hurt. You have something I want." He finished, pushing his clawed index finger against my chest, making me wince.

"What do I have that you want?" I asked, still thoroughly confused. "I'm just a teen. You're a demon. I don't know how old, but you're older than me, and obviously more cunning.".

Nixilis scoffed. "Think, boy. We were both their on Ravnica. We both laid our own eyes upon the havoc The Dreadhorde wreaked upon the city.".

Ob Nixilis suddenly slammed his hands down on the armrests of the throne I was bound to, his eyes piercing me. "Liliana laid waste to the world you call home, and then trapped you, leaving you to die in its crumbling husk." He snarled.

As he spoke, his eyes began to glow brighter. "I know what it's like to be a prisoner. I spent centuries trapped on Zendikar before I was free.".

I was suddenly transported to a pit underground, held in place by tightly wound vines around my limbs. I looked down at my body and saw it was now identical to the demon I was conversing with moments ago.

"The Chain Veil made me into this beast," his voice echoed in my mind. "I came to Zendikar looking for a cure, but the twisted Mana of the plane extinguished my spark, trapping me.".

I was transported once again, now on Zendikar, fighting a woman with chalk-white skin. I threw bolts of death magic at her, but she simply dodged each attack before sending a small rock structure at me, zipping through the air like an arrow, and embedding itself in my forehead.

"That self-righteous wench Nahiri further humiliated me, planting one of her cursed Hedrons inside of me, stripping me of most of my power.".

One last time, I was suddenly speaking with… Jace Beleren?!

"Ah, that's right. You know Beleren. The man who once acted as your precious Guildpact. He freed me from the plane, but not after I made my hatred known. I left Zendikar only after releasing Kozilek to lay waste to the world.".

I was shown a massive, eldritch being, rising up from the vapor that obscured everything below the floating land of Zendikar, joining another being of similar form, and slaughtering an army of Zendikari that were trying so desperately to fend them off.

Finally, I was back on Innistrad, in my own body… but still trapped.

"Now you know my pain. Now, I will give you the terms of my deal," Nixilis said, standing up to his full height. "I will give you eternal life, so long as you rid the Multiverse of one Liliana Vess." He said, grinning sadistically.

I glared at the demonic planeswalker. "Like hells, I will.".

He sighed, and got up in my face again. "Think of it some more, Kerrick. What have you done for her, and what has she done for you?" He seethed.

I felt his darkness creeping back into me again. "She only took you so she could get The Gem," he started, showing me the day we first met, her face now twisted into a nightmarish grin.

"She taught you Necromancy so you could be her personal lacky," he continued, showing me fighting the Grimnant Knights yesterday, all while Miss Vess preened and pampered herself inside.

"And finally, to top it all off, she seduced you. She doesn't want you, Kerrick. She wants your power," he hissed, showing me the night before, but with Miss Vess on top, pinning me down and laughing demonically.

"If she had the opportunity to continue her life without you, but with your power, she would take it in a heartbeat." He crowed, his breath sour and hot against my face.

"She doesn't love you, Kerrick. That night of passion was merely an extra benefit of controlling a pathetic, horny teenage pyromancer.".

I tried to ignore him, but his words crept inside, occupying my every thought. Soon, my thinking was a whirling mass of hatred and spite, all centered around Liliana Vess.

"Kill her. Claim your prize. Live forever. Become greater than anything her small mind could ever conceive." Nixilis goaded, offering me my weapon. "SLAUGHTER THAT PATHETIC WHORE LIKE A LAMB!" He roared, opening the exit to the chapel for me. I took my whip and left, searching for her.

There she was, waiting. She saw me and yelled out, saying something I couldn't make out.

But I didn't care. I slowly walked toward her, my hand grasping my whip tightly.