-[Act 4 * Part 1]-

“Wake up, human,” a distant voice said. “There is no rest for the wicked.”

Aidan opened his eyes and found himself lying in a bed with a she-demon standing next to him. The purple skinned woman had horns that sprouted forth from the sides of her head. A pair of black leathery wings could be seen growing from her back—a strong demonic trait that marked her power level to be above thirty. Instead of armor she wore clothes that were reminiscent of an alchemist’s garb, complete with an apron and medical tools sticking out of her pockets.

“Where… am I?” Aidan asked.

“We can discuss that in a moment,” she said. The demoness reached out and gently tapped the patient on the cheek to stir him from his daze. Aidan tried to pull away from her, but found that his body was strapped down to the frame of the bed with thick leather belts.

“You have been restrained for your own protection,” the she-demon explained. “Let me finish the examination and I promise to release you.” She conjured a small orb of white light at the tip of her finger which she then dangled before the eyes of the confused man to assess his awareness.

Aidan focused his sight on the orb of light and followed it from left to right. “What are you doing?” he asked. “Where are we?”

“Try to relax,” the she-demon told him. “Your body might feel a little numb until the sedatives wear off completely. For now you should avoid stressful activities.”

She leaned back to give him more space. “You are currently in the Mansions’ hospital ward. I am a doctor.”

As Aidan’s sight adjusted to his surroundings he realized that the doctor was a succubus. The room around them really did resemble a hospital, although most of the medical contraptions scattered about the place were not familiar to him.

“My name is Isabella,” the succubus told him. Her lustful eyes ran up and down the warrior’s half-naked body. “I am pleased to inform you that you have fully recovered from the initiation ritual.”

“Recovered?” Aidan asked.

“There were some minor complications,” Isabella said. “Nothing to worry about, though. So far as I can tell, you and your sister pulled through without any permanent side effects.”

As Aidan looked past the striking frame of the succubus he found his sister, Nadia, standing by the door, waving at him. She was dressed in a plain white gown that resembled the traditional garb of an acolyte priest. There were no trimmings on the cloth of her robe or any magical runes to protect her, but he did notice the shape of armored padding sticking out from below the robe. She was definitely wearing some sort of light armor beneath her clothes.

The succubus snapped her fingers to get the attention of the young warrior. “Our glorious Master will wish to see you,” Isabella told him. She then moved to undo the restraints holding Aidan to the bed. “Your time of rest is over. As of this moment you can consider yourself discharged with a clean bill of health.”

The succubus gestured for Nadia to approach and stepped back from the bed to give the siblings some room. She remained nearby, writing down a report in a clipboard. From time to time the succubus glanced up at the man sitting in the hospital bed, as if assessing him further.

“Praised be Maiden Solar,” Nadia said as she embraced her brother. “I was so worried about you!”

“I don’t remember… much,” Aidan said.

Isabella stopped her scribbling to offer an explanation. “There were some complications with the ritual,” the doctor said, “but nothing that we could not handle. It probably had to do with your karmic alignment…”

“They have such incredible healers here!” Nadia said. “Our best priests would seem like amateurs to these people.”

“How long was I unconscious?” Aidan asked. He looked up and down at his sister’s strange clothes. “What has happened? Are we still in the Mansion of that beast?”

A loud crack could be heard coming from the direction of the doctor. When the siblings looked to Isabella they found her kneeling down on one knee. She was busy collecting the broken pieces of her pencil with trembling hands, clearly holding back her anger.

“Don’t insult the Master,” Nadia whispered to her brother. “These people are crazy devoted to him! Like, they will kill you kind of devoted.”

She turned to the doctor and offered a hasty apology. “I’m sorry, Miss Isabella, my brother didn’t mean to show any disrespect towards Lord Doom. It won’t happen again.”

“It better not,” Isabella answered. Her lovely bedside manner had now all but vanished. It had been replaced by a chilling aura. The look that she was giving him still made Aidan feel like a piece of meat on display, but this time he could feel her desires directed towards a more violent end. He could almost sense the silent rage stirring within her with every subtle motion of her jaw.

Isabella pocketed the shards of the pencil and addressed Nadia. “You better go and wait outside while your brother gets dressed,” the succubus said. “Someone should arrive shortly to take you to the Master. My advice? Don’t take too long and don’t press your luck.”

Isabella then turned back to Aidan. He could almost feel the rage burning in her eyes. “It would be a shame if I had to kick you out,” she said. “So you better get dressed quickly.”

Nadia nodded vigorously. “Understood, Miss Isabella!”

“Be quick,” Nadia advised her brother. “When these people tell you to do something, you do it. Better not to test their patience...”

***

When Aidan joined his sister in the hallway, he found himself surrounded by the familiar splendor of the Doom Mansion. The black marble tiles beneath their feet had gold trimmings and the walls were lined with mahogany planks. The lamps hanging from the ceiling housed magic crystals that gave off a warm light that Aidan could almost feel on his skin. It felt just like real sunlight and the young warrior suspected that these magic crystals had a reinvigorating effect. He could feel a surge of warmth coursing through him.

Before leaving the hospital, he had been issued a set of clothes of a similar make to what Nadia wore. The difference was that his apparel was tight fitting and, thus, better suited to serve as under armor. It would be easy to keep adding more armor on top of this base layer of defense.

“How long—” Aidan hesitated for a moment as he recalled his last interaction with Lord Doom. “How much time has passed since we agreed to the demon’s offer?”

“About three days,” Nadia answered. “You were slipping in and out of consciousness for the most of it. I was worried, but the doctors of House Doom said you were very likely to pull through.

“At least you look better now!” she noted. “Not like when… you know—when we first awakened.”

“Do you remember what happened after we drank that black goop?” Aidan asked. “Was it as hard for you to awaken from the ritual as it was for me?”

The sister shrugged. “I guess I got lucky. They told me that the difficulty of the ritual is tied to one’s karmic alignment, so… Yeah, I guess we’re different, you and I.”

Aidan took a long look around the hallway. He then leaned in close to his sister and whispered in her ear. “So, have you found a way out of here yet?” he asked.

Nadia’s expression grew tense. “You don’t understand,” she said, “there is no way back. The pact we have entered into is not something we can easily dismiss.”

“Where there is a will, there is a way!” Aidan declared. “I will not submit to a monster.”

“We have already submitted ourselves to Lord Basil’s demands,” Nadia pointed out. “We sealed the pact by partaking in his blood.”

“And we can undo that connection,” Aidan said, “just like our… just like were rescued by our… you know—when we were purified! Or whatever it was we did to ourselves. We regained control over our lives! We can do that again.”

“It’s not that simple,” Nadia said.

“Yes it is!” Aidan insisted.

“No, it really isn’t,” Nadia replied. “The connection that we now share with the Master is not some summoning spell that can be broken by the wave of a wand. We have entered into a blood pact with him and we did so willingly. Not to mention the fact that we were literally summoned by him, so there is more than one level of connection to overcome. For all intents and purposes, we are as close to Lord Doom as our originals were to their parents. Any pact sealed in blood is all the more powerful the closer the relation is of the parties involved.

“We were created by him, Aidan. And then we sealed a deal with our creator. There is no going back from that kind of a bargain.”

“I know where I come from!” Aidan declared. “I remember our house… our parents. There is still a world waiting for us out there. A world that has a place for us!”

Nadia shook her head in denial. “There really isn’t,” she said. “Lord Doom has seen to it. He has destroyed both, the Empire Solar and the life we once had.

“I know that what I am saying right now might sound heartless, but you need to accept that we are NOT the people that died in the throne room. We were never born; we were created—by Lord Doom. And we cannot simply walk away from that. He won’t let us. The universe won’t let us…”

Aidan scoffed. “You sound almost like you would prefer servitude over freedom. Why are you so willing to submit to these monsters?”

“Being stubborn won’t keep us alive,” Nadia said. “Not for long, anyway…”

“I don’t know how you could even consider this situation acceptable,” Aidan said. “The only way forward is the one that leads out of this madness. I want to save us from it, but I need to know that you are with me on this.”

“Your rejection of our new reality is going to get both of us killed,” Nadia said. “You don’t understand the powers you are dealing with! I have walked these halls for two days now and I can tell you that—”

“You are desperate,” Aidan pointed out. “Don’t fall for their tricks. These are our enemies. They destroyed out world, for Maiden’s sake!”

Nadia winced in response to her brother’s declaration. “I know, but…”

A cold breeze swept through the hallway. It startled the twins and left them searching for the source.

“You know, your little schemes are just so adorable to listen to,” Schwartz announced. The dark ranger appeared out of thin air right before the two siblings. “If I were you, I would at least have found a broom closet to hide in. Out here,” he gestured down the hallway, “there are many minions that would take great pleasure in uncovering your plot against the Master. After beating the details out of you…”

“We were not plotting anything!” Nadia announced. “We were just discussing… My brother, he doesn’t understand!”

Schwartz shook his head. “It is not your brother that fails to perceive the obvious problem,” he said. “It is you, Nadia, who fail to realize the impassable obstacle that he faces.

“People like you, the pragmatists, have wings to carry them through their lives. You can pass over obstacles that you do not wish to face, but more sentimental people—people like your brother—cannot avoid the confrontation. They are like bulls, stubbornly dragging their burdens forward, ramming head first into their enemies; unwilling to compromise. They are fearsome in their determination, but such people will never be able to overcome a moral obstacle as easily as you have.

“He will need more time to dwell on his new circumstances,” the ranger said. “Be patient with your brother.”

Schwartz next examined the human warrior before him. “I have known many men like you, Aidan. So prideful; so eager to throw their lives away if their honor demands it…

“That is why the Young Master was wise enough to keep you both alive. No doubt, your sister would have found it hard to accept the deal if you had not been included in the bargain. But you, Aidan… you would never even have considered it without her. Had she perished in the throne room from her injuries, you would have refused the offer and embraced death instead. You would have died bravely, as your kind always does, but needlessly none the less.

“By agreeing to serve the Young Master you have saved both of your lives,” Schwartz said. “For now…

“The only other way our confrontation in the throne room could have ended was with your deaths.” He gestured at Nadia. “You knew that, so you accepted the deal out of curiosity,” he gestured at Aidan next, “and you will come to accept it out of your sense of duty.

“For what it’s worth, young warrior, I admit that that your allegiance will be by far the harder one to earn. But remember this: the trees that do not bend in the storm end up breaking instead. The forest will not shed any tears for your noble stand against the investable—it will use your remains to nurture those that survived the storm. Either you adapt and survive or you become fodder.

“So, are we clear on where we all stand in this?” Schwartz asked. “Or do we have to take this matter of your uncertain loyalty straight to the Master? I am sure that he will be more than happy to hear that you have already faltered in your promise to serve him.”

Nadia kept silent in the presence of the dark ranger, but her brother would not bow down so easily.

“I don’t fully understand the magic at work here,” Aidan admitted, “but you don’t seem at all concerned about the possibility of us betraying you. You heard what I think of it all! What makes you believe that I will ever submit to you?”

“It is impossible for you to betray us,” Schwartz proclaimed. “Therefore I do not fear your schemes. And I expect so little of the two of you that I don’t concern myself with your survival, should you insult the wrong person.”

“And how exactly do you figure that works?” Aidan asked. “Unbound and unshackled—was the free will that Lord Doom talked about all a lie? Are we now somehow his puppets?”

“No,” Schwartz said, “but there are indeed invisible strings dangling above your heads. They hold swords that are poised to fall the moment you choose to cause us harm. It will be a quick death—we don’t tend to torture our enemies—but an end to your treason regardless.

“There is a price to pay for an opportunity to serve a higher cause,” he noted. “And I do believe that in due time you will come to appreciate your choice to serve House Doom. We all did.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” Aidan proclaimed. “You are a monster!”

The dark ranger smiled. “Long ago I too was presented with this choice of submission,” Schwartz said. “I faced my inner demons and accepted my fate, for the greater good. My choice was not proven wrong, but I could never have known that before the decision was made. We all fear that which we do not understand.”

“So you were once an enemy of Lord Doom?” Aidan asked. “I hope that you got what you wanted, serving your conqueror’s cause.”

“You agreed to serve him to save your sister’s life,” Schwartz pointed out.

“Yeah, and who did you save?” Aidan asked. “And how many people have you killed since prostrating yourself before a monster?”

The previously blank expression of the dark ranger suddenly stirred. Barely visible at first, the lines below his eyes grew longer; darker, more pronounced.

“We can’t afford to waste our chance at a new life,” Nadia told her brother. “Come with me and let me show you the wonders that dwell within these halls.” She reached out for her brother’s hand, but Aidan refused her.

“I don’t know what’s gotten into you,” Aidan said, “but I won’t be so easily swayed.” The young warrior now directed his full ire at the dark ranger. “And I won’t sell out my principles like you did! You’re a fool to think that I will go down the same path. I spit on you and your master!”

In a flash, Schwartz grabbed Aidan by the neck and slammed the warrior into the wall. The dark, brooding figure of the ranger held up the young warrior high enough that they could look each other in the eye.

Dazed from the impact, Aidan helplessly observed the angry expression of the pale man as it drew closer to his face. He noted the elongated canines that protruded, barely visible, from the corners of his mouth.

“Listen here, you filthy mongrel!” Schwartz hissed. “I am only going to tell you this once: you are nothing but a BLIND FOOL, stumbling through the darkness of your own ignorance.

“It’s not your fault that you are so stupid. You are young and you cannot see—”

Aidan struggled to speak, choking under the crushing grasp of the vampire. “I’m—not…”

Schwartz shut him up by slamming Aidan against the wall a second time. “It’s your pride, Aidan!” he said. “It will be your pride—the cardinal sin of a righteous man that will kill your sister. It is pride that destroys men like us! It destroys everything we love!”

“I—won’t,” Aidan muttered.

Schwartz slammed his victim against the wall a third time. “When I look at you, I see in your eyes the same sickening pride; the same vanity that I once held so close and dear to my noble heart. I can hear it in your words, with every self-righteous breath you take…

“My own pride ended up costing me everything—my world AND my people. All of it gone… Because I failed to pay the ultimate price when it was demanded of me! I failed them…” His head twitched as he considered his words. “No, we failed them… we both failed in our duty to protect our people. Because we could not; we would not bend in the wind, so the storm tore the whole forest down around us.”

The vampire bared his fangs at his struggling victim. “You see, it took too long for me to realize the true meaning of the word sacrifice—that it is not your honor or pride that should be protected above all else.”

His crushing grip around Aidan’s neck tightened. “Your noble intentions will count for nothing when doom comes to your world. Your honor will hold no value in the marketplace of war. Life is cheap there, but only sold for blood, sweat and tears. The best that your moral fortitude will buy is a cheap sense of elation, sold in one of the back alleys where the whores and drug peddlers of this universe congregate. Drink deep from their cups—feed your glut and mend your pride—but know that by the time you will come crashing down from that high, someone will be holding a knife to your throat.

“It took the death of my world for me to finally accept that pride was a sweet poison, but maybe I can squeeze that lesson into you right now… one—crack—at—a—time.”

Aidan desperately grasped at his neck as the iron hold of the vampire’s hand closed around it. As his eyes began to glaze over he caught one last glance of his sister as she raised her hands for the strike.

Her intervention snapped Schwartz out of his state of blind rage. The vampire released Aidan and looked on as his exhausted body fell down at his feet like a sack of potatoes. Having pushed Aidan around with his foot to see if he was still breathing, Schwartz then directed his full attention towards Nadia.

The young priestess stood at an arm’s reach of the vampire, her hands covered in blood. The paleness of her face was almost a match for Schwartz.

“Nadia,” Aidan asked in between drawing his breaths, “are you—alright?”

Schwartz reached around the back of his left leg and pulled a scalpel from his flesh. “Well,” he said as he examined the stolen blade in his hand, “at least we all now know where you draw the line, Nadia. If nothing else, you would be willing to throw your life away to save his.”

While the dark ranger seemed unfazed by his injury, less could be said for the twins. Aidan was stricken with horror the moment he came to realize what his sister had done in order to protect him from the monster’s assault. On her part, the priestess could not so much as move a muscle. She was left struggling with the implied consequences of her actions.

“Lady Isabella always keeps her scalpels sharp,” Schwartz remarked. The vampire then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small red potion. “No matter. She will never know that it went missing in the first place.” He took a few sips from the vial before offering the drink to Aidan.

The young warrior was reluctant to accept it, so Schwartz assured him of the contents. “It’s not blood,” he said. “It’s a simple healing potion. Not that drinking blood would cause you any harm…”

The vampire spent some time ponding the consequences of their brief altercation. There was blood on the floor and Aidan had left a human sized imprint on the wall, what with him having been smashed into it three times.

“Come on,” Schwartz said and walked down the hallway. “Get up and pull yourselves together. We have an appointment with the Master. As it stands, I am pretty sure that none of us would like to explain the reason for our delay.”

The twins complied and followed Schwartz in silence. Aidan appeared to have come to his senses first. He placed his hand around her sister to try and comfort her. Nadia was still staring at her blood covered hands as they left the hospital ward behind them.

“I understand why you did what you did,” Schwartz told them. “I have decided to keep this between us. But you will owe me a favor later down the line…

“Both of you will have to pay for your transgression in one way or another. Blood, sweat or tears—the price of life is ever changing.”