Karmmrak

Gideon

He dreamed.

He was aware that he was underground. It wasn’t just that he as inside, but also the stifling pressure. It was a dark, black place. Absent of all hope.

As his eyes adjusted, he noticed the stone floor was perfectly smooth and level. Cold and soulless. He felt an intense sadness emanating through the room, through the very stones themselves. The very room itself was a mastercraft built upon sorrow and disappointment.

A halo of light surrounding a silhouette figure that occupied the center room. Gideon stalked forward cautiously, his quiet footsteps breaking the silence of nothing. The figure in the center was a smaller woman clothed in rags, immobilized to the floor, ceiling, and walls with branching chains of phthalo blue. It appeared she could never stand comfortably, nor could she sit or lay down, based on the tension of the chains.

He brushed against a chain, the feeling of cold shocked his finger, his instincts kicked in and he pulled back. The quiet jingle of metal was deafening in a room made of silence.

I can interact with the dream. Just- OK, yeah- fine.

The woman snapped her head to the noise, a cacophony of ringing chains echoed out.

Shit.

He caught his breath before he let out any more noise.

He realized two facts at that moment.

He could interact with the dream. And the dream gazed back.

Just like that Archangel Chamuel…

The woman’s shortened frayed golden hair fell away from her face to reveal a chained collar and mask made of that same phthalo blue metal. The blunted mask obscured everything save for a sole eye. His heart lept at the beauty he witnessed. And horror.

It was an eye of a pure blue ocean.

As vast as the sky.

It spoke of mysterious aquamarine, of brilliant azure, burning sapphire, and majestic cerulean. The entire eye was a solid blue. It also spoke of untold agony, there were violet veins staining the eye. There was a desperation in that eye. A madness. The untold rage of a collapsing sun. She was not human.

Who is she?

The question he thought hung unanswered.

Unanswerable. “Who's there?” her tinny and muffled voice rang out into the darkness at the disturbed chain.

Her eye darted, tracking for movement.

“Is someone there?” She asked again. Waiting quietly.

Staring right in Gideon’s direction.

“ANSWER ME.”

She shouted with undeniable authority. The chains shook by the power of the voice, Gideon himself was bowled over by the force of the command.

Gideon stayed down and unmoving, his breath coming out silent. His ears rang over the blast of sound.

What was she? Gideon asked himself. Internally. So as not to draw up more ire from the woman.

“Please. I-I haven’t spoken to anyone. I don’t know how long it’s been,” the woman begged.

She tried to move, but the chains impeded her actions, their jingling song mocked her.

Silence.

“I was once inexperienced with dreams, too,” the woman stated to no one.

Gideon felt a tremble through his limbs. She knew he was there. She also knew his nature.

“Why anyone would be dreaming of a burnt-out shell…” She muttered bitterly.

The woman gave up. She let gravity take over as she slumped to the floor. Her arms were pulled at awkward angles from the chains; her restrained collar kept her helmeted head from touching the cell floor. He could hear a quiet weeping.

His eyes were still caught between trying to adjust and being glared by the halo of light in the center. Along the far wall, he spotted massive double reinforced door. Even the hinges were double reinforced.

A prison? For who? Her??

His thoughts and silence didn’t last long.

He heard the doors shudder from a massive blow outside the room. The clapping boom only trembling the doors; a challenge. His ears were rung as the deafening sound was akin to a bomb blast.

Alright, this is different. Eyes burned by lasers in the last one, almost going deaf in this one.

A second blast shook the room itself. Gideon silently clutched his ears as the sound and pressure from the blast left him ringing. In his deafened stunned stupor, he noticed a strange detail; the room was pristine. Not dust or rubble. No rats or moss. It felt brand new.

The woman had stood up and was nervously placing weight from one foot to another, her chains jingling like a poor tune. With her focus elsewhere, Gideon took his chance and got to his feet.

Prison break? She looks worried…

“What bastard rot is this?” She shouted out loud, confirming his thoughts.

He glanced to the door, seeing a brassy red blade having punctured inside the door, just away from the hinges. The bladed traveled from the top of the door to the bottom like a zipper, emitting a screech that Gideon could feel to his soul. The door slowly fell over, the anticipation of the final impact was panic-inducing. He braced himself as the thunderclap rang out, rattling his bones.

The room went silent, his breath shallow in anticipation of what was going to come through that door. The clocking of hooves tinned off of the door, the heavy impact implying a large figure. The dark silhouette advanced inside. The demeanor of the woman changed, she hunched over and turned to the side; all forms of submission. The blast of authority he felt from before now felt like a one-off event.

“W-who’s there?” The woman asked with a shaky voice.

The being ignored her question as it advanced. Gideon caught the pattern of an almost smug swagger. The being halted just near the halo of light, cocking its head to inspect the woman. Gideon caught the sight of horns atop its head.

Gideon stayed still, lest the creature noticed him too. He remembered the phantasmagoria from before, almost breaking him with but a word. He didn’t want a repeat of that; or worse.

The creature gripped a chain and cut through it with ease, the strange blade glinting in the light. It processioned around the room, cutting her chains, each falling with a traveling jingle.

Gideon matched the creature’s pace, keeping opposite of it.

Can’t let it see me… If I can feel a chain, I could probably feel that blade.

Gideon had done a full lap around the room, his back to the ruined exit. He could hear fighting, screams, and shouting.

It was a prison break and it appeared she wasn’t a part of it.

The creature continued, leaving a single chain attached to her waist. It yanked on her last shackle, pulling her from the halo of light. She let out a shriek as she tumbled to the floor. The halo of light expanded, filling the room. Gideon’s heart lept at the monster in front of him.

The beast stood on two hoofed legs, reaching eight feet tall. It wore a leather tabard skirt that merged to armor up to its stomach. Its bare chest and arms were thick, corded, and veiny muscles, all of it, unlike anything a human could obtain. The dead give away it was not human was the large predatory goat head staring at the woman with its disquieting horizontal slit irises. The large horns were more synonymous with a devil than a grazing animal.

Jesus… First the aliens from the battle of Earth, now this… Demons? Aliens?

Gideon froze, glancing around the newly lit room, seeing no cover to hide. The exit behind him roared with bedlam madness. He had no move out.

The woman had rolled to her back, a strange crying noise emitting from her helmed head. The beast knelt, gently pulling the chain and the woman towards him. The brassy red dagger curved to a wicked point. The same dagger it used to break through the massive door.

The beast silently gripped the chain, cutting through it easily before tossing the shackle away. The beast appeared terrifying, but was gentle in cutting away the woman’s bindings. Her trembling ceased as she sat to her knees, understanding her new liberator. The beast moved behind her, his back to Gideon as he began to work on the shackled helmet.

Move.

Gideon stalked to the far wall, attempting to get away from the next obvious route; the exit. He quickly froze at the sound of the clattering metal. The woman had risen to her feet, overshadowed by the massive monster. And then Gideon caught her eyes as she glanced to him, most of her face covered by matted hair. She darted her eyes back to the beast as if trying to not give him away.

She can see me, too. Not going to test that demon monster.

“Please- don’t destroy me- I don’t know why they imprisoned me,” she begged with trembling voice.

The beast spoke with a soft warm tone, smooth as oil, belying it’s brutish form.

“Little one, I have come to set you free. The revolution begins. The kingdom of God ends here. Join us in contract,”

It held out its upturned hand, black light flowing into a papered scroll, handing it to the smaller prisoner.

She cut at her wrist, signing it in the blood; not even bothering to read it. There was desperation her movements; Gideon could read from her body language that she would do anything to leave.

She spoke, the tremble gave way to a quiet whisper.

“I will do all I can in any way I can. I will obey in all ways and submit myself to my lord… What is your name?” She trailed off in fear of offending the beast.

“My name? Kneel,” the beast demanded.

Gideon had to fight not to obey, to not kneel. The woman got to her knee, bowing her head. The beast continued.

“Kneel to Lucifer, Prince of Darkness, ruler of Demons. The roaring lion.”

Gideon caught his breath at the name.

Are you kidding me..? This is Satan? This is the enemy of God?

Even Gideon knew what Lucifer was. The demon took the scroll she offered, vanishing it in black light.

The Archangel can change forms to fly, and Lucifer can use a form of QSD…

More bizarre circumstances, more incredible things to witness.

“We leave,” Lucifer ordered as he turned.

Gideon’s heart lept as the prince of darkness turned, meeting his eyes. The king of demons narrowed his goat eyes, his muzzle pulling back to reveal teeth of razors.

Gideon felt a sudden pressure weighted upon himself. He couldn’t move, as if a large burden was dropped atop himself. He went to his knees, straining to breathe. It felt like a repeat of The Dusk.

“It appears we have an onlooker. At least he knows his place,” Lucifer spoke smugly.

He began a slow stride to him, each clock of his hoof was a hammer impact on his chest.

“Do you believe, O’ dreamer, that you are immune from harm?”

Gideon gulped, looking for a way out. The brass knifed tumbled around Lucifer's fingers, a broadcasted intent. The woman followed behind, hands clasped and head lowered.

She brushed back her hair, revealing a face that Gideon could only describe as the most beautiful being in all of creation. His mind lacked any word to explain or categorize her. Words weren’t enough. If beauty were a mountain, this woman was the starry sky above it. He needed to save her. He needed to love her. He had to submit to her at all costs. Forsake everything; his identity, his-

He shook the strange pressure from his mind as a hoof slammed down on the floor as Lucifer strode ever closer, a ticking clock until death.

What the hell was that feeling?

The woman’s submissive and broken nature fell away. A mask was allowed to drop. The beauty he saw had an addition. The sudden grin of a homicidal raging killer. Her head tilted forward, her eyes glinted with murderous intent. Gideon now realized it was all directed at him.

Why am I here? Wake up! Shit! WAKE UP!

She crept up on naked feet, silent as death, her hand straight like a knife.

The demon spoke, sensing the malevolent intent. The demon’s full attention was on him.

“Ah, there’s that reason you were imprisoned. I will question the boy and then you can relax.”

Gideon felt his heart flutter at Lucifer using the word relax to mean to butcher him.

And then she turned all of her intent into the demon. She jumped and lunged, punching her hand through the demon’s back, in between the shoulder blades, through the spine, and into the ribcage. She yanked back, breaking free demon spine. Black blood sprayed into her as if she discovered black gold reserves. The knife clattered to the ground.

Lucifer emitted a gurgling gasp as he dropped to his knees, the demon had made only one mistake. It fell to its hands, the wound sputtering black blood. The woman dropped the bloodied spine as she quickly moved to his side. She front flipped forward, dropping her heel like an executioner’s axe into Lucifer’s neck. His neck snapped, broken in half. The demon dropped to the floor, his limbs twitching from the injury.

A pool of black blood formed at the demon’s feet as the woman rose, glancing to Gideon, her face haughty and proud.

The demon spoke, sputtering black blood sprayed out, bathing the area in black.

“How?”

The woman looked down, her eyes narrowing, her whole being emitting an aura of revulsion to the demon.

She spoke, her voice oozing with mockery and contempt, “did you really think a contract, of all things, would work with me, O’ mighty Devil?” She placed a knee against the demon’s skull, gripping a horn, “did you not know, O’ Falling Star, who you were freeing?”

She twisted, the demon uttered a screech as Gideon heard bone creaking and breaking as she snapped one of his horns free.

“O’ mighty Beelzebub, how could you let your guard down?” She gripped his other horn as she leaned close to his twitching ear, “O’ Belial, why are you so young?”

She twisted, snapping the last horn free as Lucifer gurgled in pain. Gideon spotted bits of blood and skull attached to the second horn.

The woman rose, dropping the horns as she eyed the knife.

“How did I do it, you ask?” The woman began, “Well, I lied,” she answered almost truthfully.

The demon gasped and sputtered a reply.

“None… Can deny a contract… Once signed-”

The woman interrupted him, speaking with a voice of anger. A new mask placed on. A raging plasma storm arcing into a single target.

Lucifer.

“Now listen once and listen well, you filthy abomination of damned worm shit. You are looking at the exception,” The woman barked each word, spilling out more and more contempt, “you. Are. Imposter. Taking and destroying what isn’t yours. A parasite. I’ve destroyed countless bastards such as you; those thinking they’ll become the next Jehova, the next ruler of existence. You are nothing; worse than nothing. You are to be hunted for sport, destroyed without mercy, and devoured without thought. Let this be your redemption,” the woman stated with finality, finishing her monologue as she palmed her blade.

She appeared not just familiar with the weapon, but that weapon in particular.

“Wait…” Lucifer rasped.

She gripped the demon’s ear and began to shear through his neck. A simple stroke, a brief gurgle, and the head came free. A fountain of black blood spilled from the stump, adding to the ever-increasing size of the ebony pool at the woman’s feet. She gazed into the eyes of the twitching decapitated head before dropping it with a disgusted scowl to the floor. The body began to crumble to an ash statue, the blood crackling to a grey mud. She gazed longingly at the blade, the look of a reunited friend.

Gideon finally found himself again, his disassociation from the event ended. He felt a fear he only experienced with The Dusk. He felt a revulsion he had never experienced that threatened break him.

The body burst, scattering the room with ash as golden motes danced free. The woman turned to the now airborne dust corpse of Lucifer, gazing at the motes. And then she shrieked. It was a desperate, mournful cry, a noise Gideon could only attribute to a mother who had just seen the death of her children.

She scattered the body of Lucifer, grabbing a large stone of obsidian. She gripped hard to crush it, shattering the stone. The shards flowed inside of her, absorbing it into her being.

What is she doing? What are those? Chamuel said ‘Souls of the crew’… Are those- those are human souls?”

She breathed in, the ash billowing around her. She drank deeply of the now-deceased Lucifer, the ash flowing into her skin.

Her body suddenly glowed like the sun, stumbling Gideon from the distorted dimension and blinding light. The light subsided, the woman was no more. What replaced her stood at nine feet tall. To say she was the pinnacle of beauty and elegance was wrong; she was a god. Her robes of light brightened the room, accentuating her thin and well-endowed body. Her glistening golden hair tumbled to her feet in a bundle. She flexed her shoulders, branching out four wings made up of hundreds of floating curved metal shards. It was the same phthalo blue steel of the chains, of the door, and of one other thing he now recognized.

The ship. The Decima has that same metal...

A golden halo of righteousness surrounded behind her head, a sun on the horizon. The being raised her glowing hand, gathering several thousand motes into a compressed crystal spire.

Just like Chamuel… She must be an angel...

The angel stifled a wordless weep as she vanished the spire away in golden light. As if placing on a new mask, she composed herself, her face going cold. She breathed a tired sigh, speaking aloud.

“X’elphona was your true name. Go to hell and return to oblivion, you piece of shit,”

Her solid blue eyes of the sky snapped to Gideon. Her recalcitrant attitude changed instantly; a new mask adorned. Gideon met her gaze and he felt it again. Gideon rose to his feet as if in a trance. He needed to rescue her. He needed to care for her. He needed to love her. He needed to worship-

Her voice broke him from his stupor.

“Ah my love, I don’t think you could ever be more blessed; the first man to witness my liberation.”

“Who are you?” Gideon shot the question out by instinct, his body, mind, and soul threatening to snap in half.

Again? Again! Once again, a brilliant first question.

The angel smirked as if viewing a lost little boy. She glanced down at the knife, putting the weapon behind her back. Her smile became coy as she tapped idly at her lip.

“Were you not paying attention, O’ dreamer?” She added with play mockery, “do you not recognize me, my love?”

She was suddenly in front of Gideon leaning over him, her massive size dwarfed him. Gideon could not register the speed of her. There was a sudden thunder crack noise of displaced air, threatening to tumble Gideon from his feet. She bent over to eye level, her gaze trapping him. He was staring straight into two pits of hell.

He felt her full presence. The horror of it. He couldn’t understand nor hold onto the feeling as if overflowing the cup of his mind and soul. He needed to flee, he needed to die right now to escape.

She spoke three words.

Three words that Gideon could never imagine anyone ever saying.

Possibly the only three honest words she ever spoke.

I am Lucifer.