A warm breeze jostles me awake and the birds chirping make me feel at peace and all fuzzy inside.

“mmh” (Owen)

“So, he finally deems to awake. As fate would have it, you survived your own twisted mind. Congratulations seem to be in order.”

A cold sneer shocks me and I startle. I open my eyes instinctively and am greeted with a beautiful landscape of trees, flowers and a warm summer breeze. The mountains in the distance seem so wonderful and huge. Truly a stunning sight to behold.

“What? You were not prepared for this little tour deep down your mind? Ha! Shocking to see the such an abortive thing like you withstand this torture. Humanity truly is a wondrous little abomination, even managing to sleep amongst the frozen dead, as if it were heaven itself! The look on your face just screams delight!”

As I look around for the voice, I suddenly spot the mean creature that is talking to me like that. What did he mean ‘amongst the frozen dead’? As far as I can see this land is so warm and pretty! The only thing that seems out of place is this creature. A large hulking human-like thing, with four sharp, jagged horns coming from his head. He even has two larger spikes coming from his elbows and is scarred all over. He sort of gives off a murderous feeling, a sharp look in his red, cat like eyes. His skin seems rough, almost leather like and as he speaks he reveals his sharp theet, sending shivers down my spine. His hands too, are sharp, more like fangs!

I am too stunned to even answer him! As I look into his eyes, that seem so cold and calculating I’m hard pressed not to just turn and run, were it not for these chains that bind him. They seem to come from these violet signs that hover around him.

“uh…”

“Speak, worm! You have nothing to fear from me, as long as this measly body cannot withstand the knowledge and power I bring. I’m more than happy to get rid of this retarded human part of my mind as soon as I can. How could you misuse my knowledge so happily!? You sicken me to the core, fool!”

“Wa- what? I…”

How can he say this! What kind of demon is this, I’m not a fool! I’m NOT!

“Stop crying, child. We have no time to waste. I don’t want you here and I’m sure you don’t want to be in this icy graveyard either.”

“I’M NOT CRYING!”

“…”

Giving me a sickening look this demon seems to grow quiet as I stand up in anger. What happened, anyway? Where were we? Might as well ask...

“Where are we?”

“Have you not listened to a word I said, child? You are at deaths door. Were it not for me keeping us alive, we’d be dead long ago, alongside this puny village you seem to love. A tiny, untrained mind like yours did not take it well, though, so you shut yourself in and were brought here. Welcome to you own mind, by the way.”

“But… that cannot be! What happened to my family!? Who are you? What did you mean with all that talk about a cold some such. My mind!?”

“Hm? Have you not looked around you even once, or is it too much to take in? Never mind. I will not waste time on such rubbish questions and neither should you. What happened to our human creators is of no concern. Abandon them, as you should have long ago. These humans will give you nothing but grief and despair. We are demons, not some lowly creature of this depraved realm!

Seek out an expert, or make haste to the north. The power I felt bodes well for our growth.”

“We? I’m no demon and it DOES matter what happened to mom and dad! I’m not going to abandon them, or my sister! So THERE!”

I stick out my tongue out and run away from this stupid demon! He doesn’t know anything! He should just stay here and leave me alone!

“Hahaha! Foolish child. You seek isolation? Oh, but are you not alone already? What sweet irony, to run from yourself in denial, while not wanting to abandon your human family.

You should quit this useless attempt at escaping my voice and focus! We have our real family to take care of, once and for all, that is!”

I ignore his obnoxious comments and run even harder. I run and run and suddenly.

“You quite done, yet?”

He is there, again!

“How do you do that!? Aren’t you bound?”

“I’m bound by my own will and at my own will I can be unshackled. Have you not listened? You were born, in a sense, because I did so. Our mind cannot handle our old knowledge and power. We were reincarnated into this tiny frame, but we have carried our old soul with us, with all its revelations and transformations, something that is not meant to happen and there were complications. At most we would have lost all our knowledge prior to our death and our soul would have slowly reverted back to it's original state to when I was first born, but I prevented that. I stored our knowledge and most of our power here.”

“So… you are me?”

“Finally you think, child!”

“My name is not ‘child’! I’m Owen.”

“True… we are Owen now. Our old name would bring too much attention anyway. Fine, Owen, then listen carefully now. When you return, you will need to recover. Forcefully even using my soul energy to protect and heal our body has been reduced to a near lifeless shell. If someone were to spot you now, they would think you a corpse without any doubt. It will take a while and in the meantime you will meditate. You have not once thought thoroughly about anything! Access my knowledge that I have left unshackled! There is good reason as to why I have risked it being forgotten. You have the answers; you just need to seek them calmly.”

“But-“

“No ‘buts’! I have a grasp on this place and I know you have not accessed it! Now DO so, worm!”

“… fine!”

I try to calm down and focus on the chirping, the warm breeze, the…

“FOOL! I said: MEDITATE! I know it when you just clear your mind and fall asleep. Wake up! Nine Hells, boy, how can someone with a piece of my soul be such a useless cretin?”

“I HATE YOU!”

“Then hate me, Owen. Hate that dark part of yourself, but do it while getting stronger! If you want me gone, then go ahead and manipulate this realm. Go and shift, try to chain me more. Try to get rid of me, even, but in Baators name, don’t you dare take this lightly!”

“urgh… fine. I got it already.

...

Who is Baator?”

“Try meditating on it…”

Grumbling I sit cross-legged and focus on who this Baator person is supposed to be.

I just don’t get it! I’ve been always meditated under the moon. Clearing my mind, while gazing at it. It was so relaxing… so what am I supposed to do? Hmm…

I pondered upon this question some time, trying to stay relaxed. At times I thought I got it, but there was always this nagging feeling that I was going down the wrong path and when I did get a good feeling I was put out of it by something. Mostly it was this crazy demon mumbling to himself. Sometimes he’d even emit this crazy killing intent at something, I don’t get him at all!

So… Baator, huh?

Some kind of god? He cursed using his name, didn’t he? Nine Hells… I know that place. It’s a demonic realm, isn’t it? So… ah! A sudden fuzzy feeling overwhelmed me. Grasping at it, I spoke:

“The god of the Nine Hells. The one who rules over the nine demon lords and the nine planes, connected by the endless pillars of skulls. Nasty fellow, that stands on top of the pyramid. A being that has trancended to overgod level.”

“Ahh… now you got it, Owen. Indeed.”

His voice snaps me out of this fuzzy feeling and I jerk my head, suddenly opening my eyes as a wave of pain and an ice cold wind sends shivers down my spine.

“What was that!?”

“You have finally made connection to your sealed memories… to me. Do not worry, though. As long as you don’t focus on breaking the inner seals I have put on the vast knowledge hidden in your deep conscience, you won’t set all of it free. Even if you do, don’t think I’m powerless to stop it.

You should be able to train your qi and fire magic. Our clan has a peculiar magic as well. A sort of hidden variant of dark-type magic, that also is the element of our battle-qi. Try to not use it as much as you can, though. It would bring you unwanted attention and our human body wouldn’t take too kindly to it, I fear.”

“I… I can use magic!?”

“You… never mind. Begone! Now that you have an understanding of what you need to do to gather the knowledge you need, when you need it. Go forth to the north and… AWAKE!”

Before I can even realise what’s going on, suddenly the whole ground seems to shake and I somehow remember the feeling of that big hound standing just a few meter before me. Growling at me. And this damned humming! As if someone had not a care in the world, when these hounds ripped the villagers apart as if they were nothing!

Shaken and angry I try to get up and realise that everything changed.

Wide eyed I stare in shock at the remnants of my home, my village.