Chapter 2: A demon?
Archibald sat cross legged in a muddy lake bed, sweating under the mid-day sun, eyes clenched shut, talking to himself out loud.
“Ok, so you, the demon in my head, are telling me that I’m the manifestation of the prayer from an old man.
An old man that wanted to die, but wished to not die, so that I would help him stop demons from destroying civilization.
Also, he was conveniently called Archibald as well, but I’m not that Archibald, I'm another Archibald altogether?” Archibald’s head was really hurting.
“Yes” the invisible ethereal woman stated with a hint of exhaustion to her voice.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YES!!”
…
“YES TO WHAT??”
‘Damned demons and their wordplay, I swear.’
“Just state plainly. Am I, or am I not, the reincarnation of an old, death starved lunatic with a hero complex!” His voice strained from having shouted for far too long.
‘I should just stare into the sun! I wouldn’t have to deal with this at all! Wait, actually, that doesn’t make sense, I’d be stuck listening to this demon all day for eternity! Speaking of which.’
“HEY, ANSWER ME!”
The golden-jade light stirred and the ethereal voice spoke again.
“Yes”
‘Finally a straight answ-‘
“But also, no”
“Heavens damn you, demon!”
Archibald opened his eyes, exasperated.
‘I’m done, that’s it! I'm never closing my eyes again! I’ll blink when necessary, but that’s it! Heavens above, get me to a church now! I need this demon gone.’
“I’m still here Archibald.”
“HOOOOLY HELL!” The sudden voice made him jump out of his skin, again.
“Great, just great… crap.”
Heaving a big sigh, he started walking.
“Where are you going?” The voice stuck to the back of his mind like glue.
*Squelch, pop*
“Archibald?”
It didn’t relent.
The headache swelled.
His feet squelching in the sticky mud distracted him momentarily, sucking his ankles deeper with every step.
“You’ll starve before you get to a church Archibald.”
“SHUT UP DEMON! I’LL DIE IF I DAMN WELL WANT TO!” A cough caught in his throat.
‘Heavens, maybe I am the reincarnation of that old fool.’
The ethereal voice urged “I’m not here to hurt you Archibald, I implore you to listen to what I have to say.”
“Demon, nothing comes for free, neither the heavens nor the hells would send reincarnated spirits to the mortal realms without some form of sacrifice or recompense. It’s unnatural!”
‘How do I know that?’
“It wasn’t free.”
“The old fool!? Really, if that was enough, then all grieving mortals would have their prayers answered in an instant! I’m not so foolish as to believe every word you say!”
*Squelch, pop. Squelch*
It hadn’t answered immediately.
A brief pause in the relentless head pounding was a relief.
While it lasted.
“Under a heavenly tribulation, a mortal of sufficient strength can be granted a boon from the heavens, he happened to offer a sufficiently attractive offer.”
“What, his life for mine!? That’s ridiculous!”
“Of sorts.”
“OOOH, so we’re just bringing people back to life now then are we? Be gone, all laws of life and death! Very holy of you misses not-a-demon!”
*Squelch, pop. Squelch, pop.*
“It’s a fair deal, Archibald was right, the hells, overall, have overstepped as of late, demons have become too proliferate, the heavens need to catch up.
And it was not forced onto anyone, Archibald.
He offered himself to us freely.”
*Squelch* He stopped walking.
‘More lies. It was forced onto me, damn it.’
“So what do you want, demon? You want me to rid the world of that which you consider evil? Spread the good word? Save humanity?”
Another short, uneasy silence swelled, as Archibald stood naked, ankle deep in mud.
“In a sense, yes.” The demon voice gave their first straight answer! And it sounded almost happy!
Archibald wasn’t however.
“GREAT! I’ll do just that then! OFF I GO!” He raised his hands to his mouth and dramatically bellowed out a cry.
“HEEEY! ANYONE OUT THERE NEED SAVING?
I, THE GREAT ARCHIBALD THE REBORN, AM HERE TO SAVE THE DAY!”
A dull but shrill woman’s voice cried out in the far distance.
“Is someone there?”
Archibald stifled a laugh, when realization hit him.
‘Oh heavens above! That’s a real person!’
“Archibald close your eyes, now!” The voice sounded hurried.
“No, no, no. I’ve got you now demon, helps on the way and I’ll be rid of you for good!”
“HEEEY! OVER HERE! BY THE LAKE BED!”
*snap, rustle, crunch*
The distant savior’s deliberate strides were music to Archibald’s ears.
“Archibald, that’s not a-“
Having made up his mind, he sharply interjected- “I’m not listening to anything else you have to say! I’m saved, and I’m out of here! HEEEY! OVER HERE!”
“Archibald!” The ethereal voice sounded panicked and carried as much weight as it could. “That’s not a person, it’s a demon.”
“Oh of course you would-“
“FOUND YOU!” A sing-songy woman’s voice, carried through the valley, and out from the woodland brush stood tall a woman.
He almost teared up at the sight of a savior!
‘Black corset, black skirt, long black hair and thigh high boots. That’s fine, that’s all well and good. But why does she have such massive horns on her head?’ He rhetorically asked.
He couldn’t help but stare.
‘It’s like a child’s arm growing out each side of her head! Why do they have freaky little finger-horns!?’ He couldn’t look away.
“Archibald close your eyes, now!” The ethereal voice repeated. It would have shouted if it could.
Archibald listened. He shut his eyes tight and was welcomed to a novel sight.
Glistening specks of light approached from the golden-jade lights around him, each a different shade of gold or jade, each humming on a different frequency in a heavenly harmonic song that stirred something in his soul.
“There’s no time for careful planning now Archibald, so just pick one.
Pick whichever one weighs less on your soul.
We shall have to continue with an advancement plan at a later date.”
Completely overwhelmed, he stuttered.
“What? What do you mean? I can’t just-“
“What are you mumbling about priest? Your last words perhaps?” Thigh-high lady sounded amused.
‘Crap, damn, ok, uuuuuuuuh.’ He hesitated, panicking.
Archibald’s inner gaze fixed onto each speck of light, there were around a dozen.
‘Nope, too fizzy. Not this one either.’ He ruled out the first few on the basis the demon had told him.
“I’m trusting you here demon! Don’t screw me on this!”
“ME! Screw you? You wish!” Her voice sounded closer this time.
“WRONG DEMON!” He felt the need to clarify, eyes still firmly closed.
“I’ve never met such a weird priest, poor thing must have lost his mind in the storm.” Her mocking voice carried a hint of excitement, she was up to something.
‘I need to hurry! Right!’
He pushed the image of the forest demon out of his mind and focused on the golden-jade lights.
‘That one feels icky, that one feels murdery, that one feels too dull,…’
“Hahehee!” The demonic chuckle was unmistakable!
He reached out and grabbed the tiny speck of deep Jade light, it felt happy, warm and well, safer than the others. “Ahh hells! You’ll do!”
“Nighty-night, mud priest!”
Archibald opened his eyes, a bolt of blue flame bounded towards him from a ritual circle, dug into the mud just at the shore of the lake bed.
*WOOSH!*
Archibald fell back into the mud, flame licking his hair as it flew past.
He tracked it through the air, it arced past him and exploded!
*BOOM!*
Mud splattering everywhere.
*Tsk* she tutted.
He looked back at the demon, not the one in his head, but the one who sneered at him, plunging her arm back into the center of her ritual circle.
“I can’t believe you’ve made me do this twice!” She complained, batting mud off her thigh high boots with her other hand.
Archibald shifted his focal point to his clasped hands, but more importantly, to what was buzzing inside them.
Arching his palms, he opened the slightest gap between his two overlapped thumbs, and deep Jade light began to stream out, shading his face in green glow!
Focal point shifting up to the demon, just past his hands, he studied her.
She stood there; knees bent, arm thrust into the mud, squinting at him in confusion.
Then a look of realization dawned on her, and she smiled wider than a normal mouth should.
Drool ran down her chin.
“Too late, mud priest! SCREAM FOR ME!”
A black Ichor substance shot through her veins, emanating from her heart and down her arm into the mud.
The ritual circle, Archibald couldn’t make out its shape, but it glowed with a dull red light.
A blue bolt of flame coalesced above it, immediately bolting towards its target before even fully forming.
“Your spark, Archibald! Use it!” The mind demon, as he’s designated her for the time being, barked an order.
‘Fine!’ Grimacing, he threw it towards the bolt of flame, like he was throwing away a bug, shaking his hands reflexively with a shudder.
*Dong!*
“WHAT?!” Her heart was pounding, breathing heavily, she studied the priests ability.
Archibald stared in disbelief at the translucent jade bubble encompassing his immediate surroundings.
“WHAT?!” Panicked and shook, breath caught in his throat.
“That’s my line priest!” She caught her breath and clapped, a ritual circle carved into her hand activating.
Black ichor shot through her veins, gathering as she held her palms closed.
It dyed her fingers black, then her hands, and up to her wrists before she began to shake uncontrollably.
With her exhausted muscles shaking under the pressure, she planted her boot in the mud before her and wrenched her palms towards Archibald!
“-GHAAAAH”
A guttural scream tore through the air before her palms opened, the black Ichorous substance shimmered like the heat off a scorching surface!
It rushed to her finger tips and out her palms!
*WHOOOOOOSHHH!!*
A massive blue fireball tore towards Archibald, who still lay there, stuck in the mud.
‘Well, um, maybe two can play at that game!’
He clenched his eyes shut and envisioned the golden-jade light flowing through his body, mirroring that of the demons
“As your overseer, I’ll help you this once, but you must learn these things on your own, Archibald.” The ethereal voice grunted in frustration, probably not wanting to see their hard work burnt to a crisp before it even took ten steps out of the mud.
*gasp* A spectral force overtook his body.
His eyes shot open!
Golden sparks streaked through his body in a flash and leaped out, attracted to the deep jade spark like a magnet.
Before Archibald could even register what happened, the deep Jade spark bloomed once more, forming a bubble just big enough for him to stand in.
This time, however, it’s translucent surface shone with iridescent sheen.
*hah* “Not good.” *hah*
Fully exhausted, the forest demon turned and dove backwards with what little strength she had left,but her thigh-high boot stuck firmly in the mud!
Her eyes went wide, darting between the ball of fire rebounding off of the Jade bubble, and her boot!
Trembling, her lip quivered.
“n-NoooOOOAAAAAAAHHGH-“
*BOOOOOM!*
The mud lake rippled and the ground shuddered from the impact of the fireball.
Archibald looked away, both in disgust and in pain, the bright explosion threatened to singe his retinas if he stared at it.
*Plop*
*Plop, plop*
*SMACK*
A chunk of flesh slapped Archibald in the face, smearing blood against his cheek.
‘The spark!’
Archibald looked up, focusing on the jade spark in the air, and not the raining chunks of flesh pelting him left and right.
It twirled and danced in the wind, landing back into his outstretched palms.
He tenuously caught it, awestruck by its accomplishment.
“Heavens above, this is truly a miracle! Hello little thing! Who are you?”
He stared intently into the deep Jade light of the minute spark, about a fingernail long, he saw it!
Its corporeal form resembled a small humanoid woman with deep jade wings.
She smiled softly, somehow projecting warmth straight into his soul, she sat in his palms and lay down, her jade hair tickled him like a flies footsteps.
The moment her head hit his palm, she began to sink into his skin!
“Ah- AaAahHhHHHHH!!”
Archibald violently shook with fright! Yet the small angelic figure stuck to his palms, melding into his form.
She was gone. And her deep jade light softened to a tiny dot.
It stayed there in the center of his palm, but only for a second.
It began to move, the jade green dot slowly ascended his wrist, past his bicep and onto the left of his chest, before finally fading from view.
…
A still silence grew.
…
His heart thumped.
“WHAT THE-“
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