Chapter 69: Chapter 69

I stopped and stood about a dozen paces away, looking up at the pile of mangled chaos. Almost all the time I had spent in the desert, I had been imagining what I would say to him—yet, here I was, and it was as if the past pain he had inflicted upon me was silencing my thoughts. I reminded myself to be careful.

"If you only came to admire," it continued, sounding proud, "you need not disturb me."

Something deep inside me was snapping.

"You lied to me..." I muttered, barely audibly, my voice trailing off. I was afraid.

"You accuse me?" Ald-ghareth responded with tone that echoed with grinding metal. "The Lord on His throne?"

"You said, if I did what you want..." my hands started trembling. "...I would be free from Ra'zizi!"

"You are," it replied, sounding menacing yet nonchalant. "Are you not?"

"I am dead!" I finally shouted, unable to contain myself.

"Your memory is feeble. I never said you would survive," Ald-ghareth responded, unfazed.

My whole body was shaking. Biting my lip, I reminded myself I was powerless, and that he could inflict God-knows-what kind of pain on me.

"It was your choice to lie with the succubus again after you were free," he reminded me. "Don't try my patience with your idiocy."

The hatred in me had built up so much I could barely stand. Don't lash out, don't lash out. I didn't want him to punish me. But then again, I was already in Hell.

"Come out of there!" I said loudly, looking up.

The pillar fell silent. After eyeing it for a while, I started walking up, stomping on the ground.

"I want to talk to you face to face, if you have one!" I demanded.

It was a ridiculous demand, of course, but I was tired of the absurdity of everything. Of losing all I had and being taken for a fool, after death just like in life. If I didn't start making demands, I would just keep on being trampled, I thought, stepping closer.

"Or is this pile everything that you are, are you fused with this throne? ... I have served you, I did what you asked, I came to you through this desert! If you're going to punish me again, at least quit hiding!"

My shouting echoed around in the swirling, dark fog. I braced myself, expecting a sudden surge of pain, but instead there was a high-pitched, abrupt squeal. The pillar before me started warping, undulating, as if hundreds of lumps were moving underneath its skin. The distortions gathered in one, long, vertical strip, eventually bulging out like a boil. It stretched and wobbled until finally rupturing. Out of the pillar, in a flood of translucent, reddish fluid, fell out some dark object that only registered to me as a humanoid once it hit the ground. The strange figure seemed almost entirely black, with an off-yellow, bald head and equally sickly-looking hands. It was on all fours, but quickly got up and stood, facing me.

It is hard to describe Ald-ghareth's physical appearance, nor how his presence felt. He wore some sort of half-jacket, half-robe, stretching almost to the ground, like wide pants gathered at what would be ankles. Part of it floated behind him, almost dragging on the ground. It seemed like it was made out of black velvet, with gold lining. His hands looked like they were dessicated, thin and boney, and he wore at least one signet on each finger. His face was something like those contemporary, half-abstract portraits—it wasn't that it was ugly, it was hard to even describe. Thin jaw, nose missing a tip, high cheek bones and a pronounced brow ridge rapidly shifted, flickering like a badly-encoded video. His face was in a disarray that constantly reassembled itself in front of my eyes.

Taking awkward steps, he advanced towards me, like a person who hasn't walked in months, and wasn't sure quite how to step and maintain balance. Once he was maybe four or so paces away from me and the initial impression waned, I realized that he was also significantly shorter than me. In just a few seconds, this lanky, disfigured humanoid creature stood in front of me—the embodiment of Ald-Ghareth. His almost completely black eyes with yellowed whites were mostly covered up by wrinkly eyelids. Tiny spots of light flickered from somewhere within them. I was incomprehensibly disturbed when looking at him.

"Your journey is thus concluded," he stated, mouth moving erraticaly.

It really seemed like it. I wanted to say something in protest, I needed to say something.

"What did you want?" he asked. "Are you unsatisfied with your lot?"

"If I ever knew..." I said, wavering. "I would never have done it..."

"I think perhaps you would," the cacophony of his voice sounded dismissive, "After all, cowardice is what brought you to me."

"No, I do not want this! I never have!" I finally burst out. "You... cheated me out of my life!"

There was a short hissing sound.

"You cheated yourself," Ald-ghareth replied, and his voice turned strangely pleased. "I do appreciate the struggle, however."

My knees felt weak and shaky. I've been had in the worst way, and I did feel guilty for having fallen for it.

"Now, your reward," he announced, raising his hand and making a strange gesture. His bony fingers also flickered, looking like their joints were breaking, then re-setting themselves. "A soul like yours needs a proper expression to its avarice, wouldn't you say?"

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"If you're going to punish me," I responded with dejection, clutching my head, "just do it. It's all the same."

"I do beg to differ," he said and made a circular motion with his hand, leaving behind a blur. I watched it settle in place, then jump like a coiled snake, hitting my chest.

Immediately, I collapsed to the ground. Something welled up and stirred inside of me, then, like burning rods, pressed on the skin of my back. I writhed and moaned, trying to get up, clutching my abdomen while my body felt like it was being ripped from the inside with those same hooks I remembered from my dreams. Unable to contain myself anymore, I shrieked out in pain while a fleshy, disgustingly wet sound came from right behind me. Curled up, I started crying and groaning.

"Please, make it stoooppp!"

Ald-ghareth stood above me, expressionless, while I clutched my head, muscles spasming. In a moment, a similar pain came from my forehead, and, to my terror, I could feel the skin on it splitting, and two protrusions emerging.

"I offer you power beyond what you had," Ald-ghareth announced, while I tossed and turned, wailing in pain. "And a chance to be the finest servant you can."

After a short while, the sounds and sensations stopped. My whole body felt swollen, and I assumed it was from trauma, but when I reopened my eyes, I didn't see blood. My arms had become more muscular and toned—same for my abs and legs. Carefully, I reached behind, expecting a gashing wound, but only felt scar tissue and then a strange, bony protrusion, attached to what felt like a membrane.

"Rise," the Lord of Hell commanded, and my body obeyed before my mind could. I scrambled to stand before him, and realized either he has gotten shorter, or I had grown at least a tiny bit. Once I was up, he continued, "Behold, my gift, your new form."

With an unnatural jerk, he gestured to his right and a black smoke swirled and waved in the air, coalescing into a polished, mirror surface—and I saw myself. I had wings, genuine wings, covered with a dark, burgundy membrane, stretching at my sides. Out of my head grew two fairly short and stubby horns, dark grey and roughly textured. Behind my back slithered a tail. My eyes seemed to have a burning, ember-like glow to them.

"My congratulations on your birth, incubus," Ald-ghareth said with pride. While I struggled to comprehend my metamorphosis, he nonchalantly added, "You may now serve."

I turned to him with confusion and he added, "You may now collect more souls for me, and I will make you powerful."

I looked back in the mirror into my own eyes, wide with horror and disbelief while he concluded, "Is this not the most worthy reward? Have I not found and nurtured your talent?"

I could feel my muscles flex as I turned to look at him. My blood could as well have been on fire. I wanted to scream and pummel this creature for turning me into one of them.

"This... was... your plan... all along...!" I uttered through clenched teeth, but he didn't respond.

Every part of me wanted revenge. But at that point, I think we both knew enough about each other to realize I wouldn't strike him—even if I tried, I knew it was pointless against whatever power he wielded.

"Your questions are answered for now, incubus," he said, and began turning around. "With that, I-"

"Wait!"

I couldn't give up—I haven't gone through Hell to let it end like this. Ald-ghareth turned in a jittery manner and looked back at me.

"I want to make another pact!"

The Lord of Hell stood still for a moment. His puppet like movements brought his right hand up to his head, which began to flicker more violently.

"Hmm," he mused, and the skin on his face began to stretch.

The tissues seemed to peel back from his underlying bone, and I watched them produce a stretched out grin before they started detaching. Completely unperturbed by it, he kept on looking at me as his skin began to crawl back over his skull. I winced and had to close my eyes, instinctively looking away when I heard the fleshy noises, waiting until they stopped. Looking back, his face seemed back to norm—his norm.

"What could you possibly offer me?" he asked with a deep, rumbling tone that echoed throughout the space.

I smirked. I knew just the answer.

The path I was shown led me through thorn-covered, writhing hills, and then over vast canyons, in which some irregularly-placed large fires spewed black smoke. I flew, felt as if stepping on wind, above the torn landscape, and when I entered the flatter parts of it, I saw clusters of misshapen buildings below and figures or creatures crowding around them. All zipped by me, too fast to note the details, until—to my amazement—I was nearing the first area of greenery I've seen so far.

The palace which stood in front of me at the end of my whirlwind journey resembled some crossover between the sprawling French garden palaces and a turret-adorned German mountain castle. I stood in the garden, feeling my feet touch what seemed like lush, cool grass while I took in the rich gold and white ornaments of the facade. Stepping on the tended grass was like therapy for my bruised feet. When I walked past the garden fountains surrounded by lillies, I saw a couple of winged creatures flying above me—succubuses no doubt. Once I stepped off the grass and onto the walkway in front of the imposing marble door, I noticed it was intricately carved with figures of winged women leering down at the visitor. The air in front of me seemed to vibrate, and suddenly, a succubus much shorter than me, with white, wavy hair and shiny wing wips, appeared and approached me. She was wearing what I'd call an overtly sexual apron, and not much else.

"What brings you here, incubus?" she asked, musing over my looks. Ald-ghareth couldn't be bothered to provide me with any attire, explaining that I can conjure up a waistcloth of my liking, which I did. It was slightly more revealing in the way it wrapped around my crotch, but at least it didn't sting the way the burlap sack did. The doorkeeper's gaze seemed to linger around that area.

"I'm here to congratulate the new anteheraldess, of course," I answered.

"Ah, another one! Come in, then! Come inside!" she responded with joy.

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