Righteous Blasphemy

In dark clutches

Fortress of Decadence, unknown location

            Darkness… is a living thing. It lives in our souls, first as a visitor, then as a friend, and, ultimately, as a lord. Daniel never doubted in Peter`s words. But one thing is to believe, completely another to understand. The sheer horror of what he saw when thugs took him… the unfathomable terror that lurked between the worlds was too much to behold without losing his mind. Thus Daniel mercifully blacked out.

            After what seemed to be an eternity of bad dreams, he woke up. He was in a cell. It was dark, gloomy, and wet. The only light here came from a flickering candle placed in a morbid lantern that hanged from the ceiling on the iron chain. There was a window above Daniel. He couldn`t make out does it rain outside or does the sound comes from some kind of insects. Although it was wet, it was not wet from water. Daniel stood up, trying to be brave just like his father, and examined his surroundings. The strange liquid appeared to be salty. After closer inspection, Daniel realized that it comes from the rock itself. He also realized that those were tears. They were filled with sorrow, rage, and, more than anything- despair. As thoughts of his location suddenly tried to form in his mind, he turns around to look at the bars, barely recognizable as candlelight couldn’t pierce the thick darkness around him. It appeared that something was watching him. Daniel would push the chain but the lantern was made out of… out of flesh. It appeared to be a mass of eyes, tongues, and nails. Daniel could not make himself to touch the blasphemous thing. Not after realizing that it moves. “Don`t worry, you are not in hell yet, little Nepheshar”. The voice from the other side said. The same snake-like tones from before made him shudder in repulsion. “You… you bastards! My friends… my father… why? WHY”? He shouted, grabbing the bar with his one hand. Somewhere in the depths of his mind, Daniel realized that something else besides fear plagued his soul. Intense anger burned within him, but he was too shocked to ask himself why. The figure came closer. It was one of the thugs from before. “Does it feel good, little Nepheshar? Does it feel good to hide your fear behind anger”? He mocked him. This was the second time he mentioned this “Nepheshar” word. Daniel tried to think but it was difficult. Thoughts about his murdered father and friends started flooding his mind and to make matters worse, it appeared they died in vain as this blasphemous creature with a human face claimed that he is something he is not. “You don’t know”. Demon said while examining Daniel`s face with a sickening smile. “Of course you don’t, how silly of me. Ah, a refreshing subject you are. Most others beg for mercy, not answers”! Creature laughed. If the serpent could laugh, it would laugh like this. “Look at you. You are less human than the miserable sack of flesh i inhabit”. Daniel tried to calm himself. “You are… a demon”? “Isn`t that much obvious? Demons lack a corporeal form. We are a mass of power and emotion, yet without form, we cannot endure in the physical world. Thus we need to possess a willing vessel in order to remain here”. Daniel gulped. “So… we are still in the physical world”? He asked, afraid of the answer. “Shouldn’t you shudder in terror at my majesty, dog”! Suddenly, eerie red flames surged from the demon. For a split second, Daniel could see a monstrous serpent-like visage under human skin he wore as cloth. Daniel was afraid indeed and his heart raced in his chest. Still, be it by instinct or something else, he knew that these creatures revel in fear so he tried to contain his. “You smell, creature. I do not fear what i despise”. The demon laughed again. “Ah, mortal… I sense your fear. It is like food for hell-kin. Brave idiots like you we call a lack-snack. However, fear, just like anything else, can be taught… and over the centuries we became very good teachers”. “Can you teach me where are we instead”? Demon growled. Flames flickered from his throat. “We are on earth, mortal, where many prisoners with magical talents are experimented upon in order to… in order to make progress with certain things. I could tell you everything, it`s not like you are going somewhere, but i wish to torture you instead, of course”. He grinned and Daniel noticed that his tongue started to fork, looking more like that of a snake than human. “There are other people here”? He asked in disbelief. “There are people here, yes, but only one you, mortal”. “What do you mean”? “I mean that you are not one of the people since you are not human as they are. Nepheshar, by their nature, were more than humans both in mind and in the body. It seems that time wasn’t kind to your kind, mortal”! Demon laughed again. “What is a Nepheshar”? “Fine dust by now. Shattered, mutilated, and destroyed by the infernal legion. The last of their kind is the poor i***t standing in front of me. Just look at you, does any human looks like that”? “You look like human more than i, yet you fail at being one miserably. So i guess looks don’t count much”. Fear, anger, shock, and repulsion retreated before single-minded defiance. So much so that Daniel was in awe just as the demon in front of him, from the pride in his voice. “I will enjoy breaking you”. The demon whispered before disappearing in darkness…

            Being alone was not new to Daniel. In fact, part of him always felt alone regardless of his company back at the monastery or the efforts of his friends and father. It was the truth, he had to admit. He had trouble understanding how people think and feel in certain situations, how they act, and what drives them forward. He couldn’t grasp the fundamentals of human nature. Their inborn need for lies and deception, indeed, Daniel always knew that he is not like other people. However, he could never guess that he is not one of them. The demon said he was the last of the Nepheshar, whatever that meant. The closest thing he could come up with were the Nephilim. He read about them in the bible. Whatever Nepheshar meant, other than the strange emptiness within his soul, Daniel did not know. Nepheshar, Nepheshar, Nepheshar… the word would roll over his mind, leaving red trails of sorrows that are yet to come.

            Daniel could not remember when he fell asleep, nor for how long he slept. His mind was a mess of questions and dread. Did Peter know anything about this? If so, why didn’t he tell him? If this is a place of torture for those with magical talents, what are his? Surely, his ability to see the sins of others can hardly pass as something even remotely interesting. But if it is interesting to these infernal creatures, then why? How did they manage to step onto the sacred ground? Ultimately, how did they manage to escape in such a disturbing and unnatural way? Worse than that, he dreamed of the things he saw when something pulled him and them into the darkness. Giant tentacles and false stars where raging red oceans reach for the bleeding skies and laugh of palpable darkness carried by the winds of the dead. Cold… so cold…

            When he woke up, he was even colder than usual, he was hungry and tired. He felt as if this stone sap the very life out of him. His heart skipped a beat. Someone was coming. The strange group made a stop in front of his cell. He tried to make out who or what came but the darkness seemed to be even thicker now, shapes it hid morbid and unnatural, especially the largest one. “Unlock the damn thing”. The large figure growled. Immediately, shapes jumped forward and executed the order. In them, Daniel recognized the two thugs from the monastery. Iron bars were pushed aside. Daniel`s heart started beating faster. “Not so defiant now, filthy mortal. Not in the presence of mighty Dogus”! The demon who was here before said mockingly. “Shut up, cur. I am not here to listen to your damn gloating”. “Yes, my lord”! Demon replied. A large dark figure stepped in the cell. Daniel was very tall for his age, but his visitor towered above him like a giant. “Put some damn light here”. “At once”! One of the thug-demons said before he pushed the nails deeper into the flesh. Lantern cried out in agony as a sickening sound filled Daniel`s ears. Was… was the lantern somehow alive? All questions were swept from his mind, however, as he gazed upon his jailer. This Dogus creature was tall at least three meters. But formidable size could not compare to its appearance. It had hoofed crooked legs similar to that of a goat but much larger. Its arms were extremely muscular with crocodile-like hands. On its bestial torso, blasphemous runes were carved in and sparked with a life of their own while the loincloth beneath them was made of the red shroud and held by iron chains. However, it was the head that was the real nightmare-inducing fuel. Daniel was in shock as it had nothing to compare it with. It had huge, sickeningly yellow eyes with some kind of fleshy mouths instead of eyelids. Its nose was a hole while its vertical mouth-jaw split its “face” in two. It had many tongues and on each one was an eye of a different color. It also smelled so hideously that Daniel almost threw up. “No screams, bit of fear, significant disgust, and even some damn curiosity. Even if he does not know anything, he truly is last of the Nepheshar”. Dogus growled with satisfaction while pushing his eyes, normal and other ones all over Daniel. Feeling of greasy eyes grinding against his clothes and skin was the most despicable thing he had to endure. Daniel also knew in his guts that worse is yet to come. “Take him away! Damn Krangius is waiting...”