Devil's Chosen

The Gate

The door was massive, towering at least a dozen meters high. It was made of solid stone, with intricate carvings along its surface. As I approached it, the designs seemed to flow throughout, creating an astounding moving image. On it, blood flowed; a massive cliff, and monsters of all sizes with tentacles and wings crashing down onto small figures.

They drew an impressive picture of death, with the terrifying monsters turning the figures into splatters of blood. Giant beasts raged through the image, tearing apart whoever and whatever got in their way.

As the image faded, a new one appeared: a battlefield of death and destruction. Two sides clashed with fury, blood staining the ground. It was a battle between demons and monsters. Above the c*****e, a horned demon stood. They wielded a bow that held an arrow of black flame. The firelight illuminated the soldiers who clashed below.

Across the field, a behemoth loomed, its tentacles and wings working effortlessly to slay the demon army. The giant roared, sending shockwaves through the battlefield. With it, a giant ball of magma began to form in its mouth, hot lava beginning to descend upon the wasteland. The lava ate whatever it touched, friend and foe, showing no mercy to whoever it encountered.

With a final flash from the image, the carvings went still. As it began to rumble, the door vibrated violently. With a loud bang, cracks formed upon it, stretching across its entire frame. Giant boulders fell from it, creating craters where they landed.

Dodging away from the door as it started to break apart. After a few moments, the door snapped completely, causing it to topple over. Due to the fall, I had to jump even farther back as it smashed into the rough ground. Dust from the floor irritated my eyes and throat. I coughed violently while covering my mouth. My eyes opened, and my vision faded as the cloud of dust rolled through, leaving me to wander without sight.

Stumbling while walking forward, and tripping over boulders that now rested on the cave floor. The cave seemed to have completely changed when the door fell. As the dust wall continued to move, it was eventually breached. The view amazed me, as the cave stretched so high that the roof was not visible. It seemed to extend on forever in every direction.

Along the cave stood monstrous pillars that towered endlessly into the air. Statues stood next to each one, each displaying a unique individual. Some had horns, while others did not; many also had wings, but a large number of statues were barren of any such additions. Some were completely monstrous as well.

While observing the statues, a certain detail stood out. The majority of the sculptures were carved from a pure black stone that even shone in the dark. While walking, the statues seemed flawed; some were missing limbs, and others had crumbled.

How long has this been here?

My finger traced against one of the fallen statues, picking up dust and debris. Pulling my hands away while continuing to walk forward, the statue gradually grew in size. At First, there were small creatures, such as those with long, fluffy ears, others with pointy noses with horns, some with tiny beady eyes, and even a few that were shaped like complete circular blobs.

Near the end of the minuscule statues stood one that looked too familiar; it was a statue of the monsters that had done so much to me down here. My blood boiled while viewing the statue, and images of my torment flashed through my mind. Closing in on the statute, my body halted, stopping myself from doing something that was not worth it—breathing in, my legs started to move towards the slightly larger black statues, leaving the ugly face of the monster behind, to fade back into the darkness.

There were so many unique creatures, hundreds if not thousands or maybe even more, and they all fit in this endless hallway. There was a statue of a figure around a foot taller than me, who wore armour that looked almost indestructible. Beside them stood an even taller and more elegant creature, one with pointy ears and an unnatural beauty. They held a bow and arrow, which was the same height as the creature who stood beside them. The small figure wore heavy battle armour that fit their small body. They had a rough face with a long, braided beard that fell to their midsection. The weapon they wielded was almost the size of their entire body; it was a strong war axe that rested upon their shoulder.

Laughing at the creature's puny size, my eyes began to move to the other side, where three more mighty statues stood.

One of the statues had scaly skin and wore elegant armour that seemed to befit only royalty. They had a long tail and held a beautiful trident that almost radiated with power. Next to them stood a figure that, even as a statue, emitted an aura of order and justice. They wore beautiful, distinct armour with intricate patterns. Having both hands placed upon the massive great sword that was planted in the ground in front of them. Massive wings protruded from the creature's back, but in a shape that was confusing to understand.

While looking at the figure, shivers ran through my body. It intrigued me, and as my eyes traced up and down the statue further, a strange part caught my eye. I couldn't see the person's face; it was wearing a hood that completely blacked out its features. And no matter how close to the statue my eyes were, not even a bit of darkness wavered. As curiosity gripped me, my hand reached out towards the figure's face. When it entered, it did not stop, going deep under the hood and into the darkness. My mind worked to understand how my arm could reach so far back without hitting anything; it almost seemed as if the statue warped reality itself.

Eventually reaching my limit, my arm slid out from under its hood. Letting out a breath and giving the statue a final confused look, my eyes moved on to the next. This time it was easier to understand. It was a demon like me! But one with more of the demonic features: long, black horns, bony wings that seemed to darken the very area it stood in, and an evil grin that was plastered on its face. Compared to the other statue, it was the complete opposite, emitting an aura of chaos and destruction.

While looking at the demon statue, a strange tingle started to form in my stomach, making me unnaturally happy. With a smile, my legs began to move once again, taking me further into the hall, while leaving behind the demon and its opposite.

Many more statues littered the hall, giant, bulky monsters with large tusks and fierce snarls, a statue that resembled a demon but with more scales, belching stone fire from where it stood, and even a sculpture that was half fish!

Were these all real creatures? Or were they made on a whim?

Questions clouded my mind as more statues passed. After about a dozen minutes, the creatures began to grow again, going from medium-sized to large.

The first statue that stood out to me was a giant, four-legged, hairy creature with massive tusks the size of boulders! It had fierce eyes and fur that seemed capable of warming anyone who wore it. Next was a massive giant that used an entire tree as its weapon; it was made of a lighter stone, which gave it a pale appearance. The monster looked like a formidable foe that I would not want to face anytime soon. Although what skill would it give me if devoured?

The thought made me wonder, what are skills, and how does a certain race, like the giant, work when devoured? What if it gave me a giant related skill? Would it be usable, or would it not be?

The question dwelled in my mind as the next statue crossed my vision. After noticing what it was, my body froze in fear. It was shorter than the giant, but had the same build as the fur-covered creature that appeared earlier. It had massive wings that were rotten to the bone; they did not look usable, but from experience, I knew they were fully functional. Its skin was all ruined, melted and charred black... It was the flying monster that had killed so many of my siblings.

Tears started to flow as the images flashed in my head once again. The last moments with my sister before falling into this cave clawed at my heart.

Turning away and wiping the tears, my eyes focused on the next beast to try to help me forget those bad memories. What appeared before me was also a terrifying creature... The creature had circles floating around it, and at its center was a massive eye. Even though it was made out of stone, it felt as if the monster was watching my every move.

Shivering from the disturbing sight, my eyes looked forward once again, moving away from the horrid sculpture.

There were almost as many large creatures as there were small! A few more had caught my attention, such as a one-eyed titan, a creature that wielded a battle axe, while being half bull, half like me, and a reptilian-like monster with razor-sharp teeth and surprisingly very short arms...

After seeing these statues, there was no way there could be ones larger than them, but to my dismay, after a few more gigantic creatures, even larger statues began to appear!

Before, they ranged anywhere from ten to thirty meters in height, some almost going to the limit of where Heightened Perception level 4 allowed me to see in the dark. Now the monsters towered above. The smallest being around fifty meters tall!

The first one that caught my eye was a missive reptilian beast with wings the size of mountains; its maw was fierce, and its scales looked as hard as diamonds. It looked across towards the other side of the hallway, breathing a wall of stone fire at the figure opposite it. From the amount of flames, it may even be enough to evaporate an entire ocean.

The statue that stood across from the fire-breathing monster was a massive golem. It was slightly shorter than the reptile, but made up for it, as its width almost doubled that of the scaled monster. Its body seemed impenetrable, and at its core was a giant jewel that seemed to power the massive war machine.

Moving along, the statues kept increasing in size. A giant beast with eight tentacles, a pointed head, and a circular mouth at its bottom with razor-sharp teeth was the next. It looked like a smaller and less threatening version of the leviathan that almost ate me when my eyes first opened in the ocean of blood.

The next few statues were almost the same as the scaled creature, but instead of fire, they all had their own unique elements. One cracked the earth below it, another used ice, across from that one summoned lightning, and after that, there was one made of complete bone that spewed a horrid liquid onto the ground.

Next, there was a true titan that appeared, towering so high into the sky that its face was not even visible any longer. Its feet were roughly the size of the demon creatures that attacked me after escaping the ocean.

This is unbelievable...

What my eyes looked upon next was truly an impossible sight. A tree... that made the titan statue look minuscule to it. The only way to truly describe it was to say that a single small branch of the massive tree was the same size as the previous statue, which made me look like a mere atom. It went so high into the cave that I did not believe it could fit inside.

There must be something special about this cave...

Next, there was a creature all too familiar to me. It did not reach nearly as high as the tree, but was still tall enough for me not to be able to see past its lower extremities, yet my eyes knew what the creature was. It had hundreds of tentacles, each the size of massive stalagmites, and mouths littered its body, all of them having razor-blade-like teeth. It was the same Leviathan that dwelled in the ocean of blood.

Next to it was something of the same shape and size, both having melted and rotten flesh. But this one was unique, now having wings that dwarfed the elemental scaled beasts that appeared before. At first glance, my soul told me these were the world's apexes.

Across from these demonic beasts stood two creatures that seemed to be of opposite natures. One was a giant in armour of great excellence. It had carvings upon it that moved like light. The figure went so high into the cave that it must have rivalled the size of the Levithan. The only thing it wielded was a giant sword that plunged into the ground.

Next to it was a massive eye, one that resembled the creature that had appeared earlier, but on a one-hundred-times larger scale. Its eye is massive enough that an entire titan could fit inside it.

After walking for multiple hours and experiencing many great sights, the final two statues appeared.

Finally, only two are left!

The first was like the scaled beast that had appeared before, but on a much larger scale, completely dwarfing its predecessors, and the second, across from it, was a literal walking mountain, or more like a mountain that was atop a beast...

Now that the statues had stopped appearing, the giant hallway came to an end. What stood near the far wall were stairs that seemed to ascend into the heavens. With a sigh, my already sore legs began to climb.

One step after another, making my way up slowly but surely. After what felt like a climb that would last forever, the end finally appeared in my sight. Atop the mountain of stairs was a ginormous gate that could fit almost every single creature in this cave, with the sole exception of the tree.

Approaching the gate, a small altar stood in front of it, with a hand mark in the center. Instinctively, my hand reached out and pressed against the altar. As my skin met the rough surface, a small pinch sent a jolt up my arm. Pulling away fast, blood now soaked the altar, and as it did, the cave began to shake...