Betrayed by Heaven, I Became The Demon Lord
Chapter 12: When the Sky Bleeds
The world had descended into an oppressive silence. This was not the calm of tranquility; rather, it was the foreboding hush that hangs thick in the air just before a shriek pierces the stillness, a silence pregnant with dreadful anticipation.
Above us, the very fabric of the heavens began to rupture, tearing open like a sheet of fragile paper saturated with ink, spilling forth tendrils of deep crimson light that writhed through the boundless void. The remnants of the Creator's once-blazing light had all but vanished, leaving in their wake only the haunting reverberation of his final words echoing through the shattered remnants of existence.
"The True Ones are coming."
The atmosphere thickened to almost suffocating density, choking us with every labored breath. I could feel the weight of reality itself groaning in protest against the encroaching chaos; the clouds quivered with an unnatural ferocity, the very ground beneath our feet trembled as if gripped by some primal fear, and the once-firm laws of nature began to warp in ways I could scarcely comprehend. Deep within my being, I sensed it a pulsing rhythm of something ancient and primordial, something utterly alien that had no rightful place in a world such as ours.
Beside me, Lyris groaned, her grip on my tattered cloak tightening as we endured the mounting pressure surrounding us. Once resplendent in her gleaming armor, its brilliance had dimmed to a melancholy shade, the vibrant crimson glow that once radiated around her flickering weakly like a dying ember. Even her majestic wings one cruelly torn, the other wreathed in flames quivered under the crushing weight of the dread descending from the rift above us.
"Are you still with me?" I rasped, my voice barely a whisper as iron tinged my tongue, the metallic taste reminiscent of past battles.
With admirable resilience, her lips curved into a faint, stubborn grin, one that belied the terror emanating from her soul. "You're not getting rid of me that easily."
Though she attempted to mask her fear with humor, her gaze remained riveted on the rift in the heavens the dread within her eyes mirrored the terror blossoming in my own heart. Beyond that gaping maw of darkness, shapes began to swirl and coalesce, not gods, nor mere demons, but something far beyond our comprehension. Each silhouette appeared impossible in size and scope, their outlines shifting perpetually a paradox of form and formlessness, light and darkness intertwined.
And then, they turned to gaze upon us.
A weight unlike anything I had ever felt bore down upon the desolate battlefield, akin to a pressure created by a thousand stars collapsing into themselves. My demonic essence within me roared in protest, and instinctively, my aura flared to life, surrounding both Lyris and me in a cocoon of obsidian flame. Yet even that protective barrier felt wretchedly small against the expansive force of their presence, which crashed into us like myriad tidal waves of eternity, threatening to engulf our very beings.
Lyris gasped sharply, clutching her chest as though she could will away the feeling. "It's like they're seeing everything. Every memory, every sin…"
"They're not simply seeing us," I managed to respond through gritted teeth, forcing my will to bond the dark flames enveloping us. "They're understanding us."
And that notion filled me with an even deeper dread. To be comprehended by an entity that transcended our definitions of existence was to be laid bare before them completely. No soul, whether divine or mortal, could withstand such profound exposure without emerging irrevocably scarred.
Then, a voice emerged from the rift a deep, guttural resonance, not merely a sound but a vibration that coursed through our bones and reconfigured the very essence of thought itself.
"The false vessel is gone. The broken rebellion still breathes."
A second voice replied, cold and ethereal in its beauty.
"Shall we unmake it?"
"Not yet," a third voice murmured, softer yet imbued with an unfathomable sense of dread. "Let them remember. Let despair mature."
As the rift pulsed rhythmically once, and then twice it began to close, sealing away its monstrous truths behind layers of torn reality. Yet, just before it could vanish entirely, a final fragment of divine energy broke away from it a shard of celestial essence, burning with the fire of dying stars.
The shard plummeted earthward, embedding itself into the cracked and parched earth before us like a blade plunged into flesh. The impact sent a violent shockwave rippling outward, and from that fissure in the ground, something began to grow, unfurling into existence.
From the soil emerged black vines, intricately laced with veins of brilliant gold, writhing and coiling upwards, forming an enormous spire a grotesque monument pulsating with an alien vitality that chilled my soul. This was no mere structure; it was a living seed, an insidious seed of the True Ones, eager to take root in the very core of our world.
A wave of horror washed over Lyris as she staggered back, realization dawned on her face like the extinguishing of a candle. "They've marked this world…"
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to stand tall despite the pain that coursed through my body, my wounds screaming at me, my limbs ablaze with agony, yet my will remained steadfast, refusing to yield. "This this is their anchor," I murmured, my voice steadier than I felt.
I could feel the spire's pulsations aligning unnervingly with my heartbeat. It called to me whispering promises, reaching out as if acknowledging me as something not entirely apart from its own malignant nature. That realization filled me with a greater terror than any of my previous encounters with death itself.
Lyris noticed the change in me, her voice sharp and edged with concern. "You need to step back. That thing it's resonating with you!"
I clenched my fists tightly, feeling the shadows surrounding me begin to coil and tighten like a constricting serpent, reacting to the turmoil brewing within. "It's because I was made from their design… twisted from their perfection," I admitted, my voice barely a whisper, filled with a mix of anger and despair as I grappled with the dark essence of my origin.
"Then break it," she snapped, her voice sharp as shattered glass, her crimson spear reigniting with a fierce brilliance. "Before it breaks you," she warned, her eyes blazing with determination.
Her urgent words sliced through the thick haze of confusion that clouded my thoughts like a fog. I nodded once, resolute. Together, we stood before the towering alien spire a monolithic structure that seemed to mock us with its grotesque beauty a fallen seraph and a demon lord, both scarred and battered yet defiantly unyielding in the face of utter despair.
We didn't need to exchange any further words; the unspoken bond woven between us hummed with the potential of our combined powers. As if conducting some ancient symphony of destruction, our innate abilities surged as one once again blazing flames and radiant light, the intoxicating allure of sin and the fervent promise of salvation all colliding with indescribable force in a single, unified strike that held the weight of our desperate hopes.
The world around us shuddered violently in anticipation.
Our combined blast slammed into the seed at the base of the spire, engulfing it in a swirling maelstrom of pitch-black darkness interspersed with veins of crimson energy. For the briefest moment, it appeared to dissolve into nothingness, but then the vines erupted from the ground, twisting and writhing as they began to absorb the raw power we had unleashed. They fed on it like a parasite, growing exponentially stronger with each moment.
"No!" Lyris's anguished cry pierced the air as the ground detonated outward, sending chunks of earth flying. The tendrils lashed out toward us like serpents of divine fury, striking with a speed so swift I barely had time to react. One snaked around Lyris's leg, anchoring her in place, while another lashed through my side, a jagged splinter of pain that ignited every nerve in my body. I roared in frustration, channeling my demonic energy, lashing out wildly to sever the vine constricting me, but for every tendril I destroyed, two more sprang forth to take its place, relentless and tireless.
"You cannot destroy what was never meant to end," the spire whispered ominously through a chorus of a thousand ghostly voices, echoing in the recesses of my mind.
Despite the searing pain radiating through me, I forced my power outward. I reached deep within, drawing upon the darkest recesses of the Abyss that resided within my very essence. The world around us darkened, and the skies above dimmed ominously, heavy with the weight of my unleashed will.
Then, against the swirling chaos, I heard her voice again Lyris, defiant and fierce even as the blood trickled from her wounds.
"Then we'll outlast eternity," she declared, her spirit unbroken.
Her spear flared with an intensity that eclipsed everything brighter than the heavens, more luminous than despair itself. With a surge of raw energy, she drove it straight into the spire's heart, and I knew in that moment that I had to follow suit. I channeled every ounce of strength I had left, every fragmented piece of fury, loss, and ironclad defiance coalescing into a single concentrated point of power.
The air around us erupted in tense silence, and then exploded outward.
A brilliant pulse vibrated through the landscape, erasing the vines, the seed, and everything else within miles of the impact zone. The light was an all-consuming force cleansing, destructive, and pure in its undeniable magnitude.
When the blinding radiance finally receded, we found ourselves collapsed on the ground, enveloped in an eerie silence that followed the chaos. The spire was gone, reduced to nothing a memory lost to time. In its place lay a mark glowing faintly against the scorched earth: a symbol of infinite loops, the Sigil of the True Ones, pulsating with an ancient, unspeakable power.
Lyris began to cough, a sound that was half laughter, half desperate gasping. "Tell me that was enough," she managed to say, her weary eyes searching mine with a flicker of hope.
I stared at the mark, feeling its energy still thrumming beneath the surface, a reminder of our shared struggle. "No," I acknowledged, my voice steady yet somber. "That was only the beginning."
The wind howled through the desolate wasteland, carrying with it whispers of challenges still looming on the horizon foreshadows of the darkness that sought to claim us.
And as I turned to gaze at the dark, sprawling expanse ahead, I understood that this fragile alliance this bond forged in rebellion and desperation was the only thing protecting existence from the cold grasp of annihilation.
"Lyris," I said softly, my gaze meeting hers with a depth of emotion that was dangerously close to gratitude. "We need to prepare. The others will come."
She smirked, relaxing slightly against the crumbling rubble that surrounded us. "Then let them come. We're not dying yet," she stated defiantly, infusing her words with a strength that cut through the lingering dread.
Her laughter though faint and fragmented echoed through the ruins, a brave sound challenging the oppressive silence of the fallen gods.
And somewhere above us, unseen by any mortal eye, something vast stirred again within the depths of the darkness beyond the stars.
The True Ones had taken notice, and their gaze was drawn towards us.
To be continued…