Prologue: The One

Beware of what you wish, because sometimes wishes do come true

The One

Earth (The Valley of Reckoning) EarthYear 1001- Dawn of the First Reckoning

The One held everyone and everything in his grasp and nothing moved. The Valley of Reckoning was like a giant painting depicting the wrath of an angry God — hell-bent on destroying the Infernal evil.

The One was not one, but thousands, or millions. He was in front of everyone's eyes, behind their back, inside their brain. He was in clouds, in fire, in smoke, in rain, in mist. He was attacking on foot, riding on horses, and even flying dragons. He was shooting them with arrows, stabbing their hearts, chopping off their heads. The demons were meeting a horrible fate in a thousand different ways.

The darklings were writhing and twitching, shrieking and crying, before going up in puffs of smoke or infernal flames. No one knew what killed whom, but everything was working towards a single objective — total annihilation.

The One and his countless splits cleansed the Earth from demonic filth to end The First War of Reckoning. Whether that frozen moment lasted a second, a year, or a millennium that is up for debate but a ghostly silence engulfed the Valley when the annihilation was complete.

Then, in the blink of an eye, all his splits converged into five majestic avatars representing the Holy Five. Although all avatars looked almost the same, one of them was glowing like a sun, outshining all other stars. His beaming smile was brimming with love and affection. His presence was spreading warmth and hope. The Glorious One had a unique charm, an aura that transcended the realms of humanity.

All eyes were transfixed on the Godly figure, relishing its splendor and basking in its glory, when it twitched. The Splendid One grimaced as a dark hole appeared in his chest. His form began to split from the middle. He didn't screech or cry while splintering, rather he turned around to see who had the power to drive a sword through his back when no one could even move in the frozen moment.

His eyes went wide when he saw who it was. This can't be true. Why would he do this to him? How was this even possible?

The Magnificent One spent its last moments in disbelief before it splintered into three. The Five became Six and Seven — the Seventh later became twenty-seven — but the Sixth and the Seventh never joined the One ever again.

For a thousand EarthYears, their only mission was to destroy The Omnipotent One, and with him, bring down a whole world, or two.

And now, a millennium after that doomed dawn, they are one step away from achieving their goal.

***

Hadriel

Earth (Outskirts of Mount Tenebra) EarthYear 1969

"The Reckoning is upon us," Bill said pointing at Inferna, Earth's sister planet that hung above it like a giant orb. It also played on people's nerves apart from providing the visual spectacle. "There has to be some logic behind calling this the Dark Night despite Inferna lighting up the whole Earth with her glow."

Ron cast a furtive glance at his colleague. "Oh really! That thing crosses our planet four times a year and I haven't seen a reckoning yet."

"Just have a close look at her. She grows bigger with every Crossing as if she is charging at us."

"Yeah, you are right. Inferna is going to crash on our heads during the next Crossing. She looks huge because she is closest to Earth towards the end of every decade. Even my seven-year-old knows that. You blind Believers love to make demonic theories rather than learn basic astronomy. Don't you?"

"Tell me, why the weather keeps getting worse? Believe me, Supremes let the hell loose on the Dark Nights to remind us of their powers. The stories we hear are not mere fiction."

Although Ron was an outright Non-Believer — the Supremes or their superficial powers meant nothing to him — he had to admit that lately, the fictional weather angels were going through an extended spell of depression. The weather had completely lost its bearings, especially around Mound Tenebra. There were sudden thunderstorms, lightning strikes, and unseasonal rains that no scientific theory could explain.

As if the funny weather wasn't enough, Ron's duty manager added misery to the gloom by asking him and Bill to check out a power outage at a Mount Tenebra checkpost on New Year's Eve. Ron knew the schmuck was deliberately needling him, he even pondered punching him in the face, but his wife would kill him if he lost his job. So he was stuck with an overly zealous Believer on the Dark Night. "Come on, neither is Inferna falling on Earth nor is any Reckoning coming. My scientist friend says that this crap weather is because of Inferna's gravitational pull on the Earth."

Bill curled his lips. "Those lab rats link everything to the movements of stars and planets. They don't believe in the Pietuos or the Supremes, so why should we believe in their stupid theories? Trust me, none of them will ever make it to Bliss."

"How are you so sure that all the Believers reach Bliss? No one knows what happens beyond that heavily guarded Valley of Reckoning. Who rises and who falls? I am not sure if that famed Abyss of Bliss even exists," Ron said applying the brakes.

The car screeched to a halt. They had reached the outer checkpost of Mount Tenebra. The Iron Cage — the imposing metallic structure that cordoned off Mount Tenebra from the rest of the Earth — towered over them. "Welcome to the Hell's Door. Those scumbag agents of Pieteous say that when you cross this iron fence, you leave the Earth and step into Inferna. I am so looking forward to this interplanetary trip." Ron's tone was sarcastic but his nerves were jangling. Here, the thunder roared louder than anywhere on the Earth, the lightning kept striking the ground, and Tenebra rumbled so fiercely as if it was ready to unleash a thousand hungry beasts when someone opened the door of this iron cage.

Bill got out of the car behind Ron. He raised his right hand and touched his right eye with his index and middle fingers, then his left eye, and then his lips. "You can make as much fun as you like but I am sure that Believers always rise. There is no doubt in that."

Ron locked the car and moved towards the security cabin. "Which one of those fanatics came back from Bliss to tell you that? They just love scaring weak people like you with stories of Angels and Demons."

Bill repeated the Holy Gesture of Faith with his hand. "Belief is the foundation of this Symphony of Souls. Belief holds Bliss, Earth, and Inferna together. The very existence of The Three Sisters depends on it. And how can you forget that the Five Pieteous, holy be their name, returned from the Valley to save humanity a thousand years ago."

"Save humanity? They came back so that their Scions could unopposedly rule humans for eternity. You know what I think? I think that all those tales of miracles winning over magic are heavily exaggerated. Maybe they hired an ingenious author like—what is the name of the guy who wrote A Dance of Two Worlds?"

"Arif."

"Yes, Arif. Have you read that book?" Ron asked peeping inside the security cabin. "Two identical worlds fighting each other. I guess they hired a good storyteller like Arif to weave a magical tale that glorified the events of the Great War."

"Gilbert Rightheart was a great writer himself. Some of his books are still taught in universities."

"See, you just endorsed my theory. They didn't even have to hire from outside."

Strangely, the cabin was empty. At least three guards were on duty around the clock at all these checkpoints. Ron walked to a small service entrance of Mount Tenebra. He had just pressed his administrator card to the lock when he saw Bill chewing his lips. "Oh yes, I forgot to mention that an army of headless demons is waiting to greet us on the other side of this gate." Ron was having a sadistic pleasure further scaring his already frightened partner.

Ron opened the small door but when they stepped inside the boundaries of Inferna their hearts skipped several beats. They had never crossed this gate after sunset. Mount Tenebra was a daunting sight, a standalone mountain, around four thousand meters high, made up of jet-black basalt rock without a blade of grass on it.

But more than the gloomy mountain, the atmosphere weighed down on their souls. They could physically feel the weight of darkness as if it were a thing. The air was too heavy to breathe. A chilly wind froze their blood and raindrops burnt their skin. A ghostly silence — the rain here didn't make any noise — gnawed at their hearts and was interspersed by some sinister howls.

The spot of the power outage was only a few meters away. Ron wanted to get done with it as quickly as possible and exit this hell, but Bill was reluctant to move.

"Now what happened? Just spill it out." Ron was losing his patience now.

Bill swallowed hard. "We shouldn't have come here tonight. I just remembered that this is not just any Dark Night, tonight is Nox Tenebris, the Darkest Night. The night on which chained Soulments enter our planet to serve the Scions of Pieteous, holy be their name."

"If the Soulments are entering the Earth to serve your masters then why are you afraid of them?" Ron spoke through clenched teeth. "You should welcome them with open arms, maybe even a bouquet of fresh roses."

"I have heard rumors that Tenbra's defenses were breached on the last Nox Tenebris. Some dangerous rogue Soulments entered the Earth instead of the friendly ones."

"Heard nothing like that in the news."

"Queen Elizabeth the Third has banned the newspapers and TV channels on the Mainland from reporting any Soulment incidents. But if that rumor is true then the same could happen tonight."

"Wow! So tonight we will finally get to see some of those notorious otherworldly demons that your unholy priests keep scaring you with. Honestly, I am dying to meet them."

"Beware of what you wish, because sometimes wishes do come true." A deep hollow voice called from behind.

Bill froze on the spot but Ron slowly turned around to see where the voice came from.

He saw a figure that wasn't solid flesh but more like a smoky shadow. His face was shrouded in darkness. A pair of fiery green eyes stared at him. Ron wanted to speak, but no voice came out of his throat.

However, the shadow did speak to Ron. "Humans are always so helpful. We would like to thank you for opening this last door for us to enter your world. We didn't want to lose any more Souls at this tiny little gate."

Ron thought about dashing for his life, but his feet were glued to the spot. He just kept staring at the dark figure as about twenty more shadows appeared beside him. And then hundreds and hundreds of silhouettes popped up all around them. The thunder and lightning increased their intensity to mark the arrival of their masters. Ron's voice was still stuck in his throat. It was Bill who finally managed to blurt a few words. "Wh... Who... are you? I... mea... mean... wha... what are you?"

The dark figure sighed, or rather let out a puff of smoke. "Humans and their mannerisms. You are worried about introductions when death is staring in your face. Okay, let us get done with this. Hadriel, the Commander of the Free Souls — not demons, mind you we hate that term — at your service. These bright Souls, standing alongside us, are our Soul-Sons."

Ron noticed that there was a disturbance in the air all around Hadriel, and the twenty or so shadows standing near him. A burst of energy flowing from them even stopped the raindrops from touching them. They appeared to be more solid, darker, denser, and visibly stronger than the hundreds of surrounding silhouettes. They had an aura, a halo of darkness, that made everyone and everything submit to their authority.

"Sire, what shall we do with them?" The shadow standing next to Hadriel asked him.

"Hercules, is that even a question? You know the more we kill, the more we recruit."

"Shall we get done with them?"

"No son, let your Sire do the honors. It has been a long time since we freed someone from the confines of his body. Our hands are itching to try this out. We have certain limitations outside the boundaries of Tenebra — but here magic rules."

Ron felt he was trapped inside a nightmare. He wanted to wake up and break free but his mind had gone as numb as his body. A chill went down his spine when he saw the demon break into a sardonic smile.

"Human, any last wishes. After all, you are inside our territory and, quite contrary to the common human belief, we Souls take pride in being good hosts."

"Help! Someone help!" Ron shouted at the top of his voice.

Hadriel rolled his fiery eyes. "Even if someone hears your screams, do you really think he will be able to save you from us? Have the overall levels of human intellect nosedived or are you an aberration? We will take your ear-shattering shrieks as your last wish. You can scream as much as you want and tell us when you are done."

No more sound came out of Ron's throat.

"That is it? That was quick. Contact our Free Soul Commanders if you need any help in Inferna. Now time to go." Hadriel jerked his head.

Ron looked into those fiery green pupils during those last moments of his life. Every last bit of hope was sucked out of his soul as he endured Infernal fire, chilling cold, burning desires, violent anguish, insane hatred, eternal gloom, and total despair. Ron experienced a living hell before he went to one.

A thick dark smoke entered Ron's eyes, mouth, and nostrils. A sharp pain coursed through him that made everything burn. Each cell in his body wanted to burst and get rid of this excruciating torture. Thankfully it lasted only a few seconds as Ron exploded into tiny fragments like a glass bowl blown up by a bomb.

A grim silence followed Ron's gut-wrenching screams. "Are we supposed to feel better after doing this?" Hadriel asked in a heavy voice. His smile had disappeared.

"Sire, we do this because we have to," Hercules replied. "None of us enjoys this."

"At least it is nice to know that our powers work just as desired. Hercules, why don't you try yours on this chubby guy."

"No... no... no!!! please... spare me... please!!!" Bill pleaded. He pulled out a gold chain from around his neck that had a five-pointed star attached to it. He held the Star of Faith in front of him, trying to scare off the demons.

Hadriel broke into a chuckle. He jerked his head and the star flew toward him. "These are still in fashion? Even after a thousand years? Dear human, let me tell you a secret. It was us who designed these stars a millennium ago, to make humans feel protected. These things don't do any good. It is a complete sham. Total waste of money."

"O the Holy Five! O the Pieteous Saviors! Please save me," Bill prayed to his Lords.

"Holy Five? How Pathetic! Couldn't you think of someone better? You have placed your faith in those who very soon will be begging for their own souls. Hercules, we are tired of the long journey. Get done with this poor chap."

Hercules jerked his head and Bill blew up like a balloon.

Hadriel walked toward the exit. He and his sons were no more in their smoky avatars, instead, they looked flesh and blood — like well-built humans. Tall, muscular, with firm jaws, deep green eyes, and looks to die for. Hadriel stepped out of the door and picked up a handful of wet mud. He took a deep breath to smell Earth's blissful scent. "Earth, we missed you for a thousand years." He looked towards the sky, Inferna was shining brightly above them like a mother rejoicing in the success of her children.

Hadriel turned to hisfollowers. "Tenebra is ours and soon the whole Earth will be ours. We havebreached the land of humans and soon will reach the realms of their false gods.The Reckoning is upon us. This is again going to be a bloody Reckoning, butthis time the Free Souls will prevail. This time the humans will falter. Thistime the Potens will fail. This time the Bliss will fall. Unholy Pieteous, getready, you have no idea what is coming for you."