Everything warped around me as I flew upwards. What was it? 500 years of torture? And yet this single moment of transportation was exceedingly excruciating than all those years combined.

It was like my very essence was being crushed and remolded as I flew towards the white spot. The darkness around me was tangible. It pressed me with bone-breaking force as if to stop my momentum. And perhaps it would have succeeded, that is if I had any bones to break.

Even still, no soul could make it as far and high as I had and it was, by nature, impossible for a single soul to enter into the light; that white spot far above me. But I aimed for the bright light and flew towards it because I was not a 'single soul'. What was I? Let me tell you a tale.

***

I was a wizard while I was yet on earth. My existence was distinguished by dominion and terror. But it wasn't always that way. Fate seemed to have favored me after its harsh punishment of my youth.

Before I wielded magic, I was but a fragile son of the highest nobles. That was of course in the era of knights and dragons. And I too dreamt the dreams of my parents; to become a knight. Because knights weren't just the elite few that flanked the king, they were the lords of the land and the gods over the peasants. The very thought had me grinning throughout childhood. Alas, the cruelty of fate became evident to me when I signed up to be an esquire. It was part of the journey to knighthood.

However, being a knight's attendant posed a challenge for me. I cannot begin to explain my many, many shortcomings. The greatest of all I believe, was the saddening fact that every piece of equipment was at least twice my weight! From the shield to the helmet and everything in between.

It was truly depressing. How could pure noble blood yield such a pale, feeble body? My father called me accursed. Part of the reason why was because the rumors about my mother engaging in extramarital affairs finally reached him. It wasn't long after he heard about it that he labeled me as an abomination and, with only his suspicion to lean on, he drove me away from the manor.

That is why I was a full-time esquire, residing under my Knight's roof. Howbeit that was also when the tides began to turn.

A few moons of insults and abuse sent me sprinting off into the woods in the thick of night; trying to make sense of the meaning of my existence. But some distance inside, I suddenly fell into a deep dark pit. From then on I can vaguely recall what happened.

But I remember somethings... I remember a strange book with a purple glow. I remember hearing voices, though what they spoke was shrouded. I remember feeling a rush of power coursing through me. I remember flying out of that hole. I also remember my former master on his knees pleading like a beggar for his pathetic life.

How did I kill him? Oh, I remember that very clearly. I ripped him in half without even laying a finger on him. It took only a few magic speeches from that mysterious book that had begun to follow me in mid-air. Its power was sublime; greatly transformational. With every breath I took I felt more energized, more exhilarated, more alive. Little did I know that I was still as far from invincible as the north was from the south.

Nevertheless, I picked up the lance of the fallen and induced it with dark magic.
Knighthood was no longer appealing to me. No, not after what I had suffered in the hands of my former master. You see, I now had a reformed goal, to purge the world of the illusion of chivalry and give it new knights. My knights.

With another round of spells, I put together the limbs of my former master and resurrected him.
His once silvery armor became black as coal and a dark aura emitted from him. He was now a dark spirit who lived by my power and was bound to my every command. He was perfect and the first of many.

The two of us began the Purge. In just a year England was reformed into a country of dark knights. Within the next few years, my knights were dotted across Europe and word of my power had traveled to all the corners of the Earth.

By then my vision had expanded. I could have helped that miserable world with its reshaping that was long overdue. And I was so close to bringing my dream to fruition if not for that... woman. Or was she even just a girl?

I had always known that the world feared her more than I, but I could never have fathomed the greatness of her might. It was at my last moment when she stabbed through my heart with that enchanted blade that I understood why she had a name so dreaded.
And my soul, floating out of my body, saw how she effortlessly hacked it into a million pieces.

I swore revenge on her generation!

So centuries after my descent, I became aware of the possibility of escape. On the premise of the knowledge I gained, I scoured certain factions of the underworld looking for the temple of the soul devourer, Zakubesh.

From my earthly years of study, I had a vast knowledge of the art of soul suction. "To pull a soul and make it yours" was the basic definition.
It was top-tier magic and not for the feeble-minded.

I found the temple eventually and trespassed into its murky confines. It was foolish for a bare soul to throw itself in the way of the soul devourer but I was not bare. I was armed with power, little as it were. And I sought to contend with the creature for its bellyful of souls.

Alas, I was still a mortal soul and the great beast was an immortal creature. The odds were undoubtedly mighty!

The devourer, on sensing my presence had immediately spread open its endless funneling rows of razor-sharp teeth and its overwhelming magic blasted out rays of blue light which washed over me and pulled my soul. A handicap contest is what it was. Yet I believed my victory was certain. And I wasn't counting on luck but magic.

The truth is, soul suction is the only form of magic that a mortal soul was capable of performing in the underworld, however, there were rumors among the powerful damned about a flame that never stopped blazing which the creatures of the dark dreaded. So I had scavenged the realm, first in search of the eternal flame before I sought out to confront Zakubesh.

To be clear, it was far from an easy task. Every nook and cranny of that place was designed to be as unhabitable and torturous as possible; from the spiky terrain to the scorching atmosphere and the screeching shadows that whip and scar and even devour.

Yet I persevered and with soul suction, I cleared every opposition on my path until alas I arrived at the eternal flame. Its ghostly green color and scorching heat greeted me. It was a great pillar of fire that lit up the soul that makes contact with it and slowly consumes it inside and out. Indeed it was one of the seven dreads of the underworld.

However, I was no ordinary soul. All my years on the surface as a sorcerer had enhanced the strength of my soul.
That was why my soul, being stronger, was able to tame the eternal flame. In fact to my surprise, not only was I able to quench the flame that lit my palms, but I found out that I could also reignite it at will. Amusement and pride bubbled up inside me so much so that for the first time in this eternal torture, I almost smiled.

At that moment I was certain that I could cut eternity short.

So in my battle with Zakubesh, I reignited the flame on my palm and made it burn wildly. It brought me agony, of course, but the result was worth it.
The all-powerful soul eater was a creature of the darkness and could not behold the light.

As the eternal flame enwrapped the creature, it shrieked and writhed in pain. I reckoned I had brought down its defenses so I took a solid stance and channeled all my energy together.

Stretching my arms forward I began to pull the myriads of souls that swirled within Zakubesh.

Even in its weakened state, its retention power was still strong but not nearly as strong as its first time. My power overwhelmed it and I managed to suck out about a million souls before Zakubesh was completely consumed along with the rest of the souls.

Oh! The rush of power. I felt like a Titan. No, even stronger!

I slowly craned my neck towards the pitch-black sky of the underworld. I was about to put a theory to test. Rumors had it that in the deepest darkness there was a portal to the living in the form of light. No single soul could ever make it because the higher one flew the greater the force of the mystic darkness would multiply and eventually crush the soul. I didn't care to understand how the magic worked. I only searched for a solution and I was sure I now had it; multiple souls.

Burning with determination, I clenched my fists. My vengeance was nigh. Even if a thousand souls would be crushed within me I was certain I would make it out...alive.

****
So I reached for the light amidst the churning feeling and squealing of crushed souls within me and suddenly, everything went blank.

As my consciousness began to stir, I recognized a golden light ball in the heavens that I never thought I'd see again.

I made it.

I slowly got up from the ground. I thought I'd beaten death but something felt wrong.

Suddenly, a monstrous contraption with four circular spinning legs came speeding towards me. From its transparent forehead, I saw a human with a calm expression sitting on a weirdly shaped throne within the belly of the contraption. I was stunned in awe that is of course until the contraption was at point blank. It felt like time stood still for a split second.

Surely this was the end again I thought. But to my surprise, it went right through me. As I gazed at my body I realized I was transparent with a bluish glow.

How could I still be dead?

Before I could come up with answers, wailing voices became audible around me and then the reapers, ghastly souls of smoke and shadows emerged from the ground

"The damned are forbidden from the light of day!" They chanted as they haphazardly shot toward me. Fear clenched me. Had all my efforts been futile?

In the span of a second, a plan came to me.

The reapers were top-tier creatures; meaning an incredible amount of magic energy was needed to restrain them. I dodged the first strike before trying to ignite the eternal flame but for some reason, I couldn't light it. I grunted.

The reapers began to swarm me, my escape was indeed short-lived.

Or so I thought, until a deep voice in a dark alleyway cried out a spell and suddenly all the reapers vanished.

I was frozen in shock, such a feat should have been impossible.

The voice called out to me slowly.

"Esquire of darkness, Lord of the dark knights. I shall give you a body to function with and you shall serve my purpose."

Anything to live. "I yield."