Chapter 1: You Will Know

How do you punish the devil? How do you know that what you're doing...is right?

 

“Satan has gone too far!”

The sky thundered and lightning struck around the plateau. At the center of the plateau stood a temple and in that temple, there stood an altar. Alive on that altar, the light of a blazing fire burned brightly with anger. In front of the altar and the large basin of pure gold that contained the fire, four robed figures kneeled as they listened to the rage of their lord.

“Satan shall be punished. This is his last pervasive wrong against me.”

In a semi-circle in front of the altar, three of the four robed figures downcast their gazes from the burning flame, showing their respect to his wishes. As for the fourth, the only female of the group, she lifted her head and asked rather calmly, “How shall he be punished, my Lord? The devil is a masochist and dwells by sin and chaos. Nothing seems to harm him or even faze him. He is untouchable.”

Unexpectedly, the fire calmed, but the thunder roared on and hard rain fell upon the plateau. His voice booming, yet calm with understanding, the lord replied, “Satan is not untouchable. He is the same as all man, angels, and demons.”

Staring straight into the fire, the woman furrowed her brows, signifying that she couldn’t understand. Instead of explaining, the fire dulled to a relaxed flame as the lord answered her unspoken question, “Just as any man, demon, or angel, Satan has a weakness. It is by that weakness that I shall punish him once and for all. Mercy to him shall not be upon him.”

Considering his reply, though she didn’t understand the last line, the woman hesitated from asking him anything. Sensing her hesitation, the fire burned slightly brighter and told her to ask her question. Reluctant, the woman gazed at the fire and inquired, “What is the devil’s weakness? How do you conspire to use it so and against him?”

Suddenly, sending her back a step, the lord’s fire grew into a tall menacing flame. Within it, soft chuckling could be heard and the lord answered her, “Soon, it will be time and Satan’s precious creation, his daughter, will be born again. She is his weakness and it is by her that I shall punish him. Every soul comes to me and is reborn. Satan cannot stop that, just as I cannot stop a soul from being reborn. The ultimate punishment for Satan is to take his daughter, to make her immortal, and to keep her back behind the gates of heaven away from him.”

Alarmed, the woman stood up and questioned frantically, “H-How will you do that, my Lord?!”

“My son will come first.”

At the mention of the lord’s son, the other three quickly stood up and questioned before the woman could, “My Lord?!”

The oldest stood forward and continued, “Are you sure, my Lord? Isn’t it dangerous to risk your son like that?”

Outside the temple, the thunder intensified its roar and the rain became hail. Back on the altar, the fire of the lord burned dangerously low, yet the lord’s voice hadn’t lessened in the least.

“It is no risk at all. My son shall not be overtaken by Satan’s daughter and you four will make sure it is so.”

Considering the Lord’s reply, the youngest of the three men asked, “My Lord, must we know what she looks like?”

The man’s question was met with silence as the hail instantly stopped, the thunder died, and the fire continued to burn too dangerously low. Waiting patiently, the flame slowly built up again and something started to fall outside. A gentle shower or a soft snowfall, they couldn’t tell. Back on the altar though, the flame started to dance, weaving an intricate design of golden orange.

All of a sudden, the lord’s voice came, gentle and yet firm, “Yes, you must know, but you will not see.”

Confused, the woman stepped forward and asked, “What do you mean?”

Just then, a cold breeze entered the room and specifically danced around the four. Light came into the room with the dawning of the sun, though the sky was still pure white. The snow stayed constant without wind or the full darkness of night.

“Our Lord?”

The flame danced and the lord answered, “I will not show you her face as her face is not known to me as well.”

Three of the four were silent, unable to process what next they could ask. On the other hand, the oldest of the three men bowed to the fire and asked in a calm respectful tone, “My Lord, you said that all souls pass through you, but if you don’t know her face, does that mean you cannot tell the fate of the devil’s daughter?”

Burning in a lively relaxed manner, the fire stopped dancing. In a booming yet soothing voice, the lord replied, “I do not control fate and I do not control Satan nor his demons nor his children. It is not my ability to determine the future face of any one identity. Mother Earth does not permit me to see those of Satan nor Satan himself, even though I am the one to create them both.”

Glancing at the fire, the middle man of the three men cocked his head to his right as he asked, “Then how will we know?”

Though they couldn’t see it, the four could sense the lord smiling at them. A warm breeze passed around each of them, comforting them as the lord answered in a knowing tone, “When you see her, you will know.”

Reviews

[Ruby Moon]

^-^
thank you for the heads up on your new book
i can see that it would be interesting

its really nice to see a new piece of work from one of my favourite writers on this site
and to think i would have missed this in the mist of so many repostings