by TyrannoTitan » Sun Sep 28, 2008 4:21 am
With a bang, the door to the apartment complex swung open, almost falling off its rusty hinges, Van stepping through, heading immediately for the basement. It made sense now...well, not everything...but he had a rough idea what his little friend was up to. Quickly descending into the basement, he looked at the back of the room, which looked exactly as he saw it last...but one small thing. A red light...a glow coming from the one corner. Van smirked, heading over to the corner, feeling around for any difference in the wall. Sure enough, there was, almost making Van fall straight through. A narrow passage, hidden by the darkness of the end of the room, leading further down. Now, it was illuminated by a red glow...what he assumed to be a torch. Cursing, Van walked down into the passage, knowing the demon was already there...
The further he descended, the lighter the passage got. Soon he could see what was ahead of him, instead of feeling around in the dark. Suddenly, the passage opened into an enourmous chamber, which looked like an Egyptian tomb. In the center, however, a few yards ahead from Van, stood a giant pillar, which was covered in skulls and clothing...the victims of its prisoner. Around the pillar, besides a small chunk of ground under it, the floor opened up into a seemingly bottomless pit, an old wooden bridge connecting the two areas. Suddenly, a sound sent a chill down Van's spine. A scream. A scream that would send the strongest willed person fleeing for their lives. Van himself resisted the urge to react to the sound, instead trying to find its source. Tied to the pillar was a man...or, what used to be one. It was like flesh stretched over a skeleton, which was screaming as loud as it possibly could, like its flesh was being peeled from its flimsy bones.
Van's eyes widened at the sight, his body stiff from horror. In front of the pillar, on the small splotch of land under it, stood the mysterious figure from before, which seemed to watch the dying man with interest. "Its ok...all will be well in a matter of time!" he said, reaching for something. In the middle of the dying man's head, an enourmous gem was impaled into his skull, glinting in the dull light of the torches. Van immediately drew his gun, firing at the figure, but the shock of the scene had thrown off his aim, hitting a plank on the bridge instead of his target. The figure stopped, turning slowly as it looked at Van through its dark hood, turning fully around to face him. "I'm glad you could make it..." the figure said, chuckling darkly. "This is a great day indeed! You will witness history in the making, boy. All that you knew will come to an end, here and now." the figure said, laughing louder this time. The dying man behind him twisted in pain, unleashing yet another unearthly scream, yet nothing was happening to it. "The High Priest Marcus...Or, what used to be Marcus..." the figure explained, turning back to the dying man...
Van had enough. Pulling out the second revolver, he opened fire, two giant wings exploding out of the figure's back, lifting him into the air as he avoided the bullets, landing on the other side of the bridge, near Van. Running forward, he swung his arm at Van, the vampire hunter dodging out of the way, still not knowing how he would win this fight. Suddenly, the figure's wing smashed into him, sending him rolling near the pit, grasping at the ground desperately. The figure turned, wings folding behind his back. "Remember my voice, boy...It will be the last thing you hear..." the figure hissed, walking over to the struggling vampire hunter, ready to send him to his death. DALVENGYR! ENOUGH! I am the highest priority, fool!" the skeletal man screamed, its voice deep and eerie for a human. Dalvengyr looked from Van to the man tied to the pillar, before nodding. "A thousand apologies..." he said, lifting into the air, landing in front of the skeletal man. He grabbed the gem embedded in the man's head, hissing as it burned his flesh, but continued to pull it from the man's head...
Soon it was free. The gem in his hand, Dalvengyr simply crushed it, sending shards all over the small spot of land. The skeletal man fell from his prison, the chains suddenly gone, the demon helping the man to his feet. "Your...work...is...thanked...Dalvengyr...You have been...awarded...with service to me..." the man rasped, his voice strained and weak. Dalvengyr nodded, facial features still hidden under the hood, helping the skeletal man across the bridge, who seemed to get stronger as they moved farther and farther away. Soon they disappeared from sight, having moved into the passage. Van shook his head, breathing deeply, ashamed at himself that he had failed. He wasn't prepared for this...he thought it was just a legend, a myth...he would've had a strategy, or requested aid if he knew the truth...For now, he stood, limping off toward the passage, knowing the two would be long gone by now...