The Rise Of Evil Chapter 20
By Citadel
"What...What is this?" Janus exclaimed. He was weightless, floating down an endless shaft. It was bright crimson, the tunnel spun around them, dizzying the whole group. They slowly were being pulled down the shaft. "Why am I here?"
"You've been pulled in," Anoctium said in a morose manner. "You've been pulled into the place between worlds, this is the wormhole between the Palace of Eternity and the World of the Damned. The Palace is where the Daemon Trainer lives. Or lived as the case may be."
"So where is this thing, anyway? Shouldn't he be here?" Crono inferred.
An inhuman voice, somehow a composite of every horrible thing they'd ever heard in their lives boomed all over the shaft. "I'm here." Each of them cringed in fright. Marle suddenly shot awake screaming. She stopped suddenly and looked around confused.
"Where am I?" The voice spoke again, but this time the walls faded in color. The shaft turned a very pale green with black streaks pulsing down the walls like black arteries.
"You are near the Palace." Marle's eyes went wide with fear. She knew which palace the voice spoke of.
"And you are?" She asked with a trembling voice.
"I am the Daemon Trainer." The evil shaft rumbled a bit and suddenly huge beady eyes went wide open all over the walls. Millions of eyes went wide and blinked in unison. The were completely black, except for a long red slit that went down the middle of the eye. Each eye viewed each of them and stared down into their souls.
Anoctium's face went red with anger. "Oh, how I've waited to talk to you."
"I've been awaiting the time we could talk, Anoctium, but I had hoped it'd be on happier terms."
"You've ruined my life!" Anoctium screamed. "You used me! You used me against my will!"
"It was necessary."
"I lost everything because of you! You made me do horrible things to people with whom I had no quarrels. I have killed millions because you wanted me to! Now, I thought I had outsmarted you."
"You almost did. I'll admit, I hadn't thought of your plan. I thought you would've resurrected me, but you turned traitor."
"And I bear that name with pride. A traitor to the Daemon Trainer, I consider that an honor."
"Anoctium, you've done more harm than good. You've stifled my entrance into the world of the living, but now you've opened an entirely new scenario."
"What?" He snapped.
"Now that you've ripped open the seal between the worlds, demons may pass freely through each world."
"No!"
"Yes, and now you will have millions of demon walking your planet. They will invade every corner of the planet, and every time of the planet. No one will be safe."
Crono turned to Anoctium; he was seething in anger. "YOU! You've released something ELSE into my world."
"I--I didn't--"
"YOU!" Crono tried to destroy Anoctium, but his powers wouldn't come.
"Eventually my demons will completely destroy the seal and I will be free to roam the world of the living. I shall be invincible."
"No. We won't let it happen!" Fuerte screamed. "Humans will fight. We'll fight until we can no longer fight. We'll fight until every one of you or us die!"
"Maybe so, but the demons have much stronger magic, plus they out number humans nearly four to one." Everyone looked at the beady eyes on the wall. Each of them seemed to mock them. The group realized they'd won the battle, but now the war had been tipped in the other direction. "I have no power to destroy you right now, so I'll send all of you back to where you all came from. When I do gain power in your world, though, I'll make sure to torture all of you for eternity."
"Why? Why are you going to so all of this? Why would you want to be in our world?" Marle asked. "It makes no sense. You have immortality. You have power. What else do you want!" She bellowed. "What is it!"
"I want to destroy all living things created by God." Somehow, the voice actually got more sinister. "Then, after all thing are dead, I'll rip the last seal. Once the seal to heaven has been ripped apart I'll create al Hellmouth at the Pearly Gates themselves. The devil himself will lead the second war on Heaven. We will destroy God and send him back to Hell. All demon will live in bliss forever. I'll seal all the seals and we'll be able to live in perfection without the worry of God or his angels. Or people like you!"
"That's insane!" Fuerte screamed. "You'll never get away with it. You'll lose the war."
"Doubtful, the first war in heaven, when Lucifer rebelled, was a very close war. This time we have enough power to destroy Heaven's guardians. If that plan works I will have fulfilled the prophecy called The Rise of Evil; when Evil rises and wins."
"We won't allow you to win." Crono stated those last words with enough resolve to build a brick wall. They saw a black end to the tunnel. Each of the smack into the black like water. The scary colors faded to black and suddenly they were in the familiar time portal. The blue streaks comforted all of them.
***
They were spat out of the portal onto the soft snow of Death Peak. They laid on the ground motionless. Crono was the first to sit up. He felt like he was awakening from a nightmare. He had a horrible migraine that made the scenery spin.
"Ohh," someone moaned. He looked over and saw Marle clutching her head in pain.
"Where are we?" Anoctium looked around and didn't recognize the scenery. He had to read Crono's mind to find they were back in the living world. "Ah ha. Well, this is interesting." He motioned to Crono to look up. The sky was blue, the sun hung in the sky like any other spring day.
"Shouldn't we be in some sort of hell right now?" Fuerte asked.
"I don't think the demons have arrived yet. Maybe we have some time until they arrive."
"Maybe," Janus said suspiciously. "So now that the Daemon Trainer's demons are coming, what do we do now?"
"We have to prepare. I have no idea how to, but somehow we have to stop the demons."
Crono stood up and walked over to Anoctium, he was like an imposing tower over the sitting demon. "Why don't we start with stopping this demon? C'mon! He's nearly killed you!" He pointed at Marle. "He tried to kill all of us! Why are we letting him live?"
"Because I am invaluable. You have to have me. Without me there is no fight. The demons will trample all over this world. They won't even lose their breath in doing so. I am the only one who has any knowledge of magics that can be used to stop them. Plus, I know more about your," he pointed to Crono, "and your" he pointed at Janus, "than anybody else. For instance, I know that both of you are Bearers of Light." Janus and Crono looked at each other, stupefied.
"I'm a what?" Janus asked.
"I know that you are a Bearer of Light. You've nearly mastered your shadow powers and now the Light is taking effect."
"But he wields shadow. How can he--"
Anoctium cut Crono off. "Your father obviously knew very little about his own powers. You see there are four parts to the Bearers of Light: Holy, Shadow, Regenerate, and Destruction. Crono, you have Holy. Janus, you have Shadow. Now, I can help you two find the last two Light Bearers. When you four come together..." He trailed off for a moment. "Let's just say last time I saw the four Bearers of Light unite it was a frightful experience. They were evil Bearers. They had horrible intentions, they aimed to rule the universe."
"How do you know this?" Janus asked.
"I'm three thousand years old. I know a lot. Something you don't know is the last four Bearers were responsible for the lavoids." Janus, Marle and Crono's eyes went wide. "That's right. Lavos and all other lavoids were created by those four. Oh, you don't want to know what they did. But, because of what they created, like powerful weapons that were sealed away, we may have a chance to repair the seal. So you see, you need me. You have to have me in order to fight this menace." Nobody said a word in response. Crono tapped his foot in a huff.
"So what now?" Marle asked.
"Where do we start?" Fuerte asked.
"I am going to the End of Time." Crono smiled. "I think Gaspar may still have a few tricks up his sleeve. Even if he doesn't...I think I want to see my dad."
"Crono's right," Anoctium concurred. "We need to establish a base of operations. The End of Time is the safest place. I'll make sure no demons can penetrate it." They all nodded in agreement.
"Let's head out." Janus said the words with dignity and authority. He stood up pushed his hair back with his hand. His only hand left. He looked at his metal leg and stub-arm. "Can this Regenerate make me whole again?"
Anoctium looked at the stub. "I'm sure he can."
"Then let's start the search." They all stood and stretched out. They began the trek down the mountain into the mist; none of them wanted to think about what lied beyond.
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The End...
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