Keep it coming bro.. you are doing an excellent job. Thumbs up

Happy New Year, folks!

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Happy New Year

Iamlordroman:
Happy New Year, folks!

Same to you bro, May the New Year start with fresh joys and
and a life filled with peace.

Phase 3

Iamlordroman.. happy new year sir.. I almost forgot where we stopped... it has been long men

olumose001:
Iamlordroman.. happy new year sir.. I almost forgot where we stopped... it has been long men

Complements of the season.
I know, it's been a while since I showed my ugly face but I'm back now. Though, my updates won't be as fast as they were but you can expect the story to remain entertaining with new developments and mysteries.

okay then... tightly following

Two Years Ago.

The room was heated up with the stares and tension boiling between the occupants of the room. Apparently, they had recovered an artifact which had power beyond the comprehensible knowledge of humans. Loki sat on a shelf, looking down at the people arguing. He had a lot to say, ideas to give to help the others. No matter the kind of argument, everyone always has a point of view and something to say. Like the theoretical three sides of a coin. My point, their point and the truth.

Loki sometimes wished he had his physical body and not this phantom ghost-like form he was stuck in. The invisibility and intangibility had their merits but the demerits were not unfathomable. There were many. He couldn't enjoy food nor could he feel pain. Hell, his friends couldn't see him, safe for Charlie. Yeah, he and Charlie had been the ones to attempt the astral projection spell. Charlie still beat himself up for him losing his body but Loki didn't blame him, he was still sane enough to know that none of it was their fault, they had just been trying to pull a Loki special prank but it didn't go as planned. Hell, he would do anything to help Charlie and then he would get his body back. He had already made a long list of food to eat, games to play and places to visit once he got his physical body back.

'Good idea.' Horlah said. 'I say we keep the contract.'

'To what end?' Toni asked. 'We lose one more friend and we all die-no matter how long it takes this so called hunter to find us. Let's give the contract back and end it all.'

'No, giving the contract back will mean the end of the world. Charlie, tell her. ' Loki screamed out,though only Charlie could hear him.

'Giving the demons the contract is like giving a terrorist sect launch codes to the countries missiles.' Charlie said. 'We need to make sure the contract never gets to them at all cost. We have to keep it.'

Loki nodded after he heard Charlie's statement. Yes, the contract was dangerous in the hands of demons but it was still the only thing that can get them close to getting his body back.

'I don't know what to say but I think I agree with Charlie. We should be ready to risk a few lives,our lives for the many.' Ridwan said.

'I don't want anybody to die. I'm not ready to die.' Sia said after a brief pause tears dripping down her cheeks. She looked around the room, accessing their fallen colleagues and looking for signs of hope of encouragement.

'There are two options, either we give the contract to Castiel or we keep it. Make the right decision.' Toni urged her harshly.

'You forgot one more option.' Sia said. The contract had been whispering alot of ominous words trying to lure her to open it. It seemed to have succeeded. Loki and Charlie had both forgotten about the particular charm the contract had over the mind.

'What's that?' Ridwan asked.

'We use the contract's power to stop the demons before they become a real threat.' Sia said.

'How do you plan on doing that' Horlah asked.

'The contract is tempting her. She can't resist the temptation ' Loki said, realising why Sia was having a hard time coordinating her own actions.

'Whatever you do,do not open the scroll.' Charlie cried out.

It was too late. Sia had opened the scroll.

The contract's seal broke and blinding light shone across the room. This light was accompanied by ear piercing noise and loud rumbling of the earth.
The shaking earth had tossed the chair castiel sat on off the exorcism circle. He quickly untied himself with new found strength and tried to pick the contract that was floating in mid air.

The floor sank and Charlie barely heard Ridwan shout
'Earthquake' as he came running by his side.
Everyone ran out of the house in their different ways. Charlie saw what looked like a door made of light form where the contract floated in the air.

Loki stood transfixed, staring at the gate of light which stood in the middle of the room where the contract had been floating only moments ago. The door was very tall and wide. It was black and had inscriptions like golden glyphs on it. The part of the glyph visible from where Loki sat showed a symbol that was similar to a man walking with a tall rectangle in front of him. The rectangle had lines on it showing it was glowing. On the other side of the rectangle was the man,but the the way he was before. He was bigger and his body had the same speed lines for brightness which the rectangle had. Loki's interpretation of the glyphs was of a man walking through a door and attaining unlimited power. On second thoughts, it was of a man stepping into another world to claim his body.

The thought of finally being reunited with his body drove Loki to an edge. He knew he shouldn't try going through a door that just appeared from nowhere after the contract was opened,alone. He knew he had to wait for Charlie. But that's not how things worked in this world. He raised his right hand, pointing towards the door. The tremor through the earth had increased such that the building had already began falling apart and staying in there would have been very bad for any normal human. The door opened in all its magnificence and exuberance,filling the whole room with blinding light as what seemed to be electricity crackled around Loki's body from his fingertips round-dragging him into the endless abyss of light which took him in all too readily. For a split second, Loki's body was visible so if anyone had looked his way, they would have seen him.

While Loki stood gazing, the others had been rushing, trying to make their way out of the room. So,moments after he had been taken in, Charlie and Ridwan had made their way to the latter's Volkswagen,Toni had entered her SUV and Horlah had escorted Sister into the dead couple's Ferrari. Castiel didn't have much luck as he was tossed out the window by a lone streak of lightning emanating from the rift in space opened by the pilgrim's contract. The house which stood elegantly in a remote area soon gave a loud roar and collapsed suffering fate like one of a house caught in an earthquake.

His vision was blurry at first but soon enough, his sight cleared out and he was able to make out what was in front of him. It was like a ceremony. He could see the people coming forth, kowtowing and speaking a few words of prayers. But the only thing Loki didn't understand was why they had been facing him. This led him to assess his current state. He looked at himself and found that he was in his physical body again albeit a little alterations. His body had grown bigger than he used to be and he was wearing some odd kind of clothes. The clothes felt more like sacks than clothes and his foot wears were basically wooden sole with leather straps over head. He was seating on a big chair which seemed like a throne. Despite all the confusion, Loki found joy in the fact that he had gotten his physical body back and gave a short mirthfull laugh.

The people who had been going through their normal activities of lighting scent candles and putting up essence all stopped at once like a video tape placed on pause . Then like a rehearsed action, they all looked at each other in confusion. One moment, the stiff which symbolized their saviour had suddenly moved. They had been waiting for this day but they were still shell shocked when it did come. Apparently, there had been a prophesy that a man would come from another world to theirs and set things up for them to be freed from the eternal tyrannical rule which they were under.

A few of the people quickly got over their shock after they realized the said 'Messiah' would need some attending to. In this light,a group of faithful followers came towards Loki and helped him to his feet. He felt light headed and he couldn't quite control his movements as he kept on tripping on himself, falling every now and then. It took three people to assist him from the altar where he awoke to a tatch roofed shelter where he was laid to rest and offered food. Water tasted sweeter than the first sip of chill carbonated drinks to him and for once in his life, he was thankful for bread and honey. The sleep that came afterwards was much deserved.

When Loki woke up, his body felt stiff and he had to roll himself off of the logs of wood and rafia that served as bed. His sudden movements had startled the person whose house he was taking shelter in. The elderly woman rushed to his side, helping him back on the bed and giving him some herbs to take. It tasted like battery water mixed with garlic.

'What's this?' Loki managed to ask with a stutter.

'Drink up. It's good for you. ' The woman replied.

She only spoke briefly but Loki immediately realised she was speaking a different language than he was, strangely enough, he understood her completely. After a couple consideration, Loki drank the garlic shake albeit holding his nose shut while picturing yoghurt in his mind's eye.

The lady had to repeat her words three times before Loki could understand what it was she was saying. She had called him 'Saviour' and he had to search his mind to find the words of this strange language which he appeared to know.

'What is this saviour of a thing you're talking about ? Why are you calling me that? ' Loki asked.

'You are the Saviour of our land. Long prophesied to transport to our land and save us from the evil that triumphs over us. And here you are now, arriving at a time when resisting is no longer possible.'

Loki looked up to see who had spoken.

A tall, well built man stood before him. Loki didn't realize when the man walked into the hut. He was dressed in thick hide with hoofs like shoes and man, his beards were full and tied in knots under his chin. He had a hard face with a scar running diagonally across his face. Someone must have tried to take his head off with a chain saw.

'Hogan.' The lady spoke his name like he was well known for his misdemeanor. 'Please don't make a fool of yourself. '

'Make a fool of myself. ' Hogan said as he moved towards Loki who was lying on the log bed with the little lady sitting on a small chair beside him. 'He's the one who's making a fool of all of us. We were promised a saviour. Someone who would come and liberate us from the Kong's tyrannical rule. For years we've waited. Only for him to arrive after we already lost the battle.'

'Hogan.' The lady was about to say something but the big man cut her off.

'Trisha,don't stop me. He's to blame for the death of all our men. Our fighters.' Loki could have sworn that the man was going to charge him and rip him to shreds with his bare hands.

'Don't be stupid, Hogan. ' A new voice said. The new guy was effeminate and he had on black short sleeved garb, brown slacks and black boots. His jet black hair fell down to his clavicle at the front while it was tied in a pony tail behind.

'The prophesy promised us a saviour. He arrived years ago but we thought he was dead. But now, he's fully arrived hale and harty. The only thing we can do is find out what he can do. '

'Julian. ' The lady, Trisha,said starting star eyed at the younger man who was able to weather the storm brewing in the huge man's mind. She admired him.

Hogan heaved before he said his next words. 'I would have expected the saviour to be a Goliath or something as strong. Look at him, he's like a bag of bones. What will we do with him, he can't even drink medicine on his own.'

'True. He's no Goliath.' Julian said with a little smile on his face. 'But even Goliath was defeated by a little kid. The Evil King is our Goliath and we might have just found ourselves our little kid. '

iamlordroman, what you are doing isn't good ooo, how come you haven't update since last month?

***

The next day, Loki woke up feeling sore all over. His body was obviously trying to readjust after he had been separated from his own self for so long. Some bodily functions came easily but it was still difficult for him to perform some complex manuovres like operating the complex machinery used for scooping food from a bowl into the mouth or operating the sophisticated piece of device that let's you move through walls by pulling a lever. Despite being disabled, Loki asked that he be allowed to walk around to check out the surrounding. Secretly, he just wanted to see how walking would feel like in his body.

After hours of walking and Trisha explaining the history and customs of her people,Loki knew he was going to have a long night. Their story was a complex one and tough for Loki to swallow.
'Thousands of years ago, when the world was still young.' Trisha had started. 'There was just one human population. No tribes, no races and no segregation of color differences.

'It was a time of great turmoil as the ecosystem wasn't as friendly as it is now. There were wild animals the size of planes. Beast that fed on humans and destroyed people and their loved ones. Some, even hunted humans for games, sports and so on. This great distress caused the human populace to evolve. They developed so far in science and technology beyond the lengths at which the current human civilization can attain. They moved beyond mere inventing devices to assist in day to day activities to augmenting the human body with technological devices.

'They didn't build cars to make them move from place to place, they augmented their body with nanobots that made them move at various speeds even that of sound. They didn't need planes to transport them over long distance,they had various forms of teleportation technology.

'However, there was only so much modifications the human body could take before it started rejecting all the implants it got. It was then the early men committed taboo by attempting to create life. The bodies were created synthetically from both human and inhuman sources. However,the bodies were just shells. Vehicles without drivers. They needed human minds infused into them.

'Every society always has its delinquents and so, criminals who had in one way or the other done detrimental things to the human populace had been made to volunteer for mind extraction. Among them,was the self proclaimed Lord of chaos who had tried causing the destruction of the human populace so as to attain world domination, King Elvis Shrape.

'His mind was extracted and underwent a lot of modifications so that it could exist as a physical projection in a special chamber. This specialized chamber infused the soul with nanites that solidified it within the chamber. It however didn't stop at making the soul a physical apparition while within it, outside it the soul existed as an intangible construct, capable of moving at speeds beyond normal and several other abilities. They however couldn't live long outside the chamber.

'The soul removal experiment was performed on many other subject and as time went on, a rebellion occurred when some people decided that the practice was immoral; removing of the human essence, the core of existence and toying with it. Some research laboratories were burnt down and that was when the first set of angry souls escaped. These modified souls, filled with rage and anger for their own people who condemned them to such torturous experiments took to the streets and started tormenting commoners like demons.

'The soul removal practice was shut down and no one knew what to do about the demon outbreaks. Until a group of scientists having knowledge of the initial project rallied commoners, arming them with sophisticated weapons for capturing these demons in special cannisters. It was a revolution and all the demons were capture not barring death from the general population.

'After the first demon outbreak, a council was created to remember the death of the people, safe guard the trapped demons and train individuals to take up arms in case of another demon outbreak. These council would later mature to become the exorcist council of recent times albeit with a slightly different interest.

'After all these had been manifested, the soul transplant procedure hadn't been achieved as the soul had not been placed into another body. The soul containing chamber project was continued in secret by an organization claiming to be trying to create a safe environment for the demons because life in a canister would not be comforting for anyone because these so called demons were humans before anything else and also because demons couldn't survive long outside the chamber.

'Secretly alongside their soul chamber project,these people continued the initial soul transplant project, furthering the experiment by implementing elemental and human tissue healing and regeneration prowess to these new soul that were made and synthesized from a single substrate: King Elvis. Unknown to them the special conditions under which Elvis' soul had been enhanced and coupled with his initial evil personality, he was involved in the formation and development if these new demon populace.

'The final experiment which was body inhibition was first carried out on wandering humans who were abducted. Initially,the procedure resulted in the new soul displacing the original soul from the body. This led to an increase in body devoid soul population. The body inhabited by the new soul could however not last long as the body soon rejects the new soul. The project hit many stand stills till there was no way to further it

'They soon realized the only way to fully combine a different body with a different soul was to make them go through the same process. Only a body that was separated from its soul could serve as a vessel to another soul that has been separated from its body. However, this process grants the soul a close to immortal state as the vessel would never reject the soul and the soul could keep healing the vessel.

'Another revolt occurred when Elvis was placed in a new body. He burnt the organization and led the new demons on a war to purge the earth of humans. The demons kept hostage by the council were Fred but they lacked the abilities which the new demons posses. The war lasted two years with casualties from both sides as the council had been prepared for an attack and the demon souls were rejected by the bodies they occupied.

'Two years after and the war was over and all demons vanished from the surface of the earth.It was rumored that a contract had been created which created a gateway between earth and an alternate plane where the demons could live without fear of dying. This plane, where we are makes us human again. If by chance we venture into the human world, we become like we once were, like demons.'


'Wow. That's a lot to take in. ' Loki mummured.

'I know'Trisha said sighing lightly.

'How come you know so much' Loki finally asked.

Trisha hesitated a little then continued. 'My grandfather. He was part of the council. He had these journals and handwritten articles in his study. All of which I read. '

'You said something earlier. ' Loki said,staring at his outstretched palm with a serious gaze. 'If the chamber made demons have the physical properties of a normal human in the human world, how would you differentiate a demon inside the chamber and a human inside the same chamber?'

Godwinfury:
iamlordroman, what you are doing isn't good ooo, how come you haven't update since last month?

I'm sorry, boss. I got caught up in a lot of things

Aiit Boss, keep it coming...

Following earnestly

'I'm not entirely sure.' Trisha replied in all honesty. 'I've never really given it much thought. ' She paused then look at Loki's face. 'You don't think that you're a demon now,do you?. '

'It's not impossible and I just wanna be sure that I am really back. ' Loki said, his countenance showing that he was somehow in doubt of the nature of his own body.

'If you were one, I would know. ' Trisha smiled at him then added.? 'Besides, your body has been in that chair you woke up in since it arrived our world years ago. The people literally worshipped it. Your consciousness just arrived in it. So, definitely your soul is what just joined us. But if you ever feel uneasy, feel free to consult our oracle at the top of the highest mountain. '

'Top of the highest mountain!' Loki exclaimed. 'You've got to be kidding me. I just got my body back and you expect me to waste my second shot at life climbing up a mountain peak. No, thank you very much. '

'No. That journey isn't just for anyone. It's for people determined to make a difference, people ready to make a difference through spiritual enlightenment. But, the thing is everyone that goes there is never the same anymore, the ones that return that is. A thief climbs up the mountain and returns a changed man, content with whatever he has or is given, never to lay a hand on what belongs to another person.

'A prostitute climbs up and a modest woman returns, virtuous and pious like she had never been touched by a man. Some never return, deciding to stay up there as apostles of the oracle.'

'This Oracle.' Loki asked after digesting Trisha's words. 'They have all the answers?'

'I've never been there but I've seen what they are capable of with my own two eyes.'

Trisha and Loki walked in silence as the toured the little village, going past the bridge of unity- which as Trisha said was built by every member of the community, the tower of plunder which was basically a pile of weapons that was the sign the villagers sprung up to signify that fighting was disallowed amongst themselves. Time passed and it was sunset and they both decided to round it all up and return to Trisha's place. It was on the way back that Loki decided to ask a question that had been bothering him since he had arrived this strange new world.

'How do I get home.' Loki asked.

There was silence from Trisha and Loki decided to ask again. 'How do I go home to my friends. Is there a path or something that leads to my world?'


'This is unbelievable.' Trisha said under her breathe. 'Wait,were you looking around the whole time we walked? You couldn't see the people? The state they are in? We all need you. We were promised a saviour and then you came around. But the only thing you can think of is going home? Someway, somehow, I believe in the oracle's words when they said we would get a saviour. The saviour arrived but I don't think you're what the people think you are. '

'Slow down. I didn't ask to be here. I lost my body years ago. I've been living as a ghost for most of my life. You don't know how much pain it has brought me, being unable to eat,sleep or communicate directly with my friends. And now,now that I've got my body back you expect me to throw it away by getting in some fight that has been on for ages before I was ever born?' Loki lashed out. 'I feel the pain of the people. Being oppressed by a tyrant who dictates how the people eat,how they sleep and their every action. It's a bad thing for anyone to go through but in all honesty it is none of my business. Sometimes, we just have to let things be the way they are. Everyone cannot be saved. The only thing I can do is to take a few of you along with me when I go back to my own world. '

'You're right.' Trisha said,wiping her tears. 'I'm wrong to have expected anything from you. You're not a warrior or anything and all you want to do is go home. And besides, the war has been lost- all our soldiers dead.'

Loki couldn't say anything,he just nodded- happy he would finally be able to go home.

'There is a gate. It opens on its own accord. Sometimes,it is once in a month. Sometimes it doesn't open in years. Every time it opens, it coincides with an event in the human world. It's like those events in the human world trigger breaches that opens the door in between the two worlds.'

'This gate.' Loki asked, relieved. 'Where do I find it. '

'It lies at Hedge lake city.' Trisha said mirtlessly.

'Where is this Hedge Lake City? ' Loki asked filled with hope.

'it's North of here.' Trisha said then stopped abruptly,almost hitting Loki who was walking in front of her and had stopped before she did. 'What... '

'Is there a Bon fire festival tonight? ' Loki asked,shocked at the amount of smoke and fire he could see in the distance.

'It can't be!' Trisha cried out, alarmed as she took to her heels,running as far as her legs would carry her.

'What's going on?' Loki screamed out as he instinctively ran after Trisha. He ran after her, knowing in his mind that something was wrong. Something bad had happened. He would later find out that he was the cause of this bad happening.

.

As Trisha got closer to her house, she realized it had been set ablaze alongside some nearby houses. She looked around trying to find an explanation for what had happened but deep in her heart she knew what had happened. She knew it was only a matter of time before the Demon king would find her house and send his soldiers to rough her up or forcibly take her newest possession,Loki.

The burning buildings got closer as time passed while she ran. Trisha saw some of the soldiers setting some other buildings ablaze. Some were hurting other people around. She saw Hogan and Julian trying to fight back but they were being overwhelmed by the sheer number of sword wielding soldiers.


Her battle instincts took over and in no time, she had pulled out a dagger from underneath her cloak and had proceeded to engage the nearest soldier in sword fight. Parrying strikes and dodging slashes as she weaved her way through the crowd of fighters, only attacking them when necessary.

Meanwhile, Loki stood as if in trance. Almost petrified by the grace with which Trisha comported herself in the face of battle was he that he didn't realize until it was too late, the soldier that had come close to him brandishing a broad sword.

At the last moment, Loki raised his right arm to shield himself from receiving any fatal blow. To both his and the assailant's surprise, the sword broke in two on coming in contact with Loki's hand. Both attacked and assailant stared,momentarily at each other, dazed about the event that just occurred until they realized they were enemies and went back to attacking each other.

The soldier had tried to attack Loki first but luckily, Loki's seemed to be faster and his fist connected with his opponent's jaw in a friction of skin grinding against bone. Something strange happened after Loki's fist connected with his opponent's face which caused the other participants on both sides of the skirmish to pause and look backwards at what had happened.

Loki's punch had sent the soldier flying a long way into a small house and the force from the punch was so great, it caused the house to collapse after the soldier was smashed in to it.

Even Loki himself couldn't believe what he had seen and he kept on staring at his hand. The momentary shock had however been overcome by the soldiers and soon enough, a few of them crowded after Loki. His heart was caught in his mouth as he ducked under the blade of yet another soldier. There were too many of them and the fight wasn't going to end if he simply dodged and weaved the attacks from the soldier. Loki soon realized this and decided to fight back.

He grabbed one of the soldiers by the wrist as said soldier had raised his hand and tried to cut him. The next soldier got an elbow to the jaw and before the third soldier could hoist his sword high enough to strike a blow,Loki spun on one heel and tossed the first soldier into the third. This simple action would have just collided a soldier with another, causing both to fall but for unknown reasons the two soldier were sent a few feet away from where Loki stood.

The next few attacks from the soldiers were rapid and coordinated,such that Loki wasn't able to avoid most of them. But to his utmost surprise, the blade of their swords didn't cut him when they hit. They felt like being hit with wooden swords. The heat of battle prevented him from thinking about how it was that he wasn't permeable to the blows struck by the soldiers. Hell, he felt good from all the adrenaline rush.

'What happened here? ' Loki called out to Hogan who has just finished smashing the head a soldier with a huge mallet which he carried with both hands.

'The king wants your head, young lad.' Julian said as he spun behind Loki, his back against his while the turned round in this fashion to prevent any enemy from slipoybehind them.

'Then let's give it to him' Hogan yelled back, not sparing a look at Loki's as he kept on swinging his mallet into the attacking soldiers, his muscle twisting to the rhythm of battle.

'You can't seriously be considering that option'Loki said as he parried yet another sword swing with his bare hand and rewarded the attacking soldier with a punch that raised him high into the air.

'I am. ' Hogan said with labored breathe as he smashed a soldier to the floor like he was chopping wood with an axe. 'Where's Trisha. '

'I saw her run into the house. ' Loki replied,grunting as he found the exhilarating thrill of battle to be an exciting experience.

'I'll go and get her.' Julian said, leaving Loki's back and hurrying to go to Trisha's hut.

'Looks like its me and you now, skinny. ' Hogan said as he took Julian's spot behind Loki. 'How do you want to go down. Huh? Crying for help or with a battle cry? '

Loki stood behind Hogan who had his mallet in both hands while he held a sword which he picked off from a dead soldier.

'Screw it. ' Loki said. 'I'm not dying here. 'Then he burst into a loud frenzied cry as he began hacking the soldiers as they came around him.

'That's more like it. ' Hogan said with an intoxicated laughter and he again descended upon the soldiers with his great hammer.

---

'Trisha. Trisha. ' Julian called as he entered the house.

'You won't take me alive. ' Trisha scream as she appeared from within the shadows,about to stab Julian with a dagger.

Julian caught her arm by the rest and whispered into her ears slowly. 'I'm not here to hurt you.'

'It's you.' Trisha said with a sigh of relief.

'What are you doing in here?' Julian asked. 'We should be helping outside or at least escaping. '

'I came back for this.' Trisha said,flashing a small box in front of her before she put in a make shift bag which she hung over her shoulder.

'What's in there? ' Julian asked slowly.

'A lot. Maps,schematics and some things to guide us in getting Loki back to the other side.' Trisha said then looked up at Julian. 'Why do you ask? '

'It doesn't have to end like this.' Julian changed the subject. 'If we defy the king, we'll end up dead just like everyone we know. Let's escape,you and I. We'll go east to the land of plenty. We'll never be found. We could sneak out the back right now.'

'Julian. Stop with the nonsense.' Trisha yelled. 'Even if we don't go against the king, he would still kill us to satisfy his madness. '

'Then you leave me no options then.'
Julian said as he brought out a glass jar, the size of a pinky. He broke the glass in front of Trisha's face and in an instant,blue vapour entered into her nostrils.

'What are you doing. Julian... ' Trisha's voice trailed off as she slowly passed out.

So Loki is now sort of invincible enh? Iamlordroman, keep it coming, thumbs up.

'They're retreating!' Loki heard Hogan say from behind him but that didn't stop him from smacking the soldier in front of him with the back of his hand.

'We managed to drive them away.' Hogan cried out in joy again.

'Maybe they were scared away by your aweful looking face.' Loki said under his breath,then loudly he said. 'Is it normal for them to just abandon the village and all the plunder? '

'They must have been scared of my hammer of the gods.' Hogan boasted.

'Or maybe they got what they came here for. ' Loki suggested.

'Where's Trisha?' Hogan asked.

'Julian went after her a while back. ' Loki replied, not giving much thought to it.

'You drove the King's soldiers away.' A man who came out of one of the collapsed tatch house said.

'Just who are you? ' Another man asked.

'He came from the other world' A third man who was amongst the people that had witnessed Loki
arrive shouted out causing an uproar amongst the people who didn't hesitate in starting arguments concerning whether or not the presence of the man of prophesy meant that they would soon be free of the hold of the demon king or maybe the gods were just mocking them.

Loki decided to ignore the arguing villager and decided to go after Hogan to check up on Trisha. He entered the hut only to find Hogan tearing the place apart. It didn't take him long to figure out that Trisha had been abducted. But, where was Julian? He kept asking himself.

'Maybe she escaped.' Hogan yelled furiously. 'You said Julian came after her. Maybe they escaped before the soldiers could get them.'

Loki knew otherwise. Trisha cared too much about people to flee on her own. She was someone that would have fought to the death alongside her comrade than run away on her own.

'They have her. ' Loki said.

'It's not possible.' Hogan blurted out. 'She's smarter than that, she's a good warrior. '

'No.' Loki inhaled deeply. 'They have her. '

'OK. OK. All is not lost. If they captured her, it means they want something from her and she's probably alive. ' Hogan mumbled trying to keep himself together. 'If she's captured then we can go get her.'

'How do you plan on doing that?' Loki asked, not picturing himself in the rescue party.

'We invade their forte stealthily, you attack the soldiers to distract them while I secure Trisha and escape with her. Then you do your 'saviour' thing and miracle your way out of their. '

'Slow down. ' Loki said. 'Those raiding soldiers were alot to deal with on their own, now you're saying we attack them where they are at their strongest? Just you and I? I don't think so. '

'In case you didn't notice, their are people willing to take up arms against the demon king after the raid.' Hogan said and beckoned on Loki to follow him as he walked out of the Hut.

Once outside, Hogan took an high place on top of a wooden table.
'Listen people. He yelled. 'The demon king's soldiers broke the peace arrangement to never harm us if we do not rebel. What is our guarantee that they won't do it again? But if you would be so brave as to pick up your weapons once again. Under my command and with the guidance of saviour of our world, we can teach those filthy dogs to mess with us.'

Most of the men that were not old were drunks or had lost the will to fight. Hogan's speech was not enough to make everyone go against the demon king. But Loki's presence seemed to make a few of the people willing to take up arms. Some just wanted to observe him while some just want to be remembered as one of those who walked with the saviour.

--


In the end, only six people agreed to follow Hogan. There were four ladies and two men. One of the men had one eye while the other had only three fingers in his left hand. One of the ladies was brooding with a bitter look on her face and a bow cluched firmly in one hand. The second lady couldn't stop fanning herself with a small handgun which she held in one hand. The third lady kept on tripping on her dress and the fourth was all over Loki, trying to seduce him.

'You can't possibly mean that this is the army you want to storm the soldiers forte with?' Loki rolled his eyes as he asked Hogan.

'Anything will do, as long as we have people with us. ' Hogan said confidently. He picked up a battle axe from something that could be called an inventory and handling the axe in his hand while Loki stared like an audience enchanted by the artist's performance.'

At sunrise, Hogan, Loki and the six villagers had begun their journey towards the soldiers' forte. It was a twelve hours walk but it lasted longer as the ladies,mostly had to stop to rest and Hogan who surprisingly was a gentleman,complied with the request of the accompanying lady with the least amount of hesitation.

By sun down they were in a clearing on a hill overlying the soldiers' forte. It was large wooden structure with stables and pens. There were large water reservoirs and barns where some tubers and hay were kept. Four towers stood at the four sides of the wooden structure serving as watch post for in coming attacks,a guard was in each of them. Some of the wooden structures were shaped such that they were like cages. About six people we're in these cages and they all appeared to be starving and treated like slaves.

Spiked pallings surrounded a large amount of the area and there were many tents lying between the pallings and the centre building in all directions. There was two ways through the wooden wall,an east entrance and a west entrance. Both entrances were guarded by two armed men on either side on either side. The whole forte was well guarded like they were keeping a secret weapon kept in there.

'Here we are.' The one eyed man said.

'Okay. They'll be holding any important prisoners inside that building.' Hogan pointed at the building in the center. 'You all should attack them from the east, create a distraction while me and left eye over here attack from the west when they all abandon the gate to protect the eastern one. Then we get Trisha and fall back.'

'Hold up,Einstein.' Loki cut in immediately. 'You would be sending us to an early grave.

'What's an Einstein? Is that an insultive word from where you come from or something?' Hogan asked,partly confused.

'Oh, no.' Loki sighed. 'Einstein was a very smart and intelligent guy. A genius to be exact. '

'Cool.' Hogan replied. 'That means my plan is excellent then.'

'No, No. Your plan is anything but excellent. I wasn't comparing you to Einstein' Loki explained.

'Then what's the point of referring to me as Einstein, a smart genius, if not to commend me for a work of genius.'

'I didn't mean to praise you. Ah! It was just sarcasm.' Loki cried out.

'Oh. I know what sacarsm is.' The lady with the fan cried out.

'Tell him!' Loki exclaimed,pointing both hands at Hogan.

'It's when you say the opposite of what you meant to say. ' Fan lady said and when she saw the smile on Loki's face, she added. 'I don't look it but I do some light reading. '

'Ah-ah! ' Hogan exclaimed like he just discovered the key to cold fusion. 'Like when you said my plan was anything but excellent. You really meant it was excellent and being sarcastic,you said the opposite of that. I get sarcasm now.'

'Aaargh!' Loki growled like he was bitten by a wild dog. 'This is pointless. Look at those towers. They can easily take us out with long range weapons, arrows.'

Hogan and the others just stared at Loki like he was speaking a foreign language.

'Can't you see their numbers? They are more than the ones that attacked the village. And who knows what sort of weapons they have hidden in that large forte of theirs.' Loki added.

'Alright. You come up with the plans then. Hogan said.

'Let's start with... ' Loki started but was cut off by the lady that had been eyeing him since they set out from the village.

'Might I be bold as to make a suggestion?' She asked and Loki just nodded, obviously pained that he was interrupted. 'I would say we add freeing those prisoners to our plans.'

'Is that all? ' Loki asked. He hadn't even considered freeing the prisoners. He wasn't here for them. Just for Trisha,so she can take him to the gate that leads to his home.

'Lets start with sneaking into their compound and setting their food and hay on fire. Once they are distracted, we free the slave.'
The slaves would increase their man power and give them a fighting advantage, Loki thought as he said.
'The escaped salves will give the soldiers busy while we climb easily up the forte and invade the inside to rescue Trisha without encountering any skirmish. Understood?'

'That doesn't sound like a bad idea,einstein.' Hagan said with a short laugh. 'But how do we get inside if both gates are guarded at all time?'

'We could climb up the walls from either side what has no gate or man guarding it.' The one eyed man said.

'What about the men in the towers?' The lady that kept on tripping on herself said. 'They could see us climbing and raise an alarm.'

'Or worse, take us out with arrows.' The man with missing finger added. 'Not that I mind dying, but we're out to rescue someone. If we died,it would be a death sentence not a rescue mission.'

Loki palmed his face in one hand. He hadn't been thinking anout the archers in the towers. They could just take them out in one or two shots,or even raise an alarm then it would be the whole forte against them.

'I'll take the towers.' The lady with the bow said and turned her back on them as she walked away. 'we wait till midnight when most of the men are asleep.

'Ah. She speaks.' The man with missing fingers said.
The lady with the bow just had to look back at him and he almost pee'd his pants. 'She's scary.' He remarked.

At midnight,Loki himself felt sleepy but the anxiety of what they were about to do and the adrenaline pumping through his veins kept him awake. He slapped himself in the face twice as he watched left eye and three fingers crawl across the dirt over ro the side of the wooden pallings that served as a wall.

Loki and the others followed suit once they were given the 'ok' by the two guys them preceeded them. They the locked there hands ti support who ever was going to climb up thr wall. Loki was the first to cross over the wall. He took deep breathes to stabilize his thumping heart and was a little bit startled when the others started dropping beside him. Hogan threw a rope over the wall so the two men left at the other side were able to hoist themselves over.

Giving each other knowing looks,the six invaders split themselves into three teams of two. The lady with the bow alongside the tripping lady walked towards one edge of the compound waiting for the signal from the others. The funny that had been eyeing Loki accompanied the lady with the fan to the cage where the slaves were being kept. The man with one eye and the one missing some fingers went towards the soldiers' food stack with sticks,some rags qnd two stones.

The one eyed man signalled his partner to strike start the fire after setting the dry twigs and rags in the right place. The other man showed he wasn't justs missing a few fingers as he gave a grin revealing he was missing most of his teeth after he was unabke to create a spark after one too many tries. Left eye snatched the rocks from his hands in disqusted and in two tries,sparks flew from the ricks in his hands and landed on the sticks whixh he set on the floor. But there was just one problem,there was no fire,only smoke.

This was bad,the smoke would wqke the sleeping soldiers ane they would be killed before they could evem start thier operation. He had ruined the plan,the one eyed man thought as he panicked. The man missing his fingers signalled to him to calm down that they could still make the fire. Tgey both huddled over the emerging smoke and started blowing as hard as they could.

------

The two ladies scurried after one an other as the weaved silently through the darkness,making their wqy through to where the prisoners were kept caged. Once they got there,the lady with the woman kept on fanning herself as fast as she could. Sweat trickled down her face as she perspired nervously.

'Shh. Shh.' The other lady hushed the prisoners as they were about to start screaming to be saved. 'We are here to save you.'

'The Oracle sent you?' One of the men asked.

'You could say that.' She replied.

'I knew it.' The prisoner esclaimed. 'I never stopped praying'

The two ladies worked tirelessly trying to cut the ropes keeping the cage locked.

---

The lady took stance at one edge of the compound with one foot in front of the other. She held her bow in one hand and took a deep breathe after saying a little prayer. The other lady tripped and fell into the lady with the bow as she came along with a quiver of arrows. The lady with the bow helped her paryner up and gave her a reassuring nod.

She picked up an arrow and armed her bow. She drew the arrow and took aim at the closest tower waiting for the signal. The signal was going to be loud enough it would wake the soldiers up so she didn't need to listen for any signal,just wait for the soldiers in the watch towers to wake up and then she can take them out.

-

Loki and Hogan hid behind some barrels,staying as low as possible so that any soldier that might be awake wouldn't notice them. With hearts pounding like a thousand waterfalls,Loki and Hogan waited with comparable impatience for the signal.

'Come on. Come on. Come on.' Loki muttered under his breathe.

'What if they chickened out and ran away?' Hogan suddenly asked. 'We could wait all night and we wouldn't get any signal.'

'Just keep it together will you. Trust the plan and your comrades.' Loki adviced.

'It's been a minute and no signal,maybe i'll go light the fire myself.' Hogan almost yelled.

The big brute was about to stand up when the bright light shone from the far end of the compound. The fire soon started spreading around and both Loki and Hogan could hear the soliders panic as the woke up.

Bells were ringing,alerting the soldiers of the fire that was consuming their food and supplies. The soldiers sprung up from bed,some half naked, to carry buckets of water to fouse the flames.

'The slaves. The slaves are escaping.' Someones screamed.

Again,the camp burst into confusion as the soldiers didn't know whether to focus on dousing the flames or to recaoture the slaves.

'Douse the flames. It's spreading over to the barns and pens!'

'Catch those slaves. Who's gonna do all the heavt lifting and dirty works if they are gone.'

The soldiers' camp was filled with a cacophony of different soumds an actions,the slaves fighting the soldiers who tried to stop them.

'Fight the soldiers. We can take the camp.' Loki heard one of the slaves scream. The slaves all screamed in unison and in no time,they had picked up weapon and had started fighting against their captors.

This made Hogan happy. The battle hungry man was about to stand up when Loki grabbed him.

'Where do you think you're going?' Loki almost screamed. 'The plan remember?'

'Yeah. The plan.' Hogan repeatef.

A couple soldiers being chased by some slaves ran passed Hogan and Loki but they both stood still,waiting for their own signals. They got it when they heard a whistling in the air. The whistling was responded to by the thump of a body that fell off one of the towers. Loki could only think how scary the lady with the bow would look like shooting arrows from as far as she was.

'That's our cue.' Loki said and Hogan nooded.

'Alright!' Hogan said wirh effective theaterics.

In no time,they were both climbing up the soldiers' stronghold. Once in a while they heard footsteps coming down from the top and tgey had to halt their progress lest their posirion was given up.

'This is fun.' Hogan yelled.

'Yes.' Loki replied. 'Until you realise you can die from a fall from this high.'

'Are you afraid to die,skinny?' Hogan asked.

'I just wanna make it back home alive.' Loki yelled back,the noise from the soldier making it difficult for them to hear each other unless they scream. 'I have friends on the otherside. At least a friend i know won't rest till I'm safely back home.'

'So that's all this is about to you. Getting back home?.' Hogan asked, disappointed.

Loki was about to say something but it was knowcked of his mouth by fear as one od the soldiers must have them speaking and had cime to check the source of the noise out. The soldier reared his head up and saw the two of them. He had a torch in one hand and a sword in the other. The soldier reached down and was about to cut off either Loki's hand or Hogan's head when a rude arrow suddnly pieced his neck,puncturing his windpipe.

The soldier dropped both his sword and torch as he held his throat,gasping for air. His fall was scary and Loki had never tjought he would be hapoy to see a man die in his life. Loki looked back and he could see the lady with the bow in the distance. She nodded at him and proceeded with making pin cushions out of the soldiers thay came near her and her partner.

Unfortunately,the torch the soldier dropped had started a fire and the part of the stronghold where they climbed had caught fire and wouldn't last long if they kept climbing. Hogan was the one to make the sacrifise.

'Grab my Axe.' Hogan said as he pullef the large wrapong from where it hung on it's back.

'What do you mean to do?' Loki asked.

'I'm gonna hurl you all the way up.' Hogan laughed.

'You're gonne die from the fall.' Loki said fearfully.

'Not the worst way to go.' Hogan laughed.

'There has to be another way.' Loki bargained.

'There isn't. It's either we both die or you make it.' Hogan explained. 'You're the chosen one. We bothe knew you would out live me. You have a deal if a destiny to fulfull.'

'No. No. No.' Loki said ,almost tearful.

'You've got to save Trisha and get back to your home.' Hogan encouraged.

This seemed to make Loki more complaint although he still felt guilty knowing he would be sacrifising Hogan juat so he could return to his home. If only there was another way.

Loki stopped thinking of another way when the part of the forte where he held onto broke off as it burnt. He grabbed tightly onto the bladded part of Hogan's blade immediate it was lowered by the older man,in an attempt to save him. He would have fallen to his death had Hogan not extended his axe downward. Hogan gripped his axe firmly as it was heavier with Loki's weight.

'It's gonna be a long ride.' Loki joked trying to liven Hogan's mood.

'My man!' Hogan yelled as he jumped off the burning wood and with all his might,swung his axe upwards with both hands sending Loki flying skyward like a rocket heading for space. A few of Loki's tear drops landed on Hogans face. He could only smile,knowing Loki cared about his death. He hadn't known the younger man for long but he knew he had a good heart.

Hogan turned mid air and what he saw down on ground made him smile and he brandished his axe as he went down amidst the burning wood and scaffolding that fell along with him. What better way for a warrior to die than in combat.

Thumbs up Op, have been following this thread since day one. Pls keep it coming.....

The one eyed man,followed closely by his partner with missing fingers and teeth ran towards a couple barrels to hide behind them.

'Who's there?' A soldier who was passing by asked.

Eleven other soldiers joined him in search of who they thought to be slaves. The two hidden men stood up from where they hid,wielding weapons of their own. The soldiers drew their weapon in response to the threat. This wasn't going to be a fair fight but the two partners knew they would win somehow,someway. They had the oracle with them.

The soldiers closed in on them swords brandished, face squeeze in anger and disgust and mind filled with anger and blood lust.

'Aaaaaaaaaargh!'

A loud scream from above got the attention of the twelve soldiers as they looked upward to see burning debris falling down towards them,amidst all the debris was a large man wielding a huge battle axe. The hulk of a man swung his axe downward with all his strength and he and all the debris fell on all dozen soldiers and their was a loud explosion that blasted many structures in the vicinity to oblivion,burning them with angry fired.

The two partners looked at each other,suprised to be alive. The looked at the crater that was caused by the falling debris and the mammoth and the shook their heads,taking a mutual single minute silence to mourn the departure of their comrade before they returned to escaping.

--
Loki crashed into the side of the stronghold,far above the burning parts. He caught a ledge when it became evident he had reach the highest height of Hogan's throw. The remaining climb up the wooden forte was eventless and quite fast. A great dread crept up Loki's heart as he came to realize that the forte was way too high to be just a barrack for the soldiers. Something was going on in there for a lot of soldiers to be present.

On getting to the top,Loki frlt the urge to lie doen and sleep for a whole week. He was exhausted from tge climb and his heart was heavy after he just watched Hogan sacrifise himself. The top of the stronghold was rocky with metallic belts holding structures together. It then dawned on Loki that the whole thing appeared as if though the structure itself was built of black stones and steel,with wood scaffolding all around it. This scaffold had naw caught fire and was burning off the iron tower like a present being unveiled by a sorcerer.

'Now. The world will know.'

Loki looked up to see who had spoken. It was a man in a black coat with steel patterns from one shoulder to the next. His hair was greying on both side of his head and he talked with so much patience and grace one would think he owned thw world.

'Know what?' Loki cried out in rage. His bleeding palms still hurt where he had gripped Hogan's axe.

'What i've spent many decades building.' The man replied.

The top of the stronghold began to shake violently like there was an earthquake. Loki felt a turning in his stomach like he was moving up in an elevator at high speed. Truthfully,the scaffold wraped stronhhold had begun elavting uowards until soon,the wooden parts burnt off completely and the dark tower of rock and steel stood galantly like a finger pointing straight from the surface of the earth into the sky.

'The iron tower.' The man said. 'An exquisite work of art i'ld say if i was to give myself complements.'

'Who are you. What hell is going and where is Trisha.' Loki blurted out,grunting in pain from crashing into the steel tower.

'That's a lot of question to ask someone you haven't introduced yourself to.' The man said with such calm and patience Loki felt he was being mocked. 'What's your name,young lad.'

'I go by Loki.' He grunted. 'Now. Where is Trisha and how the hell did this thing become a tower.'

'Loki? Like the god of mischief. Hmm,truely fascinating. You know,Loki had a brother. Thor. Loki was always overshadowed by his brother's glory and complishment.' The man's slow talking madd it as if time moved at a slower pace whenever he talked. 'Do you have a Thor? Someone you will always play second fiddle to?'

Loki didn't respond to the man's obvious jabs. He only grunted as if in pain.

'Oh. Where are my manners. Allow me to introduce myself.' The man in black started. 'I am Aides,master of steel and keeper of the flaming hearth…'

'So. You're what. A black smith?' Loki cut in unamused.

'I'm many things,my dear child.' Aides started. 'Let me show you.'

The master of steel clapped his hand and before Loki cold blink,metal restraints had materialized from the ground and bound his arms and legs from moving. The restraints then forced him onto a steel chair which he was not there when he arrived.

'I've been waiting for you for a while now. If you don't mind me,i have something I would like to show you.' Aides turned to leave but paused to say something to Loki. 'The lady is safe and she will remain to be so only if you co-operate.'

There was a huge hole in the middle of the tower. An capstan controlled elavator was at on side of the hole. Aides walked into the elevator and with a little hand gesture and the snapping of his fingers,the chair on which Loki was restrained floated onto the elevator beside him and the capstan began to spin making the elevator descend down into the depths.

The descent was long and the man who defied time whenever he spoke had a lot to say.

'Would you believe me if I said I took the lady because i needed a bride?'

Loki almoat rolled his eyes. Did this man take him for a fool.

'Of course you wouldn't. You are no simpleton. You see,she has important documents and maps and contracts. Yes, contracts. Contracts are everything to us demons.' Aides chuckled at the last part,intentionally stressing the word 'demon' to try and strike terror in Loki's heart. Unfortunately,the younger man's heart was carved from steel and he didn't fear easily.'

The elevator stopped at a certain depth. They were still ways from the bottom of the tower but they were well beneathe the surface of the earth. Loki could see the red light deep down from the corner of one eye. It was very hot and Loki had began to sweat. Now,he knew why Aides was keeper of burning hearth.

Loki gasped as the chair holding him disassembled and reassembled around him,folming a body restraint such that he had the metal clasping on every part of his body like a straight jacket.

'You have been co-operative ever since.' Aedis remarked. 'For this,i will give you a chance to ask me three questions which i will answer truthfully.'

The inside of the tower was like a storey building with many different levels and stairs on the walls leading feom one level to the next. There were a lot of soldiers and a prisoners in cages on each level. Loki could sense something different in the prisoners.

'The prisoners. They are humans,aren't they?' Loki asked.

'There goes my little secret.' Aides smiled. 'A war's coming and i've been put in charge of creating an army if parademons for the demon king. It will be an army like none other. An army fit for a king. A horde of parademons.'

'You see,the parademons. How to explain them,huh. Think of them as robots that have had all their programs wiped out.' Aedis chuckled. 'Now this empty vessels can be programmdd with any instruction of our choosing. Ha-ha. Humans have been known to be the most vilest of creature,capable of commiting the greatest acts of malign and vices. It is this primordial will to hurt one another that we harness along with some biological modification from the nanites flowing in the blood of a regular demon.'

'You talk about robots like you know about technology. How come there is no trace of modern civilization in this world. No guns,no cars.' Loki asked,curious despite his situation.

'Technology and all modern weapons and vehicles were outlawed from coming into this world long ago by the king. But,no matter how much you disarm people,they keep on finding ways to start revolts and to rebel.' Aides answered.

'What do you want with me.' Loki asked.

'You. You are well ingrained in the king's plan. You see,your body is quite suitable for the king to live in. It will be the key to win us this war. Now,you have exhausted all three chances to ask questions. Funny you didn't ask where the lady was or how to defeat the king.'

'Where's Trisha' Loki yelled. 'How do we stop the king. What the hell are you trying to do to me.'

'I'm sorry. You exhausted all your questions.' Those were the last words Loki heard begore he passed out. It must have been the heat because his head was ringing loudly and he could feel his own blood boil.
---

When Loki woke up,he was in a strange place with his hands cuffed to a chain overhead. He didn't know where he was but he knew it was cold,unlike in the iron fortress. He looked around,he was alone the the square cage made of stone. The walls had no windows and the floor was cold to his feet. His shoe had been taken off and he was nearly naked except for the pair of trousers he had on.

The light thay pierced his eyes when the door was opened made him realise he had been in the dark all along. A man with white hair and white beards walked in with two people beside him. They stopped a few yards away from Loki and didn't say a word.

'Who are you people.' Loki aaked weary and tired from hunger and fatigue which he just realised was keeping him from moving or screaming loudly.

'As I said the first day we met,I'm Elvis.' The man called Elvis said. He didn't give off the kind of noble air or formality which Aedis had,in fact he felt like an utter savage.

'What do you mean,when we first met.' Loki asked,his head ringing and his body hurting. 'Have we met before? Where are my friends? What happened to the Iron tower?'

'You don't remember?' Elvis asked. 'Well,let me remind you. The group of rebels you lead to the iron tower were killed by my subbordinate Aedis, I also did the honor of sending a raiding party to burn their village. Oh,you don't remember this? You memory must be a little fuzzy. I don't blame you,it's been two years since then.'

'Two years? Two... Years… Tw… Two… Years' Loki muttered as the memory of the past two years came flooding into his mind at once like a movie on fadt forward.

He remembered talking to Aedis then being tossed down into the larva deep beneath the tower. He didn't burn but it hurt like hell. Several attempts he made to climb out of the tower but every time,the metal straps around him would drag him back into the torment of the conflagration down beneathe. A year passed in his torment before he was transported tied ti the back of an horse and dragged across miles before he got to the demon's king lair in the north where he now was.

The torture of the next years followed and all the pains came back like they had freshly been inflincted. He remembered being told that his mind would be worked but he couldn't remember why. Little by little,he was losing bits of his mind. He remebered the pyramids,the water that didn't drown and a lot of other un fathomable events that had a sort of kafkaeque feel to them. Some words he thought of he couldn't even remeber their meanings,the only things that made sense to him were his thoughts and feelings which were becoming non verbal as time went on.

He couldn't remember many things well,didn't know why he was fighting back sometimes. Some times,he would wake up and wouldn't remember where he was,other times he would beg to be killed but no one would grant him his wish. His hands had been tied above his head so he wouldn't try anything as brave as snapping his own neck or strangling himself to death.

As his consciousness faded into the empty abyss of his retarding mind,his lips managed to form the words for the letters that had been roaming about in his head for quite a while now. He couldn't tell if it was a world of prayer or a plea for mercy but he knew each time he breathed the faintest of thought about those letters,he felt a little relieved like help was already on it's way.

'Cha… Charlie.' Loki's mouth muttered as he passed out at what would be the thousandth time in this cold,stony hell.

Hello,guys.
I apologise for my scanty post and lack of posts in a while now.
Just want to inform you that a new phase,the fourth phase of this story is starting on monday,26th of march.
I won't be making any promises but i hope this fourth phase is interesting and worthy of reading.

If we can endure Buhari for 3 years, we shouldd be able to endure this, so take your time bro, we are waiting.

Godwinfury:
If we can endure Buhari for 3 years, we shouldd be able to endure this, so take your time bro, we are waiting.

That's not nice o. Oga Winfery.

Iamlordroman:



That's not nice o. Oga Winfery.

*laughs out loud*, Bro, the hardship he subjected us to isn't nice either, unless u r not staying in Nigeria.

Phase 4

The air was filled with sadness and dread. The heavens refused to stop pouring, beriddling the earth with showers of rain drops. An awkward silence ripped through the whole city like it was devoid of human existence. One could almost feel the fear radiating from alleyways and mainroads,a shiver running down the spine each time a shadow moves in the darkness. A spiritual fanatic would have sworn that the end of days was imminent.

A small bang cried out amidst the ocean of silence as van doors were shut and the men carrying sophisticated weapons slowly walked into the vans as they drove off. There were a dozen vans but only a few of them were being driven. Most of the drivers and soldier were dead,killed by the demonic presences they had come to hunt hitherto.

The military vehicles drove across the wet bumpy road, falling into pot holes and splashing water about every now and then. The spirit of silence which once was,possessed all in the vans as they drove to a singular destination. They had all witnessed firsthand the evils that existed in the world. They had heard of this evil but now was the first time they would be experiencing this much malign and lack of humane feelings.

They finally arrived at their secure location with warehouses the size of airplanes. It was the command center for the exorcism council. Their prisoner,a tall lady in leather skin suit was lead in chains into one of the warehouses. Said lady said not a word,neither did she struggle as she was being taken in.

'What happened.' The interrogator asked as bright light was shone in her eyes. Toni's eyes.

They were both in a small room with a metalic table in between two chairs,both of them sat in one each. A big lamp was on the table shinning bright light in Toni's eyes,her hands cuffed to the table. A two way mirror was on the wall behind the chair where the interrogator sat.

'The onset of our doom. The beginning of the end.' She replied weakly,looking down to prevent the light from blinding her.

'That's not helping.' The interrogator,a man in his late thirties said. 'There were three of you in the house. How did the parademons get there,where are the others?'

'War is on it's way. A streaming cloud of darkness moving stealthily across the world,looming over our heads with every passing moment.' Toni said with a dark look on her face. 'I need to speak with the council. We have to retaliate before it's too late.'

'Bullshit!' The interrogator said,hiting his hands on the table. 'You will face trial and you will be executed. I don't know what you saw out there but i know you violated a lot of our rules and the law is above everyone,you know that well.'

'I do. Just tell the council that the only way to stop all of this is to revert to the ancient method. Parademons cannot be exorcized. You need to kill them.'

'Demons and parademons,you keep saying. They don't pose any threats to us anymore. They were defeated and blocked from ever returning to this side years ago.' Toni's interrogator said furiously. 'You are our greatest problem. You are impulsive and don't care about the rules of the world nor of the council. Hell. You don't even have any personal rules you go by.'

'Do you really believe that? Why then does the council still exist?' Toni asked,disappointed in the older man. 'Baring further insults, i would like to remind you that you were my teacher. You taught me everything I know about these demons and now you're trying to tell me you dont believe they are a threat to humanity.'

'All I taught you was nonesense. The demons are sealed off in another world. The ones that remain here are not enough to cause a global catastrophe.'

'Keep saying it just like that and the demon king might just spare your life when he takes over the whole world saying you were the greatest agent of his machinations. You left the world defenseless against his invasion.' Toni said,staring daggers at her teacher.

'They are charging you of deserting your post, misapproriation of the council property and multiple counts of murder and violation of the code against dark exorcism. You're going to be obliviated.' Toni's teacher said in a low tone. 'Look. The only way you will be surviving this is maybe an insanity plea.'

'So. Now,you want to help me? In exchange for what. Me, telling you where my friends are.' Toni said,heaving a sigh. 'What makes you think I would tell you where they are even if I knew.'

'Because that's the only way you are ever going to avoid your name being wiped out of the pages of history.' The interrogating teacher said. 'You'll be taken away from the world,every evidence of your existence removed. And your family,your friends and everyone you care about. Everyone that cares about you or knew you in one way or the other will be left to wonder if you really did exist or you were just a figment of their imagination.'

Toni leaned forward in her chair and stared at her teacher despite the bling light and said in the most calmest tone. 'Go to hell.'

'No. Your uptight ass is going to hell.' The older man replied right after knocking her out with a blow to the temple.

---

Rock music played lowly and the air was filled with the smell of barbeque and burning wood. It was a hillside motel. Everything,from the sign board to the roofing sheets and all the vehicles in the parking lot, was on fire. A few people tried to escape the blaze,falling down helplessly after being burnt too much to walk. Some were trapped inside and killed by smoke even before the flames got to them.

Dried leaves crunched under black boots as the ochestrator of all the destruction walked to one edge of the inn. With one hand raised upward,light flashed on his fire engulfed face as he tapped the camera button on his cell phone.

'Nice!' He cried out. 'And another one bites the dust'

The man turned to walk away but he suddenly stopped and jerked his head backwards. 'Come on. It's just for instagram… I've gotten you more likes and followers in the past few day than you have gotten in five years.'

He paused again,as if speaking to an imaginary person. 'What do you mean it's not right that i kill these people… Every man has a purpose. Mine is simply that. Burn everything to the ground.'

The flames covering the man's slowly faded,revealing the countenance of a man irritated beyond imagination. Ridwan walked like an angry kid towards his BMW and set for a silent cruise across the empty highway,fuming angrily. His vehicle seemed to agree with him as it grumbled like a wounded beast.

A few miles later,he took a turn into the woods and after making sure no one passing through would notice the vehicle,he pulled up underneathe a tree. He rolled up all the windows and locked the doors. He turned on the heater and cigarette lighter. He tied his hands to the steering wheel and revved the car hard.

Slowly but surely,the inside of the car began filling with smoke causing the windows to take on a misty appearance. Ridwan was beginning to choke on the smoke,suffocating.

The scenery morphed and changed to reveal Ridwan standing in a different place from the car. There was no ropes tying his hands neither was there any smoke trying to suffocate him. Ridwan didn't seem fazed by this development. He seemed to be familiar with the terrain as he made his was deeper into the darkness.

The sky was starless and the darkness stretched beyond the far end of possible sight and with each step Ridwan took, there was a resonating echo like he was walking in a cave. Water had begun creeping up in this dark place and Ridwan was knee deep in the water when he met the person he had sought after. His face was masked with fire.

'Hey. Flame brains.' Ridwan called out. 'I see you haven't changed your hang out spot'

The burning man turned to face Ridwan,hands folded in front of him as the water climbed up his black robes.

'When I possessed you. I never thought you would take the coward's way out. Suicide. Really?'

'You left me no option.' Ridwan replied. 'You just went on butchering people like the end of days. You're no angel of death.'

'I might not be an angel of death but i do know you're not meant to die in a car in the middle of no where. Your destiny is far greater than that. Your will,strong enough to resist possession.'

'What's that about possession.' Ridwan asked,confused.

'I was going to possess you.' The burning man began,tge paused. 'You don't remember….'

The only reply he got was a nod in the negative from Ridwan.

'I was going to break your mind,destroy your soul and claim your body as demons have always done. I couldn't. So, I had to make a deal.'

'What deal.' Ridwan asked.

'Your stubborness and affection for the lady in white dress kept me from breaking your mind. Apparently,my soul won't last long without a body and i began to disintegrate almost immediately as my attempts were thwarted. So,i made a deal to share your body with you. And that's what created this plane where we stand. You and I.'

The lady in the white dress was all Ridwan could think of. He could remember the first day he met her. It was his second year in college. She was a freshman and had come to the welcome party in a white dress. Some seniors had tried to prank her as was the normal ritual in college. The prank was going too far south when Ridwan decided to intervene,only to see her beat up the lady seniors.

Ridwan introduced himself as her would be helper after she flipped him over when he moved too close to her. He found out her name was Toni and ever since then he held her in high esteem and had almost always wanted to be in her company. Years later, it was in her house the path that lead him to this current madness had started.

'This plane?' Ridwan. 'What does that mean? Are we flying in some military bird. If so,we're about to crash because there's just too much water.'

The burning man palm is face in disappointment. His hands didn't appear to get burnt from the flame enshrouding his face.

'So,you're even dumber than you look.'

'Don't play games with me.' Ridwan said.

The water had gotten a little above waist level and Ridwan had to part his legs wider to prevent the flowing water from knocking him off his feet.

'This plane of existence is only present in your mind. It's the only way to keep two souls in a body.' The burning man said,climbing up a staircase that rised above the water. His robes were dry.

'I don't understand.' Ridwan said.

'Normally,for a demon possession to work,the human soul and mind have to be destroyed so the demon can reign supreme. But,both our souls remained unmarred. In thousands of years,there has never been a case of an human soul rejecting a demon. But,it was probable. The Grandmasters deduced it was possible. Possession is a fight between two souls; any of them could win. But usually humans are terrified of unnatural occurences like hearing voices in there head or seeing shadowy apparitions manifest from nothing and they're defeated by their own panic. They get defeated before they even get a chance to fight back.'

'Damn. You talk too much, I know a guy that talk as much as you do but i'll he's a little less annoying than you are.' Ridwan remarked.

'You fought back and would have won.' The flame headed man had his hands to his chin now,and was walking in circles. The water had climbed up to Ridwan's chest and the pressure was putting a strain on his breathing.
'You were at the verge of winning when i cut a deal with you. You knew about demons and you had the resolve to fight one along with extreme affections. And now,we're like roommates in an apartment.'

'More like you're squatting in my apartment. You're in my body,remember?'

Ridwan was yelling,the pressure on his chest has increased as the water was touching his chin. He spread his legs and hands rhythmically,holding himself in place in the water that was fast getting deeper.

'What the hell is this water coming from.'

'It appears to be what your mind pictures as dying.' The burning man said. 'You're actually dying in reality. The mental plane is just prolonging your existence.'

'Help me out of here,will you.' Ridwan yelled.

'I'm afraid my hands are tied.' The burning man said,displaying his hands to reveal rooes tied to them like the one Ridwan used to tied himself to the steering wheel.

'I really am screwed. Aren't I.' Ridwan wheezed,finding it increasingly hard to breathe. 'I'm going to die.'

'No. You aren't.'

'Come again.' He implored. But when he didn't get a response,he decided to repeat his earlier statement. 'I said i'm here to submit to the demon king's will'

No. You are not' The woman answered,she must have been a hundred years but that wasn't a problem as every demons were at least a thousand years old.

'At least,not yet.' She continued. 'You're here to do anything you can to preserve that lady's life.'

Horlah couldn't lie. He had been caught before his schemings could even begin. He thought of the times he had got to apend with Sia. What they had,what they could have had. They had such promise for a good relationship and he had jeopardised it before it even started. That was his curse- everything he tried to do was usually truncatwd before it even began.

He looked around the room. It was poorly illuminated cave with a little bit of moon light shining down from a hole at the top of the cave. Pointy stalactites that threatened to fall and impale anyone to death at any single moment replaced chandeliers in the roof of the cave.

Here and there were angry looking stalagmite poles. The old wan sat on an elevated surface beside a throne that was surrounded by a tight formation of the upward pointing spikes. The throne itself was another elevated like a piece of a drama stage podium which was higher than the other parts of the cinema. It had the spikes arranged on all sides except the ones facing him.

'Yes. I've come in search of a way to let her live.' Horlah. 'I would do anything. I would serve the demon king to the best of my abilities.'

The old lady gave a short girly laugh and clapped her hands enthusiastically. Then,suddenly the enthusiasm and welcoming smile she had on her face disappeared as she suddenly got serious. Horlah could feel his stomach churn in fear.

'What makes you think pledging your allegiance to the demon king would make him accept your request. A request of that magnitude. A request of life and death.' She asked with a grim stare.

'I'm important to him.' Horlah unbuttoned brandedhis shirt to show his chest. 'Look. He marked me!'

'Because you were stupid enough to trade your body for a dead lady's life.' she shook her head. 'She's dead again. And,now you want to trade your soul. Just how low can you stoop, young man.'

Castiel pulled down the curtains,successfully covering the windows. He turned around to the inside of the room and walk towards where Charlie sat.

'How's your leg.' Castiel asked with a little bit of mockery in his tone.

'How are my legs?' Charlies rolled his eyes. 'You made me jump out of a sky scraper.'

'It wasn't that high up.' Castiel corrected.

'It sure felt like it was. Besides,i'm in my own body and you're in someone else's. You don't care what happens to the poor body.'

Castiel ignored him and switched on the television before sitting on a couch. They had lodged at an hotel after narrowly escaping Cass and his old parademon horde.

'You still haven't said anything about those para… demons?' Charlie asked. As politely as he could get.

'Every noble is given a horde to train. There could be a dozen or more.' Castiel started. 'They are trained as mindless killers who obey every single command they are given. The only thing they are good for is killing.'

'That's not a good hobby.' Charlie shook his head.

'Of course, I didn't like the idea. So,i went ahead and raised my horde as family. Teaching them a lot about strategies,tactics,our culture and so on.' Castiel said,almost regretful.

'Everyone else treated them like pieces of shit but you took them in as family. Why then do they want to kill you?'

'I broke my vow.' Castiel replied

'What vow?' Charlie asked.

'I promised to never leave them. Wherever i go,i had to take them. But...' Castiel stopped to get air. ''When I was exiled, I wasn't allowed to take any belongings and I had to leave them behind.'

'That's tough. But you said they were smart,aren't they supposed to understand that you would have taken them along if you could.' Charlie reasoned.

'You don't understand. I had a choice. I could have brought them along but that would seal my chance of ever returning to our world.'

'Theae parademons. They are just like you. How come you get to keep them as property.' Charlie's question came out like it had been bothering him for quite a while.

'They aren't demons. Every body needs a soul or mind in its optimum condition. A demon's essence breaks the mind and soul,taiting it so much the body cannot differentiate if it was a demon or human. Their minds are torn to shreds and they are unable to feel compassion or empathy. The only thing they understand is killing and voice of their commander.' Castiel said,a dark cloud of guilty floating over him as he narrated.

'Demons don't have bodies. Don't tell me…' Charlie said,not wanting to assume the worse.

'It is as you think.' Castiel replied.

'How do the demons get ahold of human bodies.' Charlie asked.

Castiel wasn't listening. His attention had been caught by something on the TV. He picked up the remote control and raised the volume. Charlie looked from Castiel's transfixed face to the television set.

'Arson in county inn' the headline read while the reporter was standing in front of what looked to be the ruins of an inn still burning after almost all the structures were gone.

'The holocaust.' Charlie remarked.

'It has happened. Again.' Castiel said in a low voice, affirming Charlie's worst fears.

-------
Tap! Tap! Tap! His footsteps echoed as he descended the long flight of steps. Finally,he got to the bottom of the tower. It was a pit,infinitely deep and filled with boiling lava that spat out hot burbles like boiling soup.

There was an extensive field around where the spiral staircase stopped. The field spread wide across like a stadium,only it was underground. The staircase overhung the pool of lava which was at the centre of the stadium,spiralling upward into the midnight moon,giving the place the look of a bottomless pit when viewed from above.

Instead of rows of seats all around this stadium,there were rows and rows of humanoid form all standing with eyes closed,their hands brandishing steel weapons and their body encased in armoe of the same material.

'Sleep well,my kids. For, at the next full moon, I shall call upon your might to do what you do best. I shall call on you to kill.' Aides said and threw some herbs into the lava. The boiling flame glowed a green color and sent a wave of the same color across the field, giving the horde of parademons a terrifying look with muscles sinew and angrily twisted faces.