Persephone
Moriah
This demon called Anton, I remember him. In order not to scare me, he disguised himself as a human.
“Anton,” I called him by name, and he made a priceless face when he heard it. That makes me laugh so hard that I can hardly stand up. The demon reached down and put his forehead on the floor, singing “My lady.” I was waiting to see what he would do, but he remained in the same position.
“Get up, Anton, do you know? I remember you, and I know that face is not yours.” He surprised, obeyed me and nervously told me, “My lady, I don't mean to scare you with my true form. I understand how sensitive you are, and from my experience, I have to tell you that you would not like to see it.”
Poor devil, “I know, before, it was all new, but after seeing my husband and the dragon demon, I think you are child's play.” The demon blushed as if that was possible.
“My lady, as you wish,” He shook his head and his true face appeared. Oh! OK, He warned me, and I didn’t listen. But this would be my new life, and I would have to get used to these kinds of visions.
So in a nonchalant voice, I said, “You're not so bad,” And I dare to fake a smile. It looks like I made his day with this comment because he gave me a giant smile, and it really was huge. His mouth almost reached from one ear to the other. Phew! I removed this image from my head, and better, I decided to bring up the subject of the ceremony or rite. Or whatever they call it.
Now tell me, Anton, what do you want me to do?” The demon put his hands together and said, “My lady, I want to tell you something crucial.” His seriousness in saying this put me on guard, but I let him continue.
“I know you are not used to many things, but what you will go through in a few moments may shock you. For what I advised you, keep calm.”
OK, I knew it would be difficult, but now I don't know what to expect.
“The ancestors of the almighty king dwell in the well of doom. Their spirits must decide what tattoo you will receive, so you must stay there. You will be marked by their energy and by the design they have chosen for you. Only you can leave when the tattoo has been completed on your skin. And that is only the beginning. The tattoo must come to life if you want to be crowned by my Lord. And that's the second part of the ritual. This will take place in the ritual chamber. You've already been there when you were baptized by the blood of the innocents.”
Oh, no, that place. My face must have said it all because Anton confirmed it, moving his head.
“While there, My Lord will call the power of darkness to activate the tattoo. But you, my lady, you will have to be brave and strong, since darkness usually consumes even the strongest. The darkness seeks your vulnerability and exploits it. Making you fall into despair. Those who do not succeed will end up destroyed, and their souls will wander eternally in nothingness.”
The only thing I understand perfectly is that my life could end in a few more hours and in the worst way possible.
I looked down at the floor, contemplating my options. Armaloth is sure that I will pass this rite, and that the tattoo will come to life. But I'm not so sure.
After a few moments of reflection, Anton tells me to follow him.
We go through several tunnels until we reach a door with some rather terrifying inscriptions. I didn't know what it was, but I felt it in my bones. That was something that would give me nightmares for a long time if I managed to survive at all.
When Anton inserted the key into the lock, the door opened, and I waited for him to enter with me, but he only watched me and with his head, he refused. From this point forward, I was by myself.
As I looked ahead, I was unable to breathe due to absolute darkness. It was impossible for the air to reach my lungs. I was also paralysed from the waist down, and even if I tried to move, I could not.
But Anton whispered encouraging words in my ear that made me react. I swallowed hard and took my first step forward, then the other, and then another.
The place was instantly lit up with torches, pointing me the way I had to go. The path led me to spiral staircases that led downward. I took my time walking down the steps, and the lower I got, the more air was scarce, in the same way, the place got colder.
After descending many more, I finally stepped onto the ground. And as its name indicated, it was the bottom of a well. This was the place.
There was nothing around me, only the stone walls and steps leading up to the surface. Other than that, nothing else.
But all of a sudden, I began to feel as if the ground caught my feet. It was pulling me in, and I could not escape. I was screaming hysterically at that point. The only thing on my mind is that I was going to die, buried alive. But something managed to pass that fog of despair. “My daughter is intelligent and always knows how to overcome any obstacle.” That was my only thought.
My brain went blank, and I only listened to the sweet words that my father said to me. My daughter is intelligent and always knows how to overcome any obstacle.”
I immediately calmed down, and only then was I able to relax my body. Whatever happens, my mind will go in peace. So, I let my body be dragged to the ground. My whole body was buried instantly.
There was no oxygen for me to breathe, only had a few seconds for my body to start demanding air. And with my eyes closed, I thought about everything I did in my life. How satisfied I was with everything I accomplished. For all the love that my father gave me and I gave him. I thanked him a thousand times for being my father and vowed that I would see him again.
I also thought of Armaloth. The last days with him were as I had never imagined. Not only that, but I also thought about how much I would like to continue cultivating our relationship, and someday, it would become love so strong that it would transcend the worlds.
I also thought of my fire horse and my thorny branches. How much they would miss me if I didn't come back. As thinking about all this, many hands grasped my body, as I ran out of oxygen. Then, my body began to float.
Thereafter, I don't know what happened because when I opened my eyes, I was lying at the bottom of the well. As if nothing had happened. And then, I saw a light in the distance, which blinded me. I got up from the ground and tried to cover the glare from my eyes. But I decided, better, to follow it. I walked around for a while until I saw where it came from.
I approached cautiously, and at that moment, I remembered where I was. It was the chamber of sacrifices. The place I feared the most. So, I walked to the circle that was in the middle of everything and looked around me. But I wasn’t expecting what I saw in front of me
Armaloth was sitting on his thorny throne, watching me carefully. I could feel his agitated emotions, as well as mine.
On the other side, was the dragon, fuming from its nose. With the same boring face as ever. That made me smile slightly. And next to him, there was a beautiful woman. The thing I noted immediately, is that she was not human, nor a demon.
But I did feel her power, and it was huge. My skin crawled just looking at her.
I also saw demons that I had never seen, and they were massive. This place was the concentration of evil. And I was in the middle of everyone.
While I was looking around me, the circles on the floor, lit up one by one, up to the circle where I was. Afterwards, everything went silent.
I turned to my husband, but he was not moving. Suddenly, the audience turned to look at him, expectant. Until I saw Armaloth stand up. His intense gaze was on me, and I couldn't take my eyes off him either. But after a time, he closed his eyes and raised his arms. I could clearly see how two black spheres were forming in each hand.
And he shot them at me. I was surprised with wide eyes until I felt a blow, and then the other. The black balls penetrated my skin, and that's when I felt my body burn.
That energy was taking over my body, and I could feel myself losing against it. Something terrible was happening to me, and my life was getting away from me. This darkness was sucking me up. I felt like I was losing my memory, I was raving. Not only that, but I had no idea what I was doing.
Who am I?
“ARRR!” I heard a roar in the distance, but that sound was coming from me. My body was changing, transforming into something sinister, dangerous and deadly.
CRACK! I heard my bones thundering. “AAAHHH!” I arch my back from the excruciating pain. My legs gave out, and I fell to my knees. Then it was my neck, something was squeezing me, with titanic force. The pressure caused my nerves to explode and my spine to shatter. My head hung from my neck without strength, as my arms dangled by my sides, my whole body fell to the floor like a rag.
My mind was in pain, all the nerve endings were bleeding. My organs had exploded too. It was a deformed mass of flesh, as there was not a single bone that could hold its shape.
But my suffering had not stopped, the black balls of energy came out of me, and to finish me off, they started beating my body from the outside.
By now, I was dead.
My conscience was the last thing left, and it was disappearing. Until I couldn't see anything, I was unable to hear anything, and I no longer felt the pain.
The only thing I could perceive was a buzzing. ZZZZZZ! ZZZZZZ! And then darkness.
∞∞∞
I opened my eyes and blinked several times. I noticed that I was floating as if my body did not weigh, like a vapour, and nothing was dragging me down. Here I was at peace, there was no worry about anything, so I let my body go freely through space.
After all, I could say that I finally reached peace.
I was floating in nothingness for a long time until I saw a glow approaching. I was intrigued. What could it be? Raising my head to see better, I make out a silhouette. As it got closer, I could see that he was a man, an old man. He had half his hair and his skin was wrinkled. But his body was a bend, but he didn't seem to suffer from anything.
He kept moving until he was standing in front of me just a few feet away. And he smiled at me, it was so warm, and I heard a sound inside me “bat……dum”, I didn't know what it was, but I felt it. He shook his head slightly and said, “Moriah, now are you the one who doesn't remember me?” The old man told me.
I didn't understand anything, of course, I don't know who he is. I shook my head as a sign that I did not know, him, so he puffed something frustrated.
“Moriah, I need you to remember what I told you the day, that you discovered that you weren’t ageing.” I stared at him puzzled. I even moved my head a little to the side. The old man shook his head, “May I touch your hand?” The old man asked me and I nodded, he closed the distance that separated us and grabbed my hand.
And I felt it again, that sound “ba-dum” One after another, images from my past life returned to my mind.
Ba-dum, ba-dum, until I found the one I was looking for.
“My daughter is intelligent and always knows how to overcome any obstacle.”
“This you just did is brilliant, worthy of my daughter, we will do it your way.”
“Everything will be fine, you can do it.”
That old man was my father, the person I most needed in the world, the only one who took care of me until the end. The reason for my existence, and for the first time, he had abandoned me.
He did it, yes, but neither he nor I could do anything.
“Dad, you left me alone, do you know how much it hurt to see you go? How much do I miss you? Take me with you, look,” with my arms open, I pointed around me. “Here, I am alone.”
But my dad smiled at me, and said, “Yes, daughter, here you are entirely alone.” He said while looking around, “But you can't come with me. That place was not meant for you, even though you were the best, and you helped so many people. But your destiny is elsewhere. And there is also someone who is waiting for you. He trusts that you will return to him, that you will find your way back home.” Home? Where is my home?
“Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum” “Think Moriah Regina, why are you here?” My dad looked me in the eye waiting for an answer, and it was on the tip of my tongue, but everything was complicated and blurry. Still, I managed to remember a voice telling me, “my queen, Moriah of Armaloth, my wife.”
“Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum” “Armaloth,” I yelled.
My dad nodded, smiling at the same time. That is when his body began to slowly move away from me. I looked him in the eye, begging him not to leave me. My tears were shed without me knowing how it happened.
“Everything will be fine, you can do it.” I managed to hear his words for the last time. Just as he smiled at him for the last time, too.
Afterwards, the light he brought left with him as well. Leaving me in the dark again. But he had left something, the knowledge of what I was and what I wanted to do. So, I wasted no more time, and I began to imagine myself in Armaloth's arms, his face, his presence. His kisses.
And I began to invoke his name again, and again, until in the middle of that darkness, an immense force was nesting in the midst of my chest.
The power was unstoppable, and a ray of light shot from my centre, like an arrow, pointing the way. I followed it despite the darkness surrounding me, never once did I take my eyes off that light. I was getting closer now, I could sense it. My husband was waiting for me at home.
There it is, as the light grows until the darkness disappears.
When I opened my eyes, I found myself lying on the ground, with the glassy eyes of Armaloth staring at me. When he saw I opened mine, his face froze for a few moments, then he bent down, hiding his head in my hair and said in a low voice, “You came back to me.” His anguish was undeniable.
When I looked around, I saw onlookers standing silently, wide-eyed. To not keep them waiting any longer, I whispered into Armaloth's ear to help me get up. Although my body had been beaten, I didn't feel pain. In fact, the strength I felt inside was growing by the second.
As soon as I got up, I straighten my back and lift my head. My husband's gaze was filled with pride as he contemplated me. I couldn't believe what had happened. Despite all that, here I was.
“Death was no match for me,” I whispered to myself. But at that moment, my back began to heat up, and the power that I had felt in me was overflowing.
I squeezed Armaloth's hand, and he nodded, hinting to let him go. And when I did, the power in my body exploded, and from my back, I could feel my skin tear apart.
Then, I saw the most beautiful thorny branches I had ever seen coming out from me. They began to snake around me, entangling themselves in my husband's legs, arms, and head. Then I remember the tattoo that my husband's ancestors chose for me, but now I knew what it was. The tattoo had finally come to life.
This display of affection from my thorny branches made Armaloth smile, and from his chest, a silver crown emerged. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was mine, the queen's crown. I lowered my head and my husband Armaloth, king of the underworld, crowned me as queen, Persephone. The one who would reign alongside him for eternity.
