Inferno: Chapter 18 (420 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 2 on 7 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by SoxSexSax (View user info) at 2005-07-10 19:21:43 EDT
Chapter 17: http://www.ubersite.com/m/69845
Chapter 16: http://www.ubersite.com/m/68845 (freaky, non, that there was exactly 1000 Uber messages between these chapters...)
Chapter 15: http://www.ubersite.com/m/66508
Chapter 14: http://www.ubersite.com/m/65131
Chapter 13: http://www.ubersite.com/m/35192
Chapter 12: http://www.ubersite.com/m/34063
Chapter 11: http://www.ubersite.com/m/18528
Chapter 10: http://www.ubersite.com/cgi-bin/message_get.cgi?message=10676141967013473
Chapter 9: http://www.ubersite.com/cgi-bin/message_get.cgi?message=1066487978166723780
Chapter 8: http://www.ubersite.com/cgi-bin/message_get.cgi?message=106595175399835122
Chapter 7: http://www.ubersite.com/cgi-bin/message_get.cgi?message=106549765998947541
Chapter 6: http://www.ubersite.com/cgi-bin/message_get.cgi?message=1064957367793418459
Chapter 5: http://www.ubersite.com/cgi-bin/message_get.cgi?message=1064708642207119853
Chapter 4: http://www.ubersite.com/cgi-bin/message_get.cgi?message=106445883547967169
Chapter 3: http://www.ubersite.com/cgi-bin/message_get.cgi?message=1064345511408928163
Chapter 2: http://www.ubersite.com/cgi-bin/message_get.cgi?message=1064195167876012309
Chapter 1: http://www.ubersite.com/cgi-bin/message_get.cgi?message=10639441118252674
From the last chapter's reviews:
"Submitted by Phinch (user info) at 2005-07-03 02:28:58 (#)
Ranking: 2
Awesome!
Wow man, when you write this do you keep re-reading the old stuff you wrote before? I mean, how do you keep everything straight for so long?
I smell an epic battle on the horizon!"
Well Phinch, as you've been a long (and I mean LONG) time reader, I guess I'll give you an answer, despite stating that I wouldn't be commenting on Uber any more. What happened between chapters 13-14 is that I lost my job as a programmer (company went bust due to god-awful management) and ended up spiralling into a bit of a depression. Trust me, try going from being a highly paid and (if I sound arrogant, I apologise) pretty talented computer programmer to a poorly paid security guard working 60 hour weeks to feed your family and see how you handle it! I was on anti-depressants for nigh-on a year and basically couldn't motivate myself to write even a CV for a better job, let alone work on a novel length story about good vs evil. But the story itself was well etched into my mind. I have known pretty much from the end of chapter 5 exactly how the book was going to progress and what was going to happen in the end.
Thankfully (and I do mean THANKFULLY), I've discovered that I have also got a bit of talent for playing poker, and I currently earn my living playing it online. I have good months and bad months, but over the last year I have made at least as much as I would have made as a guard (probably slightly more in fact) for less than half the work. It has also given me back a lot of the self-confidence I lost when I found myself unemployed. And, when it returned, I decided that I simply couldn't leave Midnight and John stuck in the depths of hell. We'd been through far too much together for me to even consider doing that to them. So, I got my ass into gear and got on with it. I am of the opinion that these later chapters are generally better than the previous ones (with the exception of the chapter with Richard in it, which is probably the greatest 5000 words I have ever written, at least in my very biased opinion).
So to answer your question, no I don't really read back too much, because I KNOW the story already. It is just a case of getting it from my brain onto my hard-drive...and its getting easier all the time!
Hope that sufficiently enlightens you. Oh, and there's nothing at all wrong with your sense of smell, either. ;-)
Chapter 18
The Channel Master immediately rose from its throne to greet its master. Inferno had just emerged through the mirror that linked hell to Earth with an evil grin on his face, and when Inferno looked like that, complete and total respect was the order of the day.
"Welcome back, my liege," it said. "Is everything progressing as intended?"
"Of course," replied Inferno, and his grin widened. "In fact, events are transpiring even more rapidly than I had foreseen. Our enemy will soon have no alternative but to concede defeat to my power. The day we have all waited so many centuries for has finally arrived."
"Masterfully done, my liege," the Channel Master said, making every effort to sound as humble as a demon possibly can. "And as per your instructions, I directed Midnight and his companion to the vortex. The foolish mortals believed that the key I gave them, bronze and large, was the key to the vortex. They had no idea that I was sending them into a trap."
Inferno's grin vanished. "Do not fish for compliments from me, you dismal excuse for an underling. I have not forgotten your feeble reaction to the revelation that Midnight possesses a demon ring, and have not forgiven your outrageous questioning of my orders. Be glad that you still exist."
"My liege, that was most certainly not my intention. Serving you is its own reward, I do not wish for or seek words of approval from your excellence. If it sounded as though I did, I offer you my humblest apologies..."
"Stop grovelling," Inferno growled, and all hints of satisfaction were gone from his face. "I never thought the day would come when I harboured more respect for two mortals than one of my own. But your actions have brought it about. I am utterly sick of the sight of you. Remember this: when earth falls under my control, which it will very soon, there will be no need for channels. There will be also no need for a Channel Master. You will be surplus to requirements. You should think very carefully about what you plan to do in the future."
The Channel Master's mouth gaped open like a large guppy fish. "My Lord, after all these years of loyal service, you surely don't mean to hang me out to dry? Please, you cannot do that to me!"
Inferno laughed but the amusement did not touch his eyes, which remained icy cold. "Loyal service? How dare you speak to me of loyalty? It is not loyalty that makes you my slave. You serve me out of fear, as well you might. I have seen into your black soul, and you would serve even a mortal with utter obedience if you thought he could kill you. Your only loyalty is to yourself and your over inflated sense of self importance."
"My lord, how can you say such things to me," the Channel Master all but wailed. "That is not true, I honour you like all true demons should..."
"NEVER LIE TO ME AGAIN!" Inferno screamed at him, terrifying the Channel Master to the brink of madness. His voice echoed horribly around the chamber for a full five seconds. "I know the mind of all my servants, and your mind is full of fear and self obsession. You are a liability to my truly loyal followers, and you have only kept your life because I have more pressing matters than replacing you. But those matters will soon be resolved. I suggest that you are nowhere to be found when I next return, if continued survival is your desire!"
The Channel Master bowed its head and looked utterly dejected. "Yes my liege. I am sorry I have failed you."
"Don't be...I expected absolutely nothing more from you," Inferno replied nastily. "Now, I am going to fetch our two visitors and demonstrate to them that I never make idle threats. They will suffer a death more dreadful than any mortal in history..."
He tailed off, as the look of fear and dejection on the Channel Master's face had suddenly been replaced with one of intense surprise. He whirled around on the spot to see what had so shocked his underling, and immediately upon seeing what the snivelling demon had spotted, his expression became remarkably similar.
Standing upright in the middle of the narrow strip of rock that connected the chamber's main door to the circular plateau of the Channel Master's domain stood a black door. Before his eyes, the door swung open and out stepped a solitary figure.
Midnight gazed immediately upon the stunned tableaux of Inferno and the Channel Master wearing practically identical expressions, and his first emotion at the sight was one of amusement mixed with triumph. He would have bet his own heart that Inferno had rarely, if ever, worn that particular expression before.
He half expected the amusement to be quickly replaced with fear, but it wasn't, despite the fact that Inferno looked as terrible in the flesh as he had in all of Midnight's dreams. He couldn't find the right word to fully describe his feelings, but determined would have come close. He had travelled so far and braved so many dangers already to get to this point, and while the determination was also heavily laced with trepidation, his mind could now handle it. He had a plan; a plan given to him by a servant of God. He knew for sure what he was doing for pretty much the first time since he started his journey. And he hated Inferno in a way he had never hated anything or anybody before, which helped him overcome fear more effectively than any other phenomenon ever could.
The door swung shut as soon as he had passed through it and disappeared with an ever-so-slight flash. Without hesitation, Midnight slowly but confidently began to advance towards the two demons.
Inferno eventually managed to compose his thoughts enough to speak. "Midnight! I would never have believed it if I had not seen it with my own two eyes. Were you not placed securely into the dungeon by my most reliable of servants? How did you get here?"
Midnight stopped where he was, about twenty feet from the edge of the plateau. "That is for me to know and for you to forever wonder about," he replied, with a deliberate grin. "All I will say is that it is partly the Channel Master's fault."
The Channel Master's face immediately screwed up in despair. "He lies! I did not help him. I would never help anyone to battle you my lord. You must believe me..."
"SHUT YOUR WHINING YOU FEEBLE WORM," Inferno screamed, and Midnight finally felt a pang of fear at the sound of Inferno's evil, grating voice echoing once more around the chamber. "He did not say you helped him, he said it was your fault!" He turned his attention back to Midnight, and spoke once more in a less confrontational manner. "I assume one of His servants hijacked my channel for his own purposes. Paul, perhaps? And that the aforementioned servant managed to get past this joke of a guardian. Correct?"
"Maybe, maybe not. It is absolutely none of your business," Midnight replied. But he was less than thrilled to see the grin that formed on his adversary's face.
"Your mind betrays you, Midnight. So Paul came to help you, did he? It seems my enemy still has some fighting spirit left. No matter. You should have gotten out of hell while you had the chance. Now you shall die."
Midnight knew exactly what he had to say. "I challenge you to a mind duel, Inferno. I challenge you, right here, right now."
Inferno had been about to advance upon Midnight.. He stopped dead in his tracks. Had he heard the mortal correctly? "Repeat yourself mortal. What did you just say?"
"I think you heard me," replied Midnight bravely. "I said I challenge you to a mind duel."
Inferno stood stock still in amazement. How could this be happening? How did Midnight even know what a mind duel was? "Has Paul been filling your head with false hopes, Midnight? Do you know that I invented the mind duel? Do you know that I have never lost one? Your death will be as certain in a mind duel as it is right now...only far more terrible than you could possibly imagine. You had best be very sure that is the way you want to perish."
"Oh shut up with the melodramatic warnings already," replied Midnight, as if talking to a petulant child. "We both know you're going to accept because we both know you're an arrogant son of a bitch. So quit pontificating, I love that word, and let's do this."
Inferno battled with the smile that threatened to creep onto his lips and lost. He was utterly taken aback by Midnight's attitude and demeanour. No other mortal in history had ever stood before his terrifying true form and spoken to him with such contempt in their voice. He had no real doubts whatsoever that his victory over Midnight was guaranteed, in physical or mental combat, and yet this fragile bodied being was earning his respect...something that only a handful, a TINY handful, of beings had ever managed to garner. "You see," he said to the Channel Master, "this is why I now admire Midnight and no longer respect you. He has more courage in his little finger than you have in your entire pathetic body. Why don't YOU challenge me to a mind duel after I am finished devouring his soul? I'm sure I could spare the two minutes it would take to overcome your piteous mind."
He turned his attention back to Midnight without waiting for any response from his now terrified underling. "I accept your challenge Midnight. Know this: you are the first to ever challenge me in this way. All previous mind duels have been my final offer to other doomed souls. There exists no word in the languages you understand that fully expresses the way I feel about you right now. I despise you, as I despise all members of your race, with every fibre of my existence...and yet I admire you in a way I have never admired anything else in the entire history of the universe. You have already treated me to both surprise and full-blown amazement this day, emotions that I, as an almost omniscient being of pure evil, so rarely get a chance to experience. In a way, this will be the most fun I have ever had. It is almost a pity that I will have to utterly destroy you. But rest assured, destroy you I shall."
He's lying, said the little voice in Midnight's head. He's trying to make you drop your guard. He respects nothing and nobody...don't be fooled by him again!
"Do you really think I'm so stupid as to believe another word from your lips?," he asked, rhetorically. "You told me Paul was dead, you told me I would cover the bottom of the well-shaft with my innards, you told that snivelling wreck over there to send us to the vortex with the wrong key and now you say with a straight face that you respect me? Well, I feel nothing but contempt for you, and John asked me to express the same sentiments. I don't respect you at all...nor do I accept that you will win. So shut up, and let's do this."
"Believe what you will," Inferno replied, as nonchalantly as he could possibly sound given how much evil and malice was constantly present in his voice. "Soon you will have no mind left with which to believe anything. But I agree, if we are to do this, we should begin now. Name your prize should you somehow emerge victorious."
"Simple," replied Midnight. "You shall return to hell with any other demons currently on Earth and never return."
"That is something I cannot grant. If I am summoned by a mortal, I have no choice but to answer. Sorry to rain on your parade, but there are certain laws that simply cannot be broken, even by me."
Midnight had expected as much. "Fine. You and all your underlings shall return to hell and never return to my world until you are summoned once more. Oh, and as this is not what I originally desired, I also ask that you execute the Channel Master. It's what John would have wanted."
"There is no need for you to demand that," Inferno replied immediately. "It has failed me one time too often already, and will pay for this last failure with its wretched life. Perhaps you would care to watch me put it to death before we start?"
"My lord, please..." the Channel Master whimpered, visibly trembling. Inferno swivelled on the spot to face it without waiting for Midnight to respond. He raised his mighty right arm up his above his head, then brought it down in a quick, arc-like motion.
The Channel Master burst instantaneously into flames. They leapt up from its body fully twenty feet into the air, burning red, yellow, blue and white. Its screams were almost deafening and it thrashed its arms about wildly and stumbled backwards, much like the monk in Tibet had done when Inferno had ignited him. The rancid smell of burning demon flesh, the smell Midnight had prayed he would never again experience, filled the chamber rapidly, although it was less intense than the previous time he had experienced it due to the relative size of the Channel Master's domain compared to the prison in which he had first met John. The doomed demon continued to stagger around in agony and terror, edging ever closer to rim of the circular plateau upon which it had maintained hell's channels for so many centuries. Midnight was convinced it would fall into the void, but just a few feet before it reached the precipice, it collapsed to the floor and fell silent. The flames continued to burn for a few more seconds, before subsiding almost instantly. All that remained of the Channel Master was a black, barely identifiable husk and some wisps of dark grey smoke.
Inferno turned back to face Midnight with another grin on his evil face. "Your wish is my command Midnight. I hope you enjoyed the spectacle, and I hope you realise how generous I am being in accepting your offer, considering I could just as easily do likewise to you whenever I fancied."
Midnight felt neither joy nor revulsion at the Channel Master's death (with the exception of the revulsion the foul smell caused him). It had deserved to die, and yet so did its executioner. "It is not generosity that makes you accept," he retorted. "As I have already stated, it is utterly down to your arrogance. Now, how do we go about setting up this mind duel?"
"I have yet to tell you what I wish from you if I emerge victorious," replied Inferno. "The deal must be made before we can..."
"Quit stalling," Midnight interrupted hotly. "You want my eternal soul. I get it. Now, let's start."
Inferno's smile widened even further. "You have become quite the brave crusader, haven't you? If a more bold human has existed, I have never encountered them."
"I wasn't born bold, nor was I bold before I started this journey. You have made me bold...and it will be your undoing. Let's go."
Inferno nodded. "As you wish, Midnight. I shall put you to sleep whilst I perform the rituals that must be performed to enable us to merge. When you awake, we shall be sharing the same physical body, although we shall each be in control of our own mind. You'll find out the rest when we get there."
Uncertainty suddenly gripped Midnight. What if Inferno simply killed him while he was sleeping. He lied all the time! "Hang on a second...why the hell should I trust you?"
Inferno chuckled evilly. "Now look who's stalling. If I am as arrogant as you seem to think, do you honestly believe I would shirk away from a mortal's challenge? Please, do not insult me in my own domain. You will wake again, at least once more. I know I have a strange relationship with the truth, but to suggest I would cheat to avoid beating a mere mortal at my own game is the ludicrous fantasy of an illogical mind, and I do not believe you have one of those, Midnight."
"Paul told me to NEVER believe a word you say," replied Midnight. "I'm inclined to believe you would do anything to emerge victorious."
"If you back out of our deal now, you shall burn just like that snivelling ex-servant of mine," Inferno said. "The fact that you are not already a pile of ash should prove to you that I have every intention of facing you in our agreed mind duel, and besides, having offered me the challenge yourself, you have no real alternative. So, mortal, are you ready to begin, or do I incinerate you?"
Midnight took a deep breath. Inferno was right, he didn't have any viable alternative. "OK...do what you must."
Without hesitation, Inferno spoke the same words as the harbinger had before him. "Inasi Noctarni."
Midnight's eyes immediately shut and he fell to the ground, soundly asleep.
User Reviews
Submitted by Phinch (user info) at 2005-07-11 17:34:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
hey SoxSexSax, there is a writer on another site that has some stuff that you might be in to. check out his stuff:
http://www.pulsehead.com/message/antius777
To fully understand what's going on, you need to read the "Diary of a Kaote" series, the "Grace" series, the "Fallen Faith" series, and the first eight parts of "Search"
Submitted by Yes (user info) at 2005-07-11 13:27:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
S^3=teh r0xXorZ
Submitted by Psycosis (user info) at 2005-07-11 02:15:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I've just read the series, it has been a fantastic read and a great diversion from the work I should have been doing. Keep up the good work.
Submitted by Phinch (user info) at 2005-07-11 02:08:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I'm honored that you would respond to me in your post.
I'm glad to hear that you are doing well and that you've landed on your feet. As far as Midnight and his adventures go, this part had me on the edge of my seat and I can't wait to read more.
Submitted by shadow (user info) at 2005-07-10 21:08:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
great... i return from my hiatus and find that I must catch up on a masterwork of somekind.
and i thought i could just pop on for a few minutes...
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2005-07-10 20:08:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I must read the rest of these.
Submitted by JMG114 (user info) at 2005-07-10 20:07:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
This is a great, great series. Please keep it up.