The Fires of Heaven

Cold, inky-black darkness filled Cordellia, The Man-Slayer. For hours she sat, drifting along an eternally long river of night, the ferryman silent. With each passing moment, the dread of what happened filled her. The thrill of battle. The sound of men crushed beneath her boot. And then... agonizing, instant, burning death. She shuddered at the feeling, rubbing the parts of her back where the fire seared her flesh. The wounds were no longer there, but if her body did not feel them, her mind did. That flame, which easily overcame the infernal blessings bestowed upon her by ancient blood, made her skin crawl. For through it, she felt more than just pain. She felt something she was all too familiar with; rage. Whomever it was that took her life, Cordellia could feel the hatred in their attack, almost as much as she felt the flame.

The ferryman's paddle plunged into the water yet again, pushing the boat ever further. Only the sound of water filled her ears, until after what seemed like an eternity, the sound of unending, infernal cries began to ring across the waves. In the distance, she could see a jagged island, shooting out of the water. The ground was brimstone, glowing softly with ever-present heat. The sound of suffering, of torment, of damnation, of hope lost, filled her ears. As the boat docked at the island, Cordellia wasted no time stepping onto the burning earth. She considered turning to face the ferryman, but she heard the vessel push off the land before she had the chance. She steeled herself. The tormented wails continued, to her annoyance, and as the island continued to soar out of the water, growing ever higher, she knew all she could do was climb.

Each time she pulled herself up, the heat seemed to worsen. Soon enough, she could feel the very flesh melting from her hands. She scoffed. Her eternal punishment was something she expected; but to have it begin before she even entered hell was a cruel joke, one she found no amusement in. As she reached up, finally cresting to the top of the jagged cliff, she could see her bones through her palms. Barely able to pull herself forward, the searing heat only grew, burning worse than even the flame which slew her. Pushing forward, a great gateway of souls appeared before her, beckoning her to her final resting place. The harrowed pleas for salvation that came from the gate reeled at her. She wondered if one day she too would give in to the pain. As she stepped forward, her body half charred already, she fell to her knees as the sounds of the dead subsided. Instead, all she heard was music.

A sickening tune, soft and quick, played with hands that were never meant to be. Cordellia opened her eyes, breathing in as deeply as she could. Her hands were healed, as was the rest of her body. She was alive once more. For the briefest of moments, she felt relief. Restored to the land of the living, she could put off her eternal punishment just a little while longer. The relief quickly faded, however, as she realized she was not alone. Obscured by unnatural shadows, all she could see of her terrible master were two yellow eyes, glowing a sickly light. The fury in those eyes surpassed any she had ever seen, from herself, from the one who killed her... Anyone.

***"Welcome back to the land of the living... Man-Slayer."***

The words creeped out of an unseen mouth; like two voices at once, male and female. Each syllable was like a dagger thrust into her chest. She kneeled, no, collapsed to the ground, face touching the floor.

"My Master... Please forgive my failure! They took us by surprise, and Marne-"

***"SILENCE!"***

The lone word boomed out, louder than anything she had ever heard. She tried to cover her ears, but found she could not move. Then she felt a force upon her, as she heard the plucking sounds of music once more. The stone floor beneath her was shuddering, as the Man-Slayers body began sinking into it, not melting the stone, but cracking it and breaking it with sheer gravity.

***"Marneus was ready to annihilate Hadeon, you, himself, and the entire city to kill those wretched, light-blinded idiots. But you... You ran. Again! Hahahah!"***

The laughter filled the air around her, nearly drowning out Cordellias whimpers of pain. A pain far worse than any hell could inflict surged through her. Each bone slowly shattered, then shattered twice over, shards of stone seeping into her eyes, nose, and mouth, then pushing up through her flesh. Each writhing surge of defiance was met with only a greater blast of power, pressing her further and further into what was now only debris.

***"You are a failure. Your life has been a waste. And now, I shall end it. My only regret is that I will not be able to kill you a second time."***

A gleaming black light erupted from the direction of the golden-eyed man, making the shadows appear bright in comparison. Crimson gemstones and purple crystals adorned in gold lined the hilt and crossguard of the blackened sword, which was raised in sync with Cordellia. Finally free of the weight that had held her down, the broken Tieflings body instead lifted up, floating in the air. She shot forward, feet dragging the floor, her body plunging into the blade. To her surprise, she felt no pain. In fact, she felt nothing. She would never feel anything, ever again.

Pulling the blade back, the corpse fell to the floor as the weapon vanished. Plucking the strings of the harp, the womans body disappeared entirely. As the melody was finished, a surge of power shot up from the instrument, into the veins of the man who carried it. Burning its way up, it shot out of his shoulder, gleaming golden light erupting in a beam of energy. Breathing in deeply, and raising black wings, the agony ceased, as did the energy, which returned to where it belonged. One wrong pluck, one slight mistake, and the worst could happen. More practice was needed before the final melody could begin. Much more.

Returning to his office, the man sat down, awaiting his visitor. Beckoning them to enter after a knock at the door, he smiled at the woman who approached, a notion which she returned, and doubled. Utter glee filled her face, enough to bring some level of disgust to the Archon. Still, she was useful, in her own ways. They began to discuss their plans going forward, devising strategies and tactics to ensure victory, which in truth, amounted to the woman standing and nodding, obeying every order given. Finally, as the discussion neared completion, the silver-haired man pulled an engraved metal tablet from his purple coats right pocket, handing it to the woman.

***"This is the sigil for the eastern outpost. Give it to the officers you trust, and no others. A weeks march to the north-west should bring them to headquarters. Oh, and if they delay their travel... Kill them, would you?"***

She nodded with a pleased look on her face, placing the tablet in a pouch, bowing, and leaving. Neither of them noticed the invisible blue eye floating just overhead. Elsewhere, not too far away from the False-Archon and his minions, another man, conjurer of the invisible eye, stroked his beard. A smile creeped onto his lips.

*"Got you."*