16 A Servant of the Immortal

In the expanse of space, a castle of enormous scale floats in a nebula that is larger than a thousand stars combine. The gaseous cloud, red in color, formed a shield around the castle. The castle itself gave of an ancient aura, seemingly much older than Ian's home planet Aries. Stones of unknown origins covered the entire castle, likely from another celestial body. Its door was bigger than the size of a small moon. Streaks of lightning appeared beneath the castle and gave it a truly terrifying appearance.

A being walked up a flight of stairs with a wooden stick in its hand. Another hand held a sealed scroll containing a message to the one who resides in the castle. It covered itself in a black robe that only revealed its face and arms. The being had grey skin, and its arms covered with wailing mouths. Each mouth constantly wailed at different intervals with ghastly voices. The being's head was an amalgamation of five heads - each containing different facial expressions: fear, joy, grief, anger, and disgust. A black smoke trail was left behind as it continued to walk towards the door.

The door opened with a loud and deep creaking sound, and the being slowly walked in. The interior was pitch black, but wall torches, that mounted on pillars, dimly lit the endless hall. The door creaked again and closed behind the being. The castle's interior had a feeling of dread with its silence in the endless dark. The being continued to walk forward with a loud echo.

The being stopped in place and held up the scroll in its hand. It spoke in a foreign tongue that was impossible for humans to mimic.

"I, the servant of Haelgaus, one of the Ancients of yore under the Gods, have come to deliver a message by my lord." The being spoke in an unsettling, hoarse voice.

The servant was met with silence in the endless dark. However, it didn't mind and continued to wait for a response. After a while, a voice from the shadows finally spoke out.

"What is it that you come for, servant of Haelgaus?" The voice spoke in a vibrating deep voice that echoed throughout the castle.

It spoke with a sound no man has heard before or have thought possible; a voice as if a thousand beasts were speaking in unison. Yet, the speaker didn't come out of the shadows. The servant unsealed the scroll and unrolled it.

"The Immortal One, the descendant of the Ancient One, Hoj-Meysopith. My lord has to beseech Your Majesty to offer your underlings to help hasten the expansion upon the myriad of worlds. Your Majesty will be offered ten percent of the sacrifices given." The servant slowly spoke.

"Foolish! I have worshippers across many worlds that offer sacrifices to me!" The voice shook the whole castle, and dust flew everywhere. "What is Haelgaus planning? To think he would try to tempt me with such trivial offerings."

"That is certainly true, but my lord has finally found the Genesis Incantation after countless eons."

"Impossible!" The castle shook harder, and an appendage flew out from the darkness, grabbed the servant, and slowly lifted him up. It slowly squeezed the servant to get him to talk more.

"Y-you are wrong, Your Majesty. Although my lord hasn't told me where he has found it, my lord is currently with the other Immortal Ones to discuss more of the matter at hand." The servant struggled to speak.

"Then I'll personally pay him a visit." The appendage dropped the servant and slowly slithered back into the shadows.

The servant dusted its robe off before leaving the castle. It chanted an incantation before it disappeared into thin air. Back at planet Aries, Ian and the group finally arrived in Lakemere city and traveled through the city streets. There were no signs of nature's beauty in the city. Instead, there were massive skyscrapers, created from human ingenuity, that stretched beyond what the eye can see. At night, the city comes to life with bright neon light from every street. Before the monster invasion, young adults would visit nightclubs and bars to enjoy their youth, while others would explore the city to see what it has to offer. But now, everyone was on edge as a few cars were still on the streets. Many grocery stores were cleaned out as people stayed inside their homes, waiting for the worst to come.

A few days ago, the city became hectic as the citizens were struggling to get food. Riots ensued when the food supply finally depleted. Many people destroyed cars and burned buildings from anger. Not long after, the military quelled the riots through sheer force. It was unfortunate that hundreds of civilians were killed as a result. As a last resort, the government declared Martial Law, and military vehicles entered the city to prevent further riots. The government began handing out food rations to citizens in Lakemere City from canned food to bags of chips. Throughout Condria, instances such as this occurred in many cities. However, rural areas were left alone with no government assistance due to lack of personnel. Therefore, militant organizations formed around these areas to defend against any monster invasion or hostile government takeover.

As for the monster invasion, the military began pushing them back from the coastal states with the use of airstrikes and artillery. However, more portals materialized all across Condria, and stronger monsters appeared. In many cases, the military launched cruise missiles in order to kill them. The monsters began invading other countries, and at the forefront of the invasion were Volaria and Kandrid in the continent of Armonia. All of humanity was now at war with the monsters.

Ian and the group arrived in front of a three-story brick apartment. The place was rundown with cracks and holes while rats skittered across the ground. Trash bags were piled up against the dumpster, and the stench wafted through the noses of the group. The light at the entrance door flickered occasionally that gave the apartment a daunting presence.

"Quite a lovely place. isn't it?" Mrs.Willard awkwardly laughed.

"This place is no different than Ian's room!" Lily replied with a disgusted expression on her face.

"I'm not that dirty." Ian defended himself.

"Let's just go in," Ray said. Ray opened the entrance door and walked inside. The rest followed behind him.

The group arrived in the decrepit lobby. The chairs near the walls were worn down and covered in dust. The walls had a bit of mold growing near the corners. The counter near the hallway was empty as if this place had been abandoned long ago.

"Are you sure that Uncle Marvin lives here?" Conner asked.

"Positive." Ray nodded his head.

The group walked down the dark hallway. The wooden floors creaked each time they take a step. They walked up to an old flight of stairs before entering the second floor. The group continued onwards before stopping at a door reading, '212'.

"My brother may be a few screws loose in the head." Ray turned towards everyone. "I just wanted to warn you guys."

"Who wouldn't be at a time like this," Ian replied.

"You'll see for yourself."

Ray knocked on the door while everyone was curious about Marvin's sort of character. However, there was no answer, and Ray knocked on the door again. However, there was still no answer, and Ray began banging on the door.

"Alright, alright! I'm coming!" A loud voice shouted over the other side of the door.

The door unlocked and slowly opened.