10 What is this shit (2)

"What the fuck..?"

What was that place? Searching for answers, and laboriously straightening his body, he raised his head to look around, unable to understand what he was seeing. The many humanoids on the ground looked like a grotesque sight, it reminded him of the boxes of blue-headed maggots that he used to fish in the rivers when he was a child. Struggling against gravity and his wobbly sense of balance, he managed to get up again, emerging victorious from his fight against himself.

Now standing, looked around him. Above, there was a large arch-shaped dome wrapped in pure white marble, in the corners of the room, huge stone pillars covered with symbols were present, while on the walls a faint red light came from lanterns hung on the walls, illuminating the whole building in a kind of infernal atmosphere.

Scattered throughout the room were demons in the appearance of women dressed in purple robes and embroidered with silver lines. Their robes decorated with a crystalline pattern that bore a striking resemblance to that worn by the servants of the Wizard's Order of Eredar, he had never seen in any believer of the nightmare gods or demons. Further on, several dozen demons, this time in the appearance of men, armed and dressed in uniforms that largely covered their armor with mesh.

As time passed, many people in the circle stood up, but despite some shouting or crying, most of them were as responsive as zombies. It all just looked like a big mess, okay, but something was missing. Where was the blood, the suffering, the cries of pain, and the tortured souls?

He saw no blood, perceived no suffering, and heard nothing that resembled cries of pain. No infernal pyre, no meat shredders or bone grinders. No torture machines on which signs with capital letters DEATH-DESTRUCTION-SUFFER could have been hung.

There was only an invisible feeling of peace floating in the air, almost as if something sacred was present here, which made no sense.

He didn't have the misfortune of visiting many places that exist in the immaterial dimensions, but all those he saw left their mark in his mind forever. Everything was different in the worst way, there was an evil that was as indefinable as it was powerful. Yet he felt none of this here.

Perhaps since his last visit, some King, Lord or God, tired of the dilapidated state of his kingdom or simply annoyed by the obvious lack of taste and style of the place he ruled over, had decided to hire a new decorator and a very large team of sweepers?

And why did this place look vaguely familiar?

Suddenly, the currents of magic in the place became agitated and reshaped as the demons sang in a melodious language that was very familiar to him, which did not really resemble the demonic tongues he was used to, but rather the language was usually sung by sorcerers.

A rain of tiny twinkling stars floated in the air, caressing the bodies of the unfortunate humans in the ritual triangle that was gradually losing its clarity. The spell brought a welcome calm to his mind and heart, making him more lucid and more aware of his surroundings.

One of them, who radiated a magical aura much stronger than the others, and used a human appearance of a remarkably beautiful and bewitching woman, signaled to a demon, probably a warrior given his massive silhouette, who had the appearance of a man who probably used to squeeze a tank or two in the morning in order to put himself in a good mood.

The warrior's stature was as thick as a tree trunk, he nodded his head, and gave his orders to the minions who accompanied them.

Soon they all took up positions around the ritual triangle, one man advancing more than the others. The demon had the appearance of a warrior, his eyes the color of pale steel, giving off a faint silvery glow as they solemnly crossed the stage before him, his impassive face was covered with a long scar from chin to forehead; lying in his heavy armor worked and set with precious stones.

Mars was puzzled, why did each of them use their human appearance? The metamorph demons often did so, but it was under very different circumstances, to deceive naive humans, or in any situation where the use of such subterfuge would be of interest, but here, in a dimension entirely under their control, what was the point of doing it?

The demon in armor began to speak in a voice that was strong and deep, but much softer and more melodious than one would expect from a demon of his size, conveying something bewitching, almost supernatural. "Welcome to you, Terrans."

The demon with a human appearance frowned: "I am aware that at this moment you may think that what you are experiencing seems so far removed from your daily reality that it seems unreal, in the same way, that dreams or nightmares accompany your nights of unconsciousness". Taking a short break, his gaze quickly turned to the whole group: "But I would also like you to know that no matter how impossible, no matter how absurd your current situation may seem to you, it is not the fruit of your imagination or your dementia, but as real and concrete as you may conceive it to be. Those moments of doubt and confusion that you are experiencing now will find, relatively safely and quickly, and awareness of the situation in which you find yourself.".

The demon voice gave him a headache, and the invisible influence contained in the man's voice did not help to clear up the confusion in his mind.

"It's funny, I feel like I've heard that before, what was it again?"

The irises of the demon shone with a faint glow when he began to speak again with his melodious and unrealistic voice carrying a kind of magic charm. "Rest assured that as representatives of the authorities in charge of the kingdoms of the continent of Enoa, we will work with all the diligence and dedication that it is reasonable to show so that you can adapt in the most beneficial way possible to the changes you are currently experiencing, as quickly and simply as possible".

Rejoiced at the subservience of the damned souls before him, the man continued his discourse. "I hope, therefore, that you will show, in your own interest as well as in ours, the greatest cooperation with my men and me that you will be able to exercise during these confusing hours of great change in your existence, however abrupt and disorienting they may be. "

The man continues, looking serious, his eyes of steel giving the impression of carrying with them a heaviness and bitterness that he had never seen in a demon, adding weight to each of his words. "You who are here on this day must know that your presence is not the result of chance or an accident, it is simply the result of many intertwined causes. Yes, ever since you woke up, you have certainly been wondering how you got here and why you are here. On top of everything else, every answer will have its time, so I invite you to devote your full attention to my words".

Mars almost cursed this old fucker when he remembered why it all felt so familiar. What he saw looked absurdly like a scene from his past life.

"No, it's not just that it looks like it...."

These were exactly the first things he had seen the day he was summoned on Yvelmore.

"What the fuck is this shit?!"