In the Grand Clock Tower he Waits

Chapter IX

In the Grand Clock Tower he Waits

I opened my eyes, they began to burn from all the salt in the water, I immediately began to scream, but the water was refreshing? I didn't sink this time either.

"I can breathe and I'm not sinking. How is it possible?" I looked down at my right arm and saw it was replaced with a tentacle with three smaller tentacles sitting at the bottom of my palm, new fingers, I could feel the water fluctuating next to my head. I reached up and felt my hand touch three tentacles; one on the top right of my head, one on the bottom right and one in the middle, each on the right side of my head, I rubbed my fingers across my neck and felt three little slits on each side, gills, I could feel my hunger growing more intense each second; a small fish swam next to me and sat still, I put the stuffed rabbit in my hood, turned my hand into a sickle, hooked the fish, but it took me a while to figure out how to swim properly, but I eventually reached the surface; I then proceeded to slowly cook the fish and eat it, bones and all.

What I didn't know was that the blood that fish had lost, lured in a massive shark just below my feet. Hell sharks are much bigger than any earth shark, these sharks were, at the smallest, fifty feet long, they had six eyes, red skin which was nearly impenetrable, and could easily swallow me whole; the only things that could kill these beasts were Leviathan or any of the other demon kings, I looked down at the two hundred foot long shark terrified, and couldn't help but think back to when Leviathan had swallowed me whole (Not an experience I'd like to relive). So I slowly swam up to the shark's massive dorsal fin and with ease hooked myself onto the back of the mighty beast. The shark began to thrash around and toss me every which way.

I had never loved my joints so much in my entire life: Holding onto the shark was easy, though to be fair, my arms did almost break off many times before the beast calmed down.

"Now that I'm here I need to find a safe way back to shore… Wait, I wonder if one of my new abilities could help? Leviathan could control any aquatic life." I spent the next couple of hours trying to control the beast by trying everything from talking to it, to creating a spiritual bond; however, none of these had any effect on the beast. I then tried to open a portal to shore but all I could do was open a gate to any number of different multiverses and dimensions, but I couldn't open one to just the shore.

I then tried to fly to shore but I couldn't do that either. I was stranded, hungry, and unable to control any of my new abilities. I jumped into the water in front of the massive shark and allowed myself to be eaten. I killed the beast from the inside and forced its massive mouth open. I climbed on top of the now belly up shark. And used its hide to stitch a new pair of pants, a new shirt with holes for my future wings, a journal cover, and a satchel; the shark's hide was surprisingly soft and breathable. I opened a small portal and looked at the vast multiverse and dimensions, though each portal was different in some way. 

Each time I opened a portal I saw this world lit ablaze and even more barren than Hell itself: Many times I would open this portal and see a harpy, no, a man with wings much like me, but each time I opened the portal he would stare into my eyes and I'd stare into his. When I looked into his eyes I saw a kid, a kid who hadn't wished for their fate either. We were both trapped in a prison of fate. I waited for an hour or two and opened one last portal to a quiet battle field with many dead bodies lying on the blood stained sandstone. The man turned to me, walked up to the portal and handed me a feather and instead of keeping quiet this time he began to speak: "Find me when it's all over." All of a sudden the portal closed and the shark's body began to sink. 

The water was close to a thousand feet deep and I was standing on the red sand at the bottom. All around me the ocean life was swimming around a massive reef that continued to go on for miles. I walked around and saw many wrecked ships and skeletons, but the beautiful bioluminescent coral wiped thought from my body. Each brillant formation was as sharp and deadly as it was beautiful and hypnotizing. 

Fish followed me up to a shipwreck full of treasure. I collected a few coins and jewels and put them in my satchel, then continued walking for weeks, maybe months, sleeping in the sea weed and in small caves without a care in the world until I reached a massive sea stag. I swam along the stack until it reached the surface and that's when I saw her: The Titan's Carcass. She was caught by the mast by an outstretched ledge on the sea stack.

That's when I remembered how important the vessel was to the merchant. I climbed up to the ledge and slowly hacked away the ledge so as to not break the ship. It took hours to break each small piece of stone until the ship's mast was free. I jumped onto the mast and slid down a loose rope, landed on the deck and walked into the captain's quarters. The only thing that was in that room was a wooden desk with a map on it. I grabbed the map, left the room and took the helm. Looking at the map I noticed small markers here and there marking small reefs and hunting zones for hell sharks, but the most important part of all: A piece of land at the top of the map marking the pier I had arrived in. Not too far from the land was the massive sea stack. Now it was just a matter of navigation, I climbed up to the crows nest and there was a pouch that held a telescope.

I looked in every which way and about two hundred miles to the left of the sea stack was the shore, I jumped down to the wheel and veered left. The boat moved quietly through the water as I sailed towards the shore. I sailed for days in the deep waters until I saw something floating on the surface. I could recognize those blue scales anywhere, grabbing a rope, tying it to the mast and tossing it overboard. I slid until I was almost touching the water and reached my right hand out.

"Serpo?"

"Leave me alone. You took my crew, destroyed my boat and killed my only chance of escaping this seaside nightmare."

"I told you my goals. I've killed Satan, Mammon and Asmodeus, why did you think that this battle would be any different? And anyways you surrounded me with swords, chained me inside a barrel, stabbed my eye and tried to have Leviathan kill me. Tell me, was that my fault?"

"No. Still I should've been freed, I should've been heaven bound. I just wanted to have what every other angel had, Heaven."

"Trust me, Heaven is no picnic. Everything is so strict, there are almost no people there either."

"I don't care. I just wanted to join my family."

"How do you know they aren't in Hell with you?"

"I can never leave here. I'm trapped, each time I try to go further than the forest I get blocked by an invisible field."

"Well now that Leviathan is dead you can at least give it one more chance. So, whaddya say, wanna sail with me?" Serpo looked at me then at the water then at the sky and back at me he sighed and grabbed onto my hand.

"Good choice. Brace yourself" I threw Serpo up onto the boat and he landed with a thud.

"The hell was that for, and how are you so damn strong."

"First off, language. Second, you chained me in a barrel and stabbed my eye. Third, I've killed four demon kings, how could I not be strong?

"Well you didn't have to throw me so hard."

"Again, you stabbed my eye and chained me inside a barrel."

"Whatever, just get up here." I climbed up onto the boat and walked over the wheel.

"Get up to the crow's nest, you're in charge of lookout duty." Serpo climbed the rope and sat in the crow's nest he sat without making a sound for days until I heard him yell,

"I see the pier! Eyes open, they have cannons lined up on the docks."

"Why would they have cannons on the docks?"

"I bet they are looking for you. Leviathan was one of Lucifer's favorite kings and I'm gonna bet that he's not just going to forgive and forget."

"Just keep your head down. It'll only be a few hours before we reach the pier. Come down here and take the wheel for me. I need some rest."

"Now?!"

"Yes now! I need some rest in case a fight breaks out. Wake me up when we get close."

"Ok, but if we die I'm going to kill you."

"Trust me we won't die. Just take the wheel." Serpo climbed down from the crow's nest as I entered the captain's cabin. I closed the door and sat at the desk. It took about thirty seconds before I was out cold. I once again stood in front of my father,

"Hey dad."

"Hello Titanis."

"Why did you let it happen? Why didn't you tell me about Satanas? If I had known, maybe Drako would be alive right now, maybe I would've been able to stop him. Tell me why."

"I did not know. It is as simple as that, I did not know of Satanas, about the possession. The blame goes not to me, but to Satanas. All I can do is watch. The watchers have me trapped at the center of it all."

"Who are the watchers?"

"They are the people I used to be a part of. All they did was conquer. They created worlds bland and emotionless, but the second I was born they feared me! my imagination, my creativity. I was stomped on, left in the dirt; after years of trying to be normal I couldn't hold it in anymore and they banished me."

"So that is why God and Lucifer must be stopped, they have been given the Ideals of the watchers. A world without sin is a bland world and a world full of sin is a horrible conquest. We need a balance."

"Precisely my point son. You are the balance, you are the mediator. I am sorry for not noticing Satanas, however, judging by how persistent he is, he will be back to bring forth the apocalypse."

"Is that what the prophecy meant? Are those two other warriors the people I saw the first time I met you?"

"I-..." Just as my father was going to tell me I was shaken awake by Serpo. He was here to tell me that we were only twenty minutes away from the port. I stood up rubbed, my eyes and followed Serpo out to the deck.

"If anything happens to me, stay hidden. Now Get to the wheel, I'll protect the ship." Serpo nodded and grabbed hold of the wheel. As I walked up to the tip of the ship I pulled up my hood and stared at the crowd of sloth demons manning the cannons. I heard chatter rise up from the dock and saw them take aim.

"Titanis!" I turned to Serpo

"I've got this." I turned back to the crowd of demons and pulled down my hood. "I am Titanis Angelus. In this last year alone I have killed four demon kings, leave us, and our ship, unharmed or I will cast you all deep into the sea!" A demon walked through the line of soldiers and, by the looks of him, was the general.

"We know who you are and what you've done. Our scribes know everything. You have never fought Sloth demons before, so let us show you what we are capable of." The line of cannons fired directly at me. When each cannonball struck they were each thrown back at the wood beneath them. The pier began to crumble as a dozen of the Sloth demons fell into the depths along with the cannons.

"Cannons. Wow, that's a new one."

"No, they were just a distraction." I closed my left eye and saw small balls of metal all around me. In a sudden burst of light I was trapped in a high voltage, floating capture device, the shocks were so strong I was trapped due to the constant separation. My cloak and Death's Touch fell to the ground as I was carried off to Sloth.

"It worked. Bring him to Belphegor!" I couldn't see, I was stuck in a prison of, ever increasing in voltage, electrocution. It was hours before I was released from my voltage prison and trapped in a cell much like my first one with the same shock absorbing crystals; although, this time both the walls and floor were made of purified Hellburdend steel. 

A hole in the wall opened up and something small and black wrapped itself around my neck sitting just above Asmodeus' eyes. A collar? I attempted to pull the collar off but was met with a shock that grew in strength every five seconds for the next minute.

 Each shock left me crippled on the floor paralyzed. I then tried to separate from it but it just separated and reformed with me, I could hear footsteps coming down the hallway as a humanoid goat demon with coke bottle glasses and a white coat approached my cell.

"You're the new one right?"

"Yeah. Who are you?"

"Welcome to the Sloth criminal asylum.I am Jacob, come with me." The demon held his hand out and pointed a remote towards the crystals, pressed a button and the crystals began to slide into small holes in the walls.

"Where are we going?"

"To the grand clock tower, that is where Belphegor waits. You don't want to be shocked again, now do you?"

"I wanted to speak to Belphegor anyway. Lead the way Jacob." Me and Jacob began to walk down the hall, our footsteps echoed off the walls.

"You are a rather strange specimen. You are an angel, are you not?"

"It's complicated."

"I see an identity crisis."

"No it's not. I know what I am. I'm just not proud of it.

"What does that mean?"

"Have you heard of The Pie-Cut Destiny?"

"The group of annoying size changers who believe in a higher being?"

"Yes, what if I told you that everything they believe is true?"

"You are crazier than we thought. This isn't just an identity crisis, it's insanity."

"No it's not. All I tell you is true."

"Those shocks must be damaging to your brain. Blurring fact from fiction, hmm we'd better pick up the pace." Jacob began to speed up so, naturally, I sped up to. I could see the end of the hall up ahead there was a giant Hell Burdened steel gate with small slivers of sun peaking through the tiny holes in the gate, but instead of going straight towards the gate he turned and drew a circle on the wall with a blue crystal.

"Where are we going? The door is right there."

"Let's just say that it's a shortcut. You are sane enough to know that right?"

"I am not insane." After the circle was drawn a portal opened up on the wall allowing us to slip through 

"In you go." Jacob allowed me to go ahead. I walked through the portal only to find myself in the Greedland casino.

"What's going on?" The portal closed and the collar on my neck fell to the ground.

"Welcome back Titanis."

"Tyritus? Why are you in Greed? Why am I in Greed? I should be in Sloth."

"I heard that you were captured and they had found out how to trap you by using electric shocks."

"Was that doctor on our side?"

"We aren't certain yet, but he got you here didn't he?"

"Fair enough. You'll be happy to know that I have successfully killed four out of the seven kings, and I'm stronger for it."

"That is wonderful news! Which kings have you killed? Say I know about Satan and Mammon, but who are the other two?"

"I have killed Asmodius and Leviathan." Tyritus looked at me with a horrified expression,

"What was that last one?"

"Leviathan?"

"This is bad, this is very, very bad."

"What's wrong?"

"The more you kill the weaker I seem."

"What?" The walls around me began to melt into a deep black ink and a whisper echoed throughout my head.

"Smoke and mirrors, the predicament of sight" 

"I recognize this place." Sounds of a silent tick rang around the room as I looked ahead to the mirror in front of me.

"Come out Satanas. I know you're there." Smoke crowded around my feet as a dark figure appeared in the mirror ahead.

"Did you miss me? I'm so glad you remembered."

"How could I forget you? You killed my friend and possessed me.This time I won't let you out of that mirror." 

"We'll just have to see about that, now won't we?" I slowly walked up to the mirror and watched as Satanas showed his ugly face.

"There's the grin I remember. I Want you to know that by the time I'm done I will find a way to get rid of you in the most painful way possible. In fact, I dare you to come out of that mirror and give it your best shot. I'll kill you with or without death's touch and this time you will stay dead!"

"You're so pitiful. Whining about nothing but friends and love. I want to let you know that when you wake up I will be gone. Are you ready? 3… 2… 1…" A burning jolt of electricity jumped around my nerves as I sat up on the floor of my cell with Jacob sitting there checking my pulse.

"Good, you're awake. Let me take a quick check on vitals."

"It doesn't matter. I'm fully functional."

"I just need to test something" Jacob pulled a knife from a pouch on his waist and the blade began to give off an eerie glow.

"What are you doing with that?"

"Just a little experiment." Jacob grabbed my hand and cut right in the middle. White ooze began to seep out from the wound.

"That's rather strange."

"What is it?" I sat up and looked at my hand.

"Our records have only recorded you to have black blood, like that of most angels, but this! This is certainly strange."

"Yeah my blood does that a lot. It was blue when fighting Leviathan, it was emerald green when I fought Mammon, it was black while fighting Satan, and a deep crimson before defeating Asmodeus." Jacob pulled a piece of black paper from the same pouch as the knife.

"What's that?"

"It is a small piece of scribe parchment. If you give me a small amount of blood I can learn all about you. Well, all that's already happened."

"Is that so?"

"May I?" I gave a slow nod as Jacob pressed the parchment against my opened wound. I watched as the blood began to slowly twist into a series of words and diagrams, each page had words that glowed bright with the color of my blood at that time, the story just continued leaving so many facts and diagrams that Jacob had to continue placing parchment over the wound just to find out more.

"You have been through so much, your power far exceeds that of Belphegor. Why don't you break free?" 

"Well, this collar doesn't help." I went to pull on the collar and was, once again, met with the same shocks as before, leaving me immoble and in constant agony.

"Point taken. Here this should help." Jacob injected a solution into my forearm. I could feel my body gaining feeling once more.

"What did you do?"

"I injected you with a rubilain sentinel's venom."

"What is a rubilian sentinel?"

"A rubilian sentinel is a symbiote who poisons its victims, turning them into a rubber zombie. It is quite fascinating actually, they have come from being a helpless slime to becoming a thriving civilization who hides in only the strongest shock crystal caverns."

"Wait, hold up. Does this mean I'll become a rubber zombie!?"

"Oh, of course not! It just means that your skin has been reinforced to withstand extreme electrical currents and, with a little training, even learn to bend them. It took me a while but I was able to remove the mind controlling enzyme. Only you, me and the scribes know of this."

"I need to get to Belphegor."

"Yes, yes in time… give me your hand, I have more pieces of parchment to give to you." Jacob pulled a pile of parchment and stacked it behind the first hundred pieces of parchment.

"Drat! We don't have a cover to hold the pages!" That's when I remembered the journal cover I crafted while on the corpse of the hell shark.

"Will this work?" I handed Jacob the cover and he examined it down to every fiber.

"This is more than suitable to hold such a story. Just let me…" I couldn't understand a word he said as he began to sew each page carefully to make an even and quite beautiful journal.

"Thank you Jacob."

"Don't mention it. Oh, and one last thing." Jacob handed me a pen with a wink, but this was no ordinary pen! The ink in this pen was made of a refilling mixture of living blue crystal.

"Thank you."

"Don't snitch on me. Now get out of here while I create a believable story of your escape." Jacob turned and ran for the door screaming for the guards. 

"That's my que to leave." I drew a circle on the wall and hopped through and, just like in my dream, I was met with a very confused Tyritus.

"Before you ask any questions, I need you to bring me a full body mirror."

"ok I'll be back in a minute." Tyritus ran across the throne room and out the main doors.

"When did those doors get there, and why didn't the assassins bring me through those?" I looked around the walls, "Hmm seems like The Destiny has been hard at work repairing this room. Eh, it looks more like a museum." 

The holes and claw marks in the wall were perfectly preserved and all around the room banners were hung showing the symbol of The Destiny. I pulled the journal from my satchel and began reading.

It didn't take long before Tyritus came back mirror in hands. I could've sworn that the mirror Tyritus brought into the room was the exact same in comparison to the one I had continuously seen in my dreams, no… NIGHTMARES.

"Now tell where have you been, and why do you need a mirror?"

"While I was gone I ran into a very despicable demon. His name was Satanas Paritunt, he possessed me and made me kill my dragon."

"That still doesn't explain the mirror."

"Each time I was confronted by Satanas I was sitting in a dark room with only a single mirror, and in that mirror I saw him."

"Do you need a moment alone?"

"No it's ok, you can stay, but if I tell you to run, you run. No questions asked. Just bolt out of here. Can I trust you to do that?"

"You have my word."

"Ok, be prepared." I removed the mirror cover and absorbed the torchlight leaving the room dark and quiet. It didn't take long before the mirror began to glow purple and Satanas was visible.

"Greetings Titanis who's your little friend."

"Why don't you come out of there and find out."

"Believe me I want to do nothing more."

"Why don't you? Too weak?"

"You seem misinformed… demonic possession takes more than a LITTLE EFFORT. I USED IT all last timE. Those were the good times huh? Still miss your little friend?"

"Stick to the subject?"

"No. I do find it extremely amusing. I am here to bring the apocalypse. I will bring Death, Famine, War, and in an infernal Conquest, tear the world apart!"

"How do you propose that's going to happen if you are trapped in a mirror?"

"AS time goes on I will grow stronger and stronger until the day this mirror is shattered and My new host is engulfed and dead…" Satanas' face began to slowly sink back into the darkness of the room as a cackle filled the air in every direction.

"You will never escape this mirror. Not for as long as I live! Tyritus, step back." Tyritus stood back as I opened a portal to a dimension filled with darkness and ruined temples.

"This realm is much different from that one I saw before… It's much more… dark." I walked out onto the dark grass and made my way towards a pit not far from the portal. I could feel a freezing cold wind blowing up from the pit. I turned my left hand into a sickle and slid down the side of the pit with the mirror in my left hand.

I slid for hours on end until finally landing on a chiseled stone floor. I lit a fire that followed behind me as I walked around the winding stone halls all the while being battered by freezing cold air. I looked at the carvings around the walls, there was one symbol that caught my eye: A pie cut eye. I continued down the halls until I reached an empty room. I closed my left eye and saw that it was filled from head to toe with booby traps.

"Perfect."

I slowly made my way across the room and took some of the random broken chains and spikes around the room. Using the spikes and chains, I welded a steel coffin to hold the mirror, leaving it inaccessible to anyone but myself. 

I closed my eyes and pictured Mammon's casino right down to the littlest detail. I pushed my hands together and as I separated them a hole split the fabric of reality and on the other side was both the casino and Tyritus.

"Yes! It worked!" I walked through the portal and looked back at the steel coffin."This is for Drako." I turned my head back.

"Man, I hate that guy!"

"Hey, you stopped Satanas for the time being. Now it's time to do the same to Belphegor."

"Ok, ok. Slow down there buddy. I first gotta catch up on some much needed rest. Here…" I pulled the journal from my bag and handed it to Tyritus.

"What is this?"

"It's a document of everything that's happened to me so far. Everything is recorded on these pages. Oh! Wait." I opened the book and turned my right hand into a razor then proceeded to cut the center of my left hand.

"Woah! Why did you do that!? Don't hurt yourself on purpose!"

"Calm down and watch." As I lowered my hand down on the black parchment Tyritus dropped his jaw at the sight of my blood twisting into words.

"What is that paper made of!?"

"It's scribe paper. My new friend in sloth loaded this book with pages upon pages of scribe paper, and I want you to read it. Think of it as my life story; It contains facts, conversations and details on my anatomy."

"So, I can learn, first hand, what has happened to you before and after we met."

"Yes, but you must never let it fall into the wrong hands because if you do I could end up dead. I may seem immortal, but I can very much be killed and every detail is contained within. I hope it will give you an important insight on who I am and what I've done."

"Thank you, I look forward to learning about your childhood and what I've missed when it comes to your adventures. Now. go rest, you deserve it."

"I guess you're right."

"Follow me, I'll take you to your chambers."

"No thanks. I'd rather sleep in here."

"okay? Good night." As Tyritus left the room I turned towards Mammon's throne. Well, more accurately, my throne, I sat in the cushioned, marble chair. As I slept I dreamt of Home, of life before, I could see it with great definition; my old room, my soft bed engulfed by the darkness of night all apart from the sliver of moonlight slipping through the window and bouncing off my old worn shield.

"Why am I here?" I thought as I ran my hand over my soft, silk blankets.

"It's all a lot smaller than it was to begin with." I sat on the edge of my bed as the wood began to creak, laying down, legs and head hanging off the edges, I looked over to my side. I could see the faint outline of my maps hanging in order by direction, each ending meeting another's start. "I can't believe that I used to be able to lay down this way and still have room. Haaa… I want things to be simple again. I want to fit in my bed. I want to hold my shield with bliss." I sat up and grabbed my shield. What used to feel heavy in my hands now felt light, as the coarse metal reminded me of the good times: laying at the forge, training and of course, the moment I crafted the shield myself. 

It was the first thing I had ever created in the burning forge. I remember chiseling the pie-cut eye into the center of the thick metal as a symbol of acceptance, that was also the day I accepted my appearance. My shield wasn't perfect, but it was my first creation and I wasn't perfect either so we fit each other perfectly.

I turned and faced vertical laying in my bed with my feet hanging off the edge and spreading across the floor with my shield on my chest as I closed my eyes to sleep. The memories were too painful but I felt safe and comfy laying in that short bed as I escaped this dream world, leaving myself to the darkness of a dreamless sleep.