His face is in shadow, but I can still see the glowing red eyes, bright beneath his hood. He gestures lazily, beckoning me forward. I move closer, not daring to meet his eyes, keeping my face downturned. When I am directly in front of his massive throne, I kneel at his feet, still refusing to look into his eyes. Instead, I content myself with fixing my eyes a few inches above the hood of his cloak. He considers me for a moment – or at least, I think he does – and then inclines his head.
"I require a favor."
My eyes finally snap up to his. "Anything, master."
"The Goddess has become a nuisance of late," says Demise, his voice low and measured. "I have grown tired of her meddling." He rises from his seat, and walks slowly over to the window, the hall's only source of light. I continue to stare up at him, waiting for him to go on.
Gazing out of the window, he continues, "My patience with her is waning. I feel that it is at last time to put the Goddess out of action…permanently." He turns to me, face still hidden, but eyes still bright. "She has sent the Humans to live above the clouds, and summoned the five tribes of the Surface to do away with me."
"Master, surely, the Goddess is no match—"
"Do not interrupt me." He pauses, and stares straight at me. His eyes seem to penetrate me, to look directly into my soul. Then he continues, "You are, of course, correct. The Goddess is no match for me. But I must admit that the plan she has concocted is worrying."
"Master, what are her plans, exactly?" I venture.
"She proposes to seal me away forever, where I can never harm her or her precious minions ever again." I can hear the anger building in his voice. It instills in me that ardent desire that has so possessed me lately; the desire to do all and be all I can for Demise. I must serve him dutifully, be his most faithful…
"Ghirahim, she will succeed."
My jaw drops as his words bring me out of my reverie. "S-surely not, master—" I begin, but Demise shoots me another look, and I instantly close my mouth.
"She will succeed," Demise says again. "I am sorry to say that she has recently come into possession of a new weapon, one that is repellent to our kind." I watch as his hands ball into fists, and he turns away from he and toward the window again. "It is a weapon that we cannot touch."
No. This isn't happening. My master, the all-powerful Demise, thwarted by an invention of the Goddess? It isn't true.
As though he's read my mind, Demise remarks lazily, "Yes, I, too, thought it impossible. What with my prodigious skill and strength, who could even dream of challenging me?" His eyes grow over-bright as he continues, still looking intently out the window. "But, I digress. There is, as I have said, a service I require of you." He turns back to me finally, and says, voice still measured, "You must resurrect me."
"Master?"
"When I fall, you must resurrect me," he repeats. "Consider it your new life's purpose. You shall succeed, or you shall die."
I gaze up at him, shocked, but manage to say, "Yes, master. Of course, I will."
Demise nods. "I knew you would be faithful, Ghirahim. But be assured," He turns away yet again, so that all I can see is his dark profile. "If you fail, I will ensure that you suffer for all eternity."
