Ch21: Everybody Loves Shen!
Upon returning to the Dahlgur Oasis and entering the Ancient Waterway, our group of myself, Leah, and Serena could tell that something was off when we saw a visage of Emperor Hakan II appear before us with a green hue surrounding it. "Hmm..." Serena growled as she sniffed the air, probably sensing what had happened. "Emperor Hakan?" Leah asked, her eyes showing she wasn't trusting the illusion as well. "No time for pleasantries, but I think I can help you out," Hakan's visage said. "There are two levers that can open the way to the Desolate Sands. You'll need to go through the different channels to reach them."
After hearing what he had to say, I nodded and led the others into the first channel, the western one, and we were finally able to talk a bit. "Serena... did you happen to smell what I think you smelled?" I asked her, the small imp's face still a grimace. "That stench was too familiar for me to not recognize it... it was Belial for sure... he's succeeded in possessing the Emperor and is plotting to nab the Soulstone for himself," Serena growled. "That's horrid... we need to destroy Belial for hurting Hakan! He needs to pay!" Leah growled.
"I know, but we need to wait until we have the Black Soulstone to do so," I frowned at the two. "The zombie is true in her words," Zoltun Kuelle's spirit said from my bag. "The Black Soulstone, when fully completed, will be able to trap multiple demons, even those of the Seven Lords of Hell. It will be your only means of saving the world from madness." "Huh... never expected you to be the cooperative one, Kuelle. I'll be honest about that," Serena frowned. "Mm... and I can sense the essence of Andariel locked within your soul, young imp. It will be up to you and you alone if you wish to rid yourself of that essence."
"Um... what does that mean?" I asked as we found the first crank and I activated it, the waterfall disappearing from our path. Only one crank remained. "See, demons have different essences that they retain whenever they take on different forms," Serena explained. "For instance, I am able to master illusionary spells because of my Succubus essence. And I am able to make myself explode with my Fallen Maniac essence. And I can sense fear in my enemies because of my time as an Oppressor. Each of these essences give me a different ability... as for Andariel, it allows me to know when someone feels any emotion regarding sadness or anguish... so when I looked into Leah's eyes for the first time, I could tell she was feeling anguish about her inability to control her powers and her issues of wanting to know about her true parents."
"I see... demons are very complicated aren't they?" I asked with a small smile. "Yes, they are. And as for why Lilith can't remember anything from her previous life, it's because of one thing in particular: when she died at the hands of heroes, her essences were stolen away by Mephisto, her own father. When a demon loses every bit of their essence, the next they are born, they retain no memories of who they were before. So with the case of Lil, since she doesn't have her previous essences, she has been reincarnated as her original form with no memories of anything except her name."
"Hmm... I never expected the demon hierarchy to be so convoluted and extreme... I guess you learn something new every day, don't you?" Zoltun Kuelle frowned. "That seems to be the case for most of these adventures we have," I admitted as we finally reached the second crank, a slew of various demonic minions in our wake. I activated the crank and we were cleared for passage to the Desolate Sands.
"A secret passage hidden behind a waterfall..." Zoltun Kuelle smiled. "I know, it is SUCH a cliche!" I giggled at the slight joke... even though Kuelle didn't really get it. "Okay... I don't know what you're talking about," he admitted. "I don't either, but maybe it's better that way," Leah smirked as we then heard the telltale sign of a barrel moving and clattering. "Hello? Is anyone alive out there? I could use some help," said the voice of the funniest character in the game, Covetous Shen.
"Okay guys, let's go save this guy's ass," I smirked as I led the pack and we began to slaughter the Betrayed and Accursed that surrounded the barrel, leaving no prisoners. "Hello? Are you still alive out there?" Shen asked as the barrel kept moving. I simply took a mace I had picked up earlier and whacked it against the barrel, freeing the old man trapped within. "Whew! Thanks for that! It was getting quite uncomfortable and-" Shen began to talk until he saw me and Serena exclusively.
"WHOA!" he gulped as he actually ducked for cover behind Leah. "Um... I'm guessing that he doesn't know the saying "don't judge a book by it's cover," huh?" Serena smirked, shocking Shen big time when she spoke. "An Imp that is able to speak?... And a female zombie that has yet to attack me for brains?... I've lived for so long, yet I guess new things just pop up whenever they want," Shen admitted as he got out from behind Leah with a smile. "Well, sir, we need to go to the Desolate Sands and there's safety in numbers. Maybe we should stick together," I smirked at him as we walked forward and I noticed that the gate was already opened.
"Oh how rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Covetous Shen!" the old man smirked at me. "Were you given that name by birth? Or were you named by haters?" I asked him with a sly smile. "I have no haters! Everybody loves Shen!" he smirked happily as we entered the next area and were met with some more Deceivers and Accursed... though they lasted mere seconds when up against our skills.
"I can't believe my young apprentice bashed me over the head and sealed me in that barrel! This place can be quite dangerous without a knowledgeable guide," Shen smirked. "Yet you just said you have no haters..." Serena groaned as I simply chuckled. "I do not have anyone who hates me! Well, maybe despise, but not hate." "So your apprentice... what were you and him doing down here in the first place?" Leah asked Shen. "Searching for a rare crucible that can make jewels of the finest quality," Shen smirked with googly eyes as we entered an area that looked occupied by a certain man. A man that had green ooze exuding from all over his body.
"Get out of here! The crucible is MI- GACK!" his apprentice would've said before I silenced him with a single sword slice to his stomach. "Poor boy... I think the crucible cursed him... but it should be okay now," Shen said as he looked at the apprentice. "You better hope so, Shen," I frowned as I touched the crucible, something happening afterwards that shocked me to no end. I saw into my own world for at least five seconds until I was snapped back here!
And in those five seconds, I saw what had become of my house during the storm. The furniture was all but ruined, mold and mice droppings covering them all over. The floor was rotting both underneath and on top, the wood now looking unrecognizable to anyone who had set foot in the house before. But the biggest change was that of the huge gaping hole in the corner of the house caused by the lightning strike. The whole area was demolished as was the PS3 and Widescreen TV that warped me to this world. But the most surprising fact of all of this was that the storm was still going on. And the clock in the corner of the house read 7:39 pm. The exact time that the PS3 warped me to this world. But that wasn't all. Right there, sitting in the chair as well as a woman outside the door, were two bodies, still breathing. Still full of life. But both in a deep slumber. A slumber caused by the falling of the Archangel Tyreal.
When the vision ended, I actually felt so woozy from the out-of-body experience that I fell on my ass in front of everyone else. "Lisa! Are you okay?!" Serena asked as she helped me off the ground. "Y-Yeah... I just... that crucible gave me a vision... a vision of the aftermath of the thunderbolt that brought me here," I admitted to them. "R-Really? W-Well what did you see?" Leah asked with worry. "I'll tell you on our way out of here... and Shen, you should head back to our camp. We could use a jeweler on our team," I smirked at him. "Oh, I know I would have no dull days travelling with you, so I accept!" Shen smirked as we went forward and into the next area... and I knew for a fact that my vision was real. As real as it could ever get.