Pandemonium
Summary: After a tragic event leaves all of Enchancia shaken, in the midst of overwhelming devastation and despair, an unexpected ally lends a hand to restore balance to the realm once more. (Collab with Mr. Shortman92; editing assistance by MarionetteJ2X)
Disclaimer: I own nothing except Daemno, Alamea, and Corban. Nana and Tanya belong to MarionetteJ2X. Daemno's wife Daluzia belongs to Mr. Shortman92. Also, this is his idea. 😊
Chapter 7: Waiting Game
Not even two minutes into the game, James was already bored. He needed something to occupy his time. As he glanced over at the cage's only other occupant, he smiled, turning to face her more fully as he said, "Why, hello there, miss. I'm James." He lifted her bony hand and kissed the back of it. "And it is a pleasure to meet you."
Cedric looked a little disturbed after witnessing the prince's actions. "Um... James, what are you doing?"
Without even looking at Cedric, James responded, "What does it look like? I'm getting to know my cage-mate."
"I can't believe he kissed it," Daemno muttered in mild disgust. "This prince is a whole new level of 'strange' that I've never encountered before..."
James continued speaking to the corpse before him, his flirtatious nature on full display. "I don't know if anyone's ever told you, but you have beautiful eye-sockets." The other two were having trouble concentrating on their game as the prince continued to seemingly flirt with a dead body just above them. "I hope I'm not being too forward by saying so, but you are drop dead gorgeous!" The other two groaned at his tasteless pun. "I mean it! Why, I bet when you were alive, you were so beautiful that any man would have sold his soul just for one date. A girl worth going to the Underworld and back for."
Daemno gagged. "I swear, if he starts making out with that skeleton, I'm going to be sick… And I'm a nonliving entity…"
Cedric rolled his eyes, calling up to the prince, "James, knock it off! She's not going to respond to you. She's a corpse. And besides, what would Princess Vivian say?"
"You wouldn't dare tell Vivian…" He folded his arms and leaned up against the bars as Cedric tossed him a pointed glare. James then looked down at Daemno. "By the way, what's the deal with all these skeletons in cages? Who's your decorator, the Grim Reaper?"
"They are all fools who didn't heed my warning signs." He sighed. "But before you go jumping to conclusions, they're not prisoners. They're trophies, and in a way, a final warning to anyone who somehow manages to make it this far. And I didn't kill them." He gestured to the pools behind him. "Cedric, the fountain you and Princess Sofia stumbled upon a few years ago was one of several smaller collection pools that I've placed in all of the known realms. They are hidden for a reason. The souls of the dead are collected in those, and they all lead here, where the souls are sorted into three main pools. One is for corrupt, evil souls, who are too dangerous to exist among the living anymore. Another is for redeemable souls, and those who are still needed in the land of the living for one reason or another. And the last one is for good souls, who have done all they can in the world, and who are finally ready to rest."
The other two were intrigued by this new information, and Cedric asked, "And who decides all of that?"
Daemno turned to the portrait hanging to the left of him. "My wife."
The other two looked at the painting on the wall, even more intrigued.
"Hey, Cedric," James began, "doesn't Diego's wife look a lot like Sofia?"
Cedric nodded. "It's 'Daemno.' And yes, she does…" He'd noticed earlier, of course, but had said nothing. He then turned back to Daemno, and asked as he looked at the board, contemplating his next move, "Daemno, you said your wife really liked Sofia. Why is that?"
"Because creating Sofia was one of her proudest achievements." Seeing their expressions of both surprise and confusion, he elaborated, "My wife's job is to create life. Well...sort of. She gives things their souls. She shapes each soul with her own hands, giving them all the love and care a mother would her child. And she worked exceptionally hard on your princess."
This was all very shocking news to the friends, and it would probably take a while to fully process, but Cedric was now curious about something else. "Then... Why did you try to kill Sofia in MÃ¥ngata? I mean, I get it, we were trespassing, but wouldn't killing Sofia have angered your wife?"
Daemno laughed. "Oh, she was not happy when she found out. But it's like a game we play. She creates a really powerful soul, and I try to collect it. Sometimes I succeed, and sometimes I don't. I technically won this time. But right now, the pools are overflowing, so it's a very bad time to have such a powerful soul contained here. The Never Realm sent well over 2,000 souls here, and then you people sent the entire Never Realm! Meanwhile, recently, we've gotten a certain troublesome collection of Elementals to deal with, along with one very annoying being who calls himself 'Master Extorio.'"
James smirked. "Yeah, he and his little group of element shifters deserve to be in that first pool you mentioned…"
"Not to mention the hoard of bandits and evildoers Mr. Magic Man here slaughtered a few days ago…" The entity scoffed, "We are overcrowded, and that is the only reason why I'm willing to give up such a prize."
"So, I have a question," the prince added, gaining the attention of the other two. "Well, two, actually. If you didn't kill these skeletons, then what did? And what exactly happens to the souls in those pools?"
"Good questions, Prince James. They died trying to take souls from the pools. The pools are dangerous to mortals, because they are made to collect and contain souls. If you reach into the pools, your soul will be extracted." He pointed at the first pool, which almost appeared to be boiling. "The bad souls are destroyed, though it's not exactly a fast process. If a soul isn't all bad, it's put in the second pool. Souls in there are souls that will be given a new life. You'll notice it's the fullest. That's because a lot of innocent souls were sent here far too soon, and they can only get a second chance when new life enters the world. In some special cases, usually to teach a lesson, a new body is made from scratch, like with your old friend Wolfrik. But most good souls getting a second chance are placed in newborns, essentially starting a whole new life. Rayasenia of MÃ¥ngata, for example, is now a young witch residing in your kingdom. I believe you two know her as Lucinda."
James and Cedric gasped, "Lucinda?!"
"Yes. New name, new look, new life, but the same soul."
James shook his head in disbelief and then asked, "What about the last pool?"
"Ah, those souls have been around for a long time, and have accomplished many good things. They won't live another life. My wife will make sure that they sleep comfortably back in her home realm. Your princess is currently in the middle one, but considering how much she's done, she could be moved to the last pool soon. Not that it matters, because you just lost." He moved a chess piece as Cedric's eyes widened. "Checkmate." He shook his head, noting the look of despair on the sorcerer's face. "Oh, that's too bad for you, Cedric... But I did say you could have one rematch, with both of you playing against me, and I am an entity of my word." He observed the look of relief washing over Cedric and hummed. "Would you like to give it another shot?"
Cedric nodded, and Daemno dumped James out of the cage.
The prince yelped and groaned. "Ow! Yes, we want a rematch!"
Daemno chuckled and asked, "And what game do you choose?"
Cedric and James looked to each other before answering, "Go Fish!"
While all of this was going on in the Underworld, back in Enchancia, Tanya was still taking care of Nana. They had read books together, played hide and seek (not many places to hide in the tower, but they made it work), baked treats using magic, and even given Wormwood a makeover with some of Amber's makeup (much to his chagrin).
That evening, Tanya also lulled Nana to sleep with her lullaby that Cedric and Sofia sang to her often, and she teared up thinking about it when Nana finally drifted off to sleep. "Papa…" She sniffled, feeling that emotional connection to the sorcerer, even in her adult form. "I hope…"
Wormwood flew over to the young woman, alighting on her shoulder. "Are you all right, Tanya?"
"I am fine," she insisted, though she knew he could tell that wasn't the case. "Although… I am worried…"
"I am as well," he admitted, nuzzling her cheek. "But if I know Cedric, and I do… He won't come back without Sofia." He smiled at the uncertain expression on the white-haired girl's face. "Trust me, Tanya… Cedric won't give up when it comes to Sofia. He never has." He gestured toward Cedric's bed where Nana was sleeping before nodding toward Tanya. "Perhaps you need as much rest as she does. You've done all you can for one day."
She nodded reluctantly, sighing. "You are right…" She smiled gently, reaching up to scratch his head. "Thank you, Wormwood." With nothing else to say, she stood and transformed into her child form once more, sliding under the covers and snuggling next to her little sister. "Good night, Nana," she whispered, kissing the tiny girl on the forehead. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Wormwood hummed quietly as he observed the sleeping girls, and then he flew off to his perch to get some sleep himself.
Back in the Underworld, as the three played Go Fish, they talked a bit more, and Daemno explained a bit more about his role.
"I was born from a powerful negative energy I believe you humans call 'Dark Magic.' My wife—Daluzia—was born from 'Light Magic.' Before we were married, she would make souls for every living thing that crossed her path, essentially giving them a personality and making them unique. All I ever did was corrupt those living things and make them do my evil bidding. Daluzia did not like that, and so we became rivals. She would create as many pure souls as she could, and I would try my hardest to turn them. Eventually, though, we both realized something: we were both flawed. My dark, corrupt souls, were so evil that they would kill each other. Daluzia's good souls were so nice that they couldn't even defend themselves. We both knew at that point that there needed to be a balance, so I allowed her to create good souls, but I would plant a seed of evil in every one of them. That way everyone would start out good, but they would have the potential to be evil, given the right circumstances. Every bad soul that turned evil would strengthen the fighting experience of the good souls who found a way to use their own dark side to fight."
After hearing all of that, the Enchancians were stunned. But then, Cedric asked, "So, how exactly did you two get together?"
"Hmm, well, you know, opposites attract and all that. I was drawn to her light and her goodness, and she was fascinated by me because I was 'dark and mysterious.'" He chuckled, before turning toward Cedric specifically, continuing with, "Sounds familiar, wouldn't you say, Cedric?"
James laughed. "Ha, I get it, Cedric. He's talking about you and Sofia."
Cedric gave the prince a dry look, rolling his eyes at the unnecessary explanation. "You don't say." He looked towards Daemno. "So, why would you want to kill someone who reminds you of your wife?"
Daemno shrugged. "What can I say? We've been married a long time, and sometimes I just can't stand her nagging. But I'd never kill my own wife, so Princess Sofia was the next best thing." Seeing the shocked looks on the others' faces, he started laughing. "I'm joking! The truth is my wife is away a lot, and I miss her, so having Sofia's soul would have let me keep a part of her with me always. A bit selfish, I admit, but..." Noting the number of cards each of them had, Daemno knew he'd probably end up winning again, so he laid his cards down and sighed. "You need her more than I do. Even if my wife leaves, I know she'll come back. I shouldn't deny you the chance to be with the one you love just because I'm missing the one I love." He stood up and led the duo to the second pool. "She is in here, waiting for you." He reached into the eerie green liquid and pulled out an exceptionally bright soul, placing it in a glass vial and capping it off before handing it to Cedric. "You cannot simply release the soul near her. It must be released into her mouth, or it will just come back here, and you'd have to start all over again." He smirked at the hopeful look on the sorcerer's face. "And I might not be in such a giving mood next time."
Cedric nodded. "Thank you, Daemno."
Daemno waved him off. "Think nothing of it. I haven't had company in a while, and so it was strangely nice getting to talk to someone besides zombies for a change. In fact… Feel free to come visit again sometime. One day you're going to have no choice anyway." He chuckled and shook both of their hands.
James smirked. "Okay. Next time, we'll have a proper rematch. Winner gets to keep his soul."
Daemno laughed. "I look forward to the challenge, Prince James. Now, you two hurry back to Enchancia and save the princess."
To be continued…
Next Chapter: Heart and Soul