Routine. That's what it had become, and it had been that way for quite some time.
The supplicants. Day in and day out.
There were the foundation of it all, of his existence. Without their greed and curiosity, he would be meaningless.
It was all routine, until he entered that wooden bedroom door and saw a wide-eyed girl staring back at him in utter terror.
She was not part of the routine.
In an effort to hide his own confusion and bewilderment, the former Elliot Spencer straightened his back and took a strong step forward, drawing a gasp from the puzzle-solver.
"You opened the box, we came." His voice, booming and deeper than the shadows, made her flinch.
"We?" Barely a whisper. The son of Hell took a moment to study his new possession.
She was, in eyes unclouded by 'routine', beautiful.
Another thought that ought not to have been explored.
Thankfully, footsteps from behind turned his black stare away from the girl.
Yes, his loyal Cenobytes.
They walked into the room slowly, purposefully, so that the girl knew fear. Chattering teeth, smacking lips, sharpening knives. They knew the trade, the routine, and they were not fazed by the puzzle-solver.
Why was is that such lowly beings, beings that were beneath him in power and rank, were able to keep composure and he...couldn't?
He took another step towards the bed, towards the girl. Her rosy cheeks were tear-streaked, lips trembling. Her small hands still held onto the box, as if it was going to protect her. The former Elliot Spencer almost felt pity for her. The cross above her bed then caught his attention, followed by the familiar robes that were draped over a small chair in a corner of the room.
A chill ran through him.
"Where...did you find that?" He demanded, a blood-stained finger pointed towards the box. The girl, who he now knew to be a young woman, looked down at the object in her shaking hands.
"The l-library." Hell was void of feminine voices, high and sweet in tone. It was so foreign to him."I-I'm sorry. I'll p-put it back."
Evil laughter flooded the room; his Cenobytes found her solution humorous.
"That is impossible. This is how things have been done," another step towards her, "...are done and will be done, until time ceases to exist." He studied her face, each curve and play of the light. "We have such sights to show you, child."
When he was but a foot from her, his face bathed in the preternatural blue light, the young woman's eyes rolled back and her body fell to the side. The Cenobyte's scoffed and slowly left the room, their disappointment more than evident. It wasn't as if they never to know her flesh.
In fact, that had an eternity to do just that.
Reluctantly, the former Elliot Spencer lifted the nun out of the bed and carried her out the door, towards the labyrinth.