"Ok, explain it again to me."
"Very well. Is there any point, in particular, that I was amiss in explaining it better?"
"I still find it difficult to believe what you told me about Devils."
"From the start then?"
"No. I understood everything. I just find it difficult to believe, but… then again you are right in front of me, so… Just explain it again, just in case."
"All Devils are born in Hell-"
"In literal Hell?"
"In literal Hell with a unique name that correlates to the very essence of their being. They are the embodiment of the fear that surrounds the concept around their name."
"And yours is Control Devil."
"Correct. I embody the fear of control, conquest and domination."
"That's… a pretty large concept."
"And people have a very large amount of fear for it... Fear of being controlled, losing control, staying in control. Of conquering and being conquered. Of being subjugated. Of being dominated. Everything hinges on the Name of the Devil and the amount of fear that it causes on sapient beings, both conscious and subconsciously."
"Ok…" Taylor makes a motion to pick up a small stone by the seaside as she is hit with a sudden urge to chuck something at the water. "Are there any more powerful then you?"
"How about you tell me?"
Taylor frowns and throws the small stone with a flick. With her newfound strength she watched the stone fly with great speed before finally hitting the water a very long distance away before starting to bounce on the surface like a proper skipping stone.
"The Dark?"
"Hmm, bullseye. Just try not to say its name a lot. Any other?"
"Death."
"Yup. 2 for 2. Any more?"
"…The Unknown"
The Devil hums a curious tune and says "Curious, that you went there. Those are what's known as the Primal Fears, the very first ones and the ones who, both because and despite their age, still have a deep influence over the human psyche. Even the Devils themselves can't help but fear them. But how about you tell me a new one?"
"A new one?"
"A Devil is born from a concept but only when people fear that concept. Can you think of the appearance of anything that recently ensured the birth of a new Devil?"
"I…" She gulped and looked up to the sky. She watched the few stars shining through the spring night in thought, absentmindedly enjoying the sea waves hitting her bare feet softly. The Devil by her side kept her silence, with her red silhouette in odd contrast to the midnight blue of the water of the Bay. She too was barefoot, wiggling her toes into one of the few patches of sand of the rocky beach they were standing on.
"Parahumans…" Taylor whispered. "…and Endbringers."
Makima looked at Taylor, tilting her head like a curious cat, and smiled a small smile. Her eyes though showed no amusement, only determination… and hunger.
"Exactly" The Devil whispered back just as quietly.
The Devil took a deep reassuring breathe and proclaimed in a self-assured, intrinsically hypnotic, tone of voice of someone both deeply accustomed to making speeches and immensely good at them: "This world is losing control. Don't you think? It's high time someone comes and puts things to rights. To where they belong. Humanity is losing control over the world and over itself, both on a general and an individual basis, and though I too take pleasure and power over this fact, it is, nevertheless, highly annoying and highly bothersome on a personal level. Such fear… but no direction, no purpose. Just hopeless fear. The specific fear of being controlled by a parahuman Master alone is giving me half the fuel I need just to regather my previous strength after finding myself here." A soft snort from the Devil "The very fact I am here, however…" The Devil closes its eyes as her head tilts fully backwards. She hums again, in clear pleasure this time, and continues "… almost seems like an act of Providence." She opens her eyes again and looks to Taylor's own. The teenage girl finds that she can't look away. "You and me, Taylor. We'll do great things. You will be the Hero you want to be and I… I shall help you put things back in order."
Suddenly, from behind them, the night lit up in flames, colouring the waters of the bay to a deep orange and burning red. Taylor broke the staring contest and turned around to look at what was happening. Above them, on the concrete dock, large plumes of flame where being jetted across the Docks. The sounds of a fight started to make themselves known… and for some reason the involved dogs? Because the deep sounds of barking echoed and reverberated over the Docks were definitely dog-like, all while the sounds of someone faintly giving out orders could be herd over them. The flames though, only one parahuman in the Bay could make them so large so it was no mystery who made them.
The Devil was close enough to Taylor's ear that she could feel the warm breath on it and the strange but faint smell of sulphur to enter her nose.
"It seems it is time of your debut."
The Devil walks out of the waves and elegantly puts her shoes on.
"So? Are you ready?"
With her figure half turned to the steps leading back to the dock The Devil extends a hand invitingly and smiles tantalizingly.
"Dominion?"
A/N: Welp, the previous post blew up by my standards and Holy Shit.
I love you all.
Here's a new snippet of this fanfic concept. I hope ya'll like it.
If you liked it don't forget to review!