After fifteen minutes of Imperael chastising all of the non-believing humans of the High Heavens, and kicking one straight through a wall at the elder Demon Hunter's mild insistence, the group was finally ready to go to Ivgorod. However, instead of leaving, Imperael decided to stay.
"You will not go back?" Jozin asked.
"No. I may learn a new way to kick mortals," Imperael seemed to snicker. The Nephalem cracked a grin. When Gurzick appeared to show he was ready to help get them to Ivgorod, the group moved through the portal quickly. When they got there, Jozin had his eyes narrowed. Sylauriel was waiting for him with an escort of warrior angels.
"What are you doing here?" Jozin asked carefully.
"I am here to assist. What would it look like?" she chuckled.
"No. That is not what we agreed on," he said.
"But...the others helped..." she seemed to shiver. He groaned, and the Nephalem died laughing. Now they all realized what was going on.
"At least mine is staying in Heaven," Byden snorted.
"She will come down to help you the moment your life is threatened," Sylauriel chuckled.
"Keep quiet," he warned. That got her laughing softly.
"Just stay behind me," Jozin muttered. At the feel of her hands on his shoulders, he did give a sigh of relief. He did miss her contact.
"Let me help you focus," she said and squeezed his shoulders gently. At the mild glance he gave her, she squeezed again to show she understood. Nodding now, he gazed out over the wild, grassy fields that led up to the temple. It seemed to be chiseled out of the very rock it was nestled in. Braziers were always lit in the entryway. There were no locks on the doors. There were no gates to bar out any. All were welcomed and treated as honored guests. Except for today.
The doors were closed. The braziers were cold. An unhealthy chill seemed to seep out from every part of the building. Jozin's face was ashen with disbelief. The others even felt something was definitely wrong. Byden, though, was grimacing hard and shaking his head. He sensed something very familiar here.
"Someone touched the stone," the Nephalem muttered.
"I..." Jozin shivered.
"Is it locked?" Imperael asked. Kormac looked over and smirked at him. Jozin found himself recovering rather quickly. He had mildly forgotten that the forces of Heaven were with them. At the sound of someone jogging up to them, the group turned to find Zayl.
"Let me out!" Humbert said in a muffled way from the pouch he was in.
"No! This is the home of honored Monks. They may not understand you," Zayl said, as he slowed up. "Hello! I was hoping to assist with you. I was in the area, and I felt a very nasty vibe."
"Liar! Tyrael sent us!" Humbert shouted. "Now let me out!"
"It is fine," Jozin said. "I will show that you and he are allies. But...why did Tyrael send you?"
"Well," Zayl sighed. "he said that he sensed the corruption was darker here."
"It's not darkness," Byden said with a wince. "It's hatred."
"Hatred?" Eirena frowned.
"The same hatred that I sense with Paladins," he frowned.
"What would give out so much hatred?" Vincent frowned. At this question, Malthael was soon appearing next to them. His wings were flaring white. When he was there, it signified only one thing.
"We're dealing with a Prime Evil. Aren't we?" the Nephalem asked.
"The scent of Mephisto is strong..." Malthael grounded out and bared his scythes. Byden hissed at the name. Within that moment, his angelic partner came down to comfort him. "No. You need to go back to Heaven. It is the same with Sylauriel."
"But..." Nikauriel hesitated.
"They will come to no harm," Imperael vowed. "You are both with offspring."
"He is correct. We cannot allow such corruption to harm you," Malthael said. "Now go back."
"We will be watching," Sylauriel said. Both female angels nodded to each other and teleported away. Malthael refocused on the doors and let Imperael move towards them. Zayl finally got Humbert out of the pouch to ready for an attack. Lou-yu had a powerful ice storm ready to be summoned. Jozin was leading the front with the Nephalem, and he was already at the main doors. With a deep breath for focus, he lightly pushed on the doors. They both swung open easily.
"Not locked? Hmm..." Lyndon frowned and readied his Manticore.
"They knew we were coming," Malthael grunted and strode in with them.
"You think so?" Byden asked.
"This is a Prime Evil. Such filth always knows when others are coming," he grunted in response. "We are wasting time. Where is the main chamber here?"
"Follow me," Jozin nodded. He led them down the chiseled hallway that had intense, superb craftsmanship that lasted throughout the ages. From the men fighting tigers and other wild beasts to the images of various martial arts, all of it was carved out with loving care and respect. The scent of incense, jasmine, and dragon's blood smoke seemed to roll out like a thick, yet pleasant fog. It wasn't overpowering, nor was it faint. The very rock walls seemed to hold it in and release it, as though they were breathing it in and out. There was only one issue that they had.
As much as Jozin would be calmed by it, he was too concerned over the situation before him. The closer they got to the central point of the temple, the heavier the hatred in the atmosphere seemed to become. They knew the enemy was aware of them.
"Jozin?" a voice whispered. The Monk recognized the sound.
"Arabil! Are you all right?" he asked. The young Monk in training walked over quickly. He was just starting to grow out his beard of dark red hair to show how young he was, and he was still filling out in various places to show his training was paying off.
"Our Grand Master is unwell. The Patriarch was fine until the odd package appeared. The moment he touched what it contained, he struggled within himself. He tried to drop it, but failed," the man cringed. "After he lost the inner battle, he began to create orders of blasphemy! To start defiling our most sacred chambers! We rebelled and locked him in his chambers, but..."
"That won't hold him for long," Kalgor growled.
"How long ago did this package arrive?" Byden asked.
"Three days ago," Arabil said. "We have no real way to give him food..."
"This situation is now critical!" Jozin hissed.
"Mortal. Where is the corrupted one now?" Malthael grounded out.
"Ah..." Arabil blinked. Jozin rose up his hand to get their attention and started to run down through the halls. Arabil watched the others go, and he moved to notify the other temple members that help had finally arrived. A ray of hope glimmered in their thoughts.
"Move," Imperael said when they approached the closed door. The door was clearly locked down, but that was no longer a problem when it was kicked in. The older man was in a meditative stance on a cushioned pillow along the floor. His room was in complete disarray from the anger and hatred the demon had him unleash. There was only one thing Jozin sensed now. It was complete calm.
"Jozin..." the strong man said and slowly opened his blue eyes. They were not under any form of possession. His brown hair was tied back in a regal top-knot to keep out of his face. "I have successfully quarantined the hatred. The stone is no longer in my control. I placed it back in the box where I found it. It took...some time. But I have succeeded."
"Hmm..." Malthael seemed to muse. "I think you lie."
"I do not lie," the man seemed to growl out.
"Very well. If we find the stone...and the contents are empty..." Malthael prodded.
"Empty?" Vincent asked.
"You mean...absorbed..." Byden frowned. Kormac paused in shock at this. Eirena was now hoping that it wasn't the case. Lyndon hadn't lowered his Manticore once. Even Lou-yu and the Witch Doctors were completely on edge.
"How do we know if the stone is empty?" Zayl asked from where he stood with Humbert.
"I think Malthael's right," Humbert said. "That guy didn't even greet us right when we came in. You'd think someone like him would feel irked that we entered his room."
The Nephalem went to where the package should have been and found the box. The stone within it looked very different. It clearly looked depleted.
"Absorbed," the Nephalem muttered.
"Him keeping himself calm is the only thing that is holding the demon at bay," Jozin said. "Can we separate the demon from him?"
"Sure. Jam the stone into his skull..." Malthael said and revealed his scythes. "Or I separate his head from his body..."
"This one's fate is sealed!" a dark hiss came from the older man now. The calm was broken. The demon had full control at last. "Die!"
"Maybe when Lilith's soul becomes trapped, we can put them together. She is his daughter, right?" Imperael asked. At this, the man paused in his attack. A sense of shock and surprise came out.
"What?" the man asked. The hatred that Mephisto felt for his runaway daughter was easily felt now. It seemed to overshadow what he had initially planned.
"Oh! You don't know?" the Nephalem asked when the idea was caught. "Lilith was freed from the rift she was in and killed off. Her soul may be trapped soon, too."
While this information was absorbed, Malthael lunged forward with both of his scythes out. But, instead of beheading the man, his scythes neatly touched over the skin and separated out. He was able to pull the soul of Mephisto away from the human's soul. Once the vile soul was extracted, the stone glowed from where it was to suck in the horrible demon. But, it left a serious mark on the older man.
"Jozin..." the man gasped and fell over. "my time...is fleeting now..."
"Patriarch! I..." Jozin winced and ran over to help him sit up.
"When that soul was pulled...a part of me...went with it..." he gasped out.
"That's right. The half of us that was our birthright was removed," Byden said.
"One cannot survive without the other," Vincent sighed. "We need both parts to be whole."
"Hmm..." Malthael thought aloud. He looked over at where the Soulstone was and lightly tapped it with a scythe. He focused and carefully extracted a veil of red from it. "As much...as I detest this...I have been asked to try. So...I shall see what happens..."
"Anaurael asked you?" Eirena asked softly. He said nothing, but he took the strand, as it wound around the edge of his scythe, and passed it over the dying human. The red film latched onto his skin and sunk back down. At this, the man seemed to sigh with heavy relief.
"Not only can you pull out souls. You can also replace them!" Imperael said with surprise.
"It would seem so. Thanks to Anu..." Malthael nodded. "This is how my mortal body will be the most beneficial. I can...help resurrect. If I am able..."
"Good to know," Jozin said and helped his leader to his feet. The man was very weak from being malnourished, and Kormac was able to help spread the word that the evil was fully contained. The Nephalem gave the stone over to Gurzick when he appeared.
"I would not put this one near Baal," the Nephalem advised.
"I am aware. I changed my throne around to hold the pieces underneath me, but they will be in separate quarantined areas. I will not let any others guard over the three vile ones. I can only trust myself to do such," Greed said from the crown. A nod was given, and Gurzick hopped through the waiting portal. Malthael and Imperael left soon after, and the temple inhabitants were busy purifying each chamber to remove the hateful sensations in each area.
"You did very well," Anaurael smiled at them both from where she was on her bed. Malthael had become his formless state again. Imperael just nodded to her. "The jungles are next for them, yes?"
"Yes," Tyrael nodded from where he was rocking Mal in the rocking chair. Imperius was tending to troops right now. "I am relieved that Mephisto's soul has been found. I am also a touch surprised at how fast it was to bring him under control."
"Anything dealing with that filth's kin tends to stop him..." Malthael smirked. "It is a known weakness. He detests the union of Inarius and his spawn of filth more than anything."
"I'm glad I mentioned something when I did," Imperael chuckled. "I had no idea."
"That you did not," Izarius nodded. When Imperius appeared, he was informed of what happened. He only nodded that Mephisto was under control. He did not like that Diablo was still free.
"I missed you," Anaurael said when Imperius moved to sit on the bed to hold her.
"I was not gone for long," he said and squeezed her. "I can never be gone for too long."
"Good," she smiled. He chuckled at her and glanced over at Imperael.
"Yes, Imperius?" the massive Archangel asked.
"What did you feel when you were around Mephisto's presence?" Imperius asked.
"If that thing had a true body, I would have severed it into pieces!" he snorted. He saw Anaurael reaching for him, and Imperius allowed her to hug Imperael.
"Do not resort to such measures," she whispered and pressed a kiss to his invisible cheek. "Granted, such filth should be fully disposed of. But, now that same filth will go through torment from Greed. I can only imagine what is going to happen!"
"Greed is placing the Prime Evils under his throne," Imperael muttered. "He refuses to let any others watch over them this way."
"That's a good and bad thing. Good for us, since we know they will always be trapped. Bad for them, since they are, technically, sitting right underneath him," Tyrael mused. At Anaurael's blank look, he grinned. "Mal tends to let out some odd smells. Doesn't he?"
"Oh! Well, yes..." she said. Then she blinked and burst out laughing at Tyrael's grin. Imperius had no idea until he pressed a thumb to her mark. Now he found himself highly amused.
"You would think that the stench of the Burning Hells would make them immune to such things," Imperius said with a mild shrug. "But, if they suffer over this, I will not complain."
"Better than watching humans suffer?" Izarius asked.
"I'd rather them suffer equally," Imperius snorted. That got her other brothers chuckling. "However, it does make me curious as to how you can put souls back into a body after removing them."
"Ah," Malthael nodded. "I did not remove the whole soul. Only half. In a sense, I did not fully kill the mortal. But, the mortal was dying. So, it proves true. Mortals cannot live long without the other half of their souls. I do believe that there was too much taint within him."
"You would believe so. You did, in a way, severe his soul in half," Tyrael said.
"Where as yours is as pure as Anaurael's," Malthael said. "But, yours can come out."
"Don't remind me," Tyrael muttered and supported his son's sleeping form. "Anaurael's soul appears to be bound in full to Imperius."
"And I refuse to allow that theory to be tested," Imperius warned lightly. "I refuse to see her suffer for curiosity means. That would not be wise."
"No, it would not," Tyrael agreed fully. Anaurael just seemed to sigh at this and got squeezed by Imperius. As they continued to converse about where the next stone was, the same conversation was happening on Sanctuary.
"Thank you all for being here," the Patriarch said after he managed to eat what he could.
"You are very welcome," Jozin said. "We already assisted with the Demon Hunters and Wizards. Even the Barbarians needed our help. We tried to get here as quickly as we could."
"The jungles that we live in are next," Moolara said softly. "The spirits are urging for us to hurry. They are almost at their end to thwart what they can."
"Can they tell who is guiding the dark forces there?" Eirena asked. Kormac stayed quiet in this. He wasn't one for spirits and black magic.
"They wish to say, but they are being silenced. I am now heavily worried by this," Sohar admitted. "It is as though something threatens them from where they are. They are fighting back."
"What does the presence feel like to them?" Jozin asked.
"Anger. Quite a bit of anger," Moolara said, as she focused. "But, not quite like true anger. More like the anger of vengeance."
"Tyrael may know," Byden said. "Can we contact him?"
"If we get back to where Lorath is, then we can," the Nephalem said.
"Don't worry about that," Vincent said and focused. Zynaurael answered his call and rested her hands on his shoulders. "Tyrael. We need his insight."
"Oh? On what?" she asked. The elder Monk blinked at the sight of her.
"We need to know what could give out a form of vengeance in the Burning Hells," Lou-yu said.
"Sounds like a form of wrath to me," Humbert snorted.
"Are you evil?" the Patriarch asked.
"No. Allies," Jozin nodded. At this, the older man nodded. "But...wrath, you say? That could be it! Are there demons that give such wrath?"
"I think so," Zynaurael said. When Sylauriel came down, she moved right to Jozin's side to show she was there. He gave a glance at her and sighed.
"I have your answer," she said softly. Now that she was regarded, she said, "There is a demon that can do this. Zaboul, the Lord of Wrath. He was stationed in the Burning Hells, and I heard that his weapon can even be found when it was lost to him. He was slain in one of the many battles in the High Heavens, but that is the demon that may be working with the jungle clans."
"This bodes ill," the Nephalem sighed. "We will need to get there. We can't delay!"
"And, if it isn't that one?" Kormac asked.
"Then we'll find out who it is when we get there," Byden said. When Jozin rose up with them, he found himself hugged tight by his angelic female partner. At the questioning glance given now, he smiled softly and knew he had to explain himself.
"This is Sylauriel. She is my partner in life," Jozin said. Sylauriel nodded respectfully to the older man. The Patriarch's jaw dropped. "She is bearing my child. Now go back up to Heaven."
"Very well," she chuckled. A kiss was shared between them, and Vincent gave a mild look to his angelic female partner to see her sigh and nod. After they left, the older man showed his confusion.
"How...?!" he started to ask, but the Nephalem rose up a hand.
"I'm sure an angel will appear to answer your questions. We have a place to be at. We have to go. Time is of the essence, and we are slowly letting it slip out of our hands," the powerful champion said. The elder Monk nodded and rose up carefully to walk them out. Other Monks were now standing along the hallways to show silent tribute to the ones that helped them restore order and faith to their temple. Even as they left through Gurzick's portal, the group knew they would always be remembered and welcomed back to Ivgorod.