Creator Notice: Due to time constraints, I, the Editor, have not been able to fully revise this chapter for posting. However, I believe that there has been enough of a delay since the posting of a new chapter such that I am posting this one in its unfinished state. That being said, I will, most likely next week, complete the full revision and replace this chapter with the final version at that time. Thank you for your patience.

Chapter 22 Awake to Justice: Face to Face

Sparda had destroyed over six million demons. He was tired but his mental endurance outweighed his physical fatigue. His body, able to regenerate from even the most severe damage, ached and begged for rest but his soul rejected its pleas. Now he stood face-to-face with two powerful generals and an obscure, mysterious blob of a demon. However, Sparda knew that they were not the only ones left. He was certain that Mundus had prepared many further legions of demons for him to overcome. His extremities were numb, but he could still feel his lifeblood surging through his veins. He would not quit, he would not stop, not until Mundus had paid for his sins. Now was not the time for rest. This was the time for action…[1]

The three demons stood before him, poised and menacing.

"We will rip you limb from limb until you beg for forgiveness," Phantom taunted arrogantly.

Although he had been relatively quiet with his dealings since Mundus took the throne of Hell, Phantom was still a very powerful and high ranking demon in the Dark Army. Phantom resembled a spider but his body was as gargantuan as an elephant's and his shell harder than stone. His blood, when shed, was made of scorching lava, reminiscent of the flaming rivers of Hell. As he walked, he left a trail of fire behind.

"Or better yet, we shall peel the flesh from his bones," Griffon jeered.

"Bah, he's too puny for a routine fleshing. Let's leave it up to this thing…." Phantom said, motioning toward the dark blob, aptly dubbed the Nightmare. Nightmare was a newly created demon or rather, a biotechnological weapon[2], created by the Dark Lord Mundus. It truly had no mind of its own and being the first of its kind, its abilities were unknown to Sparda as well as most other demons. However, stories were told throughout Hell recently of a demon that could manifest the very thoughts of its opponents. It could take a small inkling of an idea or memory and make it into a twisted reality, at least in the minds of its victims. How it conducted this particular feat was still unknown.

"Are you two going to keep talking all day or are you going to die?" Sparda said, becoming agitated with the delay.

Griffon reared back and shot out red electric waves as Phantom gathered a ball of molten lava in his mouth and blasted it toward Sparda. As the waves of energy made contact with Sparda, they dissipated like evaporating water, leaving Sparda unscathed.

"Is that all you have to offer?"

Phantom and Griffon snarled and barked at Sparda, attempting to hide their underlying fear of his power. Suddenly, as if activated from afar, Nightmare shot out beams of energy in rapid succession, one after the other. Sparda deflected most of the beams and charged toward the blob. He made a vertical slice down the middle of the demon but it did no damage as it merely sunk into the amorphous mass. This abomination was more machine than living organism, consisting of a mixture of inorganic substance and loose pieces of cybernetic armor overlaid upon an embryonic core[3]; like a machine, it obeyed the commands of the Dark Emperor and persisted endlessly with disregard to anything else.

Nightmare continued its assault, shooting out thick beams of energy and small projectiles rapidly. Sparda danced back and forth, dodging and deflecting each attack. Phantom and Griffon continued releasing their lava and lightning at Sparda but they were nullified upon contact. Sparda dashed toward Nightmare, attempting to break its hard shell, but his attacks were useless.

"Is this the best you can do, Mundus!?" Sparda screamed toward the sky. "You send a machine to do what you cannot?"

Becoming angered with his failed attempts to damage Nightmare, Sparda dove into the center of the blob and brought his sword down forcefully. However, this attack was voided as well. Suddenly, Nightmare's massive body began to shake and tremble and then, its gel-like mass was a dead pool into whose murky frame Sparda slowly sank. He struggled trying to claw his way out, but the pull was too great. He flapped his wings violently but they were suddenly submerged in the thick pitch along with the lower half of his body. As Sparda continued to fight for extrication, he looked up into the faces of the two generals, Phantom and Griffon. They looked down upon him with scorn as he futilely struggled for his life.

"See you in Hell…" Phantom mused as he and Griffon charged up their attacks once more and blasted them towards the defenseless Sparda. They hit with full impact and shoved Sparda's body completely within the blob known as Nightmare.

And Sparda fell for what seemed like an eternity. Darkness surrounded him, and the wind whistled past his head as his body descended further into the bleak Abyss. He was unable to turn his body and stabilize himself in the thin air. His motor functions were not responding and his body felt as heavy as rock. As he fell, he could hear screams and cries but he did not know whence they came. His body was finally halted by the solid, burning soil. He emerged in a shadowy realm with an atmosphere so slight that it seemed to suck the very air from his lungs. Everything surrounding him was blurry, and he squinted trying to bring objects into focus; mountainous area, flowing river of souls, fiery underbrush….

"What is this place?"

Suddenly, Sparda's jaw was met by a clenched fist that came out of nowhere. He collapsed to the ground but rebounded quickly as he jumped to his feet, sword in hand. But as he stood tall there was no one to be found. His eyes wandered over the murky atmosphere, trying to identify his attacker.

"Show yourself!"

I'm right here….

Over here…

The words seemed to drift in and out of reality, softer than a whisper, as the voice taunted Sparda.

You are no longer worthy, traitor

You will not win this

Foul scum…I will overcome you

I will make you nothing…

Here….you shall end!!

Sparda was suddenly attacked from all sides. Slash after slash ripped through his body as he was still unable to make out his attackers. They seemed to drift in and out of reality, something beyond Sparda's comprehension. How are they this fast? Impossible…he thought. Repeatedly assaulted from all sides once more, his knees began to buckle as he tried to steady his sword.

"Show yourself you coward!"

What's wrong, can't keep up….

Gritting his razor sharp teeth, Sparda breathed in and gathered himself, trying to concentrate. He closed his eyes and held out his sword without so much as flinching. He focused his thoughts and honed his mind on his attackers as the beckoning screams in the darkness died down. He could feel him, his power…But where are the others….Then it dawned on him; there was only one assailant, not many…..But how?…

Then, without warning, the attacker came in fast, with his blade aimed directly at Sparda's thorax. But Sparda sensed his approach and guarded the attack with ease. The two stood sword-to-sword, neither giving way ground to the other. Then Sparda's gaze rose up to the face of his attacker, and his eyes widened in horror and disbelief.

Expecting to see the face of some sludge-like or ghostly demon, Sparda saw a face that was only too familiar to him, and his body suddenly fell cold. He had seen this demon before, in the crystal clear flowing waters of the human world, in the windows of its monasteries, and in the reflection of his very blade as it gleamed with the blood of innocents; It was Sparda. As if peering through a mirror darkly, Sparda saw into his own face reflected in the gloom. However, its expression was not one of righteousness but one of merciless reckoning.[2]

Don't look so surprised…you knew you'd have to face me sooner or later. It's best we end it now rather than delay the inevitable.

"…Who are you?"

You know who I am….

Suddenly, the demon was gone, faster than Sparda could blink; it was not that it had teleported or disappeared, it was as if it had never been there at all. Sparda held his sword in front of him as he moved around in a circle. The demon continued to taunt him from the darkness.

Ohh..so I see you've forgotten me…and so soon I might add. However, contrary to what you may want to believe, I am alive and well…Surely, you did not think you could get rid of me so easily. After all, wherever you go, there I am…waiting in the shadows. [4]

The demon came in from nowhere once more, full bore, and knocked Sparda to the ground.

"I do not know who you are, but whatever business you have with me, it will end right here."

Oh, you know who I am alright…Don't pretend to be stupid now, not after all of the scheming against Hell. You know damned well who I am and why I am here…Look at your face, those horns, those wings…I am you…or rather…I am what you truly are!

The demon charged in once more, appearing from thin air, kicking Sparda back down to the ground. But as Sparda looked up, the demon had disappeared once more. How is he doing this…I can't track his movements…Sparda thought.

Did you honestly believe that your rebellion would go uncontested? Did you really think that you could just 'see the light' and everything would change just like that? Hahaha! You think that your past sins are somehow forgiven, that you have awakened to justice? No, you are just a foolish child throwing a tantrum, unable to accept the brutal reality of the world. Well, now you are in MY world, I will not let you shut us away…. 6

Gliding back in at high speed, the demon hit Sparda with a flurry of kicks and punches. He was the spitting image of Sparda down to every detail, from the angle of his eyes to the creases in his armor, the resemblance was beyond uncanny. Sparda attempted to fight back, moving swiftly and quickly, but all his attacks hit the air as he appeared to be fighting a being that was not there.

"Why do you not show yourself? Are you so cowardly that you must hide in the shadows?"

Hahaha….hide? I do not hide. My apologies if you are too slow to track my movements.

The demon continued his onslaught, seeming to drift in and out of time itself. His movements were so unreal, only the deranged mind of psychotic child could comprehend them.

Becoming frustrated, Sparda concentrated once more. How is he doing this....who is he?

I already told you who I was. Are you so absent minded? And I thought we were supposed to be one of the intelligent ones…

Sparda was taken aback by the comment. He can read my thoughts…

Haha, your thoughts? No...my thoughts. Your thoughts are mine as are your power and abilities; I have allowed you to borrow them until now, but make not mistake, they belong to me. We are one, yet I am two, you are me, and I am you, hahaha…we are inseparable…

Then it finally began to sink into Sparda's mind. The picture started to become clearer and the pit of his abdomen sunk in despair. He isn't real…But how? He feels and looks real…how can this be?

Well…it's very simple you see…I am what you are trying to destroy. I am the very thing which you have chosen rebel against. I am a monument to all your sins…of what you were and what is still very much alive inside of cannot rid yourself of your past….I will haunt your dreams for eternity if I must; I am more real than you will ever be. I WILL kill you and there is nothing you can do about it.

There is only room for one Sparda, one conqueror.[4] Have you forgotten your aspirations? Your dreams? Have you forgotten your destiny? I have not. We have been destined for greatness since our birth, and nothing will stand in our way. We became General to Hell's army and the second highest ranked demon in all of Hell. Now is the time we prove we are the highest of the highest rank, the elite among elites, the King of Kings…We will take the throne from Mundus and become what we were born to be…I will do this with or without your consent.

My word is law and you have defied me for the last time. How dare you consider the opinion of a human above mine? You are a disgrace to the demon race... You are no longer worthy to exist, because you have forsaken your very soul. After the throne is mine, the human world will be set ablaze for its arrogance; I will not stop until all that is living becomes ash….and my will shall be done!

He appeared before Sparda once more. Sparda recoiled, contracting his muscles, preparing for another attack, but the demon simply stood and peered into his eyes, burning a whole right through him.

You truly have forgotten haven't you?

"Forgotten what?"

Well, since you choose to remain ignorant, let me remind you who you really are.

The demon began running towards Sparda at top speed. Sparda held his sword ready to guard but the demon began running faster, not attempting to attack Sparda. As they collided, the demon vanished, as black and red smoke encompassed Sparda. Sparda then heard faint whispers in his head once more, incoherent at first.

Then, sudden images began to flash in Sparda's mind. At first he could not make them out but slowly, he began to recognize them. The images continued to flash, over and over maddeningly. Sparda clasped his head in his palms attempting to suppress the blurry images. What he saw was darker than anything he had faced before….It was himself, covered in blood, the blood of humans, innocent beings, from head to toe, standing atop a pile of dead bodies.

He remembered the image, as clear as it appeared before him. Another imaged flashed of him slaughtering countless more humans; men, women as well as children fell before his blade, and he seemed to revel in his brutality. More images flashed of Sparda bursting into homes, killing all inside and burning them to the ground without hesitation. Horror and disgust overwhelmed him as the images persisted.

Do you see now?…this is you…who you are meant to be, who you really are…Since the opening of the portal you have drawn ever closer to our ultimate goal…Look at those pathetic beings as they cower before us…

"No…I…." Sparda's words and thoughts were broken. His mind was becoming more clouded and flooded with memories of his very recent past. Millions upon millions of humans died at his hands. His rage, the diabolical beast within him was thrashing to get free. It hardened Sparda's heart to see what he had done. "I…I didn't mean…I didn't…know…" Regret and sorrow continued to overwhelm him.

Now you know. You cannot escape your past. Your rebellion is futile.

The images continued to flash at a much faster rate. They appeared before Sparda's eyes and seemed to rip at his very mind; it felt as if it would split into two and it drove him mad.

"No…stop!"

You are a devil, a monster. Do not deny who you are!

"No…I…I can't….that's not.." Sparda began losing his energy as he fell to his knees.

This is who you are meant to be. Accept it. No matter what you do you will never change the devil that dwells within you.

Sparda's mind was racing as the images persisted still, blinding his mind's eye. It was not the physical pain his attacker was dealing that hurt him, but the memories of his former self, the purveyor of evil and destruction. His acts, his transgressions, tore at his soul. Darkness began to envelope him entirely. He was slowly being sucked into the dark abyss drawing nearer to the beast he had caged and forsaken. He could feel the rage, the evil, the unending tyranny. He could feel the power, seemingly limitless power, and he was ashamed to acknowledge that he enjoyed it.

And Sparda descended once again into the dark caves of his past, he could feel his former self taking hold of him, embracing him in its dark flame.

Yes, that's it…bask in the glory of our power…give into to it…

This was it. Sparda was almost at the breaking point. He was surrounded by this power and his dark heart pulsated uneasily, trying to grab hold of it. Sparda was about to forsake all he had fought for, all he chosen to defend. He was about to relapse back into the darkness of Hell and his will began to wane under the pressure of his own power.

But then something happened. Falling within the pit of his mind, Sparda saw something, a little girl. On closer inspection he realized that it was Marlene, appearing more distraught than when the demons took her parents from her. Her angelic face, her innocent smile, was suddenly engulfed in flames as she screamed in agony.

"No! Marlene!" Sparda yelled as he tried to reach her but she was too far away and his arms felt too heavy. "No!"

Marlene was incinerated before his very eyes and even after she was dead, her screams still bounced off the walls within the pit. Then another human appeared, and another. Sparda recognized each face because he had kept a mental record during his travels to the human world. They were the humans of the Resistance, glaring down at Sparda as he fell. He recognized one man, a man he had seen with Anna before they first met. His name was Abel and behind him stood another man, a man Sparda had killed that night, Brutus. He stood bloodied and beaten from battle. Then, just like with Marlene they were suddenly engulfed in flames, each and every one, screaming and howling in pain and agony.

Yes. Forget about them. They are nothing. They are weak.

"Ahh!" Sparda attempted to reach them once more but his attempts were useless. "No! Stop this!"

Then another human appeared, a woman, Anna. She was wearing the same dress she wore when they first met. And in her arms was a baby, her baby, Abel's baby. She smiled at Sparda as he descended deeper, a smile he had grown accustomed to. The baby giggled, attempting to mimic its mother.

And forget her…she is a human…a useless being….nothing more. What can she offer you that I cannot? Love, compassion, justice? All lies created by humans…

"No! Not her!" Sparda could see the flames behind Anna, stretching towards her like claws seeking its prey. "No!"

And the flames began to tickle at her dress and creep up her leg, setting her ablaze. As the cloth became black and began to smoke, she seemed to cry out in pain. Soon, her lower body and torso was a fireball, with her burning fat releasing a thick, tar-like smoke into the air. She screamed as she tried to protect her baby but there was nothing she could do. As the flames reached her head, she collapsed clawing frantically at her face and eyes, praying for death. The baby was engulfed as well. Sparda could see its skin redden, and melt and weep with pus and plasma, as its wails became unbearable; to this day, Sparda has never forgotten its inhuman baying. He watched as the baby was charred and blackened before his very eyes; there was nothing left but the smoldering ashes and bones and the greasy smell of burning flesh.

"Aagh! No! Stop!" Sparda was utterly helpless. His body was not responding and there was nothing he could do to save her.

Hahaha. Do you see now? They are pathetic. Unworthy of our power. Tell me, what do they have that I do not…

Sparda was helpless yet his mind began coming back to him and for a split second, his thoughts were clear. He remembered his mission, and the road he decided to take. His courage and might began to build again. He would not let him take it all away.

"What she has…is a heart…what she has is courage. She has something that you will never have…a righteous soul!"

Regaining his strength, Sparda stopped himself in mid-descent and was suddenly back in the shadowy realm, staring into the eyes of his counter, his dark side.

A righteous soul? That means nothing me…

"I know, and that is why you can never defeat me"

Becoming frustrated, the demon attacked Sparda head-on. However this time, it was the demons attack that hit thin air as Sparda disappeared.

"Now I finally understand why the humans loathe our kind so… And why we could never conquer them entirely."

What are you talking about?

"The human spirit is strong. Their will is undying. They understand the importance of unity. Even in their darkest days, they have hope. And this is why all demons shall be overcome by the blinding light of their proud spirit!"

Suddenly Sparda rushed in, his sword held out at his side. The demon turned to slice him vertically but it was too late. An intensely sharp flash shot straight across the abdomen of the demon.

"And you shall be overcome as well."

No…you…you can't beat me…

"I already have. Stay as you are, in my memories…" And Sparda turned from the demon and walked away.

No…you can never forget me. Every time you look in a mirror, ever time you turn your head, every time you even have a thought, I will be there, lurking in your shadow.. I am closer than the blood coursing through your veins. Every time you falter or stumble, or doubt, or hesitate, or succumb to temptation, I will be there watching, waiting for you to fail. When that day comes, your past sins will be nothing compared to the havoc that I will unleash upon mankind. You will wish that you had never awakened, that you had never known justice at all, because your awakening will only afford me a more terrible power. You will never destroy me. You can only hope to suppress me until I finally take full control, and make no mistake, that day will come. If it takes a thousand eons, you will give in, no one can resist forever…but I will haunt you for all eternity! 9

The demons body was suddenly broken in pieces by incredible light, its shards dissipating in wind. And the ground beneath Sparda's cloven hooves began to shake and the entire area crumbled, turning into a gigantic flaming gorge. And then there was blackness, utter blackness and Sparda could feel his body pulled violently skyward. Above him he could see a small crease of light as he ascended towards it at lightning speed. And he exploded out of the blob, Nightmare, forcefully landing back on solid ground. He turned to look back at the blob, which began to pulsate and shake out of control. Gels and fluid substances spewed out of it like a geyser as its body broke apart; its hard armor slowly crumbled and sunk inward. Then suddenly, it caved in on itself and imploded, creating a flash of blue and white light that expanded outward then shrunk down to nothing. The horror known as Nightmare was no more.

Sparda shook his head dorwsily as if trying to awake from a horrible dream. Within seconds, his mind was clear once more and he surveyed the empty battlefield. Suddenly Sparda could feel something coming in over his shoulder. Faster than the eye could see, the poison tipped tail of Phantom, the spider scorpion hybrid, was caught in between the two clawed fingers of Sparda. The stinger had come dangerously close to the back of Sparda's head.

"Are you so cowardly, General, that you must attack me from behind?" Sparda turned toward Phantom, still holding the tip of its tail with his two fingers.

"Release me!"

Then, another attack came in from behind Sparda. The red lighting orbs did nothing but bounce around Sparda's body and hit Phantom, dead in his six eyes. Phantom cried out in pain as his body convulsed.

"So, I see you are both in the business of cowardice" Sparda said as he looked over his shoulder at Griffon, who hovered in the air. "Since you two have so much in common, why I don't I let you spend some time together…"

Suddenly, Sparda grabbed Phantoms tail with both of his hands. "What are you doing?" Phantom screamed. He began swinging Phantom around in a circle, gaining more momentum with each revolution. "Let go of me!"

"As you wish." Then Sparda released Phantom, sending him hurling toward Griffon. Griffon tried to dodge but he was too slow. Phantom's body crashed hard into Griffon's and they both went sailing off wildly into the darkness as their screams faded away.

The battle ground was quiet and Sparda was filled with a renewed spirit and a restored resolve. He was not sure that what had happened inside of Nightmare was real or a figment of his imagination but he was certain that he had now found his true mission and he would he turn away from it even for a moment. The event had spurred a new hope, and a stronger determination within him. And he would need it, if he was to face the Darkness Mundus.

And with those thoughts, the three blazing red eyes of Mundus appeared in the sky.

"You have done well Sparda; you have destroyed eleven legions of my army, defeated three of my generals, and have laid waste to much of my Empire... You have done very well indeed. However, your many victories will only make your ultimate defeat that much more glorious." Sparda could make out the silhouette of Mundus' huge body, his true body. "Shall we commence?"

Sparda looked around and realized that he was standing in the Room of the Fallen Ones,10 the same place where the Battle of Argosax began. Then, it was know as the Blood Plain, filled with the flowing blood rivers of Hell. Now, the Room of the Fallen Ones, it housed the statues of all those who fell for Mundus that day.

"You choose to end this here? It seems you are not without a sense of irony, Mundus." Sparda responded.

"Yes, perhaps…it is ironic that this day will end with my victory once again."

Sparda did not respond with words, but a smirk of unyielding purpose and confidence flashed across his face.

And the two devils, the most powerful in all of Hell, headed for each other. The Darkness Mundus versus the righteous Sparda, the fate of both worlds now rested on this very battle. And all of Hell fell silent…

[1] It is of interest to note that, every instance of the word "time" translated following the "awakening event" is in the Greek manuscript as "kairos" rather than the customary "chronos." In this particular instance, however, "kairos tou poiesai to kriokephalo to poinikoaeno," the original manuscript includes a labarum like monogram XPc (Chi-Rho-sigma, phonetically Kai-Rho-S) instead of the word "kairos." In the margins, one can just make out the faint scribbling of a permutation of the word as "kraistos." The sigma and tau forming another kind of monogram which my colleague Dr. Musa Ibn-Amir tells me resembles similar monograms used by the obscure cult of Naasene Zurvanites for their Messiah figure. This blasphemous insinuation is certainly why we find all reference to this peculiarity expunged from the Vatican copy of the text. Whatever the actual case, it is apparent that the period of time immediately after the awakening event was deemed pivotal for this mythological account of human history. ~Ed. with thanks to Dr. Ibn-Amir

[2] Although at first glance, this appears to be a prognostication of war tanks used in the modern era, and lends credence to the "visionary theory" for the provenance of the text, I believe that this is merely a coincidence. In my estimation, it appears that all of the references to "Mundus'" biothecnological modifications and creations of new species of demons, such as the "Frosts" and "Blades," serves to highlight the unnatural force of Mundus' reign. By emphasizing that the antagonist's methods are contrary to the natural order of things, "Didymus" may have been criticizing the methods of tyrant rulers of the time, who people felt had seized power rather than inherited it rightfully. Certainly, one cannot ignore the similarities to Ivanos "the Terrible" Drazgov. ~Ed.

[3] From the commentary by pseudo-Ivanos, purported to have been written by the character "Ivan" described in the text: "These beasts seem to have been adapted from [indigenous] possibly pre-demonic, beings. The ability to [...] and psychoactive properties appear native to the demon. Weaponization [and control] appear to be the [primary] purposes of their augmentation [...] their armor incorporates both highly advanced energy transfer technology as well as comprehensive neurological [...] This integration into the neurology of the [host organism] appears to be heuristic, so the armor could theoretically be applied to any other [...] I wonder how it would respond to human neurology[...]" ~Ed.