Ch.23 The Lord and the Prophecy

My eyes stared into the flaming skull eye sockets of the Lord. I couldn't take my eyes off him. He smiled, dropping closer to us. "If it isn't the heir of Lord Rien. Hmm, rumored to be the Prophecy that Lady Ananon saw before she died."

I felt the child grip me tighter, shaking uncontrollably. I didn't reply to his prodding. My mouth remained shut. The Lord stretched out a boney finger and touched my left cheek. I felt a slight twinge of pain, the warmth of something running down my cheek, a familiar droplet hitting the water. He draw his finger back that was scarlet and placed it within his mouth. He removed his finger to show it bleach white once more. "Ahh. So it is you, child of the prophecy. I've been waiting quite some time for your appearance."

I didn't know how to respond to that. I couldn't make my mouth or mind work at the moment.

"You're quite scared right now," purred the Lord. "Why are you scared of your creator?"

Rien and Lones hacked and slashed away at the mobs that kept pouring through the tunnel. Large ogres were starting to appear and make the tunnel entrance much larger than they wanted. Lones did a quick check behind him for Sell and saw that she was gone.

"Your daughter has up and gone, Rien!"

A distinct power suddenly hit them both making them jump. Their blood went cold from sensing it.

"He's here…" Lones said in a whisper.

"He's with Sell." Rien said gruffly. "What the fuck is Sell doing with him?"

"We got to get to her! She isn't prepared!" yelped Lones trying to clear a path. "Damn these mobs!"

Rien took a count at all the mobs that were filing in through the tunnel. "That child really did us in, Lones. This wasn't meant to happen. The future changed somehow."

Lones yelled out leaping into the thick of the mobs getting more pissed by the second at the blockade. "He did it for a reason, the little bastard! Get out of my way, assholes!"

"Don't overdo it, Lones!" barked Rien as he appeared behind Lones back. "We have to watch each other's back. Those damn Creepers have those strategies, you know?"

"I got you," Lones growled swinging his scythe to keep the mobs at bay. "Rien, we have to get to her! She doesn't have a clue what he's capable of doing!"

Rien's mouth went into a firm line. "I know, Lones. We don't have much of a choice at the moment and rushing won't help us."

Lones charged forward swinging his scythe. "Then you rush these bastards!"

Rien charged forward after him flanking his back. "Damn it! What did I tell you about giving the enemy an opening? Lones!"

My mouth didn't want to work. My body shivered from the cold. Why was he here? I thought he couldn't appear here?

"You only created us through one man," my voice replied in a whisper. "That one man taught six, and those six taught more. Here I stand today."

The Lord snorted. "So you know your history. Very good. Did you know about Ananon? Did you know about me?"

I nodded. "I met your daughter and your wife. I'm pretty good friends with them. It's a shame what you did to them."

The Lord laughed at me. He could tell that I was shaken up, not just from the cold. "Well now, aren't you something. Too bad your father isn't here to help you stop me. Then again you can't even stop me as you are."

I glared at him, taking control over my fear. "I wouldn't judge us too quickly, You're speaking to the Devil's Prophecy here. Anything can happen."

I felt my face get grabbed up by the Lord's skeletal hand tightly. I cried out grasping the bones, trying to make them let me go. He lifted me from the water with ease. I heard the child wail at him. I heard his voice hiss in my ear.

"Anything and everything can happen to you, my dear. Not just everyone. Oh the joys of being blind."

I felt his grip tighten on my head. "Bastard! You're not going to torture spirits! That's cruel!"

The Lord chuckled. "You're one to talk. What do you know about torture? What do you know about anything related to us? Hmm?"

I growled at him. "It's one thing to fuck with spirits but it's another to fuck with a child and use him for your evil!" I felt my leg rise up and connect to the Lord's skull, a cracking sound was heard as his head was snapped back.

The Lord began laughing as his head snapped back into place and moved side to side. "Such spunk. You are truly something to replace my daughter. I like that."

I felt myself get flung away as he hissed. "Too bad you aren't yet strong enough to hold any role!"

I don't know how far I was flung but the speed I was traveling at was quite fast. I wasn't sure if I was dead again or alive. My body had buried itself somewhere that was quite solid. All the breath had left me. I struggled to get a breath but my body wasn't over the dramatic winding experience it had just been given.

I heard the child screaming out as the Lord was now seeing to him. I coughed, drawing in ragged breathes. "No…Kid! Hang on…!" I tried pushing myself up to find it quite painful and difficult. Feeling my way through the darkness of the small cave that my body had made I found the mouth at last and saw that I had traveled a thousand blocks from the Lord and the kid.

My body went forward off the ledge of the cave, falling back into the deep, dark water that had an icy hold. I made my arms move to swim back towards the kid. I had to get there. I had to save him.

"No! No, please!" the child screamed crying within the grasp of the Lord.

"Come now, my boy. You know you deserve this," the Lord replied with a hiss. No purr in his voice.

"I'm sorry! I'll do better next time!" the child cried and pleaded. "Please?"

The Lord shook his head as wind passed through the gaps of his teeth to make disapproving sounds. "You said so yourself that you were a man. You said you would do what men do to save your parents. You failed in being a man."

The child cried and sobbed. His little body shaking and convulsing. "Being a man is much harder than I thought! I don't deserve to die for my mistakes! Please?"

The Lord was enjoying his little act. The child had indeed gotten himself in a position that was over his head. It's a shame that the game couldn't go on. It was fun while it lasted but he was growing tired of the child now. He had done a good job getting him energy; the plan had worked like a charm to the Minecraftian's.

It was now time to get a new lost soul to use for evil. "It's time to face the music, child. Have you learned from your mistakes?"

The child was sobbing and crying so hard he couldn't reply. His eyes were filled up with tears that the Lord looked deformed. "Sell…! Sell..! Sell!"

I heard the child crying out my name. His cries for help. For me to save him. I was still too far away to be of any help. My body was at a loss, my energy to keep Projecting was being used up faster than I anticipated.

Overhead I saw a blinding light growing bigger and bigger and suddenly get warped into the child's body. I couldn't really tell what was going on but it went eerily quiet. I remember thinking to myself what would happen now? I saw the child explode into many pieces of bright light that faded before touching the water. That can't be. That didn't seem like an exorcism. What was that?

The Lord snapped his bony fingers together and the bright light that had burst into many pieces from the child's body floated up to him to make a small orb. More Dark Matter. "Yes, I was aware of the energy you devoured to keep your spirit alive and going. Sadly, that's stealing from me. Nevertheless, you know your place now."

"Jackass," I hissed floating in the cold water, staring up at the hazy figure of the Lord. "I'll kill you. I'll kill you and free all of the lost souls from your grasp! I won't forget this!"

The Lord turned to me, slowly descending my way. His scythe blade at his side. "Oh, my dear heir. It's such a shame what happened to him. He sold himself to me though. This is what happens to those that don't understand the punishment for stealing and disobeying me."

My crimson eyes glared up at him. "You're so sick in the head! I'm going to come to the Nether and I'm going to destroy everything you have there! I'm going to take back the Nether! I'm going to stop you for good and never allow you to return to kill innocents!" I thrashed in the water, my body shivering and weak.

He smiled, amused by my anger. "Such spark. I like you more and more every time you curse me."

I growled up at him baring my teeth. "You'll be even more pleased when I come there with more knowledge of my abilities! I'll fight you till death! I'm going to bring you to your grave along with me if I must!"

The Lord chuckled reaching down to tilt my head up to him more when fire came hurtling around us. I saw Lones diving in throwing fire as my father dove in from another direction tossing a stone that struck the Lord and caused a huge explosion. I sunk beneath the water to get away from the attacks and swam a ways before resurfacing. The Lord yelled out at them in frustration as Lones locked his scythe with the Lord's. "What the fuck do you think you're doing to Sell?"

The Lord unlocked his scythe and pushed Lones away. "We were just making a promise to one another. We're going to be fighting one another when she gets stronger." He turned to me spinning his scythe and stopped it to point it at me. "This won't be the last meeting, my dear Prophecy! We'll meet again soon."

"Good," I replied with a grin. "I'm looking forward to it!"

The Lord chuckled shooting up into the darkness. Lones chased after yelling. "Coward! Get back here and fight us!"

I bobbed in the water feeling drained. I didn't realize that I was sinking beneath the water. My mind went back to the small child. I didn't exorcise him. If only I had grabbed him before he went further into the tunnel. Damn it. I'm so useless. I felt a hand grab my wrist and pull me back somewhere.

"Come on, daughter. Now isn't the time to drown on us."

I felt myself resting on someone's shoulder. I was too drained though to do anything. I was clinging to just wisps of energy.

"It's time we went and got her, Rien. The Lord will target her now," someone voiced.

Everything faded. The voices, the people, the place. I don't know where I went but it wasn't any place I had been before. It was black. Pure black everywhere.

I was suspended, hardly able to open my eyes. Voices that were sad, crying, in agony, afraid of something, wailing…I had never been to this place before. What was it? A hand, a small cold hand took hold of mine.

I slowly turned to the hand to see the child that the Lord had destroyed. His eyes looked pained and sad. Gazing at me with a lost look. "Sell..."

"What's your name, kid?" I asked horsely.

"Hym," he whispered. "My mom named me after something she loved."

"Singing?" I smiled at him. "That's a lovely name, Hym."

"Before I was destroyed a few pieces of me hid in your clothes. its how I called you here," Hym said grasping my hand. "Was that ok?"

I nodded. "I'm glad to see you again. Where am I?"

Hym turned around to look in the darkness. "This is where all Lost Souls go. This is where we go after we're destroyed because we weren't sent to rest."

I stared out into the darkness, listening to the cries and moans of the souls. "My god…"

"There's over three thousand wandering here. Including me and my parents." Hym said looking back up to me. "Sell, what will you do? Will you help us? Help us rest?"

I felt my hand hold his icy cold hand tightly. I nodded with my eyes filling with tears. "If it kills me. I'll do everything I can, Hym."

The ten year old smiled weakly and hugged me around my waist. I knelt down and embraced him tightly, tears running from my eyes. "I swear on my life that'll I'll do everything possible."

The child broke to pieces and away. His remaining energy that he had kept from the Lord. "I'll be here waiting, Sell. You're the savior that everyone has been talking about. You're our voice that puts us to rest."

I nodded to myself."I indeed do have a voice for the dead and lost. More so now than all the rest." The world faded from my view and cast me back to the living.