Guess what holiday is next month? Halloween!
I can't choose between this story, and a story called Downfall, so you get to decide!
Read this prologue, read the other Halloween prologue, and vote/comment on your favorite before September 30th 2023.
If you find this story way later and it didn't win, so it wasn't continued. You can comment and pressure me to continue it sooner (yes, it will be continued eventually, one way or another)
With that said, enjoy Departed Games!
...
Revenge.
That was all that mattered.
It consumed his thoughts, his feelings, his very being.
He would never rest until they were dead; all three of them. Then they would suffer endless torment in the underworld, and he would return to the land of the living.
"But how?" The dark creature muttered to himself as he gazed out over the dark landscape from the balcony of his castle.
He knew the rules of the dead: a soul for a soul. No exceptions
But access to the overworld was hard to come by; even with all the influence he'd gained over the years in preparation.
And a more pressing matter was the soul he'd need to trade with. His own soul was immortal; and there was only one living creature with an immortal soul. One of the 3 he sought revenge on. And he wanted to kill that hedgehog himself.
'What I need is a way to lure him down here.' The creature mused as he watched his brother's flames spiral in front of him. 'A deal of sorts..."
"L-Lord Mephiles?"
The evil, hedgehog-shaped creature turned to face the mobian spirit who'd addressed him. The ghostly tiger cowered beneath the harsh gaze.
"You better have a good reason for speaking to me." Mephiles warned.
"Y-Yes my Lord." The tiger stuttered, "I-It's the D-Day of the D-Departed in a few days, and... almost everyone has f-family and f-friends among the living th-that they visit every year."
"And?" The evil hedgehog asked in annoyance.
The spirit took a fearful step back, "M-my L-Lord, w-we...we a-ask your permission t-to visit on th-that d-day."
"Visit the overworld?"
"Y-yes my Lord."
"And why have you not told me about this before?" Mephiles demanded, turning to face the tiger.
The spirit fell to his knees. "M-M-My L-L-Lord..."
"Be silent." The evil hedgehog hissed. He strode over to the trembling ghost. "You dare ask to visit the very place I've been trying to reach for years? You thought you could hide this knowledge from me!?"
He grabbed the spirit's throat. "You dare!"
"N-No my L-Lord." The tiger gasped. "W-We can't interact with the living through the portal that opens in t-t-two days it isn't what you're searching for."
"I'll decide that." Mephiles threw the ghostly mobian to the floor. "Find a way to contact the living on the Day of the Departed, and you can do whatever you wish."
"Y-Y-Y-Yes m-m-my L-L-Lord. Th-thank you m-my L-Lord." The tiger scampered away as quickly as his legs could carry him.
Mephiles returned to the balcony and gazed into Iblis's flames. "And so the perfect opportunity presents itself, how wonderful."
The fire sparked and crackled.
"Yes, what could possibly lure that hedgehog down here? What could I offer..."
An idea struck him and he quickly ran through all the memories he'd stolen from his enemy when he'd been formed through his shade. After all; a shadow has been everywhere it's owner's been, and remembers everything.
Including the most painful memories. The ones of loss. The ones he could use to manipulate his enemies.
Mephiles smiled wickedly as he called a different mobian in and ordered him to retrieve a human spirit from the paradise side of the underworld. The side he didn't control.
'Soon.' The evil hedgehog laughed to himself, as the spirit hurried off. 'Your greatest mistake, your greatest love; will be your destruction...'
Shadow the Hedgehog